how to best prepare garden from grass covered sod and weed seeds

CalG · Jan 28, 2024

Yander said:
Have you tried fencing your garden and dropping in a half dozen chickens? I think chickens would go to town on those dudes.

chickens consume EVERYTHING! and from what I read, will only eat the Asian worms as last resort. Too tough.
These worms propagate through egg cases that "hatch out" when the weather warms up. 60 days till maturity, so there really isn't time enough to get the worms out and a garden in.

Believe me, I've considered doing so. though we have no chickens yet

But if I had a chicken, the garden is fenced (to keep the deer from eating it all in one night)

;-)

Yander · Jan 28, 2024

I have gardened on and off for over 30 years and what i can tell you without a doubt, there are 1,000 ways to grow a garden. It comes down to the best fit for you and your situation, soil, equipment and desire for aesthetics.

What I mean by the last item, aesthetics, the #1 way I have found to grow veggies, especially the type the OP wants to grow is not really a thing of beauty. It is Hügelkultur mounds.

I grow stuff every year using in the ground (corn), raised beds and hügelkultur mounds. By far the hugel mounds out perform all other means and need less water. Deep mulch them on top and you can literally go all summer and not water them. I have. They do better if you do water them a couple times but the plants will be fine with no water. This is the reason it is a method used in a lot of arid regions that may see very little rainfall. The wood acts as a sponge and releases it into the soil as the soil dries out.

Here's a link to this method. What Is Hugelkultur? Building the Ultimate Raised Bed

I actually build my raised beds with wood, sticks and leaves in them just like the hugel mounds and they do great, but still not as good as the actual mounds.

I've used most of the methods mentioned by others and they all work. Seems from your pictures you already know what you are doing.

Sonny580 · Jan 28, 2024

herbicides target only certain weeds! Gotta get the right stuff for gardens as NOT just anything will work!

grsthegreat · Jan 28, 2024

id rather not have herbicides in my foods...thank you. we use plastic along the footpaths to keep weeks down, and hoe out the weeds in the rows.

wmfamily · Jan 28, 2024

JCoastie said:
seems like an awful lot of unnecessary work.

My wife and I made a small garden a few years ago, we used unbroken ground covered in grass and weeds.
It was winter (in the south) so we scraped a bit of the dormant grass to begin with.
I rented a 5' tiller and tilled the area twice. My wife raked the few bits that were left.

I ran the tractor in the newly tilled fluffy dirt, and that's how I made the rows, the tires made the low flat areas, and the middle was the ridge to plant in.

When grass was cut on the weekends, my wife put fresh the clippings (grass, weeds, seeds and all) on the ridges and then eventually in the troughs for weed control. To my surprise that all worked well.

Pretty simple process really. No chemicals, etc. don't over think it.

Just till it this year and see if your family maintains care and interest, if they do and want to continue, address any issues next year.

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Cardboard or paper grocery bags laid down before putting down the mulch helps to create that barrier needed to keep the weeds out. It definitely helps with water retention. We've been doing this for years and the only thing that gets through it (around really) is bindweed. That just grows along the ground until it finds light and then starts going crazy. I've pulled some that was two or three feet long before they break off at the soil surface way back under the mulch. If you keep pulling them they will die off after many years but it only take a micron to resprout it seems.

jyoutz · Jan 28, 2024

Sonny580 said:
herbicides target only certain weeds! Gotta get the right stuff for gardens as NOT just anything will work!

You must have some herbicides that I’m not familiar with. Some target all broadleaf plants (2-4-D). Some target any plant (glyphosate), and some target seeds to prevent germination (pre-emergent). I’m unaware of any herbicide that targets weeds but not garden plants.

Sonny580 · Jan 29, 2024

I use what works for me! Everybody has their own opinions.

mikester · Jan 29, 2024

EddieWalker said:
From your pictures, it looks like you already know a lot more about gardening then I do. We tried for several years to do a garden like yours, but the weeds became too much and then Summer would hit and make the ground like concrete. I have red clay, and it's great in Spring, but horrible in Summer.

We gave up on having a big area like yours and went to raised beds. I bought several dump truck loads of "good" dirt, and we finally became successful at gardening. The weeding is easier, our plants did better, and we're able to keep up with everything. Currently we have 24 beds, and eventually we'll double that and then some.

We put red mulch in between the beds, and that's made keeping the weeds clear super easy. We still get a few, but they pull out without any effort, and the biggest plus is not having to walk in mud after watering.

what size of raised beds did you use?

EddieWalker · Jan 29, 2024

4x16 with 3 foot walkways around all four sides.

This was last Easter. We hid some eggs in the garden.

My wife is a Master Gardner, and people give her plants all the time that are dying, so she brings them back to life before giving them away, or planting them in our yard.

tstex · Jan 29, 2024

This may be the way to go and also very cost-effective in my opinion. Has anyone used this before?

One moment, please...

Here are the spec's, but for $30 bucks, you get 880 sqft of coverage...so for $60-$90 bucks, that's 1760 -2640 sqft, respectively. That should do it for me.

Based on all of your suggestions and input, lay out this fabric, then applying 1-2 inches of shredded mulch [no coloring or crap contents], then cut small holes, install plant and cover w mulch, I could live w extricating the weeds that come around the holes and other places...pull the ones near plants and hit w 30% vinegar on the ones that will come up from the grd or wind-blown. What do you think?