How to remove roots and grubs from raised garden bed?

gmrinal11

Hi,

The picture attached is one of the garden beds, it is beside an established hedge (one of the common hedge shrubs).

I was trying to dig and prepare the bed for some autumn vegi plantings, when I noticed that it has almost a carpet of roots, so dense that it was difficult to dig it properly. When I tried to follow some of these roots to understand it's origin, it just led me deeper and deeper. I had prepared this bed in spring and remember removing a lot of roots, but it seems to have come back.

Also note that I had tried growing spinach on this during spring summer, which really didn't grow well at all, they just dried up and died. Another thing I noticed is the level of grubs that are coming up as I keep digging trying to get rid of the invasive roots. Finally, the soil also appears to be very dry, with large dried clumps which are hard to break.

Could you pls provide some suggestions on how to get this raised bed back in shape - with invasive roots, dry soil, and significant level of grubs as the issues that I can from the top?

Appreciate your help,

Thanks,

Mrinal.

MitchellMc

Hi @gmrinal11,

It sounds like you'll need to remove the soil entirely from the garden bed and then laying weed matting to prevent these roots from the adjacent trees from entering it. You can then decide whether you'd like to use the same soil, though, with its poor quality, the roots filling it and your grub issue, it might be worth replacing. I'd suggest you read through this helpful guide: How to fill a raised garden bed.

If you decide to reuse the soil, you'll need to improve it with compost. For removal of the grubs, check out this guide: How to control curl grubs and army worms.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell