| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Aug 17 2010 : 07:54:21 AM
My whole sideyard looks like I live in Georgia with all the Kudzu, only it's that freakin' bindweed (that locals calls wild morning glory)...It's all over my roses, my irises, everything, even climbing up my gutters into my eaves. Seems like the more I pull, the more it comes back.
And my garden? Ugh. There are more weeds in our garden than I've ever had...EVER. It's depressing.
So. I need help.
Where do I start? My gut feeling is that I should dig up my plants on the side of the house and get them into pots and then just start decimating the beds. But, I want to do this in an environmentally responsible way.
HOW?
And then the garden...I've give up hope for any fall crop, so I'm taking advantage of the downtime to get the beds in shape for next season.
HOW on earth do I kill these weeds?
Any help is much appreciated...with a little one, I haven't been able to be nearly as attentive as I'd like to be, but I need to be now, for the future of our garden (our supplemental food supply) and for our home--it looks awful!
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Gloria Bonde |
Posted - Aug 26 2010 : 06:21:01 AM
I had bindweed in one area of my garden and I got rid of it by covering the whole area with black plastic. I mulched it and rocked it and left it alone for about a year or two. When I returned to the area the bindweed was gone! Yea - but now outside my alley it has returned. Bindweed is all over the neighborhood and I don't want it taking over my garden, so this fall I plant to dig out the plants in my alley and mulch around the ones I want to keep. (I keep my rhubarb out there)I plan to lay cardboard, newpaper and then probably some landscape fabric that someone gave me. Generally I don't like landscape fabric because weeds will grow on top. But for this it should be ok. That way I can see if the bindweed comes up. Right now it is a beautiful jungle out there. Here is a picture of what it looks like: http://www.dakotagarden.com/2010/07/change-three-things.html
www.DakotaGarden.com |
| Catherine |
Posted - Aug 20 2010 : 12:47:38 PM
Bindweed is such a pain!
Our plot in the local community garden is infested with it. I pull it up every time I'm there and more still manages to spring up by the next day. I did notice that it was much, much more prolific in the areas that I didn't get mulched, so next season I'm going to try mulching very deeply and see if that helps.
Blessings,
Catherine
http://lovelivingsimply.blogspot.com/
Farmgirl Sister #1801
Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant. ~Robert Louis Stevenson
|
| nubidane |
Posted - Aug 17 2010 : 8:05:50 PM
Oh Janice, my weed sister..
Sometimes I just look at my tangled mess & wonder why I don't just mow it all away.
Horrid as it is, I still get edible items and pretty florals for vases.
Hubby just looks at it & gives me a look.
& in the midst of it all, I never addressed Jonni's question. but if I knew that, I would not have 6 ft weeds, now would I???
Tonight hubby looked at one particular species & said "can we eat this, or is it just a weed?".. Weed honey, weed.
Oy Vey.. Next year, next year.... |
| craftbug |
Posted - Aug 17 2010 : 6:57:52 PM
Amen on the mantra Lisa..
Make my words soft and tender, for I may have to eat them. :) |
| Miss Bee Haven |
Posted - Aug 17 2010 : 4:07:59 PM
Oh, Lisa, Lisa, Lisa. You are truly my soul sister. Your post made me chuckle, smile, then laugh out loud. :) Especially the part about filling up a 50lb. cart and not being able to tell where you weeded. LOL So been there. So done that. So still doing that. In spite of not even working a job involving gainful employment. Sigh. Next year, next year.
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
| Mamarude |
Posted - Aug 17 2010 : 12:41:55 PM
I feel your pain! I pull up bindweed everytime I go to my garden, it is everywhere! The only successful bindweed eradication I've ever seen is to pen a pig in your "garden" area before you want to plant, and let him work his magic! It's not really a good option for everyone, but I worked at an organic farm last summer, and this was how they started new garden beds. Pigs love bindweed and will root for it until every last bit is gone, and "till" the soil and fertilize in the process! Maybe someday I'll try it.......but we don't have any use for a pig at this point in our lives. |
| acairnsmom |
Posted - Aug 17 2010 : 11:23:32 AM
I am SO, SO sorry you have bindweeds! We had them in our lawn/garden in Colorado and I never did get rid of them. I know this isn't a popular option but the idea that made the most sense to me to get rid of this stubborn weed was to take the long tendrils (the longer the better) coil them around a couple of fingers and then place them inside something like a dixie cup then take Roundup and spray the weed inside the dixie cup then let dry. It will carry the poison back to the root and kill the entire plant this way. However you decide to deal with this horrible weed, good luck!
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
| nubidane |
Posted - Aug 17 2010 : 10:52:19 AM
Jonni
In the fenced area in front of my house, I have wild morning glories, thistle, nettle, puncture vine, lambs quarter, invasive mint, you name it. When I first started to plant in that section, it was so pleasant; I had a mix of herbs, perennials, garlic, asparagus,peppers and creek rock pathways. That was 2 years ago. Last year with my 12 hour work days, the weeds took over. I pulled them in the fall. THis year, same story, work hits like crazy in the summer, & the weeds; they come.
Some are 6 feet tall, & although I generally hate it, there is part of me that kinda likes it. It is very wild. Sort of an "embrace your inner weed" attitude.
Well, last night I went in (I told Jim to search for me if I didn't come out in an hour) I filled up a huge work cart; it weighed about 50 lbs & you cannot even tell I was in there. But on the plus side; I harvested several pounds of huge potatoes that I was sure had died. So apparently they loved the neglect. As did the nest of baby bunnies I came across.
I also have 3 8x16 raised beds. In the spring, I put down thick, thick layers of newspaper & topped with a quality mushroom compost. That is also filled with weeds. Not entirely, but a good part. One of the beds was beans only, & thanks to bunnies, I only got about 10 beans. Yes, only 10. It has been very frustrating.
I have these glorious pictures in my mind, but work & life always take over.
As I said before, the mantra of the unsuccessful gardener "Next year, next year" |
| emsmommy5 |
Posted - Aug 17 2010 : 09:57:00 AM
I have a terrible problem with morning glory. I was told that the way to get more is to pull it up. Arg!
The way to eventually kill it is to go out DAILY (Like I have time for that) and snip off the little shoots with scissors as they start to come up. The roots can go for "miles" it seems before popping up. We were clearing out one area where the previous homeowner had put down plastic under bark.... e roots were like spaghetti under there.
I am trying to kill of certain areas in the yard a little bit at the time. I can tell you spraying the stuff with a strong concotion of weed killer isn't working either. That stuff is SO frustrating and so invasive. It even grows IN our garage. Sometimes I think the best way to get rid of it is.... to move!
Do what you love, love what you do. |
| Alee |
Posted - Aug 17 2010 : 08:40:02 AM
Jonni- they are like mint where broken roots spawn new plants. That being said they also have to use energy to put up the new plants. The biggest thing you don't want to see is those flowers or worse- seeds. I tear mine up as soon as I see them and they are weakening. My mom has mostly erradicated them from her garden- it took her about 3 years of solid weeding. You can't let up at all. I go after mine with a trowel and I also water right before weeding so I get as much of the root as possible. They REALLY don't like deep mulch because they need sun as soon as possible to grown and they get pretty spindly the further they have to push for sun.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
|
|
