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Novice Question.
Santos D. Santiago wrote:
Oops! I should have put that in the thread. They are all rectangular beds the largest bed is about 7ft wide and 1ft long. The other two are 5ft wide and 1ft long. Another thing I should have mentioned is that I prefer getting these beds ready and planted this summer (if it's possible of course). Now, if pulling the weeds manually I'm assuming I would have to dig into the weed to get the whole root correct? How about the grass? Only 1'? That's not very much room. What along side these beds? If they're right next to a building, 1' is a good definition of the zone not to plant in for a variety of reasons. If they're next to a lawn or a fence or a sidewalk, there's not much you can plant that won't overlap those areas. Some weeds have very shallow roots. Some have very deep roots. Some roots will become unproductive and die if all the top-growth is gone. Others will regrow from small fragments of root left behind. You can make removal much easier by watering the area before weeding, but keep in mind that working wet soil will damage the structure, so don't plan on digging immediately after. And that watering brings us to the most important reason why you don't want to do anything within 1' of a building's foundation. You're just asking for trouble unless you're talking plants so hardy that they don't even need watering to establish themselves. When I lived in Milwaukee, I used to do some hole digging for the DPW, and as I remember, soil conditions in much of the area consisted of a lot of clay. This made for extremely difficult digging when dry, and lots of run-off as the soil couldn't absorb watering or rain fast enough. There were some areas that had more sandy soil, but I don't recall many. Ok, last question for now, I promise ). If I pull all this out manually is there a need for tilling afterwards? Tilling isn't just to loosen the soil. It's your opportunity to incorporate organic material (read: compost). This makes the soil both more workable, and gives better drainage, and incorporates nutrients for the plants. I agree totally with Pam on putting down newspaper covered with compost. You won't need to remove any of this when tilling. By the way, if these 1' wide "beds" are up against anything like a building or a fence, you're not going to be able to till it. If it's up against a building foundation, I'd advise against digging, and if it's up against a fence, be careful not to undermine any support. If it's next to a sidewalk, you may find that there is over-pour from the concrete, and the foundation on which the sidewalk was built on will intrude. Standard sidewalks in the City of Milwaukee are 3" where there is only pedestrian traffic, 5" where there is a driveway used by automobiles, and 7" or more where there will be truck traffic crossing. When they are poured, 6-12" is dug-out to make room for the forms. This area is backfilled with anything handy, and usually only the top 2" is decent soil. If you run a tiller in this area, you run the risk of damaging the tines. As far as planting for this summer, even in the frozen northlands we know as the Milwaukee area, you've long passed the time for planting for the summer. Your next chance will be in September when you can plant some perennials and spring bulbs. My advice would be to let the newspaper and compost there, cover it with some bark mulch to keep it from washing away, and wait until spring to plant. If you're interested in expanding the size of the beds to something larger than 1' wide, now would be the time to remove some sod. I would suggest at least going 2' wide, depending on what you plan to plant there. Keep in mind the mature size of any shrubs or perennials, and allow enough room so they don't overlap sidewalks or lawns, or grow right against a building. Once again to go back to the idea that this 1' might be next to a building foundation, this would be the zone that you don't want to plant anything in, including grass. Nothing that needs any watering. Remove the weeds, and take out (off the top, not digging down) only enough to make room for some weed barrier, and an inorganic mulch like pea gravel, lava rocks, etc, and put some edging in to keep it from getting into an abutting lawn. -- Warren H. ========== Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife. Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants to go outside now. Blatant Plug: Books for the Pacific Northwest gardener: http://www.holzemville.com/mall/nwgardener/index.html |
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