# Best way to kill grass in vegetable garden?



## terri46355

I have crabgrass in my garden and can't get rid of it. If a small piece of root is left in the garden, it starts another plant. Is there a way to get rid of the grass in the garden? Would it be safe to use a vegetation killer and plant after the grass is dead? Help!!!


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## Tricky Grama

TOo late now but bed prep is best way.
I dug&dug&dug then added compost w/lots of mulch. Have a few sprigs pop up & try to get them as soon as they appear.
Some lay down cardboard b/w rows.


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## fishhead

Till it every 3-4 days then rake off the roots. Let it bake in the sun in between so the roots can dry out and die.


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## ceresone

It sounds like Bermuda to me--but Yes, there is--it's by Ortho, called "Over the Top" grass killer. You can even spray it around most veggies--just check the label.


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## Bearfootfarm

CAREFULLY spraying it with Glyphosate (Roundup) will get rid of it.

It's safe to plant after spraying also, usually withing a few days for most crops.

Any tillage will just make it worse


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## happygardener

cardboard...free at the coop they give it away in the back area where you get your feed. It comes in big five foot sheets and will last a couple of years. I put the cardboard right up close to the stem of my tomato plants and the rest is in the path. Keeps watering down to. I only watered my garden once this year and I would post pic's of my garden but they won't let me yet cause I'm new. Roundup is really bad and toxic to animals.


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## geo in mi

terri46355 said:


> I have crabgrass in my garden and can't get rid of it. If a small piece of root is left in the garden, it starts another plant. Is there a way to get rid of the grass in the garden? Would it be safe to use a vegetation killer and plant after the grass is dead? Help!!!


Crabgrass is an annual grass that starts from seed each year, then as it grows outward, the joints take root and spread. Winter will kill all of it, but seeds left will germinate next year......(That's why Scott's Halt's Plus is sold in the spring, to kill off the seeds in the lawn,,,,)

However, you may have _quackgrass_.....in which case, yes, a small root(rhizome) left in the ground will grow---maybe several feet, in fact, and come up for air--thus giving you problems forever.......... Here's some good facts about quackgrass control(if ever such a thing is possible) http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h507quackgrass.html

Hope this helps

geo


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## kirkmcquest

Keep tilling and hoeing, you will eventually exhaust the root. I NEVER would spray roundup or similar chemicals anywhere near my food.


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## motdaugrnds

I use a substance similar to Round-up, yet is cheaper and stronger. (Forget its name.) I place it in a 4-gal back pack and walk around spraying bull thistle, anything growing in the drive or around old rocks or unstacked wood, etc. to keep area clear so I can see what animal is around. It goes through the leaves into the roots and kills it there. I have used it between the isles of my garden too (spraying close to the ground while the wind is still), though I prefer the barn bedding as a mulch. (It has not harmed my vegies and for over 4 yrs even my goats have eaten the vegetation sprayed and it has not harmed them.)

I do know tilling (over and over and over for a long period of time) will eventually exhaust the root system; but I don't have the fortitude to do that. I also know cardboard layed in the vege isles works real well; but I don't like setting up places for unwanted live things to live. I also like placing barn bedding between the isles; and it works real well even to nurture the vegies in the isles. I also know placing black plastic sheeting will stop the growth of unwanted vegetation. So there are a number of ways to get rid of it; it is a simple matter of preference.


My preference is the


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## imthedude

just say no to roundup or its equivalent. bad for you and anything else it comes in contact with.


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## fishhead

I've got quack grass in my garden. Multiple tilling with a small amount of raking with a garden rake gets rid of most of it each spring. Ideally I would have a rake built like a grabbing hand to pull the roots up to the surface.

I have sand so that may be why it's easy to control in my garden. The surface dries out and heats up quickly.


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## motdaugrnds

David just spent hours hand-pulling grass (and other stuff) out of our garden. It had rained so the ground was fairly loose.


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## SLADE

corn gluten.spring and fall application.


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## terri46355

Thanks everyone! It is quack grass and some other type overtaking my garden. I think the infestation started when I used old hay as mulch and the seeds sprouted.


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## Paquebot

Since it is quack, you have two choices. First would be to dig out any roots and merely leave them exposed on the ground. Their roots are absolute wimps against the sun and will quickly die. Second is to just keep hoeing them off every 4 or 5 days. Part of my new garden was mostly quack sod this spring. Already it is rare to see a new sprout. Geese are said to be able to kill quack the same way. They keep eating the new sprouts and the roots eventually die.

Martin


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