Eradicating Asiatic Dayflower??

[Sweetcheeks]

I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I do love the pretty little pops of blue all summer, but I've had enough! I have dug up- by hand- 5 garden beds within the past year... mostly because I have been discouraged by the sheer amount of Asiatic Dayflowers in the garden bed that came with the house. I have visions for this bed, and while it could be easy enough to eradicate the undesirables with chemicals, I'm trying my best to steer clear of those types of products. Have a look:

See that area in between the porch and the sidewalk? FILLED with those little boogers!

A closer look at my arch nemesis.

Please, please, PLEASE ignore all the clutter.

All the tiny little seedlings are popping up left and right at this point, and I do NOT want them going to seed this year. Should I keep pulling away? Should I boil a whole bunch of water and toss is out there? Should I solarize them or smother them out? I'm used to trying to make things thrive, not killing them! Any input is greatly appreciated!

[rainbowgardener]

It is an invasive exotic and can be pretty aggressive in the right conditions. The good news is that it is easy to pull and is an annual that mainly spreads by seeds. So if you just keep pulling it before it goes to seed, you should eventually get rid of it. But it is difficult: Be careful with the pulled ones. Even if they haven't set seed when you pull them, it may still be able to mature seeds if the pulled plant is sitting around as mulch or in the compost pile. And the seeds can stay in the soil dormant for awhile. If you really want to be rid of all of them, I would dig them all out, then hoe up the soil and let it sit empty for a few weeks. A bunch more of the dormant seeds should sprout. If you get rid of all those quickly, you should have cut into the seed reserve a lot.