On Dec 13, 5:36*pm, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
"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?

Why didn't you spray with glyphosate and kill all the weeds in one go, then
hire a cultivator and dig the lot keeping a bucket to hand for all the large
stones.(Make good paths)
They usually say Potatoes break up the soil and improve it but it's not the
spuds IMO it's the gardener doing all the banking up and deep digging out..
Squash will smother weeds to some extent if you plant enough close enough..
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK- Hide quoted text -

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Above is right. I would say spray, let die and set on fire. Kills a
lot of pests.
There is no substitute for digging unless it be ploughing. A
rotovator is of limited use as it does not invert the soil.
Being a peasant is hard work.