Roundup works by being absorbed by a healthy plant. It's a poison designed to kill. The food industry puts it on food plants. I wouldn't.

Vinegar works on some plants, weeds or not. Try it!

Yeah, most definitely wouldn't put it on anything I would ingest!

Since my garden bed is for aesthetic not food - I am trying to ascertain if it would be most effective or not necessary to dig up the weeds & then shoot where it was rooted with some roundup or vinegar.

Roundup kills plants by being sprayed on the leaves of the live plant, during growing season, and then being absorbed into the plant through the leaves and poisoning the plant.

Digging the weeds out first, and then spraying the ground, is not how it works.

Thanks for the insights.
What about the seeds that are left behind?

Would the Roundup kill those or not?

Roundup loses its potency when it contacts the soil. It, or vinegar, only does good when applied to foliage. Either wait until the seeds emerge then spray, or apply a pre-emergent that kills seeds as they germinate. The environmentally friendly way is to allow the seeds to germinate then apply vinegar (or hoe, hoe, hoe).

hortster

None of the "weed" poisons will kill the seeds of plants, so spraying any "weed" poison after removing those plants is a waste of your time, energy, and money. There are pre emergent products that might aid in suppressing plant growth from seeds if they are applied in a timely manner so they stop the seeds growth.

Kimmsr, I see you are into organic gardening. I have a field of weeds in my completely mulched backyard~had grass all dug up since I'm in TX and drought is a concern. What are pre-emergence products and are they organic? Is it something I could apply and then have the mulch professionally sprayed just as though it were grass?

Now the big question, do you know of any services that only use organic? I'm in TX so it would have to be a franchised company vs mom and pop store.TIA

Corn Gluten Meal is a pre emergent control but it must be applied before the "weeds" germinate. It is also a source of Nitrogen that can help the grass grow.
Vinegar can be sprayed onto already growing "weeds" but it only kills off top growth and not the roots and it will kill any other plant that gets sprayed so due care is necessary when that is used.
Many "weeds" grow best in soil conditions not conducive to good grass growth so getting a soil test and then correcting any problems that indicates, such as soil pH and nutrient levels, can help the grass grow in and crowd out the "weeds". The best "weed" control is a good thick turf which requires a good healthy soil.

You could also try weed suffocation or soil solarization to avoid using herbicides.

Here is a link that might be useful: A weed by any other name is still a weed

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Posted by kimmsr 4a/5b-MI (My Page) on Wed, Apr 9, 14 at 11:01

Vinegar can be sprayed onto already growing "weeds" but it only kills off top growth and not the roots and it will kill any other plant that gets sprayed so due care is necessary when that is used. .

I think this is where I was thinking about digging the weeds up & killing anything seeds & roots left over with Roundup or Vinegar.

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Posted by kimmsr 4a/5b-MI (My Page) on Wed, Apr 9, 14 at 11:01
Many "weeds" grow best in soil conditions not conducive to good grass growth so getting a soil test and then correcting any problems that indicates, such as soil pH and nutrient levels, can help the grass grow in and crowd out the "weeds". The best "weed" control is a good thick turf which requires a good healthy soil.

Yep got that covered: soil test, aeration & overseeding last fall. 1-2" of deep watering the lawn in non drought conditions. or more frequently if weather hotter & drier.

This post was edited by pbx2 on Thu, Apr 10, 14 at 23:39

Grandson and I pulled out all the landscape fabric that was put down by a landscaper to help keep weeds out.....right!! I thought they were growing in what is clay under the fabric, but seems they were really in the mulch. The combination of the heat of the mulch and the fabric must be why the weeds were in such abundance.

With the fabric gone, the weeds seem to be at a minimum as compared to before. I'm hoping I pulled the majority of the 'stringer type weed' out of the mulch as we were leveling/spreading it around. I'll watch/wait and hopefully can control w/o using a killer of any sort, fingers crosse!!

My Wife sprays weeds and grass with roundup and then pulls it all out a couple of days later ... how do I convince her she's waising money by not letting the the weeds and grass die fully first?

is there some science I can show her?

If she's going to the trouble of making manual effort, what is the point of spraying first?