Plan twice, do it once!

Well, I am sure I have had the first of many lessons yet to come – whatever you plan to do will take longer than expected.

I thought we could remove all the bricks in one morning. I mean, it was kind of cool and overcast Sunday morning. The ground was very damp, so it was easy to push the shovel into the earth and pop up the bricks. Yet after 2 ½ hours, we still have the brick sidewalk to take up.


You’ll remember my concern for grass growing under the bricks? Well, here’s a photo to prove it. In fact, bermuda can grow into concrete. Some of the bricks had a lot of concrete holding them in.



There were also a few surprises, one of them being landscape fabric under the bricks. There was a shallow layer of dirt and sand on top of the fabric, so the bermuda grew there very happily as well.



We had some help with the task. Mischief, the black and brow tortoise-shell cat and Annie, my sweet spaniel supervised. Mischief wanted to help us dig the new trench between Mike’s yard and mine, but she got tired quickly and laid down to rest.

Speaking of that trench, Mike has a Bermuda lawn he wants to keep and I want him to keep it on his side, so I need to dig at least a 6-8 inch trench, pour in cement and build up a border high enough to keep the grass on his side. Another project to add to the list. We’ll do it together and have to watch out for the roots of the established Mulberry tree that sits on the property line.

In the meantime, the rains are helping to green up the grass. Now I just need another week to get the sidewalk bricks up and then another to let that grass thrive in the fresh air!

If you do not have the detailed how-to instructions on Bermuda Grass Removal, please visit this website at http://www.4dirs.com/fdpc/bermuda.html

Until the next time, Happy Digging

Doreen, THE Garden Goddess
www/down2earthgardens.com

Good Bye Bermuda Grass

Today is the first day of the bermuda grass removal campaign at the Goddess’ Gardens! Oh what an exciting day it is! This journey will ultimately end up with a wonderful edible and sensory garden right in my front yard! I can just smell the lavender and taste the peaches now!

I am tired of mowing and fertilizing a lawn that does nothing but sit there! It does not earn its keep as a play ground for children or pets (we have a back yard for that) and I spend lots of my time and money making it look good. (Well not that good.) And more importantly I use precious water to keep it green. I would rather use water for plants I can eat and use. And with a garden V.S. a lawn, I can use the rain water I collect and re-route off the roof to water the plants.

Oh but wait – first the Bermuda grass must DIE! I have been telling people I was going to do this for months now, but just didn’t know HOW. There are several ways.

Dig it out - but the roots can go down several feet!
Solarize – but that would also kill the roots of the other plants and trees I want to keep!
Or use a chemical – Glyphosate (i.e. Round Up)

I thought and researched about this. I went from thinking about renting a bobcat to dig it out and haul the dirt/grass away and then hand digging around all the border gardens; to laying down plastic and bricks and letting the sun cook it away (but how would I get all the grass growing in the border gardens?); to using a chemical even though I support using earth friendly products and being as natural as possible.

Then I attended a class through the Phoenix Permaculture Guild (http://www.phoenixpermaculture.org/) where we were taught how to use a chemical responsibly! Imagine that, use a chemical to kill a plant! (Bermuda grass) and then bring the soil back to life!

So this is my journey. One where I will make my Bermuda grass look the best it ever has – and then I will kill it off! This will take several months to do. Then I amend the soil and plant a cover crop; nurture and harvest it; and throw it away! Only then can I begin to plant my edible garden. My goal is to plant a peach tree in January 2009 as the start to my edible front yard.

This is what my lawn looks like now – not yet ready for the first spray. I must get all of the bricks removed, so I can get to all of the roots below them and all the grass that is brown is still alive below the surface, so it must be growing well above the surface for the Glyphosate to work its magic. I will water daily and fertilize weekly to get it healthy and growing so it will be able to bring the chemical down into its root system. Of course unless the monsoon rains help me out!

I will share my journey with you here – all the tips, tricks, mistakes, all of it, so you can benefit from it.

You can also get more tips on my website at http://www.down2earthgardens.com/ and http://www.4dirs.com/fdpc/bermuda.html.

Happy Digging,

Doreen aka THE Garden Goddess