New gardener

[maybeljj]

I write to a lady who is in the service but is now back in the states. She lives up north, and wrote this:

I've been staring at the old overgrown flower bed everytime I take the trash out. I've been deciding on trying to tackle it and give my kids a chance to grow something. I just seems like such a daunting task to clean it out. It was overgrown with grass and weeds before we moved in last year and it's just bigger now. My dad took my weedeater back to MI to store in his barn because I didn't need it here and didn't have room for all the extra stuff, so I don't know where to start. Or how to get all the weeds/grass up by the roots? There is one rose bush in the midst there too.

I suggested she spray the entire area with vinegar, and then put down newspapers (not the inserts) over the area. Then cover that with mulch. did I tell her correctly? Any other suggestions???

[Nadine]

What you told her is okay, but it depends upon the grasses she is trying to eradicate. If it is bermuda, douse it with gasoline and set it on fire. Just kidding. The newspaper layer should be separated sheets somewhat crumpled, not flat. Then a layer of compost, a layer of mulch and a layer of newspaper, over and over is what is referred to as lasagna gardening and it works quite well.
As for the vinegar spraying, the rose bush will be fine so long as there are no leaves on it (upon your writing , being that it was in January, that should be fine). Usually the spraying of an entire area that contains things you do still wish to keep, so long as they are dormant, is recommended between Christmas and New Year, but as long as it is done before budbreak, this should be fine.