Question about mulch

[Dan99]

I planted some shrubs last year.. about 15 of em spaced 5' apart.. it`s a real pain trying to cut grass in between them since I have a 48' deck and they`re about 48' from the fence...so I want to border them off and fill the area with mulch. Theres grass there now, if I fill the area with mulch several inches deep will it kill the grass? Or do I have to till the whole area and then fill with mulch?
thanx!

[Steve Swail]

Dan, what kind of grass you got? If it's a fescue or KBG then yeah, I'm sure you would choke it out by putting a 2" layer of mulch on top of it. And whatever happened to pop up you could spot spray with Roundup. But, from a mowing perspective I don't know if that's the ideal thing....I mean, wouldn't you want to have the mulch kind of at the same height as the grass, so you could just run right along the edge, with no lip or need to trim? Plus, if you take your time & make a nice, clean edge with something it will look great. I just did that with a 50 ft planting bed along the back of my house. Used a couple of stakes at each end with a thin piece of twine as my guide then took a flat shovel & followed the twine to make a clean, straight edge. Yeah, it was kind of a PITA but it looks great & I can run the mower with one wheel on the mulch. Anyway, just my experience....

[Dan99]

Yeah I was hoping to make a nice clean edge. My local rental center has a machine that makes a perfect edge, the kind you are talking about. the other side is against a fence so I`ll be ok there, I just wanna make sure the mulch will kill the grass.. or most of it
Not sure what kind of grass I have MIDWEST Grass????lol

[jkason]

If you do this, you are going to find that the grass will still grow through the mulch.

Best scenario is to remove the turf, put down weed-block fabric, and then put down the mulch.

[Newt*]

I agree with Jkason. Remove the grass (you could rent a power sod cutter) and then put down your mulch. An even better idea would be to plant a clump forming groundcover so the weeds won't have a chance to fill in the bare spaces over time.

Newt

[MILSINC]

Do not use fabric under mulch. Spraypaint your border. Spray roundup on all the grass within that area, being careful around the shrubs. Then edge with your machine. Then install the mulch. This will work well, and you won't have to take out sod.

[Newt*]

I agree that a weed blocker is probably not a good idea, especially if more plants will be planted. With no disrespect to MILSINC, I would not recommend the use of herbicides in a situation where roots from shrubs, etc could be under the sod. There are numerous posts on arborist forums about trees dying or showing damage because herbicide was sprayed on the weeds under them. The stuff does translocate and can be carried by a breeze.

You can put down a layer of 6 DAMPENED sheets of black print newspaper to help smother what weeds might pop up. Be sure it's damp or you'll be chasing it all over the yard at the first breeze. Been there, done that! :walking:

Newt

[Dan99]

Hmmm, I`d hate to kill the shrubs with weed killer, they are only a season old and took alot of work to plant.
You guys ever see that propane torch on a long handle that kills/burns weeds and grass.. I wonder if that would work

It`s this

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200203874_200203874

[Newt*]

There's a radiant heat weeder that might be even safer. I've read that they are very popular in Europe. Only a few distributors in the US.
http://www.pesticide.org/radiant.html

Newt

[FLAhaulboy]

Take your weedeater and mow the grass down to the roots. Blow out grass clippings with a blower, Then spray a weedkiller on the grass roots and cover with mulch. Dig out any grass by hand that is to close to shrubs. I've done the above many times and its easy enough to do quickly.

[Steve Swail]

Dan, another suggestion is to rent a sod cutter & take out the grass that's there between the shrubs. I know it's a big area but I've never been a fan of putting something down to prohibit the growth of weeds. I mean really, one of the biggest purposes of mulch is to retain moisture for the roots of your shrubs. I've never quite understood how something that keeps weeds/grass from growing up could allow water to get down to the roots. But, what do I know? Hey, no lie....I just spent the better part of 3 days digging out an area approx 30' x 10' with a flat shovel. I basically scooped under the grass/sod in sections & then transplanted it to areas in my yard that were bare. Talk about an aching back... Kind of why I recommended a machine to help :). But, if you ask me that's the "right" way to do it, get the the grass/sod out of the area & leave yourself a couple of inches for the mulching material you want in order to bring it up to the level of the grass you are keeping....

[Dan99]

That`s probably the best way to go Steve.. or I have a tiller, till the hell out of it then rake away the grass.

Right now i`m trying to plant some sod and keep the 25 evergreens I planted last year from dying.. 2 down and others aren`t looking too healthy, I put some of those feed sticks ijn teh ground near the root maybe it`ll give them a little boost:hammerhead:

[Newt*]

The problem with tilling before you remove the grass is you'll be chopping up all those lovely grass roots. If you don't get them all up, you'll have grass sprouting in your bed. That's why I suggest a power sod cutter. You can set the depth it cuts down to. Then you can reuse the sod somewhere else like Dan did, or compost it.

Newt

[Steve Swail]

Dan....You might want to give your evergreens a good shot of HollyTone. It's a slightly acidic fertilizer (which those trees & your shrubs love) sold at HD & Lowes. It's certainly not a "miracle cure" but the nurseries I've been to in my area all carry it & recommend using it at least once in the spring & fall on those type of plants & trees....