Cardboarding over lawn fall to spring

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
“Mowing is also reasonable, if you don't mind having your yard a "lawn." Mow the ivy, bindweed, vinca, crabgrass, etc. and it will over time turn into something that looks lawn-like.“

Not OP but I would love to do that. But won’t the weed bits in the mower blades end up distributing the problem to the rest of the lawn?

No, the bits you chop off are not root growth but leaves. They can’t grow without some root tissue, generally, especially when laying in the sun. But that is why you don’t till - that will just cut up up the roots and redistribute them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please don’t use herbicide on your lawn or on the unwanted growth. For English ivy it is beat to just be patient and tenacious and pull it by hand. You don’t have to get it all at once; just do some whenever you have the energy and eventually you WILL eradicate it.

My mom worked diligently for over 10 years on it and she never managed to get it all. It was the bane of her existence.

[Anonymous]

I put black plastic over a large area this spring (for a garden next year) and cooked it to death all summer. Checked a few weeks ago and it’s going well. Much faster than the cardboard approach. I’ve done that too, but it takes forever.