This was Madame Scarecrow’s original post, which somehow did not arrive on screen, and my comment above is a reply to it:
Bonjour…Ca Va…???…(from Normandy France)
I wrote on this forum back in June 2016 of almost 1 yard high weeds mainly couch grass…Lurvely stuff…NOT….???
Well here is I, 1st January 2018 and I won…!!!…It was touch and go for quite a while but I can honestly say I now have the better of it….Merci Beaucoup Charles…After throwing the spade at it in frustration I followed your guideance of ‘No Dig’ and it worked…I had vegetables last year the likes I have never seen before….Merci Beaucoup Monsieur
I canny believe it worked without resorting to chemicals or John Deere tractors and ploughing…….I just covered in cardboard about 4 layers thick and started the beds orf again with green and brown “stuff”…it worked so well that I have now purchased a neighbouring barn with even more couch grass….but nay more nightmares this time…
Soooooooooo to my question Charles and other forum users…
The first garden will be going in front of the 300 year old barn and is a plot of land 25 yards long by about 20 yards wide…
My dearest French 78 year old neighbour has been to welcome in the New Year with me this morning (Coal and Calvados…!!!) and informs me that across the lane from the barn they were many now long gone farm buildings and these were demolished and the resulting rubble was leveled out on this plot of land in front of the barn and that I would be wasting me time ever thinking of growing a veg and flower garden on this land…
I do know that back in 2016 it was equally high with weeds and rubbish grasses (not that much couch on this piece of land though thank goodness) I felled it with a sythye and then me chickens, sheep, goats geese and ducks kept it well in check after that…Just to tidy up wee bits I mowed it no more than 3 times all summer 2017…
My initial thoughts are this week to lay out the veg and flower beds and inferstructure where I wish them, then as of 15th January to just cover the existing very short grass with large unrolled round bales of straw to about 3-5 inches thick and then pile on cow muck to about 4-6 inches and then any brown and green stuff I can scrounge/beg/borrow/steal in copious amounts…(I may be able to source mushroom compost and council made compost) then cover tightly until I need it to plant into in the spring…I was also thinking to leave the short clipped grass as is for the paths…
Am I right or wrong please….???
May I wish all of you a Happy, Healthy and Hearty New Year
Madame Scarecrow