Deep Mulch & Sheet Mulching
One very organic and sustainable way to kill grass is to cover it with a deep natural mulch material. For example, by mulching over the top of grass with leaves, wood chips, compost, leaf mold, bark, pine needles, and/or paper material. In order for mulch to successfully kill grass, it needs to be several inches deep enough to block out sunlight, provide decent weight, and effectively smother the grass. Fluffy material like leaves will compact and break down with time, so start out with even more on top a couple feet even.
One of the best ways to kill grass with deep mulch is to apply a thick layer of paper material over the grass first with mulch on top. For instance, use newspaper , unwaxed cardboard, or a couple layers of bulk unbleached masking paper. You know, the stuff you can buy in a huge roll?
After you lay paper material over the grass, wet it thoroughly. Then add mulch of choice on top and wet that material too. Paper or no paper, spray down the deep mulch material every so often . Damp conditions accelerate decomposition, and will also help prevent fluffy mulch material like leaves from blowing away in windy conditions.
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Removing Grass By Digging
The most thorough way to get rid of grass is to physically remove it, roots and all, using a spade or shovel. Alternatively, you can use a sod cutter, but in any case, you have to pick up the chunks or strips of grass and shake off the soil. If you skip this step and simply discard the grass, youll lose precious topsoil, and the waste will be extremely bulky and heavy .
Therefore, a sod cutter doesnt save you much time and isnt worth the expense and hassle, unless youre planning to replace the topsoil layer with sand or new soil for some reason.
When digging up the grass, dig down just far enough to get all of the fibrous grass roots. You can cut the grass into 1-foot-wide strips, using a flat spade or an edger, then dig under the strip with a shovel to remove to sod layer. Finally, shake out as much topsoil as possible, and discard or compost the grass.
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Weed Killer And Herbicides
If you have dug out Bermuda grass on your lawn, and it continues to return, you may need to move to a weed killer or herbicide.
These products do have strong chemicals that can be dangerous to your children, pets, and even any wildlife that takes refuge on your property periodically.
When you use the weed killer, you need to be sure and spray directly on the Bermuda that you are targeting and choose a blend that will not affect other grass near Bermuda.
Types of Herbicides
If you have no other choice than to move forward with a herbicide to kill the Bermuda grass, then make sure you are selecting one of the two herbicide options available that is safe for your lawn and your lawn goals.
Non-Selective Herbicide
This type of herbicide has the main ingredient of glyphosate, which is able to get into the root of the unwanted growth and kill it completely.
This is a broad-spectrum herbicide that can be used on a variety of different weeds and unwanted growth.
This also makes it dangerous for your Fescue grass, meaning that you should only be spraying it directly on the Bermuda grass. Any Fescue grass that is sprayed will also be killed.
Selective Herbicide
These chemicals are designed to target certain types of weeds so that other plants nearby are not damaged by spraying this herbicide.
Instead of attempting to spray each strain of Bermuda grass, you can spray the selective herbicide in a single area and only the Bermuda grass will perish, protecting your Fescue lawn.
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Does Roundup Kill Bermuda Grass
Roundup is one of the best bermuda grass killers. It contains glyphosate a chemical known to get rid of many grass weeds. Spray it on the leaves to ensure maximum absorption of the herbicide.
Apply roundup from spring to fall since doing so in January when bermudagrass is in a state of dormancy may not produce great results.
How To Kill Wild Violets With Herbicide
The best approach to killing wild violets with herbicide is to spot treat individual weeds rather than spray weed killer over the entire area. This will minimize the chemicals being introduced into the environment. A garden sprayer with a wand nozzle will let you target the leaves of individual weeds with almost no drift of chemical mist.
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When To Get Rid Of Wild Violets
Using herbicide to eradicate wild violets is best undertaken in the fall. At this time, the herbicide will be transported down to the taproot as the plant stores nutrients for winter. Thus, you have a good chance of the herbicide killing the plant down to ground level with a fall application. If you use herbicide in the spring or summer, it might only temporarily kill the surface leaves, allowing the plant to rebound.
Wth Is That Tall Light Green Weed Growing In My Lawn
Everyone has heard the phrase growing like a weed and its pretty safe to say that this phrase was based on the weed known as Nutsedge, Nutgrass, or Watergrass. Nutsedge tends to grow quickly and taller than the average turf grasses, causing it to be an eyesore for homeowners.
