I’ve struggled to keep a corner of my garden free of Bermuda grass. The grass rhizomes keep sneaking under the drip irrigation tubes. They infiltrate the garden bed and reduce vegetable production. This year I decided to take that section of the garden bed out of production for the season and put it under a mulch to knock the grass back.
Bermuda and other grasses invading the garden bed.
I’ve also decided to divide my beds into 4′ x 4′ sections for planting and rotation purposes. Since I have four 16′ beds and one 8′ bed, that gives me 18 different crop sections.
Mulching the pathway with old newspapers. The newspaper will then be covered with pine straw or wood chips.
I’ve been saving old copies of our weekly newspaper for the last few months. After removing the staples, I laid these on the garden pathway next to the grass filled section.
Weed barrier over four foot section of bed. The weed barrier will be removed to make way for a cover crop.
Then I covered the 4′ section of bed itself with a piece of weed barrier. I’m not using the weed barrier as a permanent solution to weeds. It’s a temporary protector of the soil until I’m able to plant a crop, or in this case a cover crop. Unlike my dad, Noel, in Wisconsin, I don’t have easy access to large quantities of leaves for mulching the garden.
The newspaper in the pathway, now covered with pine straw.
Finally, I covered the newspaper in the pathway with pine straw. In the past I have mulched the paths with just pine straw, but the Bermuda grass quickly grows through it. The newspaper should slow down the grass for a couple more months.
I’ve also extended the weed barrier over the next four foot sections. I’ve already prepared this section for onion planting, but they won’t be going into the ground until next week. I can then remove the weed barrier, drop in the onions, and store the barrier for future re-use.
As the season progresses, I’ll plant the first section with a series of cover crop mixes to smother remaining grass rhizomes.