Two years ago we had no bindies in the back yard. Last summer, I thought we must have a few plants. This spring, I have pulled out probably a hundred plants. We've always had a bindii problem in the front yard. This year, I've started to tackle those plants too. I have sat there pulling out bindies until I could see them when my eyes were closed They are easy to pull from damp soil, at least.
I'm now trying to make the area less hospitable for them. I have added Dynamic Lifter to encourage the grass. Unfortunately I can't do much about the compaction; it's the part of the lawn between the door and the gateway and is trodden on every day. The rosettes are starting to grow spines now, so I'm off for another go...
Vegie patch update:
- The climbing beans have germinated poorly (or been eaten by snails)
- Planted out the Broad Ripple Yellow Currant tomato seedlings. The Tommy Toes took considerably longer to sprout and won't be planted for another week or two
3 comments:
Chookie,
DBF (TQ Landscaper) recommends you quit fighting the pathway and put a path there, there is no way to stop the compaction and the weeds seem to be the only plants that will grow in the constantly recompacted areas. You could go simple and just put a sinple plastic or wooden edging, and fill with blue metal dust and a sprinkling of cement powder and then use a compacter, you will get a firm, stable path that bindis cannot grow through, or you could go pavers, but they will still allow a certain number or weeds/bindis to pop up in the cracks. Anyway just an idea, and much easier on your back while still avoiding poisons (well there is the cement which contains lime, which you can do without it, your choice).
Hugs!
In the long term I do plan to put a path in, but in the short term we anticipate builders wandering all over that area. Afterwards, I'm going to see how our use of the area changes before putting in a path. The main entrance to our house will probably be through the back gate after the extension is built.
Fair enough in deed. How soon do you get your extension underway? LOL tis bad enough repainting and redoing the bathroom, having an entire work crew to do an extension sounds very stressfull to me lol.
We have a program here that you can put your arial and front and side view photos into, then add or subtract features to redesign your gardens and living areas, it does decks and stairs as well as trees, shrubs, ponds, and you can choose how advanced a plant is when you put it in, and when finished take screen shots from all angles, then you can tell it to advance 6 mths a year etc to see how the average growth of those plants will look. While being majority american, it does have a decent selection of Aussie plants including gum trees.
If you ever see the Landscaping and Deck Designer (Better Homes and Gardens put it out) in one of the library catalogues, get it out and have a play with it.
I am pretty sure you could encorporate plans such as the Edna Wallings designs into your own yard to see what they would look like with your house etc.
Hugs!
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