Have you been gasping to get back in the garden after what’s felt like months of endlessly disappointing weather? Yep, so have we – but there’s a silent garden killer that may yet spoil our bank holiday plans…

Weeds, weeds, weeds.

Whether it’s pesky lawn weeds, chickweed, nettles or dandelions – there’s nothing in your garden that can match the unsightliness and problems caused by unchecked weeds.

If left to spread throughout spring, weed pollen, the longest-lasting trigger of hay fever, will be set to disrupt you and your guests spending time in the garden. And with breaking news that this year hay fever will be the worst in recent years, there’s no time to wait.

Chris Cooper, one of the lawn experts behind Hayter, has shared his professional advice on removing weeds in time for the Easter Bank Holiday, informed by decades of working in the British gardening industry.

Remove weeds while roots are weak

Weeds first begin to rear their heads in spring, before they have fully matured. This makes spring the ideal time to start seeding, mowing, and fertilising – in that order. Regular, well-practised lawncare will make it very hard for weeds to make strong roots in your lawn.

This also makes spring a great time to remove lawn weeds physically, as removing weeds by weaker roots makes for light pulling. The same goes for weeds in soil beds, borders and more.

Here are three ways you can remove weeds with weak roots efficiently:

Hand-pulling weeds

As the name suggests, you only need your hands – and ideally a decent pair of gardening gloves – to remove weak weeds from the garden. Dig out these perennial weeds with your fingers, being careful to dig the full weed – including the bulb. The same goes for annual weeds, catching them before they fully seed.

If you’re hand-pulling lawn weeds, do be careful, though. You don’t want to make a mess of the surrounding grass. If the root is longer than you’d expect in spring for one reason or another, you can always use a weed fork. These longer tools can help you pull long roots out of grass or soil with precision, mitigating damage to a lawn or soil bed.

Hoeing weeds

Hoeing is another great way of removing weak lawn weeds in spring. Take your hoe and simply run it over a soil bed or between rows of grass. This can be a very tiring task for large gardens, so make sure to take regular breaks if you need to.

This simple task is very effective at killing weed seedlings yet to germinate, perfect for early to mid-spring before the weather gets consistently warm. It’s best to hoe on a dry day, as this will avoid damaging the soil and prevent seedlings from drying out on the surface.

Using garden-safe weedkiller

Some weedkillers can be quite damaging to your lawn, soil and plants – so it’s best avoided if possible.

General weedkillers, and even some natural weed killers, like vinegar, are non-selective; this means they won’t distinguish between what’s a weed and what’s grass, or a flower, or a shrub, and so on.

Spring weeds prevention

Preventing weeds from taking strong roots in the spring will save you more pain in the summer, which is why you must get into good habits now.

There are two very simple changes you can make to your garden routine to ensure for the rest of spring, and into summer, your lawn remains weed-free.

Raise your mower’s cutting height

During spring, cutting your lawn’s grass as short as you would in the summer will encourage lawn weeds to take stronger roots, so raise your petrol mower’s cutting height until summer is here.

The mowing season started around mid-March, depending on the average temperature in your part of the country at the time. This is great news for gardeners, but you shouldn’t get carried away with the first few cuts of the year.

You should always leave approximately one-third of the grass length, as very short grass encourages lawn weed growth during sunnier stretches of weather.

This is because direct sunlight activates dormant weeds, causing them to expand. Very short grass leaves little protection, encouraging further expansion across your lawn.

Don’t be tempted to overseed

Many gardeners can’t wait to seed and feed their grass after a harsh winter and miserable early spring, but too much seeding can be a boon for weeds.

If your grass seeds don’t have room to properly germinate, or if they are spread around or on top of weeds, the seeds will not set into the ground as they should. This will leave patches in your grass and ensure seeds go to waste, making weeds more prominent.

Make sure to spot-treat any weeds in areas of grass that you plan to seed. Only then should you seed, mow and fertilise the grass. Follow this order and your grass will look fuller, thicker and greener into late spring and summer.

Follow these steps and your garden will be on the right track for the Easter Bank Holiday and beyond.

Via @PropertyWire