I'd cut it back as best I could, weed eat it down to the bare ground and then fork/shovel it under ......You can pull out as much root and stuff as you possibly can...12X8 wouldn't take that long to turn under with a shovel...even if you don't want to mess with removal of the roots...they might just rot from being under...

You probably could kill everything in the bed, good as well as bad, by covering it with black plastic for a couple of months. An alternative would be to spray with Roundup.

Jim

I'd take advantage of the okra, doing what Ruth suggested and then planting my fall crops besides. When the going is really tough I often use a grub hoe (you know like in, it has a pick axe on one side of its head and a grub hoe on the other). The weight of this tool really makes the work a lot easier. I "chop up" about 2 square feet at a time and use my hands to grab and sift out the Bermuda grass and roots. Once you've caught up you can probably keep up, with such a small bed, using a regular hoe every couple of days.
The way Bermuda grows, that garden may only have been neglected a couple of weeks!

George
Tahlequah, OK

hardly a 911 situation but i 2nd the roundup idea or you will be fighting bermuda for yrs

Another alternative to chemical spraying would be to cover the entire garden area with a good heavy layer of wet newspaper or cardboard. We started 2 new garden areas last fall for this year doing that; no digging required. We put down a layer of organic amendments first, then the cardboard then some mulch to hold it in place. We've had a fantastic garden with hardly any weeding except right around the edges.

Browse these existing threads... I believe you'll find plenty of insight...

Post-Emergence Weed Control in Sweet Corn

weed problem in veg plot ... need help

feel silly for asking, but how to keep weeds out?

Best plan for a Weed Free garden? Weed cloth and mulch perhaps?

New house, new yard...congratulations! I can remember my first spring in my house OMG!!! NOTHING had been done in the yard for 4 years except mow the middles!! NO flower beds NO garden HUGE pile of junk and trash what HAD been a traditional plowed garden, forsythia bushes 8' tall covering all the windows....WAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!

Ok...sounds like the 12' x 8' jungle feels like a bit much to handle with everything else you have to organize with a new property. My suggestions:

1. Weed around the okra and mulch it to keep the weed population low.
2. Weed-eat or mow the remainder of the garden bed. Look at the bed and decide on a layout that is functional for your gardening style (wide rows versus single row planting, 2.5' paths vs 3' paths, etc) A 12' x 8' size bed will need walkways to reach the inner garden. I favor 3' wide beds with 3' wide paths which is narrower than the Square Foot Garden recommendations but suits my bum shoulder.
3. Choose 1/4th to 1/2 of the garden area and dub it the "fallow ground." Weedeat the area down to the ground. Open out your packing boxes (remove staples and tape) and cover this area with the cardboard. Water it down and secure the boxes in place with mulch, boards, bricks, or (my favorite choice) a nice load of composted horse manure. Next spring you can add this area back into the garden, when you don't feel so overwhelmed with the new house and yard.
4. Turn the remainder of the bed with a shovel and shake out the weeds. Add the weeds to your compost pile. If you don't have a compost pile yet, select a site that is convenient to your garden but not an eyesore (I stack mine under a row of pines that is a windbreak at the back of my property. Out of site but 8' from the garden).
5. Amend the weeded area of your garden and plant your fall veggies there. If you can wait a few weeks before planting, its convenient to turn it once a week for a few weeks before planting.
6. Once you've organized your bed, look at it every chance you get. Nab the weeds when small.
7. Take pictures. Later, you'll congratulate yourself on your restoration of the yard (but NOT if you don't have a "before" to compare with the "after."

Before:
{{gwi:106030}}

After:
{{gwi:106031}}

Please keep us posted on your progress!