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Fri, Nov 18, 11 at 21:23
| I am trying to help my daughter kill bermuda grass that has totally taken over her flower bed. I have removed all the plants except trees. Tomorrow morning my sil will spray with Spectricide grass killer. I hate chemicals but we have tried every organic method already and bermuda is tough. We plan to wait one hour then cover the bed with cardboard, veg and fruit scraps and coffee grounds, lots of leaves, more green stuff, then compost from the county. The county compost is not totally broken down so we are using it instead of the mulch they sell with big pieces of wood. The bed is huge (100 x 10) so we have LOTS of leaves. Will this work if we don't shred the leaves? He doesn't have a lawn mower and the B & D shredder would take all day. Will the leaves rot by Spring? Has anyone ever done this? Please advise.
Thanks, Linda |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I doubt it. Does the spectracide label state it will kill bermuda? Mulch of any kind will help but make sure you add 8 inches or more. Pulling it up by hand is the only solution I know of. |
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| Bermuda grass is the kudzu of the southwest. I hate it, hate it, hate it. I'm afraid that even after you do all this in the spring you will find bermuda roots when you look under the cardboard as I have found. At least they may be less and if you dig them then they are easier to pull up. Good luck. (not sure about the leaves. Here in Tulsa area they will not break down that fast unless shredded.) |
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| Certainly whole leaves can be used as a mulch. Ma Nature does that in the woods every year. More than likely those whole leaves will not be "broken" down by next spring because the bacteria that will digest them have a harder time working on those large items. Those whole leaves will, eventually, get digested just as they do in the forest but it takes a couple of years, or more. |
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| thanks everyone. The spetracide says it will kill bermuda but ?? I will try to mulch the leaves and pray about the bermuda... Linda |
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- Posted by tn_gardening (My Page) on Sat, Nov 19, 11 at 8:29
| I doubt it will fully decompose over the winter (never does for me) A few years ago, I raked lots of leaves on to my beds and along the fences. None of it really decomposed over the winter. |
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| Whole fluffy leaves tend to blow away out in the open. Unfluffy leaves that are wet may stay put. |
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| Update: We shreded the leaves and wet everything well. Now we will wait and see. I have read that we will probably have to cut holes in the cardboard to plant come spring but that's ok. Hope it works. Thanks again for all the wisdom. |
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- Posted by lazygardens PhxAZ%3A Sunset 13 (My Page) on Sun, Nov 20, 11 at 16:21
| Linda Jo - To kill bermuda you have to hit it SEVERAL times while it is actively growing. The best herbicide is glyphosate (Roundup is one brand name), but unless the bermuda grass is actively growing, you will not kill it. It's hibernating for the winter and will come roaring back in the spring when the weather warms up. Here's the best method I know: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/52156/how_to_kill_bermuda_gra ss.html |
Here is a link that might be useful: How to kill Bermuda Grass
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Mon, Nov 21, 11 at 10:29
| Bermuda is very tough to kill. I made a new raised flowerbed in the middle of a fescue/Bermuda lawn this summer. Sprayed Spectracide in a 2-ft. radius around it to make a 'moat'. This was in August or Sept. Sprayed it a second time a couple weeks later. By frost it was greening up again. You'll kill the top, but the roots are pretty durable. For me it's a battle of containment, like keeping cancer in remission. Pull it when you see it poke its head out, remove roots when digging to plant or dig in compost, and never turn your back. |
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