How to get rid of ferns

I’m trying to create a garden space in a clear area in the forest. Currently it almost entirely New York ferns. They seem to create a mat of roots that outcompetes other things. Any cool ideas for getting rid of them? I want to do some soil building so I could cover them but they’re so vigorous I worry they’d still come up and then their roots would just be so much deeper that I’d have made more work for myself when it turns out I’ve got to dig them out.

I wonder if you let time work on your side and just smother the area with a piece of plywood if that would clean up the ferns for you?

The NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (love it, reference it all the time) says that New York Fern grows below a Ph of 6 and outcompetes other plants in acid soil conditions.

What’s the soil acidity like? What kind of plants are you hoping to grow? Is there a way to amend the soil to be more alkaline? (In our area, our bedrocks have lots of limestone and rock dust from quarries, for example, is almost always limestone.) Would the ferns die or be weakened if the area was made alkaline?

I’d be interested to hear if an experiment with changing Ph to disfavor the New York Fern succeeded. But, I have no personal experience with this yet. (I am using my acidic areas to plant acidic loving plants and mostly just using extreme mulching.)

That said, another thought—disturbance IS a useful tool in shaping landscape. It has its place. So—tilling, burning, extreme goat overgrazing—done once to establish the spot and immediately plant your plants after—could be helpful as well.

Again, ideas. I’d love to hear how it goes if you try something and update us.