Can I put a raised bed right on the lawn? (UPDATE #12)

[limabean]

My DS has been asking to start a garden, so I've finally begun researching it and think I'm going to go with this plan:

http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/05/free-garden-plan-beginner-garden-in-day.html

The spot we've chosen is on the lawn, which we don't mind losing part of, but I just want to make sure it's okay to put a raised bed right on the lawn, or am I supposed to tear out the grass or otherwise treat the spot first? (The directions I linked do say to place a weed blanket down at the bottom of the bed, so presumably that'd be sufficient to stop the grass from growing up through the garden?) I don't know -- I'm a total newbie! 

ETA: Question about pest control added in post number 5.  

ETA: Now I added a completely different question in post number 6. Sorry for being such a n00b! 

Edited by limabean - 5/9/11 at 2:37pm

[philomom]

You should remove the grass if at all possible because unless your raised bed is very deep.. the grass will just grow right up through any soil you place on it. If it is too hard to remove try covering it with an inch of newspaper before chucking the fresh dirt down in the new bed.

[laohaire]

I put a weed barrier down on my lawn but that was it. The weed cloth was sufficient in our case to prevent grass and such from growing through it.

I don't know if it's possible for certain species of grass or weeds to get through the weed cloth, but in our case it was fine and that was all I did.

[marimara]

You can google "lasagna gardening" and it talks about how to do it on the lawn.

[limabean]

Thanks everyone. The bed will be 8 inches deep. So it sounds like if I put cardboard, newspaper, or a weed blanket down at the bottom it should be fine...?

ETA: Also, any tips on controlling pests in our garden? We don't really have wildlife in the way of squirrels, raccoons, deer, etc., but we have lots of snails, and maybe buggy-type pests (I don't even know what the common ones are). Any tips for that?

Edited by limabean - 5/9/11 at 2:38pm

[limabean]

Okay, so what if I put the raised bed on top of a rocky area in the garden (a thin layer of sort of large gravel, maybe half-inch diameter)? In that case, should I remove the rocks first, or just throw down the weed barrier and fill with dirt on top of that? 

[laohaire]

Weed barrier over rocks/gravel would work for me.

I can't comment on the pest control. We have slugs but a small garden, so I just hand pick. I like to put them in a jar and take them to the chickens when I go to a farm. (Delivery service for chickens, lol). 

[RoamingWidgeteer]

Originally Posted by laohaire 

Weed barrier over rocks/gravel would work for me.

I can't comment on the pest control. We have slugs but a small garden, so I just hand pick. I like to put them in a jar and take them to the chickens when I go to a farm. (Delivery service for chickens, lol). The

Yup. Learn to ID the pests and remove my hand if possible. Put down planks and once per day collect the slugs that accumulate underneath. The Rondale's Garden Problem Solver is excellent for all sorts of pest solutions.

You may have problems with wireworms due to the lawn or proximity to lawn, so keep an eye out for those little pests before they wreck too much havoc.

[mattemma04]

I have layered over lawn without weed block and have had no issues.Just have to make it thick enough..My biggest problem is the grass invading from the sides so you just need to have something to block the side growth.

[lunita1]

The problem with putting weedblock underneath is that you are also blocking your garden plants' root growth.  I prefer to give my plants lots of room to stretch their roots down deep in the soil, so I would take the time to clear the grass from the area you're going to plant(and loosen the soil as deep as possible), especially if you have any perennial weed species in your lawn that might be hard to eradicate.  You'll save yourself some time in the long run.

[limabean]

Well we got the box built and are going to plant seeds/seedlings today -- I'm excited! I ended up making the box out of 2x12s instead of 2x8s so that the roots would have an extra 4 inches of room to grow down (because we did use the weed barrier). We're doing nasturtium, sunflowers, cherry tomatoes, red bell peppers, basil, bush beans, radish, and carrots. Thanks for your replies -- I've always been really intimidated about gardening but now that we're taking the plunge I'm really excited and figure that we can't really fail because if nothing else we'll learn how to do it better next year. 

Oh, I did want to ask, though -- for things like radishes that have a really short maturing cycle, can I just replant seeds right after harvesting them and get a few growing cycles out of them throughout the summer? 

[limabean]

Okay, I know this is going to sound incredibly lame to you experienced gardeners, but I'm totally blown away that we could just stick seeds in the dirt and they're actually growing!! Everything except the basil has sprouted, and some things (like the bush beans) are growing INCHES per day -- it's incredible!! This is so, so fun! 

[Owen'nZoe]

Hooray! I'm so glad the garden is going well for you and that you're having fun. It is a lot of fun!

[lunita1]

If your summer isn't too hot for radishes (they prefer cooler weather) you can plant more every two weeks or so to have a continuous supply.  Where I live, we can plant in successions like that in the spring and fall, but they flower too quickly in the summer to get good radish roots. 

[mattemma04]

I just bought some 2 x 10 x 8 wood to make some boxes too. Tired of fighting the lawn and I want more GOOD soil. Did you do the weed block or hardware mesh? I was thinking of the hardware mesh  due to voles and moles.

 I looked at the page you used for your plans. Did you do the deck screws from plank to plank,or did you attach the boards to scrap wood on the inside? I have even seen L brackets used.

Happy growing!

[Owen'nZoe]

Mattemama -

When I built my beds, I just layered the inside of the bed (lasagna gardening-style), and put down landscape cloth (with woodchips over) in the paths between the beds. It's worked out very well! Hardware mesh would certainly stop the moles and voles, but wouldn't do anything at all to block the grass, which is what you were worried about, right?

For some of my beds, we screwed the planks right to each other, for others, we screwed the planks into little sections of 2x2. I definitley recommend the later, as the corners are lasting better than the ones that are just screwed together. Also, if you want a trellis, you can leave the 2x2's long on the north side of the bed, screw another 2x2 across the top, and you have a frame attached right to the bed. It works great!

[mattemma04]

Thanks for the reply! I built my box the other day. Nothing on the bottom.Too impatient to wait to fill it and seed it. I dug out the grass then added rabbit poo,soil,worms/worm poo,and then more soil.I planted round zukes,beets,turnips,daikon radish,ground cherries,swiss chard,and okra. Looking forward to building some 4 x 6 boxes next.

Those will need the hardware cloth due to meadow vole/mole issues in the back.

[RosieL]

Originally Posted by limabean 

Okay, I know this is going to sound incredibly lame to you experienced gardeners, but I'm totally blown away that we could just stick seeds in the dirt and they're actually growing!! Everything except the basil has sprouted, and some things (like the bush beans) are growing INCHES per day -- it's incredible!! This is so, so fun! 

I'm into my third year and I'm still blown away by the seed sprouting and subsequent growth of each of my plants. :)

[Owen'nZoe]

Mattemamma, your new bed looks terrific!

[RosieL]

Mattemamma, how does your garden grow?