Hello,
My front yard has been overtaken by clovers in the last couple years. All the grass is dead at this point and the clovers are covering 85% of the yard. After a soil test I can see that nitrogen is very low, along with phosphorus and potassium. The PH level is around 6.5 – 7.5.
My question is what is my best course of action at this time (early fall)?
I am debating tilling the entire yard, adding some compost and attempting to plant all new seeds before the frost comes. The front yard is approximately 900 sq/ft.
Any help and the best course of action is highly appreciated. Thank you.
Thank you for contacting the Toronto Master Gardeners with your inquiry concerning your lawn.
With the ban of pesticides and herbicides we have seen an increase in the number of questions concerning weeds in lawns. The best method for keeping all weeds out of your lawn is to have a thick, vigorous, healthy lawn. Improving the soil quality with the yearly addition of organic compost will aid in improving the quality of the soil and lawn.
We do not recommend tilling your yard as it will destroy your soil structure. This will effect drainage and the ability to retain water and nutrients properly. It can take years for the soil to recover from tilling.
We receive a number of questions asking for help with weeds in their lawn.One in particular titled Clover in lawn deals with this exact problem. Also, if you just type “weeds” into the search bar on the right you will see a number of our responses to earlier posts.
One post titled I have the worst weeds ever, and How to Eradicate Weeds gives instructions on how to eliminate weeds using a technique called solarization as well as an excellent link to an article titled Tackling Weeds Organically.
Good Luck with your lawn.