DON'T PUT VINEGAR/SALT/SOAP IN THE GARDEN!!! They kill the bug life in the soil, change the pH and affect watercourses.
The weedkiller WON'T remain in the soil. It won't harm the wildlife living in it, it's terrifically cheap AND effective.
Now I was reading that the new Roundup is based on acetic acid anyway (disussion with a biologist). I appreciate that salt is not great for anything, and nor is washing up liquid but I am not suggesting wholesale crop=spraying treatment, just (as I read) contact treatment onto the plants themselves. I have not used it yet myself though was considsering it for the ivy problem I am tackling I have used salt in the garden only to kill stumps (of a gean cherry tree and its sucker) which had to be removed a) council insistance bexause telephone wires - I spent five years having it pruned yearly to no avail and b) council insistence re foundations of something close by and c) my own foundations/common drains. The second time (the main tree) it was the tree surgeon who used the salt. I HAVE used horticultural soap with Neem Oil, diluted to spray off aphids... but don't myself used products that are not highly biodegradable/no nasties.
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
Firstly the first round of clearing the weeds is hard work... the maintenance is less so. Seocndly if you leave perennials in there - if they are established (or were there beforehand, and popping back up) they will come through the lawn when it is planted and you will have the same problem. Thirdly you might have to clear out the perennial weeds before planting. Fourthly you can weigh the cardboard down with rocks/stones or use tent pegs, or, other than membrane you could peg down tarpaulins though you will end up with ponds and puddles if it is not permeable.
My experience of fabric and weights is that the wind still gets under it like a parachute. Perhaps cardboard less so but it is a big area to cover. We still have builders working outside as well. Covering and keeping it all covered will be tricky.
Kent near the white cliffs. Always learning and often the hard way.
I've only just looked at this thread, and it's quite simple. An area that size needs cleared before creating a lawn, and @glasgowdan is right. You'll never clear that by hand on your own, unless you're some kind of masochist with nowt else to do with your time. Covering it won't kill all the weeds. When you uncover, the perennial ones will still be there and will need removed before turfing/sowing. You could strim until ready to do the grass, but again, it won't kill all the weeds, so you'd still need to do that, and then keep them at bay for a good 4 weeks while you do the prep for grass. I also agree with Lizzie - if your wife has a problem with using some weedkiller, hand her the hoe and let her get on with it. I'd do as dan suggests. Simple, effective and it works. After you have your grass, you can tackle weeds by hand as they appear, if that's your preference.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I don't think my wife worried if there are weeds all around the house. I do though! But I'll keep working on her and maybe she'll give in. I think she is turning a little towards using the weedkiller that decomposes in the soil. I think this is usually the supermarket brands which I've read are not always very effective. Won't mention the brands in case they come after me and I don't know if this is the case for sure.
Is it true that anything other than what you get in the supermarkets needs to be applied by someone with a license?
As you say Fairygirl, if the Mrs keeps up the ban then I will just have to use whatever tools clear the weeds for now, smother where possible and deal with them one by one when the grass has grown (if it grows).
Kent near the white cliffs. Always learning and often the hard way.
Personally I think you are on a hiding to nothing if you think you can clear an area that size by hand and keep it weed free until autumn, especially as you are doing it bit by bit. Weedkiller is fine if it is used responsibly. The weedkillers you find in the supermarket will do just as good a job as anything. Look for the ones who say 'kill the plant, not the soil'. That means that they only work on green tissue and become inactive on the soil. No harm to animals, small children etc. I would give yourself a fighting chance and spray it all now. You can then go over it and dig out any perennial weeds which have clung on to life. You may perhaps need to respray in a month or so time. A few weeks after that I would rotovate it all, leave it then but still remain on weed alert until the autumn and then rotovate it again, put down topsoil etc and rotovate it a third time.
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
If you're going for weedkiller, choose a very still day because the spray will drift in the slightest breeze and will affect any plant that it contacts (I know it's difficult when you work). It would be a shame to accidentally damage the hedges and trees in your pictures. For the area you've got it's probably worth investing in a proper pressure sprayer with a lance. The little ready-mixed trigger spray bottles in the supermarket will soon give you backache and finger-ache.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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I have not used it yet myself though was considsering it for the ivy problem I am tackling
I have used salt in the garden only to kill stumps (of a gean cherry tree and its sucker) which had to be removed a) council insistance bexause telephone wires - I spent five years having it pruned yearly to no avail and b) council insistence re foundations of something close by and c) my own foundations/common drains. The second time (the main tree) it was the tree surgeon who used the salt.
I HAVE used horticultural soap with Neem Oil, diluted to spray off aphids... but don't myself used products that are not highly biodegradable/no nasties.
Seocndly if you leave perennials in there - if they are established (or were there beforehand, and popping back up) they will come through the lawn when it is planted and you will have the same problem.
Thirdly you might have to clear out the perennial weeds before planting.
Fourthly you can weigh the cardboard down with rocks/stones or use tent pegs, or, other than membrane you could peg down tarpaulins though you will end up with ponds and puddles if it is not permeable.
Covering it won't kill all the weeds. When you uncover, the perennial ones will still be there and will need removed before turfing/sowing.
You could strim until ready to do the grass, but again, it won't kill all the weeds, so you'd still need to do that, and then keep them at bay for a good 4 weeks while you do the prep for grass.
I also agree with Lizzie - if your wife has a problem with using some weedkiller, hand her the hoe and let her get on with it.
I'd do as dan suggests. Simple, effective and it works. After you have your grass, you can tackle weeds by hand as they appear, if that's your preference.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
But I'll keep working on her and maybe she'll give in. I think she is turning a little towards using the weedkiller that decomposes in the soil. I think this is usually the supermarket brands which I've read are not always very effective. Won't mention the brands in case they come after me and I don't know if this is the case for sure.
Is it true that anything other than what you get in the supermarkets needs to be applied by someone with a license?
As you say Fairygirl, if the Mrs keeps up the ban then I will just have to use whatever tools clear the weeds for now, smother where possible and deal with them one by one when the grass has grown (if it grows).
I would give yourself a fighting chance and spray it all now. You can then go over it and dig out any perennial weeds which have clung on to life. You may perhaps need to respray in a month or so time. A few weeks after that I would rotovate it all, leave it then but still remain on weed alert until the autumn and then rotovate it again, put down topsoil etc and rotovate it a third time.