Here in California many of us have started to use cardboard sheet mulching as part of our way to combat an accumulation of weed seed in a formerly weedy yard. The easy part? You do not have to pull weeds. Here is some information out of Massachusetts that should give you a clear Idea how to proceed: http://www.chelseagreen.com/content/9-simple-steps-to-sheet-mulching/
A consultation with a local pro who knows how it's done would be money well spent. I did it in my yard before using it in the gardens of my clients. I find that properly installed gardens thrive with it as soil building earthworm populations go up fast! Good luck!

@mreinholtz,
You don't need Roundup at all if you are just killing thistles, dandelions, capeweed or clover etc...just a broad leaf or what's called a selective herbicide like Kamba 500 will do fine.

Be mindful of drift and use a cone or cover over your jet, which can be as simple as an icecream container with a hole drilled in it to take the wand or of course the propper fitting if money isn't an issue.
If you are trying to kill Red Topped mallow or Marshmallow by it's self or in a lawn like the weeds listed above for example, you still use Kamba 500 with the addition of Amine 625 80/20% respectively, so in a 15ltr back pack - 100mls of Amine 625 and 20mls of Kamba 500.
Roundup is not a selective herbicide as it's very nature is to kill everything it touches.
Selective herbicide, as the name suggests selects in this case, a broad leafed weed in the wrong place, ie; a lawn or garden bed.
You can of course mix all three chemicals together to get a better kill on all weeds in general.

Take advantage of the fact that you have this little thing called winter in Pennsylvania which will likely kill the weeds for you. when you have a late winter/early spring snow in the forecast go out and sprinkle your grass seed. You will have to do it by hand but luckily you have a small space. Don't do it to far in advance of the snow or the birds will eat it. The seed will remain dormant until the snow melts and sprout as soon as it's warm enough Some weeds are bound to come back until the grass is thick enough to prevent them - just use a garden weasel to remove them.

Lol. Good one henry...yup, winter will kill most of them except for the ones like creeping charlie. But i don't consider that to be a weed (but many people do) because for now it is growing around our tree creating a border. I did research on it and i know i will have to be diligent so it doesn't take over

I actually let that creeping charlie overtake my tiny front yard- it's not unattractive, crowds out everything else and never gets high enough to cut. I do have to keep it edged up because I don't want it invading my neighbors yard.

I know people have covered weeds with black plastic (avoid all chemicals as we need the insects they kill) and then mulch. After 6 months of cooking in the sun, everything should be dead... haven't tried it myself. I'd dig out the weeds and turn it into a beautiful garden that will give you beautiful fragrant blooms, shade, color, and texture... grass just wants maintenance! put in a bench among the blooms and read a book.

I am a DYI gardener that has learned much over the last 14 years. Attached photo of my front yard where I have been removing Bermuda grass and expanding a planting bed for these past 14 years. NO plastic or other sheets - over time weeds will just grow on top of this.
NO chemicals ever, including fertilizers. Just Grow Native. My photos show coneflower, monarda, spiderwort natives mixed with non-native daylilies and catnip. The coneflower and monarda will expand and self seed easily to grow very tightly together which then limits the weed growth. This type of yard/garden needs much less care, no watering. It does require more knowledge, so I recommend books written by Doug Tallamy - Brining Nature Home and The Living Landscape.
Weed removal is best done with a narrow shovel - cut ground all around the base of the weed & lift it out roots and all. Then crumble the soil away from the main root stem and compost it. I have recently been planting milkweed plants to help the monarch butterflies - very impressive plants. I will post more garden photos on my houzz site soon.

In my opinion, the biggest weed of all is grass. Bought a new house, took out the grass the builder refused to leave out. Added 3 layers of native tree trimmings mulch over 5" newspaper and within a month started putting in natives ($1/gallon at a wholesaler who was willing to sell me a large quantity) and antique roses. Zone 7 Everything was blooming within a month. By the end of the summer, everything was at least twice or three times it's size. Had a third flush of blooms in October and probably would have in November, if the frost hadn't hit. On the few weeds that came up, I pulled or sprayed with Apple Cider Vinegar. Last challenge: Glass of water with a teaspoon of Round-Up. Glass of water with teaspoon of Vinegar. Which would you drink? My soil feels the same.

