Help with landscaping problem - flower beds?

It's hard to say without seeing the soil, but based on your description, the rocks should do fine in terms of promoting drainage, particularly if the soil is clay like and often compacted.

The fabric itself is used to keep weeds from growing; pay it no mind; you can even add more once you put your own garden in.

A rototiller will not cut through rocks- you'll end up owing a big bill for replacement parts.

As far as adding soil, it really is contingent on what kind of plants you grow- perennials and annuals are not created equal; what requires deep soil for one may not work for another.

Another thing~ you won't choke out the weeds with your flowers, mama, sorry :) If it worked, we'd all be doing that lol. To really get a good firm hold on the weed battle, you need to start by picking through as much of the soil as you can, and ripping out whatever weeds you come across at the roots- any no longer rooted, pull out as well, or they can seed and sprout.

Burlap and newspaper work well as a final layer under the soil once everything is in place, but you'll always need to weed to some degree- some weeds are annuals and some are perennials, so try to start early to help deter seedlings. Also, the more work you put into now, the less you'll have later- it's much easier to remove weeds before your plants are in than after; especially if you're a novice gardener and haven't got a lot of experience identifying your plants yet- most will be similar to the weeds when early in development.

Plants that have ground coverage or creep will help eliminate some of the weeds by blocking out the sun~ the same principle applies to your grass as well: typically, you should set your lawn mower to 3" (most people- and mowers- limit to 2")- by setting it to 3", it may look slightly longer, but it will provide enough shade that the sun's light won't be able to permeate and feed the weeds. Same thing applies in your garden- plants that creep and cover the ground will block out the sun's rays too.

The only caveat to creeping, ground coverage and spreading foliage plants is that some can be invasive, and take over your garden if you're not careful.

Mulching is another way to deal with weeds, but is done as a final step, after the plants are in the ground- and I cannot stress how pivotal it is you try to eradicate as much as possible before planting.

Another method is the obvious- herbicides and weed killers. I personally refuse to put any kind of chemicals like this in my garden, but to each their own- there are some natural choices out there now, and there are also some preventative, pre-emergent herbicide to target germinating seeds before they have a chance to grow. If applied 3 weeks prior to sprouting, it will combat annual weeds. Here's an article on them:

http://www.homedepotgardenclub.com/Dimensions/Arti...

Vinegar is an excellent natural alternative; the problem being, it will kill just about anything; so it's best used prior to planting- preferably a few weeks prior- to eliminate any damage to your babies.

Another option is beneficial or companion weeds- these are naturally occurring weeds that aren't used by humans or domesticated into strains, but can be planted alongside some other domesticated plants to help deter the development of other weeds. The specific types are contingent on the plants you want to put in, and the region.

Another benefit of choosing companion weeds or weed deterring domestic plants is that they also serve to deter pests (rabbits, moles, chipmunks) and insects that will destroy your harvest. You should always expect about 20% of your garden to be consumed by pests and insects, but insectary plants will go a long way to help minimize this.

There are also some veggies that are good weed deterrents- but you seem interested in focusing on flowers so I’ll try to stick with that. Wildflowers in particular work well, so you're definitely on the right track :) Roses are another good one that are also good in clay soil.

This is a great website with all kinds of info, including a guide on identifying weeds and how to handle each one specifically:

http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/weeds.htm

Also try joining up a gardening network- they are chock full of awesome mamas and men who are happy to help you through your dilemmas as they pop up; and the added benefit of finding someone who's in your same region will make a huge difference in the quality of the advice, as it relates to your situation. you'll even find seed swaps on there, which are always great for finding heirlooms.

I hope this helps in some way~ if you have any other questions, feel free to email me- I'll try to answer any questions you have :)

Sing songs and plant flowers!

The landscape fabric would jam up a tillers tines. Ideally the fabric should be removed, but that may be to much of an undertaking. You can just build raised beds with landscape timbers or similar material. Add fresh topsoil with some organic material such as Black Cow manure. Use a pre-emergent such as Preen, or Preen and Green which has fertilizer added. This will prevent any weed seed in the soil from germinating. The stone was probably used for decorative purposes. It doesn't hold water, and is probably to thin a layer to do anything for drainage. The best solution to help drainage in clay is Gypsum. It comes in a powdered form, and chemically alters the clay so the clay particles don't stick together. This will give you more airspace, and thus better drainage. If you go with a raised bed, or just add topsoil, put the gypsum down first. Water will carry it into the clay.

