permaculture

["Kevin Topek" <ktopek@houston.rr.com>]

Dawn,

Sheet mulching will kill off Bermuda grass in about 1 year. Cardboard down
first helps. It is more effective to just mulch thickly and pull the stolons
out as they re-emerge. Cardboard can impede this process of weeding. The
stolons will lay dormant and blanched under the cardboard for up to a year
and will emerge when the cardboard degrades. I am currently using partially
decomposed bark mulch to control a virulent infestation of Bermuda in a
client's cityscape. The high acid and carbon content of the mulch are hard
on the Bermuda and the stolons pull out easily, usually in very long and
blanched strands. Anywhere it can hide will be a new breeding ground, such
as under large stones, cracks in the sidewalk or the street curb's edge. Do
your best to remove protected locations so that eradication is more
complete. I actually find that Bermuda will reoccur, but can be kept weeded
and under control when enough mulch is applied.

Kevin

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dawn Hock" <dhock@bren.ucsb.edu>
To: <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2006 2:29 PM
Subject: [permaculture] Question regarding sheet mulching


> I'm an intern with the City of Santa Barbara Creeks Division in Santa
> Barbara, CA. I'm doing research into the use of sheet mulching against
> Bermuda and Kikuyu grasses, specifically methods that involve layering
> cardboard, mulch, newspaper, etc. I'd like to know if this is an effective
> method, and if so, the conditions under which it was used. Any help would
be
> appreciated.
>
>
>
> Thank you,
>
> Dawn
>
>
>
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