Nut sedge

Does anyone know of any means of eliminating nut sedge? (Sorry, no picture, but if you have/had it, you'll know what I'm referring to.) I have an area where I've been trying to eliminate everything so I can start from scratch.* Just when I think I've been successful, up pops some more nut sedge. I'm generally organic but have reached the point where I don't care. Several local nurseries carry a product called Sedge Hammer. Clever name. Not cheap. AND they have all said that you have to reapply every year. This would, of course, defeat my original purpose of starting a new flower bed.

* I should explain that this area was a combination of various 'weeds' along with some bermuda grass, some St. Augustine, some crabgrass, etc. I used to feel ok about it since when mowed, it looked green and that was ok by me. But it's the one large place that gets just the right sun, etc, to do a mass planting of irises that I've inherited.

Please please tell me if you have had any success in getting rid of this nasty nutsedge. Thanks.

Cover the area with half a foot of mulch.

Mulch is good, but here's my whole story for those who don't bore easily.

For the last 3 years, give or take, I've been working on eliminating the nutsedge. Have done lots of hand weeding trying to get down multiple nuts, used 20% vinegar, used Avenger, recently used a new to me product called BlackJack 21 that has 21% vinegar, molasses, yucca juice and don't remember what else. (Don't know what the yucca juice is intended to do.)

In addition to all of the above, I have kept a constant thick layer of a mulch I wouldn't ordinarily use b/c it doesn't break down: large 'nuggets' of pine bark mulch. Fortunately, up until a recent policy change, I've been able to buy the mulch at 50% off if bag is torn. All of this has helped, but give one nutsedge a tiny piece of soil, it will take miles.

My problem 'might' be solved in the future. I am fortunate that I will get to have my broken sidewalk replaced by the City of Dallas for a share of the cost. In the specs they sent, there was a mention of sod. I've left messages and sent an email asking if 'sod' refers to pulling up or putting down or both. Where I want to plant is the parkway, which of course is adjacent to the sidewalk. I know that there could be one flaw in my pipe dream - - - the nutsedge could still manage to return. Guess I'll find out. After I send my $$, there's still a 3 to 6 month waiting list.

Solarization and/or smothering are two non-chemical means to help eradicate perennial problems like the one you describe. It will require time, however, and patience to wait before finally planting your Iris.

Nutsedge spreads by sending out rhizomes and producing tubers or 'nuts'. These can lie dormant in the soil for years before sprouting. Spraying a product like Sedge Hammer (or Avenger) only kills the growing plant and any nuts actively being formed by it, which is why (in Nebraska at least) they say to use it before summer equinox, after that date the nuts have stopped being produced, and won't be affected by later sprays. And why control takes a few years.

Your irises might take care of the nutsedge for you! I have Siberian irises that form mats that are so dense that nothing could possibly grow through them. If I don't divide them at least every 2 years, then I have to use a power saw to separate them.

About your sidewalks: our county replaced some of ours last year. In the process of jack-hammering and removing the old concrete, they removed up to 6" of dirt on either side. Eventually they came back to fill in the trenches and put down seed. It sounds as if you don't want them to lay sod, so perhaps they will refill the gaps with dirt and lower the price.

Muddy1 - I have told them that I don't want them to replace the sod. Unfortunately, that doesn't make a difference in price. But that's a good idea to see if they will refill with dirt. I've been kinda curious about what the parkway will look like without the existing 'greens' (one mows it, it looks green). So even if they won't spring for dirt, I think that's something I can do. I know it will take a few years before the irises take over.

I recommend that you either make them commit to refilling with dirt for free, or else stand out there and ask them pile up the sod and dirt as they work (maybe give them nice cold drinks??).
The damaged parts of our sidewalks were replaced for free, but because they lifted out the concrete with a backhoe (I'm guessing, I wasn't home) and created 6"x6" trenches in the process, I was faced with the prospect of buying about 50 bags of dirt to fill them in. In addition to the cost, I realized that bagged dirt wouldn't retain water, and so grass wouldn't succeed (there are a few advantages to clay!). Fortunately, I eventually found some county employee who made the contractors come back and finish the job they had been paid to do.

I think your irises might take off sooner than you expect.

Ah, nut sedge. Yes, I have fought it for 20 years and have put chemicals on it-spraying every 6 weeks, and it looks real pathetic and then, returns. I have also tried to dig it out. If you don't get the "nut", it's back. It gets right up next to my rose bushes making it difficult to dig out. It gets in amongst other rooted perennials making it almost impossible to get out. If you leave it, or it's out of sight, and you don't get to it, it will re-seed as well as send out under ground roots for new plants.

I get my nut sedge from mulch. Now, I put down Preen before I put the mulch down.

Wish I could get rid of it.