Yard work

So, I've got some persistent weeds in pinestraw islands in the front yard. Too many to pull by hand.

I'd like to get rid of them - but cannot afford extra lawn service expenses. So I'd like to try it myself.

What's a great product store bought or homemade that will kill these unsightly weeds without breaking the bank?

 

i have one of those and it works ok for me. better than bending over for hours. but i agree with @snowy roundup works.

 

I think the "yard man" sprayed either roundup or preen. I'll find out which. Whatever it was it didn't touch the weeds.

I'll look for a hula hoe when I got to Home Depot

 

I've killed stubborn weeds with salt water, but you have to be careful about surrounding plants. I take my single-prong home-made aerator, make holes as close to the weed as possible, and pour in the salt water. After you pull the dead weed, you'll need to re-work the soil if you plan to plant something in that spot. The weaker the solution the safer it is, but the longer it takes to work.

A related tip--Spraying a 'mist' of saltwater around the outside your planters, pots, along the edges of your patio, etc, discourages slugs.

 

Oh I may try the salt water. I've got lots of huge cans of salt just taking up space in the pantry. And no surrounding plants to worry about! I like this idea!

How strong do you recommend?

 

For the weeds, about 1 part salt to 3 parts water. Some weeds are very tolerant. We have some 'coastline' weeds that seem to prefer salt water .

For misting for slugs, about 1 part salt to 7 parts water. The more salt you use, the more visible it is when it dries

EDIT--I don't mix the salt water in my better/favorite handheld spray bottles, I use empties from kitchen & bathroom cleaners.

 

I haven't had to weed a garden in many years, but when I did, I did it by hand. Toronto has a ban on pesticides.

The plant life here is quite different, I don't know what is a weed and what isn't.

 

By hand, pulling the roots is best. I have a very good book on organic gardening, which I haven't seen in years since I quit growing veggies (water bills ), and I can't remember the name of it. It had some great recipes for homemade enviro-friendly herbacides & pesticides.

Chances are some of your local garden clubs publish books that'll help you ID beneficial plants and weeds.

 

Chances are slight. Most people here don't have gardens and those that do, tend to hire people to take care of it for them (cheap labour).

 

I poured salt water on some weeds. Can't wait to see if it works!!

 

Give it a few days. If it rains, re-treat. If the weeds start looking sickly but seem to be recovering, re-treat.

In Toronto? That surprises me. But many garden clubs have little to do with actual gardening.

 

Not Toronto, Singapore.

 

Pull out everything - the ones that come back are weeds

 

if the saltwater trick works, let me know.