A healthy, thick lawn is the best weed control. Weeds move in where the lawn is thin, stressed or cut too short. Here are the common ones in Benoni gardens and how to deal with them.
Nutgrass (uintjie)
The most stubborn lawn weed on the Highveld. It's bright green, grows faster than the lawn, and has triangular stems with small underground nuts (tubers).
- Pulling it out rarely works. The tubers stay behind and resprout.
- Use a selective herbicide made for nutgrass in lawns, following the label exactly. It usually takes more than one treatment in summer, while the weed is actively growing.
- Avoid digging and moving soil from infested areas, because that spreads the tubers.
Clover and broadleaf weeds
Clover, dandelions and other broadleaf weeds often point to low nitrogen or compacted soil.
- Feed the lawn in spring and mid-summer.
- Spot-treat with a broadleaf lawn herbicide that's safe for your grass type. Check the label, because some products damage kikuyu or buffalo grass.
Crabgrass and summer grass
These annual grasses grow in thin, bare patches in summer. Thicken the lawn by top dressing and feeding in spring, and mow at the right height so the lawn shades out seedlings.
Prevention
- Don't mow too short. Scalped lawns let weeds in.
- Water deeply and less often, so the lawn grows deep roots.
- Fill bare patches quickly with runners or top dressing.
- Aerate compacted areas where people walk.
See the lawn care calendar and brown patches in your lawn. Many garden services include weed control or offer it as an extra. Ask whether they use selective lawn products and are careful around beds and pets.