It is just sitting in the back yard. I thought I might try to grow some veggies. It is a huge bed, but is full of grass, weeds, and a small tree.
What do I need to do? Would it be better to try and make another flower bed?
2007-03-21 04:32:06 · 8 answers · asked by Patricia G 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
uh... some nice answers some really weird ones. Round Up? Uh.... no.
Ok, a big bed full of weeds and grass. Spray it down, let it soak in for at least an hour or two, then get down there and yank all them weeds out by hand. Using chemicals like Round Up is not a good way to go, especially if you plan on planting anything back there.
Ok, with all the weeds and grass out, hit up yer local nursery, Lowes or Home Depot and get a few bags of mulch. I prefer to use Western Red Cedar, but you can use Cocoa Mulch, Bark chips, etc... Spread the mulch out to where its about 2 inches thick. This will help the soil out alot, and when you get weeds, yank em out by hand, but be sure you do so before they have a chance to flower, thats when they spread.
Ok, now, you have a nice big blank slate to work with. You say you have a small tree in there. Well, a couple things you might do is yeah, you can do a vegetable garden, or you can make it a flower bed. Take a look at it, draw it out, make some plans. Maybe even take a few pics with a digital camera, and mess around with them in whatever photo editor you have, Photosgop, etc...
One thing you can do is to go to yer local Library, which I have done, and check out some books on landscaping. TONS of ideas in those books, and best of all, they are FREE, well at least for 2 weeks.
2007-03-21 05:00:05 · answer #1 · answered by jeff the drunk 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would still use this flower bed by hoeing, raking, and pulling out all the weeds and grass--don't just turn them over with a shovel since they may seed back. I'd be concerned about what type of tree you have growing there. Hopefully, it's not a black walnut tree. That would be bad, especially for growing veggies. Is it a large shade tree? If it is, you may have trouble growing veggies that like lots of sun. Too, I'd have second thoughts about using Round-Up (toxicity and such) in a flower bed that I intended to plant veggies in, and Round-Up, even the one that's just for weeds and grass, may stunt the growth of other plants. Maybe you should carefully read the label first.
2007-03-21 11:41:01 · answer #2 · answered by HoneyBunny 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is the organic way (you can get all of these things wherever organic gardening products are sold: first, spray everything with 20% vinegar, it works like round up and kills everything. Then rake and till in some good compost, maybe about 3 inches of compost. Get a good fertilizer, like a 4-8-4 or 6-8-4 to fertilize your plants after you plant. You should be good to go. It will be A LOT more work to do a new bed. Good luck!
2007-03-21 11:36:29 · answer #3 · answered by jwillingham75 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You need to kill off all the grass and weeds first of all. The easiest way to do that is to spray the entire area with round up and cover it with black plastic for about 2 weeks. Then take the plastic off rake out the dead stuff as much as possible. Then cover the entire bed with layers of newspaper and put down a good thick layer of top soil. Buy plants at a farm green house that are already started and plant them.
2007-03-21 11:38:18 · answer #4 · answered by justme 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I like JeepJeeps answer. If the bed is not that big you can loosen the soil and dig the manure in by hand. When you have planted and the plants are coming up (if you use seeds) be sure to use mulch. Raised beds usually dry out a lot faster than the ground so you might have to water more often.
2007-03-21 12:00:29 · answer #5 · answered by mamapig_57 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The first thing I would do is spray all the weeds with Roundup or some other weed killer. Wait for the weeds to die and then take a hoe and turn all the soil under. Then I would add some compose mixture or peat to the soil to give it some nutrients. I would wait a couple of weeks to plant anything in the bed(you want the weed killer to be completely gone) then plant what you want. Remember to mulch after you plant to control weeds
2007-03-21 11:36:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Rake it with a hoe, get all weeds, grass & plants out as well as tree & roots.(Most veggies need full or mostly sun). Borrow a tiller to be sure all roots are removed & soil is turned. Add some good manure, till in. Depending on planting season for your area, plant desired seeds or plants & water accordingly.
Or leave tree & plant shade loving flowers & plants(www.springhillnursery.com.
2007-03-21 11:47:55 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
you should water it every day and and then let it get some sun light my mom likes to that stuff to
2007-03-21 11:35:31 · answer #8 · answered by puppygurlbrat 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