It’s roughly 6 weeks till the final frost here in 7b.
I have a spot of grass and ivy that I want to turn into an annual veg garden. I’m waiting on soil nutrient results.
My current plan is to silage tarp all the grass and ivy for 3-4 weeks. Then cover with any needed amendments, 2 inches of compost, 4 inches of wood chips, then tarp again for the remaining 2-3 weeks. When the final frost passes, transplant out my annuals.
After the growing season I’ll cover crop with peas, clover, vetch, oats. Repeat next year.
Does this make sense? Am I missing anything?
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I don’t think the tarp will help with anything while its below freezing. Typically the tarps is used to increase the temperature, remove sunlight to kill the plants and if it gets hot enough to kill all weed seeds. So I doubt that will help before its below freezing. I have used it before to kill some weeds but that was late august. It won’t be hot enough and will act similarity to snow.
The best method would be to do Sheet Mulching which is similar to what you are planning on doing but not 100%. I would start with a layer of cardboard, followed up by mulch / leaf litter and then finalize with compost. I would plant my plants directly in the compost and then cover in straw. You won’t need the silage tarp because the cardboard weed layer should stop the grass and most of the ivy from growing. It will also start composting which the tarp will not. Around the edges the ivy can survive since the shared roots pass sugars from anything outside of the cardboard.
I have used sheet mulching to create two different small garden over the last few years. I started mine in the fall and planted in the spring which worked well. I have done it now for our second year for our vegetable garden along side some no / low dig methods. Last year was our first full year and our garden was thriving without any amendments. I expect even better results this year as soon as we can start planting.
You hit the nail on the head; tarping needs to be done when it’s warm out.
I read it somewhere so it makes sense there is a source besides trust me bro.
Also logically everything has been under snow for months. What are a few more weeks under a tarp? You might get things to germinate quicker but that’s it.
Edit: I’m sure I read it from the U of M the first time
Don’t know what sillage tarp is; if it’s not compostable, I wouldn’t use it. I don’t think just covering would kill the grass in time. Maybe it would, but it seems like if grass can survive a longer time under snow cover, it would survive under a tarp. I don’t think anything would grow well just in compost and woodchips (I’ve heard some things do, but plants usually do need actual mineral soil). 4 inches of woodchips seems extreme for annual beds.
Could just till with a tiller or double-dig (hard work) and mix some compost in. Some grass will still probably come up, so will have to hoe every so often. After the first growing season, there’d be much less grass. And you can start using a no-till method.
Some questions to think about:
- What are the common animals in your area (rabbits, gophers, moles, squirrels, deer)?
- Is your yard fenced in?
- Are you against raised beds?
As for your general plan if you want to go in-ground, the process would be:
- Till to 4-6" depth
- Cover 2 weeks
- Amended
- Plant
This could be simplified a bit with Raised Beds.
Do have all of those, yard is fenced 6’ fence with 1.5" gap between the bars.
Why till before amendmenting, I would’ve thought you’d till after to mix it in?
No till is an option though. I use cardboard underneath the layers on top (I have an acre no till garden, 8 years in). Tilling can mess up the mycelium. You will need to work on any perennial roots though for some years, but would need to with tilling anyway. You don’t need to mix in amendments. Layering and having the right plants nearby works. Nature is smart :)
With in-ground soil you need to do an initial till to disrupt the roots of whatever is growing on top and soften the depth of the soil to allow roots to take hold easier. You amend it after to ensure that all of the existing top soil is refreshed with nutrients, and allow that compost to help stop it from compacting again. After doing it the first year, it shouldn’t be necessary for many years after and you can just add top soil or whatever amendments you want for awhile until it compacts again.
Depending on the kind of soil, you may even want to till a second time after adding amendment to really mix it all together.
