I just weeded and made things worse with a hoe...?

Question

I used the hoe to go at some dandelions and other weeds that had taken over the border at the front of our lawn. Its a new house we've moved into, incidentally.

I had landscape gardener visit today and they said that I probably made things a lot worse by using the hoe instead of uprooting the weeds.

Is there a way I can recover the situation? Will weedkiller of any kind work, and how will this affect the lawn and / or anything else i want to plant on that border?

Answer 1

I know this will sound daft but if you wait until the weeds start to emerge again and apply Touchweed on each one, it usually does the trick. If you have to many then if they are in your lawn then a good feed and weed for the grass will do the trick. Good luck

Answer 2

Hoeing can't make things worse, except possibly if you have lots of oxalis, it might spread the tiny tubers. Certainly it doesn't make taprooted weeds or deeprooted weeds worse so if you have hoed dandelions, bindweed and the like you will have weakened them. When your landscaper says made worse I think he refers to the fact that they are now harder to find the roots of and they will come back. You can kill any weed by hoeing it every week, thats what most organic gardeners do and it works but you have to be consistent. If you prefer to use weedkiller, then you will have to wait until the foliage has grown again. So don't worry, just carry on hoeing or wait and then spray. Glyphosate (roundup) is the only safe one if you intend to replant, all others stay in the soil.
PS if it's a NEW house, then you probably don't have any topsoil, as builders upend the subsoil they dig for the foundations onto the garden. Nothing much will grow in that. It may seem expensive, but if you want to achieve a decent garden you probably will need to have the waste subsoil removed and import a few tons of topsoil first. Check that out before you go any further.

Answer 3

Well I'm not sure that using a hoe would have made things worse for you. Lots of people will find it easier to hoe out weeds! Always make sure you have the roots out though.

If the weeds are on the lawn you can use a spot weedkiller for lawns. If growing in the soil use a good systemic one. On either of these using such a weedkiller will ensure that only the weeds will be harmed (not your plants or grass). Make sure you spray carefully (not a windy day), on the leaves of the offending weeds. Leave till the weeds die (about 3-4 days), the roots will have been weakened and easy to pull or hoe out. Because it is systemic it will not harm the soil, but do be careful when spraying - have a watercan ready in case it goes on the grass or plants, so you can quickly rinse them.

Answer 4

First thing to do is RELAX.

The thing to remember is that you are working with a plant, even though it is a weed, it is a plant. And we all know that plants and weeds will grow right back.

All you did is prolong the absolute removal of the dandelions.

Instead of using a hoe, next time I suggest that you go to the hardware store and ask for a weeding tool. There are a couple of them on the market but I have found the one that looks like a snakes tongue (forked at the end) works best.

Get the lawn wet and make sure the weeds get their share of the water as well. You want the roots to get wet, push the weeding tool in the soil next to the weed and just pull it up. You will have little damage to your lawn and you will get the majority of the roots as well. The key thing is to not pull the weed real hard ... gentle firm tension will get 99% of the roots verses pulling hard and snapping off 50% of the root.

Take your time and get them all. Dont pay someone extra to get the weeds ... its not that big of a job. Plus you will be able to stand back and get the self satisfaction of making your lawn beautiful.

Now, to keep the weeds away ... I suggest that you leave the weed killers alone. You are better off getting a fertlizer from Scott's or good brand that has a weed inhibitor called "Halts" in it. Make the grass grow thick and green. IT will choke out the weeds and give you something to be proud of.

I would further suggest that you have your lawn cutting length to no less than 2 1/2 inches ... I have mine at 3 inches. The reason for this is ... the longer the grass and the fuller it is the harder it is for weeds to grow. A nice thick full lawn is fantastic and easy to maintain.

If you want to have your lawn stand out from everyone elses ... create a border around your entire lawn, to include the drive way. Instead of having the lawn grow all the way up to the concrete street gutter or driveway ... cut it back with a flat edge shovel about 2 inches so that some of the soil shows, But cut it back evenly all the way around. Your lawn will always look trimmed and neat,

People purchase these lawn edging machines that cuts the grass off right at the concrete ... they look nice but by cutting your back 2 inches or so ... your lawn will look even more professionally cared for. A simple weed wacker or trimmer will keep it looking professional with each cutting.

Hope this helps ... thing to do is relax and enjoy the yard and what mother nature is giving your to take care of for her. It is hard to hurt or ruin a lawn.... golfer's cut it up every weekend ... but it always grows right back.

Answer 5

I find the best time to get weeds out is when the ground is wet, then you need to pull the whole thing out, including the root. A hoe works well enough but the weeds will come back unless you remove the root, but it won't necessarily make the situation any worse, so I can't think why your landscape gardener said that.

Answer 6

I used to be a gardener at a large herb farm; there was so much to care for that I couldn't possibly take the time to uproot each and every weed, so I employed a hoe.
As a landscaper myself, I can't see how you made the situation "worse". Even if you didn't remove the entire root of the weeds you hoed, depriving them of their tops and leaves is frequently enough to kill them, especially if hoeing is done on a regular basis.
I use this method of weeding in many of my own large beds at home. If your weeds make a comeback and you choose not to continue hoeing, just apply some Roundup to the undesirables, avoiding applying the spray to anything you'd like to keep. Good luck!

Answer 7

I agree because for weeds to die you need to shake of the soil from their roots that way they have nowhere to source nutrients or moisutre from.

You did not say but did you cut them from the stem because if you did they will grow again. You could have still used the hoe but go in deep so that the hoe pulls out the whole weed roots included then shake to remove the soil.

You could still hoe the area then shake up all the root so that they have no soil on them then collect them in an area and when they have dried use them as a mulch.

Happy gardening

African Galore
http://www.africangalore.com

Answer 8

Here's an idea, just wait for the weeds to grow back up and remove them with a spade from the root. you dig a hole all around the stem of the weed and then pull it out. After you done the whole border you add a plastic covering for several weeks to make sure all the roots are dead and then you plant the flowers you want, from there on in you weed on a regular basis.

Answer 9

You didn't make it worse, it just wasn't a very effective method so you wasted your effort. Cutting off weed tops doesn't kill the plant and they will soon regrow.

Allow the weeds to regrow and then dig them out root and all or use a herbacide that kills weeds but doesn't harm grass. Weedkillers only work on green, growing weeds, they won't work on the buried roots until the tops sprout again.

Answer 10

no no no they want your money . . . . you use a hoe it makes the weeds easier to pull out with the roots, you can use round up it kills the roots and you can just pull em out, but be careful and read the directions. good luck.