We have a nice big rat snake, two hawks (at least) and two outdoor cats from the neighbors, and they've done nothing to keep the population down (though the snake has done her part, for sure: photo.) I think sticky traps are cruel and they're pretty tough on the human, too, especially if the animal is still alive when you find it. D-Con is warfarin (also known as Coumadin) and causes death by internal bleeding. Internal bleeding hurts. A lot. I've had it. And the warfarin keeps on killing, including your dog or hawk or whatever that eats the poisoned corpse. What we use with great success and a clear conscience is the Rat Zapper. My DH empties it when the little light is flashing and says they all look peaceful - certainly no limbs chewed off, as you sometimes get with snap traps and sticky traps - and the vendors say it's painless. If it were me, I'd want to go that way versus the others. I can't be responsible for the pain that hawks and cats cause, but I can try to be responsible for some of the pain I cause. We use the Rat Zapper Classic and you just tip the corpse out of it, no handling the dead. You can get them battery-powered (which is what we use) or, I guess for garages or sheds, etc., you can buy a plug-in version. Here is a link that might be useful: RAT ZAPPER

The plant in my yard that shoots seeds, my sister calls it Artillery weed, has a small rosette of basal leaves and then a flower stalk with tiny white flowers. Oxalis makes a seed pod that looks like a tiny banana, in fact I liked to eat them when I was a kid as they tasted acidic. I'm not aware of them ever shooting seeds at me. Perhaps we're not all talking about the same plant. Oxalis looks like a three-leaved clover. There are photos in the Paghat link in my previous post. I spend a lot of time in early spring trying to get all the "artillery weed" before it starts shooting seeds, I hate it too. But I like Oxalis a lot. If you know the ingredients for the Burn Out II, maybe you could try to mix up something similar. Azure Standard has clove oil. I've heard of using vinegar and a little orange oil cleaner mixed in to kill weeds.

Why level the lawn if your going to build raised beds? Just rototill where you want the garden to be and use 2x4's or whatever to mark off the area. -lumber: 2x8s or 12's can be cheap if you go to home depo or whatever and ask where their scrap lumber is. It will take years for them to rot enough whered you'll notice. You can also get old wood pallets and tear them apart for the individual pieces. Left over bricks work to. - weed smothering material: one word-Preen. Unless you need to go 100% organic, this stuff will save your life. the small container is fine. Apply in the spring. I havent had to weed barely at all this year. As for now? I'd agree with Gumby_ct: avoid landscape fabric. Its expensive and not worth it. I'd just use black garbage bags, cut the seams, and put that over the whole site. you can cut holes for where you need plants to poke through. If you dont wanna plant anything this year, and just prepare for next, you could solorize the soil. Its harsh, but it will kill all weeds & their seeds (and worms, good bugs, beneficial bacteria etc). all you need is a clear plastic drop cloth, put it over the area you want to plant in, weigh the edges down with bricks, and walk away. Its worth a google search. - compost: This fall, use your lawnmower to pick up the leaves, then dump them on your garden site. They decompose faster when shredded. Do it all season. By the spring, it should have decomposed enough to till into the soil. Leaf mold is the poor mans compost.It can be a good substitution for peat moss as well, since its purpose is to help hold moisture and clay soils. -vermiculite: I used sand instead on vermiculite/pearlite. We had bags of left over from when we used them for winter traction in an old car. the best drainage is from sand anyway. sand + compost/leaf mold = plant nirvana. Hope that is helpful! -Ali

What I call "bindweed" gets white (sometimes with a tinge of pink) morning glory-type flowers that don't last more than a day or so. The seed pods even dry looking similar to dried morning glory pods. But the seeds are not the primary means of reporduction for this plant - it's the runners. They stay alive over winter under the soil and reappear in late spring... and take over the universe by summer. It secretes a noxious milky substance when pulled. The other difference between these and morning glories is that the vine is not hairy, nor are the leaves, and they are shaped more like arrowheads than hearts. The vine, if pulled and let to dessicate a bit, is very useful for binding other plants - I sometimes use it as a staking twine. Supple but strong. That's about the only useful purpose for the stuff that I've found.