"AL_n" wrote in message
...
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...


;If it has been rough for some time, it will need digging. As others have
said, use Glyphosate in the early spring. General grass can then be dug in,
clumps sheered of at the surface. At my age, I too hate digging. Mark out 2
sq m and dig. find something else to do for an hour, then dig a bit more.
This is how I dealt with my new allotment last year. If you only do one bed
that will get you planting......take your time.

--
Pete C