Is is necessary to get the whole weed root? That depends on the weed. Most
annual weeds will die if you pull their tops, but perennial weeds will often
come back from the root. Around here most perennial weeds are thistles or
prickly, so maybe that could be your rule. Round-up will kill almost all of
the weeds totally.

But you seem to have the idea that you can eliminate weeds once forever.
Gardening involves removing weeds all the time. They keep coming back. You
just keep them under control by pulling them when they get too big or
numerous.

Tilling is probably advisable. Plant roots need air. Tilling opens the
soil and breaks up the lumps so that air can get to the roots. It has other
benefits too. You don't need to till, but your plants will grow much better
if you do. If you use Round-up, don't till right away. Wait a few days for
the Round-up to get into the roots.

"Santos D. Santiago" wrote in message
...
Oops! I should have put that in the thread. They are all rectangular
beds
the largest bed is about 7ft wide and 1ft long. The other two are 5ft
wide
and 1ft long. Another thing I should have mentioned is that I prefer
getting these beds ready and planted this summer (if it's possible of
course). Now, if pulling the weeds manually I'm assuming I would have to
dig into the weed to get the whole root correct? How about the grass?

Ok, last question for now, I promise ). If I pull all this out manually
is there a need for tilling afterwards?


"Pam - gardengal" wrote in message
news:u3RLc.162461$XM6.45064@attbi_s53...

"Santos D. Santiago" wrote in message
...
Hello All,

I have a very novice question. I have three flower beds in my house.
Right
now they are in very bad shape, they don't have any flowers only weeds
and
grass. I want to resurrect these flower beds if you will. My
question
is
what is the best method to getting rid of the grass/weeds and getting
the
beds ready for planting. I am aware that I will have to use a tiller
to
get
the soil nice and ready but do I have to kill the grass first
w/Roundup
lets
say? If so how long do I have to wait before I till the ground and
plant?

I also would like to know what is the best thing to do to prevent
grass
&
weeds from growing there again. Should I put tons of mulch, fabric?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

--
SDSantiago
Milwaukee, WI

Whether or not you elect to use a tiller and/or apply something like
RoundUp
should depend on how large an area you are discussing. Even after
applying
a
nonspecific herbicide like RoundUp to kill the current vegetation,
tilling
will expose zillions of viable weed seeds which will simply take the
place
of the current ones. Personally, if the beds are not huge, I'd elect to
manually remove the weeds and grasses or, if you have the luxury of
time,
cover them with a thick layer of moistened newspaper topped with a good
compost to smother them. In 6 months (or less), you will have a
relatively
weed-free area that has been significantly enriched with organic matter
that
you can just dig under, rake level and plant.

Weeds will always reappear - it's the nature of the beast. Landscape
fabric
is not a good long-term solution and it makes planting difficult. A
good
layer of mulch will help reduce weed development plus enrich the soil,
but
it will need to reapplied periodically. My choice is to plant heavily -
dense plantings tend to shade out weeds (or make them significantly less
visible) and I mulch in late fall after clean up to keep weeds at a
minimum
during the off season. The only places weeds are a problem in my garden
are
in newly planted areas where the plants have not yet filled in fully.

pam - gardengal