I have a small patch of lawn that is full of Bermuda grass that I would like to convert into a planting area for ornamental grasses, shrubs, etc. The soil in this area is really heavy with lots of clay, and doesn't really strike me as being optimum for a new bed.

My question is, do you think the method of simply covering the area with newspaper/cardboard, and then organic material is adequate to a) kill the bermuda grass, and b) make the soil suitable for plantings? I've heard there are some advantages to a no-till approach (see this article on Gardenweb titled Creating a New Bed Without Tilling at http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/soil/2002041720018213.html)

The alternative is to simply use Round-up on the Bermuda, and till in some organic material or amendment to ensure the ground is suitable, and to make sure the organic material gets down below the surface of the bed.

ANY thoughts or experience here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

check out our bale garden presentation:

len

If you want, top with wheat straw from a bale, like Len uses. Gives a nice look to the area, holds all those leaves in the new area too. Water occasionally if no rain.

HTH, Rosie

Not only are you going to need Roundup to get rid of Bermuda grass, it's very likely going to take more than one application to do the job. Bermuda grass is just pure concentrated evil when it starts spreading in your flower beds. Particularly, here in the deep south where it really likes the climate. Add in heavy clay soil, and digging the stuff out just gets harder. You definitely want to nuke the Bermuda grass first, before you do anything else.

After that, with a new bed, you definitely want to add organic matter. I've tilled it in before and I've just put it on the surface and let the worms drag it down farther before. Both ways work. The worms are a bit slower.

If you somehow miss some of the Bermuda grass and you have to start digging for it, then having tilled in a lot of organic matter will come in handy. Clay with lots of organic matter incorporated becomes much easier to dig in.

The biggest warning about tilling organic matter into clay is that you absolutely don't want to do it when the clay is wet. Talk about making bricks. Yeesh.

An important consideration that you didn't mention is plant selection. You aren't going to turn your heavy clay into ideal soil right away, so pick plants that like what you already have.

Allow me to make a couple of suggestions. Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' (a type of Blackeyed Susan) likes heat, blaring sun, and heavy clay. Once it settles in and starts spreading, it tolerates drought well, which has been important in our area the last couple of summers. It also blooms like crazy in the hottest part of summer. It gets pretty tall and looks good in a mass planting.

I think all that yellow looks good with purple, so here's my idea of a good combo for a beginner gardener in our climate. Get some really big flowerpots and plant some of the tall variety of Ruellia (Mexican Petunias) in them. Place a few pots of Ruellia in the center of the bed and surround them with the Rudbeckia.

Please take me seriously when I say that you don't want to plant Ruellia in the ground, because in our climate it will spread fast enough to take over the world.

So, in the worst heat of summer, what you end up with are the pots of tall dark green Ruellia which are constantly covered in purple blooms that hummingbirds love, surrounded by a sea of yellow blooming Rudbeckia.

Pretty and pretty much bulletproof.

Also, does anyone have a suggestion about how to keep the Bermuda out of this bed, since it sits next to a neighbor's lawn which has Bermuda right next to it?

HTH, Rosie

So note though the proximity to the neighbor's greener grass (in front of the faded fence, behind the bush). His grass has Bermuda in it, and will be adjacent to my new bed. I'm thinking I need to put a border of some kind between my bed and his grass, but I assume the Bermuda will run under any modest border I might use (e.g. landscape edging, bricks/pavers, etc...).

The more potting soil that fits in the pot, the less often you'll have to water. Adding in some of those water absorbing polymer crystals to the pot before you plant will also save you from having to water the pots as frequently later.

If I had it to do over, I might even buy some of those lightweight faux clay pots that don't dry out in the blazing sun quite so fast.

Interestingly, when I moved one of my pots, I discovered that over the years the Ruellia had rooted into the ground through the drainage holes. As far as I can tell it hasn't made any attempt to spread out into the surrounding bed through those holes.

It just seems to have kept me from needing to water the pots as often.

If you want to put down a barrier that will stop Bermuda grass from growing from your neighbor's yard back into your new bed, it's quite a little undertaking.

Rosiew has already mentioned digging and leaving a trench around the bed so it can't tunnel it's way underground into the bed without you noticing it growing across the trench.

Another option which is a lot of work up front and then less work later is to place a wall underground to act as a barrier to keep the Bermuda grass out. Google for "Bamboo Barrier" and you'll find the sort of durable plastic products you would need to be successful.

Thankfully, the shortest, thinnest, cheapest, material sold to be used as a bamboo barrier should be more than sufficient to keep Bermuda grass at bay.

I have Bermuda grass and rocky, nasty, clay soil that's very low in organic matter in some areas. I did not kill the Bermuda grass first. I just put cardboard on top and layered with organic materials. After a few months, the grass was dead and I had worms doing all the work.

I didn't till, didn't double dig. Actually, I can't till without hurting myself, because the clay is so bad.

Now, It's full of worms and organic matter and the clay is workable. The only place where the Bermuda survived is where there wasn't enough overlap between the sheets of cardboard.

My last dose of Round-up was, let's say, more than the recommended strength, so I plan to put cardboard/etc. down this weekend to start the process. My hope is I can begin planting in late October/November (not an uncommon time to plant here in Central Texas).

I have found Bermuda rhizomes up to a foot deep in heavy clay, and probably the only reason I haven't found them deeper than that is that I haven't dug that deep.

Roundup will not kill it. The top dies, and the roots re-sprout after the Roundup decays away.

I suggest the only way to keep it out is a sunken barrier like a sheet of galvanized steel or plastic lumber, at least a foot deep.

Do not put a garden bed next to Bermuda without planning and malice aforethought!

That's my experience 'from the trenches'.

Without a functional EPSP synthase enzyme, the plant can no longer make the amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan or any other compounds that use this pathway. Since plants must synthesize all of the amino acids that they need for protein production, inhibition of EPSP synthase by glyphosate causes the plant cells to starve for amino acids. All plants and bacteria use EPSP synthase to make aromatic amino acids, so all plants and bacteria are sensitive to RoundUp. [Image of EPSP Synthase]

Glyphosate is quickly absorbed by leaves and shoots of plants. Once absorbed into the leaves, glyphosate cannot be broken down. The glyphosate moves quickly through the plant and accumulates in areas of active growth called meristems. Spraying a plant with RoundUp results in a lack of protein synthesis in that plant. Without amino acids, Plants stop growing. Within a week or so, many plant tissues and parts slowly degrade due to lack of proteins. Death of the weed ultimately results from lack of nutrients and dehydration a week or so later."

The article saying it breaks down defense mechanisms to kill the plant seems to be something rather original.

Anyway, I mowed this space, sprayed Roundup twice (a week apart), and after a few weeks when the dead grass was really dry, I burned it. This was late fall.

In Spring I planted grass seed. The Bermuda came up amongst it and today it looks just like the surrounding lawn, fescue and Bermuda.

I don't know how the roots could survive the chemical onslaught that novascapes describes, but it seems like it can.

I read the other day that ethylene dibromide fumigant is used at golf courses to kill Bermuda, and I might have look into that. I'd have to treat the entire veggie garden and surrounding lawn, several hundred square ft. at least. I don't know how long it would be out of commission, and I'd probably miss something anyway.

I'm not pessimistic or anything. :-D