HD sells 6mil black poly in rolls. Cover the area and weight the poly down for 1 year and the weeds will almost be completely gone. Nice mulch or compost will finish the job next spring.

Right, solarizing.

Don't think I can wait a year for these particular places...all interspersed with non-weed plants and would be very difficult to use plastic.. Truthfully, I think I need to just weed but am feeling sorry for myself. Thanks for reminding me, though. It is an option elsewhere.

Yes, Claire....reframe the problem. I have to!

How to "reframe" the mosquito problem. Probably the same way : stay outside a little bit at a time.!

Finally got username changed, but needed houzz's help.

Thanks,

Marie

Name change? Haven't you had Marie Tulin since the change to Houzz?

My sympathies on the weeds, particularly feverfew. I battle it on an ongoing basis. Sometimes I wonder how long the seed can remain viable in the soil.

Can you take a file to the scuffle hoe and sharpen the blade to allow it to go through the weeds? Otherwise, I have found that when doing tedious chores in the garden, audio books help, and a fan may help with the mosquitoes while you weed. I'd also recommend that you mulch patches as soon as you clear them to prevent a return.

The idea of fan outdoors is novel. I have to try it. The mosquitoes this season are voracious.

I only got as far as mrtulin, which houzz concocted. Funny that, I did not like my name looking like a "Mr."

I try to keep the hoe sharpened, but my soil is rocky, so it is always hitting rocks. Then I use the hoe to circle the rock and flick it away further downhill so I can do it again. Dribbling rocks.

But I will really put an edge on it and give it another try. I'm going to roam the neighborhood tomorrow to find bags of newspapers because, yes, I must mulch right after weeding. If a wee bit of preen snuck into my possession it might just fall on the newly mulched weedless area.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Marie

I thought a gardener's prayer must be a thing, so I googled it. I found this funny one from 1931 (some things never change):

O Lord, grant that in some way
it may rain every day,
Say from about midnight until three o'clock
in the morning,
But, You see, it must be gentle and warm
so that it can soak in;
Grant that at the same time it would not rain on
campion, alyssum, helianthus, lavender, and others which
You in Your infinite wisdom know
are drought-loving plants-
I will write their names on a bit of paper
if you like-
And grant that the sun may shine
the whole day long,
But not everywhere (not, for instance, on the
gentian, plantain lily, and rhododendron)
and not too much;
That there may be plenty of dew and little wind,
enough worms, no lice and snails, or mildew,
and that once a week thin liquid manure and guano
may fall from heaven.
Amen.

-Karel Capek

Oh! And do you know he is a garden writer of great charm? HIs books are lovely; read them.

Thank you

Hang in there, Marie! Sometimes weeding can be very rewarding when you're pulling out huge weeds and an area cleans up lickity-split.......but that tedious weeding of smaller weeds/large area is terrible, I agree. I try to weed around the perennials/shrubs first, then that leaves me with patches in between that I tackle next, like Claire said, breaking it up into smaller jobs. I "deal" with each perennial as it's own little chore.....then the next and next........good luck!

I like to think how relieved each perennial "feels" as I untangle and clear away the weeds trying to take over its space. Some may laugh, but it works for me....

I agree with Claire. Break it into small pieces, otherwise it feels overwhelming. I promise myself that I will only spend 15 minutes, which is so very manageable. I set a timer for 15 minutes, surprise myself at how much I can get done in so little time, and often discover that I can squeeze in another 10.....

Marie, I am feeling your pain. Ditto here and one is a big problem I'll talk about later.

Claire and others have good ideas. As for the FAN, I'll say this: one year the black flies were so wild we went out and bought a big fan. I mean very big. A huge orange fan on wheels, that tilted, had a few speed settings and a grounded plug. Photo. You want to be sure if you use an electric fan outdoors that you have it plugged into a working GFCI. It worked pretty well, actually. Also cooled me off on days when it was hot or muggy.

I also bought a Bug Baffler top (screened in jacket and head cover) and sometimes I could only garden with that on. Visibility wasn't great. Mosquitoes would probably sting through it, but black flies stayed out.

For tough big weeds I have one of those shovels with a long, narrow blade -- poacher's shovel or drain shovel. You don't need stainless steel or to spend a lot of money. A fiberglass, long handled (and sharp) garden spade is always good. I like the red handle so that it shows up when I leave it someplace in a mash of greenery.

