Covering the Ground
runktrun
12 years ago
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NHBabs z4b-5a NH
12 years agoRelated Discussions
ground cover alternatives for raised beds
Comments (16)Sorry about the confusion. I meant cover as a blanket term. Just something that will keep the soil in my raised beds moist but not detrimentally contribute anything that I would have to alleviate at a later time. I don't use grass clippings (because I spot treat my lawn for weeds) and no matter how much time passes between applications I don't feel comfortable with putting that on my beds or even in my compost tumbler. In my old garden at my old house (where I lived for 6 years) I didn't have raised beds. Everything was planted in the ground. What I did every season to reduce weeds was to lay down a thick layer of newspaper everywhere (24'x24' area) prior to planting, wet it, then cover it completely in a thick layer of straw. Two weeks later I would puncture holes where needed to plant seedlings. I'm not so sure I want to do that in my raised beds. Its a smaller garden (16'x16') with 7 raised beds around the perimeter. All of the ground between the raised beds is covered in a layer of large bark nuggets. Last year all I had was cardboard on the ground in between the beds, and well, if I didn't live in an neighborhood where everyone besides me has professionally lanscaped lawns and mulch beds, I probably would have left it that way. So the bark nuggets made the garden a little more aesthetically pleasing. So anyway, I'm not so sure about the straw idea anymore...my raised bed sizes are as follows: 2x4. 2x6, 2x8, and 3x4. So each bed is no wider than 2-3 feet. I would really have to chop the straw up pretty small. I have no leaves around from the fall. The only other thing I could think of is to use the same bark nuggets that I use for the ground between my beds. They are large enough so I don't have to worry about them ever mixing in with the soil in my beds....See Morelazy way to cover ground...a bad idea?
Comments (8)Just a ground cover is a possibility if you didn't want to do much with the area, or hosta if it is shady. If you search for xeriscape ground cover, you'll find lots of possible ground covers. You can choose based on the sunlight the area receives. Since you are busy this year, you can just leave the cardboard and mulch and then either buy or grow the plants you want for next year. You'd have lots of time to decide. If you are looking to save money, you can grow hosta from seeds from friends' plants or exchanges online. You won't know what they will look like for sure, but they do seed easily (if you do it correctly.)...See MoreCovering the Ground to Keep the Weeds Away
Comments (2)Old carpet is good, but bermuda grass will actually grow through it. Last year I had between all my rows "carpeted", and the blasted stuff came right up over it. When I pulled the carpet up last fall I had to get my sons to help, the bermuda grass had literally pinned it to the ground! Best thing to do to kill the stuff is a substance that the grass can't grow through... Tamara's pictures with the black stuff were great, that would kill anything. I've also used tin sheets (the kind they used to make tin roofs out of), great big sheets of cardboard (these are great, plus they enrich the soil as they degrade). Good luck, that stuff is insidious! Casey...See MoreGround cover roses and ground cover clematis
Comments (11)Landscape roses are considered groundcover roses. They are low growing shrub roses (typically not exceeding 3') that spread much wider than they grow tall. Drift, Knock Out, Flower Carpet are all readily available landscape groundcover-type roses. It is not a defined category, but the roses are bred specifically for these attributes. They also tend to be very free flowering and low maintenance compared to other rose types. The issue with most groundcover clematis is that they behave exactly as do their vining cousins....except they don't vine :-) So for the most part, they are not tidy little clumping things but large rambling plants that can easily grow several meters a season. Combining the two - the wide, sprawling landscape roses and the long, rambling clematis - may not be as simple as it sounds without very careful cultivar selections....See Moremayalena
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