Gently Rake In The Grass Seed
Raking is important as it helps the seeds come into contact with the soil to germinate properly. If you used a spreader or simply broadcast the seeds with your hand, the grass seed isnt in proper contact with the soil.
Lightly rake in the seed over the overseeded area to improve contact and promote faster germination. Raking will also prevent water from washing away seeds in your lawn when you irrigate.
Maintain Your Lawn By Following The Necessary Lawn Care Tips
After the main problem has been taken care of, you need to make sure it does not happen again. If you know how to fix your lawn full of weeds, you only know half of what you need.
Making your lawn healthier will make the grass more robust and more competitive, not letting the weeds take root. Be sure to supplement rainfall when needed and to cut the grass at the appropriate time and length.
Lastly, remember to feed your grass with proper fertilizers and weed killers. The best defense against weed infestations is healthy grass; take care of your lawn, and your lawn will take care of itself.
Remember to contact Morans Landscaping & Excavation LLC for professional advice and lawn care services.
Cons Of Spraying Chemicals
- Spraying chemicals can be harmful to the environment. These chemicals are intended to kill weeds, but they can be washed to nearby vegetation and waterways by water. This affects water supply and humans as well. The wind could blow the spray to beneficial plants as well, killing them in the process.
- Spraying chemicals can be harmful to some mammals and even cause their deaths. Mammals who love to eat grasses can eat the chemically ingested weeds and may die of poisoning.
- They can be dangerous to the human health. Herbicides can cause skin irritation when it comes in contact with the skin. Inhaling them can also be harmful, and thats why its vital that you wear masks or a protective nose gear and any other protective clothing to avoid direct contact with the skin.
- Herbicides can offset the balance in soil nutrients, causing erosion and environmental degradation.
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Use Organic Weed Killer
Currently, there are many organic products on the market. Most of them have registered as organic, so it is sure that they will have less harmful ingredients than the chemical products. Like the two treatments above, organic weed killers can kill the weeds easily; therefore, it can kill your lawn too. So if you use this method, you should combine the weed removing with the grass reseeding.
Tools Used For Pulling Out Weeds
Many gardeners and garden owners use different tools to make weeding quicker. However, the most important thing is to use the equipment that feels comfortable in your hand. Also, the tool you are to use must suit your weeding method. Some tools prefer you stand weeding, while others are suited for those who love kneeling.
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For example, tools like the Gardeners Claw Rake, Cobra Head Weeder, and angled hoes like Neijiri Gama Hoe are excellent kneeling tools that can root out weeds with shallow roots. These tools ranges from about six feet in height to about twelve inches.
If you want an effective tool to remove weeds that are in between beneficial plants, the Neijiri Gama Hoe is perfect for that and is . It features a sharp point that is impeccable at getting into tight spots. You can use hand shovels as well to scrape out large weed roots.
As regards standing tools, you will find tools like ProHoe Rogue Garden Hoe and Fiskars Deluxe weeder. ProHoe garden hoe has a sharpened blade that can give beneath the soil surface to root out the weed from the base in a single effort. On Amazon,;the ProHoe Rogue Garden Hoe are available at an excellent value. Fiskars is an excellent grip-and-pull weeders that will remove weeds with deep roots like dandelions. At Amazon, the;Fiskars Deluxe weeder are for sale at a low price that honestly surprised me.
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How To Get Rid Of A Lawn Full Of Weeds
All year long, we look forward to sinking our feet into lush, radiant green grass. But nobody wants stringy ivy, coarse clovers or fuzzy dandelions grazing your toes instead!
And once you’ve spotted one, you’re sure to see more! Weeds seem to keep multiplying until theyre a huge, unattractive problem.
Luckily, you can bring your lawn back to life by ridding it of weeds and boosting your turf’s health. Heres how to get rid of weeds in your grass for good.
Tips To Pulling Weeds By Hand
- Find its Base;;Weeds need to be pulled at the base in order to get the root. Nearly all weeds can regrow from only a small amount of root left in the soil. Try to make sure that youve found the roots/base of the plant so that you can try to remove the weed completely.
- Loosen Soil Around It;;Some roots are especially stubborn. If you can loosen up the soil around the weed, youll be more likely to pull it out successfully.
- Dont Tug Fast;;Plants can break when theyre pulled too fast. Dont simply try to rip it out as fast as you can as the pressure may cause some of these plants to simply rip right off the root, and once they do they can be nearly impossible to remove. Try to pull slowly but assuredly, grabbing as much of the plants base as possible.
- Wait Until Rain;;You may also want to consider waiting until it rains to pull the weed out. Soil is much looser after a rain and plants can come out fairly easily. Keep in mind though that if your lawn is not healthy, you can actually damage your lawn by stepping on it when its wet.
- Clean it Out;;Once youve successfully pulled the weed out, make sure you examine what remains in order to ensure that the root has completely been removed. Sometimes it can feel like you removed the entire plant, only to find that some of the root still remains.