I have some short-handled hand mattocks too. My favorite type is the one with a point on one side and a curved 2.5" or so blade on the other. You don't want the handle too long (full sized) or too short. You want to be able to get a good swing going so plunge it down next to the roots. As your soil is very rocky, wear safety glasses. There are some that don't fog and there is supposedly spray to prevent fogging.

Sometimes I have a wireless earphone set. Nowadays I can only seem to find units for huge heads so they flop and fall off. I'll probably take some small bungie cords ("canopy ties") and fashion something to hold them on with. Usually I prefer no sound but the birds and leaves moving.

Some while back I got this type of hoe (maybe the collinear one?) at some garden catalog company with fancy prices. The how has a blade that is "short" in depth (1.5 to 2 inches), about 8" wide and sharp. IDEALLY <g> you use this rake to keep trimming off the weedy grass and pesky weeds when they are just seedlings. Works best if you do it when the soil is dry-ish and you do it about once a week (depending). This hoe is lightweight and navigates easily around plants and under them. A lot of my plantings are not in any rectilinear arrangement, but here and there. I have gravel with loam on top and a few places I've amended the soil over 20 years with various compost, manure, leaves, and so on. The loam was just dug pond excavation material, so not the best and with lots of rocks. I hear you about the rocks. To put things like garden stakes in our soil, we have to go around many good sized stones.

Sometimes you can beg wood chips or mulch from crews doing trimming on your road (say for power lines). In the fall we "vacuum" our leaves -- mow and mulch and bag them. Then we empty the filled bags into a chopped dry leaves pile. It works well for mulch if it has sat for a season (doesn't blow away as readily).

Now, the best part. Ahead of time prepare your favorite iced tea or cool drink. You definitely must have a hammock or comfortable chair in the shade with a breeze. Treat yourself to frequent breaks. Those rope hammocks are great for letting the air flow through, letting garden sand drop through and comfort. I have mine hooked up in a shady area where the birds are busy and I have a bit of clothesline tied to one of the nearby big rhodies. A pull or two on the rope, and I swing and cool off. You definitely must arrange for some comfort breaks!

You can do it.

Oh, and I think that I am going to start putting newspaper down with mulch over it in the irregular areas.

Image of fan type

or see link:

https://www.google.com/search?q=large+orange+industrial+fan&biw=1067&bih=441&tbm=isch&imgil=V2Lp5rg6kPSXSM%253A%253BMhxTclQGGKIsyM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.homedepot.com%25252Fp%25252FMaxxAir-Pro-24-in-Industrial-Heavy-Duty-2-Speed-Multi-Purpose-PRO-Tilt-Drum-Fan-BF24TFORGPRO%25252F204631701&source=iu&pf=m&fir=V2Lp5rg6kPSXSM%253A%252CMhxTclQGGKIsyM%252C_&usg=__1yw0m0JDRYbqykFNB6wxIuiRVgg%3D&ved=0CEMQyjc&ei=SpqBVZ2aG4SSsAWhjqXgAg#usg=__1yw0m0JDRYbqykFNB6wxIuiRVgg%3D

today I'm working on the dill forest. It's about 12 inches high. I cut what I wanted to dry and I'm pulling the rest for the compost bin. I think it helps to wear the inexpensive gloves coated with a rough rubbery stuff. I buy mine at the farm and food store. It helps me get a better grip on weeds. Also I prefer a hand weeder with a good blade. Just lost one so I've replaced with a $9 one from a garden nursery. The blade isn't sharp and it's offset but it works. So many of the weeds have runners. Good luck. I think I nice treat in a shady area of the yard should be your reward.

