Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with weeds

Secrets of the String Trimmer

mecran01 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:25:19 -0800

My Ryobi string trimmer doesn't feed well. Should I just buy a new head for it or try one of those alternative string trimmer heads? I've also seen heads that use pre-cut pieces of nylon string. Do those work?

It used to feed ok, not great. Now I have to manually refresh the nylon when it wears down, which has made me completely timid in my weed whackery. I think that self-feeding trimmers are a cruel marketing lie.

Where do I get the ring that Nancy Botwin wears on the show Weeds?

BuddhaInABucket — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:30:18 -0800

Asking for my sister: "On the show Weeds, Nancy is always wearing an awesome gold and emerald snake ring on her middle finger. Does anyone know where to get one?"

How to kill grass on a playground?

roaring beast — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:47:31 -0800

How to kill grass on a playground? We recently installed a wooden playground set in use by about 20-30 kids each week. After laying down about two layers of landscape fabric on top of grass, we put about 2" of rubber playground mulch over it.

The problem is that grass and weeds are still growing up through it. In hindsight, we probably should have killed off the grass before putting down the fabric. Now it would be an incredible task to move all the rubber mulch, lift all the fabric, kill the grass and put it back on all over again.

It's been suggested that we use Roundup to kill all the grass, but I wonder if this is safe since children will be using the playground in the future.

The mulch with grass growing through is quite unsightly, but maybe something we just have to live with.

What should we do? Any ideas?

I think it's from space.

fiercekitten — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:25:26 -0800

PlantIdFilter: I've searched all the weed databases for my area trying to id this thing here. No luck, so either it's not a noxious weed or I need more help. The only thing I found that comes close is halogeton but that's pretty specific to SE Oregon. But, then again, I found buffalobur in the backyard, which is also supposed to be specific to the hot and dry part of the state as well.

The strangest thing about it is it seems to start at the little red knot at the middle. This one is about 3 inches across on the widest spot, but I have some that are a foot across. It looks like it just adds length as it gets bigger, so the huge ones have leaves and flowers the same size and such. Here's a closeup of the tiny little flowers, which are so small I can barely see them. The leaves are around 1/2 in in length, on most of them. They cover the reddish stem the entire length. It grows very close the ground, although the section that gets regular water has some that are growing a little more upright, but still close to the ground. It doesn't like shade much, so I haven't found much of it actually under any plants.

We live in the greater PDX area and recently bought a house with no grass. It has a yard, but no grass. It's coming up in the areas where the weed barrier is either one layer or has a break in it. I suspect this is a common contaminant in bird feed, as the mourning doves really like to eat it. Heck, the mourning doves could have brought it in from elsewhere even. It spreads through little tiny seeds, about the same size as salt grains, or through runners, in my case, from the side yard clear under the patio (and through the cracks in the patio) to the other side of the yard.

Roundup (glyphosphate) and Quinclorac/Dicamba (Bayer Advanced All in One Lawn Weed Killer) hasn't had quite the effect I'd hoped for. Both are working, but slower than on regular broadleaf weeds.

I want to know more about bindweed/morning glory than how to kill it.

epersonae — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:24:59 -0800

Resources for information about field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis, perennial morning glory) other than how to kill it? I've become obsessed with bindweed, originally because it's overrun my backyard. (Olympia WA USA) I want to write an essay about it, probably for my website or for my neighborhood association newsletter.

I can find lots of information about its growing habits and how to (try to) eradicate it. (My working title is "Worst. Weed. Ever.")

What I've become curious about is its history: why in god's name did anybody bring it to the New World? where is it originally from? does it have any special significance in other cultures? etc.

I've used the Google, Wikipedia, and the friendly reference desk at my local library, so far to no avail. (I do have a couple of books on invasive plants on hold, and the librarian suggested that I follow the footnotes or bibliography.) Can anyone help find more resources?

Is there an alternative to harmful herbicides that will kill weeds but not harm backyard wildlife?

feeshbitZ — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 11:47:28 -0800

Is there an alternative to harmful herbicides that will kill weeds but not harm backyard wildlife? My yard is full of weeds. It looks awful. We're having an awful time getting rid of the weeds because there are just too many to manually pull each out. So my husband wants to use a "Weed and Feed" or some similar weed killer on our entire lawn to kill the weeds, then start seeding grass. Here is the problem - I'm an avid backyard birder. With all the bird feeders, birdbaths and bird houses in our backyard, I'd say we have at least 40 birds in our backyard at any given time. Many of these birds are ground feeders - meaning they eat the bugs, worms and dropped seeds from the ground. My husband's proposition to kill the weeds in our yard worries me. I'm concerned that these herbicides will hurt our birds and/or the bugs and worms that they eat off the ground.

