Questions about killing nut grass sedge using roundup & newspaper

14 years ago

I live west of FWorth, TX - zone 7. My house sat vacant for over a yr before I bought it and previous to that was neglected; so now the front yard is over run with weeds - mainly purple nut sedge. Size is approx of an acre. Originally my plan was to get rid of the weeds, top with a thin layer of sandy loam, and then hydromulch with common bermuda, which is what was there before.

IÂve read about sedgehammer and image. CanÂt find sedgehammer in our area and LOWES said not to use image if I plan on hydroseeding soon. That pretty much leaves me with roundup which doesnÂt seem to be working very well with the nutgrass. IÂve sprayed three times now at 2-3 week intervals. Initially it turns brown but then keeps coming back strong. I have tried digging it up, but the ground is so compacted that much of it just breaks off -exacerbating the problem.

I WAS hoping for a green lawn this summer, but at this point IÂm willing to put it off until next year if I can get the nutsedge under control by then. The last thing I want is to waste time and resources establishing a lawn just to have it overrun again by weeds. Also I figure it will be much easier to get rid of the stuff BEFORE putting in the grass rather than afterward.

IÂve heard about something called "solarization" which is suppose to get rid of most weeds. But IÂm not sure it would reach all the roots and tubers of the nutgrass which can sometimes go to a depth of 18inches IÂve read. And IÂd like to avoid the expense of enough clear plastic to cover this large of an area.

IÂve also read about using newspaper and/or cardboard to smother it out. I like that idea because it would be more practical for me financially. (I can get a plentiful supply of both for free). Does anyone know if it would be as effective as the clear plastic?

Assuming it would, this is the plan IÂm thinking of implementing.

1. Continue treating the area with roundup a few more times. Might even try some sedgehammer (if I can locate it) or image, since IÂve pretty much lost hope of growing grass this year.

2. Rent an areator and go over the whole area since the soil is very compacted.

NOTE: IÂm thinking that I might need another round or two of weed killer after this since it may stir up some new weeds. Would that be necessary?

3. Bring in approx 20 yards of sandy loam - grade and level. Does it matter if I do this step before the next (putting down newspaper) or should I wait and do it after the newspaper is removed?

4. Cover whole area with 30-40 layers of newspaper and then top that off with large appliance cardboard to keep it from blowing around.

NOTE: IÂve read when using the clear plastic for solarization that the whole area needs to be thoroughly watered down to about 10 inches, but with my yard on a mild slope, IÂm afraid most of it would run off before soaking in that deep. Anyway, how much (if any) do you think I should water before applying the newspaper and cardboard?

5. Wait - not sure for how long, maybe till next spring????

6. PRAY!!!!

7. Check myself into a hospital for possible back problems and seek counseling for anxiety attacks. :-)

8. Uncover and hopefully be pleasantly relieved to find very little weeds before hydro mulching next summer!!!

If youÂve made it this far - sorry for the length.

Do you think this will work? Please tell me what I'm missing or if something would work better. Oh yea - I forgot to mention one very important fact - my budget is pretty limited at this pointÂ

THANKS, in advance!

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Comments (6)

Kimmsr
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
To control any nut sedge, and Yellow Nutsedge is the most common of the sedges found in our yards, you need to know something about how it grows. I have said before that sedges prefer growing in wet soils, and seem to grow most frequently in yards that have inground dprinkling systems where the soil is often kepp quite moist. This from Ohio State University, "Yellow nutsedge thrives under warm, wet conditions and can often be found in low, damp areas of lawns.", may help quell those that do not believe it, though I do doubt that.
Spraying with all of the plant poisons that you can get, unless you are a licensed pesticde applicator, will not harm this stuff, unless the favorable conditions that promote the growth are corrected and then you will not need to spend your money on those controls because if the conditions that favor the growth of Yellow Nutsedge are eliminated it will stop growing.
fw_txzn7
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
kimmsr, thanks for taking the time to reply.

