[3759allen]

i've recently sown a lawn from seed. it's now come up really well, a little patchy in places but i'm hoping the patches will fill in with time.

the problem i have is that despite pulling virtually every weed out before sowing the weeds seem to have grown as fast as the grass.

it's at about the right hight to mow it for the first time but do i try to pull as many of the weeds out before mowing? or can i mow the lot and hope the grass eventually over takes the weeds?

i was going to leave the cuttings where they lay and use this as sort of a mulch over winter, would this be the right thing to do.

thanks for any advice.

[allotmentann]

Most weeds will gradually diminish as you mow. The more regularly you mow, the less problems you will have. The ones that are hardest to eradicate by mowing are the low growing ones that the mower doesn't cut, like yarrow and clover. Digging out all that you can with a daisy grubber will certainly help to speed things up. Bob Flowerdew reckons that constantly removing the top growth from just about anything will eventually kill it.
I always leave my grass clippings on my lawn, some people say not to, citing that it encourages 'thatch', I have not found this to be the case. It puts nitrogen back into the grass and is a cheap, organic way of feeding it.  I do try once a year to give it all a really good go over with a spring tine rake, to remove as much moss and dead stuff as possible.   

[JayG]

The weeds have probably come from seeds already in the soil when you sowed the grass - l'd just mow the lot, although I would remove the clippings for the time being, as being new grass I think it would benefit from as much air and light getting to it as possible.

Any persistent weeds which don't give up after several mowings can be grubbed out, but it shouldn't be necessary this year.

[Kristen]

I agree that many of the weeds, and any "annual weeds", will be killed by repeated mowing, so most will cease to be a problem over time.  most will hibernate a bit / go dormant over winter.

Once the lawn is 6 months old, i.e. next Spring, you can use a selective weedkiller (or "weed & feed" if you prefer) to attack any weeds that are left.

[Totty]

Repeated mowing, will weaken weeds, as well as promote finer grasses. I always use a mulching mower from late spring to late summer as it smashes the cuttings up and they then quickly disappear into the lawn to feed it.

If you don't want any weeds in your lawn when established, I would recommend a product called relay turf. It kills all weeds over a long period of time, not effecting the grass, and is a hundred times better that some of the "weed and feed" junk you see all over the place.

Totty

[Yorkie]

Repeated mowing, will weaken weeds, as well as promote finer grasses. I always use a mulching mower from late spring to late summer as it smashes the cuttings up and they then quickly disappear into the lawn to feed it.

If you don't want any weeds in your lawn when established, I would recommend a product called relay turf. It kills all weeds over a long period of time, not effecting the grass, and is a hundred times better that some of the "weed and feed" junk you see all over the place.

Totty

Unfortunately this is professional use only, Totty.
https://secure.pesticides.gov.uk/pestreg/getfullproduct.asp?productid=14213&pageno=4&origin=prodsearch

[Totty]

Anyone can order it online. Though it's use by me has been In a 'proffessional' situation, I can't see why anyone who has the sense to use roundup etc sensibly, cannot buy this stuff over the counter.

Totty

[Yorkie]

Because it is only licensed for professional use.  You know that on this site we do not condone the promotion of the use of professional pesticides by amateurs.

[3759allen]

thanks for all the help and replies.

you all seem to give the answer that i was hoping for.

i'll mow as needed until the end of spring and see how it looks then, and look at using chemicals if needed.

thanks again.

[Totty]

Because it is only licensed for professional use.  You know that on this site we do not condone the promotion of the use of professional pesticides by amateurs.

Okey dokey, I'll bear that in mind in future.

Totty

[Yorkie]

Ta 

[rookie1]

Hi All

was very interested to read all your comments, as we've also seeded a new lawn recently and it's probably four or five inches tall, with a few shorter patches where the seed didn't initially germinate and we re-sowed. We also have quite a lot of weeds, despite doing a very hard job pulling thistles, docks and other nasties prior to sowing, but we were advised to keep off it (ie no mowing or weeding) until the spring .... help!!!....

[allotmentann]

I wouldn't worry too much, there won't be many cuts left even on established lawns at this time of the year, the cool weather will stop both the grass and the weeds from growing and you can start mowing regularly in spring.   

[rookie1]

I wouldn't worry too much, there won't be many cuts left even on established lawns at this time of the year, the cool weather will stop both the grass and the weeds from growing and you can start mowing regularly in spring.   

Thanks allotmentann - a relief to hear your view!