Weeds! - how to get rid of them???

miss ribena, if you are looking for a really friendly gardening book then you couldn't do better than The Complete Gardener by Monty Don. He is, in my opinion, the best gardener that the BBC ever had. He is totally organic and would cringe at some of the notions here about weedkiller etc. Everything we do in our gaqrden reflects on the thousands of species that live there. We should stop kidding ourselves by saying its only a little bit of weedkiller now and again, as even once off treatment can change the ecological composition of our gardens forever. He uses the flame gun for treating weeds on patios etc and the good old garden hoe for others. Gardening does involve a bit of work, and as someone (I can't remember who), once said 'low maintenace is low braintenance'.
 
Thanks Ophelia. I'd seen Monty's around and wondered if it would be too purist for me - I'm still a fan of non-chemical shortcuts where I find them I looked at Alan Titchmarsh too but let's face it, who would I rather spend an hour in the garden with? Monty it is then!

Rebecca
 
I love Monty too ... did you know he used to be a very successful jewellary designer in the 80s?
I love Alan Tichmarsh too ... the thinking womans crumpet! His how to be a gardener books are really good ... especially if you are starting.
Diarmuid Gavin has a book of desining your garden which is really good too ... practical landscaping advice rather than planting.
Failing that I would look in the library ... they have loads of books, to suit every taste.
Good luck.

HP
 
Yes, I have just read Monty's book The Jewel Garden (a semi-biographical book which he co-wrote with his wife Sarah), which is all about his jewellry business and it's subsequent collapse. He is also an inspiration to any one who has suffered from bankruptcy and/or depression. He still has times in the year when even the sight of a leaf blowing in a certain way under a car can bring him to tears! He is a brilliant man and gardener and someone I would put in my five top most-admirable men. Diarmuid Gavin is my least favourite TV gardener. He moans too much about how he is going to raise money for Chelsea, as if Chelsea was the determining factor in whether you have made it to the top of the gardening pyramid or not. Now you wouldn't get Monty having a fit about Chelsea!
 
When weeds are active spray with " roundup ". When weeds are dead spray area with " simazine. This is a residual herbicide that prevents weeds from germiating for 6 months.
 
bobsoap05 said:
When weeds are active spray with " roundup ". When weeds are dead spray area with " simazine. This is a residual herbicide that prevents weeds from germiating for 6 months.
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if its an area where you want to kill all vegetation (like a patio) then straight o simazine surely. The benefit of Roundup is that it kills the vegetation not the earth, but in this case on a patio you want the ground killed as well.
Also, roundup takes 3-4 weeks to work. Something like Pathclear works almost literally overnight.
 
If everyone used these chemicals, and more, all over the planet, there would be no weeds , no vegetation and no humans in time.

I try to garden as chemical free as possible, and believe you me it ain't easy, the temptation when the back is aching is hard to resist.

But the rewards, as I have come to discover far outweight the negatives, the amount of wildlife prevelent in my garden is a sight to behold .
So what a few weeds here and there, its impossible to keep up with the blighters, and a good hoe was great investment, the sight and sounds of a hedgehog one night scratching its way around under the shrubs looking for slugs and ducking the cat at the same time , or the numbers of birds who feed off various berries, when I remember to keep the cat in, are just a few of the pleasures I have had when I take time out to enjoy the garden .
 
I used Roundup on my patio and sure enough it killed off everything it touched but within a couple of weeks new weeds popped up anyway.

I wouldn't use it again. I might try the salt approach!
 
babydays said:
I used Roundup on my patio and sure enough it killed off everything it touched but within a couple of weeks new weeds popped up anyway.

I wouldn't use it again. I might try the salt approach!
Click to expand...

Thats cause its not the right one to use on a patio...Roundup is where you want to kill vegetation and then plant there a week later...pathclear is what you want for a path!
 
Surely any product that stops seed germination for a mere 6 months is a waste of time, given that many weed seeds have been found to remain viable for 80-100 years?!
 
Re Sherman's point. The way those weedkillers work is that the chemical when sprayed on soil prevents germination of any seed that lands on the soil subsequently. The chemical (simazine I think) forms an invisible "blanket" of protection. Obviously over time (3-6 months) the protective chemical "blanket" is washed away by rain etc and the ground may be disturbed allowing seeds to germinate freely, until sprayed again
 
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