Do I wait till fall, or is there anything I should do now?
I’m new to lawn care but my grass definitely doesn’t look as good as some of the neighbors. How do I get rid of all these weeds? Or should I wait till the season is over?
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hunguu
Yes, spray for weeds now
FriendlyFly8545
The lawn is a long term game. I would mow much much higher. Purchase a selective herbicide and start spraying the weeds here and there. That will be your summer. Late August overseed (don’t wait too much longer because you need sun for seeds to take hold) and fertilize. Continue mowing tall. Continue spraying weeds.
awfulcrowded117
Personally, I would kill them now. Those look like broadleafs, so applying a standard 3 way will work. The reason I would do it now, or start doing it it now, even knowing it will look pretty bad for the rest of the year: is you can’t usually use weed control around the same time as you seed. This lawn is very thin, that’s why it has all those weeds, so you need a heavy overseeding this fall. You want to kill the weeds over the summer so you can seed in the fall without applying weed control for the month (roughly and depending on which product you use) before the seed goes down.
Pleasant-Disaster837
People don’t seem to understand this about cool season grass, it doesn’t do well being cut as short as you’re mowing it. It encourages growth of weeds while deteriorating the health of your turf. The “leaf blade” itself is required to photosynthesize properly and to stay healthy. 3-4 inches height is a good height to be cutting at. I know it can be difficult to adjust to a higher cut but once you get used to it you’ll realize how much better it looks. You’re not growing a golf course green, that requires a ton of work and different grass variety than what you’re growing.
mental-floss
This looks like a full nuke to me. Now would be the time to spray and kill it before seeding in mid August
anwright1371
If you are going to do a full reno, start killing now. Otherwise spot treat weeds, water and mow high until fall and see how she’s looking then.
Ok_Engine_1442
Oh horse weed is a nightmare. One of the very few things glyphosate won’t kill.
Weekly_Mycologist523
Fertilize with a slow release fertilizer. “Flagship” or “Freedom” from Yard Mastery would be good. You can also spray weeds whenever (not during excessive heat or drought). Try to identify what they are and find a product that targets those specifically.
SnooPeanuts9509
Just make sure when you seed you use a seed friendly fertilizer. If you start spraying weeds now, of put a weed and feed type product down, it’ll be 6-8 weeks before you can seed. The anti weed slow release fertilizers will stop your new late August over seed from germinating. So, do raise the deck of your mower. Do start (I’d spray) killing weeds. Overseed and use a general purpose starter fertilizer by the first week of September to establish the starter lawn for 2026.
ExtensionStomach8277
My yard at my old house looked like this. I rented a rototiller for a weekend, tilled the yard, raked up all the debris, put down fresh topsoil and peat moss then seeded and put down straw.
11 Comments
Check out the [Cool Season Beginners Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/lawncare/comments/fb1gjj/a_beginners_guide_to_improving_your_lawn_this/).
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Yes, spray for weeds now
The lawn is a long term game. I would mow much much higher. Purchase a selective herbicide and start spraying the weeds here and there. That will be your summer. Late August overseed (don’t wait too much longer because you need sun for seeds to take hold) and fertilize. Continue mowing tall. Continue spraying weeds.
Personally, I would kill them now. Those look like broadleafs, so applying a standard 3 way will work. The reason I would do it now, or start doing it it now, even knowing it will look pretty bad for the rest of the year: is you can’t usually use weed control around the same time as you seed. This lawn is very thin, that’s why it has all those weeds, so you need a heavy overseeding this fall. You want to kill the weeds over the summer so you can seed in the fall without applying weed control for the month (roughly and depending on which product you use) before the seed goes down.
People don’t seem to understand this about cool season grass, it doesn’t do well being cut as short as you’re mowing it. It encourages growth of weeds while deteriorating the health of your turf. The “leaf blade” itself is required to photosynthesize properly and to stay healthy. 3-4 inches height is a good height to be cutting at. I know it can be difficult to adjust to a higher cut but once you get used to it you’ll realize how much better it looks. You’re not growing a golf course green, that requires a ton of work and different grass variety than what you’re growing.
This looks like a full nuke to me. Now would be the time to spray and kill it before seeding in mid August
If you are going to do a full reno, start killing now. Otherwise spot treat weeds, water and mow high until fall and see how she’s looking then.
Oh horse weed is a nightmare. One of the very few things glyphosate won’t kill.
Fertilize with a slow release fertilizer. “Flagship” or “Freedom” from Yard Mastery would be good. You can also spray weeds whenever (not during excessive heat or drought). Try to identify what they are and find a product that targets those specifically.
Just make sure when you seed you use a seed friendly fertilizer. If you start spraying weeds now, of put a weed and feed type product down, it’ll be 6-8 weeks before you can seed. The anti weed slow release fertilizers will stop your new late August over seed from germinating. So, do raise the deck of your mower. Do start (I’d spray) killing weeds. Overseed and use a general purpose starter fertilizer by the first week of September to establish the starter lawn for 2026.
My yard at my old house looked like this. I rented a rototiller for a weekend, tilled the yard, raked up all the debris, put down fresh topsoil and peat moss then seeded and put down straw.
https://preview.redd.it/uyog2bpx9fef1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ee8d818d3108a35dc528d3c16c55712b870c6bfc
This was the following summer after starting fresh