New garden bed
 

Can I mix grass killed a month ago with roundup into soil With tiller.
What to do with fresh sawdust, I have a lot, if it can not be used fresh
how do you rot it quickest.
If the new bed has 6" of green grass on it do I mow it first and remove
or just run the cultivator tiller over the lot (and the aforementioned
roundupped dead grass from elsewhere.Or roundup the new bed, wait a week
or two then cultivate ?
Now there is a muddled bunch of questions.

New garden bed
 

In article
F Murtz writes:
Can I mix grass killed a month ago with roundup into soil With tiller.

You'll get mixed (and passioned) answers there.

You can do so, in the sense that the residue in the soil will not
act as RoundUp does on your future plantings. RoundUp is absorbed
by the leaves, not the roots.

There is lots of discussion of the safety of that in-soil residue.
I can't address that, except to share my perspective that the
available data is for agricultural levels of use, not gardener
levels of use.

What to do with fresh sawdust, I have a lot, if it can not be used fresh
how do you rot it quickest.

I've put it in the compost pile, but I don't have large amounts.

Whether it is good to mix in fresh will depend a lot on what sort
of wood it was from. It is certainly good for breaking up clay,
but may skew your nitrogen needs.

If the new bed has 6" of green grass on it do I mow it first and remove
or just run the cultivator tiller over the lot (and the aforementioned
roundupped dead grass from elsewhere.Or roundup the new bed, wait a week
or two then cultivate ?

As I recall, the RoundUp label has instructions for most of that.
It is absorbed by the leaves, so you don't want to mow before
spraying (more leaf area is better). I forget the time suggestion,
which is given assuming you are killing an old lawn and planting a
new one. I assume that the same time should hold for planting a
garden.

My tilling experience is limited, and I've never tilled tall grass,
so I have no advice there.

Now there is a muddled bunch of questions.

FYI, both "RoundUp" and "tiller" are holy war issues for some who
wander in and out of this group. If any response seems surprisingly
harsh, that could be why.



--
Drew Lawson | Pass the tea and sympathy
| for he good old days are dead
| Let's raise a toast to those
| who best survived the life they led

New garden bed
 

F Murtz wrote:
Can I mix grass killed a month ago with roundup into soil With tiller.
What to do with fresh sawdust, I have a lot, if it can not be used
fresh how do you rot it quickest.
If the new bed has 6" of green grass on it do I mow it first and
remove or just run the cultivator tiller over the lot (and the
aforementioned roundupped dead grass from elsewhere.Or roundup the
new bed, wait a week or two then cultivate ?
Now there is a muddled bunch of questions.

If you are converting a large area of lawn to garden, rent a sod cutter. Cut the
sod, and remove it to your compost or whereever. Then till the soil and any
compost or manure together. By removeing the sod carefully, you will remove the
growing grass and root, and all the weed seeds that have blown onto the grass
over the years, and you will end up with a much more weed free garden.

New garden bed
 

F Murtz wrote:
Can I mix grass killed a month ago with roundup into soil With tiller.

yes, but why?


What to do with fresh sawdust, I have a lot, if it can not be used fresh
how do you rot it quickest.

depends upon where the sawdust comes from...

use it as a light mulch after planting, it won't
rot as fast on the surface, but that's ok, you
don't really want it to rot fast anyways (or see
below).


If the new bed has 6" of green grass on it do I mow it first and remove
or just run the cultivator tiller over the lot (and the aforementioned
roundupped dead grass from elsewhere.Or roundup the new bed, wait a week
or two then cultivate ?

cover it with a few layers of cardboard and then
put the sawdust on top of that to hold it down. in a
few months the grass will be dead. don't need to
dig it up or till it or remove it or disturb the
rest of the soil. eventually the worms will break
down the cardboard. to plant, put holes through
where you need to put seeds or plants and then
have at it.

the more you disturb the soil the more you will
move weed/grass/etc seeds around (and into the
germination zone).


Now there is a muddled bunch of questions.

good luck,


songbird

New garden bed
 

songbird wrote:
F Murtz wrote:
Can I mix grass killed a month ago with roundup into soil With tiller.

yes, but why?

Just because I have some and I thought dead vegitation may be good for soil.




What to do with fresh sawdust, I have a lot, if it can not be used fresh
how do you rot it quickest.

depends upon where the sawdust comes from...

use it as a light mulch after planting, it won't
rot as fast on the surface, but that's ok, you
don't really want it to rot fast anyways (or see
below).


If the new bed has 6" of green grass on it do I mow it first and remove
or just run the cultivator tiller over the lot (and the aforementioned
roundupped dead grass from elsewhere.Or roundup the new bed, wait a week
or two then cultivate ?

cover it with a few layers of cardboard and then
put the sawdust on top of that to hold it down. in a
few months the grass will be dead. don't need to
dig it up or till it or remove it or disturb the
rest of the soil. eventually the worms will break
down the cardboard. to plant, put holes through
where you need to put seeds or plants and then
have at it.

the more you disturb the soil the more you will
move weed/grass/etc seeds around (and into the
germination zone).


Now there is a muddled bunch of questions.

good luck,


songbird

New garden bed
 

F Murtz wrote:
songbird wrote:
F Murtz wrote:
Can I mix grass killed a month ago with roundup into soil With tiller.

yes, but why?

Just because I have some and I thought dead vegitation may be good for soil.

if this is from a weedy lawn or grass that has
gone to seed then it's well worth avoiding.

the first season in a new garden bed the soil
may already have plenty of nutrients (but it
would help to know what was grown there before,
what has been added to the soil and if any tests
have been made).

also, if you are planning on planting anytime
soon it is usually not a great idea to incorporate
too much uncomposted material into the soil (use
it as a top-mulch instead). if it isn't thick
enough to block the light you can plant right
through it without tilling.


songbird