I have never been a natural gardener. For years, I struggled to keep basic houseplants alive, only to kill them at the first opportunity. It was difficult and stressful to buy a home with a yard, but I knew that I might be able to learn what I was doing wrong and correct the problem. To start off, I focused heavily on the lawn, and tried hard to keep it trimmed and well-maintained. Next, I cleaned up the flowerbeds. It was a lot of work, but I knew that it would pay off in the end. When I was done, my front yard was gorgeous, and guess what--it even stayed alive. This blog is all about loving your little landscape.
Regardless of how well you take care of your lawn, you are bound to have a few weeds try to invade your turf over time. Here are two common weed types that a homeowner is likely to find in his or her yard and how to eradicate them:
Broadleaf Weeds
Broadleaf weeds, such as dandelions, should be treated with a broadleaf herbicide. Most home Improvement stores offer weed killers that can be applied to a large area of a lawn using a sprayer that connects to your garden hose. However, much of the product is sometimes wasted because the weeds are not overtaking the yard. Instead, they may be concentrated in certain areas. Using less weed killer not only saves you money. It adds less herbicide to the environment.
The best way to apply the herbicide to the broadleaf weed is to use a canister-style pressure sprayer. If the desired weed killer is not available for purchase in the appropriate dilution and only instructions for a lawn sprayer are included, simply connect your hose sprayer to the product and spray the diluted weed killer directly into the canister of your pressure sprayer until there is enough product to spot spray your yard.
Spot treatments allow you to direct the spray toward the individual weeds in your yard. You could also use a trigger sprayer. However, using a trigger sprayer that only releases one spray per pull of the trigger can be time-consuming. As you walk around your property, simply aim the nozzle of the sprayer directly at the broadleaf weeds and coat the offending plants until they are thoroughly wet. The directions on the weed killer packaging should indicate how long the herbicide takes to kill the weeds.
Grassy Weeds
A grassy weed is simply a wild type of grass that does not blend well with your lawn. Because these weeds are actually grasses, they are not affected by broadleaf herbicides. The best way to handle a grassy weed is to use an herbicide that kills grass. However, if you choose an herbicide that kills grass, it will likely kill all plants. Thus, applying the product haphazardly can harm your decorative foliage, flowers and the grass of your lawn. As a result, the application of the herbicide must be kept to a minimum. The best way to do this is to paint the blades of the grassy weed with the herbicide. You can do this by donning rubber gloves and dipping the fingers of your gloved hand in the herbicide. Then, grasp the blades of the weed with herbicide-coated fingers of the glove near the bottom of the weed and drag the herbicide along the blades. Even if you're unable to coat all of the blades of the plant, the grassy weed will still absorb enough of the herbicide to kill it. If you notice that a few grassy weeds seem resistant, perform another application.
To learn more ways to keep your lawn free of weeds, consult with a lawn care specialist in your area such as Hedahl Landscape Deck & Patio.
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