Between the cold, the rain and being busy with work; I fell behind on what has been a bumper crop season for weeds in my gardens. I mean: "can't find the plants the weeds are so big" fallen behind on weeding. I have 3 gardens done and 5 to go and I'm tired & bored.
I figure we can use this thread to complain, share weeding hints & horror stories.
Tired of weeding?
I did a bunch of weeding tonight. All the usual suspects - oxalis,smartweed,cosmos.LOL
Not quite sick of it -yet.
My new bed in the back is loaded. I'm thinking once I've loaded it up with perennials that are BIG, the weeds will have a harder time of it. I did learn a thing or two about plants that like to reseed themselves!
All of my beds are mulched, but it doesn't stop the weeds entirely. and the soil in the new beds comes with tons of grass and other weeds built in..my landscaper said something about spraying they other day and it finally sunk in. I called him and told him not to. No way do I want him spraying some chemical around my roses! I can pull the grass and stuff.
I am glad to take this opportunity to again complain about horsetail LOL I am painting each one with the weedkiller by hand this year. So much of it is in the middle of my plants and you have to be so careful not to get it on anything else. anything that will kill the horsetail will also kill the surrounding vegetation. I figure if I keep after it diligently for 3 years straight I can eliminate it. last year doesn't count because I wasn't well enough to be consistent. I have a mission!!
Yes - I've just about reached my saturation point - not only with weeding but with planting as well. This happens every year about this time. I mulched more than I planned. There are a few more areas I HOPE to get to very soon or it will do whatever it wants. It's getting too hot, kids will be out of school soon and my back has been awful. I am a 44 year old with the back of a 90 year old.
My fingers hurt from pulling weeds. Can't somone invent a bug that only eats weeds? I would buy a big box full!
I would too!!! ☺
Can't believe some people actually enjoy weeding, saying it's therapeutic or relaxing. They're welcome to come and get therapy in my garden any time.
Along with weeding garden beds I have all of this pea stone area to keep weed free. I've been through it twice now. Most of them are gone but I'll do it one more time and then it's onto Roundup if I have another bumper crop!!
More of the pea stone area. Eleanor
I hate pea gravel, or any small stones for a walkway, edging or patio. I am constantly weeding them. It's a disaster! My biggest mistake in the garden.
Did you put down a weed block first? I ask because I'm thinking about using a dry river in my front yard to hide the sump pump discharge. (One of my many "unique" ideas to try and make my place appear "normal".)
Well, I guess my gardens are smaller - I got busy and weeded them all. Basically, I take the slacker's way out. I use my long handled cultivator and scratch around - then I toss all the loosened weeds into a bucket. I might have just disturbed the really little ones - but I catch them next time. By mid-summer most of the plants I want are big enough to thwart the weeds.
However, I must admit - there does seem to be a bumper crop of weeds this year.
I don't really mind weeding -it's sort of zen for me. Being an academic, thinking is sort of like work . . . sometimes I don't want to think at all LOL Which is probably why I read escapist fantasy novels - so totally unlike peer reviewed journal articles!
Cat - yes and no. In two areas yes and two areas no. Didn't make much difference in the long run. The fabric bought one or two years more before the infestation. Don't forget that many weed seeds will fall on rocks or gravel and still take root. In the case of the small rocks you have the additional problem of them breaking down over time into smaller rocks / powder, making the problem worse. This should not happen with the larger river rock normally used in dry beds. Also, if there is even a sliver not covered by the fabric, the weeds find it!!
I'll be back at it in the morning. I should figure out the toal square footage of my gardens. I should definitely put a moratorium on new gardens. (Except for the new one I have planned, of course!)
Anyone have any great weeding tips? Weed prevention ideas?
Plant as densely as possible. Mulch until ground covers take over. That's my plan, anyway. I like the flame weeder. It's fun and it works. Best of all - no bending, squatting or sitting on the ground so my back loves it. Added bonus - no one dares bother me while it's in my hand.
What is a flame weeder? Is this for real?
