Does this weed sound familiar? Goggled, cannot find

[Paper Roses]

I recently leveled my lawn with compost from our town free compost pile. Looks great except, instead of grass in one area, I am getting a thick crop of a weed. It (now) has a shallow root, ovoid-ish small greet leaves with a pink underside and pink exposed stem. I was able to rake, with a comb, some of it our yesterday but in an area about 20' X 12' it is taking over. Cleaning out this is tomorrow's project.

Can I use Weed-be-Gone? Will that kill the grass seed?

Since I have back and foot problems, this is presenting a problem that I need to cure soon as possible. It is ugly and I can't keep at it.

I need to know what this week is so I can get rid of it the easiest way possible.

Thanks, PR

[Paper Roses]

1. Goggled? geeze, I'm getting old. Too much time in the sun pulling weeds.

[noamnety]

2. purslane?

Is it a low growing succulent? I don't think of the undersides of the leaves as pink, but the stem is.

[Paper Roses]

3. Your picture looks like the larger leaves. I searched Purslane

and the photo's look like a more mature version of this infestation. Today it gets Weed-be-Gone.

One of the sites I read suggested a number of weed killers that will get rid of this stuff. As I read, I got the impression that I'll be coping with thus stuff for a long while.

Thanks for your help.

PR

[noamnety]

4. If that's what it is, I have some bits of that in my garden, too.

If you stirred up a bed of seeds in some new dirt, it will go into hyper mode. Once your grass gets established, it won't be such a problem - mine hasn't attacked the lawn. But I think your first attempt at seeding might be a wash, you might have to stop, spray (will will kill fragile grass seedlings), wait a couple weeks and go at it again. I don't know how big a patch you are seeding. You might also be able to burn off the plants without chemicals by putting down a clear plastic tarp and letting the solar power kill it all. Then reseed without raking it in (which will uncover more seeds to germinate).

Make sure to pull some for a salad, anyway. Over the years I've almost eliminated all of mine by slowly getting bigger better plants established, and eating my way through much of the rest. I was lucky enough to share a community garden with some middle eastern families years ago, and I saw that the Americans were pulling that like weeds and throwing it in the trash, while they were harvesting it. I have a few things like that now where I go into us-or-them mentality and eat my enemies. (purslane, mustard garlic)

[NJCher]

5. saw it in the grocery store the other day

It looked robust.

I think it was 3 or 4 bucks a package.

How's the taste? I hear it's lemony.


Cher

[noamnety]

6. lemony, yep.

Not a huge amount of flavor, but more than plain lettuce. It's hilarious to think of paying for it, though. I need to figure out how to get into that racket.

[MajorChode]

7. For best results mow the weed and wait a day or two before application

Weed-b-gon works by causing the weed to outgrow itself, so if you apply it during the mature stage of the weed it may be less than effective or not effective at all. Mow the weed short and wait a day or two for it to start growing again, then hit it with the weed-b-gon. Some weeds require 2 or 3 applications, but always apply the same way.

[Paper Roses]

8. Thanks for the advice. This weed appeared for the first time

after I took buckets of compost from our town facility about 2 weeks ago. It just sprouted a few days ago. The area, about 15' X 20' is carpeted with new growth of this nasty stuff. Did the Weed-be-Gone today. The directions on the container are not too good. It really does not explain how much to use or how often. Neither does it tell you what to look for. I guess I have to wait until I see if it looks dead and if more shows up behind the current crop. There must be tons of seeds buried if I have a carpet this big and so quickly.

I thought I was saving money by using the composted earth provided by the town. I saved a nickel and it will now cost me a dime to repair things.

I wish I new what to expect. In one particular area I will try and keep after this stuff by hand. I don't want the weed killer to kill my other plants. I actually used a comb to get this stuff out of the ground near my peonies.

Phooey!

[MajorChode]

9. I use the free compost from the city whenever possible

If you are concerned about weed seeds, you can store it in a big pile and use it in the fall. The heat from composting will kill the weed seeds. For faster action, you can cover it with a thick clear plastic sheet and the greenhouse effect will speed up the process.

Weed-b-Gon works well for lots of different types of weeds. If you buy the concentrate, be sure to mix it to recommended application rates or set your hose end sprayer appropriately. The most important part is following the directions I provided as it will not kill mature weeds. Just be sure not to apply it when the wind is blowing hard. I prefer to use the concentrate in a hose end sprayer as it's the most efficient, but if you are using it around ornamental plants you might want to use a bucket sprayer or a quart spray bottle. Within about 4-5 days you should see the weeds looking sickly.

[WhiteTara]

13. this is what I would do.

I would cover the offending area with weed barrier mat (or thick cardboard or plastic) leave it on a couple of weeks to kill everything. Then take the cover off, stir it around to get things growing again for a few days or week and then cover it again. Do it a couple of times and the weeds will be gone. Be sure and plant a cover crop in the other areas so that weeds don't take over there too.

[NJCher]

10. some opinions on Weed-Be-Gone

These people (scroll down) don't think much of Weed-Be-Gone.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/12711/product_review_ortho_weed_b_gon_max.html?cat=32

Personally, I wouldn't use it as there are organic methods that smell way better (like cloves and oranges!) and I wouldn't want to risk the health of my pets or my own.

The organic methods can be very powerful but they will not harm you. I spilled some on the top of my refrigerator and it burned the paint off it!


Cher

[Paper Roses]

11. Thanks for the link. The narrator didn't do much except read the label.

I will now look up organic weed killer. Certainly the few reviews were not good. What did you use that was so powerful?

[NJCher]

12. This stuff

I bought it at my local garden center:



It smells really good but I couldn't let my kitty cat cross the pavers where I used it to get rid of weeds in between. That's because the stuff might burn her little paws. That was my only concern about using it though, as it is made up of cloves and other good smelling ingredients.

Also, comparison shop it. I know my neighbor bought some online at a really good price but she did spend some time looking for a good deal. She said the price ranges quite a bit. That was last year, though.

What will happen is the weeds will all turn brown. If you want, you can use gloves and get rid of them immediately. I, however, took the lazy way and just waited a week or so and they just disintegrated and were no longer there.


Cher

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

14. Iron-X

concentrate sold by Gardens Alive is a little pricey but works well

http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=3721

Ortho also sells an iron based weedkiller for $10-$20 for a gallon