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As you can see from the attached pictures, I have what looks like a pretty lawn of weeds. In some strange and weird way, it almost kind of looks nice: it all is green! No one can dispute my lawn is green!
But, I would like to kill off these weeds in preparation for growing a new lawn. And I'm starting from the beginning and so don't know how to best approach getting rid of these weeds?
So step #1: Use a ground clear herbicide? Roundup comes to mind. What other options do I have?
Also, please see the second picture attachment. Perhaps someone here may know and be able to identified the kinds of weeds I have? I have numbered them. Those that are similar have the same number.
You're in the south? Southern California perhaps?
--your geographical location is very important--
This plant is pachysandra, it is a commonly planted 'groundcover'. Not actually a weed, although it certainly isn't lawn. Somebody planted it in your yard on purpose.
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I think photos 1,2,3, and 5 are dichondra. This is also an intentionally human installed groundcover. Dichondra fares very well in most parts of California. It is green year round, cute, and never needs to be mowed. (I like dichondra...)
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~~photo #2 is all kinds of weeds and crap and stuff ~~
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So I'm guessing you have have bought a new place, you want a regular lawn, and the greenery you already have isn't grass and you want to get rid of it.
Not so fast. Nothing especially wrong with dichondra or pachysandra....well except that they're not grass.
So I'm going to leave it at that, saying a lot of that greenery is groundcover and not weeds, somebody clearly installed it on purpose so they wouldn't be mowing their lives away, and now you need to decide what to do with it.
"DO NOT USE Ground Clear" if you're planning on growing anything. Ground clear is a soil sterilizer and prevents anything from growing for up to 5 years (depending where you live).
Roud-up is good for spot weed killing.
You may want to consider a Scotts lawn fertilizer with a broadleaf weed killer.
I see moss, parsley and what appear to be some wild lettuces (or lettuce relatives) in the photos above. Somehow, I am not seeing anything that looks like pachysandra. Maybe I'm used to seeing the shiny/glossy kind.
In any case, isn't there enough pollution and cancer in the world? There has got to be a better way to say "Hi" to the new neighbors other than dousing a bunch of chemicals in their neighborhood. Will it run off into their yards? Or into waterways, killing fish and useful aquatic plants that fish need to live? Is there a neighbor who has a veggie garden who is going to have some of the chemicals wash off your property into his/hers?
I'm one of those people succumbing to what appears to be a "trend" in US gardening. I used to use chemicals before I learned a better way. I now spend a lot of time turning parts of my lawn into planting beds for ornamental, edible and otherwise useful plants. Hopefully I'm not offending you, and you'll reconsider the plan to douse the yard with herbicide.
The close up with numbers is wall to wall winter weeds, I didn't look carefully at the others. I can't find a single plant that would be purposely planted in that numbered picture. Some of the weeds I can see at first glance are: Common Chickweed (4) predominates, Henbit (not numbered), crabgrass, wild lettuce or dandelion (or similar leaf weed from a rosette) can't see the base and the leaves can be similar in late winter for many (3), heart leaf bittercress or possibly ground ivy(1), possibly lambsquarters (behind 2) Queen Anne's Lace (3). In addition there may have been some grassy weeds and a possible sedge in one of the other pictures. There appear to be some blooms forming in places that will be even bigger clues when they bloom. The longer I looked the more there was to ID but I didn't see anything worth keeping as a cultivated plant since just about everyone was a nuisance weed that will take over and seed like crazy. Some of them should be easy to pull out now before they go to seed or develop deeper roots.
Does this area collect water or seem to stay damp? You may not want to put in lawn in these conditions, especially if it is also somewhat shady. It might be easier to put in a low growing ferns and shade plants that occur naturally in your area. They will gradually overgrow and reduce the number of new weeds as they grow in. It saves you the repeat costs and aggravation of herbicides, weed killers, grass seed and fertilizer.
"DO NOT USE Ground Clear" if you're planning on growing anything. Ground clear is a soil sterilizer and prevents anything from growing for up to 5 years (depending where you live).
Roud-up is good for spot weed killing.
You may want to consider a Scotts lawn fertilizer with a broadleaf weed killer.
Why would anyone use a Scott's fertiloizer on a lawn that's all weeds? That's a very expensive and very ineffective way to go.
Kill it all off using Roundup. It is not just for spot spraying. It is frequently used to clear whole areas of ground before planting a new lawn. Just make sure to use a very good sprayer and apply it when there is virtually no wind and when the temperatures are between around 60 and 75 degrees. The weeds must be actively growing for the glyphosate to do its work. Wait two weeks, core aerate, verticut in two directions and seed. Apply a starter fertilizer at seeding time. Keep regularly watered. If you are establishing a new lawn in the spring in an area with very hot summers, you will have to overseed again in the fall. New grass can suffer badly in a very hot summer.
We have done this several times, and this is the method recommended by our extension office. It works and it's the most efficient and least expensive way to go.
Why would anyone use a Scott's fertiloizer on a lawn that's all weeds? That's a very expensive and very ineffective way to go.
Kill it all off using Roundup. It is not just for spot spraying. It is frequently used to clear whole areas of ground before planting a new lawn. Just make sure to use a very good sprayer and apply it when there is virtually no wind and when the temperatures are between around 60 and 75 degrees. The weeds must be actively growing for the glyphosate to do its work.
Former Extension agent and current weed scientist here... the above is good advice. Go find generic glyphosate at the farm supply, also get a bag of spray grade ammonium sulfate to put in the water if it's hard water. This will be far, far cheaper than buying glyphosate at the big box/garden center.
Glyphosate binds to metal ions in the soil (and the soil is jam-packed with them)... you could theoretically go back and plant anything in there in a day with little worry as there is no soil activity. The wait is for letting the weeds die, as it does take some time, and it is easier to seed into the soil without a mass of green plant material all over.
After you have grass growing, the growth regulator herbicides (2,4-D, dicamba, MCPA, MCPP, 2,4-DB) will work on the broadleaf weeds and leave your grass alone. MSMA is kind of hard to find, more expensive, and some of the organic arsenates have had their registrations cancelled.
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No one can dispute my lawn is green!
I'm one of those people succumbing to what appears to be a "trend" in US gardening. I used to use chemicals before I learned a better way. I now spend a lot of time turning parts of my lawn into planting beds for ornamental, edible and otherwise useful plants. Hopefully I'm not offending you, and you'll reconsider the plan to douse the yard with herbicide.
Kill it all off, start clean!
