GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

01-06-2006, 11:15 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

wrote:

we have been in our house for 3 years and have never been brave enough
to tackle the garden. its gotten progressively worse and is nice
basically all weeds, which i embarrasingly cut every copule of weeks.

You would be surprised how quickly this can be reversed by the
application of a selective broad leaf weedkiller or proprietory lawn
weed and feed mixture. All you have to do then is cut the grass every
couple of weeks and the vast majority of the weeds will die off. And
the feed component makes the grass grow strongly again. Then go over it
a month or so later using the same lawn weedkiller as a spot weeder on
the tough established weeds.

I find uprooting large dandelions and buttercups very therapuetic YMMV.

I don't bother treating a few daisies or other nice wild flowers in my
lawns.

We are getting married later this year and dont have the money or time
to do much in the garden now until next year. I dont want to keep
mowing the weeds just so it looks a quarter decent (when compared to
the neighbours) and would like some advice on what to do.

I am thinking about (bear with me here, i'm a complete novice!) buying
some sort of weed killer to apply after i next mow them and however
many applications it takes to just kill them all, and i presume the
grass with it. Is this a sensible thing to do or will it damage the
soil so it will mean more work/money next year when we come to sort the
garden out?

You could kill the whole lot with glyphosate, but then you would have
to live with a dead lawn. And the bare earth would quickly be filled
with new fast growing weed seedlings that may look even worse than your
current crop.

NB weedkillers for lawns work best a few days after cutting and with a
few days to take effect before the next cut (also don't use treated
grass as a mulch).

any advice would be greatly appreciated - does my weed killer idea seem
ok? and if so what sort of thing should i look for (anything on the
bottle/pack that i should look for)?

Lawn weedkiller (or better a spring weed and feed mixture).

Need not be expensive or time consuming to apply. You still have to cut
the lawn regularly though to get maximum benefit from the treatment.

Regards,
Martin Brown