Creating beds without cutting sod...

[rmonge00]

Ok - so here is my new idea for creating garden beds from grass without having to cut sod. I am going to spread horse manure thickly over the top and then cover with a tarp for 9 months until everything is rotten - then I am going to rototill it all in next spring.

Do you guys think this is a good idea or not?

Ryan

 

[vfem]

I would probably cover and choke the grass first for a couple of months with cardboard first before adding the manure part to rot. Doing it the first way I'm just seeing seed surviving and replanting itself when you till. :/

 

[wsmoak]

I'd smother the grass with something other than fertilizer . I didn't have much success with cardboard, I'd probably go with plastic and *bake* it until it's all dead. It'll be back soon enough anyway! -Wendy

 

[rmonge00]

Do you think I could bake it after I add manure?

 

[vfem]

Do you think I could bake it after I add manure?

What I am afraid of is the manure will act as a mulch and keep it safe and moist rather then smoother it?!

 

[rmonge00]

I see - what about if I cover it with manure, then tarps for 9 months - that should surely kill the grass, right?

 

[lesa]

I don't know if you own a snowplow? I know that is a strange question- but believe me they remove sod, with very little effort! You could just scrape the top and then add the manure....

 

[vfem]

It will kill the grass that is there... but its the seeds that will resow the grass I am saying you should be concerned about. Is that making sense? Maybe I'm saying something wrong?

 

[calendula]

Would it be possible to lay down layers of newspaper or cardboard, with the manure on top, rather than the other way around?

 

[patandchickens]

If you put manure on a tarp for 9 months, several things will happen. 1) weeds and grass roots will invade the manure and establish themselves. 2) the tarp will rot and you won't be able to get it back out. 3) and therefore you will have tiny blue streamers of tarp decorating your garden soil in perpetuity, AND larger pieces that make planting difficult and tilling hazardous. Also I would not count on it to totally kill the grass.

I have done a fair bit of this sort of thing, tried lots of different methods, here are the three no-dig-no-till methods I've found to work best for me:

1) best is to solarize the area ALL SUMMER, correctly (meaning, scalp the grass to the ground first with mower or weedwhacker, then cover with clear plastic and seal edges very well, weighing down with a few boards across the middle if necessary to keep it from flapping away); at the end of the summer, remove plastic, cover with layer of newspapers or cardboard and then top with manure, compost or mulch; then dig in or till the next spring and away you go.

2) you can skip the solarizing if you want, especially if you don't have too-awful perennial-rooted spreading weeds to deal with. Don't skip scalping it down or covering with cardboard though.

3) or, for slower but low work input, get some large discarded carpeting from the curbside on garbage day, put it upside-down on the area after scalping the grass back, ideally cover the upside-down carpeting with some mulch or straw (NOT manure or compost), then leave it alone for a year or two. It'll be really nice when you finally drag the carpet back off it; and the carpet can often be reused several times, depending on its quality.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat