How to get rid of grass to prepare soil for flowers
nyaa_nyaa
18 years ago
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iris321
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agowhatcheer
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
how to get rid of grass and building a retaining wall
Comments (1)Yes I'm thinking of doing that. The dirt is kind of compact do you think I could just take the grass out with a shovel. I took a lot out today but some of them have that deep white root that just goes under really deep. So I should use a tiller to till out most of the grass. Then put some kind of plastic tarp or something to prvent the weed from growing. Then put on a layer of mulch. Then pour the soil over and start building the retaining wall then add perennials. Do you think one layer of plastic is enough?...See MoreHow to get rid of grass so I can plant vegetable
Comments (13)I'm on my third year of a variation of Gatormom's method and I get great results and save my back all that digging. I actually trim everything in the yard in the last few weeks of August and throw all the trimmings in the area where the veggie garden will be, even big limbs. At that point in the season, it's already got really great grass - better than anywhere else in my yard I'm afraid. I also cycle my composters, spreading the summer's compost all over the bed. I don't even bother to mow down the grass, because I'm about to kill it anyway and I'm going to use the bags of mulch to squish it down. When I buy mulch, I leave the bags on top of all the trimmings and compost for a week. I do this in one-week cycles, buying seven bags of mulch, leaving them there for a week, buying seven more, then using the first seven to prep a portion of the bed. I do this to squish down stuff that otherwise would stick up and let in enough space to let in weeds and such. I spread newspapers under the mulch each time I spread it. I've used cardboard too, but found it actually broke down too quickly compared to newspapers. I know others here have had really different experiences with cardboard versus newspapers, but for me newspapers work best. I lay them pretty thick. (And if you're at all worried, six months after I've put down newspapers, I can't find them anymore. They decompose completely. Same is true for cardboard, but I find they get weedy faster than newspaper does.) In a few weeks with this system, I've got a giant prepared bed for veggies, full of organic stuff, nicely mulched, ready for the baby plants to go in the ground. And that bed is getting better and better each year. As the winter goes on, I also add more compost, so that keeps improving it. This is just about the least work I can think of for my yard - I don't haul the clippings out to the street, just over to the veggie bed and I don't dig up everything. Laying the newspaper under the mulch isn't as easy as just spreading mulch, but it works so much better it's worth the work. And using the bags of mulch to squish down the organic stuff so it doesn't poke through the paper and mulch saves having to cut it up into smaller pieces, plus, being stuck under plastic bags for a week starts the decomposition process nicely. Susannah...See MoreHow to get rid of bermuda grass
Comments (45)Spring is here, it's finally quit snowing, and time to dig in the dirt! I arm myself with bucket, shovel, clippers, and a handy little three prong digger. Off I go in to the great outdoors! Flower beds! Yes! I need flower beds! Hmmm...previous home owner must have moved some things around, I spy some things coming up in odd spots. No problem, I have digging implements! Dig, dig, shift, shift, mulch, mulch. Ahhhh....the daffodils look much better in a flower bed instead of a foot out into the yard. A nice brick border would look great along that bed as well. Dig, dig. Tug, tug. Scratch, scratch with my three prong digger. Dig some more. Grrrr...what IS this stuff???? Back inside to the handy dandy internet. OMG! O..M..G!!! I have BERMUDA GRASS!!! Horrors!!! Two backbreaking days later, I have the brick border down, and have moved on to the rather pathetic little flower bed out by the corner at the street. Oh Dear Lord, what kind of people lived here before I did? Not only is there bermuda grass growing in that one, it's LOVING the black plastic trash bags they saw fit to put down, and then put several inches of dirt on top. The roots of the bermuda grass have formed a nearly impenetrable mat under the plastic. And because it's plastic, it's doing what they say plastic won't do, breaking down. Bits are sticking up above the dirt. There's holes in it that the grass has grown thru. A nearby tree has woven it's roots in the plastic. Another day of digging with that three prong digger. Scratch the dirt loose, dig out the roots, scratch some more. Easily have dug 20 gallons of bermuda grass out of a flower bed that's about 2' x 3' and I'm not done yet. God bless whoever made that little three prong digger. When I'm buried, I want it with me. Just in case I have to dig thru some bermuda grass....See MoreHow to get rid of onion grass
Comments (1)While improving the phosphorus levels is on the list, get rid of the onion grass first. It also likes P. By onion grass, do you mean wild onions? The type that, if you pull them up, you get the little bulbs that smell of onions? If so, Tenacity will take those out--slowly....See Morenyaa_nyaa
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agomarilou
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDianne42
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agokoszta_kid
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoNushka_IA
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agogarasaki
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoironbelly1
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoironbelly1
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agomarilou
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agomarilou
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoironbelly1
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agowhatcheer
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agogarasaki
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agohummingbirddaisy
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoironbelly1
18 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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