Best way to eliminate weeds in the flowers beds
 

I continue to have to pull weeds from our flower beds , and constantly have to go back and start all over again. I have the landscape fabric, I’ve used Preen, and used most types of weed killers. Nothing seems to work efficiently. Anyone have a better solution?

I share your problem. The weeds are friggin relentless. We don’t want to apply carcinogenic poison and nothing else seems to work? Will be following this thread with focused interest.

Vinegar!

"Mulching is generally used to save water, suppress weeds and improve the soil around plants but it also gives your garden a neat, tidy appearance and can reduce the amount of time spent on tasks such as watering and weeding. Mulch is a layer of material, at least 5cm (2in) thick, applied to the soil surface in late autumn to late winter (Nov-Feb)."

RoundUp

It is a constant battle. It’s the weed seeds that are giving you problems, they blow in from all over and land wherever. Landscape fabrics won’t prevent these invaders. Keep using your weed killer. Walk your property and spray at least every 7 days. Keep the weeds from flowering. Once they flower, they spread their seeds. I hate using chemical as well, but it’s better than pulling the weeds. You might leave some part of the plant behind, where it simply grows from the fragment.

Persistence is key. You live in a climate with an extended growing season. Yard work is never completed, only abandoned.

Constant battle, but as earlier post stated, I use vinegar solution.
1gal vinegar
1cup iodized salt or 2 cups epson salt
1/4 cup dawn dishsoap
Spray as needed.

When a weed is pulled out, pieces of the root break off. Those will all grow into more weeds. Multiplying the problem.
The solution is to spray with round-up first. It kills the entire weed. Then pull it out a few days later.
Round-up is rendered inert with sunlight exposure. It will not kill anything a day later if exposed to sunshine. Other things like salt, vinegar, etc, remain in the soil and can harm flowers and shrubs when irrigation or rain starts to spread it out, and drive it downwards.
Round-up is a toxic chemical, and no chemicals should be sprayed on your body or ingested. Spray on a calm day.

This is my process as well. Also, we just replaced our edging (thin metal) with a block wall and a compacted gravel edge in front. My hope is that it will slow (not stop) intrusion of the zoysia grass from the lawn. If nothing else, it will make it easier to spray and not have the Roundup hit the grass in the yard I don't want killed.

I use rocks not mulch. Weeds more easily grow in mulch, as it is organic.

Roundup is toxic and bad for the environment, humans and pets. The vinegar spray is fine, but the guy form Massey suggested a weed torch. No bending, works great. Available at Lowe's ($50) or on Amazon ($25). Guess where I bought mine..Weed Torch on Amazon
You will also need a $5 can of propane which is cheaper locally due to the cost of shipping hazardous materials.

Same problem ! Read a hint in a gardening book to put down THICK layers of newspaper on the ground BEFORE spreading and fitting the landscape fabric, but all I can say is it did seem to extend the time a bit before the inevitable weeds surfaced ! I suspect the law suits resulting from the various chemical that have caused so many medical conditions in humans, have caused a huge change in the strength and the chemical makeup of what we purchase for "weed control".

I have one of these. I use it to burn up what's left after the Roundup kills them. Rocks vs mulch means I'm not catching mulch on fire.

My only concern with this is your burning the foliage and not destroying
the roots which means those weeds can grow back. :shrug:

Maybe a torch if you have stone. But I don't think that's a good idea with the pine straw. Roundup works but as noted, it's toxic. Apart from that, it gets into the soil and will damage your shrubs too.

Rocks have edges, around which weeds grow. Mulch provides total ground cover and cuts out the light. Either way, whatever works for you.

Landscape fabric? How old? If years old the dust has collected into nice layer of dirt above fabric which allows weeds thrive in. Key to stopping weeds get them while they’re young before the produce seedings.

To really stop weeds you have to eliminate the dirt above fabric that required removing rock/mulch pulling up old mat treating and leveling the ground. Lay down new mat (landscape fabric the thicker the better) sifting all dirt out of rocks, lay down clean layer over the mat. Good to go for few years till dust puts down another layer of dirt.

How do I know this I’ve pulled up about 1/3 of my rock landscape due to 30 plus Holly bushes removed, cleaned leveled dirt, sniffed rocks removing dirt and layer down clean rocks. I have no weeds in those areas. Where the other 2/3s fighting weeds every month. I either pull or roundup them while they are young/just popped up.

Another thing if you house resale and previously owners planted shrubs and the died you have holes in fabric where weeds really thrive.

Preen pre-emergent doesn't work. Use Prodiamine or Barricade pre-emergent.

Tried that. Didn't work on mine.

