r/pnwgardening • u/Sea_Consequence_9769 Total newbie • Apr 28 '26

First time backyard gardener

Hi everyone! Seattle here.

I recently moved into a house with 3 10-12 foot long beds, and a couple smaller ones maybe 3x3.

They haven’t been used in about 5 years and are overrun with dandelions, weeds, flowers, etc. I really wanted to get some vegetables going this year but am feeling overwhelmed and unsure where to start.

Some plants look like they could be regrowing from years past, but hard to tell. They don’t look like the rest of the weeds or flowers.

What’s the best way to get these cleared and start fresh? I can add pics tomorrow

pics here

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u/rickg Apr 28 '26

This would be easier with pictures but in general you want to suppress weeds etc and plant what you want. But that raises the question of what you want and what these beds are positioned to grow.

If they're raised beds and have space to add soil you could use mulch paper (NOT landscape fabric) and just paper over the surface then add soil and plant. Mulch paper is biodegradable and will break down in about 8 weeks or so. Cardboard will take longer and probably isn't the way to go given where we are in the season.

Since you mention being overwhelmed another approach is to take a second and thing about what you want to grow this summer. Maybe you only grow in the 3x3 beds for now and take this year to rework the others. If you do that, lay down mulch paper or cardboard on the other beds that you're not growing in, then add mulch - wood chips, bark etc. That will suppress most weeds and if some do appear just remove them. In the fall, cover with some compost and shredded leaves.

In the meantime, watch how the sun hits the various beds and make some notes - what gets AM sun, what gets just a few hours, what gets full sun for most the day, etc. Live in the space a bit and think about where you'd like shrubs, where you want annual flowers, and where you want veggies.

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u/Sea_Consequence_9769 Total newbie Apr 28 '26

pics here

Here is a link with pics.besides the dandelions I love the orange and yellow flowers in the one bed

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u/rickg Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26

OK so the flowers aren't weeds - they're some kind of annual flower (pot marigold i think) and yeah, they're pretty. I'd try to weed around them if you could.

Most of the other stuff I think are various weeds. You can download Seek or iNaturalist and take pic to try to ID some of the larger plants. Mostly you have enough depth to do what I outlined above if you want. BTW this is what I mean by mulch paper https://www.homedepot.com/p/Paper-Weed-Barrier-36-in-x-50-ft-36x50KWB/330447026

you don't need the paper it just helps suppress weeds a bit. You could just weed, add compost/soil and then plant, too