Get a soil tes http://agsci.psu.edu/aasl/soil-testing/soil-fertility-testingt for turf from your local University Extension Center http://extension.psu.edu/counties & ask them what type turf grows best in your area. Make sure to tell them if you have sun or shade. Ask which month is best to sod in your area. When you receive the results follow their recommendations. Use weed killer and cover with cardboard. Within 2 weeks weeds should be dead, remove cardboard, amend soil per soil test results, next day sod. Keep watered daily until sod takes root. These publications may be of interest to you http://plantscience.psu.edu/research/centers/turf/extension/home-lawns

If you really want GRASS, I'll assume you will have time to mow and maintain it. Where's your garden shed for the lawn mower??? Do you have to bring the used mower through the house to get to this tiny bit of lawn?? MANY low growing plants can give the illusion of grass without the maintenance. Take a walk in your neighborhood (or any neighborhood) and look at the gardens.... What you like will help you make a decision on what to do with your 'postage stamp' yard. :)

Hello, Taylor,

Have you considered EasyTurf? You'd get a lush, year-round manicured lawn without the need for mowing, weeding, chemicals or other maintenance. If you have any questions about turf, please let me know -
Cheers!
George
http://www.houzz.com/projects/82914/beautiful-front-yard

Tried growing grass under maple trees for a few years. No good. Finally made raised beds filled with roses, native plants, etc. Gorgeous garden, less weeding, no mowing whatsoever!

mreinholtz--Weed B Gone is 2, 4 D. This is the chemical in Agent Orange and has been shown to cause lymphoma and some leukemias. We must be forward thinking and ban commonly used herbicides.

@paddlerchick,
Used correctly, this chemical, 2,4D is no more dangerousused outdoors, than all the chemicals we surround ourselves with in our homes, enclosed, all the fumes in the home linger for us to inhale 24/7, be it dishwashing liquid, air freshener or household cleaners but I expect you probably don't use these pre-made chemicals and probably use home made products.
What about toothpaste for example with Flouride, a bi product of a chemical that people have been forced to use by the government of the day, because the benefits are deemed to far out weigh the actual use of the poison in the first place.
Chemicals are used in farming worldwide to be able to provide edible crops for both humans and animals.
It's one thing for people to take an active stand and decide to live chemical free and I say good on them, where they feel they have the time to keep unfriendly bugs and weeds out of their garden patch or clean their homes with vinigar and bi carb soda and again good on them but it's another thing for broad acre farmers to be able to keep their 1000's of acres pest or weed free by this method unless of couse it's a third world country where children are exploited, to be working at the age of 5 and doing an 8 hour day for a meal!!!
Farmers can't afford a work force to hoe thousands of acres of crops nor could anyone afford to cover thousands of acres to prevent insect infestation.
What about using newspaper in the gardens to supress weeds, I think it's a great idea but what about the ink, isn't it a chemical, leaching into the soil in copious amounts.
There's been the constant comments in this forum, that Roundup for example, will leach into the soil and a few people had allot to say about how bad that is for the soil.
We must all wake up and realise that people who use chemicals are not destroyers of the universe and conversely, people who don't use chemicals are not necessarliiy saving the universe.
I know the use of any sort of chemicals can be a very volatile topic but remember, we all have electricity in our homes by whatever means it's produced, we all have cars that emit fumes, we all have BBQ's that use gas, so it seems to me ridiculous to brand people who happen to use chemicals in their gardens as simply being wrong, sometimes the use of chemicals is deemed necessary and we shouldn't be harshly judged for it by those who don't like it.
By the way, the chemical that's used in Agent Orange is actually 2,4DB and has been banned here in Australia at least, for many years now.

@Barbara. http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/24d-captan/24d-ext.html
2, 4 D is in Agent Orange. Veterans with lymphoma who were exposed to Agent Orange are given compensation for that exposure and resultant illness by the VA.

As a kid I walked the bean fields with a weeding knife and manually weeded 100' of acres. This was before the commercialization of farming. I also grew up in the Midwest and watched the indiscriminate spraying of fields from airplanes. Several of my friends who also went through that are now suffering from lymphomas and leukemias.

I do try to live chemical free. No, it's not easy but it is important to me and my family. Too bad our air and water supplies are contaminated. We should all individually try to do our part to stop pollution before there is nothing left to protect.

We have been treating our 5 yr old dog for lymphoma for 6 months. There is an epidemic of dogs and people with lymphoma in our valley. The upper valley is sprayed with copious amounts of 2, 4, D to get rid of thistles. The trails, the bike paths, the boat ramps are all being sprayed but not posted.

I believe we can do better.

