If you're thinking of starting a new flowerbed, do it the easy way. It’s called sheet composting, and it involves no digging, and no tilling.
- newspaper or cardboard
- compost, leaf mold, or topsoil
- bark, wood chips, or other organic mulch, such as straw
Preparing the Flowerbed Area
First, determine the layout and size of your flowerbed. Mow the area, with the lawn mower blade set as low as you can. Remove any remaining weeds by hand.
For the next step you’ll need lots of newspaper or cardboard. Pizza boxes also work great for this. Spread the paper so it covers the entire area of the new bed. On windy days, do this in small sections at a time or it might blow around. When using newspaper, use perhaps eight or ten sheets to make a thick layer.
Next, spread a couple inches of compost, leaf mold, or topsoil on top of the paper. If you have plenty of compost or leaf mold you can afford to be generous. Cover the compost or topsoil with a thick layer of bark or wood chips. By the time this bed is ready for planting the mulch will be aged properly.
Now, go off and forget about this bed for five or six months. Meanwhile the turf or weeds under the layers of paper and mulch will gradually die. This waiting may be the hardest step.
Planting the Flowers
Planting your new bed is easy. Pull the wood chips back as necessary to dig a hole for each individual plant. If you find the paper isn’t fully decayed, dig right through it. Transplants of annuals, perennials, and shrubs work better for these beds.
For planting bulbs in the new bed, the Bulb Hound Planting Tool is great. It is convenient and easy to use. The long handle means there'll be no more stooping to dig holes for bulbs.
If you prepare new beds in the fall, they'll be ready for planting in late spring. If you begin the bed in early spring, it might be ready for fall planting, depending on the growing season where you live.
Once they’re established, these beds remain relatively weed-free. Any weeds that happen to show up can be easily removed with the Weed Hound Weeding Tool. Using this method to enlarge existing beds is much easier than removing turf. This method is also perfect if you have poorly drained soil. In that case, put a very thick layer of compost or topsoil on top of the paper to form a berm or raised bed.
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