Got Some Onion Weed Problems on Your Lawn?
Onion weeds are the bane of most gardeners and lawns. They are very tough to get rid of. They often grow in soils that have low pH levels which means the soil has a higher acidity. The reason they are so hard to get rid of lies in the weeds bulbs. If you attempt to remove the weed by digging it up and shaking off the excess dirt, you have just shaken the numerous bulbletts attached to the larger bulbs at the root of the weed and you have just multiplied your weed problem instead of eradicating it.
So what choices do you have?
You have two paths of decisions if you want to remove the weed. First path is natural and second path is herbicide.
Path 1 – Natural
If you want to use a more natural effect to get rid of the onion weed, there are several options available.
- Remove the source of food – Cover the effected area of onion weed with a few layers of thick black plastic to cut off the weeds ability to photosynthesize and generate food. This will take months and can leave the soil undernourished and will require special attention to regain minerals and trace elements as well as balancing the pH level of the soil.
- Steam – using steam as an application repeated many times over time will eventually kill the weed
- Boiling water – similar to steam the boiling water will scorn the leaf and render it unable to get food
- Dig out weed and clump of soil and remove the whole section of weed and soil in one go. Do not shake or place in your compost as this will only make the weed increase.
- Increase alkalinity of soil Click here to find out more
By using a combination of natural remedies that target preventing food source you are more likely to speed up the time in takes to remove the onion weed.
The flip side of onion weed on the positive side, is that onion weed is fully edible according to Easy Edible Gardening in New Zealand .
So if you keep cutting the plants with scissors, you can always place the flower and leaves in a salad and the bulbs can be pickled apparently. Who would have thought of onion weeds in the salad or pickling?
Onion Weed Bulblets – Image Courtesy Jamie’s Blogspot Garden Amateur
Path 2 – Herbicide
If you want to use a herbicide like roundup, the waxy broad leaf of the onion weed can make it hard to penetrate the plant, and you want to make sure you only dowse the weed and nothing else; otherwise you will kill other plants.
Firstly, it would be recommended to cut the onion weed leaf and use a little paint brush to apply the herbicide directly to the cut onion weed leaf. This will maximise the penetration of the herbicide into the onion weed but it still requires multiple re-applications to finally get rid of the onion weed.
This article is brought to you by “Walker Mowers” to help you get the best looking lawn.