hi all,
I re-turfed my lawn from scratch in Dec and now that we are approaching winter, i am noticing new foreign weeds starting to creep in here and there. I have Buffalo Sir Walker lawn but sadly a lot of bats and cockatoos s*!t on it.
What do you guys recommend for weed control and winter fertilizer?
Thanks
depends on what weeds you got in it. broadleaf weeds usually can be controlled using a selective broadleaf spray (but check that it is suitable for your grass type). grass weeds might be more difficult to get rid of.
i cratered my blue couch lawn a couple of winters ago digging out every bit of onion weed i could see. i also went on a crusade against winter grass. mine lawn is tops now though.
i usually have a knife lying around in the yard. when i'm not using it to chase off mormons, i find it easiest to spend half an hour manually cutting out weeds when i happen to see them.
the trick is to get rid of weeds before they form seed heads. mow seeds in to the lawn and they are just going to germinate again next year.
You need this:
http://www.gardena.com/int/garden-care-tools/garden-accessor…
Your back will love you for it. Yes I know it's $40 but it really assisted the process of removing weed. I could stand here for an hour poking the lawn, twist, turn and push then the weed's gone. Great fun, even the missus had volunteered to do the yard.
I found out that the majority is winter grass. Any solution for that?
Thanks
yeah, there are pre- and post- emergant herbicides specifically for winter grass (eg, yates & amgrow). 1) make sure your problem is indeed winter grass 2) make sure you get one that is suitable for your grass. you need to get them before they form seed heads. mowing won't help.
Bat droppings on grass may burn but it is good as a fertilizer so, if you can, brush it in.
Bird droppings are acidic and can cause more damage so best watered in each day, if possible.
Have you been using a mower with a catcher?
If using a mulching mover, weed seeds drop with the cippings and make problem worse.
Thanks all. I use a catcher when I mow and I don't let the grass grow to seed.
Picked up amgrow winter grass killer and bin-die. I'm going to compare the two. Used winter grass killer at the back and the bin-die at the front. We'll see which is more effective :)
The instructions say that I need 2-3 sprays so ill monitor and report back if anyone is interested.
Cheers
Just be sure to check that it doesn't specifically exclude use on Buffalo lawn. Many weedkillers do.
Well this sucks. Been down the wrong track. They are bloody onion weed!
According to my reading, I have to dig them out manually?
Any pointers? Thanks all
onion weed only grows in the cooler months. it has thick glossly stems with little white flowers. after it flowers it forms a seed head. if you leave the seeds or mow them into the ground then they will spread. the underground bulb also forms lots of new little bulbs around it each season (like an onion).
if they are only little onion weeds (pretty slim stem) then you could try spot-treating them with glyph360 + a little paint brush. if they are bigger with multiple shoots then there is probably a whole clump of bulbs (possibly hundreds) under the soil and you will only be killing one bulb at a time. you will need to repeat it often.
if you go the route of digging them out then you need to take out a generous area around them because there is likely to be lots of little bulbs there. i used a little garden trowel to take out divets of soil around each stem and put it straight in to the bin, then back fill with some clean top soil
sorry, i meant glyphosate 360 (abbreviated glypho 360). glyphosate is the active ingredient in many non-selective weed killers that you can find at bunnings, masters, etc. 360 is just the concentration (360g/L).
it is non-selective so it will also kill your surrounding grass if you spray, hence the suggestion of a small brush or applicator to paint it on rather than spraying. it that doesn't kill the bulb and it regrows several times then you might have to dig them out by hand, making sure to dig deep enough and wide enough to get all the bulbs if there is a clump. i suppose it depends on how big your lawn is and how many there are.
this page should a picture of a mature bulb and why it becomes hard to kill them from above the ground http://gardenamateur.blogspot.com.au/2008/10/understanding-o…
Bottom of the page refers to onion weed:
http://www.loveyourlawn.com.au/winter-weeds-httpwww-loveyour…
Buffalo master for the weeds. I have a bottle of this and its still half full after 3 years. Worth it, kills all weeds fast, leaves the grass nice and green.