For gardeners, weeds often cause a lot of frustration. Weeds don’t just ruin the beauty of a lawn, but also affect the health of your well-groomed garden. Fortunately, there are many ways to manage the weeds on your lawn.
Although it seems like an impossible mission to have a weed-free lawn, you can achieve success and maintain a healthy lawn by following the tips below:
1. Inspect Your Lawn
One of the first things that you should do is check your lawn as frequently as possible. Take some time to wander through your lawn and observe everything. Most weeds appear when the growing conditions for the grass wane. As your lawn becomes thin, weeds may come up anytime and anywhere. So, make sure to be on the lookout for any signs of trouble on your turf. Once you use a push weed eater, you can quickly notice some potential problems.
2. Pre-Emergent Herbicides
Use pre-emergent herbicides to interrupt the germination of annual weed seeds such as henbit, annual bluegrass, and crabgrass. Herbicides that are corn gluten-based can offer a good alternative to the traditional pre-emergent products.
Regardless of the herbicide you pick, follow the package directions properly. Post-emergent herbicides, which kill by leaf contact, need wet foliage so the products stick to the weed leaves. You shouldn’t apply herbicides before it rains, because the water may wash off the herbicide from the leaves. That’s why you must apply it before the rainy season starts. Pre-emergent products should be applied after keeping this fact in mind.
3. Mulching
Another way to manage weeds on your lawn is through mulching. Mulching is all about covering the garden soil with an organic matter layer to inhibit and overpower weeds. It’s also a technique that helps in preventing new weed seeds from germinating. This weed control technique can usually be employed by the use of grass clippings, compost, straw, and wood chips.
Don’t use hay for mulching. This is because hay may contain dangerous weed seeds. Ground cloth, newspapers, worn-out cotton curtains, old bedsheets, and cardboard may work wonders and avoid weeds from germinating. Although mulching can be a great way to get rid of weeds from your lawn, you must apply this technique early. In any case, you must mulch before the annual weed starts growing. This is the key to effective mulching.
4. Hand Pulling
Hand pulling is the most direct technique for managing weeds on your lawn. It’s the simplest technique that works effectively in controlling weeds. Just have a lightweight bucket to hold the weeds you gather and have a tool in your bucket that makes the process of weeding easier. If you’ve got lots of weeds and you don’t have much time to do this chore, you can focus on hand pulling those that have set seeds already. Not enabling plants to reproduce can be a key strategy for having a weed-free lawn.
5. Solarizing
Solarizing is one of the perfect ways to control weeds. Basically, you expose the weeds to hot weather conditions. Solarizing works by covering a weedy area with a plastic sheet where the heat collects under the sheets, killing weeds in the long run. But, you need to determine how to cover the weeds on your lawn, particularly if you’ve got other plants. You shouldn’t damage the other plants while removing the weeds.
6. Have A Lawn Maintenance Schedule
To win in the war on weeds, you should have your own lawn maintenance schedule. For instance, during the fall season, you should seed and aerate your lawn. It’s also necessary to give your turf a short mow before winter. During springtime, you must start afresh. Use pre-emergent herbicides and handpick any lingering weeds that may cause trouble later. You should also mow your lawn often in summer and spring. However, be careful not to get rid of more than a third of the grass at any given time. As mentioned earlier, the lack of grass can be conducive to weed growth.
7. Limit Tilling And Digging
There’s no better way to manage weeds from growing than reducing tilling and digging in your garden. Oftentimes, tilling can bring up new weed seeds to the surface. However, you may also opt for the no-till gardening technique. You shouldn’t dig deep when you are planting seeds. Just try to settle with a no-till method to improve the fertility and structure of your soil.
Conclusion
Lawn weed management can be challenging, especially if you’re a first-time gardener and are learning the basics. However, regardless of your gardening experience, it’s easy to manage the weeds on your lawn. All you need to do is to follow the above-mentioned ways to maintain a weed-free lawn. Expect to see great results if you use the right gardening tools and follow the proper gardening practices.
