TN gardeners - good weed? Bad weed? (live in, garden)

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by CountryGirl2b=

OK, here's what is underneath the purple weeds! Basically my backyard is a weed farm . . . oh, I mean an HERB garden.

Have half the yard free of the purple Cicada plant . . it is slightly easy to pull up - the older taller ones are easiest.

So, what is THIS and I'm guessing I should pull it up also????

Then can I throw some grass seed around and hope for the best?

Weed #2

You can throw some grass seed around...but it will likely only take for a little while.

Dig up the weeds. Get a flat bladed shovel and just scoop up an inch or two of dirt. If you loose a bit of dirt, buy some of that cheap top soil somewhere like Home Depot (it's like $1.30 per bag). Then throw lots of grass seed down and maybe a little bit of fertilizer. Lightly cover it with hay.

[knucklehead_vol]

A good natural or organic weed killer is vinegar and salt. Mix a little bit with dish soap so it will stick to the plant. But this will kill everything, so beware.


But I hoping this was a legalization thread.

[DubbleT]

It could be chickweed. It could also be a lookalike. Dig through this Chickweed
and google some pics, maybe you can narrow it down.

[CountryGirl2b=]

So, I picked it all by hand. Now I have raked a portion . . a tiny portion. A test plot. Used this hand aerator thing just for 'fun', added some fertilized dirt (?) and spread some seed. Off to get some straw to cover it. Going to rain tomorrow so we'll see what happens! The plot is about 3 feet by 5 feet. Perhaps I will take weekly photos.

Watching grass grow.

Or not.

AstroTurf is sounding good . . . .

[Kansaichick]

I'm curious to see what happens so photos are actually appreciated. We have some of these "plants.weeds" or whatever is, too, so this is very helpful. Please don't get Astroturf... I need you to update us with photos

[CountryGirl2b=]

OK, so here is what the area looked like with the weeds:



Ripped them out of the ground, raked, spread some 'fertilized dirt', scattered some "Southern Mix" seed, and added straw (beware, if you buy a bale from Lowe's, make friends with someone who has a horse!). Not much to look at now but I'll post another pic in a week or so:



Fingers crossed!

[Reactionary]

What kind of grass seeds are in "Southern Mix"? Looking at the pictures, your lawn looks like it might be bermudagrass. If the mix contains mostly fescue it will probably die unless you have an irrigation system (fescue doesn't like our hot dry summers).

It's tought to tell from the pic, but those green clumps of grass look like poa annua (Annual Bluegrass) - dig it up ASAP and spread pre-emergent in the fall. That stuff is hard to get rid of once established.

[Kansaichick]

Thanks for the photos!

[D-Mac]

Originally Posted by CountryGirl2b=

I have these little purple guys covering about 1/3 of my tiny back yard this year. Should I used weed killer on them or just live with them? In CT we did have 'clover' with white flowers. I see these everywhere. Someone said just mow them and the bottom bits will be green.

Any thoughts as to what they are and how I should deal with them??? Thanks!!

If they are in the grass, you should use a selective herbicide that is labeled to treat dead nettle. If not, use 5oz/gal of 41% or higher glyphosate in a backpack sprayer to kill them and any other plants in the area. Be sure to use surfactant either way. Apply to the point of runoff.

[Reactionary]

CountryGirl2b= - could you post a follow-up? How's your lawn?