Gardener bemoans losing battle with troublesome backyard intruder: 'Seriously depressing'

A gardener took to Reddit to bemoan their losing battle against an intrusive plant that has spanned multiple seasons and led to a ton of frustration on their part.

Posting in the r/gardening subreddit, the gardener explained their plight and their seemingly futile battle against nutsedge.

"I am a novice gardener— have had beds for about 3-4 seasons," they wrote in their caption. "Over the past three years, it has infiltrated my yard and taken over certain areas. I realize that I am not always the most dedicated gardener at times, but I made the mistake of pulling them out — which I've now learned is a no-no. It is seriously depressing at times for me and that leads to me neglecting it more as it feels like a losing battle (as you can see, it has gotten through the plastic tarp and rocks that I spent hours/days working on laying out)."

They went on to say they didn't want to use herbicides, because they have a garden as well as small children and a dog who play in the yard and weren't sure if Sedgehammer, a specific type of herbicide geared toward killing nutsedge, was the best option or not.

Nutsedge is a type of grass native to Africa, southern and central Europe and southeast Asia. It can be particularly tricky to kill as an invasive because it spreads via seeds and underground rhizomes and tubers that are tough to catch and remove before they take hold. A single nutsedge plant can produce hundreds of tubers in a year, making them a pain to remove manually. If you miss one, the whole process begins again the next year.

If you're tired of fighting off invasive weed species, consider rewilding or switching to a natural lawn. Native grass species will require less care and water while providing competition to invasive species like nutsedge.

Commenters here were quick to offer their advice.

"I would bury it in cardboard and mulch, and leave it like that for at least 2 growing seasons," one said, "Deprive it of light long enough and the roots will die."

"Thank you! I think I will probably do this after I also take some other steps that the other commenter shared," the poster replied. "I need to just remember to have patience. I was hoping it wouldn't take [so] long but that seems to be the case with this. I just want it gone!!"

What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard? Mowing the lawn 🏡 Controlling weeds 🌿 Keeping pests at bay 🐿️ I don't have a yard 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.