Cost to have someone pull weeds? or can I do this?

[Satori]

I hurt my back and there is no way I'm going to be able to pull the weeds out of the back yard in time to get things ready and I'm wondering how much it might cost to get a 19 x 21 plot weeded. Its mostly foxtails that are about 6 inches tall. I'm going to do the totally unnatural thing and spray weed killer on them (its also a health issue, the stuff back there sets off my dd's asthma) to kill them to the root. I live in small town America so no outrageous city prices. Any idea how much it might cost? I'm thinking teenager looking for extra money kinda thing.

OR

Can I kill them down to the roots then take a hoe, I think that's what its called, its rectangular and half of it goes under the ground and would sheer it off at the roots but would leave some of the roots (which would be dead). I could probably do the hoe thing but getting down on my hands and knees is not going to work.

[JamieCatheryn]

Killing the top part with chemicals if you're going to deal with the roots anyway doesn't make any sense to me, it's the roots you need to get dealt with the top just tells you where the root is. If these things have deep roots I'd suggest digging them up. A teen might do it for somewhere between $7-$15 an hour, it's a big plot probably an all day job, so like $80 maybe? They might do it haphazardly and miss some of the root, you'd need to do a little again if anything grows back.

[mamadelbosque]

Can I ask why you feel you must have a perfect grass-only yard?? Its just not something I've ever understood, honestly. IMO dandelions and such are pretty. But maybe I'm crazy? We just mow everything the samea nd it all gros at about the same rate and gets mowed and looks just peachy fine...

[lightheart]

If your planning on growing veggies or flowers back there in the plot I would also think twice about using a chemical on them.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque

Can I ask why you feel you must have a perfect grass-only yard?? Its just not something I've ever understood, honestly. IMO dandelions and such are pretty. But maybe I'm crazy? We just mow everything the samea nd it all gros at about the same rate and gets mowed and looks just peachy fine...

There is no grass out there, just TONS of weeds and I'm putting in hardscaping and need all the weeds cleared before I can do it. Besides, I personally don't like seeing dandelions in yards, it looks unkempt to me. I like the groomed look and since its an enclosed back yard I'm the only one who will be looking at it and I will have it the way I want it:P

[griffin2004]

Give your local high school a call. There is probably a group looking to make some $$$.

Is this where you're going to put down the gravel?

[PlayaMama]

in our small town, (pop 150) $7-$10/ hour is the going rate.

if you can see the fox tail seeds it's too late to how them under. they will just reseed themselves. if you know they are there and the seeds aren't yet visible, get 'em quick!! i'd skip the chemicals too, killing them after they've seeded will just cause them to drop their seeds faster.

the trick with foxtails is to pull them when they are still green or be really careful, and probably pay more, to get all the seeds you can when you pluck them, either way i'd move quickly because they just get worse as the season goes on.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by griffin2004

Give your local high school a call. There is probably a group looking to make some $$$.

Is this where you're going to put down the gravel?

yep!

Originally Posted by PlayaMama

in our small town, (pop 150) $7-$10/ hour is the going rate.

if you can see the fox tail seeds it's too late to how them under. they will just reseed themselves. if you know they are there and the seeds aren't yet visible, get 'em quick!! i'd skip the chemicals too, killing them after they've seeded will just cause them to drop their seeds faster.

the trick with foxtails is to pull them when they are still green or be really careful, and probably pay more, to get all the seeds you can when you pluck them, either way i'd move quickly because they just get worse as the season goes on.

no seeds yet, I thought maybe it was winter rye or something becasue all the sudden over the past month a "lawn" has popped up and my mom clued me in that they were foxtails lol

[number572]

Can you cover the area with that thick black plastic sheeting (sold at garden centers) that kills weeds & blocks growth under gravel? Not sure of the price but its made for your type of project.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by number572

Can you cover the area with that thick black plastic sheeting (sold at garden centers) that kills weeds & blocks growth under gravel? Not sure of the price but its made for your type of project.

lol, you have to pull all the weeds first and have a flat surface before you can lay down the weed blocker

[mamadelbosque]

Says who? Just plunk it down ontop of them, and hold it down with some rocks/bricks.

[number572]

Originally Posted by Satori

lol, you have to pull all the weeds first and have a flat surface before you can lay down the weed blocker

haha, its not really lol worthy b'c we did it for our extra driveway area of our property & its worked great... but, maybe if you are only laying a very thin layer of stones or you need it perfectly smooth before you lay the rocks, you'd need to weed prior to covering. Our project went down almost two years ago & we live in a plant environment (tropics) and we've had no breakthru plants. hth & best luck with your project!


p.s. we staked the edges of our plastic sheeting with metal stakes & they have held up so far. I think the sun bakes the life out of anything underneath, and they have no airflow... seems pretty dead under there so far.

edit: i just asked my partner who said that they laid the sheeting in a double layer, then staked a garden (black) canvas on top of the sheeting layer for extra protection. the canvas was riveted on the edges so that the stakes would stay in place over time. neither of us remember the cost of that project. soooo many expenses in owning a home!! it truly never ends, eh?!

[bender]

Is it a mowable area? If so, I'd mow it with a basket attachment and get rid of the tops. Then you can spray and dig stuff under (maybe with a rototiller?) before putting down a weed blocker layer.

But a HS group trying to earn money sounds like a great plan. You could also bribe/tip them with pizza and soda at the end of the work as well.

[Neva]

I used to get paid $10/hr for pulling weeds.

[I~love~pie]

my son (16) would probably do that job for $30. Even if you get all that stuff pulled, definatly put down the weed blocker for a season to kill anything underneath. you dont need it perfect but you need to keep the weed blocker down so no air circulation happens.
I also can recomend this device more http://www.amazon.com/Hound-Dog-Prod..._tdp_sv_edpp_i I bought one a few years ago and I use it all over my yard.

[Treasuremapper]

I would avoid the weed killer if this is going to be a vegetable garden. In our area, hiring someone to weed would be pricey, but renting a tiller might work.

[Treasuremapper]

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque

Says who? Just plunk it down ontop of them, and hold it down with some rocks/bricks.

Yeah, you don't have to pull the weeds first!

[cristeen]

I just did my front yard a couple months ago... the weeds were still green from the rains, and no seeds yet. I just tilled them all under with a rototiller, covered them with heavy landscape cloth, and laid about 2 inches of mulch. I do have weeds coming up around the edges where the cloth doesn't quite meet the concrete, but that's a lot easier to deal with than the entire yard.

[polyhymnia]

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque

Says who? Just plunk it down ontop of them, and hold it down with some rocks/bricks.

Or put down old carpet. My mom did this to kill the grass and weeds where she wanted to put a garden. It takes a long time though.