As the cold weather starts to creep in, you might be thinking about packing up your trowels, putting away your gardening gloves and letting your garden die back naturally. However, most garden weeds continue to grow at a fairly rapid rate throughout autumn. The warm, damp conditions are actually perfect for some species of weeds to grow in your lawn.
While there is a vast array of weed killers for lawns, both natural and chemical, gardening experts claimed that it isn’t the fastest or most effective method. Instead, the five gardeners recommend ditching the weedkillers and instead pulling them out by hand.
Founder of TN Nursery and gardening pro Tammy Sons said that if you are looking for the “quickest ways to remove weeds from your lawn,” you might be surprised to learn that consistency and speed are the most important factors.
She said: “The quickest method for me is to pull weeds after a light rain or early in the morning when the soil is still moist. It helps to loosen the soil and make it easier to pull the whole weed, roots and all, out in one smooth motion.”
Tammy noted that her “favourite tools for the job” are a simple hand weeder or a hori-hori gardening knife because these can easily slide underneath the root and yank it without damaging the grass around it.
Gardening expert Chris Taylor agreed with this way of removing weeds. He said, “I’ve found that the quickest way to tackle weeds is to pull them right after rain or watering, as the roots slide out much more easily.”
Chris claimed that a stand-up weed puller saves your back for scattered weeds, and for larger patches, a carefully applied broadleaf-selective liquid spray can clear dandelions and clover without damaging the grass.
However, for the “best long-term results”, Chris explained that regular scarifying to remove thatch and moss makes a huge difference. He said, “It helps the grass thicken up and leaves fewer gaps for weeds to invade. These simple steps have sped things up massively in my own lawn.”
Lawn care specialist at Online Turf, Chrissie Handley, also hails pulling out weeds by hand as the “most effective” method. She said: “The most effective way to remove weeds from your lawn is by hand–pulling the weeds out with a trowel or a purpose-built removal tool will ensure you’re doing minimal damage to your grass and remove the weed entirely.”
She noted that if there are any holes where the weeds have been dug out, the lawn should repair itself naturally, or you can overseed any areas to encourage re-growth.
Having spent many years perfecting the art of gardening, passionate gardener Harry Lloyd from HIPPO says to use a slim weeding tool to remove the entire root in one motion and use cardboard to prevent weeds from growing back.
He said: “The next step is to secure the results and stop weeds reappearing. Cover bare spots with recycled cardboard and top with compost or wood chips. This blocks sunlight, enriches the soil and makes it harder for new weeds to germinate.”
Gardening expert at Plantum Maksim Kazakou, argued that while some weeds can be removed by mowing them two to three times, others “need to be pulled out manually”.
For larger weeds, you can use root remover tools. After removal, fill the holes with soil and sow lawn seeds in the empty spots. He added, “Mechanical weed removal is the most efficient for small lawns.”
