Comments on: Tips for Establishing Herbal Leys in Existing Pasture http://2womenon2acres.com/tips-for-establishing-herbal-leys-in-existing-pasture/ The Good Life Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:16:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: admin http://2womenon2acres.com/tips-for-establishing-herbal-leys-in-existing-pasture/comment-page-1/#comment-2047 admin Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:13:28 +0000 http://2-women-on-2-acres.com/tips-for-establishing-herbal-leys-in-existing-pasture/#comment-2047 Hi Helen I got mine from Kings seeds, they have a web site and the herbal ley is quite a variety, or look in yellow pages for a local seed merchant or PG ghtson and you can buy by weight and mix you own selection. jGood Luck Hi Helen I got mine from Kings seeds, they have a web site and the herbal ley is quite a variety, or look in yellow pages for a local seed merchant or PG ghtson and you can buy by weight and mix you own selection. jGood Luck

]]> By: admin http://2womenon2acres.com/tips-for-establishing-herbal-leys-in-existing-pasture/comment-page-1/#comment-2046 admin Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:06:42 +0000 http://2-women-on-2-acres.com/tips-for-establishing-herbal-leys-in-existing-pasture/#comment-2046 Hi Simon, Thank you for the question, the easiest way is to get a sharp knife and 'cut' a tiny, index finger deep hole and drop the clove of garlic in, making sure the root end its pointing down, then fitt in the hole with fresh top soil. Keep the small area, roughly 3 inches diameter clear of weeds by adding some mulch, this reduces the competition for food and space. Hope this answers your question. Let us know how it goes. Suzi Hi Simon, Thank you for the question, the easiest way is to get a sharp knife and ‘cut’ a tiny, index finger deep hole and drop the clove of garlic in, making sure the root end its pointing down, then fitt in the hole with fresh top soil. Keep the small area, roughly 3 inches diameter clear of weeds by adding some mulch, this reduces the competition for food and space. Hope this answers your question. Let us know how it goes. Suzi

]]> By: admin http://2womenon2acres.com/tips-for-establishing-herbal-leys-in-existing-pasture/comment-page-1/#comment-2044 admin Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:56:07 +0000 http://2-women-on-2-acres.com/tips-for-establishing-herbal-leys-in-existing-pasture/#comment-2044 Hi Ruth Thank you for the question, now the thing about kikuyu grass it it's roots. A bit like the Californian thistle they have a huge network and they travel quite a long distance and are VERY strong. What I would do is this:  Cut the area very short with a lawn mower, then cover the entire area with thick black plastic, you can get this at places like Mitre 10. You need to secure it with enough rocks or bricks so that no light or air can get under it. If the plastic proves expensive (I don't know how much it is, you can buy it by the metre) try and find some corrugated iron sheet but they have to be flat enough to lie flat on the ground and on let in any light or any air flow underneath.   What you are aiming to do is suffocate the existing above ground grass and prevent any moisture or light feed the strong roots, which will die off.  Leave the plastic/iron in place for 3-4 weeks, then take a peek underneath. If you see any sighs of white or pale green roots, I would rake over the area and replace the plastic/iron for a further two weeks. I know this, seems a long process, but, you need to kill all the roots of the kikuyu grass, or else it will grow back and crowd out your herbal ley. If you got the plastic down asap, then you will still have time to plant your herbal ley seeds this spring, after the job of removing the kikuyu is done. (The herbal ley seeds can be planted as late as November) Kikuyu grass is not like a normal weed, it is extremely strong and aggressive, and it would be a shame to waste your money on herbal ley seeds if they are not going to get the chance to germinate.  And this is why a meadow hey would not be up to the job, unfortunately, it would make the kikuyu grow even stronger, as it would act like a mulch.  I hope this answers your question. Please let me know how you get on and photos would be nice!! Hi Ruth
Thank you for the question, now the thing about kikuyu grass it it’s roots. A bit like the Californian thistle they have a huge network and they travel quite a long distance and are VERY strong.

What I would do is this: 

Cut the area very short with a lawn mower, then cover the entire area with thick black plastic, you can get this at places like Mitre 10. You need to secure it with enough rocks or bricks so that no light or air can get under it.

If the plastic proves expensive (I don’t know how much it is, you can buy it by the metre) try and find some corrugated iron sheet but they have to be flat enough to lie flat on the ground and on let in any light or any air flow underneath.
 
What you are aiming to do is suffocate the existing above ground grass and prevent any moisture or light feed the strong roots, which will die off. 

Leave the plastic/iron in place for 3-4 weeks, then take a peek underneath. If you see any sighs of white or pale green roots, I would rake over the area and replace the plastic/iron for a further two weeks.

I know this, seems a long process, but, you need to kill all the roots of the kikuyu grass, or else it will grow back and crowd out your herbal ley. If you got the plastic down asap, then you will still have time to plant your herbal ley seeds this spring, after the job of removing the kikuyu is done. (The herbal ley seeds can be planted as late as November)

Kikuyu grass is not like a normal weed, it is extremely strong and aggressive, and it would be a shame to waste your money on herbal ley seeds if they are not going to get the chance to germinate. 

And this is why a meadow hey would not be up to the job, unfortunately, it would make the kikuyu grow even stronger, as it would act like a mulch. 

I hope this answers your question. Please let me know how you get on and photos would be nice!!

]]> By: Ruth http://2womenon2acres.com/tips-for-establishing-herbal-leys-in-existing-pasture/comment-page-1/#comment-2042 Ruth Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:39:08 +0000 http://2-women-on-2-acres.com/tips-for-establishing-herbal-leys-in-existing-pasture/#comment-2042 i have a large area of kikuyu to turn into a herbal ley, about 20m x 20m. it is a newly planted orchard. can i cover the whole area in meadow hay to kill the kikuyu and then rake it up and sow the herbal ley seeds onto the area. any other suggestions. too big an area to fork out the kikuyu. thanks. i have a large area of kikuyu to turn into a herbal ley, about 20m x 20m. it is a newly planted orchard. can i cover the whole area in meadow hay to kill the kikuyu and then rake it up and sow the herbal ley seeds onto the area. any other suggestions. too big an area to fork out the kikuyu.
thanks.

]]> By: Simon http://2womenon2acres.com/tips-for-establishing-herbal-leys-in-existing-pasture/comment-page-1/#comment-1982 Simon Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:07:31 +0000 http://2-women-on-2-acres.com/tips-for-establishing-herbal-leys-in-existing-pasture/#comment-1982 Did you have garlic in your lay and if so how did you plant that ? Did you have garlic in your lay and if so how did you plant that ?

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