I succeeded in convincing my mom into getting rid of her useless unkept lawn (thin crabgrass, dandelions) last summer (zone 8b). I essentially scalped the entire lawn with a shovel, removing anywhere from a 1-4 inches of the soil/grass, and mulching the area with woodchips. That soil/grass has been sitting in a heap in the corner of the driveway ever since.
In the fall, we extended a small raised bed of hers that sits on the side of a slope using retinaing wall blocks. The original bed had good soil (tomatoes, strawberries in it last year), but we need to now add additional soil to help fill it so we can replant veggies this spring. Currently the bed is mulched with a thick bed of leaves and coffee husks.
I was thinking that I could use the soil that I removed last summer, even though it still has plenty of grass and weeds in it, if I fill the bed with it and mulch it like crazy to kill off any weeds. Does this seem like it'll work? What should I mulch it with and for how long? Would clear plastic tarp be more effective than a natural mulch since I assume the only way to kill the seeds is for the temperature to reach 130F? Doing my best to try to save money by reusing this soil.
Thanks.
