Garden Questions

I finally got my third raised garden bed installed last night! We are having "cooler" days this week--below 100'-- and no visiting family, so I am able to get out in the garden to work more.

I have had a couple of questions about my gardening methods and will answer them here, in case someone else was wondering, "Why did she do it that way?"

First question: Why is the straw in the paths so thick? Answer: I have a major problem with bermuda and nutsedge, and both are very

aggressive. My husband and I initially removed the bermuda and nutsedge, digging it out. I laid down wet cardboard and thick layers of wet newspapers, then put thick "leaves" or "flakes" of straw on top. This is to prevent the sun from feeding the weeds, and help smother whatever weed seed might be there. The really thick layer of straw is "watered" each time I water the plants, and it softens and compresses down, making it harder for weeds to grow. You can see how high the straw is on the far side of the second picture. The straw in the third picture was the same way just a couple of weeks ago. I have been

removing the nutsedge that is persistent in the raised beds, weeding every couple of days. It is not difficult--10 minutes a day!!--to keep them out.

Second question: Why is the soil in the beds so low? Answer: I will be improving the soil and building it up as I grow my vegetables. Right now I am not mulching because I am getting the nutsedge out, and it is easier to remove the weeds without the mulch. Soon, the nutsedge will be finished and I will start building the soil up! (This is sustainable gardening--not depleting the soil, but improving it naturally). You may notice in the third picture where the "weeds" are coming through the mulch, but that is not the case. It is just some of the hay seeds that have sprouted. When they are a little bigger I will pull them out and lay them on top of the straw, giving me more mulch! It is really easy to pull out as it is just in the straw and not in the ground.

Bermuda, Nutsedge and Bamboo

What does bermuda grass, nutsedge and bamboo have in common? They all three are really difficult to get rid of! Bermuda, nutsedge and some bamboos have underground runners called rhizomes. Bermuda also has above ground runners called stolons.


Bermuda and nutsedge also go to seed. Nutsedge produces little nuts that are left in the ground when you pull up the plant, and creates another plant!




It seems like a vicious cycle when trying get rid of these weeds, but it can be done!

Cassandra Danz is known as Mrs. Greenthumbs in gardening circles, and has written a couple of books, plus many articles in various gardening magazines. Her books are hilarious and also are full of very useful information, especially with flower gardening. At one time she moved into a new (to her and her husband) home that had a large stand of bamboo, which she likened to the kudzu vine. She said, "It was a miracle ground cover; it would grow anywhere; it could totally cover a steep bank---like the Grand Canyon." The bamboo was 12' tall and "was so thick, we had no idea there was a gazebo in the middle of it until after we chopped the vegetation down." She said the next week the bamboo was 5' tall, so they started digging out the roots. "Each clump was connected to a huge pod, about four feet wide . . . we dug under the pod" where the roots ran deep. Her solution? Once they dug out the pods and as much of the roots as they could, they mowed the area and kept the leaves from emerging. "No leaves, no photosynthesis, no food---herbal death." It worked!

That gave me an idea, last year, on getting rid of some of my nutsedge---I had a section of garden that was bare, except for lots of nutsedge. I hula-hoed it every-other-day. The sprouts were fewer and fewer as the days went along! Not every area can be hula-hoed without ripping up plant roots, but it did work in this spot. So, it can be done! If you can clear up a weedy portion of your garden by pulling the weeds or cutting them off at ground level, and then check it every-other-day and remove the new shoots, it won't be long before the weeds will disappear. While maintaining this section, you can go on to the next section. It may take a while, but you will be successful!