Lawn maintenance can kind of be a hassle, but with some patience and some weed tips and tricks, you can have a beautiful lawn and landscaping in no time. Avoid the HOA warning letters with these weed tips, and keep your lawn properly cared for! HOA letters are no joke, you don’t want to have a violation on your yard, so making sure to follow the strict rules of your housing area are key. Check out these preventative tips or hacks on keeping your yard and garden weed free, to avoid any unnecessary violations. Plus, who doesn’t love a home with great curb appeal?
Avoid the HOA Warning Letters with these Weed Tips
Grass Cutting Height
Cutting your grass too short can make weeds flourish easier. If you are unaware, each type of grass has an ideal cutting height, for optimal growth. If you cut lower than what it should be or leave it at a higher height, the grass will start to grow more weeds. Cutting at optimal height can prevent weeds in many different ways! It can keep the ground cooler, and disrupt weed seed germination. Also once the weed seeds do sprout they will not have much sunlight, so it will be harder to grow.
If you want to permanently remove weeds from garden, check out this article on How to kill weeds naturally?
Optimal Height for Grass Types
- Bent Grass – 1/4 to 3/4 in
- Kentucky Bluegrass -1 1/2 – 3 in.
- Perennial ryegrass – 1 1/2 – 3 in.
- Tall Fescue – 1 1/2 to 3 in.
- Buffalo grass- 2 to 3 in.
- Bermuda Grass -1/2 to 1 in.
- Zoysia grass – 1/ to 1 in.
- St. Augustine grass – 1 to 3 in.
Pre-Emergents
Pre-emergent herbicides are great at preventing weed seeds from germinating, and they don’t kill existing plants or grass. You want to put the pre-emergent down before weed seeds germinate, which is at different times for different areas.
You can buy pre-emergent herbicides to use once Spring is starting and you won’t see weeds like crabgrass sprouting. If you see one here or there you can cover your lawn in the pre-emergent, just note that any weed that has begun to grow, it will not kill. It will prevent all other weeds that have not started growing, from growing. Some gardeners say to spread your pre-emergent herbicides when the daffodils pop up in the garden.
Mulch Flower Beds Like Crazy
Mulch acts as a suffocating blanket to weeds and prevents light from reaching the weed seeds. Mulching is a great way to keep moisture in for your plants and prevent weeds from sprouting. Lay down a layer of newspaper or weed barrier paper (landscaping fabric) around your flowers and plants. Then add your mulch on top to act as a layer of protection from those weeds.
Water Weeds Before Pulling
Pulling weeds when the soil is moist makes it so much easier and more effective. When the soil is moist you have a better chance of getting the whole root system. If you just had a fresh rain, go pluck out the weeds if you see them popping up. If you are in need of rain, grab a hose and soak the area or turn on sprinkler system.
Stop Weeds from Spreading by Plucking the Heads
This can be time consuming if you have a lot of weeds, but it can help prevent them from spreading. Simply pluck off the top of the weed heads, before they drop seeds. This is a great way to prevent them from spreading to more areas in your yard or garden.
Feed Your Lawn
You can buy Pre-emergent herbicides that you spread out on your lawn every 8 weeks or so during the growing season. I recommend doing this as it will help thicken up your lawn, and fill in any bare spots. By doing that, it will prevent weeds from being able to grow as easily.
Growing a weed free lawn, may be close to impossible if we are being honest. But you can succeed in creating a healthy and thick lawn, that doesn’t give those pesky weeds much room to grow and take root! You can also minimize your weed issues in your yard and garden by tackling them with these simple preventative weed tips.
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