Turning grass into flower beds. How do you do it?

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Author Message   Junglebug  Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 05:32 pm EST :    I have chemically killed off a bunch of grass in my backyard for planting beds. The grass is dead but now I'm wondering if i can just put dirt and grass clippings and well-composted material on top of the dead grass to sit all this summer. Then plant next summer OR idealy plant some things- this fall. Do I need to pull up all that dead grass? The reason I killed it is so I wouldn't have to dig it up, but I want to do this right. I have a little roto-tiller that I'm betting will mix things up nicely too. How would you do it? Junglebug - Idaho, Zone "5-6"   Junglebug  Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 - 12:14 am EST :    "Anybody anybody?" - (dry eye commercial guy) Junglebug - Idaho, Zone "5-6"   Periwinkle  Supporting Member My Favorite Photo My Weather My Garden My Time Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 - 06:46 am EST :    Have you thought of doing a lasagna garden? You layer ingredients (like you do the food)--I've create several beds this way and I don't think it can be beat. I like the idea that not only are you creating new, rich soil but you're recycling materials too. http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf582744.tip.html Good luck & let us know what you use. Denise--Northern Wisconsin, Z3b   Garden_spider  Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 - 10:57 am EST :    I've always used the digging method, but I don't really have lawn . . . it's more like a sheep meadow gone amuck. Nothing short of a flame thrower will kill those grasses and weeds. WI'd certainly give the "lasagna garden" method a try. Garden_spider - Washington, Zone "USDA z7"   Junglebug  Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 - 02:06 pm EST :    i lie the lasagna layer idea. i just worry about those grass roots still being there. I"ll try roto tilling it first. thanks! :) Junglebug - Idaho, Zone "5-6"   Loretta  Supporting Member Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 - 02:07 pm EST :    I think you can do it. If the grass is a thick mat, maybe you might want to break it up but plenty of people have success with lasagna style gardening. Loretta - NJ, Zone "6"   Stephie  Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 - 05:40 pm EST :    I have done the same as you and what generally happens is that the roots are now dead and much easier to "cut" turf, then turn it over but when I did it this way, I needed the year for it to compost. Made good gardens though. Oh and I also had put raw manure on plus the tarps because it takes that long for the manure to "cook". Now I am not into flower beds anymore and turning them into shrub and tree spaces now. Lots less work and I have trees that bloom most of the year (one after the other so-to-speak)...plus fragrances. Gardeners are NEVER standing still!!!! Stephie   Weather  My Weather Posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 04:00 pm EST :    Junglebug I'm glad that you brought this up. I have a sunny part of the yard all planned for flowers. But great ideas require work and I'm only 1/4 of the way through digging up zoyzia grass. And now the exposed clay soil forms a 2 day lake after a good rain. sigh... Someone said that I should sell the zoyzia plugs. I may just let it dry and then put it in a chipper for compost -- like I read somewhere else in this forum. For the vegetable garden I'll try the lasagna method. I've heard of gardeners using rugs to cover lawn but didn't want to waste a good rug. So I tried covering the lawn with black trash bags. Not all experiments are successful ;-). Only productive aspect of that was the questions from neighbors. I was the eccentric but now I'm the neighborhood trash. Weather - Missouri, Zone "5 / 6"   Karma  Supporting Member My Garden Posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 05:16 pm EST :    If you have sprayed Round up a couple of times in a couple week period you should be fine. We just covered with newsprint and added more compost and soil to the top and covered with plastic over the winter months. You should be fine doing it this time of year. You can see what we did in my garden, brugmansia garden. Which should be hosta now? ; ) Using the black plastic is great to cover area during the winter months!! Karma - PNW, Zone "Z-Denial "   Studdlygoof  Posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 11:48 pm EST :    Newspaper works great too if you can find some way to anchor it down. I lay 2x4's across them to hold it down and then just till the newspaper right into the bed. Helps get rid of that constant surge of newspaper junk mail I get Studdlygoof - Maryland, Zone "Z-7"   Gardenbug  Supporting Member Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 09:23 am EST :    I was reluctant to rototill grasses and sod because chopping up bindweed, creeping charlie and twitch grass roots just produces MORE! I loathe plastic sheeting under mulch as well and refuse to use it. I have removed many many yards of the stuff from former owners of our property. What a pain that was with all the roots enmeshed in it!!! I have used first cardboard, then 10 or so sheets of newsprint (minus any glossy colored ads) and hosed it down to prevent the wind blowing things around. The I either put mulch down for pathways or layers of compost or bagged top soil for planting. I can then plant right away. There are many Google sites for lasagna gardening and books from the library as well. Gardenbug - Ontario, Zone "4/5"   Oldiebutgoodie  Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 09:40 am EST :    Did your method rid you of bindweed, Gardenbug? I have a terrible infestation of it, due, in no small part, to the fact that my husband loves his tiller. I can't get him to understand that he is actually propagating the stuff by cutting the roots up into smaller pieces. Although I am very much against using chemical solutions, I even tried Roundup, without much success. Oldiebutgoodie - Ontario, Zone "5"   Treehugger  My Garden Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 11:26 am EST :    "I have used first cardboard, then 10 or so sheets of newsprint (minus any glossy colored ads) and hosed it down to prevent the wind blowing things around. The I either put mulch down for pathways or layers of compost or bagged top soil for planting. I can then plant right away." Gardenbug, this is what I want to do but I'm worried that the roots of the new plants will not be able to penetrate cardboard this summer and come next winter, they'll get killed off from not being deep enough. Do you think that's possible? Treehugger - NW Ontario, Zone "3a"   Karma  Supporting Member My Garden Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 02:03 pm EST :    Gardenbug, I agree with you on the landscape cloth under mulch, we only use it in the beds where we will have pots sitting on it. Bare areas need to be covered if you are sitting out pots in at area where you don't want to fight weeds. We use the heavy 8mm black plastic to cover not only the garden area and they whole back beds when they are not in use to control all weeds. I guess I'm going to have to look up those two grasses as I don't have them here?? I spray weed b gone in my grass area so weeds don't have a chance?? Karma - PNW, Zone "Z-Denial "   Gardenbug  Supporting Member Posted on Friday, May 02, 2008 - 01:14 pm EST :    About bindweed. My theory is that you never get rid of it, that the world is made up of three plants...one enormous bindweed, one creeping charlie and one twitch grass. Life is constant battle with them and the critters. So I just accept that. As to the cardboard, I would use it, definitely! Then add the layers of newsprint, then mound on enormous quantities of compost and topsoil. Make it a meter high! It will settle lower as the season moves on. Water it generously too! After you plant, use a good natural colored mulch. ( a bias of mine I'm afraid) In the past, I used roundup on the sod before starting the layers of cardboard, newspaper and soil. But I really have a hate relationship with Monsanto so don't use it at all now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundup Gardenbug - Ontario, Zone "4/5"   Stephie  Posted on Friday, May 02, 2008 - 04:20 pm EST :    If you live in a rural area you could put a portable chicken coop where you want your garden...chickens will eat, scratch and destroy ALL greenery to death, then poop on it giving it valuable fertlizer. Stephie

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