Sounds encouraging. I'd read some mixed reports on the effectiveness of 2,4-D (alone) against Ajuga, but (possibly) better results with a 3-way product, which Killex is (2,4-D, Mecoprop-P, Dicamba) http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lawns/msg0918365630041.html http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=276043 So, it will be interesting to see your results. Yes, you are right Killex is available (at Canadian Tire), but only in British Columbia, Alberta & Manitoba. You are in BC, right? I'm in QC...sigh. Kind of farcical really, this provincial herbicide 'ban', when commercial lawn care companies can readily get the stuff (and political parties also). At least a third of the residents on my estate have their lawns sprayed....whether they really need it or not. I reckon the previous owner of my house was one and that chemical-dependency was at least part of the reason for my lawn problems....all those dormant seeds. That's my excuse anyway. Anyhow, I'll persist with the Roundup (no other choice now). Whilst slow (it's been about 2 1/2 weeks) it does appear to be working. Probably would have been quicker if I'd sprayed affected areas, rather than leaf-painted, from the start. Seems kind of counter-intuitive to water the weeds, but keeping the treated areas moist definitely helps. So, at the current rate of progress I'm still hoping that I'll be able to over-seed by mid-September. The thing that concerns me though is the sheer number and variety of weeds that are still coming up. Sure, the best natural weed-defense is a thick turf, but I'm beginning to think that I really do need to tackle at least the perennial broad-leafs, and if possible the dense carpets of crabgrass, which are now starting to turn to seed. The white clover that is taking over some areas I can live with. In fact I'm not averse to the idea of a mixed grass-clover lawn, though I can't speak for the neighbors. But the black medic (yellow trefoil) that is prevalent on my front lawn is less desirable. As someone commented on another forum - organic living is all well and good but sometimes you need a prescription from the doctor. I have inquired whether one the lawn-care firms (the one that acknowledged they use herbicides) might do a one-off spray, but they are only interested in offering a 'full year' maintenance plan. There's no way I could manually pull all of this stuff, as adept as I am with a Weed-Hound, and a lot of it is now partially obscured by crabgrass and clover/black medic. So, I guess I could try the available iron-based Weed-B-Gon, several neighbors look like they are having some success, at least with spot sprayed dandelions, but I think I'd need a bit more than spot treatment. Or else see if I can get hold of some Killex (might come back you). The big question then is how much treatment at this stage would put back fall over-seeding (killing time plus soil residual to consider). Don't really want to wait until Spring, as I'd like to try and get an early start with a pre-emergent then. What to do? This post was edited by WorBry on Tue, Aug 20, 13 at 14:11

Loop Loc has Mesh II and Ultra-Loc, their solid cover. The Mesh II lets the water drain in. If you have water line tile, a step pump is a good idea to keep the water off the tile. The solid covers come in two styles, with and without drain panels. Those without drain panels must have a cover pump to remove standing water. Those with drains should be tensioned evenly but softly as the cover material doesn't stretch. The springs and water take the load. All brands of safety covers should not let the water level be more than 18" from the cover bottom. The only pools that need to be lowered are those with waterline tile. It is rare that they need to go 18" down to get there. Keeping the water level off the tiles ensures that when the surface freezes, the expanding ice won't crack or pop tiles. That is the only reason to lower a pool. Using a step pump will ensure that when a snow load presses down, the step pump will remove any rising water. I have never had a problem with Loop Loc's customer service, ever. I have had issues with Merlin. They don't like to listen when I tell them not to put a strap within 12" of a particular location. I have sent covers back because of this. Scott

You folks are awesome! I'll try to answer all the questions... What was there already: 3 hydrangeas, 1 scraggly rhodie, 3 geraniums, several unidentified scraggly shrubs, 2 salvia, hyacinth, several spring bulbs that don't flower (only greenery) and trees (hickory and invasive Norway maple). What I have planted over the past 2 growing seasons: oat grass (against the fence), 1 honeysuckle (against the fence), lamb's ear, 4 lavender, 4 thyme, 4 sage, 4 oregano (I love to cook), 6 daylilies, 3 bleeding heart bulbs, 6 astilbe bulbs, garden phlox/coneflower/rudbeckia (all get eaten by squirrels/chipmunks/groundhogs), crocus bulbs (gets eaten as well), lupine and sweet woodruff. Treatment of the beds: year 1 we applied (not free) compost. Year 2 (last year) we cut down 3 Norway maples and chipped them for mulch. We mulch with shredded leaves (6 inches depth) every fall and mulch with our maple mulch in spring. We have an irrigation system that we run when we don't have enough rain and it gets 90% of the beds. I will hand-water whatever it doesn't reach. The soil looks good - nice and black with tons of worms, although it's definitely on the rocky/sandy side. We are 1 mile from the ocean on top of a granite ledge so the majority of the soil was brought in when the house was built 30 years ago. Growing grass in our shady areas is an exercise in futility! Future plans: I'm not a big fan of shrubs in general. I have no interest in evergreens or "winter interest" since we spend zero time in the yard in winter. I'm happy to have all perennials back there. It's quite shady back there and if I was starting from scratch I'd get rid of all the trees and plant different ones: Japanese maple, Kousa dogwood, some fruit trees etc but currently doing all that is cost-prohibitive since we have $30k of ice damn damage that needs to be repaired :( I'd also like to get some spring bulbs in - muscari edging, maybe some daffodils (since I know they won't get eaten), and I'm hoping the lily of the valley I planted will one day show up. We have a ton of hostas in other parts of the yard, so I'd like to go with other things if possible. Regarding the sweet woodruff - do I need to move the mulch in order to encourage it to spread? Perhaps that's part of the problem?

That IS where the wall is built, so it may have been foundation soil for that, but I don't think so, because the other wall just has plain old sand. Who knows? Maybe they had to add clay later on to shore up the wall or something. These apartments have been here since the 70s, I think, so it's a mystery that will likely never be solved. I definitely want to protect and feed the worms! I was so thrilled to see worms in the ground here, that I will do just about anything to protect and help them. Plus, that side is a southern exposure, so the leaves are needed to keep the soil cooler for the little wigglers too.