We purchased a newly build house several months ago which came with a new lawn. This summer, we have been plagued by weeds. I spray ortho weed be gone over most of the lawn every three weeks or so which kills the current batch of weeds, but lots of weeds still return a few weeks later. I need a longer term solution. Any suggestions? Thanks
There is none; you are doing the only thing you can. continue to kill the weeds and make sure you fertilize the grass according to the local procedure or follow the SOD program. SOD for sept., oct., and dec., put recommended amounts of 10-10-10 in both sept. and oct. and 1/2 the recommended amount in dec. Lord only knows where the builder got the dirt to use for your lawn so just keep at it for a couple of years till the grass thickens up. Do not forget to lime the lawn to maintain a 6.5 or 6.0 to 7.0 pH. Keep at least three weeks between lime and fertilizer applications.
There are two kinds of weeds: annuals and perennials. Annual weeds grow from seeds that blow in, germinate, grow, produce more seeds, and die. Perennial weeds are like annual weeds except that the plant does not die after producing seeds. One way to address the annual weed problem is with a pre-emergent herbicide or weed prevent. One of the most recognizable brands is called Preen. Instead of using the Weed-B-Gone, I would recommend that you put down an application of pre-emergent herbicide to prevent the weeds from growing. You will still have to use a post-emergent herbicide to kill weeds that exist now. In time, if you promote a healthy lawn, there won't be any opportunity for weeds to grow. For that occasional weed, you can remove it by hand or spot treat the area.
Weed-B-Gon should get rid of most of the live plants.
My first suggestion is to make sure you're mowing high enough. (Most people don't.) Two inches or so at a minimum. Three (depending on grass species, but probably a mix of ryes and fescues, depending on zone) will shade the soil enough that the new weeds have a harder time coming up. Mow no more than 1/3 of the grass height, also, so you don't stress the new lawn (so mow more often than you are, likely). Water deeply and weekly rather than light sprinkling, so that your grass develops strong roots.
There's going to be weeds in new lawns. Just remember that *all* soil everywhere contains weed seeds; what's critical is the environment you give it.
If your weeds are crabgrass or other grassy weeds, you'll have to wait for spring to do a pre-emergent application. It may take a couple of years, plus some hand-pulling (use a weed fork).
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