Anyone ever get Bermuda grass out of a garden?

[kenny]

Here is my situation I have a 10,000 M/L sq ft garden in Lufkin TX. My soil is a nice sandy loam. I have been raising a garden in the same spot for close to 15 years. When I started there was no bermuda grass in it but over the years using the roto tiller I have managed to spread it over aproximately 60% of the garden area. I till but it survives in among the plants. I tried spraying the area with roundup as a last resort last spring but it was a waste of money. Is there any sage advice you can give to git rid of that grass, or convince me that bermuda grass is not hurting the garden other than my desire for a garden free of grass. Thanks Kenny

ps Just got my Mantis till yesterday All walk ways nicely tilled and bermuda grass free.

[FarmerDill]

[omi]

[simy1]

Obviously by rototilling you are continuously kicking up new seeds, not to mention damaging the soil structure. If you are willing to go one season with plants only, cover the garden with cardboard or newspaper, cover it all with woodchips or leaves, and then plant through the mulch. The existing grass will die. Don't rototill as earthworms should be doing that for you, without kicking up new seeds. Later (two years down the line maybe) when the mulch is consumed, existing seeds will float up and you may have to either weed or repeat the treatment. What's the point of rototilling a sandy loam anyway?

[omi]

I thought the problem was due to the immortal rhizomes, not to seeds. Rototilling chops up and spreads the rhizomes and the Bermudagrass comes back from that. It will not grow through the newspaper (requires light) but it will live under it for a long time. Olin

[kenny]

I always till the garden in the spring to till under all the winter grass. I have a mantis cultivator that I use now to weed the rows. Just got the mantis last Thursday. Dont know if it will help eliminate the weeds tho. THanks kenny

[Rez]

If you are using manure, especially horse manure, be sure the horses are not being fed bermuda grass hay. The seeds survive the passage thru the horse and sprout like little weeds wherever the manure is spread. This is how I got all my bermuda grass! No rototiller required.

There are chemicals that specifically kill bermuda grass, tho I don't know if they are safe for an edibles garden. Myself, I just be diligent with the potato fork. If you pull it up carefully, and it's less than a year or two old, you can usually get most of the rhizome, but in some soils it can get over 6 feet deep, so once established it's really hard to get rid of.

~REZ~ (just passing through :)