Kittyluvr400
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Weed/grass killer

I am looking to kill off all weed and grass in an area roughly 600 sq ft. I am basically getting started for spring 2017. I want to mulch the entire area. If I were to hit the area now, October 2016 and kill it all, would it just grow back by next spring, 2017? Should I wait til spring 2017 to kill it, or would my work carry over til spring and I won't have new growth coming in? I would like to get a jump start on doing it now, and having the area cleaned out by next spring and ready to start the new project. I would hate to waste the money killing it now, only to have it come back in the spring and have to do it again anyway. Then I will just wait and do it in the spring. Any advice? Thanks so much.

Rose

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applestar
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I don't think they would necessarily grow BACK, but depending on type of herbicide used, newly exposed and landed weed seeds may germinate.

What do you plan to use? What will you be doing with this area?

Kittyluvr400
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Should I wait til spring, or get a head start now.

Sorry, must have been a partial post that snuck in....disregard this post. LOL
Last edited by Kittyluvr400 on Sun Oct 09, 2016 8:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

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applestar
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applestar wrote:What do you plan to use?
What will you be doing with this area?
^^^
I think answers to these two questions are very relevant to how you would proceed and what kind of replies you might get?

- effectiveness of the kind of herbicide to use may depend on the season -- temperatures, condition and age/growth stage of the plants --- actually it would also be helpful to know what kind of grass and weeds you are trying to eradicate.
- you are not asking what to use, so you must have picked something you were thinking to use?
- types and toxicity level of the herbicides you might use would depend on what you will be doing with the area "I want to mulch the entire area" -- is this it? With what kind of mulch? Just mulch? What will the area be used for?

Kittyluvr400
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I planned on using RoundUp concentrated. I have not been able to grow a lawn in this tiny yard for ten years now due to shade. It never looks good. Right now there is likely 50/50 between weeds and spotty grass. I want to cover it with mulch, entirely, and pretty it up with stepping stones, potted shade loving plants. Sort of a no fuss yard once done. Saw it in a picture and thought it was beautiful. What works here is it is a very small yard. Guessing 30x20 feet. Just looking for your basic brown mulch...nothing expensive. The big bags from Home Depot. I expect to need to add new mulch as needed each year to spruce it up. Would like about 4 inches.

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rainbowgardener
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You could just rent a tiller and till everything under now and then do it again in the spring after the weeds and grass start sprouting. After the second tilling, I would suggest laying down a good layer of cardboard first and then your mulch. The cardboard will help smother the grass and weeds and keep them from coming back so much.

It sounds like a nice plan! 600 sq feet may be a small yard, but it is still a whole lot of mulch. It will be way cheaper if you buy it in bulk than bagged. There are companies who will drop a truckload off for you.

Susan W
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I like the K-I-S-S (keep-it-simple-------) approach. As you don't plan to plant in ground, why till? Just put down a few layers of newspaper or some cardboard. Wet it down. Spread some mulch, 3" as a start over that. After heavy rains or whatever this winter may add some mulch to fill in. Then make it pretty with mulch in spring, add your stepping stones and pots. I prefer to have the pots up on something (bricks, pallets etc) so they drain.

Before adding paper or cardboard, mow or weed eat the grass/weeds down as much as possible.

Kittyluvr400
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If I could get ahold of that much cardboard I would that in a heartbeat. I've already done the cardboard/newspaper along the boundaries of the yard this year to make beds. Worked great. Tilling...I had a tiller in the shed. Used once ten years ago to prep the yard for its first attempt at a lawn. It was great. (We have underground wiring, so had to be careful) Took it out last week...dead.

So, my new plan....start saving lots of cardboard/newspaper now...stock pile it for the spring and just patiently wait til then.

As for bulk mulch....would love it, but I am unsure I can handle the trek up and down the 90 ft driveway with wheel barrels of mulch. But I don't think I could have handled all the bags either. Unfortunately I must face the fact that I will have to hire out on the mulching.

Thanks everyone.

