Managing Weeds
Maintain a Healthy Lawn
The most effective method of managing invasive plants/weeds is preventing their introduction and quickly responding to new occurrences. The first step in managing invasive plants is recognizing them. The following tips will help to maintain a healthy lawn and garden that can resist weeds:
- Make sure you have 15-25 cm of loam (soil with roughly equal proportions of sand, silt, and clay) and/or compost to establish a healthy lawn
- Aerate your lawn (fall and spring) and top-dress with loam to improve the soil surface
- Keep grass height on the long side – 6 cm (2 ½ inches)
- Crowd out the weeds by over-seeding your lawn
- Maintain your gardens with native plants suitable for plant hardiness Zone 3
- Practice companion planting. Certain plants like to grow closer to one another and provide benefits to each other such as repelling pests/weeds and replenishing soil nutrients
Steps You Can Take
If you notice that weeds are growing in your lawn or garden, there are several measures you can take, including:
- Hand pulling/digging weeds. This is often the most effective way to eliminate weeds because you can pull both the weed and the root system
- Mowing over weeds before they go to seed. This will help reduce the spread of the weed and in a few seasons can eliminate the weed altogether
- Talking to your local gardening expert. In some cases, companion planting can help eliminate weeds because they don’t like growing close to certain plants
- Applying an organic fertilizer which will help to promote root growth, improve your lawn’s colour and increase the resistance to disease and weeds. Organic fertilizers do not leach and run-off into our rivers, are non-toxic and non-corrosive, which make them a healthier choice compared to traditional fertilizers.
- Spraying weeds with herbicides is an option; however, we recommend this as a last resort. If you choose to use a herbicide, try spot-treating rather than treating your entire yard. Also, talk to local experts beforehand so they can tell you how to use the product properly and safely.
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Last edited: November 29, 2019