digging plot

[SHAZSULL]

last week we strimmed our plot quiet grassy dosnt seem to bad,should we now just dig it over ?the grass thats left is like a carpet or should we cover it over,never any one to ask there.
i love rhonas idea with the squash no where seems to sell pumpkin except
carving ones at halloween!and they taste yuk!
i miss pumpkin soupyum yum

[selfraising]

Hi Shazsull
Not that experienced myself but I read somewhere that you can just dig it up and turn it over, it should then break down naturally.

[GreenPete]

Some people like to skim off the turf and put it in a pile to rot down then dig the rest. I used to do that, but I've found it just as easy (as long as the soil isn't full of perennial weed roots), to just dig the soil over. Make sure the turf is at the bottom when you turn it and then it will rot into the soil like a green manure.

[Eyren]

What kind of grass is it? If it's couch grass (the stuff with long white roots like spaghetti, that spread everywhere), I've found it helps to cover it with manure and cardboard for a few months, as that weakens it and makes it much easier to just turn over the soil and clear up. Stripping the turf also works and is quicker too, but it's a lot more work!

[Lazgaot]

You have to be careful and identify what kind of grass it is first. If its couch grass then digigng it out carfully is an option if you want to get on with the plot quickly and you have the desire to dig and sift all the roots out. It will regrow from a small fragment of root though!

If you have time you could also do as the others say and just mulch it with cardboard and manure then dig it up in a few months.

Another option could be to treat/spray it with Roundup then cover it with clear plastic to keep it dry and let it keep growing? In a few weeks it should all be dead, right through to the roots and can be pulled up.

[SHAZSULL]

You have to be careful and identify what kind of grass it is first. If its couch grass then digigng it out carfully is an option if you want to get on with the plot quickly and you have the desire to dig and sift all the roots out. It will regrow from a small fragment of root though!

If you have time you could also do as the others say and just mulch it with cardboard and manure then dig it up in a few months.

Another option could be to treat/spray it with Roundup then cover it with clear plastic to keep it dry and let it keep growing? In a few weeks it should all be dead, right through to the roots and can be pulled up.

not sure what type of grass but im in no hurry so think the cardboard manure is the way to go,raw manure is fine isnt it as it will rot into soil?
sorry to sound like a div!

[Eyren]

raw manure is fine isnt it as it will rot into soil?

I'm no expert, but I think I've read that raw manure will deprive your soil of nutrients as it rots. Well-rotted manure is much better, and easy for the worms to incorporate into the soil. Either way, ask your supplier before you buy - there's been some problems with a particular type of weedkiller from hay meadows persisting in manure and damaging gardeners' crops

Royal Horticultural Society - Gardening Advice: weedkiller in manure