Stopping weeds coming through in beds

[Turnitupto11]

I moved into a rented house with garden two years ago. I'm definitely not a gardener, but can tidy up etc. However, poor mental and physical health has meant I've let things slip and now it seems unsurmountable. The weeds are everywhere. I thought they'd die off in winter and I'd start with a clean slate in spring but they're still there. There are dock leaves, that sticky stuff is everywhere, feverfew, dandelions, various other weeds with pink flowers, brambles ...

Would it be easier to cover the ground with bark, would that stop them coming through or at least slow it down so I can get on top of it? I'm loathe to use weed killer as my cat goes in the garden.

Unfortunately weeds are bastards and no matter what you do they will coming back 😂

If you put bark mulch down you should put a layer of weed membrane down first then the bar mulch - it won't stop weeds totally as many will just bed in the top layer of bark mulch but they are much easier to pull out

I don't think I can do that. It's lots of flower beds full of various bushes, I'd be doing it on my own with no previous experience and a very low budget

I rent. So understand your issue.
What’s worked for me (and I was cynical) the no dig method with cardboard. Old boxes unfolded and then mulched with manure or compost or whatever.
Weed whatever you can, and as much as you can. Then smoother the rest. It does work. I’ve created flower beds over grass with it.
It’s a good time of year to do it as well as it’s damp so the cardboard goes quickly.
You’ll need to double up on some of the edges and it may need repeating in some points. But honestly. It works and it’s revolutionised gardening for me.

Just seen your update about the bushes and shrubs. You can cut the cardboard around it and a lot it in.

We had this in our last house but with a tangle of fucking nettles as well. Paid a local gardener to clear the weeks and then we put some membrane down (on a roll from B&Q) and then sling bags of mulch over it (3 bags for £10 from Asda when they got the summer stuff in, might be a bit early) and it massively improved it. I am not a gardener in the slightest, but it kept things under control and I could just yoink out the weeds which popped through.

It’s more environmentally friendly than the weed matting, cheaper too!

Oh yeah we used cardboard as well, a really narrow gap between the house and patio, I got a load of moving boxes free from Facebook market place. Morrisons often give away their fruit and veg boxes as well. And macdonalds.

You need to give it a really good weed first, then weed membrane and then the bark chippings- genuinely life changing in my garden. Don’t but the wood chippings from Asda though- go to a building supply yard and get it in tonne bags- think ours were about £50 per bag.

Well, if you were the previous tenants in my house, you'll just mow over the lot, destroy the flower bed, and let the grass take over....

I'd try and dig out as much of the brambles as you can, then cover the soil with a thick layer of something - soil or bark or card around the bushes covered with compost or bark. And then pull up what you can as it comes through.

Good luck.

You could use cardboard instead of the weed membrane. We have both, both ok.

What you need is a hoe.

www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/tools/planting/best-garden-hoes-reviews/

Then take the garden bit by bit. Dig out the weeds, deep as you can, and then each week, use the hoe to knock back any seedlings in the cleared areas. Keep hoeing, and you'll keep the weeds at bay.

I think I'm going to have to get a gardener in to help. I have pain issues and will really struggle.

Great idea re the builders merchant @MissM2912 wouldn’t have crossed my mind to go there!

We paid a local gardener to clear our weeks and brambles for us, took him about 4 hours and he charged £50 and he took the waste away.

Rather than covering up the ground with bark or cardboard, you can also use cover crops (e.g. mustard, clover or alfalfa) to suppress the weeds. Can be done in autumn to last over the winter, but an early spring planting is also often done. Of course still a good idea to get as much as possible removed manually beforehand - just be careful as some weeds spread through their root systems so digging into them may be counterproductive.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cover_crop

[quote GrumpyPanda]Rather than covering up the ground with bark or cardboard, you can also use cover crops (e.g. mustard, clover or alfalfa) to suppress the weeds. Can be done in autumn to last over the winter, but an early spring planting is also often done. Of course still a good idea to get as much as possible removed manually beforehand - just be careful as some weeds spread through their root systems so digging into them may be counterproductive.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cover_crop[/quote]
I don't know how I'd avoid that. The task seems unsurmountable at the moment. Physically I can't do the work and financially I can't employ someone to do it. In the meantime it's been getting worse and worse. There's loads of the weeds with sticky buds on, dock leaves, something with flowers that look like daisies but the plants are taller - feverfew? - borage, which looks lovely, but is taking over, weeds with pink flowers, thistles, brambles coming through everywhere ...

@EvilPea

It’s more environmentally friendly than the weed matting, cheaper too!

It is still plastic based so I'm not quite sure of your logic here.....

DON'T PUT BARK DOWN!!!
i did.
I was isolated as a close contact for ten days in July and spent those days weeding every bed, then covered them all with bark.
Less than a week later, new weeds were poking up through the bark, and they are so much harder to weed out now.

@Harrysmummy246
I was talking about cardboard.

@Scarby9

DON'T PUT BARK DOWN!!! i did. I was isolated as a close contact for ten days in July and spent those days weeding every bed, then covered them all with bark. Less than a week later, new weeds were poking up through the bark, and they are so much harder to weed out now.

Why are they harder to weed out?

Does the bark have a smell to it. My neighbour seems to think so.

@Scarby9

DON'T PUT BARK DOWN!!! i did. I was isolated as a close contact for ten days in July and spent those days weeding every bed, then covered them all with bark. Less than a week later, new weeds were poking up through the bark, and they are so much harder to weed out now.

They needed suppressing before the bark/ mulch goes on. And then you need a good few inches of mulch /bark. Try and rake the bark up to one side and put either cardboard (doubled up on the gaps or thick multilayered paper over them), or weed matting. Then put the bark back over. It will do the job.

Personally I have had more success with cardboard and weeds. It’s free, better for the environment and easier to plant through when your ready.
The matting has been hit and miss on the actual suppressing, for me.