Another raised bed question

[RedClayGardener]

Hello!
I am using 8" untreated pine boards for my raised beds. I have dug the clay soil underneath 1 foot deep and turned it over. However some grass/weeds are still showing. I was going to fill the boxes with 4" of topsoil. Will this be enough to suppress the weeds? If not should I add more topsoil or try to remove the grass/weeds?

Thanks!

 

[vfem]

I removed what I could of the weeds under my raised beds... they average from 4" to 12" deep. I only filled my 12" beds to 10" (they settled down to about 8".

With my 4" bed, the some weeds have come up through... not a lot though. If you could fill them higher i t would help. My 12" I haven't seen one weed come up at all. :/

 

[karanleaf]

You might want to put down a weed blocking material then put your soil down you would still be fighting grass and weeds even with that if you use top soil, cause the weed seeds come free with it. :tools

Our beds are made with Old timbers we had. We used our broken down composted horse manure and pineneedles soil. And You bet we have to weed. But boy Oh Boy we got some black gold with this stuff

:happy_flower Karan

 

[patandchickens]

By far the best thing is to take the time to remove all the grass/weeds you can find. It is EVER so much easier than battling them forever after.

To the extent you can't get 'em all, flatten out that soil and put half a dozen sheets thickness of dampened newspaper on it, then top with your topsoil. The newspaper layer will encourage the grass and weeds to expend whatever little stored energy they've got left in trying fruitlessly to grow through it, and very few will survive to infest your bed; and the layer will weaken by summer (so plants can root down through it) and have disintegrated totally by next year.

I am not a fan of using landscape fabric in raised beds because it makes it difficult for your garden plants to root down into the deeper soil (which makes them MUCH healthier and hardier and less thirsty), and the weeds that grow through the landscape fabric (and some WILL, both from below and by growing roots downward from above) become exceptionally difficult to pull out because they are anchored by their grip on the landscape fabric.

JME, good luck, have fun,

pat

 

[RedClayGardener]

Those are great ideas! Thanks!