What is Nutsedge?
It is a grass-like weed which actually belongs to the sedge family. Nutsedge is easily identified by its triangular shaped blades that are often described as lime green or bright green. The root system of nutsedge consist of multiple fibers called rhizomes and produces tubulars. Each tuber has the capability to produce a new plant, which is why it is critical that it is never pulled.Nutsedge is one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult weed to control. Unlike crabgrass, nutsedge cannot be prevented with pre-emergent nor is it effected by previous herbicide applications. Nutsedge is treated once emerged, which can cause quite the problem when it comes to timing of lawn care applications.
Suppressing Nutsedge
When it comes to treatments with a herbicide, most of the products on the market only suppress the growth and never truly kill or eradicate it. When an herbicide appears to have killed the plant, it very well may have killed that plant but it did not kill the root system nor did it kill the plant producing tubulars beneath the surface. Nutsedge suppressing herbicides often require multiple applications but never get to the root of the problem.
Killing Nutsedge
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How To Kill Wild Onion And Garlic
Wild onion and garlic are common lawn weeds, and, fortunately, there are easy solutions for controlling them. If you only have them in a few small areas in the lawn, spot-treat them with Ortho® WeedClear Lawn Weed Killer Ready-to-Use. For larger areas, use Ortho® WeedClear Lawn Weed Killer Concentrate. For easy application, you can connect the bottle directly to the Ortho® Dial N Spray® Hose End Sprayer.
The Impact Of A Healthy Lawn
A healthy lawn begets a healthy lawn, and the more time you put into creating an environment in your yard where grass is able to thrive, the fewer problems youll have with lawn weeds.
A very thick well maintained lawn will leave no gaps in the canopy where weeds can take root.
When the grass is thick, it will take in all of the sunlight and nutrients, which will block the weeds from thriving.
If you are environmentally conscious and care about the health of yourself and pets, not using chemicals is usually the better option, but Ill cover both choices here so you can make the best choice for your family and your lawn.
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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
Choking Out Bermuda Grass Weeds
Its possible to choke out Bermuda grass from your lawn by mulching. This is best done using landscaping fabric. Alternatively, you can smother the Bermuda grass root system using a piece of cardboard.
To get rid of Bermuda grass naturally, go for the choking method. In general, there are two great ways of doing this as described below:
Using landscaping fabric
Mulching ensures that your wanted plants have access to moisture and nutrients.
Monitoring on a regular basis prevents the spreading of Bermuda weeds, which usually happens especially in instances where the installation of the fabric sheet wasnt done properly.
You should, therefore, contract a lawn expert if you arent sure of the correct way to go about covering your lawn with landscaping fabric.
The Bermuda grass root growth should be contained within two months by the dense landscaping fabric.
Using pieces of cardboard
This is another effective sheet-mulching technique. The barrier created by the cardboard pieces over the Bermuda grass turf denies the unwanted plant of the sunlight that it needs for photosynthesis.
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What’s The Best Way To Get Rid Of Weeds Permanently
Even though we consider weeds a nuisance, theyre plantsjust like grass, flowers or shrubs! That means theyll grow just as thick and rampant as our favorite herbs if we let them.
So, the best way to get rid of weeds is to make your lawn an environment where its difficult for them to thrive.
Low-mowed grass, compacted soil and water-deprived turf all encourage weeds. Reversing these problems and maintaining a healthy lawn is the best way to permanently say goodbye to weeds.
Mow Fescue Lawn At A Higher Height
The first crucial step in suppressing the spread of Bermuda grass in your fescue lawn is to establish the perfect conditions for your tall fescue grass turf to dominate.
This can be achieved by mowing your lawn at a higher height . This will reduce the amount of sunlight supply to the Bermuda grass, thereby reducing its chances of thriving.
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Why Do Weed Grasses Appear
Weed grasses can be introduced to your lawn, without you knowing, in a variety of ways. On most occasions weed grasses are not the fault of the lawn owner, but more of an unfortunate reality of being one! Weed grasses can appear in your lawn after seeds have been dropped by birds or have been simply laying dormant in the soil until they have had good conditions to grow. Weed grasses are more likely to appear in compacted, drought-stricken lawns that are also excessively mown. These conditions put the lawn and current grass under stress, allowing for the weed grasses to thrive.
