Friday Night Lawn Club

[New & Improved - N/F John]

Well, I have cut the lawn 4 Friday's in a row here in NJ. I'd rather go see a minor league baseball game but I'll do that on Sunday this weekend. Great.

I want to get cutting the lawn over, but I do find pleasure looking at the lawn. This year I put down a weed killer only. I've been mulching for years and the grass is green enough. The weed killer really worked on the dandil;ions but not on violets. I found over the years mulching helps spread violets in the lawn . They look OK in the early spring but I'd rather have a perfect lawn. How do you kill them other than pulling? There must be hundreds of the plants.

John Passaic County, New Jersey

[RoyDMercer]

Look for a weed killer with dicamba as an active ingredient. The one I use is made by Bayer.

[Peter H]

I've had very little luck killing field violet with anything other than a nonselective herbicide.

Peter H

[RoyDMercer]

Not all selective herbicides have dicamba in them. And one's that do have it at various strengths. Triclopyr is another chemical which is supposed to be good for wild violets. Selective herbicides are often a witches brew of various chemicals. The various chemicals have specific weed types they target. What's frustrating is these products are usually marketed nation wide. So while one person might be having problem with wild violets in NJ while I'm having problems with henbit in TX, the same products are sold in both areas. I might be buying a product in TX that works great on the weeds they have in CT, but is much less effective where I live. The trick is to identify your weeds and find the proper products that will treat them. This is why it's best to check with county extension offices or university extension offices locally and see what they recommend.