Ok.... playground and weeds!?!

[CheapNEasy]

So I did a playground install about a month and half ago... I cut the grass out of the area, nearly 4 inches thick. I then sprayed the area with vegetation killer (Grass, weeds, hell maybe even trees will die from this stuff if strong enough) and preemergance, let it all sit for the night, then laid an erosion control grade landscape fabric down, bordered the area, and covered with mulch. Mulch is no less than 4 inches thick and up to 12 inches in fall areas.

My problem is, grass is growing here and there throughout the playground, not real bad, but I cannot have grass growing in this mulch!!!!

What troubles me is, most of the thick growth is in the 10" to 12" mulch?!?!

HOW! I mean SERIOUSLY? I cannot use harsh chemicals in this area, it is a playground. I have sprayed the affected areas with vinegar and since pulled the dead grass out. It is bermuda grass growing here.

I thought about raking in some Corn Gluten, but I fear that will promote the grass growth, as it seems the root system went deeper than the 4 inches I cut out of the sod.


What KIDSAFE ideas do you guys have that can help me here?

[MountainViewGreenskeeper]

Pretty much screwed when it comes to bermuda grass. You cant really kill it without using a harsh chemical. Vinegar doesnt do much to it.

You have to really make sure its all dead and gone. You probably should have taken a sod cutter to the area to get as much of it out as possible. Spray your solution. Then set your ground cover and mulch.

If all you did was mow real short and tried to kill it chemically then it started growing that day on you. You need clay soil and zero water to really get a bare spot to apear. The mulch was probably holding the water in as well.

So ya I know that didnt help you but I havent found a way to kill this stuff yet myself. Its one tuff mother....

[picframer]

Corn Gluten will not kill it, I would suggest it would make the issue worse, here is an interesting read on the topic http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/52156/how_to_kill_bermuda_grass.html

[Steve]

My problem is, grass is growing here and there throughout the playground, not real bad, but I cannot have grass growing in this mulch!!!!

Are the roots only in the mulch or do they reach down below the landscape fabric into the earth?

[swstout]

Controlling Bermuda Grass

The same characteristics that make bermuda grass an ideal grass for certain areas, also can create problems when it starts growing in areas where other species are growing. Bermuda spreads by both stolons and rhizomes. Kill the top and it continues spreading by the rhizomes. There are some commercial products available such as Fusilade II that can be applied in certain situations. Fusilade II is a herbicide that quickly moves through the shoots, roots, rhizomes, stolons and growing points of the treated plants. Two applications are recommended for controlling bermudagrass: once in the spring and again in the fall. It should not be applied when the desirable turf is under stress.

Steve