Weed killer advice please!

[SunbeamsAndMoonbeams]

I posted this in gardening but thought I might get a quicker response here!

I've recently moved into a house and inherited a somewhat neglected garden!

At some point, it was clearly 'done' as there are borders with wooden edging and slate pieces put down but they're completely overgrown with weeds amd grass and the lawn is full of clover, moss and dandelions

What I would like is a good weed and feed option for the lawn and will probably need to put grass seed down in some places too.

I'd also like a good weed treatment for the borders but something that won't hang around and will allow me to plant in them again ASAP.

Any recommendations? Thank you

[SunbeamsAndMoonbeams]

Anyone please!!

[TwoZeroTwoZero]

We moved into a house with a garden that was pretty much the same. We didn't use weedkiller because it's awful stuff for the environment; instead we got the garden forks and spades out and just dug all the weeds up from around the edges where the previous tenant had borders and flower beds that had been allowed to grow wild after she died. It took a day or two of bard graft but it was worth it.

Can't advise on the grass because we just mow it and don't bother pulling up the dandelions etc from the lawn, sorry.

[TwoZeroTwoZero]

Bard graft? No, Shakespeare didn't come and help. I obviously meant hard graft 😂

[XingMing]

I think it depends on what sort of weeds you have and where. Our garden is plagued by deep-rooted brambles and spraying them is the only serious option. You need Glyphosate. I think agricultural and contractor use only nowaday so you need a farmer's supplier not a garden centre or supermarket.

[TheDiddlyGang]

I wouldn’t use weed killer unless they are really invasive, difficult to remove weeds.

Most weeds can be removed by hand, remove the weed including the root then chuck a deep layer of compost over it and plant up

[Purplewithred]

If you have weeds in the lawn it's likely that the conditions are better for those than for grass - moss in particular likes it compacted and acid, grass doesn't. You can weed and feed but you're just plastering over the cracks; get mowing for starters then think about getting the lawn scarified and spiked.

For the borders, is there membrane under the slate? If so scrape off the slate and peel up the membrane and dig out the weeds. You can then re-membrane and re-slate if you want. If you really want to use weedkiller then roundup is the one that kills the growth and breaks down in the soil. It's not something I'd want to use regularly.

[Shehasadiamondinthesky]

I never ever use weedkiller it kills bees and other insects. I take my knackered old carcass off outside and dig it all up. An hour a day. After a while less and less will have grown back and no bees will have been killed.

[XingMing]

I would prefer not to use weedkiller too, but the moron that originally created our garden thought a rockery was a good idea, so we have huge rocks weighing several hundred kilos apiece, and brambles growing from underneath. I would prefer hand tools too, but it isn't ever going to remove the brambles... so they are sprayed for control.

[campion]

Round Up weed killer contains glyphosate. It comes in various permutations. You need something systemic to kill weeds off all the way down.
If you use it carefully it doesn't kill anything apart from the weeds.

[Panaesthesia]

Clover's good. It's not a weed, it's good for your lawn.

Pull up the moss and dandelions and chuck a bit of extra grass seed down.

[Hoppyfrog]

Oh I think lawns look so much prettier with dandelions and clover and so much better for wildlife too! Try to see the natural beauty maybe?

[DownUdderer]

I think you can use vinegar

[SunbeamsAndMoonbeams]

I don't like using weedkiller either, hence not having a clue.

I don't mind a wild garden, in fact I prefer it but weeds from the borders have encroached onto the lawn and there are huge patches. It's a mess. I don't want it to be 'perfect' but it's currently looking unsightly and neglected.

I've pulled the weeds up that I can at the borders but there's an awful lot of it. It's very neglected.

I'm planning on putting wildflower seed etc down and flowers for bees and butterflies. At the moment it's just a mess of grass and brambles.

Thanks for the advice.