Mowing the Lawn in Jamuary

I grew up in the Northeast, and the idea of mowing the lawn in January is totally foreign to me.  But this week, my neighbor did just this. And, I understand it.  Although our primary grasses, Bermuda and Fescue, are dormant now, the tap root weeds, and winter rye grow actively in the winter.  And, the weeds get rather high.  Indeed, I had my lawn service come out and mow the weeds in my alley when they raked leaves earlier this month. 

It was really interesting when my neighbor was mowing the lawn, because you could smell the green plants, but they were not the sweet smell of new mown grass, but the bitter smell that occurs when the weeds are crushed when they are being pulled or broken in the hand. I had not really thought about the difference before. But it is true and real.  

Vinegar as an Herbicide

About 30 years ago, I was told that vinegar could be used as an herbicide, so I tried using it.  It stunned the plants but did not kill them.  Today, I ran into an acquaintance in the grocery store who was there to buy more vinegar for the process.  She said they made a mixture of vinegar, salt and dish soap.  I haven't done much with pulling weeds this year, so I thought I'd check it out on line.  http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/pastpest/200714f.html  and http://weedcontrolfreaks.com/2014/06/salt-vinegar-and-glyphosate/.  In reading, one thing noted is that it needs to be 24-48 hours after it rains to use it.  I have let my weeds get out of control this year, so maybe next weekend, I will try this.

I Pull Them

I may have written about this before, but today is a new day.  Years ago, I had a neighbor who worried over his yard, and used Roundup http://www.roundup.com/smg/gosite/RUP/home and other chemicals to get rid of the weeds.  He saw me working in the yard one day, and said basically "I don't get it. I use all these chemicals, and my weeds keep coming back.  You don't have weeds."  Well, my yard does have weeds. But, I told him "I pull 'em"  He repeated it back to me, almost as if he did not understand what I was saying.

Well "I pull 'em." is not exactly accurate. I do pull weeds in my yard.  I generally put out a weed and feed in my front yard sometime during the spring, and I did that just this week. Some years, I put out a pre-emergent in the fall, but I have not done that recently.

I can tell the weeds in my front yard are not as healthy as they were.  But I am not sure the application will totally kill them.  Earlier this spring, I spent a long afternoon pulling weeds in the main part of my front yard, and for the most part, the weeds have stayed away.  Because of my health limitations, I am not sure I will be able to get back in the front yard to pull more weeds.  But keeping them cut short helps to control them.

This week, with the rains, the ground has been moist, and I have spent several hours pulling weeds in my back yard. It is amazing to me how much better the yard looks with the weeds gone.  If I use weed and feed in the back yard, I do not use the walking broadcast spreader. I use a hand held broadcast spreader.  I have more control, and I am able to spread the weed and feed without getting into the euonymous, the trees, the vines, the vinca, the iris, and now, the coreopsis that I have planted.

But I have not put out a weed and feed in the back yard. I would rather pull the weeds. 

The problem is water.  We are on water restrictions, and are allowed to water now twice a week, but last summer, once a week  Only on certain days.  Many people in my neighborhood, myself included, have stopped watering, because the cost has skyrocketed.  So, without watering, the grass goes away, and the weeds come in.  I have buffalo grass in the backyard, in spots, and it has been spreading, but since I did not water at all last summer, by the end of the summer, even that dried up. I think this year, I will try to water enough to encourage the buffalo grass to spread throughout my yard: it has spread every year, as the Bermuda grass dries up.

And, if I can get the buffalo grass to spread more, maybe in the fall, or next spring, I will plug the front yard with buffalo grass, water it in, and let it spread. Maybe. 

Well. anyway, as long as the ground is moist enough to pull the weeds easily, I will keep working on that. I sit on a step, have the Off Clip-On Mosquito Repellant device http://www.off.com/en-US/Products/Pages/off-clip-on.aspx#off-clip-on-mosquito-repellent?cid=SEM_B_off%20clip-on_off-us-spr14&sid=SEM_B_289.kw49457eattached to the step, and move around the yard. Yes, we already have mosquitos.

And, after that, I come in, use the electronic pulser on my hip, and sit on the heating pad for the rest of the night. That and a dose of aspirin helps the throbbing in my leg to abate.

And, I feel good about being physically active, and about how much better my yard looks.  Pulling weeds does it for me!