Oh dear, tantefrancine, that just makes me want to resolve my project by moving to Manhattan! 🤣🤣 You are really schooled on all this, so I certainly considered myself warned!! Do you think that could be the case though here in California drought conditions? Ah yes, I've read about newspaper. Alas we no longer get the paper but I'm sure some folks must and would be happy to have me make use of it. Also, I have noticed that, after I initially kill off the weeds by placing cardboard on top of them for several mos, when I rake there is a reasonably deep ditch there that is deeper than the grass used to be, so maybe I'm killing the roots than too?? Thank you for your info and yikes, I hope you're making headway with the yard!!

Lol- love the story about your name- and we have a town of Barstow here in California:) (I was thinking that was where Snoopy's cousin, Spike, is from but I think that's Needles).😆

Well...I think I'll put together all the input from everyone and then know that no solution will be perfect. Doesn't have to be though- it's gotta be better than what we've got out there NOW!! Thank you so much for your thoughts- I really appreciate it.

tantefrancine said:

BUT, BUT I have Tante's ashes here sitting next to the old sewing machine

OH WAIT, her name was Gloria, never mind.

SEinCali said:Hi stone- it certainly is a LOT of work to be putting the fabric down! As a 54 yr old woman though, I'm using it as a way to get a workout on the lower bod 😁.

I initially have killed off the weeds by covering them in cardboard for like 3 mos and am now in process of putting down the w.b. fabric with the tanbark on top... thanks about the carpet idea! That should certainly work too! Re the eco-friendly herbicides, I just Googled that and a bunch of stuff came up. Now I'll look into the basic science of it and read reviews in the case of store-bought products. Thanks!!

Actually.... I wasn't talking about the work of putting the fabric down, but rather... the work of trying to remove briars and nut-sedge after they have grown up through the fabric... Usually necessary to pull up the fabric...

With all the lawyer ads on tv about Cancer and Parkinson's due to exposure to these products... shouldn't be difficult to recognize that avoiding them... pretty good idea...

I know a neighborhood of 6 or 8 acre lots where some homeowners have turned the place into super-fund sites... Shocking and disturbing!

A local museum has begun the process of creating natural areas... and is having the discussion about re-educating the eyes of the average city dweller...

very sad that people see a gorgeous natural area and think it looks unkempt or something equally undesirable... shocking...