Growing Gardens

with Julia Hancock

Small seeds, big problems

Many of us have lawns that are in pretty poor shape at the moment. Droughts and frost have combined to retard their growth and the only upside of this is that we haven't needed to get the mower out much this winter.

Even though most of us mow the heads off weed species before they go to seed, it's amazing how many pop up each year, spread by either birds, animals or the wind, to colonise our swards.

With the grass so sparce, it's the perfect time for opportune weeds to proliferate and the wise gardener would be sensible to nip their growth in the bud before they have a chance to colonise and dominate.

Small lawns are no problem because it's an easy task to go around with a pot of glyphosate solution and a small paintbrush and dab a bit of poison onto each broadleaf weed. They will probably have grown up in clusters around last year's parent, which makes the job a bit easier. Organic gardeners can simply ease them out with the blade of a knife. A couple of minutes on your hands and knees will provide months of satisfaction further down the track.

Large lawns are more of a challenge and may require the use of one of those hose-on lawn weed killers that work pretty well if you concentrate on applying it evenly. Even so, a repeat application may be necessary a month hence to catch the second generation of seedlings.

Bindi will be making its presence felt this summer if not treated now with a specific poison. Unfortunately I can think of no organic remedy for this annual blight, which has the ability to overrun a lawn and cause misery to all who walk on it. Pets and children will thank you for your early intervention.