T'is true, Barbara, t'is true. With over 7 billion mouths to feed (and counting) we will never break our dependence on poisonous chemicals unless we take overpopulation seriously.
http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
We can sit at our computers and watch it happening! Far afield of Taylor's little lot, but we do all have options. At home in NE I use only compost and mulch, but while in FL I resort to long lasting fertilizer and for the first time in over 10 years some weed + feed for the "lawn". Mia culpa. But have been working my way to more plants & less grass down here as well.

@paddlerchick,
I do agree with you 100% that everyone should make a conscious decision to be mindful of chemicals, their use and subsequent issues that can arise, after all we only have this one earth!!!
I take off my hat to you, having done your bit to eradicate weeds on the family farm I imagine, whilst the farms were still relatively small and you do acknowledge that farms have now become so large that such feats are now impossible.
I also agree with you, that airplane spraying is very worrying as the very nature of how the task is achieved, is some what indiscriminate and I much prefer land based methods.
I'm sorry for you and your fellow neighbours, that the thistles are being sprayed with 2,4-D, as there are other less volatile chemicals that work equally as well, not the least of which is Roundup if there is a non select spray to be used in the areas you mentioned, like the bike tracks and boat ramps.
I'm so sorry about your beloved dog, as I too love my dog and pets and would not want to face the issues you have to face at present.
There is no argument from me that people have suffered effects of Agent Orange exposure and I just researched on line, that "Agent Orange, the herbicide widely used during the Vietnam War, contained 2,4-D, however, the controversy regarding "HEALTH EFFECTS" centered around the 2,4 5-T component of the herbicide and its contaminent, Dioxin."

Perhaps you need to see exactly what chemical is being used around your area and trying to convince the "powers that be" that less volatile chemicals can be used instead.

I mean no disrespect to you personally, just want us to be able to all live in peace and harmony, so that the things we do individually don't affect other people or creatures but at times we also need to accept, that we have to live and let live and allow people to make their own decisions on exactly how they tend to their little paradise called HOME!!

I reuse, regift, repurpose and recycle avidly. Since I am moving, I will be re-using my moving boxes by repurposing them, once emptied, to begin my landscaping. I also have no issue with putting down landscaping weed fabric as it does allow water penetration.

As to Taylor's yard -- awesome job on that picket fence! It just sparkles! Instead of working yourself to death on those weeds, go to the big box store, pick up some boxes. Dig out some of that dirt, put down the boxes and top it with compost and your dirt (having picked out weeds as possible). Now plant your patch of lawn, along with some flowers, and perhaps a few veggies/herbs. If weeds grow, they'll be quite easy to quickly pluck because of the cardboard until the cardboard disintegrates. By that time, your area should be rather weed free.

Most of all, have some fun with it!

I am one of those crazy people that believe in organic gardening. I have seen the wonderful changes in my own garden when I stopped using pesticides and chemical fertilizers. I was an avid Roundup user - but no more. Now I have an abundant of bees, butterflies, toads, and other critters. My plants have never looks better. I like the suggestions about covering the weeds to smoother them. It works well - and as a plus - you get a great soil to plant things in. You will always have insects or weeds. A garden is a living thing. They are never going to be perfect.
It is obvious to anyone that you are not afraid of hard work. You did a fantastic job on that fence.
Your garden is a personal thing. Plant the things you like.

my experience with landscape cloth is that the weeds germinate on top of it, their roots grow through it, and when you attempt to pull out the weed, you pull out all the landscape cloth with it! it's ugly!

Please, get rid of Roundup.

I agree with KMZ about the vinegar. Here in NM we have what is called "bind weed," and it does bind yo anything! It is a ground bone that has flowers that look like tiny morning glories. It will wrap itself around anything and strangle it. I got rid of all of it in my yard by pulling out and using straight white vinegar on ones I could not pull out. You may have to apply several times but white vinegar is cheaper and not toxic like Roundup.

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/sites/default/files/free_downloads/gpub_78151_toxic_ingredient_glyphosate_formulations.pdf

Roundup is found is our blood, urine, and breast milk. It's in our groundwater. Yum

Hey Taylor,
What does the garden in potentia look like now?

@katiekitten123,
Good question, we all digressed some what didn't we and poor Taylor is probably going silly trying to get back to a simple answer.
I too look forward to a response to see what progress has been made since September.
Cheers,
Barbara

I've already replied to this dilemma here: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/garden-of-weeds-dsvw-vd~1194609

Here's a copy:

Roundup is one of the biggest toxic 'household' products you can imagine. Please stop using that stuff! (all who read this).

Remove a few inches of soil. And either: Cover the ground with black plastic for a few months to kill whatever comes up. Or add new composted soil on top and immediately lay down grass (or seed grass). Plenty of tutorials online on making a good lawn (youtube and such).

