WWYD? Weeds have overtaken part of my garden

Chicago Suburbs, IL(Zone 5b)

Long story short I have an aprx 10' x 8' section of my garden that is literally taken over by weeds despite endless hours weeding by hand. The weeds are mostly crabgrass and nightshade with a few other unknowns mixed in. I have avoided use of chemicals but I am getting to the point where I just don't care any more. I would like to douse the whole section with roundup but there are some flowers in there that I really like and don't want to kill. I have a bad back and hand weeding is getting to be a bit much... If I laid newspaper with mulch on top over the weeds would that choke them out for the time being or should I just break down and buy some roundup and preen?

Keystone Heights, FL(Zone 8b)

Newspaper and mulch are some of my best friends for killing unwanted grass and weeds. Just overlay each piece by at least a couple of inches to keep some of the sneaky weeds from trying to grow through the cracks.

Katy, TX(Zone 8b)

sometimes it's easier to take out the good plants, kill out the bad ones then replant the good ones back in the now "sterile" bed.

Ann

Temperanceville, VA(Zone 7a)

This year I put down several layers of newspaper or cardboard before I mulched. It took a while initially, since I cut to fit everything, but I used much less mulch than last year and wonder of wonders - even crabgrass pulls right up. I'll never put in a new garden that I don't repeat that process! Pam

Chicago Suburbs, IL(Zone 5b)

So last week I finally went out and hand pulled as much as I could stand which was a good 75% of it. One section was soooo overgrown and most of the good plants were dead or dying I just sprayed it down with Roundup. I put down a thick layer of newspaper and a few inches of mulch on top of it. It looks nice and no more weeds so I am happy.

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
BACK TO TOP