Mowing weeds, how to do it correctly. What professionals say

Mowing weeds can be tricky as the seeds from the weed plants can spread all over your lawn while trying to mow them off. You might be wondering how else to get rid of them. The good news is that several techniques will help you eliminate the weed plants while ensuring that the seeds aren’t getting spread in your lawn.

Mowing weeds, how to do it correctly:

The right way of mowing weeds is to attach a clipping bag to your mower. This wat the cuttings and seeds do not get spread over your lawn. Besides mowing, you can also spray down the soil or pluck the weeds out using your hands.

This article will discuss several useful techniques and the right ways of using them so that you can have a lawn free from weeds. To get your hands on the right strategies for mowing weeds, make sure to go through every section of the article so that you can have a lawn free from all sorts of weeds!

Mowing helps your lawn stay healthy

Your lawn can become a breeding space for the weeds if you do not give it proper care. The best and most effective way is to keep the grass healthy so that there remains no room for weeds’ growth. The thicker grass of your lawn will ensure that there is no space for the growth of weeds, the goal of thicker grass is to prevent the sunlight from entering the weeds, and once the sunlight is blocked, the weeds can’t nourish and grow.

Your lawn should be adequately mowed, and the weeds present in it should be removed before they grow and become thick, dense forests.

Mowing weeds

Mowing weeds can be tricky to start with. What you do not want is that the seeds from the weeds get spread over your lawn. That would mean that they will start everywhere. The best way to prevent this is to use a clipping bag. Attach the clipping bag to your mower so that the weeds can be appropriately mowed without spreading the cutting or the seeds.

The easy way to get rid of the weeds is to prevent them at an early stage. Else they can grow in your lawn and become problematic for you when you plan to mow it. When it comes to keeping the lawn healthy, the best you can do is prevent the weeds from spreading their seeds so that the number of weed plants in your lawn doesn’t increase.

The problem with the weeds is that their seeds can remain in the soil for years and hurt your lawn’s growth. Mowing the weeds can be a time-consuming process, but if you do it with consistency, it will pay off in the long run.

What if mowing doesn’t work

Mowing is one solution to the weeds’ problem, but unfortunately, mowing will not help you remove all the weeds present in your lawn. Although mowing might harvest most of the weeds, the weed spreading through runners or stolons will still be there on your lawn.

Well, do not give up. We still have a solution that is going to help you out!

For the weeds that are not removed by mowing, you can use different herbicides for weed plants. This will remove the roots of weeds present in the soil of your lawn. When looking for a suitable herbicide in the market, give proper attention to the type of weed plants present in your lawn. Buy an herbicide that is environmentally friendly and is suitable to destroy those weed plants.

Some of the weeds in your lawn are so small that you cannot even notice them with the naked eye. They will not be touched by mowing them. The best you can do is to discourage such plants’ growth by using suitable herbicides.

As long as you mow regularly with a bag on your mower, and optionally use some herbicide wherever required, you are going to make your lawn free from the weeds after some time.

As a famous quote says, “Consistency is the key to success”, so your success of weed-free lawn can only be achieved by showing consistency.

Timing: when should you mow weeds

Timing is the most important thing when it comes to mowing weeds from your lawn. The most suitable time for mowing is when the weed plants are growing, and the flowers of these plants are about to bloom. Mowing at this stage is most effective and will help you prevent the spread of seeds and stop the further spread of weed plants in your lawn.

Adopt this practice of mowing the weeds at the time when the flowers are about to bloom. It will not only help you prevent the spread of seeds, but it will eventually lead to the weakening roots that are already present in the soil of your lawn. Weakening these roots will contribute to a weed-free lawn.

Initially, when you start mowing the weeds, you will notice a shoot in the weeds stem’s growth. But don’t let that make you anxious. Although the stem might be growing at unprecedented speed, the soil’s roots are becoming weaker as it needs to supply all the power to the stem. If you continue this process for two or three seasons, you will notice a decrease in the number of weed plants in your lawn.

Common weed myth

There are several myths about weed plants. Some think that mowing the weeds might lead to the spread of seeds, while others believe that plucking the weeds out by hands will prevent the weeds from growing.  The truth is that the seeds will not spread if you mow your garden the right way, and use a clipping bag. Suppose you do not use such a bag. Yes, the seeds will spread.

Plucking the weeds out by your hand will undoubtedly result in the reeducation of weeds present in your lawn, but there is no guarantee that the roots are being taken off the soil. When you do it by hand, always try to remove them with as much root as possible. But still, some roots might still be there. The better way to prevent growth is to mow regularly so that the flowers are not bloomed, and when the flowers are not bloomed, there remains no chance for the spread of weed seeds.

