Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 16 to 30 of 57

Thread: Lawn Weeds

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Kansas City
    Posts
    2,652
    We have lots of nutsedge/nutgrass around here. It pops up whenever the rest of the grass is heat-stressed. Sometimes, I hate to kill it because its the only green stuff in the lawn. We have several options of weed killer that targets it. The one I use now is called Image - active ingredient ammonium salt of magnesia. But if you go to a nursery instead a big box, there are a lot more options.

    I remember the guy who used to do a lawn/garden show on HGTV say he stopped thinking of his yard as a lawn and preferred to think of it as a meadow, where diversity is an asset.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
    Posts
    8,973
    Looks like a Little League version of Johnson Grass. Picture doesn't show the sink the tractor shed just for small spray tanks.IMG_0900.jpgIMG_1016 (1) (1280x960).jpg
    Last edited by Tom M King; 08-21-2019 at 7:11 PM.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    I have this ONE light green, tall grass that I just can't get rid of. I tried picking them out manually, repeatedly, but they grow back. Does anyone know what this is and how I may eradicate it?
    There are a number of grass plants that propagate with both seeds and rhizomes. Rhizomes are horizontal roots that grow under the surface (just like bamboo), sprouting new plants along their length. Just pulling the plants won't work since the rhizomes stay in the ground. You have to kill or remove the rhizomes or the grass will continue to come back. You can check for rhizomes by digging down with a narrow spade or fork and lifting the soil to expose the roots. Rhizomes grow outward from the root of the plant. I don't think glyphosate (roundup, etc) or 2-4-D will kill it if it's well established. unless you can get the chemicals in the soil below the surface.

    I know a hay producer who accidentally killed his Bermuda grass, also with rhizomes, by aerating the soil then spraying. The spray went down into the soil and killed the rhizomes.

    Johnson Grass may be the most aggressive and difficult to kill since the rhizomes can be quite deep. Yours is probably not Johnson grass if it's short - JG can get 3-4' tall in just a few weeks. The base of new stems are red where they come out of the ground. The mature leaf is wide and has a very prominent white vein in the middle. The leaves are light colored.

    What I have done successfully many times to eliminate Johnson Grass which should eliminate other grasses with rhizomes is dig up each plant and between the plants and find and remove every rhizome and every little piece of rhizome. This may take several seasons since if you break one and leave a piece it the ground it will generate a new plant and start spreading.

    Another method I've seen used to get rid of Johnson grass is probably less practical for your lawn - fence off the area and turn hogs loose inside! They will dig down and eat every trace of the roots and rhizomes! I know a hay producer who used this method on a nasty stand of Johnson Grass.

    JKJ

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
    Posts
    8,973
    I'm not recommending you try this at home, but..... It takes a combination of Roundup, 2,4,D, and Imprazar to kill Johnson Grass, and it can't be sprayed too late in the Fall, or it will come back the next year. It doesn't take much Imprazar (Arsenal) in the mix to kill it, but without a tiny bit, it will come back the next year. I've found that to also be the only combination that will end Wisteria, if it's gotten out of hand.

    Nutsedge is not quite so hard to kill, but Roundup will only knock it back for one season. Imprazar is also the only thing I've ever found that will permanently kill Sweet Gum, but sometimes you have to hit it again the second year. I was half joking about Nutsedge being like a Little League Johnson Grass, but the other half is a fair comparison.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    Jim, I'm going to start cutting the grass higher. I've heard that a million times; never did it.
    When I was a mere lad, my dad absolutely insisted in cutting the grass to within millimeters of non-existence, saying it wouldn't have to be cut as often...and then wondered why it was primarily dusty weeds. The funny thing is is that it still needed to be cut weekly, etc. As I mentioned, I cut at 4" now and it grows the same general amount in a week as when it was shorter but looks lush and green, for the most part. And what weeds there are...they look better, too.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    Quote Originally Posted by Stan Calow View Post
    I remember the guy who used to do a lawn/garden show on HGTV say he stopped thinking of his yard as a lawn and preferred to think of it as a meadow, where diversity is an asset.
    I absolutely agree with that statement! At different times of the year, particularly in our front lawn, there is a cascade of small blue wildflowers that are awesome. There are other things that are equally beautiful to see throughout the year even though it's primarily a green carpet of grass.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #22
    I like the meadow treatment and our city used to encourage it. But they will also fine for growth over 12 inches.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    The meadow motif doesn't need to mean "long/tall"...there are so many low growing options available if one is planting as well as a lot of natural diversity like I mentioned with my own lawn that is down low, too.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #24
    Thanks Jim, I will research low growing stuff.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Yorktown, VA
    Posts
    2,754
    I used to spec meadow mixes from Ernst ...their site has a seed finder that might be helpful. No affiliation.
    https://www.ernstseed.com/products/