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How To Remove Weeds From Lawn By Hand
Hand weed removal entails getting down and dirty with your weeds. Its not as high-tech or sophisticated, but it can effectively eliminate stubborn weeds from your lawn. However, this method requires a lot of effort and elbow grease to remove the entire root structure.
The best time to remove weeds by hand is when the seeds are starting to sprout. You can easily pull out the entire plant by turning up the soil around it, making sure to get as close to the root structure as possible.
Prevention Provides The Best Defense
Not everyone agrees on what a weed is. One person may welcome sunny yellow dandelions, while others pounce to eradicate them before one of the plant kingdoms most cleverly engineered seed machines do their thing.
We can all agree, though, that certain unwelcome invaders pop up among vegetables, creep into the lawn, wedge their way into driveway and sidewalk crevices, or launch a full-on invasion.
The best defense is preventing weeds from taking root in the first place. Keep your lawn lush and eliminate thin, vulnerable spots. Mulch around garden plants and landscaping to stop seeds from reaching the soil. The Weed Science Society of America recommends making sure backyard compost reaches a high enough temperature to decompose any weed seeds mixed in with grass clippings or leaves.
If weeds do take root, decide whether youre willing to eradicate weeds by hand and hoe, experiment with homemade or organic weed killers or go for a commercial herbicide.
Heres a look at some of the most common weeds and how to keep them from taking over.
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Reasons To Remove A Lawn
If your lawn is out of control and weeds or bare spots account for more than half of it, you may want to get rid of it all and start over. If you’ve decided that a turfgrass lawn takes too much work, water, or expense and want to try a lawn alternative, you’ll need to get rid of the grass before you begin your new landscape.
Making Use Of The All
Not all weed killers have to be completely herbicidal and chemical innature. In fact, it is actually extremely easy to create an all-natural weedkiller. All you will need is some extra-strength vinegar and you will have allthat you need to get the job done right.
With that being said, you will want to focus on white vinegar specifically, as this is the stronger, purer form of vinegar that you can purchase.
Pouring that vinegar into a spray bottle and getting ready to tackle all of the weeds in the land can make for a good afternoon or evening adventure, depending on just how large the land is.
If you want to get really specific about things, you will want to look for a white vinegar with an acetic acid content between 10% and 20%. This is when the acidity of the vinegar will reach levels where it can burn things, including skin, leaves, and weed roots.
Because it can burn skin, you will always want to wear gloves when you are spreading this stuff across your yard.
Keep in mind that the vinegar does not discriminate what you spray it at. This means that if you have weeds growing in a garden of vegetables that you want to end up keeping, then you should make absolutely sure that you are spraying only the weed and around the base of the weed.
Spraying around the base of the weed helps to ensure that the vinegar gets down to the roots of the plant, making sure there is no way that the weed will be able to return to your yard.
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How To Get Rid Of Deep Rooted Weeds
Deep-rooted weeds need a little more effort to eliminate. You need to go beyond simply pulling them out or scraping off their leaves. Its difficult because the seeds tend to be embedded deeply in the soil, making it tedious to dig them out.
However, there are some practical ways you can use to eliminate the weeds.
Pull Out The Weeds Manually
Remove weeds from your lawn manually using a weed puller. Pulling weeds out by hand is highly recommended especially if the weeds are grown and visible. Do not apply herbicides on your lawn before overseeding as this can cause poor germination of grass seed.
If you prefer using a weed killer before overseeding, do so early enough to allow time for the herbicide to break down completely before spreading grass seed. Most pre-emergents and post-emergent herbicides have indicated waiting periods before you plant grass seed.
Heres how to pull out weeds by hand:
- Water your lawn deeply to make the soil soft.
- Pull out weeds by hand or using a weed puller.
- Throw the weeds away from your yard.
In some cases, you may not need to apply a weed killer as weeds like crabgrass usually die off as the weather becomes cooler. If you have annual weeds, just overseed your lawn with weeds late in the fall and allow the new grass to grow. By the time spring comes, your lawn will grow thick and full enough to choke most annual grassy weeds.
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How To Pull Weeds By Hand
Weeding is not the most fun activity. Ideally, you should leave weed prevention and control in the hands of experts. But at some point, you may find you dedicate a great deal of time to weeding in your lawn. In order to do this well, you should make sure that youre taking the right steps to hand weed correctly.
Best Tips For Pulling Weeds
Best Tips for Pulling Weeds
On an exhausted field, only weeds grow. Henryk Sienkiewicz
Weeds are the bane of every gardeners existence. Just when you think you have a pristine garden, they pop out of the ground to wreak their havoc. Now, dont get me wrong there are plenty of weeds that look great in a garden or yard. The problem isnt always their appearance, though. Weeds compete with what you actually planned and planted for sun, water, and nutrients. In a contest, the weeds are better at getting what they want than what youre trying to grow. To keep your garden growing the way its intended, taking out the weeds is key.
