weed problem!!!

OK

we just got these beautiful raised beds put in, and topsoil put into those, with the chopped up ground underneath (no, they didn't kill the weeds first, grrr)...

and we weed, and we weed and still we get this lovely green grass poking its nasty head up in the flower beds.

Would putting down newspaper as in a lasagne bed work to keep these weeds out? Then covering the newspaper with black mulch (which the grass just ADORES)?

TIA for your help

When I find my digital camera (from the piles of stuff brought back from vacation) I will take a picture of my plight...

Love to all
Janie

WE had the same problem. We had Bermuda grass and it comes up everywhere and spreads by underground runners. The stuff just thrived under the black plastic and grew to the other side of the beds and just kept on growing everywhere. I took a small artist brush, that was pretty well ruined from painting on rocks, (Ha) and painted brush killer on as much of it as I could and we finally have some control over it. It took a while for it to die out , but it was worth it. I hope this helps. Lou

Thanks Lou. I think our well meaning neighbor seeded this junk since we didn't have it last year - he seeded grass for us all right - right over my iris bed and dianthus...::sigh:: he meant well, he really did. Our yard has been the talk of the neighborhood because it almost totally died out last summer. Now it's coming back but it's taken a whole year of TruGreen to get it that way. They don't touch the beds...

DS said to try Preen... anyone tried this and had it work?

We were discussing preen in the iris forum

http://davesgarden.com/t/393085/

I'm a little leary of using preen. Have you thought of that corn gluten stuff?

http://davesgarden.com/t/395364/gluten

Cheri'

Yikes, I don't want anything to wreck my iris!!!! They are the delight of my garden. Gotta think of somepin else.

Newspaper layers don't seem to be an option, or ??

Newspaper won't stop grass, landscape fabric won't stop grass. Nothing really will that I know of. I haven't tried the corn gluten stuff, but only because I don't have a local source, and can't see paying the shipping ...

Is it an annual grass that's in the bed? If so, might one year of preen get rid of the worst of it? and not do any harm?

Cheri'

I honestly don't know what kind of grass it is - it's just REALLY fast growing and emerges almost immediately after we pull it.

I found the camera and will post pics tomorrow.

Preen shouldn't hurt your iris - I've used it in all our beds. It probably won't help with all the grass, because some might be coming up from runners.

About the only method I have found to eliminate the worst of the perennial weeds without re-doing the entire bed is to use the clean-culture method. That means keep pulling it every time it pokes its head up. Eventually the roots will die from lack of energy, if the gardener doesn't give out first.

Would it be an option to remove the garden plants from the bed and then kill the grass? The garden plants could then be re-planted. A little more work initially, but it beats a year's worth of weeding out grass daily!

Yes, it would probably be possible to remove the garden plants and then kill the grass... with what? Roundup? I have a big enough space around the garden plants that I am sure I can round up the weeds without taking them out, actually.

I have so much to do in this garden that it's overwhelming to think about it. I putter around but I can't do very much at all...

not to complain... didn't mean to go there.

but anyway, would you kill the weeds with roundup or?

The corn gluten won't help with your grass problem because it only kills sprouting seeds. Since your grass is spreading from roots the corn gluten will not only not kill it, it will help it grow since it supplies nitrogen!

Several applications of Roundup will do the job. Apply it at 3-day intervals. Some kinds of that grass take a lot of killing.

Repeated tilling, again at 3 day intervals will also do the job. Being a mostly organic gardener, that is how I rid a few of my beds of perennial weeds.

After you have eliminated the existing weeds, you can apply a pre-emergent herbicide (either Preen or corn gluten) that will prevent new weeds from growing.

Well now that I've decided on a Mantis tiller I think I'll just be the Tilling Queen and not mess with Roundup. I hate the idea of poison no matter what it's used for.

While I was weeding yesterday I discovered these grasses are just individual grass plants - not connected underground on a runner as far as I can discern. They come out clean. I'll try and get some pics today.

You know you're a cyber gardener when you take digital pictures of your weeds!!!!!

JanieJoy I don't want to take the fun out of your tiller but if you till that grass you will just be multiplying it. If the grass is individual clumps I think you would be better off just pulling them up before you till. In my experience if you use 10 or 12 pages of newspaper so you have a nice thick layer and put your soil on top of that it smother grass and weeds. In fact you can create new beds by covering lawn with a thick newspaper layer and then putting soil on top. You can plant things with small root systems right away or let it set over the winter and plant it in spring.

Janie, both Lupi and NoH2O are correct - the tilling will multiply the grass and the only way to rid these raised beds of the grass is to pull it and pull it....and pull it. The newspaper also works but you may have to pull again in the spring. :(

Drat

I mulch heavily with grass clippings. Holds moisture in for our summer droughts & smothers weeds. Added bonus--breaks down to add substance to the soil.