What kind of weeder are you?

My tool is the L shaped Cape cod weeder. I use a kneeler & wear gloves.

I have a cool "circle hoe" that I got on sale from Smith and Hawken a few years ago which I find quite useful, especially at this time of the year, when it seems like 9 weeds sprout for every one that gets pulled. I used to mulch heavily and religiously, but then you don't get any volunteers from seed, so I'm trying to decide what I want to do. I guess ideally the plantings are thick enough to outcompete the weeds, but I'm still working to get to that point....I've used every method listed but burning, but feel a little dubious after the shed story....

ajaxmd I'm big into self seeders and don't mulch for that reason. I sometimes let the self seeders go crazy just to drown out weeds. Great idea for no muss/no fuss weed control methinks. Of course in your climate some of my self seeders might be considered weeds themselves ^_^

What is the shed story? Did I miss something?

I didn't talk about my burning experience. There was a huge hurricance debree pile in the back back when I moved here. Took me 3 total entire weekends to burn it all off. On top of the debree weeds were taking over and it was all driving me crazy. I chose to keep all the burning in barrels that way I knew I was in control and not have any trouble from the fire department, so all the weeds were hand fed to the fire..........ooooohhh the satisfaction of the sizzle and pop of all the hot juices bubbling out of weedy stems. We have another area to burn, and would have if not for the rain on Sunday. There is a bonfire pit with old wood that is covered in weeds and grass. Soon.........soon.......

When your soil is as light and loamy and loose as mine, you don't even have to wait until it rains to pull the weeds by hand. They almost float out.

Oh .... wait ..... that was a dream I had ....

:-

WNYwillie B ^_^ I also missed the shed story. Can the contributor repost maybe if you don't mind or WNYwillieB fille us in if you don't mind ???

I don't own a shed, sorry :-)

I think someone tried burning the weeds out with a weed torch and ended up almost burning down their shed. (see post #7)

ohhhhhhhh thanks WNYwillieB I did read that one. oops.I can't burn cuz it's so dry here so I'm totally out of the loop. Thanks.

We aren't allowed to "burn" here. The fire department shows up (and not too happy about it, neither!!)

I mostly hand weed. I tried vinegar in the stones around my pool but I still had to pull out the dried up weeds...more work. I'll dig if I have to. I'm with the folks that said they don't mulch or use the pre-emergents because they want the volunteers.

I hear ya WNYwillieB. Grass fires, forest fires here EEK! We're in BIG drought.

Drought = No Fun

Grampapa you know Moo (my mom) is big into the vinegar thing but doesn't do squat for me. I wonder if it's a PH thing? Grampapa what is your soil and moisture conditions like? Anyone else find that vinegar works for them and if so what is your soil and moisture conditions? Note: generalizing works great for me. Just wonder cuz these kinds of questions get posted on our local Horticultural Forum and it would be great to share your experience. Thanks my friends.

I am so sorry you are in a drought. I truly truly truly feel for you and have been there.

We are not allowed 'uncontrolled' burns either. It was very labor intensive to pick up every weed and scrap and put it in the barrel. I could have burned it all off uncontrolled in a day........but it was the right thing to do and it was a labor of love. BTW, helicopters swooped in on me a couple of times throughout and left once they saw how I was doing it. Knowing me, I probably waved to them. Concentration of ash afterward left on the ground, not much grows in that pH, or you could spread it lightly throughout your yard and it will act as a great Ca, Mg, P supplement.

actually a combo process here--pull by hand and then DEEP mulch to avoid the task in the future (in my dreams)....
=)

all of the above!!!!

Dahlia- I would venture to guess it might be species specific also, although the factors you mentioned are probably relevant as moisture and quantity of soil will have an existing soil solution dynamic. Overall soil chemistry is not changed immediately by changes in the soil solution chemistry. That nothwithstanding, let me think of an example of widely tolerant plant- Aglaonema will tolerate pH in the low 4's range (about what vinegar is) and not much else will in terms of house plants and even palms. Any other plant, you start to see phytotoxicity because of the excess availability of minor elements at that pH range. Some plants just don't mind extreme pH ranges- others may not be affected by temporary changes. I can also think of another example.....we used to use mild bleach solutions to kill algae in the green house. If the crop got a one-time splash exposure, it didn't hurt them. Hard to believe it unless you see it!

Great to hear fauna4flora. It's alot of work. I have an added guilt. Because I'm in the city and we have a reservoir we're not on water restrictions but all my buds outside the city are and they just watch their gardens die every summer . I have guilt every time I water. I don't do anything but self seeding direct sow annuals and very few containers for this reason although many in the city do. I think eventually we will (for the better of all) divert our reservoir water to the crops and livestock and those who haven't put in drought tolerant plants will lose their gardens.

LOL fauna4flora we cross posted. I was talking drought and you were talking vinegar. We are on the alkline side here so I think that's why vinegar doesn't work as you say. All the bad guys are already use to it. And then there's the weeds from hoot of course argh.

I have a tool that is like a screwdriver with a notch on the end. That's my favorite weeding tool. Kind of like a crow bar for weeds!

I remove them by hand if at all possible. Sometimes I have to disturb the earth to get all the roots, using a hand trowel usually.

