How to remove weeds and moss from lawn
Even with proper care, weeds or moss can appear on any lawn. Lawn weeds have a negative effect on the appearance and condition of the turf, as they compete with grass for nutrients. No less harmful is moss on the lawn, which can even lead to the death of the grass. Therefore, it is worth finding out what are the causes of weeds and moss on the lawn and learn about methods how to remove weeds and moss from lawn..
Weeds on the lawn
Before you set up a lawn
Despite proper care, the effect of a beautiful turf decorating our garden can be eliminated by weeds appearing on the lawn. Therefore, you should start fighting weeds before you even set up a lawn.
About two weeks before sowing the grass, spray the surface of the future lawn with a herbicide. The two-week period will allow the herbicide to penetrate into the weeds and destroy not only their aerial parts but also their roots.
Once the lawn is growing
Once the lawn has grown up, proper lawn care and keeping the lawn clean helps to combat weeds. Good conditions for weed growth arise when neglected grass is not strong enough to compete with emerging weeds.
Therefore, it is important to properly water and fertilize the lawn, as well as to remove weeds that appear individually. The fact that the cut grass is not ruffled is also conducive to the spread of weeds.
Perennial weed control
Annual weeds are destroyed during mowing. It is worse with perennial weeds, such as the very popular dandelion (dandelion) or clover, which must be completely removed, otherwise they will reappear in the garden very quickly. The dandelion can be cut along with the roots with a long and narrow knife.
The fragments covered with clover must be completely removed and the grass should be sown in these places. Removal of the lawn and reseed is also necessary for monocotyledonous weeds, which are usually grasses that grow faster than the grasses used in the mixture and differ in appearance.
Since manual removal of weeds from the lawn is very laborious, and even impossible to perform on large surfaces. You can use chemicals in this battle.
To fight weeds on already existing lawn, use herbicides, i.e. those which do not destroy the lawn itself. These remedies are effective against dicotyledonous weeds such as plantain, clover, coltsfoot and dandelion.
How to prevent lawn weeds?
The appearance of weeds on the lawn is the result of improper care of the turf. Such as incorrect mowing height, lack of fertilization or improper watering.
A properly maintained lawn should be mowed every 5-7 days to a height of about 6 cm. Regular mowing contributes to the destruction of many weed species that have no chance to develop leaves and flowers. Weakened weeds are displaced by grass.
Lack of fertilization slows down the growth rate of grass blades. Weeds, on the other hand, do not require a large amount of nutrients to develop. That is why on unfertilized lawns, weeds choke the grass very quickly. In such cases, it is worth choosing a special fertilizer to thicken and displace weeds.
Improper soil moisture promotes the appearance of weeds on lawn. Because weeds can withstand extreme moisture conditions better than noble grass species.
In too wet positions sedges and sieves may appear, which disfigure the lawn because they create domed clumps. On the other hand, when the soil is too dry, the grass disappears and voids appear on the lawn, which are very quickly taken by weeds.
Unqualified, low-quality grass seed mixtures can be contaminated with monocotyledonous seeds. Sowing such seeds involuntarily contributes to weed infestation. Therefore, you should always buy grass seeds from proven producers.
It is also very important to weed the beds adjacent to the lawn. The weeds blooming on them spread very easily throughout the garden.
Mechanical weed control
Single weeds on small lawns can be removed by hand or with the use of special tools. The advantage of this method is the immediate effect. In addition, the collected weeds can be used to prepare liquid manure and decoctions for fertilizing plants and fighting pests.
A good example is the dandelion. For some it is a troublesome weed, for others – a valuable herbal raw material. Dandelion manure is an excellent fertilizer that accelerates the growth and ripening of fruit, and the extract of this weed is an excellent preparation for aphids and spider mites, and a valuable compost additive.
In order for the weed uproot to be effective, the weed must be completely removed from the ground, i.e. together with the root or rhizome. If even a small part of the plant remains in the soil, it is able to regenerate.
Manual removal can be difficult with deep-rooted weeds such as dandelions.
To deal with this situation, it is best to remove weeds from the lawn after rain, when the soil is loose. In the event of prolonged rainless weather, the soil around the weed should be watered abundantly.
Various tools are helpful, such as narrow spatulas, knives, scoops or weed pickers.
Spraying weeds in the lawn
To effectively get rid of weeds in large lawns, it may be necessary to use chemical herbicides, i.e. herbicides. Spraying with herbicides is carried out during the period of intensive weed development, i.e. from spring to autumn.
Perform the treatment when the temperature is at least 15 ° C. Ideally, the weeds should have 3-4 leaves developed at the time of spraying with herbicidal preparations.
For the next 3 days after the treatment, do not mow the lawn so that the preparation is absorbed by the leaves of the weeds. In order to increase the effect of herbicidal preparations, at the beginning of the growing season, supply the lawn with multi-component fertilizers that stimulate the growth of weeds. Approximately 2-3 weeks after fertilization, spray with a herbicidal preparation.
Attention! Chemical weed control is carried out no earlier than in the second year after the lawn has been established, when the grass is well rooted.
Moss on the lawn
In addition to weeds, moss can also appear on the lawn. There can be several reasons for the appearance of moss on the lawn. Only after they have been recognized, can the problem be effectively eliminated. Besides, moss in the garden can also appear in the beds, between plants, and everywhere the reasons for its appearance are similar.
Here are the top 4 causes of moss on your lawn:
- the soil is too acidic (this can be checked with a pH meter) and the pH is lower than 6.0. In this situation, fertilize the lawn with a fertilizer containing calcium in order to bring it to a neutral pH (about 6.5). You can use mineral fertilizers for lawns with moss, which are used during the growing season, or in late autumn, make liming the lawn, using, for example, calcium-magnesium fertilizer of natural origin.
- the soil is not very permeable or excessively compacted (e.g. as a result of frequent trampling), it must be loosened with a scarifier or aerator, then sprinkle an approximately centimeter layer of sand on the lawn surface and comb it with flexible forks,
- the surface of the lawn is a layer of so-called felt, i.e. a tangle of dead shoots and unraged, mowed blades of grass. You need to rake the felt with a sharp rake and remember to always remove any cut grass from the lawn after mowing,
- the lawn is mowed too often and too low – it must be mowed at a height of 4 cm and not more than once a week.
