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August 10, 2009
Weed Identification
The weed in my backyard has been uncontrollable. We already pulled it out twice but they keep coming back. Any idea what type of weeds these are and how to prevent them from coming back? Preferably we want to grow something in the backward in the near future.
Comments
The stuff in front looks like lambsquarter, which is actually delicious sauteed. Like spinach, but much more intense. Spinach plus.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 9, 2009 8:16 PM
welcome to the world of gardening...weeds always come back,and a garden is a constant source of work, but it is also a source of joy that you must constantly earn
Posted by: eman1234 at August 9, 2009 9:54 PM
Keep pulling. luckily, lambsquarter is a really easy weed to pull out -- it just is everywhere and grows fast, so it seems like you're not getting rid of it. Weeding is part of gardening. The good news is that the best way to keep weeds down is to have other things in their place, so as your garden develops and matures, it will be less work. Don't wait for the weeds to go away before you start planting.
When I was new at this (and that was three years ago, so I'm still new at this, just not as new), I read somewhere that a weed is just "the right plant in the wrong place". That's helped me keep weed hysteria under control. Good luck!
Posted by: saturdayrenogirl at August 9, 2009 11:25 PM
You need to do more than just pull out the weeds. You have to restrict air and sunlight and suppress new growth. A couple months in advance of Fall planting when I was ready to create our garden, a friend and I pulled out all the weeds in my backyard. Then we reconditioned the soil, adding compost, then covered the soil with several layers of newspaper. About 6-7 sheets of newspaper thick. Then we put mulch on top of the newspaper. You can also cover the yard in plastic and remove the plastic when you're ready to do your hard landscaping and planting. But newspaper is good because it decays and is good for the soil and worms like it.
Posted by: traditionalmod at August 10, 2009 10:34 AM
Totally agree with tradmod, except we covered areas where we wanted to create beds with black plastic (with a few holes for drainage) in late summer to kill the weed seeds and then amended the soil the following spring.
Posted by: tinarina at August 10, 2009 11:18 AM
"The weed in my backyard has been uncontrollable."
I think the same of my next door neighbor.
; )
Posted by: Prodigal_Son at August 10, 2009 2:57 PM
The stuff to the left of the Lambs Quarters is Mugwort - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_vulgaris - which is a perennial invasive you see everywhere.
If that were my backyard, I'd use Roundup (when the neighbors weren't looking, so I wouldn't have to go through a lengthy spiel about how it's exceptionally safe and breaks down very fast ). You should be able to start planting in the fall. Just make sure you don't get any on shrubs or trees you want, as it is a systemic herbicide that gets absorbed through the leaves and travels down to the roots.
Posted by: solidago at August 10, 2009 2:59 PM
No one even addressed the fact that the vast bulk of the what is pictured in the photograph appears to be a type of crabgrass. There's also a dandelion in there. The mugwort (I can't stand the stuff) is fairly young looking. This photo looks like you took it some time ago, no? Although, maybe with the rain and relatively cool weather, the weeds haven't progressed that much...but I doubt it. Please post a recent photo.
But from what I can see, the crabgrass looks fairly young...and I'm sure if left there, it has now gone to seed. Ugh.
Crabgrass is an annual grass. As with many of seeds, they can remain viable in the soil for years. In fact, digging can pull weed seeds closer to the surface where they are more liable to sprout. So, digging and redigging season after season can lead to new weed infestations even if no mature plants seem to set seed in the area.
I heartily agree with putting down paper and mulch for a while. Otherwise, pull everthing and be vigilant over the next years.
On thing you might avoid is digging too much. The best way to enrich the soil without causing weed reinfestations is to lay down a layer of compost (with luck weed seed free) each season and not deep dig it. Just layer a couple of inches on top of the existing soil and let it be. There are many soil critters that help pull the new material down into the lower soil.
Also, use a type of mulch that breaks down quickly. The problem with wood chips is that decaying wood lowers the nitrogen level in soil. Try dry tree leaves on top of compost and see how it goes. The leaf mold that develops can be a great source of nutrients and a good home for beneficial soil organisms.
Please don't use chemicals.
I've been pretty good at eradicating mugwort and lambsquarters by hand.
Posted by: BrooklynGreene at August 10, 2009 3:29 PM
What is that plant growing in the middle of the lambs quarters?
I've had trouble cultivating non-weed plants on my roof deck (except for the seed pods I've taken from the botantic gardens or other successful local growth), so I've taken to gathering up interesting looking weeds and putting a bunch of them in one pot or rearranging them to make them look more planned and aesthetically pleasing.
I think some of the stuff that blows over is from other people's cultivated plants. This year I had some nice bushy things with light purple berries. They don't need much water and made me feel mildly successfully in my horticultural efforts.
Thanks for the mugwort definition, solidago. I'd always wondered what it looked like since allergy testing revealed I am highly sensitive to it.
The thing between the mugwort and the lambs quarters looks like a relative of dandelion. The grassy stuff, some crab grass type plant?
P.S. Lambsquarters is not a good looking plant if you just let it grow, but it will get to almost 3 feet tall.
Posted by: bessie2 at August 10, 2009 3:36 PM
I dunno, it all looks pretty to me. It's green, and it's growing. Why not just let it be?
Posted by: BklynCynic at August 10, 2009 3:48 PM
It looks like the fuzzy thing in the lambsquarter may be a lunari going to seed. Yes, maybe the best strategy is to just let it all be...but frankly, a lot of the weeds are non-native so why not replace them with native varieties.
Bessie, if you want color and flowers try growing some native goldenrod (which is called "solidago"!), rudbeckia or native asters. Also relatively tough: native pear cactus, creeping phlox, both fairly low growing. All of these are perennial so plant them in containers that are on the larger side and see if you can bubble-wrap the outside of the containers in winter. There are also lots of sedums (both creeping and taller) that might do well on a roof.
Posted by: BrooklynGreene at August 10, 2009 6:04 PM
*rob*
Posted by: superstooper at August 10, 2009 6:35 PM
if any one not eating lambsquart let me know.
I eat it and it is full of antioxident
Posted by: sevethavenue at August 10, 2009 8:54 PM
How long should you cover the weeds for? Does this have to be done in the winter, or can you do it any time?
Posted by: mopar at August 11, 2009 10:50 PM
Greenshoots!
***Bid half off peak comps***
Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at August 12, 2009 11:19 PM
Hahahahahahahaha.
Posted by: mopar at August 13, 2009 11:01 PM
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