Keeping your lawn maintained helps keep weeds from growing.
Weeds keep an otherwise well-kept lawn from looking beautiful. The key to controlling the weeds in your own lawn is to understand what they are, get rid of them and keep them from returning. There are two different types of weeds: grassy and broadleaf, which have their own growing patterns. In order to treat the problem, there are several things that can be done, including pulling, mowing, watering and aerating, along with using fertilizers, herbicides and non-chemical alternatives. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Determine the type of weeds you have in your yard. "Most grassy weeds are annual weeds and therefore tend to reappear every year," says Dawn West from All About Lawns. Grassy weeds include Bermuda, bluegrass, crabgrass and dallisgrass. Broadleaf weeds are usually perennials and are the most common type of weed. Varieties include chickweed, dandelion, dock, ground ivy, plantain and spurge.
2. Pull the weeds and the roots. Dallisgrass, dandelions, dock, plantain and spurge are the best weeds to be removed with this method, according to All About Lawns.
3. Mow the lawn. Mowing the lawn regularly helps keep the grass at a manageable length as well as keep certain weeds at bay. Bluegrass and dock can both be removed by mowing. Crabgrass, however, grows when sunlight penetrates the soil, so it might be necessary to keep your lawn length a little higher than usual. Always bag clippings after mowing so that the unwanted seeds do not go back into the soil.
4. Water and aerate the lawn. Watering the lawn and letting it dry in intervals helps keep most weeds, especially bluegrass, crabgrass, dallisgrass, dock, ground ivy and plantains from growing. Aeration is particularly important for removing weeds like bluegrass and chickweed, according to All About Lawns.
5. Treat the lawn with fertilizer or herbicide. These treatments help prevent almost all weeds from growing on your lawn. Products used for the whole lawn should be applied in both spring and fall. In the spring, the soil should reach a consistent temperature of 65 degrees, according to Charles Phillips in an article for The Columbia County News-Times. It is important to spray a dose of fertilizer between August and November, before winter starts, according to Stephanie Dauphin from All About Lawns.
6. Treat the lawn with natural and chemical-free products. Fertilizers are filled with chemicals, which is why Planet Green, The Good Human and EPA recommend no-chemical landscape products as an alternative. Covering bare soil with mulch keeps weeds from growing, especially if the mulch is heated beforehand. Gardening Channel suggests using vinegar because it is a natural weed killer -- just mix it in a 20 percent solution with water in a spray bottle and apply to the weeds.
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