No dig gardening

[ideasguy]

I'm fighting a losing battle with grass in my flower borders.
I'm trying mulching them this year. I'll explain that in more detail in my subsequent posting in this thread.

I used my large rotavator on one bed a few weeks ago. It left fragments of grass roots on the surface.
I left them to dry out until now and am now attempting to remove as many as possible. To my horror I find that even the smallest fragments below the soil are sprouting again.
That would explain why I'm multiplying the density of grass roots.

In some areas I use a fork, attempting to remove grass roots intact. In flower borders where Ive been doing this for years I find that no matter how deep I dig I find nasty grass roots. Worse still, its a thicket of underground grass roots in some areas  - forking them out is murder!

Conclusion? I'm not removing all parts of the roots. The small parts I miss are growing again (rapidly!!!) and worse still, I'm burying them deeper with my actions.

Ive found this:-
http://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/no-dig-growing/no-dig-growing-preparation
Has anyone experience of this method?

[cornishgardener]

It may be ages since this was posted - but just to say, that in my last garden, I had a real problem with an area of couch grass!  I covered it all with cardboard boxes spread out, and, though it took at least 2 seasons, it worked well.  I then planted potatoes in the area, they grew just fine, and were yummy when harvested.  The best bit was that the ground after they were finished, was lovely!  I DID add lots of manure when I planted them, but certainly didn't have any more grass after that.
I have also had success with getting rid of creeping weeds by putting covering over autumn and winter with cut up compost bags.  Keeping the light out long enough is the secret.

[ideasguy]

Hi Roxanne and welcome to the forum!
Thank you for reviving this topic.
I'm envious that you have found a way to get rid of couch grass.
Like you, potatoes are good for clearing the ground here. I wish I could grow then in my flower beds for a season

My mulching as mentioned in my posting to start this topic didn't work. Photos to follow
My next door neighbour tried no dig method this year, and had fantastic results.
I will try the black polythene method next. I feel confident that will work - thank you!

[georges]

Late late reply. Down here in Tasmania I use layers and layers of newspaper. Best one here is the Australian, the more boring the paper is the better it suppresses, but you need the whole paper as the layer. Top off with pine bark and next season "most" of the weeds are gone.