We just moved in to a old cottage that has been empty for a year the inside is now sorted but the garden is a complete and utter mess. Its over grown with stinging nettles and weeds what would be the easiest way to clear it. I've cut them down but I now need to get rid of the roots and creepers. I seem to remember an old uncle using a "flame thrower" to clear weeds would this be a good method?. Any help would be great.
New home garden completely full of weeds
- Thread starter Disco1
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Leave it the way it is. Nettles are a very important food plant for wildlife. Forget throwing flames about, it will cost a fortune and it won't get rid of nettles unless you use napalm.
Just finished a Garden like this, It involved lots of digging, sawing and axing, getting stung and lots of hands and knees stuff...Lots and lots of it. Good Luck.
How bad was the Garden i was in? I found the remnants of a concrete shed that had been dismantled and half buried in a corner that you couldn't even see into before i got started. 80% of the cuttings got put on a fire until a nice neighbour complained and the council turned up with a "Get that fire oot" warning.
The flames were higher than the house and smoke was pretty intense at times mind you.
..
oh well, saved 30 back and forth visits to the local waste disposal yard.
How bad was the Garden i was in? I found the remnants of a concrete shed that had been dismantled and half buried in a corner that you couldn't even see into before i got started. 80% of the cuttings got put on a fire until a nice neighbour complained and the council turned up with a "Get that fire oot" warning.
The flames were higher than the house and smoke was pretty intense at times mind you.
..oh well, saved 30 back and forth visits to the local waste disposal yard.
If you want to clear it you have 2 options. One is to hack off the tops and then dig out every root down to at least a foot deep. The other is to use a systemic weedkiller like glyphosate. Just burning off the tops won't get rid of perennial weeds like nettles. I don't generally like to use too many weedkillers and pesticides but occasionally I figure they are justified. On a similar patch I cut back the tops in the autumn then used glyphosate once in the spring when things start to grow and are most vulnerable to the glyphosate. That took out a lot of the weeds and then I hoed and dug out by hand anything that came back. Over a couple of years it got rid of most of the problem weeds.
Bob Flowerdew swears that if you cover the soil for at least a year with thick layers of cardboard or old carpet that it will kill most weeds. I've never tried it.
Bob Flowerdew swears that if you cover the soil for at least a year with thick layers of cardboard or old carpet that it will kill most weeds. I've never tried it.
The big thing is to decide what you want to do with the garden. If you eliminate the weeds but leave bare ground, the weeds will come straight back. You could, for example, weedkiller the lot (horrible stuff but, as cranmere says, sometimes justified), then motivate and take / roll it all and grass seed the lot. This will at least cover the ground. You can cut flower beds in later. If the plan is for large areas of decking or parking or veg clearly grassing it is pointless.
we use Grazon 90 or grazon pro round the farm for nettles, docks, and thistles. Great stuff, just kills the weeds and leaves the grass.....it comes in 1 ltr bottles but you wont need much of it for a garden,
We use Transfer for killing broadleafs in pasture/ lawns. It's good stuff if that's what's needed. Especially good on creeping buttercup.
I was about to ask about buttercups, and is the stuff toxic to things like newts ? 'cos my garden is swarming with them, but it's also more buttercup and moss than lawn 
M
M
Mine was the same when we moved in.
It took a whole lot of digging and pulling roots by hand. We went over it several times with spade and fork. Best thing is to con a load of mate/family into helping with promise of food and beer.
My neglected veg patch and problem with creeping buttercup will keep me checking this thread though..
It took a whole lot of digging and pulling roots by hand. We went over it several times with spade and fork. Best thing is to con a load of mate/family into helping with promise of food and beer.
My neglected veg patch and problem with creeping buttercup will keep me checking this thread though..
The stuff is pretty toxic mary, just the smell can give me a head ache.....i doubt it will do a newt much good
But not too bad if you are only spot spraying and it does dry off pretty quick on a hot day, which is when it works best
But not too bad if you are only spot spraying and it does dry off pretty quick on a hot day, which is when it works best
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Great fun to use
[video=youtube;Br1ZPJ8oQxY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br1ZPJ8oQxY[/video]
I've used one but never owned one...I need one although I've no weeds really
[video=youtube;Br1ZPJ8oQxY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br1ZPJ8oQxY[/video]
I've used one but never owned one...I need one although I've no weeds really
I was about to ask about buttercups, and is the stuff toxic to things like newts ? 'cos my garden is swarming with them, but it's also more buttercup and moss than lawn
M
It's fine around mammals, birds and insects, but is flagged as a hazardous substance to aquatic life
This document gives more detail
www.voluntaryinitiative.org.uk/importedmedia/eis/transfer.pdf
Red
My 'eco' weedkiller is a mix of salt and/or vinegar with water and some laundry detergent (due to having a septic tank we only have Eco stuff) which helps the mix stick to the plant. Seems to work well and pretty cheap, I think the budget salt is 25p a bag.
I used a bag of winter de-icing salt on one part of the drive, just scattered it, no weeds 2 years later
I used a bag of winter de-icing salt on one part of the drive, just scattered it, no weeds 2 years later
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When we were younger, a lot younger, we made a tennis court using road salt, the outline was still there a year later...My 'eco' weedkiller is a mix of salt and/or vinegar with water and some laundry detergent (due to having a septic tank we only have Eco stuff) which helps the mix stick to the plant. Seems to work well and pretty cheap, I think the budget salt is 25p a bag.
I used a bag of winter de-icing salt on one part of the drive, just scattered it, no weeds 2 years later
+1 for Grazeon and Glysophate if it's really bad.
With Grazeon you just spray the weeds you want to kill. Roundup or Glysophate is more akin to carpet bombing and letting God sort them out.
Hiring a rotorvator might also be your friend. Turn over the ground and reseed it or returf it as you choose.
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With Grazeon you just spray the weeds you want to kill. Roundup or Glysophate is more akin to carpet bombing and letting God sort them out.
Hiring a rotorvator might also be your friend. Turn over the ground and reseed it or returf it as you choose.
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Some of the gardening enthusiasm here in BCUK has rubbed off on me. It has gone well for such a clutz/amateur.
I decided that I would use glyphosate for the first time in 10 years to give myself a fair chance for a start.
I believe the garden soil is 30% weed seeds, so tending the patch takes a little time. I can live with that.
Thanks everyone.
I decided that I would use glyphosate for the first time in 10 years to give myself a fair chance for a start.
I believe the garden soil is 30% weed seeds, so tending the patch takes a little time. I can live with that.
Thanks everyone.
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