yes that looks like the weed. Thanks.

I am not sure what I will do. I think it got worse this year due to the drought we have been having the last few years. I guess some of the grass died and this horrible stuff took over.

I am a not chemical type person, so the the herbicides they suggest are out. I think I will yank all this stuff up and plant grass seed so they stuff has no place to take hold. I do have to re-yank the stuff some fall as it has already dropped lots of seed.

I could wait till fall to yank it out. It would hurt less to do it. But by then I might have to plant a winter grass. Winter grass might be a good idea since I am always looking for mulch for my veggie beds.

I just need to find a grass that will work in north Texas with afternoon shade. Maybe I could plant a ground cover of some sort, or hairy vetch or something???

help if you have any good ideas!

Mary

I would do some research before you start yanking. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that pulling it out makes it multiply.

I hate this stuff too and it's all throughout my yard (too much to ever pull if that's an option). I can't find a solution either. At least I can put shoes on -- my poor dogs are going to need booties!

I read someplace if you increase fertility in the yard weeds decrease. I agree with you on yanking. First off it is everyplace! And leaving ground bare increases weeds, since nature wants no part of bare ground.

Don't you hate this stuff. I really don't care if I have weeds. No big deal. Only in suburbian lawns is every blade of grass the same species. Nature never does that sort of thing.

I read that poison oak/ivy occurs when land has been damaged in some way. It is like nature is saying stay off until I heal the land. I think this might be that same with this horrible stuff. We never watered our yard during droughts, and I think this made a lot of the soil microbes die. I think this must be a pioneer species, like the only thing capable of growing on the depleted land.

Too bad it has burrs, it is kinda a pretty plant. Although now I am not thinking it is pretty anymore!!!!!!

Mary

Vinegar is an all natural acidic product. Dumping it on the base of the plant and letting it soak into the roots will kill it. depending on the type of plant it may take 2-3 times over a period of time...

It is also good for killing weeds under a fence line so one doesnt have to use a weed whacker and also dumping it into pacing stones to kill weeds that are coming up in the cracks.

I read this tip in Mother Earth News when a reader wrote it in to them. I love it! But one does have to be careful not to use it to closely to wanted plants!

sammie

I have no reaction to any material my footwear is made of, however, several years ago I was in a store whose owners are Dutch and they had clogs for sale. I bought a pair and I wear them any time I work outside. Sometimes I will slip them on without socks but usually I'll have socks on my feet. My feet feel warm in the winter and very comfortable any other time of the year. Wooden shoes are the most natural material.

I have a very painful plant here. Sand Spurrs
http://photos1.blogger.com/img/60/5127/640/sandspur1.jpg

It is also an annual that tends to choose poor sites. I have been making a point of plucking the seed heads where I can. I notice that if I mow lower to try and keep it from going to seed, it just grows seed heads that are shorter or prostrait on the ground instead.

I have taken to putting down cardboard over the areas with the most of it and covering with mulch or putting a garden bed on top using the lasagna gardening methods.

I don't know how well this is going to work for me or if it would work for you but it is a relatively chemical free weed control method.

Carpet Burrweed "Soliva sessilis) is considered a noxious weed with no benefits. It is a winter annual that dies back in the summer after forming seeds, and not watering your lawn leaves the soil open for the seeds to sprout when the rains come. Humans tend to be the major source of the spread of the seeds. The spines are attached to the seeds. Germination begins early and seedlings develop rapidly, usually faster than the grass it grows in.

Since you don't water your lawn, and the weed likes compacted soil and sun, you might consider either sheet-mulching your entire lawn area (shading it out), or rototilling the whole thing, then when you see the first small plant, keep the top few inches of soil loosened. And keep doing it (preventing the compaction it likes). Germination starts with the first heavy rains of autumn, so you would need to keep on top of it when you need to, not when you can get around to it (too late).

Scientists seem to think that there is a fairly low carry-over of seed from year to year, so if you could eliminate the seed production for one year (about Feb to July or so), the existing seeds may not live long enough to keep germinating year after year.

If you want to keep your lawn, you should probably ferilize it with compost or manure, overseed it well, water it, and cut it higher so it can help shade out the burrweed. Or you could fertilize with natural fertilizers (compost and manure), then lay sod over it. The microbial action of the compost and manure could help the seeds to rot, with the help of the sod in keeping out the light.

It can be removed manually in late winter and early spring, but if you wait until the seeds form, you're wasting your time.

This weed is rather famous here in WA, as we get a lot of rain for 8-9 months, then nothing all summer, producing the conditions it prefers. 8-(

Sue

Specifically to Sammie, below, I tried the vinegar approach. A nice, big earthworm (my gardens and grassy areas are full of them) came to the surface immediately, in a it of pain from how he acted. I picked him up and put him in the birdbath to rinse him off - don't know yet if it worked. So, beware, I guess of how acidic yet natural weedkillers might affect the good things. Me, I think I'll opt for the heavy mulch/compost and then covering with sod. At least I'll be able to walk on it, eventually.....

DaniHynes, thanks for the warning about vinegar and earth worms.

I've had good luck with heavy mulching to get rid of all those weeds that like compacted soil and sun. I didn't even bother with cardboard first. I just spread wood chips about six inches deep. I was able to get a tree service to dump their truck full of shredded wood in a pile on my front yard. I did have a number of unwanted saplings, but my ground became sooooo soft that even dandelions would come out with a gentle pull. (I would leave the dandelions, but the neighborhood wasn't that open minded.)

Great info, thanks! Glad to know there are some natural approaches. Apparently that is being more and more devalued these days, my kid brought something home from school supporting a group called PeoplePerfectPlanet, a bunch of nuts that want to to make aÃÂ competely man-made ecosystem and replace Mother Nature with it.

I know this thread was last updated long ago, but I came across a non-chemical treatment or remedy and thought I should share.

This is company is in Texas, so they understand the pain (pun not intended, but nonetheless), of these terribl menaces.

http://www.thestickerpicker.net/Weed-Killer.html

Put lime on them. They hate it. They thrive in acid soil, so if you change the pH to alkaline, they will die. Lime is cheap, and it's worth a try.

That sticker picker sounds great if you can afford it. The add the lime and over the lime, I lot of plain paper (newspaper stock or newspaper) or cardboard. Mulch or soil on top. I wouldn't do it the Morag Gamble way because those stickers would be in your soil. Just cover them and work on top if you haven't already