Few weeds here and there, especially those annual weeds with shallow roots, can be pulled out with hands. However, eliminating deep-rooted perennial weeds manually is a tiresome task. Though you can’t completely prevent weeds from growing in your lawn, you can definitely keep them in check with good gardening practices.
Mow Your Lawn to Ideal Cutting Height
Know the ideal cutting height of the grass growing in your lawn. Never mow the grass shorter than this height. Also, keep in mind the one-third rule of mowing, which says that you should not cut more than one-third of the grass blade in one single mowing. Cutting the grass too small makes it weaker and prone to weed attacks. On the other hand, tall and thick grass deprives the weed of sunlight and controls its growth.
Maintain Strong and Healthy Grass
If the grass in your lawn is healthy, it will out-compete the weeds and take care of most of the problem by itself. Deep, infrequent watering (rather than frequent shallow watering) helps the grass develop deeper roots. Add compost and fertilizer at least once a year. This will build the soil and supply much-needed nutrients to the grass.
Use Mulching to Prevent Weed
Mulching keeps the soil moist and cool, which is good for grass. It also blocks the light from reaching the weeds, making them weaker. Organic mulches often host insects that feed on weed seeds. It’s however important to maintain the right thickness of the mulch layer; too thin a layer may be inefficient in blocking the sunlight, while a too thick layer may deprive the soil of oxygen. Also, when you see any weed growing on the surface of the mulch (often due to weed seeds brought by air), make sure you uproot them before they become firm and deeper.
Use a Good Weed Killer
There are a variety of weed killers available to prevent and destroy weeds. However, not all of them are suitable for use in the lawn. Choosing the best weed killer for lawns depends upon what types of weeds and vegetation you have in your lawn. Some weed killers may be capable of killing as many as 200 species of weeds, some may be safe for certain species of flowers, while some may kill everything they come in contact with.
You can use a handheld sprayer if the area to be covered is small. For larger areas, a pressurized sprayer would be more convenient. Irrespective of what type of sprayer, be sure to use the required safety tools like hand gloves, protective mask, and safety glasses.
Pull Them Out Manually
If there are only few weeds, you can pull them out with hand or some simple tool that makes weeding easier. Manual uprooting works best when the weeds are young or have just begun to grow. Also, it’s easier to pull out weeds when the soil is moist. In order to prevent the pulled-out weeds from growing back, see to it that you collect and dispose them of properly.