So, metafilter community, can you offer any suggestions of methods we can use to get rid of the prolific weeds in our yard without harming the diversity of wildlife we enjoy? Do you know if "Weed and Feed" options will harm the wild birds, insects and worms? So far my research has turned up few alternatives to the "scorched earth" method my husband wants to employ.

Thanks!

Japanese knotweed nightmare

CFMartin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:36:36 -0800

Japanese knotweed is extremely difficult to kill with herbicides such as round up and the like, does anyone have any other ideas or herbicides in mind? I have a commercial property that has a bad case of this stuff that I can't get control of. I have at least 1000 square feet of this invasive plant and it keeps spreading. I useually run over it with a skid steer loader and knock it down and crush it but it comes right back. Round up does not seem to do anything and I look ridiculous with a little spray bottle of Round Up up against a towering wall of this weed. Any help?

Under Milkweed?

Karlos the Jackal — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:34:57 -0800

Yet another plant ID question: What's this? I live in the upper left-hand corner of Washington State. This plant is about six feet high and is growing (very quickly) up over the back fence, from our neighbor's side.

My wife thought it might be milkweed so I Googled about but couldn't find any pics where the leaves were serrated, as this plant's are. Perhaps some milkweeds have leaves like this? I dunno.

What do you think? Also, how annoying is it going to be for us when this plant drops all its seeds or pods or whatever into our yard?

How to control weeds in my garden?

pinkbungalow — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:53:53 -0800

Seeking practical alternative to Roundup weed killer for Florida flower garden. Ok - before I'm suspected of plain laziness... I enjoy weeding by hand but just do not have the time as I own my own business, but hiring someone else to weed is not financially or logistically practical. That said, are there "safer" spray-on herbicides? I hate the idea of the chemicals in "Roundup" or similar sprays. And I have lots of toads and lizards - I like them and don't want to poison them. I do mulch a couple of times a year. I try to pick native or at least low-water plants.

In a dry year it's not such a big deal, but when it rains (yay!) it's hard to manage the weeds. Ideas?

Grass or weed?

walla — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:57:29 -0800

Why can't I have a weed lawn? I like walking on my lawn and playing with my dogs on it. I like the anti-erosion benefits of grass, and that it keeps us from tracking dirt into the house. But I like most green things, and I see little reason to invest the resources and energy a grass lawn requires if there are other options. I've read a bit - some of it on AskMe - about alternative lawns. I've considered mint, creeping thyme, chamomile, etc., but none of them has seemed quite right.

While tending my lawn this week, someone suggested I pull the clover and plaintain weeds that had taken over some parts of it. I thought, why should I pull them? They're green, they're hardy, they do what my lawn does on their own without the hassle. As long as I contain it, are there any reasons I shouldn't have a weed lawn? Has anyone tried this, on purpose or by accident?

How to defoliate a vacant lot?

aleahey — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:38:27 -0800

Short of agent orange, what are my defoliating options? I have a large open lot (45 x 100) in a major city. I need to spray something, lay something, chant something or light something that will insure that I do not have a repeat of last years 7' high weed-forest.
A lot of bamboo grass, it seems, and just general weedy nasties.

Area is too rocky to mow, so my only mechanical option is weedwhacking, would much rather prevent the problem before it starts. Any tips?

How can I get my hands on higher-concentration vinegar?

madmethods — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:33:18 -0800

How can I get my hands on higher-concentration vinegar / acetic acid? I've seen a number of articles about using vinegar as a low-environmental-impact weed killer. Most of the studies/tests have used vinegar at higher concentration than household/cooking vinegar (5%?). So how/where can I get my hands on that?

Getting weeds out of paving?

krisjohn — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:21:23 -0800

What's the best way to get weeds out of brick paving? We've got a paved section outside the back door. The weeds grow out from between the bricks. We've tried using a "whipper snipper" ("weed whacker"), but that resulted in a shattered glass door when a small stone was picked up by it. (We have glass on two sides of the area.)

We've tried poisoning the weeds, but you still have to dig them out. We tried covering a section with opaque plastic to kill the weeds without poison, but they didn't die after a couple of weeks and the plastic looks crap.

Currently, the most effective way is to dig them out with a screwdriver, but that's an awful lot of work, particularly for something that will come back.

Not Little Boxes.

zoomorphic — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 07:56:00 -0800

What was the final song on the most recent episode of Weeds? It played during the end credits. It had lyrics like "marry me" and "take me away in a chariot."

How do I reboot my garden?

perpetualstroll — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 09:32:04 -0800

My garden has been overtaken by weeds and ribbon grass, how can I start over? In the past, my garden has been filled with sunflowers, daisies, poppies, and was a pleasure to see every day. However, each year, more and more weeds have been creeping into it and it has gotten to the point where ragweeds and ribbon grass are overwhelming the flowers. How do I start my garden over?

