Quick Tip For Metro Atlanta Homeowners from Harbor Bay Landscaping

[Harbor Bay Landscaping]

Surface tension, or stress, can be caused by dry winds, hot or cold weather, pollution, traffic compaction and static electricity. It can be mistaken for poor soil and can be eliminated to a large extent with dish soap.

 

Fill a hose-end sprayer with half water and half dish soap--the cheapest liquid dish soap you can find. Spray the mixture over about 5,000 sq ft of law and most of your problems should be resolved. Dish soap also helps keep fungus and diseases at a minimum and helps hold moisture in for sandy and dry soils. You can spread dry laundry soap over your lawn as an alternative.

 

Using soap on your lawn is recommended once or twice a month. But, if you can re-direct your laundry or dishwater to your lawn, that's even better!

[LPPT]

Surface tension, or stress, can be caused by dry winds, hot or cold weather, pollution, traffic compaction and static electricity. It can be mistaken for poor soil and can be eliminated to a large extent with dish soap.

 

Fill a hose-end sprayer with half water and half dish soap--the cheapest liquid dish soap you can find. Spray the mixture over about 5,000 sq ft of law and most of your problems should be resolved. Dish soap also helps keep fungus and diseases at a minimum and helps hold moisture in for sandy and dry soils. You can spread dry laundry soap over your lawn as an alternative.

 

Using soap on your lawn is recommended once or twice a month. But, if you can re-direct your laundry or dishwater to your lawn, that's even better!

 

May I suggest Murphy's oil soap! it is very gentle and I have found it very effective against garden pest such as spider mite on roses and other perennials such as clematis and dahlias.

 

Voles and moles also dislike it because of how oily it it is.

[Harbor Bay Landscaping]

May I suggest Murphy's oil soap! it is very gentle and I have found it very effective against garden pest such as spider mite on roses and other perennials such as clematis and dahlias.

 

Voles and moles also dislike it because of how oily it it is.

 

Excellent suggestion, LPPT! Thanks so much!

[aw2008]

The soap is safe for the grass?

 

I know nothing about lawns, and am currently in the process of winning the war-of-life with the weeds... any suggestions for weed control (our front lawn is Bermuda and back yard is Fescue)? So far we have tried a granule weed and feed (saw no change) and also tried two types liquid weed killer (one was a "spot" weed killer that you spray on just the individual weeds... a few turned slightly yellow, but never died completely. The second type was Ortho Weed-B-Gone that you mix in a sprayer and spray your whole lawn with... I just did this tonight, so we'll see if it works).

 

Any tips that might help speed up the dying process? Our weeds have a very strong will to live it seems...

[Harbor Bay Landscaping]

The soap is safe for the grass?

 

I know nothing about lawns, and am currently in the process of winning the war-of-life with the weeds... any suggestions for weed control (our front lawn is Bermuda and back yard is Fescue)? So far we have tried a granule weed and feed (saw no change) and also tried two types liquid weed killer (one was a "spot" weed killer that you spray on just the individual weeds... a few turned slightly yellow, but never died completely. The second type was Ortho Weed-B-Gone that you mix in a sprayer and spray your whole lawn with... I just did this tonight, so we'll see if it works).

 

Any tips that might help speed up the dying process? Our weeds have a very strong will to live it seems...

 

You're certainly on the right track. Unfortunately, there's no quick-fix for weeds. And, they're especially bad this year with all of the rain we've had.

 

But, here's a couple things you can do that will help:

- Spraying the soap is safe for the lawn. And if you do this first, the chemicals you're using to kill the weeds will be more effective.

- Use liquid weed killers--they're more effective.

- Spray the weeds between 10am and 2pm (the hottest part of the day, and ideally over 70 degrees). This will help the chemical dry on the weed and kill it faster.

- Cut your grass regularly so that the weeds are cut before they flower or produce seeds.

- When you mow, make sure you bag the clippings so that weed seeds are not re-distributed all over the lawn.

- You may want to get your soil tested. That way you can find out exactly what nutrients and fertilizer the grass needs. The healthier the grass is, the less weeds you'll have.

- Ultimately, the best and fastest way to get rid of weeds is to pull them up individually. Just make sure you get the whole root system, or it will re-grow two (or more) weeds.