I have big problems! I have an area where there is supposed to be ground cover that weeds (grass) has taken over. I started to dig everything out and see if I could separate weeds with their roots from the ground cover, then replant the ground cover. Just the little bit I did is a LOT of work!
My other option is to hit it with Roundup and start over. And not even necessarily with the same or different ground cover or even plant material.
I have a similar problem. After nearly two years of neglect we are finally clearing our overgrown flower beds and gardens. We started out trying to remove the weeds without harming perennials and ground covers. It didn't take long before we decided that it was less work and faster to clear out almost everything and start over.
NEVER neglect weeds. Once they get established they are much harder to remove. It's even worse if you let weeds grow among desirable plants. If it has gotten out of hand it is often easier to kill everything and start over. I like to spray then check back in two weeks to see if another application is necessary or if you need to use a different herbicide. Only after everything is confirmed dead should you start digging.
There are some cases where you can use a selective herbicide but that totally depends on the plants you want to save and what you want to kill. Then, find a herbicide with appropriate traits. Don't limit yourself to the shelves at a big box store. There are many more herbicides out there.
You can make a non-selective herbicide like glyphosate (RoundUp) selective by pouring it into a container and using a brush to 'paint' the leaves of the undesired plants. Rule of thumb, though, is that if 50% or more of what you have is not what you want then kill it all and start over.
I think I have pretty much decided to kill everything and start over. My biggest fear is that I could spend weeks going through and try selectively removing weeds like I started doing, only to have the weeds come back with a vengence because I didn't get all the weed root structure.
BTW, I blame this on the landscape guy from years ago who didn't put in plastic plants as I requested
We're too old and lazy to be spading up these flower beds that we put in more than 30 years ago so instead
we are using 3 separate weed killers and a wack a mole approach to restoring our plantings. Our first choice is a enviro friendly home made vinegar plant killer. Not always 100% effective but it's pretty good if the weeds are in full sun. When that doesn't work we grab the Round Up. In areas where we don't intend to plant again this year I use a back pack sprayer with a total vegetation killer that is 100% effective but I always feel like I should be wearing a hazmat suit. Then we are just weed wacking everything and clearing it out.
.I think the key is the wack a mole thing. Kill everything, mulch heavily and kill anything that pops up. Repeat a couple of times a week.
cwbuff, I hear you on the chemical thing. Last year I had a run-in with Agent Orange from my time in Vietnam. I've seen the vinegar weed killer and I may try that first, although I've heard mixed results using it.
My Lawn here in Ohio was pretty much full of what I I call goose grass (wide bladed stuff that grows in clumps that just get larger and larger if you let them go). My neighbor spent the big bucks and killed everything, had it reseeded and watered the heck out of it. Have to admit it came in pretty nice.(he mows it with a big Toro Zero turn way more than he needs to) I like to be out there so I started taking on the clumps, a few at a time. Got clay here so taking out the dead plants was a workout with a pickaxe but by fall I had seed in most of the dead areas, and I had a good germination starting by November. I was stunned how well the stuff I planted came in this spring with all our wet weather. I have a few targets for this summer, but what is left will be very manageable to finish off this year. From your picture, I would have probably opted for the kill it all and start over choice. Good Luck!
I know I can use store potatoes for seed potatoes, I have done it. But I read that store bought potatoes are sprayed to retard sprouting and this treatment causes them to retain bacteria which spreads into any plant produced when planting them. Any truth here? Is it completely safe to use store bought potatoes for seed potatoes?
I have two peach trees that I planted three years ago. They were about six feet tall when I first put them into the ground. The first, of course, I didn't get any fruit. Last year both trees had a lot of buds but as the summer went on the peached all fell off the tree even though they didn't get big, perhaps about one inch across. This year the one tree has zero peaches and the other one has several dozen small peaches. Many of them have already fallen off. Why does that happen? Why won't the peaches grow? Thanks.
06-07-22, 08:43 AM
