soil contamination

Question

We bought a home and moved in last August. There is a “garden area” that has nothing growing in it. Not weeds etc. nothing green NOTHING. It borders the grass and we suspect that the renters put something like round up in it so they did not need to maintain it. In all the pictures online when the property was for sale, a period of three years, nothing is growing in the soil. Now we want to plant a garden. I read your article on Weed killer, but still wonder if the effects are still in the soil, as it is Spring, green is “popping up” in other areas of the lawn, but NOTHING in that soil. What do you suggest?

Answer 1

I suggest a soil test for contaminants. It is highly suspicious when weeds won’t grow in a bed. Round Up would have moved out of the soil quickly; there are other chemicals that have a lingering effect. If you aren’t using the bed for edibles, I’d be less concerned. Buy some pansies and see what happens to them in this bed. Long-term herbicides like Banish advertise season long control of weeds. Pre-emergents last 8 months, max. So something is fishy here. http://ucanr.edu/sites/UrbanAg/Production/Soils/Soil_Contaminants_and_Soil_Testing/