Since my wife died over 2 years ago I have not tended to the garden,it's covered in weeds and many are over 5ft in height,should I use a mini chainsaw to cut them down then use weedkiller?
Overgrown garden
- Thread starter AndyHoward
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YumYum
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Your probably going to have a generations worth of weed seeds to sprout so using a weed killer isn't going to help unless you plan on using it alot over the next several years. I'd just top and discard any seed heads that you can and till it under and see what forms later.
big rockpile
Full Access Member
Do not use a Herbicide. I would cut and remove. Work the ground up and plant.
Once stuff is up cultivate get what weeds you can out and put something between the rows and mulch.
This Fall plant a Cover Crop and work it in couple weeks before planting.
big rockpile
Once stuff is up cultivate get what weeds you can out and put something between the rows and mulch.
This Fall plant a Cover Crop and work it in couple weeks before planting.
big rockpile
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Many weeds are not actually weeds if you research the individual plants. Many have benneficial uses. Weed killer is aweful for you & the environment! Depending on the plants that are present, I would tackle it a little at a time after you identify what's there. You can mow weed grasses or weedeat if you determine what is a plant and what is a detrimental weed, or you can hand pull. It is rarely a good idea in a healthy garden to use drastic measures like cutting on things with a chainsaw because that can introduce diseases into the wounds you create in the older plants. Usually, you would get various pruning sheers & disinfect them between plants to cut undesireable portions off to shape & care for them. You shouldn't cut major limbs, or more than 1/3rd of the plabt down for the health of the plant. Then you would hand pull the undesireable plants root and all before they go to seed. If you need to keep weeds at bay after you get it managed there are natural solutions like laying tarp, or cardboard down, weedcloth with ground cover, or planting living ground covers & other plants that out compete the weeds or are allelopathic (they put out chemicals in the soil that retard the growth of other plants). If the plants aren't toxic you can even get a pet to help eat the weeds like a goat or rabbit 
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a wild patch is very good for biodiversity, attracting insects and pollinators. whatever you choose to do i would suggest keep some of the over grownness..... other than that if it were me. id flatten everything down and cover it with something that wont let light through. and just wait. weed killer is gonna put toxins in the ground and wont be good for whatever you choose to do after that. take care