New to gardening! Need help!

[Ellp]

Hi all,
Dh and I bought a house 6 years ago and it was beautifully landscaped. During that time, there's been a lot of stress our lives, and our good intentions of keeping the gardening up have just evaporated.

Most of the stuff is just cut and trim but I've got a backyard patch that needs help badly.

The area is roughly a rectangle of 20ft x 12ft, and when we moved in there was an oval brick enclosed space where the previous owner had planted roses and mint(!!) The surrounding area was grass.

The mint was planted directly into the ground. I didn't know it at the time and thought it was neat. I left it alone for 6 years(!) and its now spread like wildfire! The whole area in the "oval" is now covered with mint and its spread over to the grass now. I also discovered that I CAN'T STAND the smell of mint (other than in toothpaste). The smell of the stuff makes me nauseus(sp?).

So how do I get rid of the stuff? I've tried pulling it out but it has underground runners and if you miss a piece, it just sprouts out from there. I've got a bad back and can't do much of the physical labour.

Also, because we've let the yard go, its also covered with dandeliions (that I can get at because I have a picker), clover, moss and other weeds.

Ideally I'd like the whole area to be mint free, even (its now very bumpy because I've removed the bricks from the oval), and covered with grass so the kids can play on it. Also, our local municipality has banned pesticides so I can't go there.

Help!

[ms.shell]

Your kids can play on the mint and what's great is that it will naturally repel ants from their play space.

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

A heavy layer of cardboard followed by 6+ inches of topsoil and/or sheet mulch will probably do it. Mint is strong though so you will want a few layers of cardboard. I'm not sure if one would do it. You will also want to cover the area around it several feet beyond where the mint reaches now. The risomes can travel a fair distance searching for light.

I'm battling mint in my back yard right now and this is the next thing I'm going to try once i have the stockpile of cardboard and mulch. I had covered the area with black plastic for more than a year but it didn't kill the stuff.

[mindymom]

i agree with the pp but would add that you might want to cut the mint to the ground, then cover with weed block, then cover with cardboard and soil. i'm just not confident the cardboard will outlast the mint.

in general it sounds like you do not have great soil. (actually, it sounds like you live at my house... i would not try to do anything to get rid of the moss and clover, but rather concentrate on building up your grass. moss and clover are kind of your friends because they are building the soil and keeping it from eroding while you find a good grass variety for your area. as the grass gets stronger it will crowd them out. slowly....

[annekevdbroek]

I would suggest cutting back the mint (mow it or use a weed wacker). Cover the area with heavy black plastic - the kind that is sold in 20'-25' sheets in the paint department at Home Depot. It should be about $15-20 for the package. Get the heaviest weight available. Then weigh it down with rocks, bricks, cinder blocks, etc. Keep it covered for 6-8 weeks during summer heat. It should kill the mint in under the plastic (in theory).

Are herbicides also banned in your community? (You said pesticides, which kill bugs). Because the other option, not a nice one, is to put down either a broadleaf weed killer, which is preserve the existing grass and kill everything else, or to put down a herbicide like RoundUp which will kill all the plants there.

Mint is so darn invasive - I always shudder a bit when I see racks of it at the garden store.

[Ellp]

Originally Posted by ms.shell

Your kids can play on the mint and what's great is that it will naturally repel ants from their play space.

Well, I'd rather them not play in the mint because they would make the air and them smell like mint. It'd just make me turn green.

Also, I did try the cardboard and sod thing as I tried to do a "square foot" garden thing last year. I covered my square with 2 layers of cardboard, and 6 inches of the mix. Wouldn't you know it, the mint came right up through the cardboard within 2 months. Now the stuff is just THRIVING on the stupid mix. :

Originally Posted by annekevdbroek

I would suggest cutting back the mint (mow it or use a weed wacker). Cover the area with heavy black plastic - the kind that is sold in 20'-25' sheets in the paint department at Home Depot. It should be about $15-20 for the package. Get the heaviest weight available. Then weigh it down with rocks, bricks, cinder blocks, etc. Keep it covered for 6-8 weeks during summer heat. It should kill the mint in under the plastic (in theory).

Are herbicides also banned in your community? (You said pesticides, which kill bugs). Because the other option, not a nice one, is to put down either a broadleaf weed killer, which is preserve the existing grass and kill everything else, or to put down a herbicide like RoundUp which will kill all the plants there.

Mint is so darn invasive - I always shudder a bit when I see racks of it at the garden store.

Yeah, that and Ivy...and periwinkles. Those are a major thorn with me too.

I think the barrier thing is what I'm going to end up doing. Its a cheap and effective (I hope!) way of dealing with all the mint and weeds.

I don't know if herbicides are banned or not. I know the pesticide ban was just implemented a couple of years ago and it wouldn't surprise me if the herbicide stuff is too. Its a bit confusing here because I live right on the border between 2 cities. In my city, we're quite proactive on the "cides" stuff but the neighboring city is not. In fact they've recently approved a ban on herbicides for home use but not for commercial or city use.: So the answer to the question depends on who you ask and which side of the street you're standing on!

Thanks for all the input!

[mosmom06]

oh, mmmm.....I'd LOVE to have a yard full of mint!: Would you like to pull it up and send it to me? (periwinkle and ivy, too!)

Can't tell you how to get rid of it, 'cause I've never tried - I love the stuff. When I was a teenager, I grew mint, and we'd pick it and dry it to make tea. (yum) And I absolutely love to smell the stuff. Always said if someone wouls make mint-scented cologne, I'd buy stock in the company in a heartbeat!

Good luck!

[Talula Fairie]

I would hit it from all angles. Spray it with something that will kill it (organic if possible), then cover it with several layers of black plastic, then cardboard, then a boatload of rocks and cheap dirt. If that doesn't kill it I don't know what will.

I'm sorry about your mint woes. The only place mint belongs is in a pot, imo