why do weeds grow back after manual removal?

Question

i have an unused garden that's mostly sand and rocks now, but full of weeds.
i have spent quite a long time manually removing them . however, after a couple of days, weeds start popping back up. what's your suggestion?

Answer 1

I agree with Dan about not pulling out the entire root, that can be very hard sometimes, also weeds that 'go to seed' will blow off and sprout many new baby weeds.

You can reduce the amount of weeds re-appearing by being very persistent and regular with your weeding, but that's no darn fun!!

My suggestion is to find a nicer looking, lower maintenance alternative to your weed garden, I would find a low-maintenance, low-growing, quick-spreading 'Ground Cover' plant, one that you just plant and let it do its thing. Weeds need sunlight to grow, so if there is a plant that spreads to cover the ground, then logically the weeds will not thrive.

For a sandy soil (if its in a sunny spot) I would look at one of the many thymes, or sedums, or alpines, they all take a lot of neglect.

If planting is not an option, then cover the open areas with more beautiful rocks, or pea gravel, and throw in a focal point; like a feature stone, a piece of driftwood, a bench or a quirky homemade piece of free form sculpture made from 'scrap yard' finds. Throw in a spotlight and voila, you have something gorgeous to enjoy !!

Answer 2

I had the same problem with the weeds in my garden this year. I had just moved into the place when I discovered a few beautiful gardens with rock borders that the lawn and surrounding landscape had taken over for about the past decade. In the gardens that still had good flowers in them I tilled up the soil around the plants and pulled out as many weeds and roots that I could. The beds looked great for about a week or two then all these little weedling started popping up all over the place. So i would pull and pull. One or two weeks later... same thing. The more I weeded, the thinner they got but with most of the weeds if there is even a small amount of the root left in the soil, it will sprout into a hardy little distraction that seems to grow better than anything else in the garden. In another garden, there were no plants to save so I just removed the whole top eight inches of the garden and started fresh with new soil. (unfortunatly for me I took the soil from another part of my yard and it was just a whole different patch of weeds that were growing frantically in there.) If you do decide to just remove the soil that is currently in the garden, make sure to use good soil to refill the bed. Then mulching the soil around everything that you plant will help suppress the growth of any new weedlings that decide to inhabitt you new space. (that is my goal for my beds this winter, I'll see if it works for myself, I'm hopeing, It was a lot of work removing all of the unwanted survivors repeatedly this year.) Good luck to you in this....
Of course if you don't plan on planting anything in there than soaking the bed in weed killer should take care of the weed problem, but if you want anything else to grow in there in the next year, I would avoid this, because it will keep anything else from growing in the soil for a while otherwise. If you are planning on planting the bed then you will need to fix you soil anyways. If its mostly sand and rocks you will need something to hold the water better, Flowers like soil more than sand and rocks. So replacing all of the dirt in there is your best bet.
Good Luck!

Answer 3

Others have already pointed out that if you leave even a fraction of a root in the soil, it will re-grow. But all soils are full of weed seeds, and they live virtually forever. As someone said, they also blow in on the wind. Weeding is just a part of gardening that you have to live with. Upside: you get a great feeling when you've cleaned up your garden and it looks gorgeous!

I wouldn't recommend weed killer. It kills only the existing weeds - more are waiting to grow. And there's the danger of splatter or wind drift that will kill your flowers.

You might try a pre-emergent. Once the garden is really cleaned up, sprinkle or spray on the ground. It generally lasts for about one growing season here in the north.

Another alternative is to cultivate, cultivate, cultivate. Go in with a rake, shuffle hoe or anything else that disturbs the top 1-2" of soil. You need to do this every few days, as weeds emerge, because you need to get them when they're very small. By continuing to disturb the soil, you prevent new growth from becoming established. It's less labor-intensive than pulling by hand.

Good luck and happy gardening!

Answer 4

Weeds grow back because of several reasons.
1. Nothing kills the seeds
2. Part of the root was left behind
3. Birds drop seeds that are not digested.

There are pre-emergent weed killers on the market, but I don't think they really work ."Round-up" kills all weeds after they emerge, which is easier than pulling them. This is a great product . If you want to plant something like vegetables or flowers, what you do is get rid of the weeds, plant what you want to plant and then weed every few days. If it is grass you want to plant, either buy sod or put in the new artificial grass.
The artificial stuff looks great and never has weeds.
If you want something that looks good among rocks and sand. Kill the weeds and put in a 'drip system, put down weed blocking sheeting . Cut holes in it. Plant various cactii in the holes. Put decorative rocks on top of sheeting.

Answer 5

Cover it with heavy dark plastic for several seasons -- especially summertime. CAUTION: If any of nearby trees have roots extending under that unused garden, please don't do as I suggested because it would kill the trees. We bought a house with plastic sheeting on the ground including a large area around an interesting lovely old pine tree. There were red rocks and round pine stepping stones over the plastic sheeting -- very attractive and peaceful patio area and NO WEEDS. Maybe about 3 to 5 yrs later, the tree died.

Answer 6

Chances are the roots break off in the soil. Also you are not removing other weed seeds and new weeds blow in all the time. there really is no 100% permanant way to prevent weeds- weeds are just a part of gardening.

Answer 7

Some of the root is left behind in the groun and the plant grows back. Many weeds have deep tap roots. It is also possible that the plant produces a huge number or seeds.
You can get reid of weeds by pulling them out. But it takes persistance and regular attention. I read of one lady that got rid of a whole field of bracken fern. It took her 5 years of plant pulling. The first 2 years looked like she was getting no results, but the plants eventually ran out of energy trying to regrow.
Dan.

Answer 8

Chances are seeds are being spread by their removal or you disturbed below ground growth mechanisms. You can be as diligent as you want...some will always get by...Spray the weeds when they appear..and then again.You don't have to go overboard with chemicals..the ususal suspects.
Sand and rocks,hey? Could be quite a ready-made cacti garden.Good Luck.

Answer 9

The roots break off, and then regrow a new plant from the roots. Try covering the whole sandy, rocky area with black plastic for a few weeks...the heat will kill the weeds...

Answer 10

After weeding, apply a pre-emergent. That keeps weeds seeds from sprouting. If you reapply it every few months, it should keep most under control.