Weeds popping up early? Heed this advice to mitigate their spread
Weeds. No one likes them, but they’re here.
“We did have a little earlier start to weeds this year,” said Sandy MacDonald, horticultural professor at St. Clair College.
Without realizing it, you may have gotten off to a slow start controlling some of them.
“Super important to get that corn gluten on your lawn before the crab grass started to sprout,” MacDonald warned. “We're passed that window.”
MacDonald said if you see corn gluten on sale right now, grab some for next year.
“It's not only preventing the crab grass from sprouting, but also that's a source of nutrition for the lawn too so you could actually skip your spring fertilizing if you apply corn gluten.”
Some gardeners import pesticides like Round-Up from the U.S. that are banned here and are toxic to humans.
“Read the label, read the label, read the label,” MacDonald said. “That's one of the most important things because the safety is going to be on there. The way you apply it. All that information is there.”
MacDonald added that the banned chemicals could attract grubs, “If you have a lawn that has a mixture of weeds in it, that is less attractive to the beetles when they're laying eggs that will produce the grubs in your lawn.”
The City of Windsor doesn't spray parks with any chemicals, instead relying on more natural practices.
“Mowing to a certain height, fertilizing where possible, and just trying to keep the grass as healthy as it can [be] so that it can help crowd out the weeds,” said James Chacko, executive director of Parks and Facilities.
So how do you keep your lawn looking healthy? For starters, cut high.
“The lower you cut it, the more likely you'll have weed issues and also the more likely you'll have grub issues,” MacDonald said.
Cleaning your blades before mowing a different lawn could help cuts down the number of weeds.
“It's best to clean your deck after. Try to get as much debris out of the bottom. Sharpen the blades,” explained Kyle Couvillon of Couvillon Property Maintenance. “Then when you go to a fresh lawn, you're not cross contaminating the weeds into the new property.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
Box tree moths have infested Ontario and experts say more are coming. Here's what to do to protect your garden
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Lyon-bound Air Canada Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Montreal turns back midflight due to pressurization alert
Passengers heading from Montreal to Lyon, France on Friday were forced to return home and depart the next day after a pressurization indication was detected in flight.
Oilers dominate Canucks, win to force deciding Game 7
The Edmonton Oilers avoided elimination from the NHL playoffs Saturday night, beating the visiting Vancouver Canucks 5-1 in Game 6 of their second-round series.
The eight most expensive homes for sale in Ottawa this spring
Ottawa's ultra luxury housing market is blooming like the tulips this spring, with a significant increase in the number of homes sold worth more than $2 million.
B.C. pipeline company argues its 'haulers' are not trucks, for tax purposes
A contractor working on the Coastal GasLink pipeline has been denied more than $333,000 worth of tax rebates because pieces of machinery it purchased – and claimed were not trucks – were deemed sufficiently truck-like in B.C. Supreme Court.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Usyk beats Fury by split decision, becomes undisputed heavyweight champion
Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years.
To plant or not to plant? Gardening tips for May long weekend
May long weekend is finally here, and with the extra time off you may be getting the itch to head out to your garden and plant. However, the old debate whether you should plant now, or wait, is still ever-present.