HELP! First home and yard is infested with 'weeds'!

14 years ago

Hi everyone,

First I want to say that I am an almost complete noobie with respect to gardening. I grew up in Chicago and my only gardening experience was mowing the lawn, laying sod, transplanting landscaping, etc...

I am now an adult and we just purchased our first home in San Diego, CA. The backyard is pretty small around 500 sqft. Most of the yard is covered with one type of "weed."

I would like to remove the weeds and seed with grass. I have not decided what type of grass yet, I will ask in the lawn forum.

The weeds have pointy seed pods/burrs that are about 2-3mm in diameter. They are everywhere. The ground is almost completely covered in them.

I am attaching a few photos of them. I brought them into a local garden center and they gave me some advice but failed to identify the weed.

Basically they gave me Ortho Max Poison Ivy and Tough Brush. They said to mow the lawn as short as possible and then to spray this all over. Wait one week and then I can till and proceed with seeding.

I am willing to go with their advice but I am doubtful because they couldn't identify the weed. I am also concerned that the THOUSANDS of seed pods sprout if they are tilled.

Can you guys identify this weed and please give me some advice on how to proceed? I am open to almost anything. Please be kind and remember that I am new to this.

Thank you!

Mario

Image link:

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

UCLAJediKnight
Original Author
14 years ago
here is another picture. I can take more if needed. There is no shortage of the weeds.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1344472}}
UCLAJediKnight
Original Author
14 years ago
no one has any thoughts? please I am desperate. I don't start my new job for a few weeks and I have time to attack this now.
Related Professionals
Baltimore Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Charlotte Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Flint Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Elmira Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Abilene Landscape Contractors · Fort Worth Landscape Contractors · Anniston Landscape Contractors · Moline Landscape Contractors · Marinette Landscape Contractors · San Bernardino Landscape Contractors · Kennewick Landscape Contractors · Carbondale Architects & Building Designers · Sioux City Architects & Building Designers · Platteville Architects & Building Designers · Amherstburg Architects & Building Designers
MountainSnake
14 years ago
If you want to get a nice looking weed free lawn going, the ideal way would be to start it from scratch. That means killing everything, prepping the soil surface, and planting seed. In your case it sounds like this may be the best route to go, especially considering the size of your yard and the condition you said it is in. If you use the weed killer you got at the garden center you're already taking care of step one. That stuff will kill everything, not just the weeds. From there you just need to get rid of all of the dead material remaining, prep the soil, lay the seed down, cover, water, etc.

I don't know what that weed is, but if you decide to nuke the whole lawn it doesn't really matter. I say wipe everything out and start fresh. 500 sqft is a piece of cake.
Dzitmoidonc
14 years ago
Since you are in SD, do you really want to go the grass route? If you are open to it, maybe a small lawn area can be added to a larger cactus/succulent planted space? Just a suggestion. For help on this you might go to your local Extension agent (under USDA, Cooperative Extension Service)
http://cesandiego.ucdavis.edu/

Since they are local, I bet they have a name for your weed when you walk through the door.

Another source of inspiration might be the Cactus Forum on these boards. Some of the regulars there are also SD residents and could provide do's and don'ts and may even have a few plants to share.
budbackeast
14 years ago
By all means, poison the bejeebers out of everything. The stuff you bought is right for the job. I used to live in SD and we had those same weeds back then. Good news: after you put in a lawn, mowing will chop down any new weeds from seed, so they will not be able to reseed continually. You will win.

If you go to Google Images, and type in BURR, you will find out that your weeds are indeed BURRS. Plain old Burrs. Not hard to kill. Mow it down, rake it up, throw 'em away, poison the whole area, wait a few weeks and put in a new lawn.

Since you are starting fresh, you might want to consider adding an attractive organic garden for fresh veggies, fruit trees, or just attractive plants. HERE is what I did in my own yard, including how I built a new lawn with grass plugs and regular watering. My back yard orchard is almost pest free, weed free, fertilizer free, chemical free, and very low maintenance. I even got free mulch from the county! Hope you enjoy the video.

But do not despair. You control the destiny of your property. I can tell that you will do good things. Please be sure to include photos or video as your plans take shape.