Secret #4 – Natural Weed Control
Baby soap rules, subscription chemical service drools!

Subscribing to a weekly or bi-weekly chemical weed control service (WeedMan, TruGreen, Scotts) not only costs a fortune, but will cause your lawn to become addicted to the chemicals.

I don’t hate these companies; they serve a purpose and do a great job. They seem honest. Still, they exist to take care of your lawn in an unnatural way. I want to get your lawn to take care of itself naturally! The greenest, thickest, and healthiest lawns belong to the people who have taken the time to train their lawn. We have seen the results firsthand time and time again.

Further, there are some weed control measures you can try on your own. As a general rule, a light granular weed control application (sometimes mixed in with your fertilizer) is plenty to keep weeds out of your lawn. It’s also the safest kind of weed control. We always recommend trying an organic granular weed control product before using chemicals.

But chemicals can be our friends if applied correctly. Only resort to a chemical treatment if you have really stubborn weeds that just won’t die. Clover is an example of a stubborn weed; it can consume a yard if given the opportunity.

If you are set on spraying your yard with chemical weed killer, and you’ve got broad-leaf weeds that are being stubborn, do it safely, affordably, and efficiently by following this guide:

1. Buy yourself a cheap handheld sprayer (1 gallon or larger) with a fan-tip nozzle

2. Pick up some lawn-friendly broad-leaf weed killer

3. Buy a bottle of “Original Johnson’s Baby Shampoo” (trust me)

4. Mow the lawn and bag all the clippings

5. Optional: Blow the whole yard out inch by inch – you’re cleaning the yard out to help the weed killer actually make contact with the weeds and not just rest on grass clippings and/or other yard debris

6. Fill your sprayer ¾ of the way full with water

7. Add the appropriate amount of weed killer (per the mixing ratios found on the back of the weed killer product)

8. Add one ounce of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. The baby shampoo acts as a surfactant, allowing the weed killer mixture to work better. The baby shampoo, in addition to the fan tip nozzle, will keep the weed killer from simply beading up on grass and weeds (like water on a freshly waxed car)

9. You will want to top off the mixture with water, but you don’t want it to bubble up so add the water slowly and gently

10. Walk up and down your lawn “spot spraying” anywhere there are weeds. One burst of your weed control mixture should do it. Do not linger in one spot.

11. Your lawn should smell amazing

Note: It’s best to use liquid weed control in the Fall. NEVER use it in the heat of the summer!