Dollar weeds are all over my flower beds. They are in the grass too, I might actually break down and get some of that weed & feed for at least the front yard. But my main concern is the flower beds. I found this online and before I try it, I thought I'd check with you knowledgeable folks first: "(edited) I say use sugar. 1 pound sugar per 250 sq.ft of lawn and garden... or use 10 pounds sugar per 1000 sq.ft. throw sugar down in those beds, and all over your yard, and keep pulling them out, but they should start to die out, as soon as the microbes have some time to get the soil richer, and the more they work, to faster those weeds will not come up in your yard anymore. It takes a couple of years before you stop seeing some of them. Question If the sugar kills off the dollar weed, what does it to the day lilies, hydrangia, begonias and other bedding plants? Answer It makes them grow, because what the sugar does is nourish beneficial microbes that enrich the soil. enriched soil is what gets rid of the weeds. Weeds thrive in poor soil. Fertilizers don't enrich the soil, they just feed the vegetation, including the weeds. when the soil is rich, weeds don't grow. complete posting is at: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Lawns-725/Dollar-Weed-flower-beds.htm
hmmmmm?? bag of sugar 89p . . . bottle of glyphosate £15 . . . .my sister uses salt on her lawn weeds . . . she cuts the foliage off and pours salt on the exposed tap root . . . never tried it myself but she swears by it
I don't know about the sugar but definately would not use salt except in very limited areas like sidewalk cracks. Salt kills all plants eventually and can take years to wash away. True it might kill a dandelion in a concentrated spot, but it will kill the grass there too. Use salt with extreme caution. Roundup will be broken down before salt.
vinegar is a great natural herbicide. spray it directly on the plant, not a broadcast like 2-4-d application, otherwise you will kill everything. I really don't know or have ever heard that sugar is a great herbicide. I think the microbial action works more to support the grass so it chokes out the other plants(aka weeds) in the lawn. good luck and let us know if you try it and how it works or if you think it works at all.
Okay... since Jerry evidently doesn't have Dollar Weeds, I'll have to do the experiment! :-D I'm going to try it in a very limited area. I'll repost here when I pick a spot and supply the before photo.
An herbicide will kill the weeds but sugar, molasses, corn gluten meal and other sweet products are being used to enrich the soil thereby making the soil too healthy for weeds to survive. Given a choice I would enrich the soil.
I would think it would just attract ants and bugs let us know how it works as I have no idea what a dollar weed is but thanks for sharing
I was trying to pick out a spot yesterday. Even though it's throughout the grass... my biggest challenge is keeping it from spreading on top of the mulch in the beds and around trees & shrubs. I'll try to make up my mind which area to test on this evening.
Here is just an opinion. Sugar is a good short term boost for soil biota. Once the sugar 'high' wears off, the newly grown biota have nothing to eat and starve. Soil returns to previous condition. My suggestion, deep core aeration of your lawn. Spread an inch or more of compost over the lawn and rake in. This will give the biota more to feed upon for at least a season. The resultant balanced addition of organic matter to the soil will promote very healthy root systems in your turf which will in turn, choke out weeds. Perhaps the spreading of sugar after what I've suggested might speed up the process, but I would think in your zone, soil temps and moisture would be enough.
I decided yesterday not to try this experiment. If I had just a little of it in one location, it might be worth the effort. And again.... I don't care if it's in the grass... just the fact that it's creeping into the flower beds. So to keep that from happening, I'd have to treat 2 acres. Not going to happen. So... guess who will be pulling the weeds out by hand?
