What's the best commercially available weed killer?

[toddmd2]

After I get all this mess taken care of with my front lawn it's going to be time to move to the beds for some good ol' mulching. But before I mulch I'm going to get some of that fiber that you put down to retard weed growth. But even before that I'm going to go after those weeds with a vengance to try and rid my beds of them before I lay anything down.

So what's the best weed killer I can use? I'm not talking about stuff that's only available to contractors, I'm talking about the stuff I can pick up at any Wal Mart or Home Depot. I'm looking for a spot solution, not an entire yard solution. Any ideas?

[GLAN]

For your garden beds........"Preen" or "Preen -n- Green"

The "Preen" is a weed preventer....Works on the weed seed. If you have weeds.....pull them. Also be ready to see some weeds a week or two after you applied the "Preen" according to the label instructions. Pull out those weeds as well. You may do a follow up application of "Preen" about 6 weeks after the first.

The "Green" is plant food.

[toddmd2]

Should I do all the "preening" prior to laying down all the weed retarding fiber? Is the "preening" necessary if I'm going to first pull the weeds then lay high grade fiber to keep them from coming back? What's that fiber called anyway?

[NCSULandscaper]

If you put your mulch thick enough and combine that with a pre-emergent herbicide there is no reason to use fabric. In fact unless you are using gravel in beds stay away from weed fabric all together.

[toddmd2]

Originally posted by NCSULandscaper
In fact unless you are using gravel in beds stay away from weed fabric all together.

^ Why is that?

[trees]

It's hard to plant through the fabric for starters. Secondly, and more importantly, the stuff doesn't work for long. As the mulch starts to break down, the weeds simply use it as their growing medium. Most contractors I know have moved away from using fabric in planting beds for this reason.

Works great for under gravel areas, as mentioned before...

Another great pre-emerge is Eptam. Only available at independant Garden Centers. This is our pre-emerge of choice.

[toddmd2]

So how effective is this pre-emerge stuff? Does it need applied yearly, every other year, only when you mulch?

[NCSULandscaper]

most stuff you get in the big box stores needs to be applied 3-4 times per year depending on amount of rain you get.

[dirigo]

Pre-emergents have been mentioned in this thread ... Preen and Eptam. Any other names that you can offer that the homeowner can purchase at the various big discount stores already mentioned, i.e., Home Depot, et al?

Also, here in GA and probably other spots, pine straw is used heavily as mulch as well as a sort of weed "slower downer". I suppose it has to do with the acidity, but pine straw breaks down in a fast period of time here. I'm looking for a mulch that will have a more lasting period of time before needing to be replaced. What recommendations do you folks have for a reasonable effective mulch that helps slow down weeds and is aesthetically pleasing?

Thanks in advance and have a great weekend!

[NCSULandscaper]

i mainly use triple shredded hardwood on 100% of my installs and maintenance accounts because of the fine texture of the mulch when packed will not blow away, get kicked out of place, or wash away in heavy rains. And because it packs in tight, it smothers out most weeds and the use of chemicals is decreased by a large amount. I may have to pre-m once a year and spot spray 1 or 2 times but thats it.

[dirigo]

I like the sounds of that! I have noticed what you stated re: pieces being kicked out of place, being washed out of place, or the wind doing a number. I think we, being in GA and NC, probably from time to time experience the same sort of weather conditions.

Is the triple-shredded hardwood something that is available to home owners? As you can see I really know most nothing about mulches ... are termites a consideration? I've never had to worry too much about them in previous locations I've lived, but they seem to be "big business" generators in this region. :)

Thanks again and have a great weekend.

OT: I'm already looking forward to next year's basketball season - man, the ACC is just one plain tough league when it comes to roundball and the oblong ball game is getting better :D with the additions that have been made from the Big East. My apologies to the list here ...

[NCSULandscaper]

you can get it in bags, but who knows how long its been in there. The quality of it is no where near the quality of the bulk mulch i can get. And most homeowners are not going to want to mess with bulk mulch. I have never seen a problem with any type of insect colonizing in mulch beds using hardwood mulch. Now pine bark mulch i have seen my fair share of insect problems. Coule be the extra moisture that the hardwood mulch holds in that deters most insects.

Yea i think we have some of the same weather, especially hurricanes lol.

[toddmd2]

So will this pre-emerge stuff kill the plants I already have in the beds?

[NCSULandscaper]

pre-emergent only kills weed seeds when they first germinate, but dont have a chance to emerge out of the ground before they are killed. Just read the label on the product, because they are some plants that can be killed by it. But for the most part pre-emergent does not harm shrubs.