I have a section my my yard that is covered with mint. It's an area about 10' x 50'. I want to get rid of the stuff this fall. How can I make sure that all the rhizomes are gone! I'd like to plant something else there so I don't want to use chemicals that will not allow future plants from growing there.
Napalm, basically. Then, more napalm, followed by Agent Orange. :-) Seriously...the stuff's a bitch to get rid of. I had just two spots in my yard with mint many years ago, and no matter what I did, it kept coming back. What do you want to plant there eventually? There may be some ground covers that'll crowd it out, given enough time. And napalm.
It's not an attractive option -- especially for a 500 sq. ft. area -- but you could probably kill it or put a good dent in it with a cover of black plastic mulch for 3-6 months.
Could also lay down a layer of cardboard, put some black compost on top of that, then four to six months later upturn the soil (the cardboard will be rotted by then) & have some really good rich soil instead of a mess of plastic to pull up & throw away.
In either case, SOME of the mint WILL survive around the edges, but it'll be a more manageable amount to dig or pull.
-paghat the ratgirl
Actually what also works is glass and sun light. If you ever left storm windows lying flat on your lawn for a few hours, you may have come back to a big brown spot. Some salvage yards or building material surplus outlets sell storm windows for very little. You need to smash the plant material down so that there is very little space under the glass and it can build up enough heat to cook everything.
The other option is a propane weed burner. It will burn the plants and weed seeds all at once.
"Paull" in news:cgiati$lrf$ snipped-for-privacy@reader2.nmix.net:
assume spearmint, Mentha spicata
where are you? htey grow near stremas in central CA. else they dry out.
if wihtin an irrigated area, cardboard cover, per paghat, will kill the patch,
you can also rip repeatedly and presistnetly wiht a digging fork, because the underground runners are shallow.
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