will killing the grass kill my plants?

[bennett]

i have grass coming up in all my beds - how can i kill the grass but not kill my plants? pulling it up is getting old fast

 

[chills]

bennett - well i dont have grass, i have weeds in between my plants .. i had to hand pull the weeds almost everyday, well i threw down some straw, and its slowed down the weeds .. didnt stop them, but now i can wait about a week and the weeds show through the straw and are really easy to pluck up ..
are you using a mulch in your beds?

 

[patandchickens]

Chemically? You can't. Have to do it manually.

Edge the beds well so that grass doesn't creep back in very quickly. You can add a 4-6" deep edging barrier as well for additional help.

Then, you just have to pull the grass, sorry. By the roots, runners and all. Moist soil and the right 'feel' for how to pull it will improve your success. Mulching heavily does not help very much, mostly it helps improve soil texture so that the grass pulls up more easily.

There will always be *some* grass coming back to pull, but less and less over time. Especially if you re-edge periodically.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[bennett]

i have three year old leaf mulch in them. even the veggie garden. ug i dread pulling it all up. it was under control until we had a ton of rain. i need to put down a good layer of DE first so i can make sure all the fire ants are dead.

 

[seedcorn]

You can use glyphosate on the grass. Can't spray it as the drift will get all. Use rubber gloves, wet a sponge w/glyphosate, then wipe on grass, it will die.

Altho, in my garden it's either hand weed, hoe it out or restart the tiller and restart........

 

[bennett]

i guess i'll pull it - i really don't want to risk killing my other plants.

 

[CARS]

My mother's strawberry bed was just getting over taken by crab grass. Crab grass had long runners and deep roots. Almost impossible to pull completely.

She brushed Round-up on the grass. Using a small brush carefully "paint" the chemical on the grass leaves. It doesn't stay with the soil and as long as you don't accidentally hit a plant it works great!!

(personally, I don't have the patients to sit there and brush every plant)

 

[bennett]

days later and i'm still out pulling grass every evening when it cools down. my 'large' bed around the hot tub is covered with it (sounds like crab grass)

i might try painting it like your mom did. that way i won't have to be out there every night. seems like i pull one and three more come back.

 

[vfem]

I use a double action hoe and it cuts the weeds at the root by just dragging the hoe back and forth. Other then that, I just pull the few weeds it doesn't reach. I've mulched since them and that cuts my weeding down probably about 85% or more now!

See if that helps?!

http://www.ehow.com/how_4491636_hula-hoe-stirrup-action-hoe.html