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Old 04-04-2009, 01:24 AM posted to rec.gardens
Billy[_7_] Billy[_7_] is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,179
Default Horrilble weed problem for a newbie

In article ,
keelematt wrote:

Hi everyone.

I've joined the forum in the hope that I can become a bit more green
fingered. At the moment I tend to shove something in the ground and
walk away knowing it's got two chances, but if I can get my head around
what should be where and when I might be able to get our garden looking
something like decent.

One of the biggest problems I need to overcome right now is weed
control. We moved into our house nearly a year ago and inherited a
good sized but terribly neglected garden (30 years). The top 1/3 of
the garden, approx 50'x35’ is totally covered in Docks and nettles but
I'd really rather it be lawned. Last summer I got my hands on some
weedkiller and sprayed the lot, within a week they all seemed dead but
a few weeks later they were back with a vengeance so I sprayed them
again, and the same happened. Obviously they died down over winter but
now they’re back in all their glory.

Now, this is becoming a real bug bare and I don’t feel like I can move
on until I’ve figure out how to kill them. The area is way too big to
dig them out and they must be so deep routed I’m worried that weed
killer isn’t going to get rid either. My worry is that they are
consuming the lawn, they have moved down by around 4 feet in a year and
I need to nip them in the bud asap.

Can anyone offer some useful advice? Any suggestions welcome but I
really don’t see digging them up as an option this time.

All the best,
Matt


Truly, dumber than dirt. Do yourself and the world a favor and get rid
of your toxic waste. Lay dow cardboard or newspaper over the weeds. Yes,
it will look like a gawd awful mess, which is why you then put mulch on
it (preferably alfalfa). Wait until mulch breaks down some (maybe 2 - 6
months), and plant what you want. If it is something vain and stupid
like a lawn, just toss the seed on the mulch and water them in. Your
neighbors will thank you and the soil will thank you.
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is
now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of
conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html