Sorry but I used Weedkiller
DAN WILSON
Posts: 128
Guys, I have recently built a new shed/potting shed/workshop/mancave and I have removed a large planted area in front of the shed that had a vast array of green goodies within. Most of these have been removed and relocated and are now thriving elsewhere. However i would like to return the area to lawn and have hence been working on making it level for the last few months, mixing in some compost etc to make a reasonable lawn base, however I have been weeding till my fingers are raw..and in desperation i applied weedkiller to kill the weeds before I went away on holiday, hoping to return to a bare patch for grass seed.
Unfortunately the weedkiller had no effect whatsoever. Thinking that it must have been rained on or otherwise interfered with I reapplied when I returned, that was about a week ago and this is the result...its like triffid weeds...
Im running out of time to get lawn seed down can anyone help me with a plan of attack to remove them and get a lawn sorted...?
Posts
It doesn't look like mare's tail to me.What did you have growing there before? It looks a bit like yarrow, achillea but there are many things with leaves like that. Is it just within that circle or is it in the existing lawn as well?
Could you did a piece up and give us a look at the roots? It would help to know if it can be dug up, suggesting multiple seedlings of something, or if it's all joined together in one mass of root. also how deep do the roots go?
In the sticks near Peterborough
Decent weedkiller based on Glyphosate takes a month to kill the weeds. Was the dilution correct? Have you given it enough time?
I agree, it's not Mare'stail.
Whatever it is, I think you have two choices:
1. give the area a good digging over, removing every tiny piece of root - prepare your lawn and sow your grass. If any bits of whatever it is reappear next year as long as you mow regularly it shouldn't cause a problem.
2. spray again with glyphosate and leave - sow your grass in the spring.
Last edited: 24 September 2016 08:56:32
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I thought Yarrow The leaves ar not quite right for marestail.
'You must have some bread with it me duck!'
My first thought was camomile....
Ok so a week later im getting there! Compare with a week ago image above...
What should I do next? Ive never done this, only ever seeded small areas. Do I tackle it this weekend, and pull out the dead plants? Or leave till next spring? Im just concious that next spring this will need weed killing again and I am reluctant to do it twice given the amounts of weedkiller required. I have some grass seed that is a year old and don't want to run the risk of it being unusable next year? Thoughts and if im having a go now, what do I do??
It's getting late to do seeding IMO. Although saying that I did some myself to a patch of lawn which I 'raised' to get rid of a hollow just 10 days ago. I wouldn't worry too much about the age of the seed you have, just make sure it stays dry. Normal grass seed needs soil temps of around 9C to germinate and depending on where you live we'll soon be experiencing air temps below that and ultimately the soil temps will drop too so it will be a bit stop start. If we get rain and cold temps then your seed will more likely just rot than be successful.
So, you have a few options. Try the seed but it would need to be now and you'd need some favourable conditions on your side. You could turf it. Now is ideal time to do that but obviously there is expense involved. Lastly you could leave it till next year. Ideally you would cover the area with an old tarpaulin, old carpet whatever. That would help kill off any remaining weeds and stop the area being a bed for future weed germination until you are ready.
In saying all the above I'm a rank novice gardener but have done quite a lot of lawn 'work'.
PS. I don't know what dilution you were using for your weedkiller but that should only have needed one packet of something like weedol. And you get 4-6 packets in a box!! So no great expense. You did use the stuff that only works on the greenery and not the stuff that stays in the soil!??
I used the stuff you dilute in a watering can, 20ml per 5 litres or similar, glyphosate is the active ingredient...
Last edited: 06 October 2016 21:18:29