help! i have a serious weed situation

17 years ago

hi everyone,

i am one of those rare few that have a backyard in nyc, however it is an empty dirt yard (approx 20' x 25') with a small patio square (big enough for a table set) and large tree stump in it. i did not know the state of the yard before i moved in - it was covered in snow and i stupidly didn't think to ask.

anyway, i was away for a month for work and when i came back, because it's completely exposed dirt and open to abundant sunshine and rain, the weeds are SO BAD - over 8ft tall (i have images but they are too big to upload). can someone please tell me what is the cheapest and most efficient way to get rid of them or stop the growth? i was interested in actually making this a proper garden but at this point, i don't have the time, money, or resources to do it - in addition to the weeds, the soil has a lot of construction debris in it.

help!

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Comments (6)

taz6122
17 years ago
I've never had a picture too big to upload. You can change the size of them in PAINT using the Stretch/Skew option after clicking Image.
Kimmsr
17 years ago
If there is nothing growing there then these "weeds" you can cut them down, even with the soil, and cover that soil with newspaper, or cardboard, and cover that with some material that will hold it in place. That will help control this "weed" growth and help add organic matter to the soil so when you do put in the garden the soil will be better than it is now.
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soopi25
Original Author
17 years ago
kimmsr, thanks for your reply! i've already pulled everything, some were too tough to pull out the roots. but it's cleared now. i read something about first putting newspaper down, then mulch. what happens to the newspaper? does it naturally break down? i'm concerned about clean-up or flak from my landlord when i move out of this apt...
Kimmsr
17 years ago
The newspaper, or cardboard, will be digested by the soil bacteria but how long that does take depends on how healthy to soil is and how thick the paper is. In my garden 6 to 8 pages of a newspaper, covered with a mulch, will be digested in 6 months, but other people with soil that has a less active Soil Food Web find the same amount of paper takes over a year to be digested.
The major advantage of newspaper, or cardboard, is that it will keep any plant it covers from getting the light that plant needs to grow and therefore that plant will die, but organic matter to the soil.
soopi25
Original Author
17 years ago
thanks again, kimmsr! the soil is in really bad shape. there's so much debris and random detritus in there, i think i'd have to remove at least an inch and who knows what's underneath. is it worth it to even try? i don't plan on planting anything i just wanted to control the weed situation.
User
17 years ago
Having one of the few open areas it would be a shame to let it go to waste. Scatter at least a packet of flower seeds in the edge. Then set some potted plants on the stump. Something that will cascade. Of course these are mostly for next year. Although you can sprinkle the seeds now, see Winter Sowing group, and they will come up in the spring.