Lawn completely out of control with weeds

We have a small lawn to the front of the house we rent.

The garden us completely out of control. We let it get too long last year and every time it grew back, there was less grass and more weeds.

Now this year there's hardly any grass left, the weeds are about 2ft high and we need a plan to take back control. We got the local gardener to strim and cut it about a month ago, but it's come back twice as quickly and thicker than ever.

We've never liked the idea of weedkillers as we have two cats, but we're going to have to bite the bullet and try something as safely as we can.

So what do we do?

I've been reading about concentrate you can put on with a watering can. Do we wait til autumn, apply the weedkiller then put down grass seed after?

It's a living nightmare. We're so embarrassed by it.

 

We're supposed to be mowing and strimming but we can't keep on top or it. And the last couple of times the gardener has done it, it looks terrible because there's so little grass left.

 

We can't afford that...

 

What is "small"? If it is very small, it shouldn't take long to cut? Or perhaps there's a neighbourhood kid who would gladly do it and for much less than a gardener?

Or if it is really small, perhaps the landlord can just cover it over with stone or something?

 

I'm still reading and learning, but I've had great success with 25-percent strength "essigessenz", which is concentrated white vinegar.

One of the areas of my yard near the well is gravel with a fabric weed barrier between the soil and gravel. Unfortunately, the barrier stopped working last year and lots of weeds are poking up through the gravel. I tried the recommended weed killer from the garden shop. It killed the weeds in about two days, but they reappeared a week later. At about €19.00 for one liter, this was an expensive experiment and I am hesitant to use it elsewhere because we have at least five hedgehogs that visit each night.

I bought the 25-percent vinegar at the local grocery store for €0.59 for a half liter bottle. Four bottles, with four tablespoons of normal salt and a hefty squeeze of dishwashing liquid in a pump hand sprayer did the trick. The weeds were dead the next morning and three weeks later have not come back.

The vinegar doesn't seem to discriminate between weeds, grass, plants, or anything else that grows. It kills everything. I have three small spots in my yard that I will have to dig up and reseed after a test that worked too well.

 

Hi
Is there an agreement in place to keep the garden tidy?

A little photo may help us to see what you have in regards to area and the type of plants growing in the lawn.
From there we can can work out what the best plan of action is but as shiney stated it does need regular cuts.

Normally you would look at what weeds you are targeting then select a weed killer that will be effective. There are some plants that are very hard to tackle hence why a little photo will help.

 

Hi @nightofjoy , if you think staying on top of the lawn is not possible, try to agree with the landlord on a different solution. Gravel or even artificial grass will look much better than a sad lawn. A neat front garden will increase the value of the property.

Another option is to get the grass cut one way or another. Once it's starting to look better you could consider pet friendly lawn weedkillers. Pet Friendly Weed Killers You Can Trust by DIY Gardening

Have you tried advertising in the local Neighbourhood forum or Facebook for someone to come weekly or bi-weekly? If you have the mower it would be an easy job for a teenager to pop in for a 20 mins job.

It's also important to keep the blades in high position and not to cut wet grass or it will look awful. Been there, done that!

 

It takes months for weeds to grow 2ft in height…..are you sure your mowing and strimming it. Its not much to do once a week.

 

In Alan Titchmarsh's book 'supergardener' he explains a cheap easy method to bring an abandoned lawn under control.
"The idler's Lawn" page 199.
He says, first cut down all the long growth with a sythe/shears or strimmer.
Then mow the area with a good rotary mower.
Continue to mow the rough area regularly.
This will kill off tall weeds and allow low growing grass to multiply.
In time you'll have a reasonable grass area.
(personally I'd help it along with a bag of wilkos general purpose grass seed).