How to Get Rid of Grass: [8 Effective Methods]
The grass is one of those plants that can become a real headache when it grows as a weed.
Your immaculate and perfect garden can be attacked by it, creating a messy environment with the lawn and giving you that ugly brown color in winter.
Being a weed, it is not very easy to eradicate, but that does not mean that it becomes impossible. There are different strategies and we have gathered the best of them in this post so that you have them at hand when you need them. Shall we start?
peeling it off by hand
The grass is a plant with a deep root that you will have the opportunity to extract by pulling it.
It is a job that will require time and effort, so it will only be feasible if it is very little.
The reason is that you will have to work deep because if you leave some roots, they will be able to sprout again. After you finish the process you can take the opportunity to plant new grass or any other plant you prefer.
Bathe her with boiling water
Boiling water is powerful for killing plants of all kinds, so you can only use it with grass if you have a well-demarcated space where it is located.
The idea is to put a sufficient amount of water in a pot and let it come to a boil. You will then apply it directly to the grass, allowing it to soak into the soil.Clean the remains before promoting the planting of new species.
Antigerminative herbicides
These are farm store herbicides that are safe to use on plots of land.It works by killing the seeds of the grass so that they are not able to germinate, but it also performs the same function with any other species.
It is recommended when you are starting the process of working on a field from scratch, not for when you have already advanced in the work.
Vinegar
Vinegar is a herbicide by nature due to the content of acetic acid that it has in its composition.Although it is effective in removing visible leaves, it does not do any damage to the roots, so you still have to be aware of the fact that they can grow again.
If it is a grass with a strong structure, you can enhance the power of the vinegar with dishwasher soap and lemon juice. Of course, be careful not to touch plants that are valuable to you, so apply the mixture with a sprayer.
Cover with newspaper
It is a very effective blocker to prevent the grass from enjoying the sunlight that is so necessary for it to thrive.
The idea is to place the paper in several layers on the grass that has already grown and then cover it with soil.
In this way, everything that remains under the paper will be incapable of continuing to grow. After some time it will be possible to remove the remains and take advantage of the land for what you prefer.
Salt
This is a herbicide by nature, just like vinegar. Its impact on the ground prevents weeds from growing.
Because it is an effective and very economical solution, you will be able to renew the amount of salt that you add to the soil from time to time.
The mixture can be made with boiling water and dishwashing soap, applying it later with an atomizer.
Vinegar and salt mixture
All the benefits of vinegar and salt as herbicides can be further enhanced by mixing them together for those very strong grass attacks. The only problem with this mixture is that it is very efficient with almost any crop, so your land will be incapable of planting anything new.
To advance in this process, prepare a mixture with boiling water, vinegar and salt and apply with a spray bottle as in the other cases.
Prevent grass from blooming
If you have not noticed the appearance of the grass, it is very important to ensure that it does not reach its flowering stage.
The reason is that when it produces seeds it is very difficult to eliminate, since even if you pull the grass up from the roots, its seeds can survive for up to 2 years.
Take into account that in all the options that are included above, chemical type herbicides are not found. The reason is that they are not recommended because they can cause a negative impact on the entire structure of the land and affect other crops.
If there is no other solution than this, you must be prepared to carry out a subsequent and very deep cleaning of the land to rid it of any remains.
Grass is not beneficial and that is why turf is used to keep gardens green and beautiful. However, this can always appear and being prepared to treat it will be the most favorable.
Bibliographic references
- Evaluation of four species of grass under conditions of sun, shade and trampling for ornamental purposes in Zahorí Productive Teaching Farm, Cuyotenango …, JH Santiz Perez – 2018 – repository.usac.edu.gt
- Garden grasses and their cultural practices: the key to a good grass is in its cuts and its irrigation, J Montenegro Suarez – AgriCultura – sidalc.net
- Effect of cutting intensity and photosynthetic activity on the growth of grass (Paspalum notatum Flüggé) in the Central American dry tropics (Mesas de …, KEV Meza, JB Fillelab, KL Benavideza – Revista Científica de FAREM …, 2014 – camjol.info
- Influence of irrigation on turfgrass growth and nitrogen leaching in a Mollisol, PJP Paulino – 2003 – search.proquest.com
- Rhodes grass, an option to improve low alkaline soils? , B Martín, O Sosa, M Torresi, G Magra, A Galleano – 2015 – rephip.unr.edu.ar