Weed Control for Your Lawn

Having a little weed control for your lawn as the summer approaches can provide visions of your family, friends, and neighbors coming to your backyard for a gathering. With some weed control you will enjoy playing ball with your children, having friends and neighbors in for a barbecue, or just relaxing with your family on a weed free lawn.

Some weeds such as knotweed, goosegrass, and path rush can be caused by soil compaction. Poor drainage of the soil can bring invasions of rushes, sedges, or Virginia buttonweed. Saturated soils put a lot of stress on turf grass because the roots need oxygen and a soil that is constantly wet oxygen is just not available. White clover is very often caused by low levels of nitrogen. These problems should be corrected before you start using an herbicide. The first thing we need to do is test the pH level of our soil; a slightly acidic soil that reads between 6.5 and 7.0 is good for growing a lawn. If the soil is too acidic a sprinkling of lime will help and sulfur can be added if the soil is not acidic enough. Most lawns will grow best in soils that are loamy and have a mix of sand, silt, and clay. If there is too much clay in the mix it can cause soil compaction which prevents the flow of nutrients and air. Organic matter such as compost will greatly benefit any kind of soil.

The natural lawn care you can give your backyard areas the better off you will be. Grasses are different when it comes to the type of climate they prefer, their shade, and wear and tear tolerance, and the amount of nutrients and water that they require. Your local home and garden center will be able to recommend which grasses are best suited in your area.

You will want to mow your lawn often but not very short. Giving your lawn a short hair cut will expose the surface roots, the surface aeration is lowered, and the soil will dry out faster. It is a good idea not to cut off more than 1/3 of the grass at any time. Most grass species are healthy when they are kept at a length of 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 inches tall. Mowing is also known as mechanical weed control method.   

Watering thoroughly will impel your lawn to develop a deeper root system which will make it hardier and more drought-resistant. If you water more frequently and lighter it will only encourage the lawn to have shallow roots and many more weeds. Watering in the early morning is best because there is not as much evaporation and it will allow the foliage to dry through out the day.

You want to patch any bare areas of the lawn as soon as they appear, this will prevent the weeds from invading. A Bermuda or St. Augustine grass will fill in the areas nicely. Re-seeding is also an option but you will probably have to hand pick any weeds that may appear.

A homemade weed control method would be to dig or pull out the weeds as soon as they appear by hand or with a small hand tool. You want to perform this when you do not have a large number of weeds to control, the sooner you pull the weeds the better chance you have of controlling a spread.  

Weed control without using chemicals is an excellent way to rid a garden or lawn of weeds. A natural weed killer can be household vinegar but only for young weeds in a planting bed. It is the acetic acid in vinegar that gives it the herbicide qualities and the higher the percentage the better it is. Vinegar used as an herbicide on your lawn is probably not recommended, it needs to be applied directly to the weeds only because it will harm your lawn also. Vinegar is best used in a planting bed where you can aim the spray directly onto the weeds.

If what you want is to have a comfortable, friendly outdoor space for your family to have fun this summer, getting rid of uninvited plants that are trying to overtake your lawn is a great way to begin. Once you have some weed control and killing the pesky plants, you will not have to worry about prickles or bee stings to your toes. All you need to worry about is having enough seating for all your family, friends, and neighbors.