Tips for Weeding:
Despite hours of tireless work in the hot sun, pesky weeds can keep popping up. For more effective and easier weeding, here are my top tips:
Weed When Wet: This tip is a simple idea that gardeners have been following with great success for centuries. If you pull weeds when the soil is dry, they often get stuck and the roots remain in the soil to grow again. If you pull them after rain or after watering, the soil is easier to move, and the roots will slide out with less resistance. Careful where you step in a wet garden, though, because wet soil is also easier to pack down, smothering your plants and making it harder to pull weeds.
Up and Out: When pulling weeds, tug them straight up rather than on an angle. Angles can cause roots to break off, so up and out is the way to go.
Prevent Weeds:
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Identify The Weeds You Have
In order to make a successful game plan, youll need to know just what kind of weeds youre dealing with. Weed treatments are designed to target specific weeds, so what may work on your broadleaf weeds may leave your grass-like weeds A-OK.
Weeds come in multiple categories, either broadleaf, grass-like, or grassy.
Broadleaf
- Common types: Clover, ground ivy, dandelions, chickweed
Grass-like
- Appearance: Similar to grass, with hollow leaves in a triangular or tube shape
- Common types: Nutsedge, wild garlic, wild onion
Grassy
- Appearance: Resembles grass, grows one leaf at a time
- Common types: Foxtail, annual bluegrass, quackgrass, crabgrass
Weeds can be broken down further into categories based on their life cycleannual, biennial, or perennial.
- Annual: Produces seeds during one season only
- Biennial: Produces seeds during two back-to-back seasons
- Perennial: Produces seeds over many seasons
How To Kill Weeds In Your Lawn Organically
Weeds rob your lawn and other plants of valuable nutrients and moisture. Killing weeds organically without toxic chemicals and herbicides may seem impossible, but it’s not. Some homeowners have had good results from a variety of organic weed control methods such as citrus oil or dish soap in a spray bottle. Use this helpful guide to learn how to kill weeds in a lawn using commercial organic herbicides, organic lawn care and natural weed control.;
A well-cared for lawn is the first step to killing weeds organically.;
- Apply organic lawn fertilizer regularly to encourage your grass to grow thicker, choking out weeds.;
- Water lawn and bedding plants with underground irrigation systems to deprive weed seeds of moisture.;
- Use landscape fabric and mulch to prevent weeds around trees and in planting beds.;
The best organic weed killers are your hands and a good gardening tool.;Weeding is an effective, targeted way to kill weeds in a lawn.
- Dig weeds up by the root using garden tools such as a dandelion digger or sickle blade.;
- Weed seeds can lie dormant for years, so avoid perennial weeds by not digging too deeply.;
- Weed early and often. Start in early spring before weeds can dig in and grow.;
- Hoe planting beds regularly with a dutch or push hoe.;
Tip: Wet soil before you weed to make pulling garden weeds out easier.
Tip: Avoid using a flame weeder during dry seasons or while in a drought.
Tip: Be safe. Use a teakettle for boiling, heating and pouring water.
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Types Of Weeding Tools
While hand pulling is the simplest method, its only effective against smaller weeds with shorter roots. It also assumes that youre able to spend extended periods of time on your knees, reaching for and pulling weeds. For anything else, youll need a weeding tool of some kind.;
Two Types of Weeding Tools
There are two basic styles of weeding tools short handled and long handled. Short-handled tools are best for working on your knees in tight or closely planted areas. Long-handled tools allow you to stand while weeding and cover a larger area.
Within these two basic styles, youll find a huge variety of designs. Manufacturers have come up with all sorts of tools to remove weeds. Some work very well, others are mostly gimmicks.
No tool is perfect for all weeding tasks so youll likely end up with several different types of tools. The key is to find the ones that best allow you to do the kind of weeding thats necessary for your garden or lawn.
Heres what you need to know to choose the best weeding tool for your needs.
Considering The Chemical Solution
Sometimes the easiest choice is to begin considering weeding products. Unfortunately, weeding products are not as much of a problem solver as many people would like to believe that they can be.
While they will absolutely kill out all of the weeds on the large swath of land you are working on, you are still going to have to pull up the husks of the weeds.
At this point, you are back to the idea of pulling weeds by hand, except now your yard has a considerable amount of questionable chemicals in it, and nobody really appreciates this.
However, if you are worried about not being able to differentiate wild plants from weeds, knowing that it will only be the dead plants that you have to pull up will make things much easier for you.
Aside from pulling up all of the now dead weeds across the land, thismethod is generally one of the quickest at making sure that as many weeds aspossible die. Typically, herbicides will take effect in between one and twodays, although you might start seeing an effect sooner than that, depending onhow strong the weeds are.
Keep in mind that this should always, always be a last resort to choose. Pulling up weeds by hand is already tedious enough as it is, and adding inorganic chemicals to the mix is only going to make problems worse for your land in the future.
You should only consider herbicides if you have tried every other traditional weed-removing method and the weeds are still crawling up all over the place.
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