STORM2K

This mild winter has played havoc on my flowerbeds. I've got weeds galore. I pull them, i roundup them...they come back. Short of bulldozing and concreting my beds what can i do to keep the weeds down? My neighbors who do absolutely nothing to their beds have no weeds. *Sigh*...what's a person to do!

You should see my backyard. Nothing but wild onions and weeds. The smell was horrendous after I mowed it Saturday.

ur lucky after that flood 2 weeks back i have no grass no weeds, no nada

have you tried to put down weed barriers (that roll-out black felt-type stuff)?

also, mulch can help as well...but it has to be about 3" thick i think.

At least you something green, try being here where it's SO dam dry that even the WEEDS are dying from a lack of moisture, I'd give ANYTHING to have a weed problem right now

Dennis

man i tell ya ......im praying for rain out there for yall!!!!!!!!

arkess7 wrote::uarrow: man i tell ya ......im praying for rain out there for yall!!!!!!!!

Thanks but prayers aren't workin either Seriously, we've had every single church on the mountain, some 28 of them, hold prayer vigals for rain, snow anything over the past 3 months....and nothing has worked. I am truly starting to question my faith at this point in time. I know that sounds silly but times here are desperate and trying to say the least. We have not lost our homes as of yet but it's only a matter of time.

Dennis

Sorry for hijacking your thread cajun! Try Preen in your flower beds, from what I REMEMBER when things were wet, Preen works GREAT!

Black plastic, then mulch or rocks!

I try not use Roundup products b/c they're harmful to pets.

I read somewhere that white vinegar kills weeds but it never worked for me.

That task lies ahead of me within the next month - all that I can say, is,
get on your gloves, Good Woman, and start pulling! Leave all of your
troubles behind - it's like Zen - pull those rascals up from the root!

Miss Mary wrote:Black plastic, then mulch or rocks!

I try not use Roundup products b/c they're harmful to pets.

I read somewhere that white vinegar kills weeds but it never worked for me.

That is what I do. But let me tell you from experience the cheaper papery kind will only work well for 8 months or so and then some persistant weeds will poke through. But only a few, and it is much easier to weed them out. Still works rather well though. I am going for the plasticy type this year, like you see in the nurserys, the black stuff they lay out and put the plants on. A bit more expensive, but I think well worth it because it will last years. Either one you choose you need to replace the mulch at least once a year because once it starts to break down it will turn into dirt and you will have weeds on top of your liner growing in the broken down mulch. Again still much easier to weed them when the roots are only going out instead of down. I started using liners about 4 years ago, and its the only way to go in bed areas. I highly recommend using them. I would use rock to cover mine but it is too expensive for the area I need to cover. Good luck and happy weed killing.

One type of weed that I've come to know and despise since moving to SoFla is a particularly pervasive and hardy one called a "dollar weed" (I think). Even though we use fertilizer/weed formula religiously, cut the grass to a proper height regularly, and set our irrigation system correctly for summer and winter recommended modes, our neighbor to the east rarely bothers to do anything but occasionally cut his lawn, which has what seems like armies of this invasive weed -- which infiltrate our lawn regularly, especially into "tight" places like into the hedges or under the fence which surrounds his patio where the weeds are difficult to pull out by the roots

And while we're on the subject of weedy things, even though I have no longing to move back to the Midwest, I surely miss REAL grass, not this crab-grassy, genetically-freaky stuff that passes for "grass" (unless you've got the $$$ to re-sod) in this part of Florida. I can't remember the name of the stuff (which was genetically manufactured by one of the state universities and a chemical company, I believe), but it's coarse, grows on long, rangy runners, is definitely unattractive, and, of course, is cheap, so it's what the development companies put into the average-range subdivisions.

OK, I'm finished complaining... and actually, yes, I agree, breeze, that weeding becomes a Zen-like experience, a mindless stress-lessening break, and even an acceptable way of acting out aggression. I don't actually love weeding, but attacking the flower beds every few weeks is not only good for the plants, but good for my mental health, too!

dollar weed! ugh! i HATE that stuff. it seems to grow anywhere and everywhere. but it so true that actually pulling weeds up seems to be the best way to be rid of them.

i like pulling dollar weeds up....it's a challenge to get all the roots!

2 mulch sessions ago, I read a tip where you used wet newspaper, then mulch. The newspaper emitted a die that helped kill the weeds. Wellllll, this plan works if you don't. A. have a Golden Retriever having a hay day digging up and shredding the paper. And B. having it blow all over the neighborhood.

Yep - that was a good idea - NOT!

LOL

Go with the thick plastic like OTown said. It's a hassle at first, overlap your sections also, holding down edges with rocks. Then covering it all with mulch. You'll never be sorry if you go to all this trouble.

I've asked my mom what she used, 25-30+ years ago to control weeds (since I don't think anything was popular but white rocks back then and she hated that look). Her answer - I pulled them of course! That was back when most women were housewives and had regular weekday chores. One day was devoted for weeding, usually early morning she said before it got hot.

And that's all I got on weeds (for tonight anyway!).

Mary

hmmm...my mom hates pulling weeds, might have to pass this info along to her...keep the ideas a comin'

Dee Bee.........its called 'St Augustine" here.......the good grass.......hehe



the only weeds I pull are around my tomatoe plants every spring!

Nature takes it course........but yes weeds suck!

On my front lawn I use Scotts weed and feed and it does great ......gettin the 1$ weeds out of here.........but there are always some around.........they are PAIN IN THE ASS!!!!!!!!!!!

CajunMama wrote:i like pulling dollar weeds up....it's a challenge to get all the roots!

Yeah and when you pull one the white root runs all the way to the end of your flowerbed. lol.

I agree with Dennis. I use Preen every couple months but before I mulch for the year I really use a lot of Preen and then spread the mulch.

If you do the plastic thing right you will have no weeds...

I feel your pain. Just take one bed at a time and weed. If you don't you will wear yourself out.