We just came home from 2 weeks of vacation. I had planted veggie seedlings in our raised bed we built so they wouldn't die do to non watering(we set up a soaker hose system in the raised bed). Ugh! Now along with the seedlings are also weeds by the thousands. I feel your pain Marie. I looked at it when we came home on Sunday and felt overwhelmed. Where do I even begin to start. But, I did what Claire suggested. I'm weeding in batches. It is almost 2/3rds done. I regulate my veggie garden weeding to the mornings. Then I go and do other garden chores so that I am not constantly weeding. The wisteria needed trimming and training up the trellis. The walkway garden needed mulching.Car needed washing, etc. Anything to break up the weeding time. So far so good. I should be done by tomorrow. Yay! Just wanted to let you know you are not alone. lol I'm in the same boat. Nancy

Alright people. I can hear you cheering here in Lexington. "Dill Forest" I have a small one, that's the least of my worries. At least the butterflies can use them. Weeded the small raised bed of Tomatoes and used newspaper to mulch. Cleared out an area that alaready has asclepias-es or asclepia-i and transplanted other pollinators.from the perennial bed. Redesigning that and pulling stuff out so the workers can get around later. Cut back the huge rhubarb so I wouldn't trip and break something.

Looking at my poison ivy and feeling annoyed that I got it. Despite washing with tecnu it rashed up and is so itchy.

I think I will douse myself in deet-spray and go weed for 10 minutes.

Marie

So here's a question

As I said I'm re-doing my 20 year old perennial bed. It probably won't be touched until mid August. Could I put down the weeds I pull, cover wth newspaper, wet and wait? Will it add anything to the fertility of the soil or is two months not enough (or does it also depend on the size and toughness of weeds i.e. rhubarb)

Sounds like you've gotten a bunch done!

Rhubarb leaves will pretty well rot in 3 weeks in my garden, so as long as the weeds don't dry out, I imagine they all will rot. Just let the roots dry first so they don't reroot.

Do you cover the newspaper with something like mulch? If not why doesn't it blow away?

Don't have any organic mulch right now. threw some small logs and rocks on the papers. I'll start collecting bags of pine needles from the town composting center very soon and use everywhere for mulch. I also saw a landscaping company that has leaf mulch. But why pay when I'll have truckloads for no work and no money?

Our mulcher died and we just received our new one. We'll set it up this weekend and grind a yard or two of leaves, which i'll also put down.

I can also get bags of oak leaves from the "dump" as I like to call it.

Did not get outside. Took a little nap and woke up refreshed enough to bake a cake with the somewhat local strawberries I found.

What kind of mulcher do you use? My Flowtron electric thing died after just two seasons...and my electric vacuum shredder died after one season..... I am so tired of buying shoddy c**p!

the sun jo shredder is in the box waiting to be assembled. It got marginally better reviews than flowtron which lasted us,(it was used) 2 seasons.

Sun Jo has a bigger motor;maybe it can handle the load better.

mt

Yesterday my daughter and I worked on the vegetable garden with raised beds. Big easy weeds. Got 85 % covered in cardboard or heavy paper. Need to get some sort of mulch on top so it doesn't look so funky.

Today was harder: humidity and millions of short seedilings that are hard to pull up.

Question: Can the pulled weeds stay on the soil as long as they are covered heavily in mulch? I figured they'd add to the organic matter as they rot.

Would 3-4 inches of chopped leaves be adequate to keep them from re-rooting or keep seeds from sprouting/?

I think short seedlings are ok to leave but depends on what kind. I have quack or witch grass that puts out long white roots. I don't trust grass seedlings. But with short seedlings, that's when the hand weeding tool comes in handy since you pull it through the dirt maybe 1/2 inch or less down to scrape the seedlings up. I just leave them. Covered with heavy paper and mulch should be fine. "Weeding" seedlings this way doesn't take long at all. Sometimes I swirl the tool around to snag larger seedlings that have been uprooted and then remove those. Really depends on size of seedlings and type. I also have a spreading weed with pretty scalloped leaves and purple flowers. A scrap of that will grow again so I try to get it all out.

Got the Sunday times all ready to recycle! Tomorrow is recycle day and I scout the neighborhood for newspapers.

What defrost said. I also find annual and perennial grasses tend to reroot if they were of any size to start with and need to be completely dry before going to the compost or covered in mulch.

Unfortunately I just covered a slew of pulled weeds with beautiful brown leaf mulch. It was only a couple of square yards so I'll dig down and shake them off. I don't know why I mulched fresh pulled weeds. I know better. I'm been moving plants out of the garden in preparation for the redesign so there are more bare spots. And as I've said a few times, I've lost interest in it and just let it go to seed, literally.

My new mulcher is a "Sun Joe" and is comparable to the Flowtron. They are both small machines and not remotely like a mulching mower or a chipper. All I want are chopped leaves and these machines are like open lidded food processors.