While preparing some veg beds this afternoon for planting tomorrow, I mulled
over Bill's solution to Dastardly Grass (DG: to refer to stoloniferous
grasses) and my initial reply. I think Bill's solution has merit, but in
the broader context of lawn rejuvenation rather than as a remedy for the veg
beds specifically.
As I mentioned earlier, our veg garden was carved out of a motley lawn area,
the lawn consisting of various green plants, one of which is the
objectionable bermuda (DG). The DG runs from the lawn and into the beds.
(The veg garden is surrounded by an electric fence, standing 5' away from
the beds themselves; this is the perimeter area to which I referred earlier.
There is a center grass walkway lengthwise and two grass crosswalks, each
being 5' wide.)
Newspapers, Ca sources, and hot manure are not practical additions to the
veg beds themselves during the growing season. The reasons, I think, are
obvious.
What we should really be considering is lawn rejuvenation; that is, getting
rid of the DG in the lawn so that there is no longer any DG to run from the
lawn into the veg beds.
My understanding is that DG can be deterred in a thick, healthy stand of
turf grass, just as farmers deter it by planting thick stands of oats or
other grains for a couple of years in pasture areas.
Let's say we applied Bill's suggestions: smother the lawn with newspaper or
cardboard; add Ca source; add hot manure. We get rid of the existing lawn.
We replant with turf grasses and watch carefully that no bare areas appear
(assume pH testing and nutrient monitoring) for the DG to invade. If we're
successful in eradicating the DG and in preventing its return in the new
lawn, then we don't have to face the frustration of DG running into the veg
beds anymore.
I suppose we must also consider how wide a rejuvenated area is needed to
keep the DG from the outlying area from crossing it and getting back into
the veg beds. If the rejuvenated area is maintained in a most healthy
state, perhaps the problem won't surface for many years.
One must consider at this point whether the time and the expense of lawn
rejuvenation outweigh the time and frustration of quarterly hand-digging.
If the solution held promise of lasting for many years, it probably would be
worth doing.
Pat
