AVOIDING WEEDS
31 July 2012
Find out the two best ways to avoid weeds in your lawn.
The best two ways to avoid weeds are to mow regularly, and select a lawn like Buffalo or Zoysia that naturally competes well with weeds.
Broad leaf weeds have broad generally flat leaves which can be sprayed out of your lawn with chemicals such as Bromoximal MCPA, often sold by the brand Bindii Killer.
If you have Buffalo grass, be certain you use one appropriate for Buffalo. Broad leaf weeds include clover, Bindii, thistle, Capeweed, Creeping Oxalis, Cat's Ear and many more. You can use either the chemicals diluted into a spray pack or unit, which is generally the best way.
Spray your lawn and the weeds will die, while the lawn will remain unharmed. Other options include utilizing a clip on hose herbicide such as Yates, which are simple to use, but on some harder to kill weeds like Clover aren't as effective as the mixture you would make up in a spray unit, but for other weeds they work effectively.
Weed and feed products come across as good, but horticulturist tend not to recommend spraying a weed chemical and fertilising at the same time. It is suggested you keep these processes separate. Some clover weeds may tend to be particularly stubborn, and you could need to use a stronger chemical, but unfortunately these aren't available to the public, so you may need to hire a specialist, or perhaps just kill the areas dead with round up, and replant, or try stronger frequent applications of the broad leaf chemical available to you.
Keep a look out over winter for Bindii to develop. It could take a number of applications to get all of them, as they germinate at different times over winter. Remember, stop weeds well before they seed, and you will stop the next generation.
Grass Weeds - In the event you have Couch or Zoysia, you can use a specialist to get many grass weeds out of your lawn with commercial chemicals. You may also spot grass weeds out by yourself by utilizing Round up or other mechanical methods. This works for all lawn types, including Buffalo, and Kikuyu, in addition to Couch and Zoysia.
The easiest way to remove them is to chip them before they seed. Use a knife, a pick, or a specialised weeding fork, which definitely works the best but if you have to, another method is to use a wick wiper filled with round up. Simply wipe the herbicide on the weed, and it'll die. You might need to do this again in a few weeks. See to it that you do not get any on your lawn.
Sometimes you see Kikuyu in your Buffalo lawn. To kill it, I'll get comfy, and paint the round up on, making sure you're wearing a rubber glove. Alternatively you can set a bit of Cardboard underneath of the Kikuyu and above the lawn, and paint the round up on your Kikuyu. If you have a Couch or Zoysia lawn, specialists can take out Kikuyu with commercial chemicals which are not generally available for home sale, however DSMA or MCPA at this moment available in some home formulations such as Paspalum killer, and maybe used to take out stubborn grass weeds such as Kikuyu and Paspalum in Zoysia and Couch.
See to it that you read the label carefully if you decide to do it yourself, as the label may vary from product to product. Some claim these chemicals will take out nut grass also, but generally Sempra would be a better option. Having Nut grass, there are specialist nut grass killers, but they're usually so expensive for a small quantity its better value to hire a specialist commercial weed killing service, although recently Sempra has appeared on some web pages for as low as $69.95 for 25grms.
Non chemical weed control methods - Mow regularly and well, and use Buffalo or Zoysia lawns. Besides that you can chip or hand weed. Steam or hot water may also be utilized to kill weeds. The steam or hot water if used correctly will kill Broadleaf weeds without harming turf grass, but I suggest experimenting on small areas first to work out for yourself how best to do it.
It can also be dangerous, so maybe Round Up could possibly be safer. These days you could buy small portable steamers. Plug these into an extension cord, and steam the weed to death. For the ones who really hate chemicals, your steamer can clean the bathroom, then kill the weeds.
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