And I was learned: one year of seed means seven years of weed. This means if you or the previous owner have neglected the garden for one blooming season, the weeds can come back for at least seven years after. Just remember: having a garden also means weeding.

Note: some weeds only grow on poor soil, especially the tough ones. Composting will attrack new weeds, but they're 'more managable'.

The white fence just calls for some nice shrubs and perennials! They are so much easier and far less expensive to care for than grass. I am not much of a gardener, tried various methods, went with the layers of newspaper or cardboard to control weeds.

I laid it down in the shape of the bed I wanted, covered it with about three inches of soil, then covered that with two of mulch. It smothered the existing grass and the weeds! I wet it down well enough to reach the newspaper or cardboard layer. I dug a hole through the layers with a spade, including newspaper/cardboard, large enough for the root mass of the plant or shrub and plopped the plant in, filled in with dirt, spread the mulch around the plant. Repeated for each shrub or perennial.

Occasionally, a weed would sprout, but easily was pulled out. The newspaper biodegrades, so each spring I would rake the remaining mulch to one side, add another few layers of newspaper, going around the shrubs and perennials with it. Covered the newspaper with a few inches of dirt, put the mulch, back, adding new as needed. If I wanted to add plants, I just watered, dug hole, etc. This was so easy and successful! Watering and pulling an occasional weed was all I had to do during the growing season

I live in Zone 5, harsh winters, hot summers. I used plants that were known to be easy for my area (very important). I also have lots of grass - wish I could get rid of all if it...

Been looking at that fence also! However, it is not a very wide patch, perhaps 12-18 inches deep. Was thinking of "Little Business" daylillies, - miniature and reblooming , bright red. They're tough -daylillies are drought tolerant. The minis are about 12-18 inches tall. They won't flop over the sidewalk. No thorns to catch clothes as one walks by. Insect resistant. There are other colors of mini rebloomers, too. Perhaps a golden yellow Stella d'oro, or lemon yellow happy returns...

Might be fun/possible? To train a purple pod pole bean along the fence ... Pretty and tasty!

Here's one i saved Love climbing plants. I also would have a plant that climbs up the gutter......

...then have it go along the roof line Wouldn't it be great if this were grapes ?

A grape vine sounds good, however, experience with a "persistent" Virginia creeper brings reluctance to having a tendrilled vine near siding. Soffits, or shingles... Also sparrows are amazingly adept at nesting in places like that and are noisy early risers- 4-5am in the summer!
The purple vine is really pretty!

The Purple Violet Vine is called a Happy Wanderer here in Australia and is extremely tame and can even be planted without any trelis and it will simple clump onto itself.
A perfectly safe and beautiful plant and there is a whit and pink variety, less vigorous than the purple variety.
I would never recommend planting a vine that can grow into the gutters and roof if for no other reason, than to give rodents a perfect way to get up onto and into the roof as I have found recently in my mother's home, where she had trees, fruit trees actually growing so close to the home, that the rats were picking the fruit and then heading into the roof where they wintered.

I have so much ivy growing around my house I would probably have to burn the house down to get rid of it. It was inherited not planted. It's like kudzu. Then there's the bittersweet the neighbor planted by the fence that strangles my row of lilacs every summer. Be very careful before planting an invasive vine. The day lilies sound like a good hardy, trouble free choice to me.

Oh my God! the mere mention of Virginia creeper sends chills up my spine... avoid it at all cost! plus do not ever plant honeysuckle, bittersweet, or wisteria (unless the native... but still be cautious)... or they'll eat your property alive. The only "behaved" vine i've encountered is clematis (albeit autumn clematis can be a problem with some). good luck.

Looking along the side of the building and at the concrete pad for "parking" the garbage containers... Don't see a water faucet... Perhaps there is space for a rainwater catchment barrel in the very corner?...
And to screen the containers for esthetics perhaps some Tall " pampas" type grass clumps?
Aha and just by the door stoop the downspout seems well set to wash the dirt across the side walk and possibly create an icy spot in winter?
Stark Bros. Have apple trees that only go up, not branching, " Urban" red/yellow/green/blush...Might be pretty along the fence...

I had weeds taking over my front lawn, I removed the grass with a sharp flat shovel and the sprayed the hole area with round up that same day, next day I used a hoe to till the entire area and remove the roots and sprayed again then waited two days, on that second day I soaked the area with water( at night ) and the next morning I laid sod. I live in chicago and the best time to lay sod is in autumn, second best time is spring; but definitely pull the roots, spray and lay sod.

