Quote:
Originally Posted by Canada 02
looking to create some flower beds around the yard.
This is the plan. I would mark the perimeter with spray paint. Cut into the ground with a garden spade. Insert landscape edging to define the flower bed. Then spray everything inside the bed with Roundup to kill the grass. A week later when the grass is dead, rototil the ground, add compost, topsoil or peat moss. Cover with landscape fabric then mulch.
Never done this before. Got some of the prep ideas from HGTV.
Questions. Is Roundup safe? Anyone ever use it before? Do i even need to use it? If I simply cover the grass with dirt, and cover that with landscape fabric, the grass should die, correct?
Also, some of these beds will be used to grow veggies. Will Roundup be unsafe in a veggie garden?
|
Use a grub hoe to pull the grass.
Just cut a couple inches below the grass and keep working your way back. It is very easy to do this way. It is way less hassle than getting a sod cutter unless you have a very large area.
Roundup is totally safe. I used to tell my crew the stories about the salesmen back in the old days who would drink it to prove it was safe to apply to plants. Don't know if the stories were true but every couple weeks they would spike my water bottle with some.
About how Roundup works: It is actually a super growth formula that makes a plant grow so fast that it dies out. It must be applied to a green leafy part of a plant to work and if it touches soil it pretty much becomes inert. Don't be fooled though, just because a huge patch of grass is dead it doesn't mean it is much easier to remove. You still have to do 80% of the work you would have before hand.
Get a grub hoe (or a pick with a wide backend works too) and just chop under the roots.