Yup, that's dichondra. When I was a kid, dichondra lawns were the rage. We had one until we gave up the fight against bermuda and nutgrass. It was beautiful, but really isn't great as a lawn. Dichondra, when left alone with no insecticide, will not last through the summer. In the mean time it will drop lots of seeds and be ready for next spring when it drops more. I have some this year for the first time in a long time. Apparently the drought combined with massive rains was the right combination for it. I'm letting it go, though because we rarely get it. Yes it will eventually smother ST Augustine, but it is not as efficient in that task as many other broadleaf plants. If you want to get rid of it, regular Weed-B-Gone would work. And you are right. Pulling dichondra is a royal pain in the butt. Either rely on the flea beetles of summer or spray it out. Since you don't want to use chemicals, try letting it go just this year and see if you see it go away after the 4th of July. Oh and dichondra needs frequent water. If you are watering infrequently, it might go away sooner than 4th of July.

Try some 2,4-d, its safe on centipede but use only if the Ivy is activly growing. You might have to wait till spring. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/Plantanswers/turf/publications/centipede.html Here is a link that might be useful: Centipede

Skybird, thanks I guess! You were very gentle. I did read the thread you linked. I've read others too where folks didn't seem to be having quite so much trouble. We live in the Greenhorn Valley (south of Pueblo)on a windy ridge. Our yard is all rocked with perennials, shrubs, trees, grasses. I dislike the rock intensely-- it's so unwelcoming, hard to walk on or work in, etc. -- but no mulch will stay down in the wind. What I hope to do is replace all the rock except the winding path with a groundcover. Any groundcover which can be walked on occasionally, is drought-tolerant, and not a attractant for deer would work. We have anacyclus daisies, which we enjoy, but it doesn't spread quickly. My husband doesn't want more woolly thyme, which we have in the back. We want some kind of a quiet background for our other plants. The look we were trying to go for when we started was a "foresty" look, but foxes dug up our irrigation lines-- never could figure out why really, but it happened night after night -- and only the rock seemed to stop them. I think groundcover would deter them also. I've attached a photo of part of our front yard from two years ago. The front doesn't face the mountain and ridge, but it still gets tremendous wind. I've looked online at groundcovers but this will be a huge project in terms of time, labor, and money, so I thought something like G.h. which I know will grow here and I like the look of would be best. I hear what you're saying, though. If you or anyone else has any further thoughts I'd sure appreciate hearing them, and thanks for taking the time to do such a lengthy and informative post.

Violets and glechoma are not nitrogen fixers. However, both low growing plants will shade the ground, regulate soil moisture somewhat, and scavenge excess nutrients. I dont know if they will eventually compete with the vegetables for water and nutrients but both plants can turn into a nuisance and spread through large areas if left unchecked. Creeping charlie especially, when happy, has the ability to overrun and smother other plants 6" and under with its stolons and vining growth. Unmown violets can start to get up in height in my yard too (6-8"). Eventually any fruit sitting directly on another plant is going to kill that plant and both it and the fruit are going to rot.