I headed off to The Home Depot early this morning to pick up a few supplies for the remodel {the HH and I are going to start working on the demo today} and would you believe while I was there I managed to put a few gardening items in my cart as well. 😉
Some women like shopping with their girlfriends or hanging out at the wine bars, but I’m a Home Depot addict. I.Can’t.Get.Enough. Seriously, I pretty much have the store layout memorized. I should apply for a job there.
Anywho, have you ever tried Casoron? It is “designed to help prevent the growth of 52 different weeds and grasses, and is recommended for sprinkling around established ornamental trees and shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees and berry plants.”
Yes it is a chemical. No it not organic {shame on me!} Yes it smells bad and you have to wear protective gear {mask, gloves} while applying it, but you know what? It kills all of weeds for up to a year {sometimes even two!} and it is worth it’s price tag of $25 a bag if you ask me.
Mrs. Hillbilly, Chino and I have all used it before in our rock borders to squelch out weeds. The only trick to getting your weeds to not come back for an entire year is to pull them all out before applying the product. I used Casoron {sparingly} at our last house in the front yard because I didn’t lay landscape fabric down before we installed the garden beds when we were building our house. Luckily I noticed how quickly the weeds were growing soon after we moved in, and used landscape fabric like crazy in the backyard and didn’t really have a weed problem back there.
Now I like a organic garden as much as anyone else, and my vegetable garden has always been an organic one {I do sprinkle a little Sluggo from time to time} but since this place doesn’t have landscape fabric and I don’t want to spend all summer pulling weeds from the gravel walkway, I went ahead and investing in a bag of the stuff. Have you tried Casoron before?
Another little project I’ve been working on is removing the moss from our lawn. It is a total pain let me tell you. 
But luckily I found a little metal rake at The Home Depot for $6.99 and it’s making the job go pretty fast. I plan on re-seeding the area once the weather warms up. I’ll let you know if I get a letter in the mail from the HOA telling me my lawn looks like crap. 😉
Last week I planted 9 blueberry bushes and 75 strawberry plants. So far so good! Everything is still alive.
And the day-lilies I transplanted a few weeks ago are looking good as well.
The sugar snap peas I planted in containers haven’t popped up be I should start to see them poking through the soil in a few more days.
Check out my oregano!! I started a half flat of oregano seeds about a month ago with plans to transplant them to individual containers once they reach about 4″ tall. I plant to divide up the 12×12 clump of plants into 9 or 12 smaller containers before planting them into the garden later this spring.I’m excited. If all goes well I should have a nice little hedge of oregano in my herb garden.
And take a look at my homegrown basil. I’m keeping in near the kitchen window and plan to make a batch of pesto when they leaves get nice and fat.
How is your indoor or outdoor garden coming along these days?
~Mavis
This years garden is being sponsored by the awesome folks at Botanical Interests Seed Company. You can check out their website HERE, order their new 2015 Garden Seed Catalog, or see the seeds I’ll be growing in my garden this year HERE.Â
Up for a tour? Read about our behind the scenes tour of Botanical Interests Seed Company.
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Jenni says
Hey Mavis,
Here’s a natural alternative to Casoron if you want to try it. I used to have problems with my lawn growing into my rock borders until I started sprinkling baking soda on the rock border and along my lawn edge. It totally prevents weeds/grass, basically anything from growing by neutralizing the soil. It works like magic. You can see it until it’s watered into the soil, but let me tell you it really does work. You can buy large bags of it at Costco 🙂 Plus, Casoron isn’t good for pets…
Mavis Butterfield says
What is the product called?
Kathleen says
Seriously? Baking soda? Like the kind I put in my soda bread? Or my pool? Wow! I wonder if I could use that between established plants in my veggie garden or to discourage the much despised Bermuda grass that grows so well in the South.
Jenni says
Yes, just plain old baking soda. My rock borders had no weeds all year, and it kept the grass from growing into the rocks. The baking soda neutralizes the ph in the soil and nothing will grow there. It really does work. Vinegar will kill a weed but doesn’t prevent them from growing.
Sylvia says
Noooo, Miss Lucy might get some on her paws and lick it off. I use vinegar or boiling water to kill weeds.
Mavis Butterfield says
Sylvia, she does not walk in that area right now. 🙂
Jenni says
Baking soda is highly toxic to dogs so be careful not to put it anywhere she might walk.
Julie says
can I spread Casoron in my asparagus bed? that is one thick, weedy mess that i can’t get a handle on.
Mavis Butterfield says
I would not use it anywhere you have vegetables planted.
Helen in Meridian says
Better save that moss. They may make you replant it.
Michelle says
Caseron is one of the worst things you can put in your garden, the chemicals hang around for years and runoff into storm drains. Vinegar is a great natural solution to weeds.
Gwen in L.A. says
Please check out WOW granular weed suppressant at Gardens Alive and their moss control spray too.
A lot safer for little Pugs and other creatures.
Happy gardening!
Carita Osterback says
I have also read cornmeal is a safe alternative to Casoron but have not tried it myself.
Beth says
I have heard that using lime on those mossy areas really helps. Don’t know if it is true so you may want to research to find out.
Susannah says
Ugh, I can’t even go into Home Depot due to chemical sensitivities, let alone actually use the stuff they sell. I use boiling water to take care of all the weeds that poke up in cracks, etc. One shot and they’re toast. 😉
Jenni says
Sprinkle baking soda in the cracks and weeds won’t grow there in the first place. 🙂
Susannah says
I haven’t tried baking soda outside, simply because I have a dog who likes to explore via her mouth, but I, too, swear by it (along with vinegar, salt, lemon juice and tea tree oil) for non-toxic alternatives to pesticides, harsh chemical cleaners, etc. In fact, I keep a permanent line of it on the threshold between my garage and my interior space (where my dog does not have access) to keep out sugar ants. Everyone in my neighborhood is dealing with them right now (and spraying a lot of nasty stuff to combat them), but I haven’t seen an ant in my house in years. Baking soda rocks!
Sammie says
Do you have a drainage problem in the back, with water draining toward your house/patio? I ask because I do, and I haven’t found a good solution.
Cindy says
Casoron is highly toxic and I would not have it anywhere near people, pets or gardens. There are plenty of safer alternatives.
Megan says
Hi Mavis! Quick question for you, in the sixth picture of this post you have your lilies in the front, and then there are a row of small/young evergreens against the house. What are those evergreens called? I’m landscaping my front yard and I love those!!
Thanks!