On 13 Dec 2011 17:27:45 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:

I have an area of rough grassland (my uncultivated back garden). The soil
isn't bad, although riddled with small flat limestone rocks. I want to turn
the patch into a vegetable patch, with about three 5ft x 30ft beds. Digging
it over would be quite an undertaking; one for which I don't really have
the stamina for. I wondered if planting certain vegetable next Spring,
would make this job easier, by smothering the grass and weeds, and perhaps
improving teh soil.

Last Spring, I planted some purple broccili there. They didn;t ptoduce any
flowering tops, but did a great job of smothering all the grass and weeds.
At the end of the season, I found they were easy to pull up and chuck onto
the compost heap, leaving teh ground much easier to work.

I'm not really a broccili fan, so I wonder if anyone suggest other
vegetables which would have a similar useful effect?

Thanks...

Al

If it is the labour that you really want to avoid, have a look at:

http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/ or
http://www.no-dig-gardening.org/

or just type "no dig gardening" into your browser search engine.

Of course, a lot depends on what you mean by "rocks". Whilst brussels
sprouts or a plate of cabbage may have the ability to empty a room
full of people, this is not usually by the physical labour of actually
lifting and relocating them.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling (after the great storm) from
the usually dryer (east) end of Swansea Bay.