Control Winter Weeds Before They Go To Seed
While we were hibernating inside this winter weeds have been merrily growing along. It is now time for some of them to produce flowers and seeds. If we remove them before the seeds mature, we will reduce next year’s weed problems. Besides they are easier to remove while they are small. I like to grab weeds with my fingers right where they emerge from the ground so the roots pull out of the ground. I use a hand trowel to remove the ones that don’t come up easily. Weedy grasses in particular need to have the soil loosened so you get the whole root system. You can also hoe weeds without bending over, and then rake up the weeds afterward.
Weeds can also be sprayed with chemicals on a dry day. Roundup and similar products containing glyphosate will kill both grassy and broadleaf weeds. I use a piece of cardboard to shield leaves of ornamentals from the spray. Roundup will not damage bark. Roundup can also be used to kill patches of coarse, weedy grass in lawns for later reseeding.
Lawn weed killers will kill dandelions and other broadleaf weeds without damaging the lawn grass. Granular lawn weed control and fertilizer combination (Weed and Feed) is a good choice if you have a lot of weeds in your lawn.
Allen Wilson
Allen has been writing about gardening for over 30 years. He is a retired professor of Horticulture.