How to get rid of grass for garden?

Question

Me and boyfriend are doing a garden this year. as we were cleaning up yard i found a perfect area for one. i took my big rocks and marked the area. now this area is about 6ft.w and 5ft. long with that being an estimation. basically i have taken this area into existing lawn and kinda dont know how to dig up from the fine layer right under neath grass to remove grass its kinda big spot to remove grass and looking for an easy way with like shovel and hard rake to get it up is this possible. and how

Answer 1

Healthy Soil is the Key to a Bountiful Vegetable Harvest! * Gardening where sod has long been established, whether converted pastures or lawns, requires a great deal of preparation to eliminate sod, weeds, and soil insects. For this year prepare the bed for transplants that can come in later. Plan for direct sowing next year.

Any time is sod-turning time, but there is one constraint: never work the soil when it is wet, as you will basically squish all the air out of it and turn it to hardpan. To test the soil moisture level, take a handful of soil and squeeze it. If it remains in a tight ball when you release your grip, it is too wet. If it crumbles, it is ready to till.

Next, examine the soil for mineral type. Is it predominantly clay, sand or a sandy loam? The latter is the best. You can distinguish a sandy loam from the other two by giving it the squeeze test. Dig small sample holes 3-18” deep but go below the roots. . Do not include roots, stones or other large objects like the pet trying to help.
Now look at the hole and take some soil in hand. Check your soil's texture by picking up a handful and squeeze gently: If it feels sticky and stays in a tight mass, your soil is likely too high in clay. If it feels harsh or gritty and won't hold any shape or crumbles it is likely too high in sand. If it feels smooth or floury and won't hold any shape, it's likely too high in silt. If it molds into your hand yet crumbles apart when squeezed, it has the perfect texture. It is loam, sweet loam! Black color indicates high organic matter; gray indicates medium organic matter. Red, tan or blue color indicates little organic matter and high clay. Blue color indicates that there is no oxygen in the clay. Therefore, no roots will grow in blue clay.

A general recommendation is: Add as much composted (rotted) organic material as you can afford. It is almost impossible to add too much.
For clay soils: the goal is to improve soil aggregation, increase porosity and permeability, and improve aeration and drainage. For example, to amend a garden to a depth of 1 foot, you need to add one-third of a foot (4 inches) of material.
* 3 to 6 inches of coarse organic material dug in 9 to 18 inches (peat moss is to fine)
* Perlite or pumice 5-25% of amendment
* COARSE sand 5-25% of amendment

For sandy soils: the goal is to increase the soil's ability to hold moisture and store nutrients.
* 4 to 8 inches of organic material dug in 12 to 24 inches
* Vermiculite 5-25% of amendment
* Hydrosource 1-4 lb/100 square feet (expensive!)

For both soils:
* Fertilizer - the type and amount of fertilizer to use can be determined by a soil test but if you amend the soil with lots of organics a basic fertilizer will work. Fertilizer comes in various forms (pellets, powder, liquid) and many nutrient ratios. I recommend Whitney Farm Organic Life Link Tomato & Vegetable Food (4-5-3)

For your 6' x 5' at 4" deep you need 10 cubic feet of compost. 1 yard is 27 cubic feet.

# Kill existing foliage with an herbicide containing glyphosate (such as Roundup and Kleenup).
# After the plants and sod die, mow the area, and till thoroughly.

You can rent a sod cutter or till the grass in with a rototiller. Amend and fertilize as you decide based on your soil tests but till this in a second pass. You don't want it buried to deeply. Now cover the whole area with wetted newspaper 4-8 layers thick (or use paper bags or cardboard), then a layer of mulch 2 inches deep. This prevents any of the weed seeds that are present from getting light. Without light they can not grow. The bed will be ready to plant as soon as the weather permits.
Plant by pulling mulch out to form dish, cut trough the paper in an x, insert transplant, and remulch area just up to the plant stem but not on it.

Grow your seedlings indoors til your last frost date. Here in Seattle it is Mothers Day we plant out our hardened off tomatoes.

Gardens, once arranged into beds, do not need to be deeply tilled every spring or fall. Rototillers can reduce the physical effort in soil preparation and cultivation, but they also can ruin good soil structure. A compacted layer can form just below where tines bite into the soil. The ideal use for them is creating a new bed.

VEGETABLES THAT CAN BE DIRECTLY
SEEDED OR TRANSPLANTED:
lettuce
cabbage
broccoli
collards
onion
tomato
eggplant
leek

Answer 2

Use the technique known as "lasagna gardening." This was popularized by Patricia Lanza's book, Lasagna Gardening

To make a lasagna garden you stake out your garden site on the existing lawn and begin building up the planting bed layer by layer. The first layer involves laying down something heavy over sod, like thick (8-10 sheets) of newspaper or flattened cardboard boxes, to kill the existing grass. The next layer should be a couple inches of peat moss, for water retention. Then add a thick layer of compost or you can add the raw organic materials that will break down and become compost, such as grass clippings, leaves, wood ashes, etc.

Some people wait for a while to let the planting bed settle and the grass die. If you build your layers high enough, you don't have to wait to plant. You simply make a hole in the layer of mulch and plant, then cover the seeds, or bring the mulch around the base of the new plants.

Good luck with your garden.

Answer 3

You can use an edger to cut the grassy area into one foot by one foot sections. This makes it easier to dig one square foot at a time. Then just dig with the shovel, and some back muscle, deep enough so that the grass sod, along with the roots, is pulled up. You can either compost what you remove or leave it and rototill it as mulch. Make sure and build your garden quickly, as weeds will start to pop up if you don't cover up the bare dirt. Good luck.

Answer 4

you really dont need to remove it. take a shovel and turn the sod over by digging as deep as the shovel will go. (6-8 in ). in a week or so when it is dry out, till this up and rake it off and youre ready to plant. gardening should be fun try not to make a job out of it...

Answer 5

My guess is you have rhizome johnson grass in the garden. Dig up some roots and see what the roots look like and if it's johnson grass you certainly do have a problem! I advise you to check on what kind of grass killer spray you need. Good luck!

Answer 6

Hi Heather, before doing any work on your prospected garden check this site first (www.sguarefootgardening.com). You'll be amazed to know that there's a better and easier method of gardening than the back breaking old ways. Check it out, you'll thank yourself in the end. I'm going that route myself. Let's put back the fun in gardening and let's help the terrified gardeners. If you think this method is good, will you have the heart to share it to everyone? Good luck.