I'm not sure what exactly your situation is, but here are my thoughts. Being in south Texas, you may be on land that used to be cotton fields. I just found out this week that my house in Arizona used to be cotton field, which is why it is difficult for things to grow in the ground. The previous owner may have just wanted a rock garden, and provide a nice barrier from the 'toxic" ground should they try to start a garden. While removing the rocks would be very labor intensive for very little gain, I would try to integrate the rocks into your garden. Maybe sort them around and add a little bit more soil, so that you have little outcroppings amongst your plants. If you use desert plants that have shallow root systems, this will not be detrimental to their development. Hope this helps.

Rocks For Flower Beds

Yes thouse red landscape timbers that are about 4" thick are treated wood and last for many years. Keep in mind that your beds well look kinda boxy since you wont be able to make any flowing rounded edges. I have landscape timbers in part of my yard but I'm cutting some new beds and replacing everything with interlocking bricks to give it a softer flowing look. I have had no probloms with my landscape timber though. I'm near Seattle WA so they get wet a lot and there no worse for wear. For the price I think they are one of the cheapist, best looking and long lasting edging material. For the price. I fold down the seat in my mazda and fit 5 of them at a time in the car.

Dude you have the longest question in the world . Dig the crap out and make it to what you love , the dig is gonna be tough but each inch done is the near end . I had the same problem , cedar brush that had died and i was the new owner of planters that were under grown with cedar roots yagggghhhhhh more energy for work and less talk

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Wow. Some people are really rude, lol. Ignore the person telling you your question is too long; they neither provided you with any valuable information or likely have anything better to do with their time.

To answer your questions:

For starters, you should be more concerned about the rocks messing up the rotatiller, not the fabric- most types of fabrics used in the garden to inhibit weed growth are very biodegradable, and even the heavier ones, like burlap, will probably not create any issues with your tiller unless your using a very small one meant to only till the top inch of your soil- in which case, you're wasting your money renting one, since you could easily do that with a rake. unless the fabric was very recently laid and still laying in one solid piece, a rental tiller that's of a higher grade will not be bothered by the fabric; in fact, I suspect you will find your fabric is probably more bits and pieces and not connected, which will make it near impossible to pull out manually, and is actually broken up and buried at different depths because someone has tilled over it in the past.

The "horticulturist" who suggested that is probably more like a landscaper who is used to promoting his business- or simply has been taught the way that landscaping companies do business, which is mainly to convince you that you're incapable of doing anything yourself, and will require loads of expertise, labor, and high quality equipment- not to mention dangerous chemicals- if you want to have a decent garden. Not true- and not his fault; just the way of the ever almighty dollar- but the homesteader who answered first offered some very good advice.

As the horticulturist said, it is true a stone won't hold water- what he failed to tell you thought is that stones keep the soil cool, and in keeping it cool, will help the soil itself retain more moisture. And even more importantly: You said the rocks were actually Lava Rocks- which are actually porous, and WILL help to retain some moisture!

You really have no way of knowing if the person who laid them intended it for decoration or as a utilitarian effort, but actually, even a thin layer will help with drainage.

Another problem- again, a trick used by landscaping companies to make you think you need their services on a repeat basis- "Preen", the weed killer suggested by the landscaper (oops- I mean, Horticulturist, lol) doesn’t actually do anything for weeds already seeded or established- so while it will help prevent a percentage of new ones from growing, its not going to do anything if you don't put some elbow into pulling out all signs of them before hand. And on top of that, it's a chemical- do you really want something like that in your garden? As the homesteader suggested, there are PLENTY of natural alternatives that we know won't cause harm to your, the soil, or the water systems that may be getting run off from your garden. Even though you spray those chemicals in your garden, when it rains, you will always have some amount of run off- meaning the chemicals WILL escape, and will run into your grass, your yard, and on into any habitat that wildlife uses, including water systems. It won't hurt the pests- most of those are immune to them now- but it will hurt the rest. And even if you only plan to put in flowers now, you never know if you may want to plant veggies down the line- and do you really want to eat something that's been exposed to that junk?

As for gypsum, again- another tool used by landscapers to drum up business.

