This is rather basic- but I have front beds which have basically overgrown into "lawn" and a couple bushes I want to remove. I'd like to dig out the grass and plant new bushes then use some weed fabric and cover that with like 3" of mulch... my question is- when I remove the grass- should I be replacing the volume missing with "loam" or what kind of dirt fill should I use? I can't afford to have someone dump a hill of it in the driveway so I'm stuck using "bagged" materials for the dirt and mulch... any suggestions? It's about a 20' long by 3' area in the front of the house.
thanks,
deb

 

Hi Deb,

I would suggest you dig out the grass, knock off as much of the soil as you can from the roots, add 3" of compost, mix that in and plant. If you are going to use weed fabric keep in mind that weed seeds will still sprout in the mulch and the grass will still invade from under the soil. To save money and make your life easier in the long run, I would suggest you skip the weed fabric. It won't do that much to stop weeds from germinating if you weed once a week for about 10 minutes.

An option to keep weeds at bay would be to plant a groundcover. Here's how to edge the bed so you you'll be able to control the invasion of grass into the bed. Scroll down to 'Dropped-lawn edge'.
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_design_paths_walkways/article/0,1785,HGTV_3567_1398447,00.html

Here's a compost and a mulch calculator.
http://www.cedar-grove.com/calculator.asp
http://www.atstecks.com/mulch.htm

Newt

 

Hi,
Thanks... got it dug out Sunday and there's actually enough dirt left after planting the bushes & with adding a bag of potting soil I found... I bought some cedar mulch since I have no compost and transplanted the bushes hopefully correctly...
I haven't put the mulch down yet as someone at HDepot suggested some stuff called Preen - he agreed with you re: skipping the landscaper's fabric esp for such a small area...So, I just need to read how to use that stuff and then spread the mulch.
I also need to find out if I should be "winterizing" the two small Hydrangeas, one Holly (I have heard having 2 is best for pollenation?) and Junipers I just planted... I may need more since I only bought 2 lge bags.
deb

 

Don't forget you will need to water until the ground freezes. I don't recommend using potting soil in planting beds as it's peat based and doesn't contain many nutrients. When peat dries it's difficult to rewet. Ever see a potted plant that dries out and when you water the water will just pool on top of the soil? You can always topdress the area with bagged compost. An inch or two under the mulch would be good. The worms will work the compost down over time and the natural microbes and nutrients will be welcome by your plants.

The sites I gave you from your other post will help with planting and mulching.

Newt

 

Use thick layers of newspaper under your mulch to prevent weeds from growing from the soil. It will break down over time and will also attract worms. It also allows water through and it is a wonderful way to recycle those papers.