Beginner Gardening: backyard disaster advice, 1 by Dirt_Lover

Dirt_Lover wrote:
No matter what you do it will probably have to be done in stages and weed killer will kill what you've already planted and you don't want that. And since you're enviornmentally conscientous you wouldn't want that anyways. So, what I would do is start pulling up by the roots a section at a time starting around the plants you put in yourself so they won't be overtaken. Put some wet newspaper (stays in place better when wet) layers around them and then mulch on top of that to help discourage weeds. Flowerjen gave you the link to lasagna gardening and believe me, it works. The only place I got weeds was where I didn't make sure the newspaper overlapped. Compost if possible, aged manure....this will all help prepare it to plant native grasses or help prepare perennial beds, whatever else you decide to put in. If you don't want it all beds, you could do pea gravel for walkways or flagstone with moss or ground covers between. Your yard has lots of possibilities, especially since it's basically full sun. You might want to go for native plants for your area, wildflowers and such. Just some ideas. Cute pics JulieQ, really whimsical! The picture here is the lasagna gardening we're doing on our front bank to get rid of weeds and prepare it for plants this fall and in the spring.