It’s roughly 6 weeks till the final frost here in 7b.

I have a spot of grass and ivy that I want to turn into an annual veg garden. I’m waiting on soil nutrient results.

My current plan is to silage tarp all the grass and ivy for 3-4 weeks. Then cover with any needed amendments, 2 inches of compost, 4 inches of wood chips, then tarp again for the remaining 2-3 weeks. When the final frost passes, transplant out my annuals.

After the growing season I’ll cover crop with peas, clover, vetch, oats. Repeat next year.

Does this make sense? Am I missing anything?

  • tty5@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    8 days ago

    I’ve done something similar just not with a nicely maintained lawn but an overgrown meadow. And I did half an acre at once because I’m a glutton for punishment. Random notes/observations:

    • get soil tested ASAP. It’s cheap and it will tell you what you are missing. Small amounts of targeted fertilizer (a single 10kg/22lbs bag for half an acre in my case) of missing microelements pretty much doubled my yields in second year. I wish I’ve done it earlier.
    • grass is very resilient and will consider 6 weeks under a tarp a friendly challenge. You will be weeding it constantly for the first year. The only areas that ended up grass-free for me were covered with a tarp for a full year after being tilled. Tarp outside of vegetation season does nothing.
    • it might be too late for wood chips this year, especially if you are adding 4 inches of them - it’s best to add them at the same time as cover crop
    • raised beds are an easier option for a small area. Despite all the space I have I still have half a dozen large ones for herbs and plants that aren’t very compatible with the heavy clay I have here