On Sat, 17 Nov 2007 22:32:56 -0600, Hettie®
wrote:

I expanded my front flowering bed about two feet. I used my tiller,
tilled through it once, then added compost and lots of old potting soil
that had a lot of peat in it (was out of peat), and tilled again, also
used the edger. Then I planted my spring bulbs, daffodils, tulips,
crocus, muscari.

Now new grass is growing up through the chicken wire in the new area. I
covered everything with that but the daffs, anemones, and muscari to
keep the squirrels and chipmunks when they come out of hibernation from
digging them up.

Am I just going to have to pull it up, little clump by clump? I was
thinking after the bulbs have bloomed in spring, foliage died and been
given a spring feeding to cover that part with heavy black plastic until
the next spring if I can't get it under control. It's an area I have
had to water constantly, so I think maybe the plastic wouldn't trap too
much moisture that could rot the bulbs but am not sure about that.

Any better ideas? I'm mad at myself for not at least trying stripping
off the sod first and tilling it all up instead, and it made for tough
going combined with tree roots from my clump of birches nearby. It has
been covered with an old wide board for a border for two years now until
I could figure out what I want to do about a more pleasing, more
permanent border and get around to doing it.

I would like to be able to remove the chicken wire at some point, but am
afraid if I don't, the critters will just dig them up in a subsequent
year. I read that bulbs will grow through the chicken wire and flower.
I could cover it with a layer of topsoil, but that won't solve the
grass problem. Right now, it's just on the surface secured with
u-shaped landscape pins.


Would a soap based spray work? Safer brands have such stuff.
Strictly kills by drying out what it gets on.