We moved in to a home that has about 100sq ft of raised beds in the back yard that are currently overgrown with weeds, grass and leaf litter. I am trying to clear them out and maybe start a small garden as a first timer. So far my plan has been to remove leaf litter, hit the tops of the beds with an action hoe, and then use a shovel to remove and dispose of the top 2-3" of soil that seems to be inundated with weeds and their roots. I was thinking I would then top the beds off with a layer of high quality compost and plant some stuff.
Once that is done I plan to rip up the overgrown landscape fabric walkways and continue to de-weed what is left over. I will then probably lay down cardboard and cover with some type of mulch.
For the beds- Do I need to go deeper with the soil removal? I have no idea what the beds' soil composition is, or what was planted in the past. I may just tarp some of the beds and try to kill the weeds, because I don't know that I will want to plant and tend to the entire 100sq ft space during my first season.
Any advice appreciated. Eastern NC, Zone 8b, sandy clay native soil. South facing garden. I like to eat potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, lettuce, asparagus, cucumbers, peppers, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, strawberries, blueberries, apples pears, green beans, onionsz, ginger, garlic, and more.
by SaladJarDude
1 Comment
1. Join a local gardening club.
2. Those beds are nearly clean in my opinion! Pull out some weeds and add a few bags of compost to each bed, the soils compact over time.
3. Have fun. Take each success with joy and each failure with wisdom about what didn’t work. Every seasoned gardener can probably list a dozen “Didn’t Work” plants.
I am currently 8 years into good blueberries. I can’t count the number of plants that died as I worked to Acidify the soil. And now one giant bush is in the walkway.