Weeds as Indicators

A healthy lawn starts with healthy soil. Healthy soil consists of roughly 50% pore space (25% water, 25% air), 45% minerals (sand, silt, clay), and 5% organic material. When pore space is reduced, compacted soil is left with very little organic material resulting in an unhealthy lawn that not only looks poor but cannot compete against damaging insects, diseases, and weeds.

Why is soil condition important?

People often focus on how their lawn looks, but they seldom think about what lies under the soil. Simply Green Lawn Care Plus professionals know the health of your lawn comes down to the health of the ground beneath it. Every lawn is different, and soil composition varies from one lawn to the next; however, the types of weeds growing can reveal a lot about the health of the soil. Is it compacted or draining poorly? Is alkaline high and acidity low? Weeds present in the yard can indicate these problems. Simply Green Lawn Care Plus experts create a treatment plan that will lead to sustainable results. Some chemical treatments provide a temporary quick fix, but there are better methods that will result in long-term, natural weed control.

Indicator Weeds: Nature’s Clues to Soil Health

Known as “indicator weeds,” certain weeds reflect or even predict specific environmental conditions such as compacted soil, moisture levels, pH, nutrient levels, or light conditions. The best way to reduce weed growth is to follow recommended maintenance practices and correct environmental factors detrimental to your lawn’s health.

Following are types of indicator weeds and the condition they suggest:

• The presence of dandelion, poa annua, chickweed, spurge, goosegrass, lespedeza, or moss could mean your soil is compacted.
• Nutsedge, doveweed, dollarweed, poa annua, or buttonweed could be the problem with wet or poorly draining soil.
• Plantain, black medic, goosegrass, spurge, white clover, or lespedeza could indicate soil is dry.
• Presence of crabgrass, moss, knotweed and plantain may mean soil is acidic (low pH).
• Clover and oxalis indicate alkaline (high pH).
• Black medic, clover, ragweed, poa annua, crabgrass and lespedeza weaken fertility.
• Poa annua, chickweed, ground ivy, wild violets are present in shaded/low light conditions.

The presence of one or two weed species does not necessarily indicate a specific cultural or environmental problem; but widespread infestations or the presence of multiple species of weeds that all prefer a particular condition could indicate an issue and corrective measures should be taken.

Nurturing Healthy Soil for a Resilient Lawn

The best defense against weeds is a cultural method of lawn maintenance, meaning scheduled aeration, fertilization, mowing, and watering. A lawn full of healthy turfgrass will not allow room for pesky weeds to take over.

Aeration relieves soil compaction and allows essential nutrients into the soil to feed the turfgrass at the roots. Aerating the lawn also increases pore space, which is ideal for plant growth. The right amount of pore space creates the perfect soil environment for strong grass that will be resilient against weeds.

Introducing organic matter into the soil is a natural way to add nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus to the soil. Mulched grass clippings, leaves, and plants as well as manures are examples of organic matter. Organic matter enhances soil structure by promoting the formation of aggregates which create pore space, allowing for better air and water circulation within the soil.

Customizing Lawn Care for a Greener Future

Since every lawn is different, Simply Green Lawn Care Plus specialists tailor lawn care programs to meet specific soil needs. With decades of building knowledge and developing lawn programs for healthy soil and weed control, Simply Green Lawn Care Plus experts address the health of your soil and develop a care plan to meet immediate and long-term expectations. The result will be a healthy lawn that is thicker, has less weeds, and is more resilient against disease. Contact Simply Green today for an appointment to assess the health of your soil.