Moss gardens - what kills the weeds?

[pugs]

Hi all,

A friend has a moss garden and is tried of hand weeding. He uses the corn based weed preventor, but still has two types of weeds and one grass come up every year. He and his partner are in their early 60's and don't know how long they will want to hand weed, thus the question.

Before I start looking all over the internet, does anyone know what would kill the weeds, but leave the moss unharmed? They want to put in another moss garden, but aren't looking forward to the hand weeding.

Thanks for any help you may bring. Oh, and thanks for reading.

Pugs

[michaeljohnson]

Unfortunately- most weed killers are designed to do just the opposite-kill the moss and leave other plants. it might be a good idea to harvest some of the moss in pots and containers -then kill off the whole garden with roundup or something and then replant the moss and start again, a very tricky problem.

[canadamike]

From what I read your friends probably have a perennial weed problem. Corn gluten will only stop seeds from germinating efficiently: they will germinate then won't be able to grow roots and die.

Michael is probably right, I don't think any of us can give a very different answer. However, your friends might be well advised, if they want to be do it organicly, to use agricultural vinegar, concentrated at 12%, if sprayed very locally, as in a few inches close, so not to kill the neighbours, it should get rid of the buggers kind of fast.

Last week, the manager of the hardware store I am helping as an ''organic non paid knowlege source'' compared ROUND UP and vinegar, only to say vinegar worked much faster, to his outmost surprise.

I can't confirm, I never used Round UP. My wife bought a bottle once, for the laneway, I always forgot to use it

Tell your friends to keep using corn gluten, but it will always get rid of future problems, not things of the past...

[plantsnobin]

Sorry, I don't know of any solutions either, just wanted to say that I love a moss garden. When I read the thread title I thought that it was a garden that they wanted to rid of moss-my BIL has a shady back yard where he wants to grow grass but has moss and he is always trying to kill the moss. I wish he would work WITH nature and encourage the moss, but he won't listen to reason.

[pugs]

Thanks all,

I suggest the vinegar to them. I don't think they want to kill the whole thing and start over. It took them some time of experimenting to get it going in the first place.

Pugs

[michaeljohnson]

Agricultural Vinegar -that's a new one on me, I have never heard of Agricultural vinegar before, what do the use it for normaly, ??

[canadamike]

It is a 12% acetic acid vinegar, used as an herbicide.

But you have to be very careful when using it if you have a weight problem: All you can think of while spraying it is eating french fries

[ottawagardener]

You combine agricultural vinegar with horticultural oil and spray it on salad crops?... Okay, I wouldn't eat it either...

[pugs]

Oh Michel, the difference between us U.S. citizens and the rest of the world. Why would anyone ruin a good French Fry with vinegar? Yeeck!

Now ketchup, that's the ticket!

Pugs

[grungy]

Why not both, with a little salt thrown in for good measure.

[pugs]

People eat French Frys without salt? Are they sane?

Pugs

[Emerald]

Oh my! don't lump us USA folk all together there!! I love salted french fries with malt vinegar, or balsamic vinegar or even just plain old apple cider vinegar! ;D no ketchup-- but then I like fries with cheese or gravy or even on my hamburger!