What....no quack grass??? I know what ya mean, smartweed runs rampant on the farm, and birds bring in pokeweed like there's no tomorrow. Between that and mulberries, we have the most interesting polka-dot vehicles :)
I never win, but I tell myself that I'm getting a better handle on it every year....but, I'm gullible, and I believe everything I tell me, so....

All I can tell you is it will get better in future years if you keep up with the task. Once weeds go to seed, you're screwed for years to come. I'm happy to say, I really don't have much of a weed problem anymore. Tree seedlings and some oxalis are about the only irritants I have bugging me from time to time.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin and luvr.

My 7 yr old asked me yesterday "Dad, when will you be done weeding?" To which I cynically replied "Gardeners are never done weeding".

kwoods,
I don't have a lot of weeds to pull. Those that do come up are quite easily pulled because I mulch very heavily. I use everything I can get my hands on: aged horse manure with bedding in spring and fall, shedded leaves in fall and compost whenever it's ready. I also plant very thickly. Weeds don't usually come through the plants....except bindweed. This weed defeats me. I cannot get rid of it unless I paint it with Roundup. I really don't want to use it, but I have no choice..:-(

I can't even get rid of bindweed even with round up...it's in the middle of the daylily of the Joe Pye...twining around the clematis...
I'll take knot weed any day!!
Linda C

I can't even get rid of bindweed even with round up...it's in the middle of the daylily of the Joe Pye...twining around the clematis...

Put Round-Up in a syringe and inject a bit directly into the vine of the bindweed.

No drips, no casualties (other than the intended one!). You can get syringes for farm use at Tractor Supply.

Wow!...Should I dilute the stuff....as I would for spraying?
I'm off to tractor supply!!!
Linda C

Syringes. What a great idea. Here I was using a tiny paint brush or Q-tip. A syringe would be much more convenient.

Linda C, you can get syringes at science supply stores too. I bought a few 20cc syringes last year to inject water into my air layered pods. I'll have to remember to label the syringes so I won't kill what I want to grow.

Syringes? Like I'm opening up some kind of weed clinic? Why do I get this feeling that I'll end up with a long line of smartweed lined up at the back door begging for their injections?

Well, I guess I'll give it a "shot" (pun intended).

And I am wondering what the guy at Tractor Supply thought while I was carefully perusing the needles and syringes. I asked is there anything smaller? He asked what I wanted it for, baby pigs?
I think he doubted my sanity when I said no I am going to use it to inject bind weed....
Oh well....the men with the straight jackets haven't come yet!
Linda C

Syringes without needle, Linda. I don't think you can get syringes with needles unless you have a doctor's prescritption.

what about dilution?

How do you all know the names of the weeds?? I pat myself on the back when I know all my plants names and needs...and, now I need to know the names of the weeds :) - Oh no!!!
All this time I just thought I needed to pull anything that I knew wasn't a plant. Most recently the plants with tiny white flowers that I thought were Cardinal flowers - Ugh. By the time I pull them out, I'll need to buy more plants to take up space. I've been fooled!!!

Just my opinion, but I don't think I'd dilute it. You're going to be using a small amount, and you want to make sure you kill it. Not just to be rid of the weed, but you don't want to help it build resistance. I won't get on my soapbox, but in the farming industry there are weeds that have become resistant to Round-up because of improper use. Used wisely, it's a wonderful weapon in the weed battle. A good watering a day or so before you round-up is a good idea, too. We're in the midst of a pretty bad dry spell. We've got bean fields we're waiting to spray until we get a rain. The weeds have "hardened off" and aren't putting on a lot of new growth. When they get a rain, they're going to shoot like crazy. That's the growth you want to hit. Sorry, I did get on my soapbox a little...I'll stop now :)
Also, a small squirt bottle (like ice cream syrup comes in) works well to put a couple of well placed drops into the growing point of stuff like poke and burdock. If you catch them young, a drop or two is all you need to kill them, and those are two that I can never seem to get the root and all by pulling or digging.

kwoods, loved your post and havent stopped chuckling at the thought of your patients lining up for injections... LMAO!

My enemies are oxalis, and tree seedlings from european buckthorn and manitoba maple. One of the maples (not a seedling any more but a huge tree trunk that's been dug out many times.. is now threatening to dismantle the eavestrough on my shed. So I know how you feel and I sympathize! And I wanted to thank you for the belly laugh! I needed that :)

Of course you can buy needles with the syringe...I just did!
If you use too strong a solution of Round up you will burn the plant and it won't be absorbed.
I did some research and you should use a dilution of 1 to 5 for injection into the stem.
And think how wonderfully this will work for lily of the valley and that weedy day lily! Oh Happy Day!!
Linda C

I read a tip about using envelope moisteners from the office supply store with the little sponge tip. I haven't tried it yet, but its ready to go.

Kwoods, I absolutly love the way you say it. It is my story too but my problem is Japanese Stilt Grass. That weed will keep me in the garden forever. Newspaper works as a barrier with mulch laid on top. But it is harder to put down when plants are spaced closely.

Keep writing!

Ah, well therein lies the rub Kimpa, I only mulch this particular large bed very selectively. Can't really mulch because I rely heavily on my reseeding perennials but even more-so annuals and biennials. Digitalis, mysotis, opium poppies, cleome, verbascum... and along with those beauties come the baddies Japanese dayflower and.... @#$smartweed. I'm starting to say "smartweed" with the same venomous inflection with which Jerry Seinfeld says "Newman".

It's still early in the game. I won't give up. I can and will preserver! Well at least until I come back from my 2 week vacation in mid-July and see the devastation that my neglect has wrought! At that point more beer might be the only palliative.

Oh my gosh, kwoods, you are too funny! You seriously should consider submitting your rant to a gardening magazine. As a Nurse Practitioner I'm always counseling the chronic IV drug users about the dangers of sharing needles. I swear, it's going to be hard doing it with a straight face as I'm thinking about you guys injecting Roundup. But then again, Roundup... Meth..... same effects! Sooner or later your Smartweed will hit rock bottom, realize the devastation of its actions, and be willing to submit to a gardening 12 Step Program of sorts......