Weed Warriors Winning the Battle Against Lawn Invaders
Weeds, we dislike them. There’s no room for those party crashers in our lawn! Only nice green grass gets the pass because our lawn is our happy place.
Winning the battle against weeds in a lawn that is well maintained can be easy. There are two key things you need to do.
Firstly, ensure a simple weed check is part of your lawn maintenance routine. So, on the off weekend when you’re not mowing the lawn, a quick inspection of the lawn for those young little cheeky weeds. Spot it, spray it. Easy right?
The second task is even easier because it’s likely, you’re already doing it - fertilising. Fertilising your lawn is feeding your lawn to make it strong enough to crowd out those weeds. What better way to stop weeds than making sure they don’t grow.
The best way to kill those young weeds, is to catch them early and apply a selective herbicide. The weed will shrivel up and quietly die all the way to its roots and it will also prevent seeds spreading by leaving the weed in its place. If you’re the type of person who likes removing them by hand (not that we recommend this) it’s a task that can be manageable on a frequent basis if you can do it the right way.
That means, removing the entire root system and ensuring not to drop weed seeds. This is hard to do, even for the most skilled. Hands up, who may choose a simple spot spray herbicide?
We understand, you may not be able to weed check all the time, so for the most annoying common weeds below, here is a little guide on when you should prepare a power punch.
Autumn into Winter
Clover
If Clover appears, be prepared to mount an assault before the flowers grow. Late autumn through winter. Clover usually appears when fertilising isn’t part of your lawn care routine. Fertilise and part of this problem doesn’t exist.
Bindii
The devil of them all, Bindii thrives through autumn and winter and then shows no mercy in summer when those sharp Bindii burrs have you hopping and screeching. Or worse still, turning your lawn into a no-go zone. Unleash the fury in autumn through winter with a selective herbicide. You can even use a spot spray. Young Bindii is recognisable by its miniature parsley look so you can target just this weed when you see it pop up.
Winter into Spring
Creeping Oxalis
this cheeky obnoxious weed may go unnoticed through winter and then ta-da flowers in Spring. Go on the defensive with a product like Scotts Lawn Builder Weed, Feed & Green up starting mid winter into spring. And resist the temptation to hand weed. Any tiny little piece of root left behind will keep its domination in full swing.
Capeweed & Dandelion
Both these weeds have deep or sturdy roots making it harder to remove by hand. The seeds, unfortunately bring bad news. Capeweed and Dandelion seeds spread like a pro. Strike with spot spray or all over treatment winter into spring before it flowers. But we’ll let you in on a secret, a well-fed, maintained lawn can easily prevent particularly capeweed, from growing.
Now there’s two options available to kill weeds. A spot spray selective herbicide or a hose-on broader all lawn application. Your choice really comes down to how many weeds you have. We’re hoping that your despise for weeds and appreciation of your lawn, has you in the regular lawn maintenance camp, just dealing with the baby weeds.
