half acre of weeds, what to do?
- Thread starter habeeb
- Start date
redneck shogun
Member
I believe you can use wet newspaper as a barrier, then compost on top of that if you want to save some money. I haven't done this myself so I can't vouch for it's effectiveness.
thanks guys, wow alot of info in here
yeah, I'm in a "classy" neighborhood so everything's gotta be well groomed.....
yeah, there is so much mature plants mixed in with the weeds. I'm guessing I'm going the route with pulling the weeds, then throwing a cloth over it with a thick layer of mulch, then see what happens..
I believe when I was young I did that with my dad's gardens and his to this day are still very maintenance free.. I believe.. don't quote me as I haven't been there in a long time
thanks again for all the comments, I will have to go back and read this again as there is so much info from you guys, THANKS
yeah, I'm in a "classy" neighborhood so everything's gotta be well groomed.....
yeah, there is so much mature plants mixed in with the weeds. I'm guessing I'm going the route with pulling the weeds, then throwing a cloth over it with a thick layer of mulch, then see what happens..
I believe when I was young I did that with my dad's gardens and his to this day are still very maintenance free.. I believe.. don't quote me as I haven't been there in a long time
thanks again for all the comments, I will have to go back and read this again as there is so much info from you guys, THANKS
GanjaPharma
Member
sounds like your neighbors wont be super cool with pigs (and the pigs in your neighborhood even less).
here in the PNW i have participated in a few "yard chipping" parties. typically this is done in the fall. when someone wants to get rid of their yard (turf) we just lay cardboard over the whole yard (no gaps!) then woodchips (or soil) over the whole thing. water well, then wait till spring.
if you are gonna cover and mulch, this could be a cost effective way to do it.
here in the PNW i have participated in a few "yard chipping" parties. typically this is done in the fall. when someone wants to get rid of their yard (turf) we just lay cardboard over the whole yard (no gaps!) then woodchips (or soil) over the whole thing. water well, then wait till spring.
if you are gonna cover and mulch, this could be a cost effective way to do it.
Arkady2300
Member
the most labor intensive route to weed eradication involves digging out root systems, tillage and composting. Dont see a half acre of weeds see a half acre of green manure. Check your local zoning laws before you start bringing livestock onto your property, and if you do make sure you have a good plan for dealing with their waste.
Poison your property.
Burn your property.
Let goats consume your property and waste on it.
But don't let no damned Mexicans work on your property for the low!
Burn your property.
Let goats consume your property and waste on it.
But don't let no damned Mexicans work on your property for the low!
I strongly advise against weed barriers or landscape cloth, especially since you have not completely killed the weeds beforehand. I have ripped up plenty of fabric that is completely entangled with running grasses and other weeds that didn't even slow down after laying down cloth and mulch. Grass will run for 3-4-5 feet easy on top of the soil just under the fabric and drill through anywhere it pleases. Eventually you will have one big mess and have to do what you have to do now; kill all the weeds first.
you would spray a whole half acre with roundup?? That kindof freaks me out....
Hey, I use the stuff, but I'm not about to waste that much money.... I'd sooner get someone in to mulch or slash it. Its just going to grow back anyways.
Slash it down. and get it again before it re-seeds. Then keep ontop of it. (don't let it all go to seed again)
Yeah, newspaper is good, but half an acre of it? You'd need a fair few newspapers.
Cardboard is bigger. (per piece) and lots of stores have to pay to get rid of it. (round my way they do anyways) Just be sure to check that the cardboard hasn't been soiled with chemicals/oil etc.
And you might have to remove some packing tape off the pieces.
Oh yeah, and mulch ontop of it. -> keeps it wet, stops it from flying around the paddock....
GrassRoots
Active member
Popular mechanics wrote an article about killing a lawn and starting over using plastic sheeting to kill it. I found it for ya.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/lawn-garden/4350153
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/lawn-garden/4350153
I know you said no Chems but glyphosate brakes down in the soil with in a couple of weeks.. other than that its gonna be hard work.
you can get tractor attachments that have a propane burner that will sterilize the topsoil.
once you have the growned cleared a pig or two will dig it over for you, they love to forage for food and turn an area over with in a week or so.. they also add some goodness back to the soil.
then you can eat them Yum!
you can get tractor attachments that have a propane burner that will sterilize the topsoil.
once you have the growned cleared a pig or two will dig it over for you, they love to forage for food and turn an area over with in a week or so.. they also add some goodness back to the soil.
then you can eat them Yum!
W.Less Monk
Member
Contact a tree company in your area, get a TON of cheap/free wood chips.
Cover your 1/2 acre in wood chips. No really, just wood chips. LOTS of wood chips. At least 8" on average. Up here it takes about a year to kill off everything below, warmer places 3-4 weeks.
I can generally sucker someone into then coming and getting my "free wood chips". Craigslist is great for this. The remaining bits (generally a moderate amounts stays embedded after removal attempts) can just sit in place or can be turned in. I personally leave them in place, our soil here drains like crap once disturbed heavily.
Cover your 1/2 acre in wood chips. No really, just wood chips. LOTS of wood chips. At least 8" on average. Up here it takes about a year to kill off everything below, warmer places 3-4 weeks.
I can generally sucker someone into then coming and getting my "free wood chips". Craigslist is great for this. The remaining bits (generally a moderate amounts stays embedded after removal attempts) can just sit in place or can be turned in. I personally leave them in place, our soil here drains like crap once disturbed heavily.
it beats doing it yourself. mexicans work hard for little money to bring back to their families in mexico. just go to homedepot or other stores and they are around the entrance. support your local mexicans
when I glanced at the name of this thread quickly I thought it said "half acre of weed, what to do" and I'm thinkin to myself how the hell is this a problem.
lol
Arkady2300
Member
Or you could combine a bunch of the methods and sheet multch using cardboard covering with woodchips or soil and woodchips where you want to start growing just dont let the woodchips take up more then 25% of total volume of the multch and they should compost quite nicely.
simple gardener
Member
not if they're on a maintenance diet. good call on the legumes though.
