On 9/18/11 2:23 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Sep 18, 7:15 am, GARY wrote:
I live in Riverside, California (about 60 miles east of Los Angeles).

My garden is loaded with Senecio vulgaris (common groundsel) and
Euphorbia peplus (petty spurge).

When hand-weeding, what's the best way to make sure I pull ALL of the
weeds ("ROOTS AND ALL").

After weeding, what can I apply to prevent these weeds from re-
emerging? (Preen Weed Preventer doesn't work)

I am no friend of garden chemicals, but -- depending on the size of
the garden -- you might want to apply some (shudder) RoundUp.

RU has to be applied TO THE PLANT, as it works down through the
leaves, stem, etc. Follow the directions METICULOUSLY, including
watering well BEFORE
applying RU.

If you choose to go another way, I'm afraid there is no choice but
digging, not hand-weeding. The latter almost never gets the roots.
Again, if the soil is very dry, you might want to water, then get out
the shovel and dig down, down, down.

Somebody else can probably advise you on preventing re-emergence.
Some say that not even prayer helps. g

HB

If you

By the time you see enough of spurge to spray it, it has already dropped
seeds. RoundUp works only on growing plants, not on seeds.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary