SteveM wrote in message ws.com...
Thanks to everyone fo the replies.

The light elimination method sounds interesting but being a newbie I'm
all excited and keen to get on with planting so I might limit that to
part of the plot and try the method suggested by Alan and Joan, (cut
the grass short, mulch, till and weed as you go).


hello
just a word of warning. I think this is a good approach, but you must
make sure the soil is easy to dig, so you can easily pull up weeds as
they arrive (hire a rotivator when the soil is nice and dry if you
must). And you must be very thorough. It will be somewhat overwhelming
all those weeds that keep popping up over the springtime. So regular
weedings are a must.
unless you are sure you can till the whole 250sqm every week or so i
would cover half in plastic/carpet/whateveryoucangetyourhandson mulch
(or at least leave as grass - in preference of bindweed and other
serious nasties) until you get the other half under control.
sarah