22
votes
How true is the idea that weeding your vegetable garden is necessary?
The stealing nutrients narrative is, in the general case, true.
There are certain plant combinations which work well together, a classic example being "the 3 sisters" of corn, beans, and, ...
- 4,838
15
votes
Accepted
Please identify this green jello organism
Not doing well with searches involving your location, but it looks very like "Nostoc Commune" which is a cyanobacterium.
Image from the linked Ohio State University web page. Limiting ...
- 25.7k
14
votes
How do I stop my neighbor's invasive weed (now a very large tree) from continuously invading my property?
In order to determine how best to control the tree, we need to identify it, if possible. I think I've identified your problem as a Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera). It's native to China and ...
- 20.4k
13
votes
Accepted
What is this plant in my lawn?
It's creeping buttercup, Ranunculus repens.
It's highly invasive and quite difficult to eradicate, especially in a lawn. I don't know what country you're in, but you need a lawn weedkiller treatment ...
- 135k
13
votes
What is this plant in my lawn?
Bamboo is correct...Ranunculus. I have to add that there is a reason your buttercup is very happy. Too much water. I would start training my lawn by watering deeply and not watering again until the ...
- 40.5k
13
votes
Why are weeds growing with my new seeds?
Weed seeds in the soil won't be affected by a contact or systemic (such as glyphosate) weedkiller that acts on green leaves. Regular mowing will get rid of some of the taller weeds. Otherwise, wait ...
- 4,067
11
votes
How true is the idea that weeding your vegetable garden is necessary?
It really depends on what you're growing, how you're growing it, what you expect from your garden, how big the weeds are, how close they are to your plant, how many weeds there are, how fertile your ...
- 18.5k
10
votes
Accepted
What do I do once my weeds turn brown?
You have to wait 3 weeks or whatever is on the label to overseed. Exactly what did you use for herbicide? Obviously broadleaf weed killer. The only reason you even have that problem is because your ...
- 40.5k
10
votes
Accepted
How to get rid of bluebells without digging, glyphosate, or covering them with plastic bags
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that your blue flowers are Scilla sibirica. These are naturalized in many parts of the northern midwestern and eastern US States and, I believe, in southern ...
- 20.4k
9
votes
Accepted
Identification - Plant growing next to my bonsai?
The small sprouts, and the grass like cereal plant (which I can't identify 100%, but which does resemble Carex, not something you particularly want), are weeds because they're growing somewhere you ...
- 135k
9
votes
Accepted
What is this bee(?)-attracting wildflower?
This is a poppy - a Papaver. Note the four petals and in the center of the flowers the characteristic thick ovaries with the crown-shaped top. Later, the dried capsule will open at the crown and ...
- 16.9k
9
votes
Please identify this green jello organism
Wow. Thanks to the links provided by @Ecnerwal, I found that Nostoc Commune and related goops are truly fascinating organisms. A few random facts that deserve to be recorded here in an answer:
It’s a ...
- 365
8
votes
Weed Identification
I planted some Oxalis deppei in the garden at my university last year and it looked just like your plant. It had little dark pink flowers and spread like crazy, from 15 bulbs planted in spring I got ...
- 5,456
8
votes
What weed covering should I use under my mulch?
You cannot use plastic - it will waterlog after rain. Weed fabric allows water and air through, whereas plastic does not. You can buy heavier duty weed fabric, so you might consider that, but most ...
- 135k
8
votes
Accepted
What plant is this? A weed?
It's an ornamental, Acanthus, or Acanthus mollis. Its fancy shaped leaves look so familiar because this plant is the prototype for the stylized "foliage" that you see in classical artwork & ...
- 3,639
8
votes
Accepted
What is the grassy-looking plant at the base of my blueberry bush?
That's weeds, it is some kind of grass. Seedlings of blueberries look more like this (first picture).
You can pull the weeds out of there, they compete with nutrients available in the soil.
- 13.2k
8
votes
Accepted
Garden weed or something else
Looks like Lily of the Valley, Convallaria majalis. Bindweed has large flowers, grows as a vine, and smaller leaves than Lily of the Valley.
- 888
8
votes
Can mowing weeds cause them to spread?
Highly unlikely that your mulching mower is causing cuttings to grow. The cut weed parts won't have good soil contact and will dry out and die. Weeds that have gone to seed stand a better chance of ...
- 25.7k
7
votes
What do I do once my weeds turn brown?
You can rake them out or leave them there. I would not pull them out because doing so will disturb the soil underneath and get more unwanted seeds to sprout into more weeds. In terms of reapplying ...
- 8,014
7
votes
Accepted
What is this weed and how do I kill it without killing the grass?
It does look like wild violets, and they are difficult to eradicate, but triclopyr, or any other lawn weedkiller that purports to kill these, is much more effective used in autumn, see here https://...
- 135k
7
votes
Accepted
What are these weeds and how can I get rid of them?
You have hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) in your garden. This plant very often comes as "hitchhiker" with newly bought plants.
It is a very prolific seeder and can bring even two generations ...
- 16.9k
7
votes
Why are weeds growing with my new seeds?
I used to live near a retired professional gardener who had worked in English "stately home" gardens where lawns (acres of them) were a key feature.
One of his pieces of advice was "...
- 11.5k
6
votes
Accepted
What is this choko-like vine, and how can I get rid of it and ensure it doesn't return?
This is Araujia sericifera. Its common names include Moth Plant, White Bladderflower, Common Moth Vine, Cruel Vine and False Choko.
Here is some basic information about eradication of it: Weedbusters....
- 3,066
6
votes
Accepted
What is this grassy weed called?
I posted this on Facebook also and a local friend identified it as Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum). From pictures on the web it looks like the right ID, but I would be interested to hear ...
- 251
6
votes
Accepted
Paver bricks -- handling weeds without bad chemicals
This is the rare place where a weed torch/flame weeder actually makes sense - though plain old hot water will work as well - and neither will attack your pavers the way that acids will (unless you go ...
- 25.7k
6
votes
How can I help my permaculture garden that's being overpowered by weeds?
That is why permaculture materials usually prefer drawings to photographs, IMHO. Drawings are neat and tidy. Reality varies.
You can sheet mulch at any time. Horsetail will be with you for a while - ...
- 25.7k
6
votes
Accepted
What's this white flower?
It’s White Yarrow... Achillea millefolium
Yarrow is an essential addition to any garden for a number of reasons...
Yarrow is a nutrient accumulator (similar to comfrey) and its deep roots mine the ...
- 1,984
6
votes
Is this plant with rounded leaves/petals and reddish, smooth stalks a weed?
It is both, it is Portulaca oleracea.
I consider it as a weed, and I remove it from my vegetable garden. It has shallow roots, so it is easy to remove.
So you can imagine my surprise when my sister ...
- 14.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Is this reddish weed a variety of clover?
This is not really clover, but Oxalis corniculata. I think in English it is called creeping woodsorrel or procumbent yellow sorrel. I am not native English speaking so I know only the Dutch name for ...
- 13.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Any weedkillers that are safe for Catnip and Catmint?
Weedkillers for soft green growth are divided between those that will kill through the leaves, any type of leaf, and those that kill in the same way but leave lawn grass largely unharmed. There is no ...
- 135k
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