Get in shape with the all-weed work-out
Right now, while the ground is still moist and soft is the best
time to pull weeds.
But wait a minute. Is it a weed? Or is it a desirable plant?
There is an old garden joke. If you pull and it comes up easy,
then it’s a desirable plant. Only weeds are tough to pull.
Get in shape with the all-weed work-out
Right now, while the ground is still moist and soft is the best time to pull weeds.
But wait a minute. Is it a weed? Or is it a desirable plant?
There is an old garden joke. If you pull and it comes up easy, then it’s a desirable plant. Only weeds are tough to pull.
I was thinking about this as I tried to figure out what was putting up green growth in my planter box. I’d sprinkled some mixed wildflower seeds there in the fall. I can’t remember what exactly they were, but these emerging notched leaves might be something to savor…or something to remove.
When in doubt, my rule is simple. Just leave it alone and see what happens. You can always pull up a mystery plant later, but you can’t put it back once you’ve dragged it out.
Some weeds are no mystery at all. Dandelions, chickweed, misplaced quackgrass with their underground runners and other obvious weeds should be removed as quickly as possible. This is especially true of dandelions. Dig them up or spray them out before they set their puffy seed heads through the garden.
One thing to do now is a pre-emergent weed-and-feed treatment to the lawn. This knocks out the undesirables before they grow. If the bad guys are already showing up in the lawn, then spray with a lawn weed killer such as Weed Be Gone.
However, what if your lawn is more than 30 percent weeds, the lawn weed killer may not be the answer. Instead, kill the weeds with Roundup, dig them out, rought up the spots and reseed with new lawn grass. An alternative to that is to get rid of the entire weed-infected area, and put down new lawn from seed or sod before the weather turns very warm.
For folks who grow flowers and vegetables, invasive weeds are a huge problem. As you water the desirable flowers and vegetables, the water encourages weed seed in the soil to germinate. Choose a selective weed killer that takes care of the weeds and leaves the good guys alone. I’ve had good luck with Preen, which is sprinkled on the soil to inhibit crab grass and other weeds that compete with flowers and vegetables.
Roundup is the product of choice for attacking all kinds of out-of-control weeds. It is non-selective, which means it will kill everything with which it comes into contact. Use extreme care, spray in the morning when the wind is calm, and use a cardboard shield to protect desirable plants from spray drift. Truthfully, I’m a little afraid of Roundup and other non-selective sprays. I’ve had bad luck with drift, and managed to kill part of my vegetable garden after using the spray carelessly.
For tough jobs like invasive wild blackberries, poison oak and brush, there are specific products that kill out the roots. You will still need to dig out the dead plants, but at least they won’t be coming back – at least not in that particular spot.
When using any kind of weed killer, whether it’s for the lawn or the toughest brush, buy the product that is made specifically for your problem, read the directions carefully and follow them exactly as stated. It’s a good idea to wear protective clothing including long pants, long-sleeve shirts and gloves. Don’t forget a hat and sunscreen. Those two items – hat and sunscreen – should be part of your regular attire whenever you’re in the garden.
Tip of the week: Give everything in your yard a feeding with an all-purpose fertilizer. Feed trees, shrubs, lawn, roses, groundcovers and fruit trees. Citrus and avocado are putting out new growth and particularly need citrus and avocado fertilizer to recoup from the winter freeze. Water the area, spread the fertilizer, and then water deeply to soak the food down to the roots.
Plants that have been damaged from the freeze can be pruned back now, since new growth is easy to spot. Make pruning cuts about 3 inches into healthy wood beyond the damaged wood.
E-mail Joan Jackson at bl*********@cs.com.
