Small Lawn Areas in the Garden

Do you have a small lawn area in your garden that you maintain, mow and care for so that it actually becomes a garden ornament? The snow has melted and it's time to focus on this part of the garden. To make it a fresh focal point and source of pride again. Also focus on the edges of the lawn area. This year you can separate them from the rest of the garden with, for example, edging, stones from your holiday, small flowers, or smaller conifers. Sitting on a well-maintained lawn is magical. It delights both the eye and the soul. If, on the other hand, you're getting a bit bored with this piece of green space, you can create, for example, an island with roses near the seating area.

How to get started

Spring is beginning and it's necessary to inspect the garden area thoroughly and systematically. As soon as the grass starts growing, ensure air reaches its roots through scarification. The grass roots will be healthy and strong. Carry out scarification with, for example, suitable rakes or a scarifier. After winter, our hands are also sensitive, so use protective equipment and quality gloves for long-term work. After completing the work, treat your hands with a suitable cream.

Most often in a beautiful lawn, we fight against weeds. Fighting against lawn weeds requires time and effort. Stubborn weeds will want to settle in the lawn in any situation. Especially in spring, when everything starts to bud and sprout its green leaves. Some weeds in the lawn have overwintered, seeded from surrounding areas.

Most Common Weeds Found in Lawns:

• Thistle - how to best combat thistle? Simply fight thistle by hand, try to dig out the plant with its roots. Prevention involves frequent and regular mowing of the lawn. Thistle grows in clay soils and nutrient-rich soils. If you decide to eliminate thistle chemically, always try to target only this weed, don't spray chemicals onto your lawn.
• Plantain - dig out this weed including its roots. Although plantain is a quick remedy for minor cuts, it doesn't need to be in your garden. Prevention against plantain is sowing lawn with larger, stronger turfs.
• Daisy - if this little flower appears frequently, don't mow the lawn too short. Try to dig out the plant with its roots. Daisies can quickly create a multiplying ground cover and will thus displace the lawn, which has no room to grow. Flowering plants attract butterflies, insects, and among them bees and other stinging representatives of this species to the lawn.
• Hawkweed - thrives well on closely mown lawns. Prevention is regular lawn aeration.
• Speedwell - small blue flowers, also thrives on closely cut lawns. Fertilize the lawn and cut it higher.
• Couch grass - difficult to eliminate. We recommend sowing a stronger grass mixture.
• Clover - is food for bees. Don't mow the lawn too low.
• Lesser trefoil - blooms yellow. If it appears in your lawn - it indicates nutrient deficiency. Clovers generally enrich the soil with nitrogen.
• Dandelion - has a taproot. If you know you won't be able to dig out the plant with its root, use herbicide to eliminate it.
• Yarrow - thrives in poor soils. Lime and fertilize the lawn.
• Cinquefoil - most commonly the yellow-flowering creeping cinquefoil is widespread. It's less resistant to drought. It spreads through stems and roots transferred on tools.
• There are naturally more types of weeds, it can be grass species (the most widespread is annual meadow grass, which has a light green color and due to shallow roots isn't very resistant to drought) that don't belong in your lawn, or seeded species brought to the garden by birds, wind, etc.

Dig out unwanted weeds and plants from the lawn with a weeding tool. Be careful to dig out the entire plant including roots. Choose a day after rain or morning watering so the soil is soft and the weed can be pulled out more easily with its root. If you're eliminating weeds in multiple spots or a larger area of lawn, overseed these bare weeded sections with a mixture designed for overseeding.

Our TIP: Don't mow weeds! Ideally, prevent them from germinating and seeding. Mechanical weed removal is very laborious and time-consuming, but it pays off and, moreover, you're fighting weeds ecologically.

Application of herbicides against weeds

If you decide to use chemical products to eliminate weeds, never use them in windy weather. Other plants in the vicinity could be affected. Don't spray the lawn near vegetable beds. Prevent children and pets from entering the area treated with herbicide. Always keep these chemicals out of reach of children! If you use herbicide, change into rubber boots and wash them thoroughly afterwards. Wash your clothing. Also wash the tools you used to apply the herbicide.

For small weeds, use liquid herbicide in a bottle with a sprayer. Spray only on the plant. Don't pour herbicide onto the lawn, as it could damage it.

If you have a larger weed-infested area, use powdered herbicide, which you spread evenly on the lawn using a spreader cart, then water it. Don't walk on the lawn for a week - neither you, children, nor your pets. After a week, mow the lawn with a mower with a collection basket. Dispose of the mown grass, don't put it on the compost. Then spray and rinse the lawn. Also wash the mower's collection basket. The lawn may change colour due to the herbicide.

Apply chemical spray in May, June, August or September. This is the period when weeds are most susceptible to external influences. Apply the spray during rain, so that plants absorb as much as possible with the moisture and distribute it throughout their entire body, which will kill them. If the spray doesn't work, you can repeat the application. However, keep in mind that every chemical spray has a negative impact on soil quality.

Always try to prevent weeds from overwintering in the lawn. Therefore, check the lawn in autumn as well and remove individual weeds along with their roots. Don't let weeds flower and seed. Carry out regular inspection and maintenance of the lawn for weeds as often as possible throughout the year.

Author: Hana Michalíková