Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
Winston wrote:

Hi all,

I've a friend who is losing a battle with some 4' tall, fibrous
weeds on her 1/4 acre lot.



Having cruised through all 59 articles in the thread, I'll add my 2
cents worth of random thoughts:

Someone suggested mowing twice per week, and you said the weeds grow
faster than that. Bull****.

Nup. I said that an electric mower would work if the 'weeds would
grow more slowly'. The weeds are now at 4+ feet in height.
An electric mower answers the wrong question. She needs the
weeds eliminated, or a way to handle them quickly and quietly if
she should let them grow too high.

Nothing grows that fast. A good electric
should be able to handle it if she stays on top of the situation.

Nup. She does not want to turn this into a hobby. If she did,
she'd just plant grass or garden.

Another grouper (Thanks again, Pat) very recently suggested herbicides
effective against these weeds. That is exactly the right answer
if it gives my friend the 'bare lot' look she seeks.

For cutting them down when she fails to get out there twice per week, an
electric hedge trimmer should do it.

Nup. Hedge trimmers work great on thin non-fibrous plant matter.
These weeds are something else entirely. They have a thick stalk
with a central core composed of hundreds of thin fibers. A hedge
trimmer would just jam or eject the stalk out the side, unharmed.
I've used my gas brush cutter *only once*. It was on these weeds
and the blade is totaled. I can recover by grinding the blade
but my point is that these weeds are not wimpy *at all*.

If she really is OK, as you suggested, with working 50 times as long on
it, then get her a little one-hand bypass pruner.

She finds the 'Grass Hog' requires no squatting or bending.

It's only 1/4 acre. Tell her to dig the damn things out with a shovel,
one at a time.

I'm liking the recent herbicide suggestion instead.

Privately, I conjecture that the infestation started with weed
seeds dropped from cut stalks. We don't need that again.

But mostly, I agree with those who suggested walking away from someone
who refuses to accept expert advice on how to deal with the situation.

Very occasionally, she accepts advice; her life improves as a result.
That is a Good Thing. Most of the time it takes a while before she
remembers it as 'her idea'. Yes, she is a character.

Aren't we all?


--Winston