Weed Control
It is critical to try and nip in the bud any possible weed infestations as early as possible in the growing season through spring and summer. The approach taken to weed control should vary according to the growth habit of the problem plant. Annual weeds are those that come up from seed each year with seed being stored in the soil or travelling onto your soil via wind, animals or sometimes human sources. They are relatively easy to deal with either by pulling them by hand, pouring boiling water on small seedling weeds or using mulch that has been laid on a bed of about ten sheets of newspaper.
Perennial weeds that spread from runners (such as grasses like couch and kikuyu), bulbs (onion weed and oxalis) or other resistant vegetative structures are much more difficult to control. They can be dug out by hand but the use of a systemic herbicide that contains glyphosate (eg Roundup or Zero) will provide a much easier control method as it is absorbed by the leaves and transported through the plant. It can be sprayed on but caution must be exercised when the weeds are amongst garden beds as virtually any plant species is susceptible. In such situations applicators such as so-called weeding wands can be used to paint the herbicide onto the leaves.
A different category of herbicide is the selective types. Perhaps the most commonly used types are those used to control broad-leafed weeds in lawns such as clover and dandelions. Such products can be sprayed over the useful plants (in this case lawn grasses) without harm. It is, of course, crucial to follow the directions on the label when it comes to safety precautions and application rates.
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