removing grass

[miker2d2]

The second question of the morning from me!

I am making a new veggie bed which is currently lawn for use in the spring, do I have to remove the turf or can i just turn the top 2 inches upside down so the grass rots?

cheers

[rustylady]

If it's currently lawn and has been for some time it is probably quite compacted. I would suggest removing the top two inches and stacking somewhere temporarily. Then dig out about a spade's depth, bury the turf upside down and then put back the loosened topsoil. Sounds like a lot of work but probably worth it in the end.

[Glutton4...]

I'm lazy! I'd loosen it with a fork, then let the frost break it down for a week or so. After that, during a thaw (if you're lucky!) Then I'd pile it up with manure, soil, compost, leaves, cardboard... But that's only if you're having raised beds!

[Aberdeenplotter]

If you have plenty of depth, consider taking the turfs off and stack upside down. This will give you some super compost once it has rotted down.

[Two_Sheds]

2 inches isn't enough to kill the grass*, but you could turn in a spit (spade's depth) and that'll do most of it.
It's what I did with my lawn a year ago to make borders

* obviously if it's couch grass it needs to come out totally

[taff]

I de-turfed a couple of raised bed areas, stacked it, left it for two years, then filled another raised bed with it, lovely clean stoneless soil perfect for growing root veg, now I just have to learn how to grow bladdy carrots.....

[vicky]

I did both when I made my veggie garden.
Where I removed the turf I had a weed free but lower fertility (Soil fertility will be improved by adding the composted turves back after a year or so). Where I turned the soil over, left for about a month I had a LOT more weeds but the soil was richer. It's up to you - more work now or more later...

[Flummery]

I tried both. If you just turn the sod, the grass will re-grow. If you double dig it - take out and stack a spit depth, then remove the lower spit, turn the turf bit upside down and then add the second layer on top, you've cracked it. You can get a system so you're always a row in hand and you move along a row at a time. I made my veg plot from grass. I used to do a row each night when I got home from work. It soon mounts up.

[BUFFS]

turf love

if i lift any turves up i put them deep,upside down in the veg patch where carrots/parsnips will be sown that year,it doesnt overfertilise the ground,so works great...

[Pumpkin Becki]

When we built our raised beds at the lottie, we cut the turfs off, framed the beds with 6" gravel boards, two high (therefore beds are 12" deep from grass level). Then we put the turfs upsidedown back into the bottom of the beds, and topped with compost and horse manure up to the top of the first board, leaving room to add more if we needed to once it had settled.

If you aren't planning to do raised beds (framed or unframed), then you would really need to bury the turfs deep down to prevent regrowth - in which case its probably simpler to build a turf stack in the corner of the plot, leave it for a year or two, and then add it to the beds after that, once all the grass and roots have died off.

[miker2d2]

thanks everyone, think I will remove the turf, pile it in a corner and then use the soil in a year or 2. Looks like I got some hard digging to crack on with when the ground thaws!

Mike

[vicky]

If you can dig when it's frosty the turf comes away more cleanly than when it's totally thawed.
How big is the area you're planning?

[miker2d2]

thanks vicky, the area is approx 20ft*10ft alot of turf i know but i have a good dumping area and my ducks will enjoy digging in it!