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Removing Grass By Hand
Small grass infestations in a garden can be addressed by hand removal. However, most grasses are perennial plants that can regrow if even a small bit of root remains. So complete removal involves carefully loosening the soil and tugging out as much of the roots as possible. With some grasses, the root system can be many inches long.
Hand removal is an ongoing process and can be done whenever you are performing routine weeding duties in the garden. It is not practical for large gardens that are heavily infested with grass. But for a small garden or one that has minor grass problems, this is an environmentally friendly solution.
The Spruce / Steven Merkel
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How To Kill Wild Onion And Garlic In The Lawn
These common weeds smell like their namesakes and spread rapidly, but they are easy to control with this plan.
Wild onion and wild garlic are cool-season perennial weeds that grow from underground bulbs. These weeds resemble green onions or chives, and are closely related to the garlic and onions that we grow in our gardens. Wild garlic and onion thrive in a variety of soil conditions, including heavy and wet soil, and are both cold- and drought-hardy.
Wild onion and wild garlic are easily recognized in the lawn by the strong garlic or onion odor they produce when mowed. Wild garlic has round, hollow leaves while wild onion produces flat, non-hollow leaves. They grow during the cooler parts of the year, so they usually dont appear in the lawn until the fall, when most other lawn weeds are dying back or preparing to go dormant for the winter. Wild onion and garlic will continue growing throughout the winter and spring. In late spring, if they are not mowed back, they will form aerial bulblets that help the plants spread throughout your lawn. When it starts to get hot in early summer, the tops of wild garlic and onion will die back to the ground, and the bulbs will resprout again when the weather cools in the fall.
Heres how to get rid of wild onions and wild garlic in the lawn.
Apply A Bermuda Grass Killer
The next step is to find a suitable herbicide. Most weed grass killers only eliminate top growth, leaving the Bermuda grassroots.
Bermuda grass is usually able to persist on tall fescue lawns- even after herbicide application- through these nutritional reserves that remain underneath the soil. They enable the weed grass to reestablish itself on your fescue lawn after a while.
To entirely kill off Bermuda grass from your fescue lawn, you need a systemic weed grass killer. Examples include Ornamec Over-the-top and Turflon Ester. These herbicides contain chemicals that spread from the sprayed leaf blades to the roots, rhizomes, and stolons, killing off the whole Bermuda grass plant, not just the visible parts.
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How To Get Rid Of Wild Violets Organically
There are several organic ways to deal will violets on your lawn. Lets have a look at some of them.
1. Tolerating And Living With The Wild Violets
Even though its a crazy idea its by far the simplest and the most cost-effective way to deal with wild violets. All you have to do is try and enhance grass lawn wellbeing to give it a competing chance against the weeds.
Furthermore, not everybody considers these beautiful flowers a weed, and if managed properly, you can live with them peacefully.
2. Removing Wild Violets by Hand
Fresh and young violets flowers are relatively simple to pull out by hand. For older flowers, you can use opt for a garden fork to help you dig them out. However, this will only work on a small area or if the flowers are scattered across the lawn.
Plus, it is not easy to pull out the flowers completely with their roots, meaning they will grow back again after a short while. It is recommended that you follow up this method with a concrete plan to enhance the health of the lawn to help choke out new weeds.
3. Using homemade Wild Violet Weed Killer
You can also use a homemade weed killer mixture to kill violet flowers on your lawn. Mix horticultural vinegar and water and spray the solution directly to the flowering foliage. This homemade herbicide is believed to have an 80% success rate on wild violet.
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An Effective And Multifaceted Weed Control Program
At the end of the day, taking care of any weeds comes down to employing an effective weed control program. When you spend time outside, you shouldnt have to worry about ugly weeds causing you stress. With the right weed control applications, those problems can be addressed for you.The key is to find a company that will take a multifaceted approach to weed control. Using the same products to address everything on the lawn is simply not going to work. But youd be surprised that even some pros will do this. They simply dont have an arsenal with a wide array of products.
Ready to get started?
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Chemical Or Natural Treatments
The automatic choice for many people when trying to kill weeds is to grab some chemical lawn weed killer and pour it all over the lawn.
The bad part about this is that you are spraying chemicals in the ground, the water, and the air.
This is dangerous not only for the ground, but also for pets and people!
Eventually this can also create a weak environment for the lawn to thrive, and you may kill the grass you want in addition to killing the weeds you dont want in your lawn.