@mrgto26,
You have done a great job removing the weeds but I can't get your attached photo's to load, but I have to say I'm curious that you removed the weeds and then used roundup.
This chemical is 100% inactive when it touches dirt and was of no use whatsoever, without any foliage to actually spray.
I suspect you may have been miss informed about how to use Roundup (glyphosate being the active constituant).
There are other chemicals that do work in the soli but definitely not roundup.
Removing the weeds with the shovel and then removing the remaining roots was sufficient.
Good on you for the job you've done anyway.
Cheers,
Barbara

Here is a great top ten list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhVAo9ZGL-8

Barbara,
STOP recommending Roundup.
Glycophosphate binds with the soil. It does not magically become inactive. It has finally been categorized as a carcinogen. https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-016-0117-0
The other problem with RoundUp I've known about for years are the inert ingredients: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/weed-whacking-herbicide-p/

thank you, Elizabeth! Roundup is horrible for the environment, and that's why the GMO plants that are created to not be bothered by it are so scary. The farm workers go into the fields of these plants, potatoes especially, and spray the entire field to kill the weeds around the plants. Workers can't go into the fields for days due to the carcinogen. Scary stuff! Instead of using less Roundup, they use more.

I am a farmer and my husband and I regularly uses all manner of chemicals on our paddocks as do most non organic farmers so that we can get the most out of the crops.
I fully understand your concerns but it is unfortunately, the nature of the beast that people want hay and crops without weeds.

My husband has done a chemical users course and has been trained in the correct use of the chemicals he both uses and doesn't use and I believe is very well informed.

Have either of you done a course??...just read internet information? If you were a broadacre farmer, you might as well sell up as not use chemicals unfortunately!!

I haven't told anyone that they must use glyphosate, my response came from questions asked.

My friends and I who are organic farmers/gardeners prefer the lack of chemicals as we aren't harming animals, insects, bees, ourselves, etc. I understand if you have to, but I'm glad that I don't... and yes, I've done extensive research and reading and talking with the experts on pesticides... in fact, due to ones incorrectly used, $5000-$10000 of my plants were killed by them! Not a big fan!

You keep getting weeds because there are so many weed seeds in the soil. You need to till the soil, or shovel it, so the top layer of dirt, where the seeds are, is turned under. Then plant your grass seed.

Debra

This has become a pattern on Houzz. They keep bringing up old posts as links next to current posts. What is the reason for this? You click on a photo and if you don't take the time to notice the date of the thread, you start posting 6 years after the post started. And the original author never came back and posted one time after the original comment. The conversation is dead. Never did find out what happened to the Original author's garden.

Is this a computer generated list of links on the side, that are brought up by topic, regardless of age of the thread?

I would level the ground, cover it with landscape cloth and lay sod over it. Cheaper than constantly buying weed killer.

I don't consider old posts obsolete as lots of new comers to Houzz can get allot out of it. Point taken that perhaps the author doesn't respond and that can be a nuisance unless there is no response needed and it's just a talking point issue which I think is eventually what happened in this case. I mean the author might have moved on with life, don't post on Houzz anymore for example, there are lots of reasons for there not to be a response from the original author.

@Sonia Bickford,

Your solution sounds simple but weeds dont just generate from the ground, they can be blown in the wind so no amount of landscape cloth or fresh sod will guarantee nil weeds. Each person in gardening must make it work for them and some are happy like me to use chemicals as I also do broad acre farming where chemicals are a must at times and then there are some people that are genuinly passionate about going organic and hats off to them too but don't be misled for a minuite that there is a simple fix as there isn't, happy gardening.

So sorry about this, but I do not use Round-UP or any other weed killer manufactured by Monsanto, Bayer is probably the safest. Learn more about the gardening movements of rewilding and regenerative gardening these are products out there you can use to rid your garden of the unwanted.https://billboardtarps.com You are putting our pollinators at risk and soon won't have to worry about any vegetation cause we all would have killed off what is beneficial to our environment. Do some homework, I have honeybees and even the plants with neonicotinoids are detrimental.

There is no one answer and everyone must do what needs to be done to survive in their lives whether they are farming or gardening.

I need to use chemicals because it would be impossible to think we could remove weeds any other way on 600 acres of farm land.

My neighbour right next door to me also uses chemicals when needed and also has his own bee hives so it can be done in a way where the two can coexist but things have to be done more carefully.

No disrepect to your ideas though we each have to live in a way that we want.