Monday, January 30, 2012

How can I get rid of mind-your-own-business?

My garden is being taken over and I can't rake it out without disturbing my wild primroses. Is there such a thing as a selective weedkiller that won't harm the primroses or my oak tree.

How can I get rid of mind-your-own-business?
I am an antipoison person. I bought a house and also had an overgrown garden with things I wanted and didnt want. Answer...labor. I used a handshovel and dug up all the ground around. I left the plants I wanted but dug deep around them. After I got the soil loose, I mulched the whole area about 6 inches deep around the plants I wanted and 8 inches deep where the weeds had taken over. No need to buy expensive mulch...almost anything will do. Shredded leaves from the trees, old tree bark, rot from decomposing trees in the woods, pine needles, almost any of this will do if you have this stuff available. Shredded oak leaves make a beautiful mulch. For about $30 you can buy a leaf suckerupper than mulches and shreds at the same time. Weedkillers really arent all that selective. You may poison the ground and then find that new plants that you put in will die.
Reply:Use a product like Roundup, but don't spray it on. Pour some in a cup and dip the leaves or use a paintbrush on just the parts you want to get rid of. The leaves absorb the chemical and it kills the plant at the roots. Make sure it doesn't drip on what you want to keep.
Reply:I know my Dad used to use "Spectracide", found in nurseries, but I don't know about the harmful effects on the plants you mentioned. I would ask a nursery.

hayes

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