You could try Freecycle for old bits of carpet, but l appreciate your problem of how to get rid of it afterwards! You could maybe try asking for old tarpaulin or similar - l've been surprised by what people have stored in their sheds etc. As Dove says do your best to stop them seeding. I come up with this suggestion quite a lot, but make no apology for doing it again - if you've got a few friends or colleagues who are up for it, you could have a "Weeding party", where they do the work in return for beer and pizza. Just make sure they don't wear shorts if there are nettles!
The strimmer is do-able and as Dovefromabove said, keep at it to prevent weed seeds.
I will have a chat with the carpet fitter about used carpet and its disposal. We don't have dandelions fortunately and the soil will need the rotavator to de-compact it in September anyway. Have to get rid of the rocks as well this way.
Kent near the white cliffs. Always learning and often the hard way.
It would be an investment, but buy weed suppressant fabric and peg it down, or weight it down with stones. You can reuse it afterwards when you make your real garden
Hoeing regularly would be my choice. 30 minutes a week would surely be enough to keep the weeds in check - raking and then taking the time to remove the raked weeds. Do this when the soil is reasonably dry, it will be much easier and with less chance of compacting the soil as you walk on it.
I think 30 minutes to hoe an area 160 feet by 100 is a bit optimistic to say the least. I would spray it with a fast acting weedkiller.
Yes the area is huge for a part timer. Sorry I am not outward going enough to have a weeding party. This amount of weed fabric will cost £300. Too much for a temporary solution unfortunately. The affected area surrounds the house which would make me nervous of using weedkiller. It doesn't have good press at the moment.
Kent near the white cliffs. Always learning and often the hard way.
TattyMac, could I just add to all the good advice above. If you have bindweed you will need to dig it out and every little bit left will form a new shoot. I have this problem and have use old jam jars half filled with week killer and put the tips into it, this also would work with brambles.
@NannaBoo makes a good point - if you can identify the weeds or post
pictures we'd be able to tell you whether there's anything particularly
nasty/hard to deal with.
The quickest immediate solution might be regular strimming to keep the top growth down and prevent seed setting, but if there are perennial weeds the roots should be removed properly as part of the preparation for turf/grass seed later in the year.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
If used in accordance with the instructions, and sprayed on a calm day, there really is nothing to worry about when using weedkiller. The alleged victimes in the USA were all people who were exposed to glyphosate for extended periods and over many years.
If you don't get on top of the weed growth quickly you will have a real battle on your hands as this wet weather is ideal for the weeds to germinate and the warmer weather, assuming it does come, will get them growing fast.
I hoed all round my onions just before going on holiday 3 weeks ago, the new weed growth is over 18" in some areas - in 3 weeks!!!
Bind weed could be in there and I have seen several types of weed. I don't know many by name yet. No brambles in this area thankfully. Also waiting for the carpet man to get back.
I will strim away for now and come back with a pic of my weeds. I bet you can't wait to see them in all their glory.
Kent near the white cliffs. Always learning and often the hard way.
Posts
As Dove says do your best to stop them seeding.
I come up with this suggestion quite a lot, but make no apology for doing it again - if you've got a few friends or colleagues who are up for it, you could have a "Weeding party", where they do the work in return for beer and pizza. Just make sure they don't wear shorts if there are nettles!
The strimmer is do-able and as Dovefromabove said, keep at it to prevent weed seeds.
I will have a chat with the carpet fitter about used carpet and its disposal. We don't have dandelions fortunately and the soil will need the rotavator to de-compact it in September anyway. Have to get rid of the rocks as well this way.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Weed-Control-Fabric/181049/bn_16571274
I will strim away for now and come back with a pic of my weeds. I bet you can't wait to see them in all their glory.