how to weed a large plot of land

[mschaos]

so we bought a house and it has a decent sized yard (2 plots) which has been neglected and it SO overgrown with weeds and stuff that we don't want that I want to rip everything out and start over

Comments

[anmorata]

Rototiller! My dad owned one, but to start out, I'd see if you could rent one, just to save on cash and to give it a try. It should turn up the earth for you quite nicely. Then you'll need a hoe and metal rake - those I would purchase, since you will probably be using them often. :)

[mschaos]

my issue with that is that the weeds would still be there and there are some VERY enthusiastic ones - there is no hard freeze so I afraid that using a rototiller would just push those weeds into the soil and maker things good for them to grow

[anmorata]

I understand, but here's the thing: weeds are everywhere. Seeds get dispersed by both wind and animal/bird poop (they eat seeds, etc etc), not to mention some of the more invasive ones that grow through the soil. The tiller should kill a lot of that, but short of applying liberal amounts of herbicide ( which you don't want in your food), it won't get them all. Your fight against weeds will be an ongoing battle. :)

[squidb0i]

Another vote for rotodeath

[jola]

If you have bad soil or if you have a bad back i'd highly recommend having raised beds put in (make sure they use wood that is not treated w/ chemicals you don't want leaching into the soil of course). What is your soil like? drainage?

[mschaos]

we do want to do raised beds actually but I want everything out of there first

[jola]

i like your friend's Rototiller idea, a hoe and a shovel are a good idea too. don't remove roots youself if you have tree roots, have that done it is a KILLER job. check for drainage issues and add supplement if you need to. Raised beds are awesome as fuck, i wish we had them!

[mschaos]

and as far as drainage - not sure - the area is pretty flat but we have not seen any flooding. I am sure testing the soil is a good idea as well but there is a TON of vegetation that is just growing wild out there so I am thinking it isn't too horrible

[kest]

1) Decide exactly what you want to eventually do with it before you start. Otherwise you will rip everything out, and then it will just fill up with weeds again. (You can always cover it with plastic for awhile, but that's its own kind of ugly. It does have the benefit of killing most of the weed seeds, however

[girlvinyl]

I dunno but I used one of these http://www.tvtopten.com/garden-claw.html once and it was crazy.

[lintninja]

Rent some goats to clear the vegetation off and then rototill. The goats will leave good fertilizer behind for you.