We have a manual sod cutter that is even more work than yours. . . it is a grubbing implement that Jim operates, rather like a pick axe with a broad head. It gets quite a lot deeper than your tool, and it is seriously aerobic exercise, not for the frail or elderly at all. We need it because we have the above-mentioned rhyzomatous grasses, which are a huge pest, and we have to go down at least four to six inches to effectively remove them. We don’t dare do anything with our sod except pile it up, I tried the upside down technique with mulch once and got a horrible mess as a result that I spent hours weeding and ultimately abandoned to its fate. We now pile that sod up in a specific area and as a result we have a HUGE dirt pile covered with weeds and rhyzomatous grasses. I’m not sure what we are ever going to do with it. We would need a back hoe and a dump truck to move it.

If anyone knows how to deal with getting rid of bermuda grass organically, I really want to hear about it, because that is our specific warm weather rhyzome grass, and it is such a huge pest around the gardens that I am actually to the point of abandoning my principles and using Roundup or some other chemical killer on it. And that is saying a lot, believe me.

Gee, and I’ve been muttering to myself this year that my approach maybe isn’t so smart, because I’m having some problems with creeping grasses where I used the turned-over sod. But yikes, my problems are nothing compared to yours. That explains why you emphasize digging out an edging trench in your post about preparing a new bed. I hope you do find a way to deal with the Bermuda grass – perhaps with an organic herbicide? – but well, if Roundup is your last resort, then maybe that’s what you have to do. Good luck!
-Nan

The sod use to go around existing plantings is a good idea. We could do some of that. On our last big bed I piled leaves and then chicken manure on top of the sod. It seems to have worked well. I am still scratching my head over what to plant there though. I know what I want just not how I want it. This may not make sense. Not even to me so…you can see my delimma. Ha..

Hi Lisa! I have a photo of my sod cutter in an old post at Gardening Gone Wild: Sod Off (in an Eco-Friendly Way). You know, if you aren’t positive about how you want to organize the plants in your new space, how about growing annuals there this year? Then you’d have another year to decide about the perennials….
-Nan

Hi there, Joy! Oh, believe me, I know how challenging it is to keep up with blogging and blog visiting when there’s so much to be done outdoors. I’m glad you stopped in, though. I’m lucky that I don’t have anyone else to answer to in regards to my sod removal: I’m limited only by my own energy. I wish you luck getting rid of more of yours!
-Nan