"George.com" wrote in message
...
"Ima Googler" wrote in message
Thanks for the replies everyone! (well, almost everyone ;-)

I got my four 4X4 beds built today... I started digging out all the
grass and never realized how much work that was going to be. LOL
Does the grass have to be dug out or can I just place my brown paper
bags and newspaper directly over the grass? If digging it out will
help prevent weeds/grass from coming up then I'll do it, but I think
some people just leave it the way it is.

If it matters, the beds are 12" deep.

A good pictorial website for building a raised garden is here
http://www.fbga.net/Lasagna%20gardening%202004.htm

You will note they tip any old 'rubbish' in and are quite happy doing so.
I
myself would not worry about peat moss or lime. I basically get what I can
for free and use that. Whether you want to add fertiliser or not is your
call, I prefer using free animal poop. If you put the garden together over
a
day or 2 you will need a top layer of soil or good compost. If you throw
things in over a space of months don't bother as the stuff will break down
and likely create a good growing medium when it comes time to plant. If
you
go scavaging you need not spend a $ at all. Call by your local green
grocer
and grab their cast of veges. Scour local fields for spoiled hay (some
******* nabbed my supply I had been slowly whittling away so be quick).
Hit
up local cafes for their waste coffee grounds. Start a compost bin at work
for left over lunches and shredded paper. Asked neighbours for grass
clippings or dead leaves. Over here local stables put their stable
scrapings
in bags on the road side, free to take and full of horse poop. Local
mushroom farms may give away mushroom compost. By the time you have bunged
all of that in a 300 mill garden the grass will likely give up, especially
if you cover it with thick cardboard (sourced free from an appliance store
cardboard bin) rather than newspaper.

Len

on your blog (building the garden part 2) you noted
"now that i have been told not to use that recycled stuff from the dump"
what did you get from the dump and what was wrong with it?

I note you planted your garden (the small craters) after mulching it. It
seems you transplant pre grown plants rather than seed into the mushroom
compost? If seeds, I take it you have not mulched over the seeds.

Are you able to post a close up of the planting itself?

rob

ps I made the mistake of stumbling over your picture on your website. Don't
worry mind, I am feeling better now. You look a little like John Howard with
hair and a beard.