Tips For A Weed Free Landscape

Not all weeds are all-bad for all folks. Some people look forward to dandelions each year because they use the greens in salads or use the blossoms to make wine or jelly. So, it makes sense that each of us will want an approach to dealing with weeds that matches our goals for our outdoor spaces. What all weeds do have in common is that they don’t care about our plans. If left to their own devices they’ll establish a foothold and spread as far and wide as we allow them to.

Whether you’re worried about your lawn, your flower gardens, or some other area of your property—the key to getting the upper hand on weeds without making it a full-time job is to have a plan. This article will give you one that you can fine-tune to fit your specific needs.

Keep reading to learn how to put together an effective approach to dealing with any weeds that are causing you problems in any area of your property and what you need to do to stay weed-free once you’ve gotten rid of them.

A 3-Point Plan for a Weed Free Landscape

If you just pull weeds as you notice them, you’ll spend all summer long chasing the problem. That’s not the best way to enjoy your time outdoors. Our plan helps you separate weeds that you might want to keep around from those you definitely want to get rid of. Once you know what you want the results to be, you can make a plan that puts weeds at a disadvantage right out of the gate. Chemical and mechanical approaches to removing weeds will be your last line of defense on an as-needed basis.

Know Your Enemy

Depending on where you’re at in the country, you might have one or more varieties of “weeds” growing on your property that should be recognized as a blessing in disguise rather than an unwanted guest. We’ve already mentioned some of the uses for dandelions but clover, plantain, chickweed, and stinging nettle are other plants that, while technically a “weed”, can be used to make foods, beverages, or homeopathic remedies that help the plants earn their keep around your house.

Whether you want to encourage certain weeds or just want to show every uninvited guest to the door, there are things that you can do to make the work of eliminating weeds easier while you’re still in the planning stages. It takes a different approach to deal with crabgrass in your lawn than it does with dandelions, thistles, or Queen Anne’s lace in your flower garden.

For gardens and landscaped areas, the best approach is one that incorporates techniques to discourage weeds from growing there in the first place. When you’re dealing with the open spaces of your lawn it makes more sense to get a head start before the weeds gain a foothold and to use all of the tools at your disposal to keep them from getting out of control.

Plan the Work and Work the Plan

The winter months are a great time to start thinking about your plan of attack for the weeds that gave you problems on your lawn and in your landscaping over the course of the previous year. If you have a general idea of where your problems were and when the started to appear, then you’ll have a good idea of what you need to do and when you need to have it done.

In your landscaped areas and garden, it makes sense to use felt or other barrier materials to block out any pests from last year that might have spread seeds or gone dormant to wait for the following spring. Using mulch, stone, or other decorative covers on top of the felt will limit the opportunities for weeds to get the air and sunlight they need. If weeds do appear in the gaps that you open for your flowers, shrubs, and VIPs (very important plants)—pull them before they grow enough to cause problems.

Healthy plants are actually one of the best defenses against weeds. By planning your garden and landscaping you can limit the spots where weeds stand any chance at all. By filling those spots with healthy plants, you make it even tougher for weeds to survive. This is a good rule to remember for your lawn since growing healthy grass is the easiest and best way to combat clover and crabgrass.

The Best Defense is a Good Offense

If you follow the first two steps of the plan we’ve laid out for you then you should notice a huge difference in the number of weeds that you have in your lawn and landscaping. But even a solid plan can’t eliminate every weed so you’ll need to have a strategy for dealing with the weeds that manage to get a leg up on your defenses.

For your lawn, it’s best to start in the fall with a weed and feed treatment that will help your lawn come back healthy right out of the gate the following spring. An early spring treatment can help control weed problems if you’d had a particularly tough time with unwanted weeds and groundcover in the grassy areas around your property.