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

"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

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 -

- Show quoted text -

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.

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

Potatoes are good at breaking down clay soil, I believe. Although I can't
really say anecdotally, as we also tend to pile loads of manure in the bed
pre-potato planting.

Pumpkins and courgettes could be good for smothering, with their giant
leaves. Beans will improve the nutrients in the soil for next year.

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.

"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

In article ,
says...

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.

Use cardboard (flattened large boxes) to cover the soil completely,
held down ideally with vegetable matter but otherwise planks. Cut x's in
the cardboard in spring to plant potatoes, or young courgette plants,
beans etc. Or fruit trees and bushes, and garden plants Keep up the
mulching.

Our entire garden was lawn when we arrived and all the planting has used
the cardboard,mulching no-dig method.

if you google permaculture/lasagne garden you'll find loads of info on
the method.

Janet

Use cardboard (flattened large boxes) to cover the soil completely,
held down ideally with vegetable matter but otherwise planks. Cut x's in
the cardboard in spring to plant potatoes, or young courgette plants,
beans etc. Or fruit trees and bushes, and garden plants Keep up the
mulching.

Our entire garden was lawn when we arrived and all the planting has used
the cardboard,mulching no-dig method.

if you google permaculture/lasagne garden you'll find loads of info on
the method.

Janet





How interesting!

Janet's is a good approach.

Since you already have your own compost, you can lay potatoes or jerusalem artichokes on top of the soil, and cover them with a thick layer of compost (at least 6inches thick). Their roots will help break up the turf layer, and the grass and weeds, once buried sufficiently, will rot down. Basically what you're doing in this approach is to use a raised bed system, using your added compost as the main growth medium, but with gradually increasing depth as what you do on top helps to break down what's underneath.

On 13/12/2011 17:27, AL_n wrote:

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.

not really replying to your main question but:
I know you said you are not a Broccoli fan, but are you sure they were
not a variety which produce on the second year?
The ones I have at home have to spend one winter in the beds before
producing the second year...

On Dec 13, 8:00*pm, Janet wrote:
In article ,
says...



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.

* *Use cardboard (flattened *large boxes) to cover the soil completely,
held down ideally with vegetable matter but otherwise planks. Cut x's in
the *cardboard in spring to plant potatoes, or young courgette plants,
beans etc. Or fruit trees and bushes, and garden plants Keep up the
mulching.

* Our entire garden was lawn when we arrived and all the planting has used
the cardboard,mulching *no-dig method.

* if you google permaculture/lasagne garden you'll find loads of info on
the method.

* Janet

+1. Cardboard is excellent. I'd also plant something light excluding
the first yr, like nettles, pumpkins, courgettes, rhubarb, etc. If
you've got compostable material, that can go down under the cardboard.
Permaculture will wipe out most of the unnecessary physical work that
annual gardens require year on year, but it means getting used to a
whole different set of fruit & veg.


NT

In article a053d3dd-c405-45e3-8b8d-26a7a03b8780
@w1g2000vba.googlegroups.com, says...

On Dec 13, 8:00*pm, Janet wrote:
In article ,
says...



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.

* *Use cardboard (flattened *large boxes) to cover the soil completely,
held down ideally with vegetable matter but otherwise planks. Cut x's in
the *cardboard in spring to plant potatoes, or young courgette plants,
beans etc. Or fruit trees and bushes, and garden plants Keep up the
mulching.

* Our entire garden was lawn when we arrived and all the planting has used
the cardboard,mulching *no-dig method.

* if you google permaculture/lasagne garden you'll find loads of info on
the method.

* Janet

+1. Cardboard is excellent. I'd also plant something light excluding
the first yr, like nettles, pumpkins, courgettes, rhubarb, etc. If
you've got compostable material, that can go down under the cardboard.
Permaculture will wipe out most of the unnecessary physical work that
annual gardens require year on year, but it means getting used to a
whole different set of fruit & veg.

Within 6 months the cardboard will have completely disappeared; you can
continue to use permaculture methods of soil/weed management (no dig, lots
of mulching) and still plant seeds and annuals in the soil.
Janet

gogo wrote in
:

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.

not really replying to your main question but:
I know you said you are not a Broccoli fan, but are you sure they were
not a variety which produce on the second year?
The ones I have at home have to spend one winter in the beds before
producing the second year..

Gosh, no! I had no idea that might be the case! Oh well, it just as well
that I'm not really a broccili fan!

Thanks to everyone for the replies. The pumpkin/squash/marrow idea sounds
perfect, as I am a big fan of those, especially marrows / courgettes.

The cardboard mulch idea is intereting. However, does it not create an
absolute breeding haven for slugs and snails? (Both are a nightmare where I
live.)

Al

On Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:27:45 +0000, AL_n wrote:

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.

I'd recommend Laminapolyethylenus negra.



--
gardening on the beach in Jersey

On Dec 15, 9:58*pm, "AL_n" wrote:
gogo wrote :

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.

not really replying to your main question but:
I know you said you are not a Broccoli fan, but are you sure they were
not a variety which produce on the second year?
The ones I have at home have to spend one winter in the beds before
producing the second year..

Gosh, no! I had no idea that might be the case! Oh well, it just as well
that I'm not really a broccili fan!

Thanks to everyone for the replies. The pumpkin/squash/marrow idea sounds
perfect, as I am a big fan of those, especially marrows / courgettes.

The cardboard mulch idea is intereting. However, does it not create an
absolute breeding haven for slugs and snails? (Both are a nightmare where I
live.)

Al

You'd have to be a *very* big fan of cucurbits to eat a whole garden
full of them.


NT