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Tue, Mar 15, 11 at 16:16
| I've been gardening the basics for a few years... but with two little kids, it's basically been 'put it in the ground - water and pray'. ;) I'm hoping to be able to spend more time in our garden this year and would like to expand. Our current garden is about 30 X 8. (in ground garden). I might extend it to 60 X 8. That said - I have some questions...
As I said, the 30 X 8 garden is basically 'dirt'... with some bags of top soil, compost, etc. mixed in over the years. It was also tilled last year. So - - what would you recommend? We have had an abundance of weeds... I know, you can't get rid of all of them... but - if you were to build a garden from 'dirt'... what would your layers be? It seems like I've read that I should do: 4-6 sheets of wet newspaper
...or do I have it wrong? I live in the south Chicago suburbs and my house was built about 5 years ago on what used to be old farmland. Thanks in advance! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Is it a veggie or ornamental garden? I wouldn't use bark chip on a veggie garden; aside from just deing a pain, it's almost imossible not to bury what is basically chunks of carbon amongst your plants, starving them of nitrogen. In the veggie garden, I use thick as I can mulch of anything soft-ish. Pea straw mixed with grass clippings is good. I've never sheet-mulched a productive garden, but have done pretty much what you ask about for killing a lawn. I used a mix of boxes and paper. If you can, boxes are much, much easier. Just make sure everything has major overlaps. I don't compost my ornamental garden, I only grow really tough plants with a lot of fresh tree chip as mulch. After realising I was being WAY too stingy with mulch, I basically don't weed. I'm lucky though, my only pernicious weed is oxalis, so different rules may apply... Not sure what you mean by "black tarp", but I avoid anything that costs lots of money and/or won't eventually break down. |
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- Posted by darth_weeder z7 NY (My Page) on Thu, Mar 17, 11 at 16:13
| as feijoas asked: veggie or ornamental? As he stated I would leave the bark chips for the latter and I wouldn't use anything in either garden that wouldn't eventually breakdown and become part of the soil. Mulch heavily and I'm sure you will be pleased with the results. |
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| When used as mulch, layed on the soils surface and not mixed into the soil, wood chips will not "rob" the soil of Nitrogen, however, shredded leaves are a better mulch. The newspaper does not need to be wet prior to laying it in place, I find wet peper difficult to handle and it tends to tear apart. I would not use a tarp, or any other impervious type of material because those things tend to keep rain water from getting to the soil and the plants and they can also keep air from the soil. Otherwise your plans look pretty good. |
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- Posted by sylviatexas z8a Tx (My Page) on Fri, Mar 18, 11 at 12:41
| I thought it was gonna be about hens... |
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