Multiple Weeds - identify/remove
jack_richards
Posts: 3
hi all,
first time posting and a complete amateur gardener so please be patient with me.
We moved into our first house (south west London/Surrey border) 14 months ago and both house/garden needed complete rennoavtion as was very unloved by previous owner.
Understandably the house had to come first but I did find a bit of time (when the sun was out) to get outside.
Basically, the garden was completely overgrown with various weeds of different sizes, shapes etc.
Now me being be I jumped head first straight in and started digging up the weeds. After a few days I’d managed to get rid of all weeds and it looked great.
The soil is very clay like and so I dug about 6 inches, added some compost and raked (relatively) smooth in the hope that would start to invigorate the soil.
Fast forward, the winter came and gone, my desire to get out there declined and now we are back seeing some sun, the garden has become almost worst than it was before I started. More weeds than ever.
I have attached some pics to help with my questions below.
My questions then are;
1. Are these weeds easily identifiable?
2. If so, could someone help me with how to get rid of them? I understand different store bought weed killers only work on certain weeds.
3. The next stage would be to level the lawn area to lay New lawn. The clay like soil makes this really tough work And so I’ve researched what to do to make it less so. Unfortunately the Internet has given multiple suggestions, many of which contradict each other. So what is the best way to improve the clay soil in preparation for a new lawn?
apprexiate that’s three questions so rather cheeky of me but any help would be so so appreciated as it’s a little daunting as well as a bit demoralising after already getting rid of them once l.
thanks to all,
Jack
first time posting and a complete amateur gardener so please be patient with me.
We moved into our first house (south west London/Surrey border) 14 months ago and both house/garden needed complete rennoavtion as was very unloved by previous owner.
Understandably the house had to come first but I did find a bit of time (when the sun was out) to get outside.
Basically, the garden was completely overgrown with various weeds of different sizes, shapes etc.
Now me being be I jumped head first straight in and started digging up the weeds. After a few days I’d managed to get rid of all weeds and it looked great.
The soil is very clay like and so I dug about 6 inches, added some compost and raked (relatively) smooth in the hope that would start to invigorate the soil.
Fast forward, the winter came and gone, my desire to get out there declined and now we are back seeing some sun, the garden has become almost worst than it was before I started. More weeds than ever.
I have attached some pics to help with my questions below.
My questions then are;
1. Are these weeds easily identifiable?
2. If so, could someone help me with how to get rid of them? I understand different store bought weed killers only work on certain weeds.
3. The next stage would be to level the lawn area to lay New lawn. The clay like soil makes this really tough work And so I’ve researched what to do to make it less so. Unfortunately the Internet has given multiple suggestions, many of which contradict each other. So what is the best way to improve the clay soil in preparation for a new lawn?
apprexiate that’s three questions so rather cheeky of me but any help would be so so appreciated as it’s a little daunting as well as a bit demoralising after already getting rid of them once l.
thanks to all,
Jack
0
Posts
I don’t really like weed killers but I would use it all over those weeds, when they’re dead, rake off the stones, dig it over a bit and get a lorry load of good top soil, Then turf it, grass will grow on anything, but it needs a good start, so some nice soil first, then it will put it roots down in your clay.
very helpful indeed.
i thought there’s be too many weeds to identify specifics. Is there any specific weed killer that would work best?
re: Lawn prep for turf. do I not need to worry about the fact the soil is so clay-like? do I need to prep it At all?
Thanks in advance,
Jack
I agree that weedkiller is the most effective way to go with that lot.
The best is a systemic weedkiller which you spray onto the foliage and it then works it’s way through the plant and kills the root.
Pick a still (no breeze) day when no rain is forecast for at least 8 hrs. Spray the leaves and leave. After a few days (sometimes a week or so) the weeds will start to look poorly as the weedkiller works it’s way down to the roots. When the weeds are dead you can remove the remaining foliage. You may need to treat some weeds more than once.
It’s important to give the weedkiller time to do it’s job. Keep children and pets away until the foliage is dry (2-3 hrs) and be careful not to accidentally spray wanted or neighbour’s plants. Do not allow the weedkiller to enter water courses via drains etc
A systemic weedkiller with glyphosate as the main active ingredient will do the job. Roundup is a widely available product but a good garden centre will advise.
For the area you have there I’d recommend buying concentrate and diluting it yourself (exactly as per the instructions) and also investing in a 5 litre sprayer which you mark clearly ‘WEEDKILLER’ and you use for nothing else.