Removing Bermuda grass for large bedding area

[Pook Pookerson]

Can anyone tell me approximately how much depth of soil needs to be removed in order to convert bermudagrass lawn space to a large bed for shrubs / ornamental grasses / flowers? I don't want to battle the bermuda coming back into the area--I've heard it's very difficult to get rid of. I would appreciate any responses. Thanks.

[mexigardener]

Last weekend I heard Howard mention to excavate 1 1/2 inches to
remove bermuda roots. I guess a spade shovel could help with this.
He said the biggest mistake to make is tilling before doing this.
Tilling just brakes the roots and burys them deeper and then the bermuda
growes again. Hope this helps.

[Pook Pookerson]

Wow, that's surprising to me that I would only have to remove 1-1/2 inches of soil to remove the Bermuda roots. When I dug up Bermuda turf a few months ago, it appeared that some of the small fibrous roots went as deep as 6-8 inches in some areas. Of course, I don't want to haul off any more soil than is necessary, so that's good to know. Thank you.

[garykm]

I have a small landscaping company and as arule of thumb, depending on the purpose of removal, I never go less than 4 inches. When constructing a bed we work the soil until we dont find any roots, remove approximately 2 to 3 inches from perimeter and install steel edging to a depth of at least 2 inches. (I have seen bermuda roots on a golf course 4 feet deep, growing down towars an irrigation drain.) I stay on top of the grass with vinegar sprays and mechanical removal. Compost, compost, compost.... keeps soil loose for easier removal

[Pook Pookerson]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me. I just listened to a video clip of Howard on this website, explaining how to kill bermudagrass. He stated that you could put 1/2 inch of compost down over the bermuda, then cover that with paper or cardboard, wet the area, then apply mulch. He said that in time the bermuda would be killed. I wonder how long that would take before it was all dead. And then, could I just remove the paper / cardboard and till it up w/ compost to prepare the beds. The positive side to this method would be that I wouldn't have to haul off the soil containing bermudagrass roots. Any thoughts on this?

[pstevens1]

I have used a sod cutter on several occassions to remove bermuda sod. Each time, I was able to re-use it myself or I gave it to friends. I set the cutter at about 2". The following spring, I just kept an eye out for any new sprouts, but they were easy to pull out. I haven't had a problem since that time.

A sod cutter is a little work but is worth it if you have a relatively large area to remove. In that case, it is much easier than digging it out with a shovel.

[stuart]

I have a situation where I'd like to remove Bermuda from under a large Post Oak. The tree is one of the oldest in Denton County and has thin grass cover under the canopy from the trunk to 3/4 to to the drip zone. From that point out the grass is pretty thick. I could not go as deep as some are suggesting for soil removal of course, and wonder how long I should go with the compost/paper/mulch. I want to create a large bed under the canopy of this tree and plant grasses such as Bluestem and Muhly. Do I need to remove the newspaper or just let it stay?