Garden Help

[herta28]

So, in our pitiful excuse for a back yard, we've got two small strips of "land" that my wife would like to turn into a nice garden. However, whenever she goes out there and pulls all the weeds, they just grow back quickly. Seeing as how I am not wise in the ways of gardening/landscaping, I turn to you, my PMC brethren. What is the best way to about getting rid of all the weeds? Dig up the first 6 inches or so of soil and replace with new dirt? HELP!

Right side
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v156/herta28/IMG_20110529_171033.jpg

Left side
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v156/herta28/IMG_20110529_171038.jpg

[Scuba_Dave]

Garden as in flowers ? Or veggies ?
I use mulch
Many people dig down, add compost etc to loosen up enrich the soil
Then put plastic down, plant what they want cutting thru the plastic
Then mulch
I don't use the plastic, stops water from going thru
Also can use landscape fabric which will allow water thru

[herta28]

Just flowers/plants. No veggies, although maybe an herb plant or two.

[TexasAggie]

Gotta dig down and make sure you're getting the roots of those weeds. But yeah, till it up a bit, add some compost and/or gardens oil to the soil, landscape fabric the whole thing, and cut holes in the fabric when/where you plant your new plants, top it off with mulch. You'll have a beautiful little garden and the favor of wifey

[StrikeOne]

If you don't want to spring for fabric..newspaper works really well..that's what I put down in our gardens..just cover where you don't want anything to grow and throw some soil on it to keep it down. At the end of the season you can just till the newspaper right back into the soil.