Last year was my first year at a sfg, and i placed my garden directly on top of the bermuda, and placed newspaper (about 3 sheets thick) along the bottom. I just knew I would have grass problems, but it was very minimal. It was just along the edge of one side, and it would grow out of the garden between 2 boards. It was fairly easy to pull as the soil is so loose...as opposed to pulling it out of your flower beds. I agree with the other poster that if you can line the walls of your bed, that would improve things. But Bermuda finds anyway it can to get it...so maybe just try to keep it weeded out. My bed was 4x8 with one half of that being twice as tall as the other (2 squares together, with one being tall) and it was along the short end of the tall side where the grass grew...and it would come out between the boards (since this was taller, I had stacked the boards if that makes sense,) I really thought the grass below the paper would make it's way up, but that didn't seem to be the case...it was the grass along the outer sides that made it's way in I think.

Re: hemnancy I think I also got infested from a plant that came from outside. I wanted to see if I could get pomegranate to grow from seed off of a store bought pomegranate back in November. I also tossed in a Brandywine seed or two from a seed packet that I purchased at the grocery store at the same time (November). Three poms and one BW sprouted. So far, I've been able to keep all the plants alive all winter by bringing them into the garage on cold nights and letting them out in sun during days above 40 degrees. The BW is a short, stubby plant that I've become attached to and I really want the poms as the plants cost at least $40 at the nurseries that I've been able to find them at. Anyway, sometime last fall, the pot that all these plants sit in became infested and that infestation has spread to my Jiffy peat pellets and a couple of seed trays. Re: ekgrows I bought a can of flying insect killer. It's not as organic as your method, but if become a problem, it is an option to me. Also, I've purchased the mosquito dunks and put a chunk of one in a spray bottle and wet down all my pellets with it. I know that it's too soon to tell if it is working, but since last night, I've seen one gnat that I smashed with my finger. I plan on starting to move the peat pellets to peat pots now that I have a method of control. I plan on spraying the inside of the pots using the spray bottle, spray down the potting mix that I'll use and cover the entire thing with sand. I'm thinking that this one-two-punch approach should be effective. I'll let you guys know how it works out.

I believe that is one of bic9's golf greens. That is nice!! Modern organic fertilizers have no salt. Bic9 may be under the influence of the old style (Rodale school) of fertilizers made from composted cattle dung or even uncomposted cattle dung. That's not the case anymore, except for the Rodalians still clinging to compost. Modern bagged commercial organic fertilizer is practically salt free. If you buy raw ground grains at the feed store, those might have salt added to make it palatable to livestock, but not enough to make a difference. A few years ago morpheuspa tried to overdose his lawn with organic fertilizer by applying, if I'm not mistaken, 50 pounds per 1,000 square feet every week for the entire growing season. He has not mentioned any salt build up during that time, but it would be an interesting question to ask him. Definitely time to mow the tall bermuda. You'll scalp it at first, but that's okay. Take it down gradually, one notch lower every 3-4 days until you're at the bottom notch. Then raise it up one notch. Shampoo is used to soften hard soil. Core aeration is also used to soften hard soil. The difference is that core aeration seldom works, but shampoo seems to work every time. It works by breaking the surface tension of the water allowing it to soak in deeper and faster into the soil. The deeper moisture extends the time for evaporation which keeps the soil a little cooler over a longer time. That cooler and moister soil is the perfect environment for the beneficial fungi which do the work of softening your soil. It takes them a few weeks to repopulate the soil, but when they do, they redevelop your soil structure opening up bazillions of microscopic pores for air and water to penetrate. They swell when moist to push the soil particles apart. They shrink when dry to allow air and water in more easily. You asked, so sorry for the biology discussion. Shampoo is not a trick. Surfactants have been used for generations only on sports fields, because the only surfactants thought to work were very expensive. Well, when you boil it all down, shampoo is a surfactant almost identical to the expensive ones. Shampoo only costs you a few cents to try it. The rate is 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. Use any shampoo you can see through. Apply the shampoo and follow up with 1/2 to 1 inch of water. If it is not soft the next time it rains or you water deeply, apply it again. I applied to my lawn twice in 2011 and it still gets almost too soft to walk on after it rains. If you want to check how hard or soft your soil is, try sticking a screwdriver into it now, before you spray, and a couple weeks after you spray. If you do that before and after core aeration you'll find no difference, but with shampoo you'll definitely see a difference.

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