The simplest way is to deliniate the area you wish to convert (I use garden
hose to play with the shape until it looks good) and then spray it with
Roundup. After 10 days or so, you can plant right in wherever you wish and
mulch/edge the space.

Dave

"GSHATTERHAND" wrote in message
...
I need help with a very basic project. Our new cedar fence was finally
finished
Saturday, nine weeks after we ordered it and 4 weeks past passed the
promised
completion date. This has created a perfect spot for a flower bed along
the
fence.

But how do I turn the strip along the fence, which is now grass, into the
nicely cultivated soil of a flower bed?

I have to use basic garden tools, no power tools. Can I just turn the soil
over
with a shovel, burying the grass, and then break up the soil? Will the
grass
die under the soil or grow back? (The grass that was under the piles of
soil
from the fence post holes sure seems dead after only a week.)

Or must I somehow kill or remove the grass first, before turning the soil?
Removing the grass without also taking a lot of top soil seems almost
impossible. Any advice on this would be appreciated.