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» Willy World » Gardening Reference » Gardening in 2005 » Making planting beds...how do I get rid of the lawn?

Author Garden: Making planting beds...how do I get rid of the lawn? Nick F. Garden Helper Member # 4228 posted                       I need to get rid of parts of my Bermudagrass lawn to make room for mixed beds of perennials and annuals. Is there an easy way to remove the grass? I've been carving it out with a shovel and filling up the trash can with the top 3" or 4" of grass and top soil and I'm not sure this is the greatest idea ever. It sure isn't the easiest. Thanks! * * * * Then it got weird. Plants: 13 | From: Bastrop, TX | Registered: Dec 2004  |  Seeded: 70.113.56.201 Longy Garden Pro! Member # 3641 posted                       You are throwing out topsoil and organic matter with the lawn Nick. Not a great plan. There are a few things you could do. The easiest being to spray the area with glyphosate and waiting a month or so for the grass to die then just digging over the area, do the soil improvements you need to and plant away. Alternatively, and my preference, mow the lawn very short, sprinkle it with pelletised chicken manure and bury the lot (after a good watering) with 10 sheets thick of newspaper (or cardboard).Don't leave any gaps. Then mulch the lot. Heavily. Water again well. The grass will die in a few weeks because of lack of light. It will add organic matter to the soil and critters will break down the paper and do your digging for you. I've made all my gardens this way, a few needed further additions of organic soil and compost as well as some lime but the effort was minimal generally. This is a basic idea of a widely used concept and there is heaps of info available on "no dig" gardens. Once you've got the concept understood, you can adapt it to your situation. Oh BTW. Don't use carpet to kill the grass. Plants: 1184 | From: East Coast | Registered: Sep 2004  |  Seeded: 204.209.24.2 njoynit Garden Pro! Member # 1345 posted                       I dug my 40 ft bed by hand.I recomend a square shovel for that shapeing bit.I placed my grass and stuff in holes& barespots in yard& keept those watered. When I read you "trashed up" your removals. My compost pile screamed. when digging...and back starts to hurt...do something else in yard...then go back. * * * * I will age ungracefully until I become an old woman in a small garden..doing whatever the Hell I want! http://community.webshots.com/user/njoynit03 http://community.webshots.com/user/njoynit http://photos.yahoo.com/njoynit03 Plants: 2209 | From: SE TX`in the yard somewhere most likely | Registered: Jul 2003  |  Seeded: 63.185.96.14 Nick F. Garden Helper Member # 4228 posted                       Thanks! njoynit-Yeah, I'm not thrilled about throwing the grass out. But I was concerned about putting turfgrass and topsoil with years' worth of weed-n-feed and who-knows-what-else into the compost. Maybe there isn't anything to worry about there... Longy-I think I'm gonna do your preferred idea, except I'll till before putting down the newspaper because the soil here is very heavy clay with just a hint of construction debris. Thanks again. * * * * Then it got weird. Plants: 13 | From: Bastrop, TX | Registered: Dec 2004  |  Seeded: 70.113.56.201 duckie Garden Pro! Member # 2067 posted                       Hi Nick, I used to live in Ok. I really hated that clay soil.Adding gypsum helped a lot. I agree with you.I wouldn't add all those chems to my compost pile. * * * * Plants: 1042 | From: Missouri | Registered: Mar 2004  |  Seeded: 69.27.199.15 mike57 Super Gardener Member # 4181 posted                       hay you might try this.take a can of spray paint and paint the shape of the flower bed. then spray round up inside the shape.give it abought a week to kill the grass. then just till up the area.wait a week or two then spray any weeds that come back up from seed add leaves and compost till again then landscape your edgeing of the bed. then your ready to plant. this works quiet well.good luck on your new flower bed.your friend in gardening.mike57 * * * * No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent. Plants: 722 | From: alabama | Registered: Nov 2004  |  Seeded: 216.170.147.105 suzydaze Garden Pro! Member # 3229 posted                       put a little sing up that says free grass squares. I've moved twice into homes with a bare lawn and would have loved to have gotten good grass give to me. Actually the first one I did, a guy tearing a house down cut the grass in blocks and told me I could have it. They were turning the lot back into a field, just wish I'd got there sooner before he cut and removed the bushes. * * * * I try to take one day at a time -- but sometimes several days attack me at once. -Jennifer Unlimited- Plants: 1952 | From: Arkansas | Registered: Aug 2004  |  Seeded: 65.68.22.133 Nick F. Garden Helper Member # 4228 posted                       Thanks for the help! I ended up using the sod I dug up to level out low parts of my front yard. I've got the edging in right now and I want to till a couple more times to get up more construction debris and concrete before I put the landscape fabric and mulch down. Soon...the fun part: Picking the Plants! And I'll get around to putting up the pics...eventually... * * * * Then it got weird. Plants: 13 | From: Bastrop, TX | Registered: Dec 2004  |  Seeded: 70.113.56.201

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