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weed taking over lawn
Kathy 2
Posts: 122
What is this weed which is taking over my lawn, and how can I get rid of it?
Also, have my tomatoes got blight?
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Posts
the weed is clover and the bees love it, I just let it do its thing, but then I'm the girl who buys moss
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Sorry, too cold for me to grow tomatoes outdoor so can't help but it looks like wind or cold scorch
Sorry, but that is Prunella, self heal rather than clover. Normal lawn weed treatment does not seem to work on it either. I ended up pulling it out and re-seeding the patches.
The weed is self heal.
Your tomato looks very hungry. Have you been feeding the plant at all? I give mine a weekly feed once the plant has set fruit.
Prunella vulgaris, self heal, a great addition to any lawn, nice with white clover
In the sticks near Peterborough
Thanks for the replies.
The problem with the weed is that it is covering more and more of the lawn and the grass is getting less and less.
Ceres, yes I have fed the toms, but they get a bit dry as they are in tubs. It was the purple and yellow colour on the leaves that I was worried about. The cordon toms planted in the borders at the other side of the garden seem OK
I'm going to tell you what I did many decades ago when I didn't know any different and I had a load of that and a load moss on my lawn. Indeed I had more moss and prunella than grass.
Someone recommended that I get a lawn moss killer on it and so I bought a load of a brand reassuringly called something like "Miracle Grow" or "Lawn Magic" or "Green up" and carefully read the instructions and followed them meticulously. It had to be carefully watered in and I did that and then it rained and so that was good too as it meant it was well watered in.
Then a couple of days later I got up and looked out of the window and it looked like someone had been out there with a flame thrower or napalm. The whole lawn was BLACK! Burnt black! Destroyed. No green anywhere!
I made an urgent phone call to my father... a proper keen gardener .... he nearly wet himself laughing and said "you should have asked before you bought it". He slowly explained what I should have done.
I started all over again laying a new lawn and you know what .... within 3 years it had prunella back in it and within 5 more moss too! I think it was that which shaped my more "laid back" approach to gardening.
If it's really upsetting you then take a look at this:
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/self-heal/controlling-prunella-weeds.htm
but please remember my Flame thrower story
Your tomato looks sick and as if it's been desperate for feed and water.
Hi Kathy2,
I did have all kinds of weed and moss in my lawn and it did look more like a meadow. Due to environmental regulations the efficient products are no longer available. Three weeks ago I sprinkled artificial fertilizer on the lawn and the result is amazing. It must contain 15 -20% nitrogen
At least 80% of the weed is gone and the lawn is green and dense.Keep the lawn moist for a few days after you sprinkled the pellets. And maybe you need the mow the lawn more than you used to do because the grass grows like bamboo
Kathy 2 - how long is the grass in your first picture as it looks a little long to me, especially when you compare it to the grass in the background of the second picture.
Having longer grass might be why you are getting weeds growing within it. Regular mowing to a shorter length should weaken it. Also light raking to lift the weeds up before mowing would help. Have you every scarified the lawn?
If my lawn didn't have weeds it would be all brown... The weeds are dog pee resistent!
^ Precisely