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Re: Intro, novice question

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

I wouldn't rely on double digging to kill Canadian thistle roots; however,
double digging offers the opportunity to remove the roots, and to carefully
dig them out to their full depth (or 24", whichever comes first :-)

With that caveat, I'd agree that this is one of the few times that extensive
soil manipulation is needed, if you wish to avoid playing chemical Russian
roulette, as I do.

The commercial boys and girls either use Roundup or else plant a smother
crop and chop and roll it, to do field scale no-till.

Clearing a field of Canadian thistle and quackgrass justifies the use of a
rototiller, and the buckwheat-buckwheat-cereal rye sequence is used in the
Northeast, to smother out pernicious weeds, but on a small scale faster
results can be had by diligent removal of the weeds and all their evil
roots!

Frank Teuton
-----Original Message-----
From: Kurt McCullum <kdmccullum@bigfoot.com>
To: sqft@listbot.com <sqft@listbot.com>
Date: Tuesday, January 05, 1999 12:10 PM
Subject: Re: Intro, novice question


>Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
>>
>>Are there any suggestions on the best way to deal with the weeds?  I know
a
>>good portion has been left for the last 6 years, but before that was
>>beautiful(the neighbors told us).  If I were to do potatoes on a large
>>portions and then mulch with hay, would that help control the weeds?  How
>>long can perennial weeds survive before they actually die off?  Or would
>>spraying it with an herbicide be teh way to go(I really dont' want to
butis
>>there much choice?
>
>You can turn it under by double digging. that way the weeds are used as a
>nutrient instead of wasted. Any kind of mulch will help with weeds. Keep it
>as thick as you can.
>
>>
>>For starting new raised beds, I want to start a few in areas where there
is
>>lawn, what is the best way to proceed?  I was wondering if laying
>>newspaper, then adding the top soil would be sufficient, or if it should
be
>>dug up, then add more topsoil?  I want to put in raised beds so that if
the
>>main garden won't produce, at least we'll get some fresh produce...lol...
>>
>
>I've done the lawn bit and here is how I did it. I dug down about 12-18
>inches and then put the grass portions at the bottom. Then I added compost
>to the top. This puts the existing grass at the bottom of the heap where it
>will die and enrich the soil.
>
>>What is the best mixture to put in the raised beds?
>
>Compost! compost! compost!
>
>>What do you all use to grid off your sqft gardens?
>
>I've tried string and sticks and I wasn't happy with either. In the Square
>Foot Gardening Book, Mel uses skewers. I have given up trying to grid the
>squares. I use 1'x1' cardboard with holes in them for planting in the
proper
>location.
>
>Hope this helps.
>
>Kurt McCullum
>--------------------------------------------
>The Gardener's Notepad
>http://members.aol.com/gnotepad
>
>
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