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applestar
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Try appliance stores and possibly mattress stores for giant cardboard. This is a good time of the year to keep an eye out in neighborhoods, too because some people get ready for the holidays and upgrade. (IF you can ask for them before the delivery people take the cardboard away)

I once asked a neighbor when she got a new appliance -- washer/dryer set or refrigerator -- and she told me I could have them AFTER her kids were done playing with them. ...yep! The kids rang the doorbell afterwards -- they and their friends dragged over the thoroughly mangled and played with boxes, perfect for cardboard-and-mulch :>

Kittyluvr400
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LOL. I remember loving the appliance boxes. Get inside it and roll around the yard in them. Great idea though and I'll look into it.

Figured I would RoundUp the yard, then cover with wet cardboard and newspaper once the RoundUp took everything out, just an extra measure for any future weeds that WILL find their way through that cardboard....as it is happening around the yard where I put down the cardboard this summer.

Plants....hostas, coleus, hanging ferns and potted shady annuals. Truly using the stepping stones for the look, but also for practical reasons. I never use the yard, so not concerned about having mulch rather than grass. Maybe a swinging bench and small side table....plus some bird feeders.

Right now my border is dappled willows....finally rooted and look great, with a silver carex grass along the under side of a raised deck. The borders were done to make the yard even smaller, with the dappled willows also chosen for looks and as a live fence when they grow.

One problem just came to mind, leaf clean ups. Although there are no trees in my yard, I get all the neighbors. With mulch, and typically 30 bags of leaves...I will have to assume another batch of mulch every spring. Another route would be to trim the tree limbs back and make another attempt at a lawn, by giving it more sun. I am afraid the willows may need some sun as well. Sigh. I'll just keep jotting down the ideas and work on it next spring.

imafan26
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Too bad you never use the yard. Even though it is a small yard a lot can be done with it. My front (public yard) is about that size. I have a fence (it came with the house), bisecting the yard that creates an inner courtyard. The public side slopes to the street and faces East so it gets sun. Still in that 19 x 20 ft space I have a shrub border, roses, and a small lawn. I would not have any lawn but the HOA demands 50% water hog in the front yard. I did have another ground cover with just a grass pathway before but the shade tolerant grass I have is also very invasive and it invaded and eventually took over the bed.

Even in this small space I have a variety of plants that give me year round color.

If you are not planting anything. I would an extended weed killer now and maybe some Preen in the Spring to prevent seeds from germinating. Landscape fabric and cardboard after the weedkiller to block the light. The landscape fabric can stay down after the cardboard starts to decay. You can put the mulch on top of the cardboard.

I don't like most mulches because I have tried them. Light mulches like white stones get dirty looking and you will have to keep the weed killer handy because as dust and dirt accumulates between the mulch, weed seeds that blow in will sprout. That is why it is good to use the Preen a couple of times a year in the Spring and the fall to keep blown in seeds from germinating.

Not only leaves but other debris can be hard to rake out of mulch depending on the mulch so you may want to use a leaf blower for that. That also depends on the mulch. Leaf blowers work well on stone mulches but not so much on light mulches. You would still have to rake and stir the mulch once in a while. My yard slopes a bit so mulch and dirt end up on the driveway and sidewalk so you will have to sweep that back in or put in a border to keep it from coming out when it rains.

Kittyluvr400
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Location: South central Long Island, NY. Zone 7

I don't use the yard because it looks sloppy. Not exactly the view I want to gaze at. Trying to fix that. Hostas as a border around a live willow fence, with mulch tucked underneath for a clean look. I would not use stone, BTDT. I expect some care would need to be taken with the mulch, as I will lose a lot every year during a fall clean up. Plenty of plants in ground and potted displays. I've considered using clover as a ground cover with stepping stones. If the yard wants weeds, then I want to choose the weed. I want a no fuss yard. I'll water it....but that's as far as want to go.

The main thing here for me is convenience. Let it take care of itself. Once I realized the mulch could be a nightmare during the Autumn, and again when spring clean ups come around,

I may be heading back to the drawing board.



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