Weeds are just plants, but they can be unsightly and harmful to the health of your landscaping, and they can torment you all summer if you’re not careful. Here are four tips for staying ahead of these pesky plants in your lawn and garden all summer long.
1. Identify Your Problems
One of the biggest mistakes a homeowner can make when tending their yard or garden is not targeting their specific issues. Landscape maintenance requires some serious dedication, and that means learning what you’re up against. Every region of the world has different weeds, and every type of lawn or garden can be particularly susceptible to a different variety. If you don’t know what specific weeds are a threat to your landscaping, you won’t be armed with the right tools to fight them effectively. Crabgrass is a particularly troublesome weed for Nashville homeowners, and it’s one that can easily infiltrate a lawn without you noticing. Crabgrass looks a lot like other grasses, but it spreads quickly and chokes out the healthy grass or plants you’re trying to grow. Crabgrass germinates in the early spring, so if you notice it now, that means it can be pretty widespread. The easiest way to spot crabgrass is to look for spots in the lawn that are growing taller than the rest. Crabgrass leaves grow tall if left alone, and they tend to hog water as they do it.
Another common Nashville weed is the dandelion. These are pretty self-explanatory. Everyone knows to look for the telltale yellow flower or the wispy, puffy seedlings when it’s about to spread across the lawn. If you know your lawn or surrounding lawns have dandelions, prepare for them before spring gets too far along. For removal after they crop up, you can use certain kinds of pesticides, which we’ll explore a bit later.
Knowledge really is power, and in the case of weeds, it can save you some real labor in the summer if you prepare in the spring. Learning whether the weeds you’re going to encounter are perennial, annual, or biennial drastically changes how you can approach weed treatment. Do you prepare by spraying pesticides, or will it suffice to simply cut a weed down or dig it up at the roots? It all depends on the identity of your lawn’s troublesome invaders, so make sure you know what you’re up against.
2. Keep Your Lawn Healthy
Many weeds are harmful to the health of grasses and other plants in the landscape. One weeding tip that’s often overlooked in the prevention of weeds is to maintain your grass properly. Unhealthy grass will attract weeds and can even help promote their growth, so it’s important that you maintain your lawn properly year-round, but especially in the summer. Homeowners who want to save time may cut corners and mow their lawns shorter to lengthen the time between mowings. This is a big mistake. Short grass is especially attractive for weeds, and cutting your lawn too short can bring tons of weeds and kill your grass. Instead, keep your grass near the top of its recommended height. Not only does this give your lawn a more lush appearance, but it also shades the soil, preventing weeds from germinating.
Another way homeowners may mistakenly invite weeds into their landscaping is by improperly watering. It’s very important to keep your lawn and garden beds properly hydrated in the summer, but doing too much can actually cause weeds and other harmful growth to occur. Watering a lawn deeply but not too much is key. This helps get the water to the deeper root systems. Strong, healthy roots mean that your grass is less likely to die if weeds do crop up. One of the factors that enables weeds to spread rapidly is that their roots are typically shallow. If they are too prevalent in an area, they’ll soak up all the water before your grass roots can get any hydration.
3. Stay on Top of Weeds
Much of what we’ve discussed so far focuses on preventing weeds, but there are many scenarios where you may not be prepared. Whether you’ve just decided to tackle yard care on your own, you just purchased a new home, or you’re just entirely new to the concept, there are plenty of reasons why you may have a serious weed problem already developing in your lawn this summer. So, how do you remove grass weeds? You’ve already tackled the biggest hurdle when it comes to weeding your lawn: you’re ready to act. There are a few ways to remove weeds, but the biggest thing is not to procrastinate on lawn care. If you notice a weed, remove it. Spend some time each day in your lawn or garden inspecting for weeds or plants you cannot identify.
Not every threat to a lawn is necessarily a weed; some non-native or native plants that grow in the wild can cause issues for a lawn or garden. Use online resources to identify risky plants or weeds, and learn the specific ways to treat them. Sometimes, simply pulling a weed up by its roots or cutting it down to the dirt is enough to stop it. Other times, you may need to intervene with pesticides.
4. Use Your Tools Wisely
While time is of the essence, you can cause more problems if you’re too hasty to treat all the weeds in your lawn at once. Some pesticides are designed for use during specific seasons or only on certain types of weeds. Others can be completely harmless against the weed and actively damage the grass or plants in your garden. Always do your research on the pesticides you’re using, from the chemicals they include to the conditions for applying them. Wear proper protective equipment against pesticides, and opt for natural pesticides when possible. Keeping up with pruning should help you ensure you don’t need the heavy-duty stuff, because there are some people who shouldn’t use pesticides. Some may cause issues for pets or people in the home if they’re particularly sensitive, and other people may just prefer a more natural approach.
Don’t Let Weeds Take Over Your Lawn
No matter what your idea of a healthy lawn looks like, you’re sometimes going to need professional help to ensure things look their best. Give us a call at The Parke Company today for a free consultation and estimate on our landscape and lawn maintenance plans, so you can stay weed-free all summer long.
