Starting anew with established beds

[dcluck]

I've got two large south facing, rasied beds that previous owners have allowed to run amuck and there's little, if anything, in them that I want to keep. The ground cover (english ivy?) has grown about a foot tall, the crepe myrtles and rose bushes were hacked up terribly, shrubs were planted in aesthetically "bad" locations and there are lots of "trash" tress establishing themselves here and there. Basically it's a mess.

I plan to start planting this spring, but would like to know when is the best time to start ripping things out in order to prepare the beds. If possible I'd prefer to get as much of it done before spring, but I'm not sure if it's best for the soil to leave things intact until then. Another reason I'd like to start now is so that I can shred and compost everything over the winter for spring use. Is there any compelling reason not to kick things off now?

~Dave

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

Go for it now and good luck!

[dcluck]

Well, I spent the better part of two afternoons "shaving" off the layer of asian jasmine (?) and english ivy off one of the two beds using an electric hedge trimmer. I kept thinking of sheep during the process for some reason..

Anyhoo, I've still got a 2 to 3 inch thick mass of growth that's covering the surface of the bed that's difficult to get a shovel into. I have not clue how far down the root system of this stuff goes. :( There are leaves in there that haven't seen daylight in at least a decade I'm sure. I'm not looking to erradicate the jasmine (even if that were possible) but rather am trying to reclaim some areas in order to be able to plant other things. I'm thinking that perhaps a good dose of cormeal, liquid molases and compost might be the best way to help break some of this mass down a bit. I'm open to any other suggestions short of gasoline and a match (the wife gave me that look when I suggested that approach).

~Dave

[dcluck]

I inititally planned on composting all of this ground cover that I've shaved off of my landscaping beds, but now that I've gotten most of it off I've found that it's too much for my mulching mower to effectively chop up. :( I was able to get 3 bags worth of the loose odds and ends mulched enough for my pile, but I've still got a great deal left of it that I'd like to offer to anyone who's willing to take it. It's either that or it's going to be set out for curb-side pick up this week. As far as I know the city of Dallas doesn't have a compost/mulching program so this would be a waste. I'm in N Dallas (Richardson/Garland) if any one is interested - private message me here on the board and it's yours.

~Dave

[khwoz]

Can you mow the beds down lower? An old blade and disabeling the mulcher function might help. I'm thinking that if you cover the area with the amendments you mentioned, esp. molasses and then cover this with seven layers of paper (newspaper, clean paper is better) and then mulch on top of this, you should be in good shape by spring. I got this from Howards' radio show regarding tough grasses in the garden. Should work on ground cover also.