yard question and mini-rant

[threadwalker]

I am working on the front yard. It gets water, sunlight and therefore needs weeding. Previous owners let the golden poopies run amuck, but I don't know how they did that without also letting the weeds run amuck. I've discovered that tearing up the weeds just tears out the poopies at the same time. And they both sprout as fast as ... weeds.

Anyway, overall on-going.

I weeded, dug, scraped, and turned up the soil. Weeds were removed. Black weed suppressant fabric was laid down. Holes were cut for a few existing plants. Bark was put in place. 2 weeks later, weeds are poking up through the fabric and bark.

WTF??? What did I do wrong?

And they continue to pop up in waves like small green tentacles trying to sneak some sunlight. Grrrr....

In after-the-fact passenger sort of way, the Hubby said I shoulda sprayed chemical weed-death first. That didn't occur to me and even if it had, how do you do that without killing the plants I want to keep? I'm so pissed. The whole purpose of this was to NOT have to weed. Hence the back-breaking weeding and soil tilling that lead up to this. And now the area is covered in bark and ground cloth, so it's not even easy to rip it up and do a fix.

In the meantime, I am now weeding my barked area every few days and getting a lovely collection of slivers on the backs of my knuckles.

RAWR!!! fricking weeds.

Comments

[tusya1300.livejournal.com]

I hate to agree with Hubby, but he is right. A good weed killer will only kill the weed growth and potential new growth. The tricky thing with weeds is the root system, which is different (more invasive) than other plants. You can still use a spot weed killer (Round Up or the like) on the weeds breaking through.

[dame-cordelia.livejournal.com]

Take a good sized piece of cardboard with you when you spray chemicals so that you can shield plants you would like to keep. And the bit about not spraying poison when it's windy will help to get the poison where you want it.

And don't do like I do - wear gloves.

Oh and here, in case you want something less toxic:

[tusya1300.livejournal.com]

These are most effective when used on emerging weeds.

* 1 tablespoon of gin
* 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
* 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap
* 1 quart of hot water

Alternate version:

* 1 gallon of distilled vinegar
* 1 cup of salt
* 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap

Spray these directly on weeds in the garden or pour directly into cracks of walks and driveways.

Re: Oh and here, in case you want something less toxic:

[thread-walker.livejournal.com]

interesting...and it "seems" very ... umm... "green" except for the part where you are killing greenery.

I'll have to try this. How long before you see effects? I don't want these guys going to seed in the time it takes to kill them.

Re: less toxic

[tusya1300.livejournal.com]

This is according to my garden (aka "the small farm") this year...
Round up (done in the evening, weeds dead next morning). Vinegar/salt/dish soap version (dosed on established veggies to kill new weeds and discourage bugs), killed new growth weeds and sent buggies scampering by next morning.

The more "green" versions work better on "established" greens you want to make free of weeds and NOT new growth. I am not entirely sure, but the second dose, meant to make buggies scamper seems to have accelerated the plant production and growth ability (just to warn you).

Of course this is all just "my humble opinion" and subject to change! *grin* my disclaimer.

[loup_noir]

I second the Round-up suggestion. Just don't spray it if there's any wind. You might also want to take a wad of newspapers and use it like a shield or a funnel, to keep the Round-up from touching the plants you do want to keep.

[joycebre.livejournal.com]

weeds go to seed very quickly. When you pull up the new little weeds, there are a bunch more just waiting for the time, space and opportunity. If you're diligent, and keep pulling them up before they mature and re-seed, you should be able to eradicate them. Another layer of mulch e.g. more ground cloth and thicker bark will help to keep them down.

[dizzyblonde30.livejournal.com]

youc ould also try putting down a layer of newspaper over the cloth layer

[hrj.livejournal.com]

And then -- just when you've been successful -- the weed seeds from your neighbor's yard will settle in for a new go-round. (I have a neighbor who, on seeing my feral fennel, warned me that if I didn't eradicate it, she would come into my yard and tear it all out. I was seriously taken aback by this and, if we hadn't previously had some very good relations, I might have pointed out forcefully that she was threatening illegal trespass. But I guess I can at least empathize.)

[j-i-m-r.livejournal.com]

Put a bounty on the weeds and set your offspring to pull them. They're big enough to start earning their keep, aren't they? :-)

If it is pretty or tasty, it isn't a weed. So, put in something that grows like crazy (such as lamb's quarter) that will push out the non-food weeds. Lamb quarter is tasty and has 10 times more vitamins and minerals as spinach.

Poopies?

[beanolc.livejournal.com]

Maybe I have a false sense of security, and maybe I'm really pushing my luck, but please take this in the right spirit: I just have to giggle at your typo -- poopies? A poppy is a pretty flower. A poopie is generally left by a critter or small human.

I don't even know what a golden poopie is.

Much love,
Your Word Geek Apprentice

Re: Poopies?

[j-i-m-r.livejournal.com]

Simple, that's what Midas makes :-)

Re: Poopies?

[beanolc.livejournal.com]

ROTFLMAO!

Re: Poopies?

[dame-cordelia.livejournal.com]

You are so bad!

Re: Poopies?

[thread-walker.livejournal.com]

it was a deliberate mis-spell. Glad I could entertain. :-)

They were pretty the first year I didn't have to weed the area. 6 year later? Less pretty. Hence the effort to crowd out the weeds and poopies with other plants.