| Hank, Two options are to hoe it out or my personal favorite, cover with newspaper and mulch. Wet the weeds and soil first, and then cover the entire soil surface with newspaper about 4 sheets thick. Overlap the edges a little and place the paper right up against the stems of your flowers and shrubs to completely shade the surface. If weeds are too tall to lay the papers, use a mower or weedeater first and then apply the newspaper. Wet the papers as you lay sections to keep them from blowing away. Next, cover the newspaper with leaves or another aesthetically appealing mulch. Then wait! No plant can live without light. Pull any weeds that peek out of a hole in the paper. In a few months the paper will be decomposed. If you haven't totally won the war and you like the way it is working, I'd repeat the paper mulching process next spring. There are also grass only weed killers but I find them unnecessary and the paper trick to be fast and easy...and lasts for several months or until crabgrass season is over! Thanks for the question. Please stop in again soon! |
