De-weeding my garden

 I live in Riverside, California (about 60 miles east of Los Angeles).

My garden is loaded with Senecio vulgaris (common groundsel) and
Euphorbia peplus (petty spurge).

When hand-weeding, what's the best way to make sure I pull ALL of the
weeds ("ROOTS AND ALL").

After weeding, what can I apply to prevent these weeds from re-
emerging?  (Preen Weed Preventer doesn't work)

 
I am no friend of garden chemicals, but -- depending on the size of
the garden  -- you might want to apply some (shudder) RoundUp.

RU has to be applied  TO THE PLANT, as it works down through the
leaves, stem, etc.  Follow the directions METICULOUSLY, including
watering well BEFORE
applying RU.

If you choose to go another way, I'm afraid there is no choice but
digging, not hand-weeding.  The latter almost never gets the roots.
Again, if the soil is very dry, you might want to water, then get out
the shovel and dig down, down, down.

Somebody else can probably advise you on preventing re-emergence.
Some say that not even prayer helps.  <g>

HB

If you

 On 9/18/11 2:23 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:

By the time you see enough of spurge to spray it, it has already dropped
seeds.  RoundUp works only on growing plants, not on seeds.

--
David E. Ross
Climate:  California Mediterranean, see
<http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html>
Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>

 On 9/18/11 7:15 AM, GARY wrote:

I'm not familiar with groundsel.

I weed with a paring knife, which I use to cut the roots of a weed.
When I pull a weed, I check to make sure that what I pulled includes at
least some root.  Very few weeds can resprout from a fragment of a root.
 This works on spotted spurge (Euphorba maculata), so it should also
work on E. peplus.

The problem with spurge is that a new plant sets and drops seeds almost
before you can see it.  I use a thick mulch of leaves in beds that do
not have a vigorous ground cover.  This reduces (but does not prevent)
the ability of the seeds to sprout and form new plants.

--
David E. Ross
Climate:  California Mediterranean, see
<http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html>
Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>

 In message

Groundsel and petty spurge are annuals. Both are relatively easily
pulled, though the latter sometimes breaks off at the base of the stem.

Grasp at the base of the stem.

If the beds are clear enough of other plants, the use of a hoe will
discourage new seedlings from establishing.

--
Stewart Robert Hinsley