If at all possible, I want to avoid using Roundup-- are there any environmentally friendly methods of starting fresh?

I'm Really In The Weeds Here

gfrobe — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 10:42:33 -0800

Help someone who knows basically nothing about gardening control a never ending growth of weeds This year I decided to tackle the ridiculous weed growth in our garden flower beds and spent a few weekends digging out every single weed on my hands and knees. I ended up with nice weed free dirt and a plan to plant some flowers and tomato plants. However, a week later, I had hundreds of little weeds growing again and so repeated the process. I can't keep up though as every weekend, the area is covered again.

I read previous AskMe threads and know that I don't want to use Roundup because I want to plants flowers and vegetables (plus I have kids who play back there). Is there anything I can do to slow down the weed growth but not poison the soil? If it was just a few new weeds each week I'd simply pull them but it's literally hundreds of the little buggers.

How do I get rid of a large area of weeds?

vraxoin — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 11:02:52 -0800

I have a flower bed in the backyard that has become a weed bed due to gross neglect and needs to be tamed . . . The weeds have grown to mammoth proportions; some are over four feet high. The space they're growing in was supposed to be a flower bed (about 20' x 4'), but the previous renters let it go to seed and we never did anything about it. Now we're moving and we need to annihilate them. These are Texas weeds, born and bred in the hot Southern sun. What's the best way of removing them? The fastest? The easiest?

How do I get rid of weeds in a newly seeded lawn?

pamohearn — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 13:09:04 -0800

I recently seeded a new lawn, about 50x150 feet, in buffalo grass seed. the entire thing is now sprouting in bindweed. is there anything I can do to get rid of bindweed without killing the seedlings? I have been hand pulling them, but it takes approximately 20 hours each weekend. I'm open to any suggestions. thanks!

Backyard from Hell

schroedinger — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 15:36:00 -0800

Recently I moved into a rowhouse with a number of other people. The previous tenants left the backyard looking like a jungle, a poison-ivy filled jungle of death. Help. Oh God, please help. We wouldn't have a problem rolling up our sleeves and pulling things up, but there's a bunch of poison ivy back there. The greenery is thick enough and the poison ivy wound insidiously enough that we can't target it for spot treatment. We're thinking the best idea is to raze the area and start over, but we're not quite sure how to go about that. Our landlords are pretty new at landlording and don't have any ideas either. We tried spraying everything with Round-Up and poison ivy killer, and while things are dying it still looks like Joseph Conrad is going to leap out from behind the tree.

Does anyone have a suggestion about clearing this mess out? We have a shovel, a hacksaw, and a push-mower at our disposal--are there any neato power tools we can rent that'll do the job? Nothing big, since the entrance to our backyard is about the width of a door.

After we're done, should we just fertilize and seed the area with grass or do we need to wait for the Round-Up to clear out? We're all college students so we'll only be here two years at the most--we do want a backyard, but not something that'll take three years and gobs of money to grow pretty.

How do you get rid of lawn weeds?

oissubke — Sat, 30 Apr 2005 22:25:50 -0800

Due to a surprisingly large amount of rain in the past few months, my lawn is absolutely bursting with weeds. What do I do? I've got a beautiful house in a beautiful neighboorhood, but my lawn looks like what you'd expect to find in a white trash trailer park. I've got dandelions, little spiky things, big tall things, weird foreign grasses, the whole shebang. It looks terrible.

I guess I could use Round-Up, but I'm not sure if that will kill the grass as well. I've tried pulling them up, but we all know how well that works in practice.

So, short of pouring concrete over the whole annoying mess, what can I do to salvage my once-attractive lawn?

Looking for a scorched earth approach to keeping the ground free from grass

cadastral — Sun, 12 Sep 2004 13:28:18 -0800

What's the best way to render a (small) patch of ground (semi-) permanently vegetation-free? [mi] I'm trying to construct a 12 yard by 22 yard patch of dirt in the middle of an established field (well maintained 3" tall grass). I would like to kill the grass, till it up and level it. I would also like to prevent grass/weeds from regrowing.

I'm thinking that there must be a product out there that will inhibit vegetation over long periods of time (think 3-5 years).

Does anyone have experience with a product/technique that will achieve this? Bonus points for a product that is/will:

• relatively inexpensive
• non- or minimally harmful to humans
• easy for a non-expert to apply
• available without a license/not illegal, banned, or unethical to apply to a field
• not change the drainage patterns of the field
• stand up to continuous foot traffic and heavy use

Environmentally safe weed killer for use near municipal water source?

stbalbach — Mon, 24 May 2004 20:39:11 -0800

I need an environmentally safe weed killer. My house is overrun with weeds and I live 100 yards from a water source for 2 million people. I could RoundUp and not worry but my conscious is heavy, but the weeds are gaining ground daily.