If you know what kind of turf this is, the answer will be more accurate. If
it's coming up like carpet, it is probably St. Augustine or Zoysia sod. When I
convert turf to a bed I mow it as low as the mower will allow, and I fully water
it 2 nights before I am going to work it. In Hawaii you don't have to water,
as it rains there almost daily, no?

Anyway, you will need a thin tine fork. Stick that into the sod and bring it up
and the soil will come with. I sit there and pry apart the roots and separate
the soil from the clump. That's painstaking, but you will have beautiful soil.
The chunks which don't break easily I push through a sieve I made from hardware
cloth and an artists stretcher frame...cheap.

Then I add whatever amendments of compost, lavasand, basalt, greensand, etc.

I would not suggest using any chemical method to get rid of turf as I can see
others have. It's nice to get in the soil and feel around. There is a great
sense of accomplishment and when the plants feed you, you know exactly what they
are growing in.

Victoria

On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 19:43:53 GMT, opined:

My little lady and I finally got out of apartment living to buy a
little condo with about 500 square feet of grass that we'd like to
turn into a vedgie garden. So.. .I went out and got a shovel, a hoe
and a pickaxe. We weeded out what wasn't grass and set to work
breaking up the sod.

Now, we live in Hawaii so the sod is thick, thick, thick. So thick,
in fact, when I pull a chunk out and examine the cross-section, it's
hard to decide where grass+air ends and roots+soil starts. It's
coming up like carpet.

How do I break this up to be ready for vedgies?

Thanks in advance.