My wife seems very worried about weed killer. I'll have to keep using a dutch hoe and strimmer until the ground is soft enough to use a rotovator. There are many hard ridges in the soil and a hoe doesn't always work so well. I took off all the flowing heads in the back garden yesterday. Going back to mostly strim the weeds completely off when the petrol strimmer arrives in the week.
Kent near the white cliffs. Always learning and often the hard way.
Hello, Can anyone help please I've never had a garden before. My house has been renovated and the builder put 30 m x 10 m of trench soil all around the house. It was bare but now weeds are taking over. This is a huge area that will be renovated and grass seeded in September. What can I do until September to keep the weeds down? I've read about woven ground cover but that will cost hundreds and a bit extravagant for a few months use. Is the ground too hard this time of year to renovate and would that make any difference? What should I do please folks?
I suggest that you use cardboard and/or plant quick growing seasonals, eg spring onions, lettuce, radishes, beets, beans, fennel, courgettes....maybe even some late tatties. Plants keep the weeds down. Re the cardboard, you can lay it and plant into the soil via holes/crosses you cut in the cardboard. By September the cardboard should be pretty much biodegraded to dig into the soil before you sow the grass.
The other options are a) to mulch with bark or compost to smother the weeds, though you may have to rake up the bark later, and it is not cheap[, or b) to hoe and rake the area daily, or almost daily, making sure to dig out any perennial weeds such as dandelion, dock, nettle, Welsh poppies so they do not become entrenched.
Google perennial weeds so you know the culprits and can identify them; they will regenerate from the smallest amount left in the ground, where as annual weeds, will if hoed up, die.
The problem with hoeing is the hoe simply bounces off. The soil is builders fill. So it's been compressed by the digger. Add to that the summer dryness and we have a weed fortress.
There is a three prong type of hoe (I call it the Robert Burns plooboy hoe but it may be called a cultivator) that is quite effective, and breaks up the earth..though possibly you may have to dig it with a fork, prior to effectively hoe-ing. You can also buy landscaping rakes that are wider - about 60cm top a 1m - which cover the area better.
Vinegar (not like Sarsons but the stuff you get for cleaning on the Eco sites) is an effective weed killer, esp if combined with fairy liquid and/or salt - there are recipes for precise ratios online.
I agree with GasgowDan. There are an awful lot of myths and misinformation about weedkiller, especially online. Used sensibly, only when you must and adhering to the application instructions does little harm. But it's your call, if you prefer not to use it, then you have to do things the harder way.
Thanks Caledonia. Growing instead of all this strimming is an interesting idea. The area is abasolutely huge though (actrually 50m x 10m) for me to maintain whilst moving into the house which will be soon. I worked out the cost of mulsh, mesh would be too high for a workaround solution. It's on a hill and exposed which will make cardboard difficult to manage to to the winds.
I'll get out there as much as possible to hoe when I'm not at work. I don't live there yet but it is 20 mins away from my current home.
Maybe my wife will plant the veg if she does't like weedkiller
Kent near the white cliffs. Always learning and often the hard way.
Unfortunately the ground is compressed and it has been dry here. The short periods of rain hasn't really affected it. I would say it is hard for an inch down. This will make raking difficult.
I'll look out for the homemade weedkiller thanks.
Kent near the white cliffs. Always learning and often the hard way.
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The other options are a) to mulch with bark or compost to smother the weeds, though you may have to rake up the bark later, and it is not cheap[, or b) to hoe and rake the area daily, or almost daily, making sure to dig out any perennial weeds such as dandelion, dock, nettle, Welsh poppies so they do not become entrenched.
Google perennial weeds so you know the culprits and can identify them; they will regenerate from the smallest amount left in the ground, where as annual weeds, will if hoed up, die.
Vinegar (not like Sarsons but the stuff you get for cleaning on the Eco sites) is an effective weed killer, esp if combined with fairy liquid and/or salt - there are recipes for precise ratios online.
The weedkiller WON'T remain in the soil. It won't harm the wildlife living in it, it's terrifically cheap AND effective.
I'll get out there as much as possible to hoe when I'm not at work. I don't live there yet but it is 20 mins away from my current home.
Maybe my wife will plant the veg if she does't like weedkiller
I'll look out for the homemade weedkiller thanks.