Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yup, we have been spending hours in the sun pulling weeds and grasses. Okay, I don't mind the sweat, but I keep thinking that there is more I can do. We are near the coast in the Panhandle and have created a nice corner lot garden with amny different plants.
I scoured the internet for something that I could use that would kill the weeds & grasses, but not harm the palms & shumbs. So far, all I have found is "PREEN" that is a pre-emergent for the garden, but I wonder:
Is there something else I can use to control the weeds & grasses and not destroy everything else?
A heavy mulch will cut out a lot of weeds. Pine straw seems to work the best for me. It also decays and helps build up the soil. Make it about 3 inches deep. Also keeps the ground cooler. Water well before you put it down.
Okay, I keep adding mulch (thanks, Padgett2). It's an area about 3000 sq. ft., so we have had to buy a lot of bags of cedar mulch. The tree services here in Gulf & Bay counties (FL), haul everything to the landfill, so I cannot get a chipped truck load dumped off like I was used to in the Atlanta area. The mulch from the landfill needs a dumptruck hire to get it. Rats!
I have not been using the Preen long enough to tell if I am getting good results. So, Torrie, you have given me some hope.
Sorry Southernlady I wouldn't recommend weed barries and here's why. They have a tendency to stop water from getting down to the plants; unless you have your plants wrapped with soaker hoses. My neighbor just about lost his tree because of a weed barrier. When we pulled back the barrier, all these roots were sitting at the top of the surface. The tree wasn't getting enough water so the roots were coming to the surface.
Also if you need to plant anything it's a pain to have to dig a whole through a weed barrier.
I don't mean to discount Southernlady, but I've done landscaping for quite sometime and these are some of the issues I have come across.
Torrie does have a point. It's a large area. My best low estimate would be $500-$600 for the weed control fabric. Yikes!!! Plus, I have no idea where the next planting will appear.
But, Torrie...what do you suggest for weed & grass control that will not kill the palm & pines, etc?
I use the Preen, but I think you saw that all ready. I also like to use a green edger to keep the grass from growing into my beds. You can buy it at Home Depot, it's called Fiber Edge, in the garden section. It's not cheap but it works great, I think it's 20ft for $30. It comes precut and rolled. It's lasts longer than wood, plastic or metal and it's green so it blends in nicely. I never have to edge again, yipeee!
Okay, I keep adding mulch (thanks, Padgett2). It's an area about 3000 sq. ft., so we have had to buy a lot of bags of cedar mulch. The tree services here in Gulf & Bay counties (FL), haul everything to the landfill, so I cannot get a chipped truck load dumped off like I was used to in the Atlanta area. The mulch from the landfill needs a dumptruck hire to get it. Rats!
jbcorbin
have you called the tree companies? I got a couple of them here in Jax to drop off their chipped wood at the butterfly garden at the school.
JMO but I am not a fan of the free mulch from the landfill .
I agree, stay away from either mulch or compost from local landfills!
Three years ago I had the lawn-maintenance guy supply me with 3 yards of supposedly "prime organic compost" for top dressing. It looked great when put down (midsummer). By late fall I started seeing small pieces of black plastic blowing all over my lawn, and assumed it was from a neighbor's yard or whatever. In early spring when I went out to do the first 'weed check' of the year I was horrified to find that all the black plastic was coming from the "prime compost" I bought from the landscape guy (for several hundred dollars, I might add). In addition to gazillions of pieces of black (trash-bag) plastic, there were also shreds of white plastic bags, green plastic bags, tiny bits of miscellaneous trash that looked like bits of crushed toys. But the trashbag bits were the worst. Once the compost started to break down, the non-biodegradable stuff worked its way to the soil surface and began to blow around the yard. Not to mention making the planting beds themselves look SO CLASSY..
I had a major blowup with the landscape guy, saying that I did not pay him hundreds of dollars just for "free town landfill compost" (which he assured me was not where it came from.. yeah right...).
Almost 4 years later I am STILL uncovering pieces of trashbags as I weed and plant.
No, definitely do not even think of using local "free mulch/compost". You get what you pay for........
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
