Nut grass is one of the most interesting and weird weeds to come cup in gardens. It is commonly known as nutsedge, and is well known for its tough and wondering roots. It is termed nut grass because of the way its nodules grow like little nuts. Although these weeds seem harmless, given enough time they could lead to serious problems in your garden. The good news is there are a number of things you can do to get rid of it.
Herbicides
Instead of raking out all the tools and implements you can first try using chemical solutions like herbicides. If you are going to use this then do so when the grass is still at its early stages of growths before the so-called nuts appear. Another thing to remember is that water will interact with the herbicide and make it less effective. So if you are going to use the herbicide make sure you don’t water the grass for at least two days, and that you don’t now your lawn for at least two as well. You may need to reapply it a few times per month in order for them to work properly.
Dig dig dig…
Digging nut grass up is by no means a quick or easy task. It involves you having to get out your tools and getting down on your knees and manually removing it. If you are going to be using a shovel then you should dig up to 18 inches, ensuring you get to the kinked and white roots. You should aim to remove all the roots and as many of the nuts as you can. Leaving any behind can still lead to it sucking up all the nutrients. You can do this throughout the sprouting period and eventually they will disappear.
Other methods
Although herbicides and digging are the most used methods, there are a number of other things to remember when getting rid of nut grass. Since nut grass is rather tough, drying out soil will not help to get rid of it. They don’t do well in shady conditions so limiting sun would help. If you are planning on turning the soil to get rid of them then be careful since they can just relocate to other areas. Another interesting thing to note is that you can use sugar. You just sift it onto the area and water it. This will be less damaging to the rest of your plants than herbicides.