I looked up a flame weeder on the internet. I have never heard of it before. Would that work on the areas where I have the pea stone? Eleanor
Eleanor, I'm afraid if you have weed block fabric under the stone, it will either melt or burn. what do you think, Victor?
the only groundcover I seem to be able to get to spread is the horsetail. I think part of the problem is the beds are so well mulched that it keeps the groundcovers in place, too. I have lamium in one bed that really hasn't spread in 3 years. the idea was that mulching was temporary until I could get groundcovers in place. I spend WAY too much money on mulching every year. It's too much work for me, so I have to pay my landscaper to do it, and it's a big bill.
Most of the area doesn't have weedblock and where we did put it it's starting to disintegrate - it's been there about 30 years. Eleanor
p.s. flame weeder looks like fun to use!!
Yankeecat, I have a "dry river bed" in my yard too. I did put down a plastic sheet under neath but seeds keep sprouting amid the rocks. I keep them under control with Raid, applied on non-windy days to avoid killing adjacent flower beds inadvertently. The trouble is some perfectly nice flowers sprout there too. Right now I have some petunias, violets and cleomes right in the middle of the river, and I don't think I am going to have the time to pull them up and transplant them before an upcoming trip, so I guess I'll just grit my teeth and spray.
I've used the flamer on areas with weed fabric underneath and haven't ignited any fires yet!! Obviously you don't use it when it's too dry. I finally got to use mine a bit this past week after all that rain last weekend.
Victor, How does it work when you have plants surrounded by weeds? How controlled is it? Do you still have to do a lot of hand weeding? Why is NY the empire state? Can you recommend a good pension fund? Wait, maybe I've gone to far.
Normally I think about how expensive all the ground covers I need would be. Lately, I've been thinking of the cumulative annual cost of the mulch. An important point that not all groundcovers block weeds well. I find that lamium and mazus reptans are great. Lamb's ear is pretty good. But some groundcovers leave lots of opportunities for weeds. Please share your favorite groundcovers for blocking weeds.
You can control it pretty well. I'd say within 1-2 inches of other plants once you're good at it. I still do hand weeding, unfortunately. I thought we were the 'Umpire State'! I guess Bugs Bunny was wrong.
Expense is one of the reasons I decided to switch to ground covers. Mulch is expensive and needs to be replenished every two years at most. Lots of work too if you're doing it yourself if you have lots of beds as I do.
You're absolutely right about the effectiveness of ground covers. I've been doing this for two or three years now and have found many to be ineffective at weed blocking. I am not happy with Lamb's Ears. I have had better success with shade / part sun covers. Hellebore (fantastic), Creeping Jenny (excellent once it's dense enough), Hosta, Geranium macrorrhizum (fantastic) and Vinca are all good. Of course some will take foot traffic and others will not. It's another thing you have to consider. Moisture is another. Creeping Jenny (I use only the Gold one) will work from full shade to full sun but needs good moisture. The others are more tolerant once established. Vinca also works from full sun to shade. Of course woody weeds / vines are a problem for any of these.
For full sun, aside from Vinca and Creeping Jenny, I have had mixed success with Ranunculus 'Buttered Popcorn'. It grows very densely and works from sun to shade. It's a variegated and flowers with small yellow blooms. For some reason though, large areas of it have not returned some Springs. Seems to be on the rebound for me now. I'll post a pic. If this stays - it's the answer to my prayers.
Some others touted as gound covers that have not sufficiently choked weeds are creeping Phlox and other Geranium species. Never had enough Lamium to judge either way. Ajuga looks like it would work - I just don't like it.
What I love about Hellebore and Hosta is that they provide a continuous canopy that just blocks all light from the weeds. Creeping Jenny, on the other hand, grows into a dense carpet which blocks the weeds.
Others can work but just spread way to fast to control - Petasites and Comfrey come to mind. I have variegated Petasites, which is supposed to be better behaved, and like it but it's starting to wander quite a bit.
Another consideration is cost. The great thing about Creeping Jenny, Vinca and 'Buttered Popcorn' is that you can easily pull up a piece and plant it elsewhere so it's mush easier and cost effective to cover a large area.
