Name this weed and help me prevent it! PsIP

jillianmb

DH and I moved into this house last spring and it is in desperate need of some landscaping.  There is a sort of garden area at the back of our yard with a rock/stone perimeter, but it is overcome with weeds. In the pictures below you can see that I cleared it out as best I could but the weeds just grew back within 3 weeks time.  I hate using chemicals, but I don't know what else to do.  The roots go really deep and the weed grows almost like a groundcover and is very invasive. It has little green/white burs all over it too. 

Any idea what it is and how I can prevent it from growing this year? 

 Before and after clearing: 

Close up

IndianChica

I'm no help bc we have that annoying one too. But I wanted to post and say good luck on the possibility of adoption.

elkay

It is a groundcover - a wild one! Your pics look like it could be bedstraw (a/k/a cleavers). However, while that is vigorous, it does not have particularly deep roots and would take longer than three weeks to grow back.

 Phone your county Cooperative Extension agent to ask about precise ID and best eradication method for your area. Those people know a lot, and your taxes are paying for them, so use them.

 Good luck. You can make a beautiful little shade garden in that spot.

jillianmb

IndianChica:

I'm no help bc we have that annoying one too. But I wanted to post and say good luck on the possibility of adoption.

Thank you! 

jillianmb

elkay:

It is a groundcover - a wild one! Your pics look like it could be bedstraw (a/k/a cleavers). However, while that is vigorous, it does not have particularly deep roots and would take longer than three weeks to grow back.

 Phone your county Cooperative Extension agent to ask about precise ID and best eradication method for your area. Those people know a lot, and your taxes are paying for them, so use them.

 Good luck. You can make a beautiful little shade garden in that spot.

Thanks for the advice!