How to Control Out-of-Control Weeds

You may have recently bought a new house that has never been landscaped, or perhaps you just decided to take up gardening - or maybe you have just let your weeds get out of control. Whatever the reason, you can take charge of out-of-control weeds.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Lawn Mowers
• Mulch
• Shovels
• Weed Trimmers
• Shovels

If the Weeds Are Young and Tender

1. Mow the young weeds down with a lawn mower or a string trimmer.

2. 

   Turn them under with a shovel (the hard way) or with a rototiller (the easy way). This is actually plowing, the same as the pioneers did. Young weeds will quickly decompose, adding nutrients and improving the texture of your existing soil.

3. 

   Plant your garden and then lay down a layer of mulch to prevent weeds from returning. Lay down a thick layer of mulch once the garden has been planted.

4. 

   Pull new weeds by hand as they appear.

If the Weeds Have Gone to Seed

5. Remove the top growth of mature weeds (weeds that have formed seeds) from large areas by mowing or with a string trimmer. Do not compost the top growth unless your compost pile heats up enough to sterilize the seeds. (Unsterilized seeds will germinate and grow.) Rinse the machine once you have finished to prevent spreading weed seeds.

6. Turn the soil over with a shovel (the hard way) or with a rototiller (the easy way). Dig down into the soil to a depth of 10 to 12 inches. Remove any large roots or rocks you find in the soil.

7. Water the soil. This will germinate the next generation of weeds left from the fallen seeds. (This step will take 7 to 21 days.) Keep the soil moist at all times.

8. Remove the young weeds that germinate by cultivating the soil to disturb the roots or by spraying a nonselective herbicide such as Round-Up or Finale.

9. Repeat steps three and four to remove any remaining weeds from the area.

10. 

    Turn the soil one final time, adding organic compost, rotted manure or other soil amendments to improve the nutrient value and texture of the soil.

Tips & Warnings

• Once the mature weeds have been removed, plant and lay down a thick layer of mulch.
• You can also dig mature weeds by hand. Make sure to dig all of the roots if the weed is a perennial variety such as dandelion or dock.
• Use herbicides only as a last resort and always according to label directions. Herbicides work best on immature weeds (those that have not gone to seed).

on 11/22/2005 Cut down mature weeds, or remove any flowers or seed heads. Lay down 3 sheets of wet newspaper. Put 1/2 inch of bunny or aged horse manure on top. Put 1/2 inch of straw or other brown compost source on top. Put 3 more sheets of wet newspaper on top. Repeat layers until you have approximately 4 inches of lasagna. Spray during the hot summer months, or apply lasagna in the fall, let it rest during the winter, and have a wonderful garden area (with a ton of worms) come spring. This technique works great whether you're creating a new garden over sod, or trying to get rid of large patches of weeds. Just remember to remove any source of weed seeds prior to applying your lasagna.

on 11/22/2005 If you aren't going for the estate look, let some of the "weeds" grow. A lot of them make beautiful flowers.

on 11/22/2005 If you don't mind a little work, a weed knife is an effective way of getting to the root of the problem (literally!). This tool works particularly well for dandelions.