09:59 - 22 February 2010
Early spring is the best time to make a start on weed control in the garden. As the weather starts to warm up annual weeds quickly germinate and colonise bare ground, while existing and new perennial weeds will also start into growth.
Weeds not only compete for any available food and water, but they also provide shelter for a number of garden pests and diseases. If you can remove perennial weeds now it will save you hours of work later in the season. Dig out any perennial weeds making sure to remove all the roots. Hoe off any annual weed seedlings as they appear. Use a small hand hoe to weed between existing plants and leave the chopped weeds to dry out on the soil surface. Always hoe when the soil is slightly dry and on a sunny day so that the decapitated seedlings will quickly wither. Keep your flowerbeds and vegetable garden well weeded now and you will have made great headway for the season ahead.
If your lawn is dotted with lawn weeds do not resort to general weedkillers, as these will kill your grass too. Occasional lawn weeds can be dug out with a hand tool but be sure to get out all of the root system. If there are lots of weeds and moss too then you can save time and effort and use a triple action product that feeds, weeds and deals with moss, these are usually applied from March to September. The added weed killer is a dedicated formulation for use on lawns and will not kill the grass instead it quickly deals with a variety of common and persistent lawn weeds, encouraging them into fast and uncontrolled growth until they literally burn themselves out and die.
The feed in a triple action product helps to boost the grass growth and help it to compete with weeds and moss. As a result of feeding you increase the nutrient levels in the lawn, which is another way to deter moss. The moss control usually kills the moss and turns it black after about 2-3 weeks. Use a spring tine rake to remove the dead moss. Don’t add it to the compost heap unless you are able to rot it down for 9-12 months, because the weedkiller residue may affect your other garden plants.
