Spray The Surface As Necessary
There is a bit of a stigma against spraying artificial surfaces, as some homeowners are afraid that it will introduce a toxic film that remains indefinitely, creating a dangerous environment for pets and children.
This does not have to be the case. Spraying the entire artificial surface once or twice a year will go a long way toward curtailing your weed problem, and there are many pet-safe, vinegar-based spray solutions that pose no risk of toxic contamination.
To Mow Or Not To Mow: Your Questions Are Answered
Mowing is an important part of a healthy lawn. And doing it right can keep your lawn happy and maximize the effectiveness of lawn treatments. Regular mowing not only improves its appearance, but also helps it grow thicker, choking out weeds. If mowing before or after treating your lawn is still confusing to you, never fear. Here at Natural Green, were happy to answer your questions about proper timing and mowing techniques to help you take better care of your lawn. Its what we do here in Central and Southern Maryland, and were always happy to share our knowledge about what your grass likes best. Wed love to be a part of helping you achieve the lawn of your dreams in Central or Southern Maryland. Get started today with a free quote.Together, well prepare a customized plan so you can have the best lawn on the block.
Reasons Your Lawn Is Full Of Weeds
Starting out, you probably want to know just why weeds have overtaken your grass, so you can prevent it from happening again.
- Poor grass growth: Weeds thrive in thinning grass. The best way to keep weeds out is to have thick, tall, dense grass all over your lawn. If your grass is cut too short, its more susceptible to a full-on weed invasion. Setting your mower to the highest setting can help with this.
- Not enough water: Weeds tend to have robust root systems, and can easily compete with your grass for moisture. If you are not watering your grass enough, the weeds can absorb what water there is, taking it away from your grassroots.
- Compacted soil: If your soil becomes too compacted, whether from excessive foot traffic or poor soil composition, your grassroots wont have access to the nutrients, water, or air they need. This stressed turf makes for an exceptional weed breeding ground.
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How Often Can You Use Lawn Weed Killers
This all depends on the weedkiller being used. Each manufacturer is different so do read the label.
Our recommended weed killers Resolva and Weedol suggest only one treatment per year but if you use each one once that allows you two full lawn treatments in a year. This only applies to weed killer for the coverage of the whole lawn NOT ready to use for spot treatments.
My advice would be a maximum of 2 treatments per annum using two different weed killers with different active ingredients. Further, you are only likely to treat this often in the first and possibly second year to get rid of established weeds. Once you get in to subsequent years a treatment in September will be the most youll need if you do some weed control with a spot weed killer during spring and summer. If you have good lawn care practices youll find you wont need a complete lawn treatment for several years. I give my lawn a full treatment about every 3 years!
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This method is a cost effective way to kill weeds in a small lawn by using weedkiller concentrate mixed with water in a watering can.
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Control Crab Grass With A Crab Grass Preventer In The Spring
- Apply a crab grass pre-emergence preventer between the first and third mowings in the spring.
- Preventers usually come as granules that you put on the lawn with a spreader.
- Make notes in the fall about where your crab grass seems to thrive and treat those areas in the spring.
- Once crab grass shows up in your lawn, you have three options:
- Hand-pull the clumps to prevent the plant from reseeding itself.
- Let the crab grass go until the following spring and then use a preventer at the right time.
- Treat clumps with a post-emergence crab grass killer.
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How To Treat Dandelion Weeds:
Dandelions can spread and grow rapidly. It is best to begin treating your lawn in the Spring with a weed pre-emergent to prevent any seeds from germinating. Weed Treatments should continue to be applied throughout the Summer & Fall using a post-emergent herbicide safe for grass. Did You Know: Each Dandelion plant can produce up to 15,000 seeds. These seeds are easily carried by the wind, which is why they can take over a lawn in no time.
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What To Do About: Mowing
Always mow the lawn according to best practices. The first of which is that you should mow based on grass height rather than having a pre-scheduled day to tend the lawn. Mowing heights differ depending on the time of the year and the species of grass your customers have, and should be gradually increased over multiple sessions. Remove no more than one-third of the blade length at a time, or you risk impeding above- and below-ground development. Use the correct grass equipment for the job, based on the size of their lawn and their goals, to make activities easier and less time-consuming.
