Posted by DogDiesel on January 27, 2011, 9:55 pm
If I set a raised bed on a weed infested area. Say 2 foot dep. . Will the
weeds come through ,or will they die.
Posted by Suzanne D. on January 28, 2011, 12:44 pm
> If I set a raised bed on a weed infested area. Say 2 foot dep. . Will
> the weeds come through ,or will they die.
I would definitely lay down a kill mulch first. I use layers of old phone
book pages. You could also use cardboard or newspaper. Wet it well--both
the ground before laying it down, and the mulch afterward; that'll get it
decomposing faster. You can then fill the bed with soil, but be sure to put
organic stuff in it as well...dead leaves, grass clippings, straw, shredded
paper, kitchen scraps, finished compost... A little cow poo above the mulch
will get the earthworms interested.
You probably don't need two whole feet for the bed. If you want to grow
large root vegetables like carrots then one foot of good, sandy soil is
plenty. Anything else could probably take six inches. My wooden beds are
six inches tall, and not fully filled, and I do fine. The roots will
eventually go down through the decaying mulch, so the bed itself doesn't
have to be too deep.
--S.
Posted by Jim Elbrecht on January 28, 2011, 1:17 pm
>> If I set a raised bed on a weed infested area. Say 2 foot dep. . Will
>> the weeds come through ,or will they die.
>I would definitely lay down a kill mulch first. I use layers of old phone
>book pages. You could also use cardboard or newspaper. Wet it well--both
>the ground before laying it down, and the mulch afterward; that'll get it
>decomposing faster. You can then fill the bed with soil, but be sure to put
>organic stuff in it as well...dead leaves, grass clippings, straw, shredded
>paper, kitchen scraps, finished compost... A little cow poo above the mulch
>will get the earthworms interested.
>You probably don't need two whole feet for the bed.
Not for the plants-- but we did a 2' high raised bed for my dad
several years ago when he got a new hip & couldn't bend very well.
He is a lot more flexible now, but that 4x8 bed still produces most of
his daily veggies. The 50x100 plot gets filled each year, too.
It was placed on a piece of lawn. We put nothing down- filled the
whole thing from his compost pile. His garden is on clay- so he's
happy to have someplace to garden early in the spring when the old
plot is a mud-hole.
Jim
Posted by Billy on January 28, 2011, 5:45 pm
> > If I set a raised bed on a weed infested area. Say 2 foot dep. . Will
> > the weeds come through ,or will they die.
>
>
> I would definitely lay down a kill mulch first. I use layers of old phone
> book pages. You could also use cardboard or newspaper. Wet it well--both
> the ground before laying it down, and the mulch afterward; that'll get it
> decomposing faster. You can then fill the bed with soil, but be sure to put
> organic stuff in it as well...dead leaves, grass clippings, straw, shredded
> paper, kitchen scraps, finished compost... A little cow poo above the mulch
> will get the earthworms interested.
I haven't had much luck with mulching and growing carrots. Insect hide
in the mulch and then come out at night to eat my plants. My best luck
with radishes and carrots come from cleared ground. Mulching works much
better (for me) with seedling (starter plants)
>
> You probably don't need two whole feet for the bed. If you want to grow
> large root vegetables like carrots then one foot of good, sandy soil is
> plenty. Anything else could probably take six inches. My wooden beds are
> six inches tall, and not fully filled, and I do fine. The roots will
> eventually go down through the decaying mulch, so the bed itself doesn't
> have to be too deep.
> --S.
--
- Billy
³When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the
poor have no food, they call you a communist.²
-Archbishop Helder Camara
http://peace.mennolink.org/articles/israelpeacegroups.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/01/20111812130964689.html
Posted by DogDiesel on January 30, 2011, 4:46 am
>> If I set a raised bed on a weed infested area. Say 2 foot dep. . Will
>> the weeds come through ,or will they die.
> I would definitely lay down a kill mulch first. I use layers of old phone
> book pages. You could also use cardboard or newspaper. Wet it well--both
> the ground before laying it down, and the mulch afterward; that'll get it
> decomposing faster.
Sweet idea.
You can then fill the bed with soil, but be sure to put
> organic stuff in it as well...dead leaves, grass clippings, straw,
> shredded paper, kitchen scraps, finished compost... A little cow poo
> above the mulch will get the earthworms interested.
> You probably don't need two whole feet for the bed. If you want to grow
> large root vegetables like carrots then one foot of good, sandy soil is
> plenty. Anything else could probably take six inches. My wooden beds are
> six inches tall, and not fully filled, and I do fine. The roots will
> eventually go down through the decaying mulch, so the bed itself doesn't
> have to be too deep.
> --S.
XML site map
> the weeds come through ,or will they die.