I have one of those, too, Roybird ... they are an indispensable tool.

Dahlia, sometimes there are little ways around the watering restrictions, too. We have 5 acres and aren't that densely planted. We were compliant with the watering restrictions pretty much beforehand anyway, because when you water less it makes stronger root systems, so not a big deal for us. We are in the middle of everglades restoration, so watering restrictions will go on for years here in spite of full canals and a few months of normal rainy season rain fall. Explain that to most people who live here......anyway, point is, I have a neighbor with one acre and about ten times the plants we do. They have the whole property on drip irrigation, which is entirely exempt, and also entirely not cheap. But, they are passionate gardeners! And I am very grateful for the generous cuttings contributions I got from their bromeliads and plumeria last year.

From the time I was 5 years old until I was 13 (the last year he had a garden) my grandfather used me for his weed puller/hoer. It worked well for him, now I'm the grandfather and my grandchild is 4 states away. Things change.

The size of one's property may be the deciding factor regarding a preferred method.
If I had a small plot, I would hand pull & torch them. But I don't, so I use what fits the area conditions & the type of weed, which is all listed, excepting pre-emergents.

I pull weeds by hand and with gloves on. I also have some heavy duty latex gloves that work very well too. I get my kneeler/bench out, bring my Mp3 player and I find listening to music makes it an easier job. Very good therapy too.

There should have been an "all of the above" category. I tend to use jazz on a boom box. My neighbors love it! Of course my neighbor is my Mom. I use what ever method gets the job done, trying not to use too many chemicals.

I voted other, because I use roundup on the gravel driveway, hand weed most of the gardens, and smother some weeds with mulch. It's definitely getting better in the garden, but not so much for my back!

I think they ought to let you check more than one: I do all but burning and Round-up.

I want to hear JordanKittyJo's shed story!

I use mulch, pull with and without tools, and use a pre-emergent

I ignore them during the summer because it's too hot for me to care... lol...
Brittany

All of the above! My favorite is to ignore them.

I've tried ignoring them but then they just raise their ugly heads and laugh at me later on. LOL I try to keep on top of things but like many of you, it's gets away from me sometimes. I pull by hand when I see them. I'm going to try bunchingthingstogether more next year because that seems to work well in one of my beds.

I use just about all the methods mentioned, including a flame gun, although no chemicals apart from on the driveways.
Great to see all the different approaches here. I do a lot of the ignoring them LOL.
Some I even consider quite attractive - the little stripey pink and white convolvulus looks really pretty scrambling into the lavender ;) and comes out once the effect is too scruffy..........

I needed an option for 'two or more of the above'.

I smother them with paper and mulch in beds where that makes sense (where there is adequate room between plants, etc. I treat some areas with pre-emergents if time allows. Of those weeds that do emerge, I spray some with Roundup, esp those that are not annuals and cannot be easily pulled up without harming my plants. I pull weeds by hand when I have the time, especially those that will come up easily with roots in tact. Lastly, some weeds manage to get past all of the above. Those I ignore for lack of time and energy.

I use Spectracide to kill the weeds or grass, and then I cover the area with weed barrier. Pine straw is readily available so I use that as a top dressing to cover the weed barrier.

I weed with a weed - poker thing to throughly remove the roots. I also plant thickly so the plants shade out the weeds..

I voted "Other", since "All of the Above" was not a choice! I prefer not to use chemicals, but will when overwhelmed or when the situation warrants it. I have a Weed Dragon and prefer to spot treat with fire rather than chemicals in the lawn. I am an ardent mulcher, and have taken to underlaying the mulch with newspaper, which I find very effective. I like my Winged Weeder, but I'm not above getting on my hands and knees and going into hand-to-stalk combat. I use some pre-emergent, but not often enough, since, as the above comment implies, I have lots of experience dealing with post-emergence.

There are even a few spots on the place I ignore.

I don't think anyone mentioned my favorite method of controlling weeds -- I plant so many things so close together that there is barely a square inch of space left for a weed. It actually does work if the desired plants create enough shade to prevent the weed seeds from germinating.

Fauna4 - you might check into the Florida regulations for burning in your area. My only "real" job was working in air pollution control in Jacksonville for about 11 years. Enforcing the rules for burning somehow fell to our department (possibly because residents would most often complain about the smoke rather than the fire). Even burning in a barrel is considered "open burning" and is generally prohibited. However, if the fire department or other authorities show up, quickly stick a marshmallow or a hot dog on a twig and hold it over the fire -- that makes it legal as a "campfire for outdoor preparation of food." Or, don your favorite magical robe and begin to chant -- that makes it legal as a "ceremonial" fire. Or, claim that you have a rare medical disease that makes you shiver from cold even in our high 90s F summer temperatures -- you can then claim it as a "warming fire for outdoor workers." In Jacksonville, we had the authority to issue $50 tickets for burning in a barrel, so best check it out if you have any neighbors that might complain.

I bought a weed burner from Harbor Freight Tools and it throws such a huge flame and heats up to be so hot that I don't think I could use it for anything other than arc welding. LOL I tried using it on the weeds that come up in the cracks of my brick walks and it scorched everything within about a 3 ft radius.

Jeremy