After much consideration on the variety of methods to remove grass I have decided to go with the tarp method. This is described below by Theresa's brother, who is an organic farmer in Ontario. He also added some info on manure. I have a massive blue tarp that we can use and then put the black mats on top but we will need more tarps. Anyone have a tarp they can spare for a couple of weeks? This Saturday we will lay the tarps out and then we will leave out offerings to the sun god(dess).
Come help out!
Removing grass---- if they haven't already removed it putting a black tarp on is the easiest. With the black side up (facing the sky) the sun will solarize the grass and weeds and kill it and you won't lose all that humus.Needs to stay on for about 14 days depending on how hot it is. Any colour tarp will do but black works the best. You can even use layers of newspaper. Since it's the front yard maybe none of these options will be acceptable.
Two year old manure is great if it is well rotted and sort of dry and crumbly. The age is not as important as the texture. What I mean is that if at the time it was used as bedding there was lot's of straw used and now it's two years old it will likely be fantastic. If however it's the way most manure is these days it won't have enough straw (carbon) and way too much manure (nitrogen)and it won't be nicely rotted but might be wet and slimy.If it is two years old there should be almost no smell and then it would be fine to apply anytime and start planting. Smell=ammonia Ammonia=burn that is burn the seeds and seedlings.
So if the grass has been removed I would put down approximately one inch of manure then spread the topsoil over top and work it in with a rototiller or rake or hoe--not that important as long as the soil and manure are sort of mixed in a bit. Then it would be nice if it could just sit for 5 to 10 days but if the manure is really nice and sort of dry and crumbly you don't have to wait. The reason to wait is to let any ammonia in the manure dissipate before planting.
One more thing, removing the grass is a lot of work but if your determined to do it try to cut it like sod, that is just shave it off. Some people think that if they remove the grass they have eliminated it as a weed but unless you kill it (as in solarize) it can start to grow again from the roots.A lot of time with gardening, doing less work is better. Try to only work on this when it is dry--- if the dirt is sticking to your shoes it is too wet
I have a tarp (blue...not black) that I can bring this week.
ReplyDeleteI have two large blue tarps...
ReplyDeleteDarcy - where/when are you getting seeds and plants? I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing for our garden too. Also, if you need another tarp I think we have one (blue as well).
ReplyDeleteRebecca
I also have a couple of tarps - very large blue one & 8x8 or so orange one. I will bring the seeds that I have - carrots, lettuce, spinach, spag squash, zuchini...might be more
ReplyDeleteGwen
Theresa is in charge of seeds and plants. She should be around this week with an update.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gwen!
Are you thinking of using the black mats from the gym? I would advise against those because the point of the black tarp is to cook the grass. The thick mats may actually act as insulating protection from the heat. You would be better off just using the blue or orange tarps and perhaps buying roles of a really cheap black landscape cloth to put on top of the tarps. You want to collect heat and transfer it to the grass and weeds to kill them.
ReplyDelete