Prairie Moon Nursery is a great seed source. And if you reach out to them about something more local they might know of a regional grower you could turn to. Other than them, all the places I work with are southeast-piedmont specific.
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I agree with cardboard or broken sheetrock and allowing pasture grass which I flail mow once 2-3 feet tall to leave a mulch.
A spray of 20% glacial acetic acid, diluted from a 55 gallon barrel of 100%, will burn down any vegetation within minutes, often ending an annual weed and knocking back perennials. Hazardous to work with until diluted. Decomposes quickly.
One barrel = 275 gallons. Though it comes from Petro processing I have always considered it ānaturalā since it is the same stuff we eat at 5%.
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I had false strawberry arise in many areas around our new place. Decided, with overgrown strawberry beds 2 years in, to see if strawberries do as well. Yes they do so far. Not getting many strawberries between birds chipmunks and squirrels- hope the neighbors getting a cat and a dog will help so I donāt need to - but so far lovely success with them in my replace a Bermuda lawn and garden beds with wood chips and my chosen plants.
I second the Bermuda grass comments: my best result is heavy cardboard then thick wood chips but I see removing breakthrough Bermuda and nutsedge is now my lifeās work. Beats the job I retired from, waiting on cooler weather so I can do more than 30 minutes a day!
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Gardening in the evening is my current strategy.
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I live in a forest. The folks who were here before us aimed for the āparkā aesthetic, and used a weed trimmer with a blade attachment to keep any and all plant growth other than trees suppressed. It is way too rough topography to even consider mowing.
Iāve been here ten years. In that time Iāve opened up small areas to get enough sun for fruit growing and small gardens. The places I donāt grow these things are well on their way along the rush of succession. For the most part this has been very rewarding to watch, and discover an astonishing variety of native species coming back. I mow a few wide paths with a scythe and keep tree seedlings I donāt want clipped off, and remove others for firewood or hugelculture. I mulch trees well, but I donāt bother removing low shrubs or perennials, so moving through the āorchardā is sometimes like bushwacking. Iām looking for maximum biodiversity.
I have years of experience with conventional orchards and landscapes, and this is by far a lot less work. For one thing, it encourages natural predators to move in and help control pests, especially rodents (flying squirrels are a special case - they attack at night from the sky!)
Just thought to add that I do have lots of āinvasiveā plants, both native and aliens spread by birds. Bindweed and Virginia creeper (aka Woodbine) are the toughest to control because they will climb over everything. The one destructive alien insect is the well known Japanese beetle. It has some pluses - it seems to like Woodbine - but it has a taste for quite a few other things. Years ago I read that this pest can actually be trained to stop attacking specific plants. Iām not sure, after years , if this is true, but I do spray Surround on any plants I need to protect. I have also read that they will also eat Castor bean plants, which are fatal for them. Each new generation has to learn the hard way.
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I thought this might fit well into this threadā¦ Iām at the Cullowhee Native Plant Conference right now and just did an all-day class with Annie Martin on landscaping with moss. We did a practical and reviewed the previous yearās project, and although the initial removal of other plants was intense, Iād say this is a viable option for orchardsā¦ As long as you can get the right species of moss, and enough of it. There are a few that do well in full sun. Also, deer and rabbits donāt eat it, although squirrels will dig in it if you donāt net initially.
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I didnāt read all the replies, but have you thought of an orchard mix? If you can find one for your zone and light conditions, it might work. Also erosion control mixes might be feasible. With you planting on hillsides you need to look at low growing plant materials.
Vole Pressure is high at the primary orchard. I lose a lot of trees if there is any vegetation around trees in the Fall / Winter.
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Hi, developed a really big problem with knapweed, it looks like specifically meadow knapweed, which I think might be a hybrid of brown and black. Decided to try biologic control, so I imported some knapweed weevils, released 90 of them today, and hope that they will get to work
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I especially hate knapweed. Have seen it destroy many meadows in northwestern USA and BC. It produces allelopathic chemicals that suppress other plants until you end up with a field of nothing but that stuff. Mechanical control is pretty effective with it, because the second year flowering plants (itās biennial) have a strong stem and taproot that can be pulled out completely, but itās a lot of diligent work over a period of several years until the seeds in the soil start to run out.
If you want to effectively fight that knapweed, you should be pulling the 2nd year flowers before they can go to seed. The first year plants are too weak and break off at the root so itās best to leave them alone in my experience. Maybe the weevils will help kill some of those or keep them more in check.
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I have seen Gateway Garlic Farms on Facebook using acetic acid a fair bit to start new beds, but in one post he also noted that garlic can take acetic acid up to 10%, so he will dilute it to 8% to spray garlic beds with.
If you have any suggestions of places to purchase smaller amounts, Iād like to see how it does knocking back some English ivy and other invaders.
Edit: I see it is just white vinegar, so I think I can pickup a jug of 30% from Home Depot to try out.
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I first tried Scythe which was a combo of organic acids but pricey in volume.
The most concentrated acetic acid you can find in a store is 5%, already diluted from 100% to make it safe for kitchen, kids etc.
I bought a 55 gallon drum of 100% long long ago $$ from a chemical supply wholesaler when I had bigger aspirations 
The 100% is dangerous but I have it in five gallon containers with a spout and mix to 20% as needed using respirator, face shield gloves and apron (so 5 gallons equals 25 at spray time)
I keep the garlic clear with a hoe and mulch but use the spray everywhere else when I am tired of bending. Haha
Mostly I use it to spray bases of grape vines for suckers to give me a clear view of the trunk for weed whipping.
A few growers could get a 55gallon and share, safely.
I have never thought about using an acid like diluted muriatic nor know what they would do to soil pH if used heavily.
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I have used phosphoric acid, which I bought in the paint dept. at Home D, sold for etching galvanized metal, but Iāve also been experimenting with diluting it to use on weed control. One advantage is that it would add some fertility to the soil as well. Itās not good to breathe, obviously, but itās nowhere near as brutal as muriatic.
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