On 29 Jan 2003 04:58:03 -0800, (will) wrote:

We've moved into a house with a large garden that hasn't been
maintained for some years. The grass is in poor condition, and full of
weeds and couch grass. Part of our plan is to create some raised beds
and grow vegetables.

The plan is to strip the grass and import some top soil and manure to
build up the beds. Would it be OK to just invert the stripped grass ie
turn it upside down and put it back, and then dump the new topsoil on
top? Would the weeds just grow up through the new soil again, or would
this layer of old grass a few inches below the surface in any way
restrict the future growth of new plants?

Or would it be better just to dispose of the weedy old grass?

Thanks for any advice. Will.

If there's Couch grass there you'd be well advised to get rid of as
much of it as possible - even the tiniest fragment of root will spawn
a whole new plant, and it doesn't seem to matter how deep you bury the
stuff.

Problem is, the roots are brittle - and on uncultivated soil they're
damned hard to get out - so to some extent you need to cultivate the
soil to allow yourself to be able to remove the roots whole.
Potatoes don't seem to mind co-existing with Couch grass, and the
heavy cultivation of the soil loosens the roots up a treat.

I'm not sure that simply stripping the turf off and importing a lot of
topsoil will give you the best of raised beds - you really do need to
get down to the subsoil and give it a bit of a jiggle. This will help
with drainage, and in the long term increases the depth of the topsoil
- which is what raised beds are all about.

Almost as much of a problem as Couch grass is the Creeping Buttercup -
again, if you bury these blighters they eventually find their way up
to the top.

I'd be inclined to strip the turf, stash it elsewhere ( preferably
under a mulch ) for a season or so, grub up the subsoil, ( and get any
tap roots out ) work in your organic matter then pop on your imported
topsoil. Next year you'll be able to top the beds up with the heap you
made from the turf.

It's heavy work, but only needs to be done the once - after that it's
all about general weeding and maintenance.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk