Weeds can be a problem for multiple reasons. Keeping your lawn and yard free of weeds makes your yard easier to maintain and more sustainable as well. This is a guide for getting rid of weeds in your lawn.
There are a number of tools on the market that can help you remove even the most stubborn weeds. Some of them can be used by standing, while other are smaller hand tools that require you to be down on the ground.
Derrick from Washington
There are several things you can do to get rid of weeds and give your lawn a facelift. If your lawn contains less than 50% weeds, instead of looking for ways to combat the weeds, consider trying to create better conditions for grass to grow. This time of the year, lawns naturally go through a dormant period corresponding to the hot dry conditions of late summer. Improving your lawn in the fall and spring will work with the natural growth cycle of grass and take advantage of seasonal rains.
Prepare for fall by aerating your lawn now. This will help to reduce soil compaction and allow nutrients to get down to the roots of the grass. Ideally, you should try to do this a couple of times before the end of September.
In the fall, fertilize by adding a 1/2 inch of organic matter in the form of compost. Spread this evenly over the lawn and then water it thoroughly. Use a slow release fertilizer to increase the likelihood that the nutrients will be used for root growth. Root growth is the main activity of grass in the fall-strong roots being necessary for vigorous blade growth next spring.
Next spring, over seed with a grass variety appropriate to your growing area. Keep the seed moist by watering in between spring rains. You may need to over seed more than once before you see a significant change in composition.
During the summer months, maintain a grass height of at least 3 inches. This allows the roots to go deep (blade length is proportional to root length) and allows grass to become well established-eventually choking out most weeds. Leave the grass clippings on the lawn as fertilizer. They are a great source of nitrogen (the most important grass nutrient).
By Ellen Brown
How can I get rid of foxtails in my lawn without killing the lawn?
By Marv
How do I get rid of chick weed, it's taking over the lawn?
Hardiness Zone: 6a
By Sylvia from Wildwood, MO
I have a huge yard and I would say that 90% of it is weeds of some sort. I have two kids and a dog and I want them to be able to play outside with no shoes and have a thistle free yard for them to do so. The grass that we do have is being over taken and we have such great grass that feels good to sit and walk on. I want the weeds gone. I have clover, thistles, dandelions, weeds with small yellow flowers on them, and we have many more that grow right along with them. Someone please help me!
By lost
By GuyB05/07/2012I think the best and fastest answer would be to start laying carpet in the yard. Many people use old carpet, flipped upside down to make weed free paths thru their veggie gardens and it lasts a very long time. Start watching craigslist freebies or freecycle sites in your area for used carpet.
In the front of my home I have grass together with my neighbor, they never clean weeds on their half of the grass, and the wind blows the weeds seeds on my part of the grass. I have had the problem for four years, I am tired of cleaning weeds, please help me. What should I do? My neighbor does not care about the weeds; their part is completely covered with weeds.
Hardiness Zone: 4b
By Krystyna
By T&T Grandma08/07/2010I do the mowing thing too and then I get the comment from the neighbor, "Was that a hint?" I say I had to do a turn around strip and that was where I started. It is interesting when you can live on the same property 25 yrs, have 4 neighbors in that time. The latest do not trim their trees hanging over my property/gardens, do their weeds, pile their weeds and dirt when they do against my fence in the back as if it were a compost, and now challenge the fence line established for us when we bought the place. The then next door neighbors established the line for us when they moved so they had a legal line. We are not anal about our yard but we are gardeners, mow weekly, have a handy dandy clothes line (must be 60 years old) established along the fence line too. When I take care of the weeds in their yard along my gardens they get touchy. They don't see them around an out building so why should they care if I take care of them! Except for this neighbor, we are neighbors who take care of each other, share flowers, garden produce, visit over fences and on stoops, swing on the porch swings, kids play in the yards and do chalk on the sidewalks. The June Cleaver type of neighborhood.
We just bought a new house on a 1/2 acre and it is over run with weeds. Lots of sticker type weeds also. In the front of the house I wanted to do a big lawn.
So my neighbor brought his tractor over and tilled the front area we then threw down grass seed and began to water,and water and water, the grass started to grow and sprout up here and there and we got excited but then the weeds sprouted up and over ran the area we planted. We tried lawn weed killer and it did nothing!
Is there anything I can do to get the lawn not the weeds to grow? If I start over whats the best way to get the lawn to grow and get rid of the weeds for good? I read all the vinegar and salt articles but I want to be able to grow a nice front lawn and I don't have lots of money so it need to be somewhat inexpensive also?it seems the more i water the faster the weeds grow!! and I'm new to this so I'm clueless! Please Help!
Hardiness Zone: 6a
By Lynda (Guest Post)03/01/2008By ALL means, contact your local or state Agricultural Extension Center for the absolute best and latest advice about this problem which must be dreadfully frustrating. I'd prepare to do a small amount at a time, using natural plants for the area, lot's of grasses of all varieties and heights in mass plantings. It won't matter too much if the weeds try to grow the grasses will likely overtake and shade them out.
Round-up is way too expensive for a large area, but there are some sorts of weeds that NOTHING will kill my mother learned the hard way at one of her properties. Your agricultural center for the state should know exactly what is best. Good luck and God bless and help you. : )
This weed is coming up in circular clusters. It has white flowers, needle like seeds (that pop off when mature) that are one half inches long and needle shaped. The leaves are oval shaped in maturity and have three points at the end when first appearing. The stems grow up to six inches tall. It has a thin root system and spreads by it's root system. The weed remains green thought the year.
It is not affected by any lawn weed killer; I have tried. And Round Up takes more than a single heavy application to cause its demise.
It is not chickweed. How can I get rid of it?
By Chuck
By DeBushe03/12/2012It is probably something called "filaree" which grows all over California. It is very hard to get rid of, but I have found that Round Up works pretty well if you use it on the really young plants. It is best to either kill or pull up the plants before they start to bloom so you don't have the seeds spewing all over the yard.
I use the Round Up concentrate and mix it a little stronger than what they suggest on the back of the bottle. A squirt of liquid soap or detergent in the mix will help it cling to weed leaves.
It might also help to spread a pre-emergent in that area. It will help prevent the seeds from germinating.
How do I get rid of drymaria codarta?
By Robert from Tin Can Bay QLD
I need to kill weeds that are coming up in my lawn. I have centipede grass and would like to use something that will not kill the grass and not hurt the environment.
By Sandra Jo
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Hardiness Zone: 5b
Midge from Buffalo, NY
Good Luck!
Ellen
About The Author: Ellen Brown is our Green Living and Gardening Expert. Click here to ask Ellen a question! Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services. Contact her on the web at http://www.sustainable-media.com
By Jantoo
Dottiern, Buffalo NY (10/07/2006)
By DottieRN
By Carla
By Lynda
By Sharon L
By Donna
What a waste of water this is. If grass does not grow from the amount of water available from nature then you should plant something useful. I have a one acre patch of grass that has never been watered. Our motto is "if it's green it's grass". It looks pretty good except during severe droughts, but always comes back after a good rain. (08/24/2007)
By Joan
I have some weeds in my lawn and want to know if cutting the grass and leaving the clippings is going to spread the weeds? If yes, how do I get around this spreading weeds mess?
Hardiness Zone: 11
By Teresa from Los Angeles, CA
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Removing Weeds From Lawn