Freaking Bermuda is everywhere!
Chuck was supposed to keep it check but was obviously he is such a slacker in this department! Too busy pulling up his pants I guess.
Even SM is intimidated. Either that or he really dislikes hanging upside down pulling grass. ("Join the club, Dude!")
"What does Google say about keeping Bermuda out of your garden? He asked me.
"It says to do THAT." I say, pointing at the raised beds.
(Sigh.)
This is what I get trying to reclaim ground from a suburban lawn. A merry-go-round of frustration!
SM bent over and yanked at a wad of grass. It broke in his hands.
"Too dry, Baby!" I hollard at him. "We need to track the runners back to the mother-ship and then pull it at the base. The ground's too dry for that though."
We usually have a dry Fall around here. This year is exceptionally dry though. No rain in weeks and none in the forecast.
"Whatcha gonna do?" SM asks.
"Well, time is on our side." I reply. "Hopefully we'll get some rain at some point this Winter." I say, rubbing my face and looking around.
"Then it'll be too cold to want to be outside dealing with all this." SM responds.
"Maybe." I say, stomping over to my cardboard garden. When we expanded the garden last year we ran out of "prep" time. It got so hot, so fast that we scratched the idea of working up this back section. Now that winter is coming it's time to consider what to do with amending this ground. I'd been tossing cardboard on it to keep the grass and weeds in check.
First things first! I'll need more cardboard. (Freakin Bermuda!)
"Do you want me to double dig this? SM asked looking at the hard ground.
"No...I think I'll just lay down a double layer of cardboard first, then toss the straw or leaves on top of that, then lots of compost. That's work we can do this winter."
I had some cardboard that I'd gotten from work back in the Jeep. I went and got that and tossed it on the ground. I had about 5 rotting straw bales that I hadn't used. I tossed those on top.
Well, it's a start. Gonna take awhile but that's the thing about gardening, isn't it?
You learn the value of time. And appreciate all the effort that's put into taming the beast.
Tami, how long does it take for the cardboard to break down before you can work it into the soil?
ReplyDeleteGuess you don't want to know that we're TRYING to grow bermuda,hugh? But not in the gardens, just in the pasture. So I figure in a few years I'll be complaining about it getting into my gardens.
ReplyDeleteWe also used raised beds and lined the bottom with cardboard. Within a few weeks the grass had grown through the cardboard. Don't waste your time, it doesn't work. The best luck I have had is to stick the shovel down into the ground and loosen the dirt to about 12 inches. Then I take the shovel and pop up a clod of dirt, sift through and remove all the grass pieces. If you remove all the new grass as it pops up and all the runners through the summer it keeps it pretty clear. This year I didn't keep up with pulling the new sprouts and it took over again. SIGH.
ReplyDeleteRP...The cardboard breaks down in about 6 months or so.
ReplyDeletePeggi...Sounds like a never ending battle!!!