How to Get Rid of Weeds and StumpsWeeds in the Grass The best defense against weeds in a lawn is a good offense. By that we mean maintain a thick healthy lawn where weeds don't have an opportunity to grow. Keep the lawn on the long side because longer grass blades will shade and retard the growth of small weeds. A good time to weed is after a light rainfall when the lawn is soft and weeds can be eased out of the soil. Small patches of weeds can be pulled by hand using a weeder. Pull the weed straight up and out of the ground removing its entire root. An oscillating hoe and bow rake comes in handy to break up compact soil before removing weeds. The oscillating hoe has sharp edges and looks something like a stirrup. Move it back and forth in the soil to dislodge weeds. A bow rake has hard teeth that dig into and breaks up the soil. Use these tools on the compact soil and then the weeder to pull out individual weeds. For best results, kneel or sit on the lawn so you have good leverage. Don't leave a bare spot in the lawn after you've removed a weed because it's an invitation for an encroaching weed. Add a little topsoil and grass seed and keep a watch on the new grass patches and water them. Weeds in Flower and Vegetable Beds Mulching material and landscape fabrics are the first line of defense against weeds in flower and vegetable beds. Edging the beds is another way to keep the growth of unwanted weeds and grass from spreading. You can cut down on the number of weeds in your garden by hand weeding or treating them with chemicals. Some are annuals and complete their life cycle in one growing season and others are perennials and send up new shoots every year. In either case the goal is to remove the weeds entirely so they can no longer flourish and germinate for another season. Hand Weeding First here's a look at doing it by hand, or hoe or whatever tool works for you. Weeds can crop up in some of the darndest places which makes extricating them by hand a challenging chore. Timing is everything. Your job of weeding will be made easier if you can plan the job after a rainfall. The soil is moist softened from the rain water which makes working it much easier than when it is hard and dry. Ideally you want to remove a weed without the large clump of soil around its roots. To do this pull the plant straight up and out instead of at an angle. The younger and smaller the weed, the easier it is to remove because its network of roots isn't firmly established in the soil. Some weeds like dandelions are tough critters and will regrow if only a small section of their root system is left in the ground. So when weeding dig deep with the weeder and dig carefully to remove all parts of a weed. Your weeding isn't complete once the weed is out of the ground. Break up the soil around the weed root system with your hand or a cultivator and look for any signs of roots or new growth and remove them. Then push the soil back into the hole and smooth it level with your hand. A large tract of weeds can be approached with more gusto. Use a garden fork or oscillating hoe to break up the soil around the weeds and loosen their root system before you remove them. Then pull the weeds out of the large clods of earth making sure to get all of the roots. If you are faced with weeding a large area consider renting a rototiller to do the muscle work of breaking up the soil, then you can hand pick most of the weeds from the soil after the rototiller has broken up the soil. Herbicides Using chemicals to remove weeds requires a little homework. One trip to your local lawn and garden center will totally confuse you because of the vast array of weed killers. Here's the basic information you need to know. Preplanting herbicides are used on soil before seeds are planted; preemergent herbicides are used after seeding, but before the seeds have emerged; post emergent herbicides are used after plants have grown and nonselective herbicides kill all plants they come in contact with. In the post emergent category there are contact herbicides which kill only the plant tissue that they contact and systemic herbicides which are absorbed by the plant through its leaves and stem. Once inside the weed the chemicals kill the weed. It can be sprayed on or painted on the leaves of a weed with a small brush. When using chemicals be very careful to read and follow the "Caution" information on the label. Apply all your garden chemicals on a windless day or early in the morning when the wind is usually calm. Don't apply any chemicals if there is rain in the weather forecast. For systemic herbicide, or for that matter any garden chemical or fertilizer, to be effective it must remain on the plant or in the soil in order to be absorbed by the plant. Wind and especially rain wash the chemicals out of your lawn or garden and into the drainage system surrounding your property. Eventually these chemicals end up in the river and ground water systems. In urban areas chemical runoff from residential lawns and gardens is a major source of pollution so the careful use and proper application of all garden chemicals will go a long way in reducing this source of pollution. Getting Rid of Weeds in Tough Places Weeds in a stone or brick path or driveway can be a perennial problem. The best solution we've found is to wait for a weather forecast calling for rain and then sprinkle Borax laundry booster on the weeds. The rain will wash the Borax into the weed and kill it. Don't get it too close to nearby plants, however. There are a host of chemical defenses for spot control of weeds. The careful spraying of a herbicide directly on the weed quickly kills it. Many of these spot weed killers come with a spray attachment that is very easy to use. Removing Tree and Shrubbery Stumps Wear protective eye protection, gloves and work shoes. Cutting through the root system is real work so you will find it time well spent to sharpen your shovel and other cutting tools before you begin this project. A sharp lawn edger comes in handy to cut tough roots, so does a pruning saw and a lopper. Begin by digging around the stump with your shovel. Start about a foot or so from the stump and angle the shovel blade toward the stump. As soon as you begin digging you will hit the roots of the stump. You can cut through the small roots with your shovel if it is sharpened. The larger roots should be cut with the lopper or with a pruning saw. Dig towards the stump so as the hole gets deeper it tapers down towards the stump. You want to cut the roots but at the same time you want to dig as small a hole as possible. Some of the most difficult roots to cut are the ones coming out the bottom of the stump. After you have dug around the stump push it back and forth to loosen it as much as possible. Then work your shovel under the stump to cut the roots. Pulling on the stump helps but is sometimes difficult to do. You can rent a ratchet winch often called a Comealong and hook it to the stump and a nearby tree. Or you could tie a rope to the stump, tie the other end to your car's bumper and have someone pull slowly and steadily on the stump while you chop away at the root system with the shovel. Don't pull too hard or you will damage your car. Also be careful that the rope is in good shape and strong. Don't stand between the car and the stump because if it comes loose suddenly you could get hit by it or the rope if it breaks under the load. Hire a professional or rent a stump grinder to remove stumps 12- 24-inches or larger. A stump grinder can be rented by the day and is a machine with a large wheel and is lowered on the stump. The wheel grinds the stump into small chips. The grinder does not remove the stump and roots it just grinds it down below the soil so it is not visible. written by Gene and Katie Hamilton
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