Maintaining the look and feel of your garden is indeed what every one of us wants. It’s because our garden is what relieves us of our stress and pressure.
However, anything could happen, and henbits might appear out of nowhere.
In this article, we’re going to tell you how to get rid of henbit in the most effective way possible.
Table of Contents
What is henbit?
But before we proceed, we must first know what henbit is. It is a type of weed that commonly grows in the U.S. These are characterized by a greenish or purplish stem that has a square shape. Its leaves have a circular shape.
However, there are times when it has a heart-shaped. Flowers then grow at the top of their stems during the spring months.
And it’s because of this that they damage the view of our gardens, leaving most people to want to get rid of them.
What do you need to prepare
1. Gardening gloves
The first things you need to prepare in getting rid of henbits are gardening gloves.
You’re going to need this to protect your hand from getting cuts, as well as in keeping your hands clean. When choosing gardening gloves, make sure that it’s not too big or too small.
You’re going to grab on henbits and pull them by force, which is why your gloves should be light and portable. It should also be breathable, so your hands won’t sweat a lot.
2. Mulch
You also need to have mulch because this is the one you’ll use to stop the henbits from re-growing. Re-growth is common in henbits because it produces flowers. When the flowers’ pollen falls on the ground, it can re-grow again into henbits.
With the help of mulching it, you are covering up the soil where you’ve removed the henbits. It makes sure that it wouldn’t be able to accommodate nutrients because it’s covered up.
Any mulch will do, whether it be well-composted manure, wood chips, or commercial mulch products.
3. Fertilizer
Fertilizer is another important must-have when it comes to removing henbit.
It’s with the help of fertilizer that you can make sure that the environmental conditions won’t be conducive to henbits’ growth and living. This is because fertilizers help make your grass grow thicker.
And the thicker the grass, the less likely weeds are to grow because, in the first place, there won’t be any space for them to grow because the lawn is dense.
4. Herbicide
This is another important must-have if you want to remove henbits.
Herbicides are specifically made to kill henbit, making them very effective killers. It’s best that you choose a herbicide product that is reputable and has been in the industry for a long time.
There are commercial herbicide products that also include its sprayer, so you might want to choose them.
What you’re going to do?
Method #1: Hand weeding and mulching
The easiest and probably most effective way to deal with henbits is by wedding them off by hand. But in doing so, you should make sure that you also include removing its base.
It’s best to remove them when the soil is a bit damp because the base wouldn’t be clinging to hard on it. Also, try to remove them before the flowers start to bloom.
Once you’ve removed them, it’s now time to make sure that they won’t re-grow. Do this by spreading mulch over the soil. 3 to 5 inches of mulch would be great.
Wood chips, leaf mold, rotted manure, or shredded bark would be the perfect types of mulch you can put.
If you observe that the layer starts to thin out, you can add an extra layer to it. Or you might try putting gravel or pebbles on top of it to solidify the soil further.
Method #2: Proper lawn maintenance
Henbits thrive in lawns or gardens where the grass is too thin and is placed in a shady place. To avoid these weeds from growing, simply avoid this kind of setup. You can do this by mowing your grass regularly, as mowing helps thicken your lawn.
Also, water your lawn constantly so that the soil would always be moist. Wet and damp soil would stop the growth of weeds because of henbit growing on it; grass will, thereby, leave no further space for unnecessary weeds to grow.
Pour fertilizer into your lawn every once in a while. Apply 2 ½ to 3 pounds of fertilizer per 1,000 square feet of lawn. This will be more than enough to help the active growth of grass.
It’s also highly recommended that you reseed your lawn if it starts to wither and dry out. This is especially true during the summer months when there is less rain, and the grass starts to lose nutrients and dry up.
Method #3: Herbicide treatment
When it comes to ensuring that henbits won’t be appearing, herbicide treatment is the strongest option. This is because these contain chemicals that are specifically designed to kill henbits. By applying herbicide to your lawn, you’re making sure that henbit won’t grow on it.
It’s best to apply these in early fall because it usually rains during this time. Apply 2 pounds of herbicide for every 1,000 square feet of soil. This would be enough to stop the henbits from their tracks.
If it doesn’t rain, you need to manually apply water on them because herbicides won’t be effective if the place is too dry.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, it isn’t that difficult to get rid of henbit.
With the help of this article and the tips presented in it, there’s no doubt that you’ll be getting rid of these pesky weeds from your garden or lawn in no time.
Just remember to be careful in applying all you’ve learned here.
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Your aritcle was very good, however it would have been more helpful if you had included the herbicide to use to get rid of henbit without killing your grass