The soil is very compacted but honestly not wet. There's no water source (lake, creek, pond, etc..) nearby, and as far as I'm aware hasn't been watered regularly in 3 or more years. I planted a few trees in the area and have kept them watered, but not the whole area because I was planning on re-seeding later anyway. It is on a slight slope and since the water seems to run off fairly easily I put them on a drip hose and watered deeply for several hours a couple of times a week. After watering, the ground around the trees did not appear to be wet; on the contrary it was so hard and compacted I had a difficult time in places even getting a shovel in it to dig up the weeds.

I would love to be able to identify and stop the conditions which favor the growth of this stuff. Not sure if it matters, but the variety of nutsedge growing is purple. It's very warm in the summers here in north Texas... I can't do much about that unfortunately. The soil is compacted (not sure if that's a contributing factor or not), but I do plan on areating to give the grass roots a better chance of grabbing hold of something. And as I said, the soil is not wet. Is there anything else I need to be aware of?

Thanks again!
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What about its roots, where it hasn't sent up a piece of grass yet? I was told not to pull it because then all of the "nuts" in the root would send up new shoots. I have to say I am still fighting this beastie. I was in my daylily bed yesterday, and just SICK because I got a little carried away with the Round Up trying to get all the nut grass, and by doing so, I killed off several of my prized daylillies. I'm just SICK. And that's not all! Not only is the nut grass BACK in the bed, but you can stand at the top of the bed and see it "marching" out of the bed on both sides! And on top of that, it has invaded the bed on the right! (Deanna -- where do you find that product: Manage. I've never seen it, and I'm definitely in need!) Scotty, if you don't want to dump your compost bin, please try using a bit of it in a small place and checking to see if the nut grass came from there. I noticed you said you also used peat, and it wouldn't be the first time I've had products that were contaminated by a "beastie". But if it does grow out nut grass, then really -- you don't want more of this. I'm going to be fighting this all summer. That will make 2 1/2 years of fighting the darn stuff, and I know it came in on some plants I ordered. I may end up killing all the plants just to get rid of the nut sedge! Really, you don't want that. MacThayer
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Kimmsr
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Have you talked with the people at your local office of the Texas A & M USDA Cooperative Extension Service? They will have much more information about sedges in Texas than I do, but all sedges are bog plants so your soil may be wetter than it appears to you.
hsvcara
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Have you tried asking in the Lawn Care forum? Might help with the solarization and bermuda topics.
hsvcara
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Get a soil test done - the co-op extension kimmsr mentioned should have kits available.

Post the soil test results in the lawn care forum to get suggestions on how to alter the soil so that it is favorable for bermuda and unfavorable for nutsedge.

If you aren't willing or able to dig up the actual nut, buy sedgehammer online or at a Lesco store (www.lesco.com) if one is close to you. I've heard this is the best product for nutsedge, but I am not sure if it would hinder your plans to hydroseed - at this point it might be better to just nuke the sedge with sedgehammer ... if the bermuda won't grow in the area this year, it will next year.

I would be very careful with the hydroseeding. If you are hiring a company to do it, you better make sure that they are spreading JUST bermuda seed, and don't have any "filler" seed in the mix.
abbyhag_hotmail_com
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
fw-I am helping a friend with her zeroscaped-ish yard and have run into this awful nutgrass. It is growing up through the weed block and recycled glass sand in half of the yard. Our plan was to just dig up 3 inches of dirt all over (a ridiculously daunting task) in hopes to rid it all, but after starting decided to do some more research.

Your plan sounds pretty good, although is all that newspaper and cardboard really more cost/time effective than plastic? From what I've read, after your soil solarization you have to hand weed VERY carefully to make sure you get all the nuts...OR ELSE! Not sure if it's all worth the risk.

I have no idea what we are going to do with friend's yard. We discussed salinating it, or simply including rock salt in the glass sand. I know this can ruin the soil from anything growing in the future, and there are yuccas there now so we would want those to live. I can't believe how awful this stuff is, and we just don't know what to do with it.

Questions about killing nut grass sedge using roundup & newspaper

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Kimmsr

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Questions about killing nut grass sedge using roundup & newspaper

Comments (6)

Kimmsr

fw_txzn7Original Author

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