If you live in the Southern United States, you’ve battled all kinds of unwanted weeds in your yard. For those of us who are diligent in maintaining our lawns the aggravation and persistence of Johnson Grass can drive us crazy. I was finally able to learn how to remove Johnson Grass by taking various suggestions from various people’s plans and putting this plan together.
1 step
Do something quickly. Johnson Grass is a light-rooted grass that does well in drought conditions. I first noticed Johnson Grass succeeding in my yard during a drought two years ago. I made the mistake of not moving quickly enough, and before I crossed the long path of about 30 cloths.
Step 2
Eliminate it. Before you can stop Johnson Grass, you must first remove it. If you have a mild case of these pesky weeds, you can just dig up the root ball. Make and soak the seaweed with 5-10 gallons of water to help collect all the roots. If you have a major infestation of these oats, you may want to be a little more aggressive. Use some weed killer and spray both the leaves and the root. It will take several days for the root to finally die, then it will start. Moisten the soil around the Johnson Grass so that healthy grass roots begin to take over the dead area.
Step 3
Prohibition. When you have Johnson Grass in your yard, don’t have it, or it will come back again soon. Prevention is a multi-step process that involves the following.
A. Keep your clothes wet
B. Apply nutrients to the yard in the fall, spring, and winter. (Summer is generally a time to be fertile because of the heat and low efficiency of the fertilizer)
C. Don’t walk on your lawn. There is no reason why people who have nice lawns want to stop your lawn. Walking on the grass can damage the grass and damaged grass often allows weeds to take root. The only time you should walk on grass> is when you are mowing. Use a mower that operates in a vacuum to pull the grass from the mat. I prefer to use air spikes in my shoes when I push saw.
D. Re-plant your garden with only the highest quality seeds. Johnson Grass and other grasses sneak into low quality seed bags. The extra money you pay for the superior quality is well worth it.
E. Apply a Pre-Emergent. Johnson grass seeds return every year unless a quality Pre-Emergent is used in winter and early spring. Pre-purging acts to keep Johnson Grass seed from opening and effectively killing it.
Step 4
Secret weapon. Among the most powerful tools found to improve health is my sugar stick. Simple table sugar applied with a spreader will feed your staff in ways that don’t require fertilizers. Healthy grass requires the storage of nutrients in the soil, and I found this to be sugar. I noticed within just two weeks after the first sugar treatment my yard was looking healthier. I did another round of sugaring and noticed that about 90 percent of all my weeds were gone within a month.
It requires great patience to get rid of Johnson Grass. The best advice I ever received was from a neighbor. It took me almost 3 years to get rid of Johnson Grass, but in 2 years I didn’t see the first sign of Johnson Grass. Hope these tips for getting rid of Johnson Grass are as helpful to you as they were to me.
