Hi all

I'm a new gardner so please excuse my ignorance in all things green...

My back garden was littered with 4' tall thistles and lots of other weeds,
dandelions, grass etc which we pulled out, trying to remove all the roots at
the same time.

I asked a question in the group previously, regarding the best way to
remove the roots that had grown in a different part of the garden under a
membrane, and was advised to pull them out by hand , which we have done to
the best of our ability, and have also done the same in the non membrane
current area.

Since then I have levelled the area taking upto 12" out, and buried in the
soil were lots more roots. Obviously while levelling , I've tried my best to
remove these roots. But if I've been finding them up to 12" deep, I guess
there must be lots more that I might have missed.

Ultimately I am going to lay turf on top, but before I do so, I want to try
reduce any future weed problems. So my questions is...

Will the turf act as a weed suppressant. Will these roots buried up to 12"
deep eventually grow through the turf. If so is there any poison I can use.
It must be able to penetrate the soil to get to the roots, be harmless to
dogs, and hopefully not poison the worms (and birds that keep eating them).
I'm in no hurry to lay the turf, so I don't mind waiting for any treatment
to become inactive.

Or, (as I suspect might be the answer) do I have to keep digging and
turning the soil until I've removed all the roots.

thanks in advance

Andy