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An Ounce Of Prevention Is Worth A Pound Of Cure
Its old advice, but its good advice. The time you spend preventing weeds will save you much more time remediating a major weed problem in your lawn.
Taking the right steps early in the spring can minimize the amount of work you need to do to maintain your perfectly manicured lawn.
Part of that can include choosing the right herbicidal solutions to either prevent or kill weeds. Pre-emergent and post-emergent solutions act very differently. The former prevents weed seeds from germinating and taking root. The latter kills weeds that have set up camp in your lawn or garden.
While many of the weed control products at the hardware store are effective, sometimes you just need to pull out the big guns.
Perhaps you didnt get around to applying a pre-emergent herbicide in the spring and now your lawn is overgrown with crabgrass and other weeds.
Or perhaps you have a very large area that you need to cover and the little bottle of solution from the local hardware store just isnt going to cut it.
Landscapers often have access to heavy-duty pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides.
Here are some of the things lawn companies use to kill weeds, broken down by category.
How To Treat Nutsedge:
To treat Nutsedge, you will need a particular herbicide, as Nutsedge is a sedge, so traditional broadleaf or grass chemicals will not work. We would recommend that you use a product containing halosulfuron or sulfentrazone for treating Nutsedge. Your lawn may need multiple treatments to eliminate this lawn weed. Nutsedge can be challenging to control, so it is best to treat your lawn from Nutsedge before it spreads. Fun Fact: Nutsedge can be easily spotted as it grows faster than typical lawn grass.
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Treating Weeds With Herbicides
When You Should Spray Your Weeds
The best time to treat weeds is when they are actively growing. This means you should start spraying and treating in the spring, usually sometime in April. Youll have to maintain your weed-killing regiment into late September/early October.
Its best not to jump the gun when using weed killers. Theres a lot of weeds in early spring that wont surface until later on in the year. Most weed killers are contact sprays: The treatment will only be effective if they make direct contact with the weeds. Youre better off waiting until May: By that time most of the weeds will have emerged, making them much easier to dispose of.
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How To Treat Lawn For Weeds
Here are a few other tips for preventing weeds: Feed regularly. Proper lawn care is the best medicine. Mow higher. Weed seeds, like all plants, require sunlight to sprout. Water deeply. Watering deeply and infrequently helps your lawn grow deeper roots so it can better compete with weeds.
Besides,how do i kill weeds in my lawn without killing the grass?
Keep up with a proper lawn maintenance schedule to help keep your lawn weed-free.
Furthermore,how do i get rid of weeds on my lawn? Boiling water. One of the best organic weed killers is boiling water, which is a simple, fast, safe, and eco-friendly way to kill unwanted plants. According to University of California Integrated Pest Management Online, boiling water works best to kill broadleaf weeds.
Considering this,when should i treat my lawn for weeds?
When is the best time to apply a broadleaf herbicide to the lawn? Fall is the best time to control perennial broadleaf weeds in the lawn with broadleaf herbicides.
What kills everything but grass?
Be Proactive Prior To Installing Artificial Surface
It may sound cliché, but the best trick to prevent weeds from overtaking your artificial surface is to stop them before they start. Once weeds begin to take root and establish an environment hospitable for propagation, you face an uphill battle in keeping them under control.
Richard Callahan of El Paso Artificial Grass and Turf says “The best way to treat weeds is to prevent them from even growing. Before deciding to buy artificial grass/ turf, it is important to consider the type of environment you are in. Some weeds may grow faster in less dry environments which calls for more regular maintenance.”
As Callahan notes, it is critical to know your environment, determine which kind of weeds thrive in your area, and take preemptive measures to prevent the weeds from ever taking root.
For example, some weeds that typically thrive in damp, moist environments include knotweed, bindweed, moss, and creeping ivy. Therefore, if you live in a moist region where these types of weeds wreak havoc, you will want to consider some landscape drainage solutions that prevent water from absorbing into the artificial turfs substrate and creating a moist environment hospitable to these weeds.
