"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article , Charlie wrote:

On Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:27:51 -0700, Billy
wrote:

In article , Charlie wrote:

On Thu, 6 Aug 2009 13:58:38 +1000, "FarmI" ask@itshall be given
wrote:

"George.com" wrote in message news:h5bfs1

I'd not bother with the plastic and instead cover the area with
cardboard
or old felt carpet underlay. Whatever comes free and second hand. A
carpet
layer will often have second hand hessian underlay they are happy
to
part
with for free.

Coffee grounds, food scraps, leaves, grass clippings. Chuck it all
on
top
of the hessian or cardboard and leave for a few months & you have a
garden.

I think this system works even better if you chuck all thos things
under
the
free top layer. I like to let the worms get at it and do a lot of
work
for
me. But then my soil is rotten and hard and wormless so I also dig
up
some
worms from my veg garden, dig a tiny bit of soil so thye at least
have
some
soil cover and then do what you describe.


hmmmm.......doh. This makes good sense, in that the worms don't have
to chew thru the cardboard/hessian/whatever before they begin to work.

Same weed reduction results, but faster soil improvement results.

Thanks for the idea, Wormwrangler.

Charlie

I would suggest that you first lay down your soil amendments (manure,
rock phosphate, potassiun [wood ash, what ever]), then your cardboard,
or newsprint, and then cover that unsightly mess with the mulch of your
choice (I prefer alfalfa), then if you want to go full gonzo, spread
some green manure seeds (I'd go with rye or buckwheat to condition the
soil [make it looser], or some legumes to add more nitrogen to the
soil).
In any event, the worms will thank you for it.

No disagreement witcha on this and what I have done also, but my take
and thinking, after Fran's post, is lay down a good layer of worm bait
and food, such as cooked rice and pasta, veggie trimmings

May I see the wine list?;o)

, rotten
fruit and trimmings, etc., *under* the cardboard, with amendements,

I think the operative word, Billy, in my suggestion was 'chuck'. I could
substitute it with the word 'bung' to try and reflect the approach I am
taking.

No just 'do nothing gardening', but 'close enough is good enough gardening'.

rob