Unexpected success!

[ladyjanelly]

So last year when I was all pregnant and stuff, I started a gardening project.

I wanted to expand the 24"wide flowerbeds in front out by another yard and edge it with white blocks so we could replace lawn that we watered for either heat/dry resistant plants or edibles that we would water but get something out of.

I knew from experience that pulling up St. Augustine grass sod is a nightmare. It took hours and hours to pull up just a few square feet.

So I had the bright idea that I'd have the lawn guy cut it short, and then Kendra and Sam and I laid out the blocks and covered the short grass with layers of cardboard and then about 2" of cheap soft-wood mulch.

I went to work it in today, and I was expecting to scrape back the mulch, pull out the cardboard and then remove dead grass.

Imagine my surprise when I broke through the mulch and there was about 2" of completely decomposed cardboard and grass. Nothing to pull out. Just had to shovel it around and try to work it into the clay-heavy Texas dirt.

I almost want to start buying blocks and mulch and planning next year's sod-to-bed expansion (The goal is to have very little "lawn" left at the end).

I need suggestions though: are there any more-green ways to do this? I know the softwood mulch isn't the most ecological solution to the issue.

What would be the greenest way to improve the soil so it's less heavy and clumpy? I have a lot of compost, but when I mix it into the soil, even in a 50/50 mix to fill flowerpots or whatever, when it gets hot and dry it turns to a solid, unbreakable mass. Mass quantities of vermiculite?

Comments

[tabaqui]

Maybe instead of mulch, heavy-duty plastic and some gravel? I know plastic is icky but...it would keep the grass from growing, and you could use the gravel for decorative purposes later, maybe.

Or can you buy/get leaf mulch from the city? Like - yard waste? Or borrow a friend's mower that does the mulch thing and mulch fallen leaves?

Can't help you on the soil - we have Missouri dirt, which is basically clay-y dirt and rocks. Lots of rocks. I mostly don't do any gardening at all.

[tobemeagain.livejournal.com]

We have a mix of St. Augustine and Bermuda grass... let me tell you Bermuda grass is the spawn of the devil it is. I need to ask Mom on the cultivating the soil because we've been gardening in our flower beds and back garden (with compost) for 8 years with great result (and most of soil started out that lovely TX clay too *grrr*). When she gets home from work I might have a website or advice.

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

If you wanna take a lot of grass out, try the cover-for-a-year method. :) I highly recommend it.

Yeah, let me know what she suggests adding. Someone on an organic gardening thing says I have to add sand--which doesnt sound like it would make it better.

[tobemeagain.livejournal.com]

Well there is something called green sand that is one of the things she highly recommends... it helps to loosen the clay from packing up so much. Earth worms help to break up the clay as well. Though if you are not adding green sand you'll need a lot of worms. Most places that sell the worms will tell you how many per square foot you need. We got them for the front rose beds and they've helped tremendously.

Another thing you can add with the green sand and worms is peat moss. While it's moss, it's not as environmentally friendly due to how it is harvested. (It's not as renewable a resource as the name moss makes it sound.) But like the worms you really only need to add it once to help loosen the soil.

Also how do you compost? She says compost should be food scraps and leaves (about even mix) then use a composting agent (which is just a bacteria) Oh and red worms in compost makes it even better. We usually have a corner of the backyard where we are letting the compost do it's thing, then move it to the garden.

Hope that helps :)

Edit: whoops lj hook picked and the wrong icon... so I changed that.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

Sounds to me like you're going about it just the right way. You can use newspaper too. If you have not-quite finished compost, that's great instead of the mulch, or dried grass clippings. I'm not knowledgeable about clay soils, here in Jersey the soil's not too bad. Vermiculite sounds like it would work, in a raised bed, I'm guessing?

[moonpupy.livejournal.com]

Believe it or not, sand. Lots and lots of sand. We, too, have clay (to the point I can throw pots with it, lol), so when the mister starts improving a patch to turn into more garden (the goal, as is yours, is to have no lawn left), he adds sand, compost (we make our own), peat moss, and vermiculite. He adds other stuffs too, but he's the gardener, not me, so I don't know all the bits.

[tobemeagain.livejournal.com]

Betting he adds worms like mother does. If he doesn't she strongly recommends them.
Red worms for compost (they make it more nutritious... um let's go with nutrient rich *g*)
Earth worms for main garden/lawn - clay... again they improve the nutrients and texture.

*sorry, shutting up now, I think I'm on information overload*

[mass-hipgnosis.livejournal.com]

There is a great article HERE (http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/improving-clay-soils.aspx) highly recommended by my grandmother, who says she learned a lot of this the hard way.

[faunna.livejournal.com]

Ditto on the sand, sand, sand comment.

For turning lawn into bedding soil I like to break up the area with my special pitch fork and a twisty thing with tines. I think they can work around 'Augastine in ways you might like. Anyway, mix in grass-clippings, compost/manure, and sand. The gooier the more sand you need. Water it, mulch it with more grass-clippings and then a layer of wood mulch. Just use a mulch that will rot into a good soil amendment. I like an oaky mulching as opposed to pine bark for this task and not cypress at all. Something that will rot down quickly if you sprinkle a layer of grass clipping across it with regularity. Guess I never thought about the source, but it sure does look like bark scraps other diced up leftovers from industry that I'm happy are going back to the earth.

Let that lay fallow and all rot together. Sometimes, if the soil is particularly abused, it takes a second dose of amendments after the first turning. Think of the first processing as a primer coat :) About my third year here I got the eye and the knack and could prep a patch and tell it was done by the roots of any weeds that survived the mulching.

LEAVES!

[kayleeskylyn.livejournal.com]

To improve your soil will really depends what your "Soil" is (a quick chat with your local gardeners association will let you know all you need to about your cities soil and whats needed to "fix" it). If it is clay they ya sand will help loosen it. But even so I would highly recommended leaves. No mater WHAT your soil is decomposed leaves are great! They help loosen the soil, provide good food for microbs and plants. As much leaves as you can get. Pile them on. If your soil is like a rock when it dries out then add the sand but also add lots and lots of leaves.
*returns to lurking for fic...mumble complains about stupid apartment living...*

Re: LEAVES!

[ladyjanelly.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. I'll have to figure how to keep the wind from blowing them around. My neighbors would hate me if I grabbed their garbage bags of leaves that they raked up, only to have them blow back into their yards.