Ideas for "Renovating" this Bed?

Hi all,

I've inherited this garden bed in my new house. The previous owner also bequeathed me a lot of established fruit trees, so the plan is for this to be my annuals bed. It's the middle of summer here in Brisbane, Australia.

In one corner is a lemon tree and in the opposite corner is a bunch of sugar cane. The rest of the bed is full of weeds. I have planted two sweet potato cuttings to choke out some of the weeds and hopefully get a harvest of some kind.

The ground is hard clay from about 3 inches down.

My plan is to basically let it alone until autumn, and then form it into three mounded rows with two pathways in between. Also, perhaps plant some soil building/improving crops over the winter to get it ready for summer.

Any thoughts would be great .

Hi Russell,

I think soil building/improving crops can be a great idea.  If you are really looking long term, maybe you could plant something like buckwheat which grows aggressively, smothers out competition, but if cut back just before going to seed dies on its own.  The result is a clean seedbed.

Another option is to bring in cardboard, newspaper, or similar, lay down a barrier and pile new garden bedding on top.  The barrier smothers out old growth but decays in short order.

I am somewhat obsessive about piling on wood chips and breaking them down with mushrooms to get really rich and fertile garden bedding.  This would make that garden area into a raised bed, something many gardeners like to have.

Nice that you already have the space for a garden!

Eric