Derek Arnold

Thanks for that John. I was hoping that eventually the bermuda will stop being a problem. I've kept the other weeds to a minimum, and i let some of the broadleaf stuff grow up and then chopped and dropped. I don't mind those too much because it's manageable. Sadly, it's the bermuda that I let go, and it's much more difficult to eradicate. I have protected my trees with newspaper and woodchips, but it's the empty spaces that I didn't have any ground cover in that became the problem. Nature put my ground cover in for me, and not the kind I wanted. I think i'll just start creating small areas that are free of the bermuda and start establishing my own ground covers. I was hoping to create a self-maintaining system that was relatively maintenance free, but I didn't count on the bermuda being so aggressive.

I don't have any current pictures. I can get some here in a few days. (I'm working all weekend and i don't get home until dark). Mainly what I am dealing with is bermuda grass. I would necessarily refer to things like plantain as "weeds" since they are beneficial. I wish I could get home plantain to take root in the area. I also had some dock that came up early, and I noticed the rabbits were eating that instead of a lot of my other young plants. I was more than happy to leave that. I understand the benefits of what most people consider weeds. My problem is with lawn grasses creeping in and starting to take over a bed. When I planted an annual garden on the other side of my property from my forest garden I had some left over seeds like pumpkin, squash, watermelon, etc. I put those in my forest garden because, i figured why not? Once those are finished for the year I will go in with a string trimmer and really scalp down the bermuda. I have protected my trees by keeping the grasses away, but it continues to try to creep in. I also am fighting to protect my asparagus bed I put beneath my peach tree. I read asparagus can be susceptible to weeds. I do have 2 rolls of weed fabric laying around the house. I thought about using that to cover the bermuda and see if that helps control it. I am thinking that if I was several years into this it might not be that big of an issue.

So, I planted a forest garden. When I got my plants I was rushed. . . or possibly just excited to get them in the ground. I neglected sheet mulching. I thought "hey, 6 inches of wood mulch, that will probably smother the weeds." Well, I was wrong. Now I got a lot of perennial grasses, bermuda, etc. I am trying to be optimistic and thinking that once the trees get up and established it will shade out some of it, and that in nature, there isn't a squirrel out there somewhere laying down cardboard.

My question: is this necessarily a problem? Really, all I have established right now are some "bigger" plants like trees, some bushes, and other thick, woody-stemmed things. I could bite the bullet and go sheet mulch around everything and do the whole garden, then bring in more wood chips and sort of push a reset button on the whole thing. Or I could just sheet mulch around the existing plants and around any new plants I put out in the fall and spring. Then the "weeds" would just be mainly walking paths and empty spaces.

I would love any advice on this. I know now and ounce of prevention would have solved the 10 pounds of cure I may be facing. Thoughts?

I am in zone 7a. As far as material I will probably use a thick plastic sheeting and maybe once I figure out if it is a good location, switching to a polycarbonate. I want use sort of a "convertible" approach so during the summer if the heat is too much, I can open it up. I just wanted to get a more experienced opinion on that west wall and if that would keep it from being a decent location.

I have absolutely no experience with greenhouses and I am thinking of diving right in. The area that I am finding the most conflicting information is greenhouse placement, i.e. too much light, not enough light, etc. My house sits atop a small hill facing west, and the western sun can be brutal. To the east and south there are trees, but some 30-40 yards from my house. I would like the greenhouse to sit to the south of my house. However, on the south side of my house the ground slopes down to a basement level door near the front of the house. There is a retaining wall that stair-steps down to the ground from about 10 feet high and 30-40 feet long. My ideal situation is to build a greenhouse attached to the door extending out to the south. I thought this could give me 2 light "zones" within the greenhouse. The side closest to the house would only receive about 5-6 hours of sunlight while the furthest side would receive full sunlight that I could shade if need be. The wall stays very warm and I thought this would add additional heat in the winter. My question is would this allow enough light, or is the wall going to be too much of an obstruction to work with?