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Horrilble weed problem for a newbie
On Apr 3, 12:40*pm, 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 -- keelematt I'm not at all sure why rudeness in responding to your question seems to be called for. But it takes all kinds, some quite a bit less helpful and less knowledgeable than others :-) There's a couple of ways you can approach this. Smothering the area is effective but will take some time. Layer on newspaper (completely biodegradable) rather thickly and wet it down. Top off with an organic mulch - wood chips, ground bark, compost, composted manure, etc. This will weight down the paper and add to the soil texture as it decomposes and eventually gets turned into the soil. If you start this now, the area should be free of weeds and ready to till and plant by early fall. You can also go with the herbicide approach if you wish. It is fast and efficient but may take several applications. Plants generally need to be in active growth for most herbicides to be effective. Horticultural vinegar is a 'natural' choice but has its own drawbacks. Glyphosate (RoundUp) is commonly used for this purpose and works as well but with less of a long term environmental impact. It breaks down in the soil quite rapidly and is far less of a pollutant than most commercial fertilizers are. Both are broad spectrum herbicides, meaning they can damage anything they are sprayed on. Follow label directions explicitly and avoid using if any kind of breeze. Another, perhaps less efficient method, is to till the area. You will still likely get some weeds generating but they should be easier to remove. If you want to grass this area, I'd go with of the other methods first. btw, covering the area with clear plastic will work, but I'd not recommend it. This is called solarization and while it will kill off the weeds (and anything else growing under it) it also kills off beneficial soil organisms, leaving the soil essentially sterile. This is highly undesirable and takes a lot of work to bring the soil back into a healthy condition. |
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