8 years ago we had the junipers removed from the back 2/3 of our yard. Since then we have been in a battle royale with the weeds that grow back there. Each year that we develop more of the landscaping, the less areas we have to weed. Alas, we still have a few areas though, and we are very much over weeding.

So to try and help ourselves along, knowing that we won’t have everything fully landscaped this year, we are trying to set ourselves up for less weeding. The main areas of weeds are the very bottom of the yard that we are working on landscaping this summer, and all the paths.

The paths we have started mitigating in the last few years. We did lay some fabric down on one of our paths on the right side of the yard. We also put fabric down on a large triangular bed just above our path. Those really helped cut down the weeds.

A few weeks ago, I got fed up of the weeds that grow on our main path. It is going to be next year before we can get it paved or covered, so I had to do something to cut down on the weeds going down to the bottom of the yard.

We would also like to prep the path a bit this year, and in order to do so, I need to kill off as many of the weeds as possible, down to the root.

Our dog has full access to everywhere in the yard so we do not use commercial chemical weed killer, and instead try to find alternative methods so that there is absolutely no risk to our dog…who loves to dig up weed roots and chew on them.

I weeded all the large weeds from the path, but couldn’t get the tiny ones just starting without digging up part of the path. So I decided to employ a method that has worked very well on our other path.

Using lumber tarp paper from the hardwood store, I covered 3/4 of the path. I unfortunately ran out before the very bottom portion, but majority of the path is now covered. We will leave this on for a few months and it will kill off anything that is under it. We can still walk on it and have been rolling our cart over it with no issues. There is a bit at the top by the cedar that will also need to be weeded and covered, though I believe we are going to try to finish the stackstone wall around that cedar this spring.

In a few months, when the weeds are killed off, we will lift the lumber tarp and scrape down the top, levelling the path as best we can. We will then add proper commercial landscaping fabric and cover it with 4-6″ of crushed gravel which we will pound solid. We will leave this over the winter. Next spring, we hope to hire a company to come and lay asphalt down the entire main path. The smaller paths we will do ourselves, but the main path is a large beast that we aren’t sure how to tackle.

Another area that has been covered, but will need to be extended is the corner on the right side of the yard. It always grows large, tree-like weeds every year. Since we are already developing that area by putting a pool in, I decided I didn’t want to battle weeds while working on getting a pool in.

So a couple weeks ago, I laid lumber tarp paper down in that corner. I has left us a nice space to store our straw bale, and Basil loves it for the heat it gives off in the sun.

I managed to also cover the corner of the front path, which usually gets overgrown and then infested with very large spiders, making it near impossible for me to harvest from the path in that corner. I know there will still be spiders this year, but without the weeds, I will feel more confident about where they are and will be able to work around them. I may not like them, but the rock walls are a perfect home, and they do keep the bug population under control in the garden.

I plan on weeding the rest of that path and laying more fabric down so that we don’t have to deal with the weeds around the pool all summer.

Moving to the other side of the yard, the area that we plan to put a deck is also absolutely out of control. The tree-like weeds are growing fast with the hot weather and few days of rain that we have had. I will be working on weeding that area this week, and then I plan to cover it with tarp paper in order to create a bit of a seating area this year for when we are using the pool.

We will build a deck over in that area eventually and have a small grassy space between the deck and the pool, but most of that will not happen until the fall or spring. I need to deal with the area before having to weed it all summer.

Likewise, the paths on the left side garden could also use some coverage so that they stay nice and ready for us to eventually pave next year.

The paths on either side of the yard that go up the fence will also need to be covered. They are nice paths to use to access the gardens, but get so overgrown throughout the summers right now. Kurt is also working on building some stairs by the fence on the left side so that we have easier access getting up and down that path on the far side.

The stairs will definitely be bricked this year as we finish all the end-caps on the garden beds this spring. We will use stack-stone to complete those, along with pavers.

Overall, we will be surrounded by lumber tarp paper and our beautiful garden this year, but at least it will mean less weeding and work. I am however, going to need to get more tarp paper next time I am picking up stuff from the hardware store. The nice thing is that they are free to take when there are some available. There are usually a few bins stocked full, so it shouldn’t be a problem to get enough to finish covering up some problem areas.