How do you get rid of this mess

17 years ago

Every spring it is the same,My bedds edges,under all the low cedar trees,around my iris and roses is chickweed.Tons and tons of it everywhere,I have to deal with all of that before I can even begin to start cleaning out a bed from weeds to plant or move a plant.I spend several days pulling at this and cloves that puts long runners in our bed,That mess is everywhere also,My home and land is built where there used to be an old farm,Alot of the people that bought here completely removed this horrible stuff and planted real lawn.I can not afford to do that,maybe in sections would work to get a nice looking lawn,we all have 2 or more acres.The front of my land is wooded,then some lawn then my house and the back and sides all have lawn except the NW corner.I have the whole side down to the back yard in woods,I am not sure what to do with that area yet,In the front I am turning it into a woodland garden,lots of hosta,bleeding hearts azaleas,columbine,astilbe,ferns.I root some plants in the dirt it is so rich.I also have alot of iris in that section also,I added ajuga and vinca last yr.I have rhododendrons also blooming.

There has to be something to kill this mess.How to I irradicate it for good?I also have 2 other hell plants I will post later to see what they are.They have underground runners everywhere but not hard to pull up.I sure hope someone can help me get this horrible stuff under control.

moonphase

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Comments (7)

todancewithwolves
17 years ago
My heart goes out to you.

The only way to get rid of it is to continue doing what your doing by hand picking or hoe. I've read that Chickweed seed can lay dormant for 25 years and it can reseed in as little as 5 days.

You can use a weed killer but so close to the trees could cause them damage.

I lay down newspaper and top it with dirt and shredded bark to keep my serious weeds down.

Best of luck to you :-)

Edna
memo3
17 years ago
Oh, Moonphase...I can soooo feel your pain. I live on a farm and have litteraly 100's of weeds to fight. I'll send you an email since most the good folks here don't have to deal with this problem.

MeMo
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Nell Jean
17 years ago
I thought everybody had weeds, except one person on GW once who had such bad soil even weeds wouldn't grow. Weeds in my garden are an indicator of where the good soil lies. If dandelions are the size of platters, I know it's a good place to plant. If they're the size of demitasse saucers, the ground needs improving.

The good thing about chickweed, wild geranium and Florida betony is that they're leaving (temporarily) when the weather warms. The bad news is, there are worse weeds coming up to take their place and bermuda grass is sprouting.

"Dig, dig, dig. Pull, pull, pull. Bermuda grass shall not win." -- that's my little mantra when I'm weeding. Weeding is like handwashing, there's no end to doing it, at least not here.

The Georgia Extension service HAD a guide to weeds online. It's not available just now. Here's a guide to some really super online resources.

Nell

Here is a link that might be useful: Weeds Links
flowerchild5
17 years ago
i have major amounts of bittercress (artillary weed) , after I pull that up it's time for the thistles. we dont' have a bag on our mower and when the pasture gets mowed here they come. I really feel for you cause u think i have my weeding done and then here comes the next batch. i've got the thistles up and now comes the bind weed. at least all the flowers are coming up and that sheds a little sunshine doesnt it?
Tanya
heather_q
17 years ago
Oh! I hate that stuff! I spent countless hours pulling it this year and last. I find that when I keep my mulch nice and deep the chickweed stays at bay (for the most part). However, as soon as the mulch breaks down, the chickweed is back. Putting Preen down every few months does help but I'm not good about staying on top of that - plus, if you have self-seeders they won't germinate with Preen use.

Do pull them before they dry or they drop hundreds of seeds. I pulled really late last year and paid for it a couple months ago.

Ho hum, the trials of gardening.

Heather
shellva
17 years ago
Hi Moonphase,

I feel your pain only too well also. My main weeds of contention are bermuda grass, nutsedge, wild onion and then the little spring weeds you are complaining about.

Layers of a type of paper and then mulch have helped tremendously in the war against these thugs. Even the bermuda grass is easier to deal with though not entirely eradicated.

I don't even pull them up anymore if I am about to do the paper/mulch thing. The past few days I've been mulching my beds for spring. I did take a stirup hoe and go over the few weeds that were growing real quick before putting down the layers.

Layers of paper and mulch....awesome stuff!

Michelle
moonphase
Original Author
17 years ago
hi Everyone When I made my beds last yr,I used paper,cardboard and the landscape fabric in my cottage garden.when most of the plants were in place.I mulched.The rose beds did not get paper,cardboard and now has to be redone.I did mulch them very heavily.I just did a new bed and cardboard is going down.One areas I have alot of problems with is along a section of split rail fence.I have 11 climbers over 50 yrs old on that fence.All along the base of the entire section,I filled with Iris.That is why I can only pull chickweed.It is thick.I have to be careful of breking the Iris.The roses are real thorny so it takes awile.One I get it out away from my plants.I will then use round up.I also put compost around them all every spring and a thick layer of mulch.When I get my camera back next week that my DD borrowed.I will take a photo of my night mares.Believe me,I round up all the weeds I can, but not around plants.I am learning the hard way about the newspapers and cardboars,But,I am learning.Thanks for the help here
moonphase

How do you get rid of this mess

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todancewithwolves

memo3

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How do you get rid of this mess

Comments (7)

todancewithwolves

memo3

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