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Select A Proper Herbicide
Next, its time to select the proper weed treatment based on both weed classification and the stage in their life cycle. Pre-emergent herbicides tackle weed issues before they spring up. Post-emergent herbicides target established weeds.
Keep in mind that herbicides can kill whatever plant life they come into contact witheven if the label says otherwiseso handle with care. If your aim is to re-establish your lawn, as we recommend, killing your existing, thinning grass isnt a big deal, since you will need to start fresh anyway.
Use White Vinegar Direct
While its a crucial ingredient in many of our natural weed killer recipes, spraying vinegar on plants is useful in and of itself. While household vinegar is helpful, we recommend using a product with 20% acetic acid.
Vinegar will kill any plant it comes into contact with, so be very careful where youre spraying.
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Clearing Out Pretty Weeds: Moss And Wild Violets
You may appreciate certain weeds, such as moss and wild violets. Some gardeners even cultivate moss plants as an alternative to grass lawns and consider wild violets as wildflowers.
But if you wish to kill the moss in your lawn, it helps to learn more about why itâs grown in your yard in the first place. It may be an indication of deeper soil problems, such as poor drainage and circulation, low soil fertility, and unbalanced levels of pH. Learn how to fix the problems and youâll be able to kill these weeds permanently.
Though wild violets may appeal to some, you may want to eliminate these purple or white dots from your lawn. Spray the violets in autumn with a triclopyr-based herbicide.
What To Do About: Thinning Grass And Bare Spots
Weather extremes, playing with kids, and horseplay with the dog are all examples of ordinary activities that can cause the grass to thin. You may need to plant fresh sod or extensively seed the afflicted area, depending on the size of the barren areas. Make sure the grass treatment you use is prepared specifically for the environment and grass type. If the grass is thin in certain areas, overseeding it in the fall might help it recover before winter arrives. If you want to overseed the grass, start at least 45 days before the first frost of the season.
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How To Treat Speedwell Weeds:
A pre-emergent spray should be used in the Spring before the weed has germinated to treat speedwell weeds. Post-Emergents should be applied when speedwell weeds are actively growing. Keeping your lawn thick & dense lawn will help prevent other plants from invading. Pro Tip: Pulling Speedwell from your lawn is a bad idea, as leaving even a small single piece of the root system can cause new plant growth.
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What Are The Requirements To Sign Up For Sunday Lawn Care
Potentially our favorite thing about Sunday is that you can have zoysia, St. Augustine, bluegrass, Bermuda, or even fescue grass, and Sunday Lawn care can help. There are no requirements to sign up, aside from sending in a soil sample and getting your curated solutions and plans.
The customer support team at Sunday provides plenty of lawn care tips and information to help you achieve and maintain a green lawn. Although you will be handling the work on your own, you will have the confidence of a knowledgeable professional supporting you the entire way.
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How To Identify Bermuda Grass
Photo by ShahadatHossain
If you are reading this article, you probably already know what Bermuda grass growth looks like because you are sick of seeing it sprout everywhere. However, for those of you who have no idea what is Bermuda grass and what does it look like, here is a quick identification guide:
How Do I Know Which Lawn Care Products Are Best
It can take some trial and error to determine which lawn care products are best. Unfortunately, this also means that you will end up spending a bit more money than you would like to spend. This is why we love the Sunday Lawn Care company. They will send you the options that you need that have the correct composition for your turf needs. This solution is a much better option than something that is chosen from a shelf without any soil testing being done.
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Cut The Grass Regularly
If you do nothing else to your lawn, just cut the grass regularly.
This is by far the most important part of lawn care.
Mowing the lawn regularly prevents the grass from growing too tall. Grass has to grow, and if it cant grow upwards it will be forced to grow sideways, creating new shoot and new grass leaves. This is what creates a thick, dense, lush lawn.
If you cut the grass every 6 weeks with a rusty old lawnmower youll have patchy grass that goes brown every time you cut it. This is the type of environment that weeds thrive in.
So cut the grass at least every 10 days between April and September.