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    5,427
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    The best thing I ever did for "weed control" in our lawn was to start cutting it much higher...3.5"-4". I've never used chemicals. Yes, there are still some "weeds" but new ones struggle to get a foothold because the taller, thriving grass blocks the sunlight and makes germination conditions less than ideal for "weeds". Most "weeds" thrive in poor soil where there is plenty of light available to them.
    I've been cutting at 4" for several years and I still have as many weeds as ever. It might not help that I don't fertilize so the grass isn't real thick.

    One issue with 4" is the lawn never has that fresh cut look to me. The lawn also looks kinda ragged even with new high quality blades on the mower. A lot of people are cutting their lawn when it gets to around 4" and if you start at 4" you are probably not cutting until 5" or taller. 4" is at least better than my neighbor who cuts so short that his lawn is scalped everywhere.

    I'm lucky I don't live in a neighborhood where a lot of emphasis is put on nice looking lawns.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    I don't fertilize, either, Brian. I do know that while I have weeds, they certainly are less prominent. Yes, it doesn't look as well groomed after a week, but I personally don't mind about that. Subjective thing...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  13. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    I've been cutting at 4" for several years and I still have as many weeds as ever. It might not help that I don't fertilize so the grass isn't real thick.

    One issue with 4" is the lawn never has that fresh cut look to me. The lawn also looks kinda ragged even with new high quality blades on the mower. A lot of people are cutting their lawn when it gets to around 4" and if you start at 4" you are probably not cutting until 5" or taller. 4" is at least better than my neighbor who cuts so short that his lawn is scalped everywhere.

    I'm lucky I don't live in a neighborhood where a lot of emphasis is put on nice looking lawns.
    I've settled on between 3.5 and 3.75 as the sweet spot for cutting height. 4 inches seems just a tad high for me partially for reasons you stated.
    Keep in mind too that not all mowers are created equal. The higher you cut the better suction you need under the deck and a good blade won't matter if the grass won't stand up.
    Water is more important than fertilizer, and always mulch your clippings back into the yard.
    A good core aeration and overseeding would probably fill in quite a bit.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Nathan Johnson View Post
    I've settled on between 3.5 and 3.75 as the sweet spot for cutting height. ...
    I mow about 3 acres around the house, approach, the little orchard, around the outside of the fences, and another 10 acres in the pastures as needed. I cut shorter or higher, depending. (My mowers cut 5' at once so it doesn't take long.)

    In the spring I cut most grass at around 3". A lot of our honey comes from clover so when it's blooming I raise the deck as needed to leave the flowers.. When the weather is hot and dry (like now) I mow at 3.5-4", mostly to cut off the undesirable seed heads. Pastures get 5.5", the upper limit of my Kubota mower. Letting the grass in the pasture get too high can reportedly cause fine seeds to irritate the horse's eyes. Keeps the weeds and things the horses won't eat down too.

    Fortunately, changing the height is so easy on the diesel mower - foot pedals operate a hydraulic deck lift. I can easily lower from full height to 1" while moving to "spot mow" a patch of weeds or raise the deck to miss a stray rock or limb.

    Also fortunately for my time, I'm not too picky about perfectly manicured and weedless lawns. I always remember what a neighbor told me in 1972 - "if it's green, I'm happy."

    JKJ

  15. #30
    Nutsedge has a small bulb or "nut" underground that I'd expect makes it very resistant to something like roundup that kills foliage. Don't know what you'd use to kill it, though, since the most popular products I know aren't safe on northern grasses like fescue (IIRC).

    Also, cutting your grass high can be good but most warm-season grasses will develop bad thatch if not cut regularly. The stems will grow on top of each other, then all die over the winter because they're not in the ground and are exposed to the elements. Then the stems (which are like wood rather than leaves like grass blades) will not decay fast enough in the spring, so the new stems will grow on top of them and you'll repeat the cycle. With grasses that need it (centipede, bermuda, etc), cut them low, or else...

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •