My son is in a wheelchair so what do you suggest; I tip him out and chuck a fork at him?
Snotty!
Several of us have made an assumption. We got it wrong. Don't blame us if you don't provide important details.
Before I give you any more help, how old and how unfit are you?
No, no, NO! Don't you dare try and put this back on me! The important details were that a garden was overrun with docks - that was the ONLY information I needed help with but some of you had to have an edge and start questioning why my son wasn't doing it!! Now you realise your error you feel the need to alleviate your guilt by having a pop at me! I'm only 61 but have Bronchiectasis, asthma, arthritis and am prone to sciatica. I requested a gardening solution not my sons living arrangements.
Given the health problems both you and your son are facing, getting rid of the docks is probably going to take somewhat longer than you had anticipated. Several posters have offered some good advice re the timing when using a weed killer - an important factor and patience/persistence needed. If digging out the weeds now is just not possible ( and remembering that some will inevitably be missed first time around and pop up again), the use of an an appropriate weedkiller such as @Pete.8 suggests would seem your best bet. It's also worth thinking about what your son would like to do with/have in the garden eventually as per @wild edges and @Fairygirl posted. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on the forum who would be pleased to help if possible.
I think you're massively overreacting here - and yes - you've been unnecessarily rude.
Many young people are quite happy to let parents do their gardens, simply because they're bone idle. I know of several families with that situation. If you'd simply mentioned the problems your son has at the start, we could have advised accordingly, and wouldn't have needed to ask why it was all down to you. We aren't psychic. I hope you get an end result that suits, but I won't be posting on the thread again.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Amazon does a long handled 'weed-root-puller-upper' with a foot peddle - said to be lightweight. The blub says:
This weed remover tool is ideal for weeds with taproots, such as thistles, dandelions, plantain and more. This weed puller tool allows to take back your lawns with less harmful chemicals.
Oh dear, do we have to be so sharp with each other?
To get the discussion back on track, I'll quickly summarise the possible methods to tackle the docks.
1. Try again with a strong glyphosate weedkiller when the docks are actively growing, and give it time to work.
2. Get some help to dig them out.
3. Keep removing all their top growth - either physically (mowing/strimming) or chemically (contact weedkiller like the vinegar-based ones). Repeat every time new growth appears.
4. Completely exclude all light for probably a year or more (cut them down first so that whatever you cover with lies down flat, and weigh it down so the edges don't lift).
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I started out with this in 2014 - brambles, docks, thistles, nettles, ivy etc It was an area at the end of my garden that I'd ignored for many years when I was working full time.
And using the method I proposed earlier ended up with this-
About 95% was killed after the first application. It took about 3 weeks for the glyphosate to work. The thick ivy on the fence at the end took another 2 applications over a month or so and it killed that too. None of it has grown back and now looks like this-
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Been there, done that. In my case it was trees with an understorey of brambles, plus, plus. Hand pulling and then advancing with a rotary mower, a 3m strip a year, did the job. No chemicals.
Now it is a woodland with the always-there bluebells flourishing.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I'm not sure I can quite believe what I have just read. @bede, who has been so rude to @Fairygirl, she was forced to ignore him, is now trying to be nice to her.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
Posts
Several posters have offered some good advice re the timing when using a weed killer - an important factor and patience/persistence needed. If digging out the weeds now is just not possible ( and remembering that some will inevitably be missed first time around and pop up again), the use of an an appropriate weedkiller such as @Pete.8 suggests would seem your best bet.
It's also worth thinking about what your son would like to do with/have in the garden eventually as per @wild edges and @Fairygirl posted.
There are a lot of knowledgeable people on the forum who would be pleased to help if possible.
Many young people are quite happy to let parents do their gardens, simply because they're bone idle. I know of several families with that situation.
If you'd simply mentioned the problems your son has at the start, we could have advised accordingly, and wouldn't have needed to ask why it was all down to you. We aren't psychic.
I hope you get an end result that suits, but I won't be posting on the thread again.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jardineer-Puller-Handle-Remover-Handled/dp/B09YPZRSXN?psc=1&pd_rd_w=JA9pt&pf_rd_p=0d52c9a0-f99e-420a-a3a2-19548c65569d&pf_rd_r=F1ACN0QK48MNQRSDBJA9&pd_rd_wg=Wy4iw&pd_rd_r=d9d4960f-70bb-4c77-91f8-d39d761fd963&content-id=amzn1.sym.0d52c9a0-f99e-420a-a3a2-19548c65569d&ref_=sspa_dk_rhf_yoy_pt_comp_13&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExV1I2N1pHOUIwN0JCJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDQxOTY0MzRCTFBBMFQ0VElCUyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTYyNzk5SFdHNDQxVjZCSDhVJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcmhmX3lveTImYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
You have received some good advice. And yet you seem ungrateful. Get on with it.
You have even upset the gentle, helpful. friendly Fairygirl, who has her own problems. That is a sin indeed.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
It was an area at the end of my garden that I'd ignored for many years when I was working full time.
And using the method I proposed earlier ended up with this-
About 95% was killed after the first application. It took about 3 weeks for the glyphosate to work.
The thick ivy on the fence at the end took another 2 applications over a month or so and it killed that too.
None of it has grown back and now looks like this-
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Now it is a woodland with the always-there bluebells flourishing.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Then post a pic and explain why you need rid of them.
A good well structured question deserves a detailed answer. A poorly asked question will attract more questions and poor answers.
@bede, who has been so rude to @Fairygirl, she was forced to ignore him, is now trying to be nice to her.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border