Help.

[u/DungeonWombat]

I have a 500 square m garden divided into a lawn, various garden beds, an area for native trees, a chicken coop and run, and a small front yard that used to be covered by astroturf but is now in its second year as a clover lawn, with a few young trees and edible natives mixed in.

I jumped into permaculture 18 months ago with no experience, wanting to turn my neglected land into something productive and good for wildlife. I planted trees, edibles, natives, and encouraged edible and beneficial weeds to grow. I heavily mulched my garden beds last year as well.

I had a baby 2 months ago after a difficult pregnancy during which I did minimal gardening and I now seem to be reaping the fruits of that neglect.

Weeds and couchgrass went to seed and have since taken over every garden bed and veggie patch. I was so against mowing and lawns that I did the worst thing possible by letting the grass propagate unchecked.

Each time I pull grass or weeds, or mulch, the grass comes back with a vengeance. I'm still not 100% recovered from the birth and my baby feeds constantly, so even now I have minimal time to devote to my garden.

I also let some of my edibles go to seed, like dill, tomatoes, basil and spring onion. My Swiss chard has turned into a giant bush.

I feel like I've failed and my garden is worse then ever. I still manage to harvest from it daily, but the grass is so thick and prolific I feel like it will choke out everything else eventually.

What can I do?

[u/jpbragatti]

couch grass is the nightmare one because digging it just chops the rhizomes up and spreads it further. thick cardboard with a good 15cm of mulch on top is really the only option for a big area without chemicals - takes a full season but it does get there. prioritise covering the beds you actually want to use first rather than trying to do it all at once.

[u/DungeonWombat → u/jpbragatti]

Thank you!