No to herbicides. I’m raising a Monarch caterpillar in my lanai right now and if all goes well it will emerge to become a beautiful butterfly. To suppress weeds in a rock bed, I added pine straw( Ace)and a peat moss blend.(Lowe’s) Planted some lantana to spread over rocks also to block weed formation. I’m experimenting with coffee grounds on my rock beds that have no added mulch to see what happens. I don’t mind hand pulling weeds sometimes because it calms me down!

Like several other things I can think of, pulling by hand is still the best method.:shrug:

:22yikes:Best weed killer I've used is agricultural vinegar minimum 45% acetic acid - organic and harmless to the environment
Amazon.com

Household vinegar is not strong enough (5% - 7% acetic acid). Needless to say, follow the mixing directions. The stronger you mix the solution, the more effective it will be. The mixture in post #7 uses dawn detergent as a surfactant which allows the liquid to adhere to the plant - works well!

I also use the weed torch in post #5, which works well for me. Be cautious with the ag vinegar - it will burn mucous membrane :eek: (wear gloves and eyewear). The "cocktail" that I mix is about identical to the one posted in #7. I spray when it's dry and hot outside; you'll see results within hours! The torch I use periodically, as needed, between the vinegar dousings

:wave:
FredF

Pets shouldn’t be IN the flower beds and if roundup is used properly it won’t affect people.

Weeding is an exercise for me. I've heard from a yoga instructor that we should put our head below the heart for 10 minutes a day for brain health. Consider bending over to get those weeds your brain health regimen!

napalm

Pull the big ones, spray weed killer on all and throw down a good dose of PREEN. I do it every month. Works

Get rid of the weeds
 

my daughter bought us a miniature flamethrower that uses a small container of propane. This worked wonderfully well for us.. I think ours came from Amazon. Good luck with your problems.

Funny. On a serious note, I pull the weeds as much as I can but another said once they bear seeds pulling them shakes loose the seeds which then take root. Unfortunately those damn things are too fragile any earlier and simply break off at the surface and leave the root intact. Tis a conundrum.

Ditto!

Roundup is absorbed through the leaves of what you spray it on. It dries quickly and will not hurt anything else even if absorbed into the ground.

One exception. There is a type of roundup that in addition to killing the weed will prevent more weeds from sprouting for a year. This type can damage root systems if used a lot in one area.

I like you have tried all types of weed killers, including regular vinegar. I finally found something that works on YouTube. It is vinegar but you need to make sure it’s at least 30% and not regular vinegar. It works wonders weed is usually dead the next day once a week, you go through your flowerbeds with a spray bottle of the peer 30% vinegar and spray weeds that may be coming up. I did this for about a month and definitely have less weeds. Just remember the vinegar has to be 30%.

I weed for my parents and they have rocks. I'm constantly doing a combo of spraying the vinegar solution and pulling up weeds. My house has all mulch and I never spray and only have to pick very few weeds out every now and then (like a handful). The mulch seems to an environment the weeds don't thrive in.

I apply Sprectacide Weed Killer WEEKLY that i make from concentrate in my pump up sprayer. Mix 8 oz of "Sprectacide Weed & Grass Killer" concentrate (white bottle) with 1 gallon of water in the tank, shake it up and walk around and spray any weeds that you see in your flower beds. This only takes about 5 or 10 minutes a week if you first sprinkle PREEN in your flower beds to significantly reduce the number of weeds that sprout. Preen doesn't kill weeds, but it prevents most of them from germinating, then the Spectracide spray kill the weeds that sprout.

Keep the rocks dry
 

The vinegar / dish soap potion sort of works but it only kills the leaves and not the roots. Without killing the roots the plant will return.
Hand pulling by far is the best method but be sure you get the roots.
As a preventative measure you will see much improvement in weed pressure if you only water the plants you have and don’t just water the entire bed. Drip irrigation is the way to do this as dry rocks or bed is not a very good environment for weed growth. You’ll still get weeds but the volume will be significantly different.

Pinestraw

I put down pre-emergent which does keep the weeds at bay. I also walk around my planting areas once a week with Round Up in a pump sprayer to spray the grass that encroaches these areas. Don’t forget the cracks in your driveway.

Cancer

Look up the Latin and common names of your "weeds". Memorize them.

They are now an integral part of your landscaping. Remember how little they cost! Smile and enjoy the extra time you made available for your preferred activities.

Most people seem to start with mulch or pine straw and switch to rock. Just what I have observed in TV.

Use Preen Products to control weeds in Yard & Garden
 

We've used Preenfor lawns and vegetable gardens for years! My wife loves Preen in her flower gardens. I love applying it in the Spring on the yard. It Really prevents and controls weeds - much better than any Scott's or other products we tried. You'll love it also! Lowe's has it. So does Amazon.

Use newspapers . Take out the mulch lay a thick layer of newspaper down and wet it then put the mulch back on top and no weeds. in a few years the paper will mulch up then do it again.