Certain weeds such as crabgrass and chickweed complete their life cycles in a single growing cycle. That means that they will be dead after completing a single life cycle. Plucking them off is a complete waste of time. Some weeds such as Perennials might be living for two or more years. But plucking by hand only makes sense if you remove the root as well.

The general rule of thumb that most garden experts recommend is to mow the weeds off before spring season so that they become weaker and leave your garden!

Steps for managing the weeds in your lawn

• Mow the seeds correctly: The seeds spread the weeds in your lawn, and the flowers of weed plants are the source of these seeds. The best you can do to prevent these weeds’ spread is to curb the flowers before they bloom and the best timing for plucking the flowers is just before the spring season begins.
• Pluck the flowers: Mowing can reduce the weeds in your lawn, but you need to do it strategically. For the plants with flowers, you should first pluck the flowers and then mow your lawn. This will help you prevent the spread of seeds. Secondly, you also need to attach a clipping bag to your mower so that the cuttings can be stored in it, some weeds can grow from cuttings, and if they aren’t stored in the bag, they might get spread all over your lawn and regrow.
• Part of your lawn: You don’t need to mow all over your lawn to pluck the weeds, a small mowing over the corners of your lawn where the weeds are present excessively will do the work.
• Be aware of external sources: Avoid your lawn from becoming contaminated from external sources. Your lawn might be a home to all the weed seeds coming over through the wind, and to prevent it, you need to fence your lawn so that these outside seeds have the smallest chance of reaching and polluting your lawn.
• Clean the mower after usage: Sometimes, the mowers can even become the source of the spread of weed seeds. If you have hired a lawn care professional, his/her mower might be getting weed seeds from somewhere else and bringing them to your garden. To avoid the spread of seeds through the mower, you need to ask the professional to clean the mower before mowing your lawn.

Killing the weeds: spraying vs. plucking

The two most common methods adopted by lawn owners for getting rid of the weeds are spraying and plucking. Spraying involves a herbicide that should be sprayed all over their lawn to eliminate unwanted weeds. Plucking involves pulling the weeds by hand. In this section of the article, we shall contrast both these methods and see which one you should use for your lawn.

Plucking is ideal for small lawns. Plucking weeds from large areas is almost impossible to do. The best time to pluck the weeds is when they are small. If you are planning to adapt the plucking method, you should keep an eye on your lawn, and whenever you notice the slightest weed plant, you should immediately pluck it off. Moist soil is most appropriate for plucking the weeds off, so the ideal time for you to clean your lawn from the weeds is a day after it rained. If you haven’t received rain recently and do not want to see the weeds in your lawn, you can water and leave it for 24 hours. Plucking the weeds after a day will be easier.

When you pluck weeds, make sure that you remove all roots with it. Some weed roots might still be in the soil of your lawn even after the plant has been plucked off, but always try to remove them as best as possible.

For more extensive lawns, it’s tough to pluck the weed by hand. In such a case, spraying herbicides can be the best solution. Spraying can also be effective for weeds where you did not succeed trying other methods first. While spraying, make sure to target every weed plant’s roots so that the chemical can target the roots. Try to use an environmentally friendly herbicide. Your local store can help you with choosing the best solution.

After the weeds

Weeds are opportunists, and they can grow back even after you have plucked them off or sprayed. The best practice is to fill the patches that have appeared as a result of the plucking. Once you have plucked the weeds off, make sure to plant grass in those empty patches so that there remains no space for the weeds to regrow. This practice, if continued with persistency, shall make your lawn free from all kinds of weeds.

Take preemptive measures

It is a famous saying that “prevention is always better than cure”, the same thing must be applied for your lawn’s weeds. Keep a close eye on your lawn, and don’t allow it to become a bed for the weed plants.

First, make let the grass grow so thick that there remains no space for weeds to grow. Secondly, you should use preemptive herbicides in your lawn so that they can prevent the growth of any weeds. An important thing to note here is that you shouldn’t use the herbicides on the lawn on which you have planted grass seeds. There are chances that the herbicides can affect grass growth.

Final word

Having weeds in your lawn can be the worst experience. They will not just look ugly on the lawn, but they might also be affecting the health of the grass present in your lawn. The good news is that there are still ways to get rid of these weeds, including mowing the right way. Practices that we have mentioned in the article will help to have a lawn that will be free from all kinds of weeds. The only thing you need to do and have a lush green lawn is don’t give up and stick to the mentioned practices.