Thanks, Victor! I bought some golden creeping jenny to plant at the base of my baby Betty Corning clemantis. The cj is so beautiful. I am going to make lots and lots and plant it all over my gardens :-) I also have lamium (sp?) Purple Dragon - it is new this spring and it is spreading very nicely amongst Plum Pudding Heuchera (sp?) So - I plant to make lots of these too!
This message was edited Jun 9, 2007 5:09 PM
I have freebie hosta (just found on the lot - when we bought the house - God knows where they came from- the landscaping probably hadn't been touched for 40 years before we came!) Anyway, I moved them under a tree in 2003 - but they became too crowded. So this spring I was trying to think of a quick and easy way to have a ground cover in the back of the fragrance garden, up against the north side of a tall fence. dug up three newly emerging hostas, cut them to pieces (really) and shoved them in the dirt. Nothing fancy - do or die. All 17 new hostas have been growing for over a month and are thriving. Part way along, I have interupted the hostas and planted McKana Columbine - still very small. I hope they will also serve as a kind of background/groundcover.
The other great thing about hostas - at least these ones - is they make GREAT cut flowers. I made some pretty wonderful flower arrangements early last summer :-) The flowers really last!
This message was edited Jun 9, 2007 5:16 PM
Nice. Hostas are very easy to divide. Are your Hostas fragrant Michaela?
Well, alas - the ones that were just here don't appear to be.
Last fall I bought 4 sum and substance 'cause I liked the look of them in the catelogue photo - had NO idea how huge they will eventually be.
I did buy four "Fragrant Bouquet" this spring especially for fragrance. But they are varigated - they are for the front yard.
What I want is something plain but fragrant - I understand "Royal Standard" would fit the bill - do you know any you could recommend?
I have lots of Royal Standard - they are fantastic. Other good ones are 'Aphrodite' and the mother of all fragrant Hostas - plantaginea. I have both.
Oh man! I gotta get some of those!
Here's a shot of Creeping Jenny when it gets to good density - toward the back behind the Hostas.
See! That's what I want! :-) Look great, Victor.
Dave, the only trick I use for weeding, is watering. I'm sure others have better methods, because I get all wet and am still on my hands and knees. I make sure the entire bed is drenched, with hose still in hand, the weeds pull out much easier. After I pull them, I squirt the hose on them to wash the soil back into the bed and toss the weed into a bucket. For the weeds with taproots (dang dandelions), I use the 'jet' setting on the hose nozzle and squirt it right down, parallel with the root, then pull it out. Usually, it doesn't break. I asked for a 'flame thrower' weeder for Mother's Day... still waiting.
Nice! The creeping jenny lights up the dark spaces. Victor, what's the name of those Hostas? I really like them.
I like to use it to light Birthday cake candles.
Har, har
Oops - cross post! Harper, they are Hosta 'June'. I have a deep watering thingy that would work great for doing your tap root soak thing.
June!!!! How did I know? I was oogling that one in the Plant Delight's catalog last week. Now there's no turning back. I gotta get me one.
I dunno Victor, sounds too technical for me. A 'deep watering thingy'? How does it work? What I like about the jet spray is that it practically drills a hole through the soil. Vic did you have an accident with your back? I feel for you. There's nothing worse than back pain.
I get it now! You were talking about the flame thrower for the birthday candles, not the 'bright' creeping jenny... okay. I'll accept that humor.
Yes I was referring to the flame thrower. My back had been getting progressively more of a problem over a period of years without any one injury. Then about three years ago I was lifting something heavy (a large plastic garbage can full of wet weeds) and I twisted and herniated a disk. Ever since, it's been a real problem. Not from the disk injury itself but the muscles around it.
Here's a link to the watering thing.
http://www.gemplers.com/ctnp/treeshrubcare/fertilizing/139382.html
June is a dynamite variety. Was Hosta of the Year a few years back.
OUCH!! Oh, man. That rots. I'm sorry. I hope they can help you get your 44 year old back back.
Oh yeah! I've seen those things. Maybe it'll work for weeding dandelions... it's worth a try.
I'd prefer my 25 year old back.