Keeping a square of soil bare?

Question

I'm weeding a flowerbed and will be planting in it afterwards. But there is a square foot that I want to stay as bare soil indefinetly (ie no grass or weeds growing from it).

If I salt that patch will it stop growth and will it harm the rest of the bed? Is there a better way? I just want it to stay as it is.

Answer 1

You could put Preen in it. I use this in my flowerbeds. It is a root inhibitor so when a seed lands on it then it's not able to put down roots. However, for my purposes, you can still plant stuff that's already grown and it will do fine. Anyway, it works great...I never have to weed my flower beds.



You could also kill whatever is there with a non-selective killer like Roundup. That will kill everything and you may need to spray it occasionally to kill new weeds.

Answer 2

Clear the area you wish and put a small mound of earth in the middle. Cover the square with weed suppressing fabric rather than polythene as this allows water to permeate through. Cut a hole where the mound is and plant a dwarf rose or shrub as a marker/remembrance and cover the rest of the square with stone,gravel or bark.Some weeds may grow on the surface but can easily be removed without disturbing the the soil beneath the fabric. The mound should be large enough to accommodate the root of your plant at least to start with.

Answer 3

Do not salt the area. If the salt washes into other areas it will kill everything.



What would I do? After you clear the area (thick plastic or newspaper laid over the area will kill the grass), place a large flagstone, stepping stone, or any other flat stone over the grave. I would plant some type of slow-growing, short groundcover around the stone.



I have buried many pets in different yards. I use a large flat stone to mark the area and plant ajuga (in shade) http://www.danielleblog.com/archives/ajuga_dappled_sunlight_01244.jpg or vinca (sun or shade) http://www.flickr.com/photos/sue_plezia/168896653/ to make the site more attractive. I also put a small garden solar light (http://www.solarilluminations.com/acatalog/solar_teardrop_lantern_light.jpg) by the grave.



If you loved your pet, it is worth the trouble. My 21-year-old cat died last November and she has a beautiful mesquabuck stone and a solar light over her final resting place.

Answer 4

Environmentally the best way is to pull out the little weed seedlings as they appear.



Salt might inhibit growth of some plants, but eventually those that can adapt would take over.



I'm assuming you want to be able to see a clear patch, so black polythene wouldn't be suitable.



Keeping the patch sterile is the only way probably by using sodium chlorate or a cocktail of herbicides at staggered intervals - a nasty business.



I wonder why you want to keep this patch clear?



Edit:

After seeing your additional details - I might suggest a concrete slab - with a little headstone??? Quite serious.

Answer 5

You can also use several layers of newspaper/brown packing paper. Cover with mulch, stone or rocks. Replace if necessary. Do not use salt. Technically, some places have laws forbidding the burial of animals in the yard. If there are wells, probably not, they can be contaminated. Vermin may be attracted to your yard, digging up the family pet. Placing tiles or bricks over the spot might be nice. They have paints at craft stores that you can paint on tiles and fire them in the oven to "fix" the paints.

I'm sorry you lost a pet.

Hope these ideas help.

Answer 6

Just keep turning the soil over and weed it every week. Don't put salt on it because it could eventually run off and affect the rest of your bed. Stick to it manually and it will look after itself in no time at all.

Answer 7

I don't understand why you would want that, but salting would be a bad idea. I assume you are aware of the problems caused by salination? It's pretty hard to keep dirt free of anything unless it is trampled so hard nothing can grow. I don't know how you do that without walking on it over a period of years though. Why not put some kind of mulch down?

Answer 8

Definitely dont use salt. It will kill your earthworms and wont stop weeds as it will become leached out to surrounding soil. Better to cover the area with membrane (get this in garden centre) which allows rain to soak into the soil but prevents weeds coming up and then cover this with bark chip.

Answer 9

Try having a small bonfire on the spot but make a brick surround to contain it. Once the bonfire has died down remove the bricks and the remains of the fire and the soil beneath will be 'sterilised' and free of weeds.

Answer 10

cover with nylon for 6 months this will kill all roots, seeds leaving clean soil.

there is also weed killer on the market that seals the ground not allowing weeds to germinate



this is why u get no weeds growing through wood chips, bark (will if its at least 3" deep anyway)

Answer 11

Put down a square of heavy duty plastic and put some bricks on it, that should do it. I think l'll have a square as well, maybe we could start a trend here?



Extra note: Now it makes sense! I used a small square slab from the garden centre to mark the place, I put down a plastic sheet larger than the slab and put bark chippings around the slab to keep the weeds off and my daughter painted the name and details on it.

Answer 12

Why dirt, don't graveyards have grass, flowers and a marker? Why not do a mini graveyard. Tiny wire or picket fence. planted with Zoysia, Mondo grass or mini acorus that doesn't need mowing, a small perennial like a mini rose and a stone or marker of your choice. RScott

Answer 13

how about a personalized stepping stone like from a craft store that you can put your pet's info on?

Answer 14

i would salt just that one patch and try extremely hard not to get salt on the other patches. i dont believe there is any other way. hope this helps

(:

Answer 15

Use black polythene, Path-clear (weed killer) or maybe a Mulch.

Answer 16

thank for the 2 points