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Here are some photos of Poison Ivy in a number of ways

Sometimes in lawn care, you can come across noxious weeds. Regular weed control is not enough for poison ivy.

The weed control that is needed is to use Roundup containing glyphosate.

Poison Ivy Foliage

Poison Ivy Leaf Identification by Turf King Lawn Care

Poison Ivy - new shoot- reddish colour

Poison Ivy Leaf Identification by Turf King Lawn Care

Flowers

Poison Ivy flowers by Turf King

Poison Ivy growing up a tree

Poison Ivy on a tree by Turf King

more Poison Ivy growing up a tree at the RBG trail

Poison Ivy on a Tree

Poison Ivy on a Fence - note the thick trunk- quite old

Poison Ivy on a Fence by Turf King

 Poison Ivy Control

Poison Ivy Look alikes

Sometimes homeowners like to tackle problems in their lawn by themselves. DIY's (do it yourselfers) sometimes can do a reasonably good job. Sometimes, they choose the wrong product or apply the product incorrectly.

Check out this person's attempt at DIY lawn care.

Lawn Care gone wrong by DIY

It looks like there were weeds along the driveway- which is a typical place for weeds to invade a lawn. Edges are always weaker- due to heat from the asphalt and concrete, due to more compaction from foot traffic or automobiles. And, weeds like dandelions blow easily across the pavement and are caught by the grass blades along the edge.

It appears that the lawn was sprayed by an non selective weed product. As a result the lawn has a burn from the sprayed herbicide. Note the circular patterns of the burns. This is very typical of when spray is applied with a spray bottle.

There are two types of non- selective weed products.

In the first category, there are a couple that contain vinegar or soap type formulations. These products will burn off the tops of plants - especially in warm weather. 

Unfortunately when applied to patios or driveways, the products will only kill off the tops of the weeds. For young weeds, killing the top will often kill off the whole plant. Some of the more mature weeds, however, are able to sprout back from their roots and will need a second (or third) treatment.

Fortunately, in this situation, the grass plants are usually more mature, and the lawn will likely recover within several weeks. In this situation, we are fortunate that the weed killer doesn't work all the way down to the roots.

In the second category, are products that do kill all the way down to the roots. Products like Roundup control the weeds by killing both the top of the plant and the roots. if this is the case, the lawn will need to be repaired by seeding.

According to Ontario's Cosmetic Pesticide Ban it is not legal to use Roundup to control weeds in your lawn or driveway. It is to be use to control noxious poisonous weeds like poison ivy and giant hogweed.

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Some equipment companies and some lawn companies tout the benefits of slit seeding as a way to overseed thin and bare spots in the lawn.

 

We had some work done in our lawn. A trench was dug and filled in. As a result, there was a patch of lawn that was nothing but mud.

The soil was packed pretty hard there with the rain and with tamping it down to reduce settling.

 

So the one thing that was handy was a spade. 

So I took the spade and sunk it an inch or two into the hard clay, sprinkles some grass seed and kept it moist by watering twice a day.

Lawn Care :Mini- Slit Seed for Fixing bare spots

You can see in this photo above where the seeds have started to sprout in the straight lines made by the spade. There are also some holes made a few days later with a grass stitcher. A grass stitcher is a tool that makes holes in the soil.

Lawn Care :Mini- Slit Seed for Fixing bare spots

You can see that the seed in the slits is coming up nicely, with the seed in the grass stitcher holes just a bit behind.

Lawn Care :Mini- Slit Seed for Fixing bare spots

Here the seeds in the slits are much more developed- but they are very obviously in the slit made by the spade.

 

For small area, making a few slits in the soil with a spade or shovel is one way to keep the seeds from drying out and therefore more likely to germinate well. Not well suited to large areas but an easy way to remedy small areas with little or no grass.

 

For large areas the easiest is to aerate and then overseed. 

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