Stopping weeds & grass in flower beds

[kate413]

I've been having a problem recently with weeds and grass creeping into my flower beds. I looked at the hardware store for a product to fix the problem, but was completely overwhelmed by the selection. Does anyone know which product works best for killing weeds and grass?

[thanrose]

It would help to know a bit more about where you are gardening and what type of conditions you face.

A good mulch will slow the germination of weeds, and eventually enrich the soil as it decomposes. If you remove the weeds, lay down a layer of newspaper only 2-3 sheets thick, then cover with an inch or two of a bio-mulch, that will keep your flower beds weed free for a season. That advice would still vary a bit depending on the conditions including the weeds.

For instance, bamboo, torpedo grass, cattails, mints and other stuff could easily travel under the newspaper and mulch to come up elsewhere.

[JanB]

Wauw, "newspaper" cool tip.

I'm going to give that a try too.

Thanks

Jan