It's just about time for hubby to put out fall pre-emergents in the lawn, and it got me thinking. As I understand it, they prevent seeds from germinating. So, would they work in my woodland garden to keep the millions of weed seeds from germinating? Anybody use these products in areas other than lawn? Sheila
Pre-emergents
It should work but it does have a limited life (3 to 6 months). You'd have to apply it each year for a number of years and should do it at least twice a year. A mulch or landscape fabric might give better results.
Thanks. We are already mulched out the wazoo, and do have landscape fabric under that in some places. Really, it's just the natural thing to happen in a woodland garden, I guess. We pulled out a patch of Labrador violets when we began to experience their invasive nature, but not before a billion of their seeds were spread. I'm still inspecting for their seedlings daily. Should one of them go to seed the problem perpetuates itself. Interestingly, I think the deer dung spreads seeds, too. I found a couple of seedlings that looked (and even smelled) like tomato plants in my back yard this year! Obviously, with deer around I'm haven't planted tomatoes. Crazy, huh?
Yep. Deer, birds, and other critters are one way to disperse seed. Did you throw any tomatoes outdoors or grow any in the past?
Violets are a bane. I have some smaller ones at this house which are tolerable, but left the big ones behind at our old house which are super weedy. I wish I could get some bird's foot violets to grow here - huge blooms and dainty foliage.
I think Ben Franklin or someone like that said for each year that weeds are let to go to seed means seven more years of weeds. Not sure how much truth there is in that, but it sure seems like that at times.
Funny that the violets don't bother me. We've got them, but I find them easy to tolerate. Wild strawberries everywhere, too. I pull them from certain areas but let them go in others. Pick the hill you fight for, they say. I guess I pick the island I fight for. Our backyard is bordered by woods on 3 sides, but the deer visit lots of neighbors, too, so I suspect someone foolishly thought they could grow veggies. Come to think of it, I even know whose tomato seedlings these are. New guy in the neighborhood. You can hear the deer chuckling at his measley little fence.
Guess it depends on what kind of violets and where they are. I had a blue million in the yard at the old house and they spread into the neighbors' yards as well. Round up would set them back but not kill them.
We have deer running through our property now. I found out soon after we moved here and noticed whole leaves of my hostas were gone.
Here is one of the rascals in early August.
I guess it's east for me to think they are cute when I don't have them eating my garden. if they were, this former vegetarian would get out the shotgun.
Susan
Just remember that violets are a host plant for the cats of certain butterflies. It may be easier to tolerate them then. I miss the white violets that I had in Birmingham. They bloomed with ajuga and the single yellow Ranunculus repens in the spring. It made a lovely spot of color under the sugar berry trees.
Beth