I’ve been tending a garden for over forty years with some success. I have a high tolerance for weeds but there is one aggressive grass that I despise. Elymus repens is a common PERENNIAL grass that spreads with creeping white rhizomes.

I used to till the seedbed with a rototiller. The end result looked great but contained chopped up segments of the plant rhizomes. Each segment would form leaves and regenerate into a new plant. Nature is so resilient.

These rhizomes are tough, they have no problem penetrating black plastic or creeping under the sides of a raised beds.

Rhizomes of the Elymus repens (Quack Grass)

No-Till Gardening (2019)

In 2019 I obtained a ridiculous number of bales of spoiled hay. I had enough to completely blanket the garden, I was sure that I had blocked all light from reaching the weeds. I have good luck that year. A rotted pumpkin on top of a hay  formed a canopy of pumpkin leaves and a bumper crop of pumpkins. In addition the tomato plants loved the mulch and did very well.

New Problem

Most of the hay bales have rotted into a nice mulch. However the Quackgrass managed to infiltrate some of the matted hay. There is a network of white rhizomes that I cannot free. I lifted huge mats and tossed them on the compost pile. It an exhausting project and currently I’ve covered areas with black plastic in an attempt to weaken the weeds.

Permaculture 101 (Feeling Lucky)

I love the idea of having a permanent planting of a ground cover. Something that compete with the weeds. I don’t expect that clover could drive out the grass but I can tip the odds for the clover by removing the taller leaves of the grass. Less leaves, less food for the rhizomes.

This is an experiment with compatibility. How well will my vegetables and flowers do in a clover bed? At least I’ll have nice green  carpet that is attractive for the bees.