I spent a good chunk of time this past weekend putting in these two new 8 ft x 4 ft beds. In my opinion, the worst part in starting a new garden is removing the sod, especially if you're doing it by hand and with a garden fork like I did. I tried to shake off as much soil as I could from the roots but since the ground was pretty wet, I still lost a lot of top soil, which I will have to replace.
In one bed, I interplanted my artichokes, more lettuce and leeks. To the right are my ground cherries, which have been flowering for some time now but are still too small to set fruit.
This is pretty much it for the side garden. I don't see myself adding any more beds. Now I need to focus on smothering away all of the grass you see here.
Finally, as I mentioned earlier, I transplanted 25 asparagus crowns in the middle section above. I should have spaced the crown MUCH farther apart, but frankly, I just don't have the space to adequately accommodate them. Also, I will be expanding this plot by another 100 sq ft to the right. Since I refuse to remove that much sod, I will have to find a more passive way to kill off all of that grass.
If you aren't in a big hurry to expand that asparagus bed you could cover the grass with cardboard/newspaper until the grass dies then turn it over. If you end up digging up the sod and don't want to lose the soil put the sod in a pile and let it sit. In a few months the grass will have rotted so you can put it back in the garden.
ReplyDeleteGarden On, DaBeardedOne
Your garden looks lovely. Did you make the whitish plastic covers? Are you planting potatoes in the rainbow tubs? What are the coffee cans for?
ReplyDeleteNothing kills my grass faster than forgetting to move a weeding tub. How about a sheet of plywood?
When I was making my garden beds, I just ploughed in all the top soil, together with grass and weeds. Now I have very weedy soil. But it was the fastest and easiest way to start a garden.
ReplyDeleteNow I would probably cover the area with cardboard for a few months, if there is time.
The previous comments are great about using paper products to smother grass. I've also used black plastic to kill weeds. If left on for a summer, it will also kill weed seeds to anywhere from 1/4" to 1" depending on how strong the sun is.
ReplyDeleteWhen you put in a new garden space, you could just build your frame, put it on the lawn, cover the grass with newspaper, cover the newspaper with mixed soil and compost, plant your crop.
Have you ever read Ruth Stout? She had a series of books on no-till gardening. Some great old time ideas for a garden!
Susan
susan-chicdaisy.blogspot.com
Wow, that's alot of hand-digging, for me too sod removal is the worst part of any new project. I agree with DaBeardedOne - smother with cardboard! I did my last 4 beds this way, and I found that since it's a raised bed that is then filled with soil, the sun cannot reach that sod to regrow. When I did mine last year, I was able to dig in and plant only a month later, and when I did, the cardboard was soft and chock full of worms! I read that worms love cardboard, so that has the added benefit of attracting them to start decomposing that top layer of sod under the cardboard, just make sure to keep the area watered to assist with the decomposition. good luck! Everything looks fantastic, although I am sure you are sore!
ReplyDeleteYup, I am going with the cardboard too. It works well as a weed/grass barrier and I have found the worms to dig it as well like Erin said.
ReplyDeleteRemoving sod is difficult work. One way to preserve your soil is to loosen clumps with a digging fork or shovel. Lift the clumps up and turn them, but allow the sun to dry out the soil a bit. Then you can go back and shake out the soil from the clump.
ReplyDeleteI have also expanded my garden by using cardboard. Most recently, I layered a 2-foot section on the edge of the garden with cardboard then placed several heavy pots on top. I covered the cardboard around the pots with mulch so it looked cleaner. The following year the grass was dead and the soil was easily cultivated for new planting. This is an easy method if you want to expand for next year.
Your beds look beautiful, Thomas. Your hard work will pay off soon with a bountiful harvest.
I agree with others. Cardboard is so easy. I remember removing sod. I did smother it with leaves over the winter first so it was on its way out, but it was still a pain. I also shook out dirt, but then composted the rest and it got added back in later.
ReplyDeleteSo industrious ! Great job, will be wonderful, good luck & take care , Gina
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the others. When starting a new bed, I place several layers of paper over the sod, hose it down and then add soil & compost on top of it. It is a lot less work!
ReplyDeleteYour beds look great and God bless you & your aching back for doing all of that hard work.
Dang, Thomas - before long you won't have any grass to mow. Ha!
ReplyDeleteGardens are looking great. You called this the side garden, is there another garden you're hiding?
ReplyDeleteI used cardboard in my raised beds, and the grass grew up the sides in the bed next to the boards. I even put the cardboard under the timber. So in my 6 new beds, 1 for strawberries, 1 for asparagus, 4 for raspberries and blue berries, I bit the bullet and removed the sod. I agree it is the worst job!!!! I used a sod cutter and made 10 inch squares then used a pick axe to get that sod out, it made it a lot easier than a shovel, I let the sod dry a bit and shook some of the top soil back but I did have to add a lot of new top soil. Good luck with your new beds.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, that looks like a ton of work. The cardboard trick usually works really well unless you have grass that runs, like bermuda grass. Thick layers of newspaper also work really well.
ReplyDeleteI really envy all that lovely flat space that you have and no deer . . .
Thomas, you are well on your way to a really wonderful productive garden, great work!
Don't do as I do... Spare your back and smother !
ReplyDeleteThe new beds look great and I am sure you will love having the additional planting space. I have grass in my walkways because most of my side garden area was lawn previously too. I have yet to smother them out and have chosen instead to just keep it tidy by using a weed whacker periodically. I want to smother it out and do something different in the future but cardboard in walkways is awkward and actually slick (even with mulch on top) and mulching on top is expensive as I do not have a free source available to me that will work properly. Regardless, I do need to do something with it as doing the weed trimming takes a 2 hour time commitment (to do the whole garden) every month and that is really more than I want to give.
ReplyDeleteWow, Thomas !!! What a great looking garden !! And to think this time last year it was all still a dream. Hard to imagine. Way to go!!
ReplyDelete