Gardening Advice
 

I know someone can help me on this one...........

What is the best (and cheapest) thing to use to get rid of weeds, I have horsetail??? out the front of my house along with numerous other weeds which I want to get rid of but not sure on whats best to use. Also my boys play out front so whatever i use needs to be child friendly

Any suggestions??

Re: Gardening Advice
 

petrol :D

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Petrol isn't cheap, buy a goat.
:)

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borrow one of neil..... and petrol is cheap....if you syphon it from someones car :D

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the cheapest way is to dig the buggers out, get off yer ass n start digging.:D;)

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You come and dig for me!!!! lol ive got these 2 to look after, and how can i dig them out when there growing down the side of my path?? lol

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just pull em out by side of path i do.:)

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Borrow Neils goat from Rhyddings Park, I'm sure he'll let you have it at a reasonable rate:D

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tarmac?

Concrete

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i had weeds growing out of the front of my house, i removed them and put thick bleach down, that was weeks ago and they havent come back

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Someone I know, who is a gardner, put some washing up liquid on them (not straight .mixed with water)... was told illegal actually. Emzy not sure if was actually acting as a weed killer/insecticide or fertiliser for the bush... LOL. Could just try a bit I suppose.

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Gonna struggle if it acts as a fertiliser ( i know that washing up liquid diluted in spray bottle gets rid of greenfly )

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Oh OK .. could have been for that then ...:rolleyes: Haven't seen any greenfly though. Somebody will know .. can't understand why illegal either .. :confused:

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Washing up liquid kills the greenfly and blackfly. They use it on roses.

Best way to do it is dig it out. Its the only safe way because the kids are playing out on it. If you do put weed killer on it dont let the kids play on it for a couple of days. And dont put it on when rain is forecast - because the rain washes it away.

Dont use a spade - its easier using a fork!!!

There speaks the voice of experience - i had to dig out the front and found it was easier using a fork than the spade.

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Another as well make sure you get all the roots out otherwise they will grow again.

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I dont own a fork, only a spade :(

And some of these are down the sides of my path and steps and i cannot dig them out :confused:

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Bleach and water, in the sun, get all the leaves and everything, be ok for kids after a couple of hours, a lot of weedkillers have sodium chlorate in them (i think it is) which is bleach, used to be able to get good weedkillers, but the health and safety brigade got them all banned!

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I use Pathclear for the weeds that come up between flags etc. You dilute it per the instructions and spray or sprinkle it on. The weeds turn brown in 3 or 4 days and it gets to the roots too. You only need to keep the children away until it dries, about 10 minutes, that's unless they are in the habit of eating weeds (in which case you wouldn't need to use weedkiller, would you? :))

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the best way i have found to clear weeds enviromentaly friendly ,is to pour a kettle of boiling water on them it kills down to the roots

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Is it that simple?

Can keep the kids away from them if treated for a few hours but thats it really, its the front path and im always in and out all day so its difficult. That and they have a habit of picking weeds, grass everything and bringing them to me saying "flower"

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So that's environmentally friendly is it?

How many times do you boil the kettle and who pays for the power used?
:rolleyes:

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i watched this morning (last week i think , not sure)
but they say the best way to get rid of weeds is by smothering them with flowers

does it work??

i wouldnt know i havent tried it yet, but surely they have

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My fella says, get down to Adsa, they sell child and pet friendly weedkiller.

Or...when i had this problem i used a mall sharp knife from the kitchen and dug them out using that. Great fro inbetween cracks etc.

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Tried that!...they grew back:rolleyes:...lol......best way is to just pull the gits out.....weeds will always grow back eventually:rolleyes:

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Get yourself a Moose ... if there isn't one close, try a flame thrower. Or just remember that "weed" is functional, not ontological:rolleyes:

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How is it functional???

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Gets you to dig them out so that you turn over the soil and therefor you can then plant other plants (or veg if you want) but Horsetail (I know it as Merestails) is a swine to get rid of. The more of the roots you get out the less that re-grows next year..................

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look for a good weed killer that's pet and family friendly,
i think wilkinson's sell one?

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if they are dandelions get a rabbit..:D

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did you get rid of the horse tail emsy?
Bonny x

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Nope, tried weed killer but they came back so have just resorted to cutting them down , i know its not a cure but all i can do, they are growing up between the path and bricks so will struggle getting the root out, they just break at the base when i pull them

:(

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They are the hardest weed to get rid of in this country. Apart from using the strongest weed killers the only thing you can do is to keep pulling them up as soon as you can. They have two ways of spreading. Each of the weeds, you will have noticed, is comprised of little bits of stem that slot into each other, each of these can start a new plant!! so it is really important that you dont let any of the bits fall into new crevices or anywhere when you pull them out. Get hold of them at the very base and give a gentle tug or rip, depending on how many you are pulling at once, it is better to do them individually. As soon as new shoots show, pull them again. This weakens the plan, you must make sure that you get it as soon as it shows. Under the ground there are more growing tips, formed on the roots but you wont be able to get hold of these. The pulling method weakens the plant and in the end it will give up. It will take about four years of constant pulling to get rid of them. Once you start pulling them you will notice that some of the new shoots have a very dark brown tip, it is VERY important to dispose of these properly because these tips have MEGGA amounts of 'babies'.
So in short, keep pulling them out, dont drop any bits, do it as soon as they show, and make sure you get rid of all the bits, even the smallest bit of the plant can make a new one.
Good luck!
Bonny x

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Oh heck, have my work cut out with this one, stupid weeds, dont like gardening anyway but this just adds to my problem (plus they are next door aswell and they dont seem bothered about theres so i will never get rid of them i dont think)

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Em, try once more with weedkillers that says it kills right down to the root. Before you do it, bruise the weeds by gently crushing them, i.e. treading on the, but not breaking them to bits. This way the protective coating that the weed has (some form of silica) is broken down a bit and the weedkiller can be absorbed by the plant. Give them a good dose of weedkiller. Do it at night after the children have gone to bed and they should be safe to touch by moring, but dont let your children pull them, they will spread the and you definately wont be able to get rid of them then!!!
As it is, if they are growing next door even stronger than they are growing in your steps and path, the roots underground will keep on pushing up, no matter what you do on your side of the fence!
Round here in Helmshore, the horse tail grows through the tarmac pavements!!!!
I have it in one of my back borders, Ive only been here just over a year, and I am in the process of getting rid of it there, but i can plant things there that are stronger than the horse tail and eventually it will give up trying to compete.
Its a horrible weed!!
Bonny x

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Thanks for your help, I have another weedkiller (which i bought for the back but they are just "normal" weeds) which I will put down out front when the rain decides to give up for a bit. Hopefully will get there eventually