Up until this week it’s mostly been the weeds. Holy hell the weeds. I’ve lived in a few places while I was on active duty but I’ve never seen a place where the weeds will straight up overrun a property like they will in Ohio. If you’re not spending at least 5 hours a week fighting the weeds you might as well forget it.

I’ve also been engaging in some pretty intense maneuvers to deter the rabbits taking an interest in my veggie garden. The green beans are a near total loss this year but I found a garlic/cayenne pepper blend which has encouraged them to move on before they claimed the rest. At least for now.

This week I caught a scouting party of Japanese beetles. Last year I almost lost a very nice Japanese maple to beetles, not to mention the garden. I had three significant outbreaks over the course of the summer and I thought I was going to cause a mass extinction event with the amount of Sevens dust I deployed. The old timer next door clued me in on milky spore so while this year will likely be another Greek epic maybe I can get the drop on them next season.

I love my yard while I still have the energy to fight the good fight but I can see the day where I might just pave the thing over. Who else feels my pain?

Battling weeds here in Central Florida too. Can't deploy the GrazonNext until I have regular rain. Hasn't rained in 10 days...

I used to battle the moss in Washington, so I feel where you’re coming from. I pavestoned the back yard, and it didn’t help. Moss grew on everything.

Here I don’t have a lot to worry about. A little roundup once in a while and I am good to go.

Weeds is Georgia are a constant battle. I have some in my mulch that RoundUp cant kill so I have to pull them by hand. I never get them all, it’s just a fight to not let them over run the property.

Would some chickens be helpful?

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
Would some chickens be helpful?

Goats. They’ll eat everything all the way to the root. It’ll be a dry vegetation free yard in no time.

I was on vacation for a week. When I left the garden was weed free. When I got back it looked like the rest of the yard.

quote:

Originally posted by asonie:
If you’re not spending at least 5 hours a week fighting the weeds you might as well forget it.

You're doing it wrong . Use of proper herbicides in a timely fashion will eliminate most problems for all or most of a growing season. I didn't spend five hours/week last season, and that was the year I finally cracked-down on the weeds.

If you're not seeding, pre-emergent treatments in early- to mid-spring and mid- to late-summer will take a lot of work out of it. (I'd guess late April to early May and mid-August to mid-September in Ohio, respectively.)

quote:

Originally posted by asonie:
I’ve also been engaging in some pretty intense maneuvers to deter the rabbits taking an interest in my veggie garden.

T-posts and rabbit wire. Done. (Put the wire into the ground a few inches or line the perimeter with bricks or stones.)

quote:

Originally posted by asonie:
This week I caught a scouting party of Japanese beetles. Last year I almost lost a very nice Japanese maple to beetles, not to mention the garden. I had three significant outbreaks over the course of the summer ...

Scott's GrubEx, or similar, applied in late May through early June (in your area) would go a long way toward eliminating, or at least moderating, that problem.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
T-posts and rabbit wire. Done. (Put the wire into the ground a few inches or line the perimeter with bricks or stones.)

Yes, get rabbit wire. Do not expect chain link fencing to keep them out. I have actually seen with my own eyes rabbits going right through the diamond-shaped hole in chain link. And they don't pause or anything, just full bore right through the fence (while the dog was chasing it).

While it won't help for weeds and rabbits, Diatamacious Earth is a killer for exoskeleton bugs . Once a year or so we'll spread it around the yard to control fleas and flies. You can get it at Tractor Supply or similar type store. Not a lot coin when buying there.