Online forums are all abuzz with the question of “Why are the weeds worse this year?” And if you live east of the Rocky Mountains, boy, are they! While west of the Rockies is facing another hot, dry summer, the parts of the country to the east are having a fairly mild and wet summer. These wet conditions have been turning our lawns and gardens into a mess of weeds. Just like your plants, the weeds love and flourish in the rain.
You’ve probably seen an extra amount of crab grass, lamb’s quarters and vine weed this summer. These summer weeds can be a big pain, ruining your lawn and suffocating your plants. Right now is the time to take care of them as they’re starting to flower and set seed.
Crab Grass
For your unwanted crab grass, pick it by hand and be sure its seeds aren’t getting into your yard. If nothing else, at least be sure to take off the seed heads.
Lamb’s Quarters
Lamb’s quarters- also known as pigweed- is a close relative to spinach. It is rich in vitamins C and A, as well as calcium, so it’s your choice if you want to try and kill it, or give it a try in your salad. This “weed” has thousands of seeds on each plant. Should you decide you don’t want it in your garden, it’s important to get rid of these. Uprooting them and minimizing the seed production is done well by tilling and mowing down the pant.
Vine Weed
The vine weed is a perennial and it probably already has its roots deeply and well established in your garden. By now it’s wrapping around your favorite plants and suffocating them. The best practice is to hoe the vine weed back repeatedly every couple of weeks. This will diminish the root system, eventually killing the weed.
Now is the best time to nip things in the bud for next year. It’s an interesting time in the season because while summer annual weeds are going to flower and set seed in your yard, winter weeds, such as chickweed and deadnettle, are germinating and will be a pain come spring.
Chickweed
Chickweed can be taken care of by hand weeding for the smaller plants and tilling the soil to get rid of the mature plants. Placing plastic over your flower beds is another way to kill the seeds of unwanted plants. The plastic, referred to as “solarization,” will heat the soil to an unbearable temperature to them and other pests in your garden.
Deadnettle
Deadnettle really likes the shade in your yard. Check under the canopy of plants to be sure you get these under control. Growing healthy, thick turf is the best way to rid your yard these plants. Organic mulch is always a good defense against the winter germinating plants.
It’s best to get out in your yard and garden now to take care of next year’s gardening season. For the seeding summer weeds, if you don’t pull them out, at least take off their seed heads to ensure they aren’t spreading. Try and pull the winter weeds to keep them at bay. For any of these unwanted plants, herbicide is always an option. When using herbicide, take into consideration the proximity of the plants you love- they may be in the danger zone. Take time now to tend to your spring garden- you’ll thank yourself for it later!
