Trying to raise level + get rid of weeds

[ck]

I am a total beginner gardener. There's a low lying area in our backyard which is hard to get to to mow so has gotten many weeds. I more or less removed the weeds right now (this is fall in New England), and am wondering if I can leave leaf bags over that area to smother weeds. (We have a lot of oak trees so a lot of leaves). I dont want to leave actual leaves as they tend to fly away with the wind. My kinda half brained goal right now is to leave the bags on their side over the winter, but I really dont know what to do after that. The ultimate goal would be to raise the level and plant something useful or pretty there. Also, this area is near a wooden fence, and doesnt get too much sun. Any thoughts on what I should do? Thank you very much.

 

[digitS']

I'll take a shot at this but I'm not quite sure of one thing: are you planning on bringing in soil "to raise the level," ck?

If so, you may want to build a retaining wall and rebuild your fence on top of it.

I think that killing weeds with plastic bags filled with leaves is an excellent idea. You may be surprised, however. Somethings can survive a winter under plastic just fine. I'm thinking that quack grass would laugh at someone trying to kill it that way .

Even during the growing season, you may not get a complete kill. Still, if you move the bags out and fill with the area with dirt after 4 or 5 months, the weeds may be so off balance that they can't get started again. If there's very much soil brought in, you may want to put down a 6" layer of leaves (and maybe some newspaper or cardboard) and then cover that with your fill.

You are thinking in the right direction it seems to me, ck. And, I'm glad you joined us here on TEG

Steve

 

[catjac1975]

We bring in leaves by the truckload for mulching and soil improvement. We get mulched leaves from a landscaper so they tend to stay put and are very dense for weed suppression. Dump the leaves, wet them, and perhaps throw grass clipping on top. don't leave in the bags -leaves are too valuable for soil improvement. Lime needs to be added to the soil.

 

[ck]

Thank you! To answer digitS' question, yes I do plan to bring in soil eventually. But I was thinking if I just left the bags there - these are 40 gallon paper bags packed full of leaves, they will reduce the amount of dirt/soil that I'd need. Basically there'd be some bags of leaves, more leaves around them, and soil on top of that. Will that work? Thanks.

 

[digitS']

Well sure but you will be surprised how little material remains after it decomposes. If you start with 12" of leaves, expect waaaay less than an inch of fully-decomposed compost.

A so-called "3-way mix" of compost, topsoil and sand is popular in the landscape trade. At a yard where it is sold, the guy said it is 1:1:1. I bet after a couple years it is .01:1:1.

Think of compost as an amendment and your soil as always hungry for it .

Steve

 

[catjac1975]

I didn't catch that they were paper bags. Yes leave them in the bags. A heavy layer will smother most weeds except the most noxious.