AIBU to be utterly fed up of weeding every weekend?! Please give me your best tips

[polka7]

Ok I'm not that organised that I do it every week.. maybe every 2/3 weeks and only manage a bit at a time that some areas aren't attended to for several weeks. Is it just my garden that produces a vast amount of weed that grow super fast?! (Ashamed to admit some bits had grown to hip height in the past!!) Mostly have patio but every edge on every square has weeds, I don't think I'm always getting managing to pull out the roots. Can't afford to pay someone on a regular basis but open to any tools or sprays etc at this point (haven't used anything in the past, do they really help?). Thanks!

Plant more smotherers - depending on your garden then cranesbill, the yellow epimidium, pulmonaria/lords and ladies, shrubby salvias, cistus, just look in the garden centre and ask the staff for guidance. Bare earth is just an invitation to weeds, aim for none!

Reduce the flower beds and make more lawn. Grass just needs cutting, not very different to hoovering. Regular cutting will look good whatever the weeds growing in the grass.

For the patio really it’s either weedkiller, or try to get something pretty established in the cracks - Mexican flebane, some of the tiny creeping thymes. Or when you can afford it get the patio relaid and re-grouted to get rid of the cracks.

Totally read that as you were going to a wedding every weekend 😆

"A weed is just a plant in a place you don't want it to be"

Start to befriend them? Forget-me-nots are weeds. So are daisies 😊

Don't breathe in the chlorine fumes!

Like a pp says - no-dig gardening, and use ground cover plants. The more you dig over the soil as you are getting rid of the weeds, the more weed seeds will germinate to take their place.

It sounds like you’ve got perennial weeds with established root systems under the patio etc. No matter how often you remove the top growth, the roots are a food store that it uses to regrow. If you can’t dig them out, a systemic weedkiller is your only option. It moves through all the plant tissues and kills the roots as well. Look for a spray containing glyphosate and use it strictly according to the instructions.

Hoeing, mulching, ground cover etc are great for suppressing annual weeds in borders but won’t help you here.

(People shouldn’t assume all “chemicals” are randomly destructive - but “bleach” is pretty close and I can’t believe people are recommending throwing it around the garden. A “herbicide” only damages plants, not insects, which are killed by pesticides and insecticides. They can all damage ecosystems if used incorrectly and excessively.)

my patio is the same. I've just bought 2 huge cheap outdoor rugs (B&Q sell them off at the end of the summer) and put them over it, no sunlight getting to the weeds means they dont grow. If people come over and I didn't want the rugs down it takes seconds to roll them up but they stay down 99% of the time and actually look really nice.

If you look on Amazon, you will find weed burners with 8 canisters of gas for approx £20. Just be careful as the end gets very hot so place it carefully when you are done and away from pets and kids until it’s cool. Boiling water without bleach is also good.

are you literally pouring boiled water from a kettle over grown weeds? Do they die? Or just easier to pull out? How long does this take you and is it effective?

I've used this method on our drive/patio - ie pouring boiling water from a kettle. It works a treat.

Can't say if it's cost effective - but it sure is handy!

Have you tried a weed burner?

Bleach and things like salt will not only kill wildlife but also destroy the soil quality.

Weeds are annoying but nature hates bare soil. Plant very densely and they’ll have to complete for nutrients. Wildflowers and weeds are actually handy as ground cover which means soil doesn’t dry out as fast in summer, and they attract pollinators.

This!

And is what I have done. The main thing I have to pull out every few months is grasses that have been brought on the wind, and that's only in some patches.

Spent the whole morning weeding and cutting back, in areas that aren't planted densely.
As others have said, regularly hoeing bare soil areas so weeds can't take hold, or plant something there that may not be so beautiful but will cover that patch.

Sounds like your patio needs repointing. Apply weedkiller, then get there pointing mortar stuff for patios that seals between the patio slabs.

Elsewhere you can mulch (put the grass cuttings on) the borders. The lawn probably needs done roots digging up, more frequent mowing, and done acceptance of weeds. You could use a lawn weed killer. I'm not a fan.

Yup. This.

Hoe every week. It's relatively easy once you get the hang of it. And it'll reduce the amount of weeds growing as each time you hoe some will germinate and then next week you hoe hoe hoe again!
Overall you reduce the weed seeds in the ground and get neater beds.
Mulch can help too.

This - our “ lawn” is now a meadow
I have developed an appreciation for native/wildflowers aka weeds
I want to spend more time sitting in the garden than weeding etc
we have chickens in the back garden and the dog goes in the front garden so don’t want to use weedkiller
we do use bark chip and straw to keep weeds to a minimum in raised bed

Don't use a flame burner, I set a fence on fire accidentally. Get electric one or spray Algon ( vinegar basically ) for patio. For weeds, clear a square metre then cover it up, either thick mulch ( I use sawdust and grass cuttings) or black fabric using plastic pegs to secure it. Once garden under control start looking up ground cover plants suitable for your soil and aspect .

This.

And please don't put bleach or other toxins in your garden. Animals and insects have it bad enough as it is.

I know just how you feel! It's never ending.

Please don't use weed killer.

Agree, no dig. Be religious with the hoe so the weeds never gain a proper hold.

This! If you hoe when the weeds are still tiddly, it’s easy.

Not that I always take my own advice - I often leave it too long.

No dig is no good for patios or if you have perennial weeds. In fact it feeds them really nicely.