As the title.
My buffalo lawn has been overgrown with clover (which I don’t mind a little bit of but I have a dog allergic to bees so have to be careful), panic veldt grass and multiple other weeds.
I was planning to aerate, fertilise and top dress this spring but at this point not even sure how worth it is considering the buffalo seems hardly existent now.
I was considering using a selective herbicide and dose the lawn and see what buffalo is left but is this a dumb idea? I’m assuming I’ll just have to start from scratch anyway with tons of new turf if there is just bare soil under the weeds.
What are your thoughts? Do you think maybe the buffalo is hiding under the weeds or is this wishful thinking..
Thank you!
by socratesasksy
7 Comments
Spray with Bin-Die or bow and arrow to kill the weeds.
Wait 2 weeks, mow very low and follow your plan of top dress and feed. It’s coming into spring and the buffalo is going to get growing.
Next year spray with a selective weed killer in June/July to keep on top of the weeds
You can selectively remove the broad leaf weeds without too much issue, you will not be left with much. The grassy weeds are more of a problem, and you have far more than one type.
Really depends on your end goal, but If it’s a pure stand on buffalo I’d say you eat to start from scratch
Otherwise selectively remove the broadleaf and when you feel like digging out the odd nasty clump of grassy weeds you can, let the rest ride until you decide what you want.
Maintaining a monoculture lawn is difficult. If you’re careful of harmful things like bindi you can just feed the lot and get it all green. It won’t be all even and perfect like a lawn with a monoculture grass but it’ll be much easier to keep green as there will be more soil health and you can slowly encourage what you’d prefer to have.
Clover grows where the grass is missing nutrients so if you fix the nutrients you’ll do better long term than to attack with weed and feed and get into the cycle of lawn battle.
Best of luck mate!
Stop worrying about the silly lawn and create a garden instead. Easier, cheaper and less 1800s mindset.
If you have any other flowering shrubs, the bees will more likely go for those than the clover. They love westringia and rosemary (they see blue flowers really well, and also yellow I think) and you could plant them up the back of your bed. I love where my clover has overgrown my buffalo, but I’ve never seen any of “my” bees on it – they are all over the other things higher up. Not dismissing your fears for your dog – pets are very important family members, but it is possibly less likely than you may think.
I think I’ve read here that buffalo doesn’t grow much in Winter (wish someone would tell that to mine with the runners spilling into the gutters) so your plan might be viable because of the warming weather. My buffalo is tough and dense and I’ve give it to you if I could! So I’d expect yours to grow back with very little help.
I’ve found it’s easiest without the use of pesticides to mulsh the grass and pull out manually the weeds that punch through. I gotta remember a lot of weeds break down minerals and absorb nitrogen for the soil
Ye easily. Just chop out all the dead grey lawn, drill holes in it everywhere, pull the weeds out of it. Top soil if want as well. Buffalo is slow but it will regenerate