I have a HUGE play area FULL of weeds, no time or ability to weed, what do I do?

Question

The previous owners didn't put plastic or weed barrier fabric under, and now there's weeds everywhere. I am completely overwhelmed! It looks terrible. What do I do?

I have several young children, and it's very hard to find the time or energy to do it-I already have so much on my plate! None of the yardwork will get done unless I do it. I need a solution to get rid of large areas of weeds quickly and in a cost effective way, and to keep them away! I don't want to have to hire help if possible-it's such a big job, I can see someone charging inordinate amounts of money. Is there a quick, effective way for me to get rid of them myself? There are woodchips in the play area, too, which complicates it a little. The weeds are getting really embarrassing!

Answer 1

sounds like you have yourself a pickle of a situation!

perhaps you could make it a game and get the kids to help you with the smaller ones? see if you can get the whole root out!!! yeahhh! that could be fun! the one who gets the most with a whole root is the winner! you could add the botanical aspect of the exercise by explaining roots and leaves and seeds and proliferation!!!! and how to make mummy really happy!

ok... just brainstorming here....
1. get hubby/family/friends to do it or atleast help?
2. fence off the area and use roundup... as horrid as that stuff is and hopefully you will choose not to go that route, but it is fast and effective...
3. set a goal of a very small section at a time each day so you will feel some sense of accomplishment. focussing on a small section will help with the overwhelmed feeling you are experiencing.
4. get some landscape plastic and cover the entire area with it... followed by new bark mulch. this is immediate and effective but not the longterm solution.
5. pave it over.
6. have it all dug out, line with thick plastic and add sea sand. the salt in the sea sand will inhibit germination of weeds and be a lovely base for your playground area.
7. dig up all bark mulch and weeds, add new soil layer and sod over. weed and feed as necessary or just mow the works down and keep a grassy area there instead.

although you wish to have an inexpensive solution, it would appear to me that the best solution is to have it done and then you'll be starting from scratch and better able to maintain it so it does not get so out of hand.

i'll add more if i think of more ideas but methinks there's really no way to get around it.... weeds are the nemesis of many people and there's a good reason why.

good luck!

Answer 2

With caution:
You can use a weed killer such as "ROUND UP". Most would not recmd' u use this prodcut in a play area... But. If one follows the guidelines on the product I doubt it would cause a problem. Stay away for a while after application.
The reality is we get as much a dose of these types chems' in most maintained public areas... golf courses, public lawns... gardens \ lawns around shopping centers... the stuff is already everywhere- Personally I don't use chems if I can avoid them. But they do work regardless of the impact they have outside their prupose.
For weeding in most areas I have a flame torch designed to fry weeds. It works well.
For a large area like a play area one could first clear the area with a rake and shovel... maybe a 2 \ 3 hour job. Doesn't have to be done all at once.

Answer 3

The only thing I can think of is to cover it with a big sheet of clear plastic and let the sun cook them dead. You can get rolls of plastic sheet pretty cheap. (I just got a roll, 10'X100' for abt $12.)

It would take a week or two for the weeds to die and shrivel up.

Depending on what kind of weeds they are it may be necessary to hire somebody for a good weeding.

Answer 4

You can cover the area with black tarps until the lack of light and heat kill off the weeds.