Weeds

[Lisak1]

@RachelR - sorry the responses have been less than helpful, mine included. Let's try again.

Is your question how best to handle the area around your pond, or how to deal with the existing weeds in your flower beds?

 

[RachelR]

@RachelR - sorry the responses have been less than helpful, mine included. Let's try again.

Is your question how best to handle the area around your pond, or how to deal with the existing weeds in your flower beds?

Both are concerns.

 

[JamieB]

Post pictures so we can get an idea of what you are dealing with. Getting a weed like henbit is much easier than Johnson grass, and way different than dandelions. I’ve heard spraying vinegar directly on the plants on a nice sunny day will work, but that won’t work on Johnson grass, it’ll just come back. That particular plant requires Roundup, putting other plants and local water at risk. Pulling by hand when they are small is the only sure fire way, but if we can id what weeds you have, and topographic issues you face, we’ll have better advice.

 

[Waterbug]

Unfortunately, we have several tons of rock down now, and removing it isn’t an option at this point. I fear we are stuck with trying to chemically treat and attempt to prevent more weeds, but I want to be sure we don’t hurt the few bushes we have in the beds.

I don't know anything about this install so for what this is worth...for me and my garden things like this would drive me crazy every time I looked at it. And down the road when the fabric starts appearing as it often does I would really be upset. Easier to fix sooner than later. But your call. You can do it in sections. If weeds are appearing on edges and seams mainly you can do those areas. Push the rocks aside, cut out the exposed fabric, throw down the sand and push the rocks back. You don't have to remove all the rocks, all the fabric, all at once.

Also, the overlap by 6" thing...plant roots won't even notice that and have no problem growing around it. It's even good for the plants because the fabric acts as a mulch. The idea with this overlap thing is you'd be stopping plants, I guess seeds, in the soil from germinating and coming up through the fabric. But established plants like bermuda grass would have no trouble. Seed germination will still happen on top of the fabric. It's part of the marketing..."You don't want weed seeds growing do you?" "Why no, I don't."

 

[Lisak1]

You can definitely buy weed killer that you can spray in your established beds without harming the bushes that are growing. Weed killers are pretty specific as to what they will kill so just check the package instructions and warnings. Sadly, as has already been noted, this will be an ongoing problem - you can't defeat nature. The combination of weed barrier and rock is just not going to stop weeds from growing from the top. It's also impossible to know for sure what kind of damage you are doing to the soil and the micro-ecosystem that exists under the soil when you use chemical weed killers. Not trying to be harsh - just realistic.

I have been gardening in this house for 29 years this June and I am digging the same weeds out of the same beds as I was 29 years ago. I get them early so they are easy to pull or dig, but you will never rid completely rid your gardens of weeds. The most difficult ones are those that spread underground - if you don't get every last little bit of root system (which is impossible), you have only helped it to grow bigger and stronger. People think tilling will do it - nope. You just bring weed seeds to the surface that have long lay dormant, just waiting for the chance to grow.

I may have mentioned it on this thread or perhaps another, but I use sheet mulching in areas that are overrun with weeds. I'm working on the space between our retaining wall and a neighbor's fence right now. The strip is about 8 inches wide - too small to mow, too difficult to dig out. So I am putting layer after layer of cardboard down and then mulching on top. The cardboard will smother the weeds from the bottom and the mulch will make it difficult for anything to grow from the top. The cardboard eventually breaks down and it attracts worms in the meantime. All good things. Healthy, loose soil is so much easier to keep weed free than hard, compact, dry soil. Anyway, that's what I would suggest around the pond - sheet mulch with cardboard or newspaper and then add a thick layer of mulch. The mulch will break down and need refreshing, but after a few years, you'll only need to top it off. And you'll see the soil around your pond will be beautiful and dark and rich, making it easier to grow all kinds of lovely plants!

 

[addy1]

I redid my bee / bird / butterfly wildflower gardens by tilling them late last summer. Grasses and weeds had taken over them. So I tilled, let the weeds begin to grow again, sprayed them , tilled again, let the weeds grow, sprayed again. Then this spring sprayed anything that grew until around the first part of April. These gardens are far from the ponds.

At that time put out a ton of seeds. Fingers crossed the seeds win this year. And the deer, rabbits, groundhogs allow something to grow.

 

[mrsclem]

Weed seeds will germinate in mulch and on top of the fabric. Without using chemicals you are going to have some weeds but with the mulch, sand, etc they will be fewer and easier to pull. I got tired of trying to keep my front flowerbed (24"x5") weeded. Went with the container garden idea.

 

[Lisak1]

Fingers crossed the seeds win this year.

That's a point I meant to make - another way to control weeds is to plant desirable plants in such profusion that there's no room for anything else to grow.

 

[addy1]

That's a point I meant to make - another way to control weeds is to plant desirable plants in such profusion that there's no room for anything else to grow.

I planted a ton last year, in the fall and spring. Nothing grew except weeds. So decided to till and kill. I seeded around 3 lbs of seed if not more, this spring.

 

[JamieB]

That's a point I meant to make - another way to control weeds is to plant desirable plants in such profusion that there's no room for anything else to grow.

Yep! That’s another good idea. I gave up, and just accept weeds, except three kinds. Johnson grass, cause it’ll put grow anything. It is like bamboo, growing inches in a day. The big spiky version of dandilions, because they get big, and are painful to walk on! And there is a briar vine that has tiny irritating thorns I hate. Mowing keeps most under control, but those three, well when I can, I dig them up.

 

[RachelR]

Could you please post a picture of the area? It will greatly help.

 

[RachelR]

Hi RachelR,
Are the weeds showing up at a seam between two pieces or all over the place where the weed fabric covers?
If all over, the fabric was probably too thin. I would first carefully remove all of the weeds surrounding your pond (to clean bare earth), carefully cover the area with some Preen and then use a very heavy weed barrier. Make absolutely sure all of the ground surrounding the pond slopes away from your pond before using Preen. Groundwater flowing into the pond could kill your fish.

We don’t really want to redesign the pond to make sure the edges slope away, so it sounds like Preen isn’t an option.

 

[RachelR]

That's a point I meant to make - another way to control weeds is to plant desirable plants in such profusion that there's no room for anything else to grow.

That’s a great idea, but we are trying to get away from plants in the front flowerbeds; hence the reason for the rock beds. We decided we want to keep them looking nice in front, and WEED-FREE (ugh), but we don’t want to invest time into taking care of plants and flowers in the front. We spend all of our time in the back, so we are concentrating there.

 

[RachelR]

That's a point I meant to make - another way to control weeds is to plant desirable plants in such profusion that there's no room for anything else to grow.

That’s a great idea, but we are trying to get away from plants in the front flowerbeds; hence the reason for the rock beds. We decided we want to keep them looking nice in front, and WEED-FREE (ugh), but we don’t want to invest time into taking care of plants and flowers in the front. We spend all of our time in the back, so we are concentrating there.

 

[RachelR]

Weed seeds will germinate in mulch and on top of the fabric. Without using chemicals you are going to have some weeds but with the mulch, sand, etc they will be fewer and easier to pull. I got tired of trying to keep my front flowerbed (24"x5") weeded. Went with the container garden idea.View attachment 120844

This is adorable. We are going to do the same thing along with some hanging baskets for some pops of color in the beds.