Now, some will swear by the stuff- but an equal amount will tell you it's bad. Who's right? Only you can decide what is right for you- but as the environment continues to suffer from our desire to always find a quick and easy fix without looking at long term consequences, more and more people are getting back to their roots- no pun intended.

And I can assure you, the Native Americans,( who were the ones that taught the Europeans how to grow food, when they couldn't figure it out and almost starved to death) never reached for a bottle of Preen or Gypsum.

Gypsum is a mineral, but its not necessarily a safe one. Here's a description from GardenGuides.com:

"Gypsum is used in the garden to loosen soil (usually heavy clay soil), but is also found in drywall. This mineral generally contains a small quantity of crystalline silica. It is a white powder, but may also be found in lumps. According to the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) safety card, the scientific name is calcium sulfate dihydrate (CaSO4*2H20) and the molecular mass is 172. 2."

They then go on to tell you about all the potential dangers of using it in the garden- dermatological, ocular, respiratory and consumption. I would strongly advise you read up a bit n what they are before deciding whether or not to use it:

http://www.gardenguides.com/100008-gypsum-dangers....

On the other hand, what you believe in and how you choose to handle your garden is a choice only you can make yourself. So while I do hope you make the more responsible and environmentally sound one, I won't be completely biased and ignore some of gypsums benefits. Because it's a combination of calcium and sulfur, it can be beneficial in areas where soil is calcium deficient. There are some gypsum products on the market that incorporate organic matter like bone meal and natural fertilizers.

One thing that the landscaping replier failed to mention though, is that gypsum will do very little for compacted soil- which you say you have. According to another article I read:

"recall that if your soil’s compacted, gypsum won’t do a thing for you. The only cure is to apply some muscle and compost to it or build a raised bed. If the soil is just tough-to-dig, then you are already obliged to dig in 2-3” of compost every year."

That came from an article called "Is Gypsum a gyp?" at:

http://www.weedpatch.com/article_gypsum.htm

And it's a good article to read because the author is very unbiased, and looks at both positive and negative aspects of it's use.

If you haven't settled yet on what particularly you want to plant, here's a few articles on your type of soil and what works well in them.

1) http://www.statesman.com/life/gardening/rain-garde... (An article about rain gardens in damp, clay soil)

2) http://www.hoptechno.com/book26.htm (an article on veggies that do well in clay soils)

3) http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/impro... (an article on improving clay soils for gardening)

Remember too, you don't need to spend tons on expensive topsoil with fertilizers; or on "black cow manure"- composting is easy, natural, free, and excellent for the environment- not to mentions even higher quality than most of what you'll buy. And now a days, there's plenty of sites dedicated to urban gardening and gardening a small scale, so dont be intimidated at the thought of those huge barrels you see that require constant turning- you can make as little or as much as you want, and you don't need an expensive barrel for it. Here’s a few more links on that:

1) http://www.andreasrecipes.com/2010/01/23/weekend-g...

2) http://composting.suite101.com/article.cfm/alterna...

Both of those focus on composting within minimal space and time.

All in all the choice on what methods to use are ultimately going to be up to you and based on your principals- but remember also sometimes natural methods are also far cheaper, more fun to do, and will make for bigger, better quality growth.

Also- as the homesteader suggested, the very best thing you can do is join an online community that has a local group so that you can talk to people with experience working in the same type of soil. No one will be able to give you better advice, and even the most skilled horticulturist in Alabama will only be able to provide second hand knowledge on dealing with gardens in Vermont, Washington, or California. Your gardening region should be the basis of everything you do and choose, plant wise. Clay soil in Texas is not the same as clay soil in chicago.

You need to also ask yourself how much effort you’re willing to put in to this garden- and then ask yourself if you’re even ABLE to put in that muh effort and time. Once you have a realistic goal of how much time you plan to put in on a weekly basis, THEN choose your plants, and your methods. Most gardening requires lots of work- and natural methods are sometimes more time consuming in the beginning, but do taper off in the end. There are plants out there that require little upkeep and time on your part. Some people in the position to do financially may even decide its too much work for them, and hire a landscaper instead. I think its more fun to do myself but I’m retired, so I have the time to put into it.

Gardening forums are chock full of articles, Q & A, and people who are happy to help you avoid mistakes they made- and best of all, they're free!

Happy gardening!