Expert: Richard Clark - 2/15/2006

Question
Hi,

I was hoping you could tell me what to do about starting a garden.  The area where I want to put the garden gets plenty of sun, and is away from trees but is covered in grass.  Do I have to remove the grass or can I just mix the grass into the soil?  I was thinking of renting a tiller ,  but I don't know if I have to remove the grass before I till, or just leave it there and till it in.  

Thank you very much
Lisa :)

Answer
Lisa
The best thing is to first get rid of the green grass. I would suggest spraying the green grass with Roundup. This will kill the grass roots. Roundup will not stay in the soil, so it will not harm anything you plant. Then when you rototill the area you will have some organic material to go along with the fertilizer to help your plants grow.
Good luck
Richard