Kris said, "The dead tall grasses are decomposing and have mycelium (I think it's that) in many places. So I am leaning towards not doing my first plan.
Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Anne Miller wrote:
Kris said, "The dead tall grasses are decomposing and have mycelium (I think it's that) in many places. So I am leaning towards not doing my first plan.
Kris, welcome to the forum.
I feel you are on the right path.
I would like to suggest wood chips to help you get started.
It is generally recommended to use 6" to 12" of wood chips.
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Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Hi Kris! If you can leave the grass in place, that's less work. Though personally I would be inclined to turn the grass and other rough organic matter into that soil, just to help it breathe and drain. And then build beds on top of that.
But a critical question: what kind of grass do you have? Have you successfully smothered it before (even by accident)? The rhizomes of an invasive grass like quackgrass will travel horizontally for a long distance to find a crack it can grow through.
Moderator, Treatment Free Beekeepers group on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/treatmentfreebeekeepers/
Michael Cox wrote:I think in part this comes down to what you intend to use the area for.
If an orchard, where you will tolerate some grass, then cardboard and woodchip sounds appropriate. It would shift the balance towards soil that favours fruit trees over grass.
On the other hand, if you want to plant an annual veggie garden, I would consider woodchips to be inappropriate. It takes quite a while for the grass layer to start decomposing, and fresh woodchips are a less than ideal growing medium.
I have done both, and now prefer to start new areas off by tilling. I then maintain them by top dressing with well rotted compost/chicken coop bedding, combined with light hoe work and occasional spot weeding.
Fresh woodchips are reserved for fruit trees and paths.
Moderator, Treatment Free Beekeepers group on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/treatmentfreebeekeepers/
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