What Should I Use to Kill Grass Around My Flower Bed?
How to get rid of grass around your flower bed, depends on where the grass grows and what sort of grass grows there. Grass can grow inside the bed, along the edge or creeping over the edges, necessitating different control strategies. Aggressive species like Bermuda grass, that develops deep root systems and underground runners, are challenging to control. Even more passive grasses multiply by either tillers, stolons, rhizomes, seed or a combination, making grass, by its very nature, difficult to control by a single method. Does this Spark an idea?
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Herbicides
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Many different types of chemicals kill grass. They work by either attacking the grass's natural hormonal system or its enzyme system. Apply herbicides during the growing season when the plants are active and absorb the chemicals better. Avoid herbicides meant to kill broadleaf plants when going after grasses. A glyphosate-based herbicide provides the most effective chemical tool for controlling all types of grass. Unfortunately, glyphosates act as a general killer and tend to kill anything they land on. Plants absorb these herbicides into the leaves and throughout the plant, killing them down to the root. If the herbicide lands on the wrong plant, it still does the same thing. Fortunately, there are safer ways to kill the grass.
Layer Mulching
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Control grass growing in the bed itself using newspaper and mulch. Lay down 1/2 inch of newspaper around the edges of the flower bed where you don't want grass to grow. Lay a 2-inch layer of mulch over the top of the newspaper and press it down. Eventually, the mulch and paper break down into the soil; replace this soil about once a season.
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Barriers
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Block grass that creeps over the edges with a rubber barrier, metal or masonry edging or a ditch-type barrier. Physical barriers, if buried 3 or 4 inches below the soil, help prevent underground grass roots and runners from slipping under the edge of the flower bed and popping up inside. Cutting a small ditch along the edge makes it easier for you to maintain the barrier. Use the ditch as a guide and keep grass cut back with a string or blade weed cutter.
Sod Removal
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One of the most effective ways to keep grass from growing where you don't want it is to remove the top layer of sod entirely. Dig up the grass and roots with a sod cutter or spade, and replace it with new topsoil. If you don't want to lose the dug-up soil, deep-till the area and rake out the cut up grass roots, leaving the soil behind. Afterward, lay a landscaping barrier sheet over the area and cover the fabric with an inch of soil.
Other Methods
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Eliminate grass that pops up in cracks or in spots in the flower bed by pouring boiling water over it, hitting it with a torch to burn it back or pulling it up by hand. In most flower beds, you'll have to rely on a combination of methods to avoid the use of herbicides.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit flower-bed image by Dmitry Remesov from Fotolia.com
