Hi folks,
I've been lurking over winter (and so has my poor garden) but now it is time
for action!
I'm in Northern Melbourne, my soil is quite clayey and I'm having a
horrendous time with cooch grass which has invaded the garden beds in a
major way. I've hand pulled 70% and I'm currently forking up a bit more from
the looser soiled part but there is one area that is defying anything I can
dish out physically so I'm planning to use Roundup when I can get a windless
day.

What should I do next to get early use of that part of the bed? Cover in
plastic and "bake" it for a few weeks or better to pile with newspapers and
mulch and give it a couple of months? I would like to put in a barrier so
I'm not forever doing this but it's so backbreaking digging in our soil. The
bed is more than five metres long. I would consider raising the beds but
can't really justify buying more topsoil at the moment. I'm trying to tackle
it one area at a time so that I can at least do some planting.

Also I'm on a limited budget and was planning to get bales of hay or pea
straw to use as mulch but I've been noticing the new breeds of mulch in
Bunnings. Any of the one with nutrients and wetting agents any good? I also
spotted these large mulch bricks. You add water and get 30lt of mulch I
think. Anyone had any experience with these? I don't have access to a
trailer or large car so paying for things to be delivered adds considerably
to my costs. What is economical but effective? Is it worth contacting a tree
felling company? They would chip their cuttings I assume. Are they usually
cheap?

I also have to move some strawberry plants from the garden into pots so I
can remove the cooch. Will I get away with doing it now?

Thank you

Liz