Removing kikuyu grass lawn
 

Hi,

Need some advice on how to remove kikuyu from the lawn. My backyard has a
large lawn section where the kikuyu grass has taken over.

Its located on a terraced bed above the paved courtyard. Quite a tricky
location to get to actually as there are no steps leading to it - only big
rocks. A real bugger to carry the lawn mower there.

I thought of removing the kikuyu grass all together and mulching the whole
area - and placing drought resistant plants there.

But one worry is that during Summer - when the area gets hot and dry - the
wind will blow the debris down into the courtyard - where we hang our
clothes to dry after washing.

Whats the best way to remove them - considering its winter in Melbourne
Australia now?

I thought of spraying the area of roundup - then laying down newspaper -
followed by mulch - and later adding the plants.

Any ideas please?

Thanks.

Removing kikuyu grass lawn
 

"YMC" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Need some advice on how to remove kikuyu from the lawn. My backyard has a
large lawn section where the kikuyu grass has taken over.

Its located on a terraced bed above the paved courtyard. Quite a tricky
location to get to actually as there are no steps leading to it - only big
rocks. A real bugger to carry the lawn mower there.

I thought of removing the kikuyu grass all together and mulching the whole
area - and placing drought resistant plants there.

But one worry is that during Summer - when the area gets hot and dry - the
wind will blow the debris down into the courtyard - where we hang our
clothes to dry after washing.

Whats the best way to remove them - considering its winter in Melbourne
Australia now?

I thought of spraying the area of roundup - then laying down newspaper -
followed by mulch - and later adding the plants.

Any ideas please?

Thanks.


First as the mulch would become incorporated in the soil it should not blow
around too much. Also the news paper idea never went over very well, I
brought that idea up many years ago with Dr. Shigo and did not find favor
for the treatment. If you cut the grass low with a mower or string trimmer
(watching not to injure trunk flare of trees with trimmer) and place 3-4" of
mulch (composted tree trimmings, not fresh chips) on top, it should give the
results desired. Also if you do have trees in this area you would want to
keep the mulch away from the trunk flare at least 6". I was wondering if
you had any pictures of the area? Are there any root zones of trees in this
area you are treating? The Kikuyu apparently grows on runners.

Turf grass topic. Often in USA people make the mistake of using non-native
turf grass in once fertile forest. It does address erosion control but is
not in the interest of the trees of the forest. Kind of like putting a
tourniquet around the neck for a nose bleed. Or digging fire trenches in
Euc. groves for fire control..

Oh, yeah, is Kikuyu native to your area?


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.

Removing kikuyu grass lawn
 

On Jul 26, 6:29*am, "symplastless" wrote:
"YMC" wrote in message

...





Hi,

Need some advice on how to remove kikuyu from the lawn. My backyard has a
large lawn section where the kikuyu grass has taken over.

Its located on a terraced bed above the paved courtyard. Quite a tricky
location to get to actually as there are no steps leading to it - only big
rocks. A real bugger to carry the lawn mower there.

I thought of removing the kikuyu grass all together and mulching the whole
area - and placing drought resistant plants there.

But one worry is that during Summer - when the area gets hot and dry - the
wind will blow the debris down into the courtyard - where we hang our
clothes to dry after washing.

Whats the best way to remove them - considering its winter in Melbourne
Australia now?

I thought of spraying the area of roundup - then laying down newspaper -
followed by mulch - and later adding the plants.

Any ideas please?

Thanks.

First as the mulch would become incorporated in the soil it should not blow
around too much. *Also the news paper idea never went over very well, I
brought that idea up many years ago with Dr. Shigo and did not find favor
for the treatment. *If you cut the grass low with a mower or string trimmer
(watching not to injure trunk flare of trees with trimmer) and place 3-4" of
mulch (composted tree trimmings, not fresh chips) on top, it should give the
results desired. * Also if you do have trees in this area you would want to
keep the mulch away from the trunk flare at least 6". *I was wondering if
you had any pictures of the area? *Are there any root zones of trees in this
area you are treating? * The Kikuyu apparently grows on runners.

Turf grass topic. *Often in USA people make the mistake of using non-native
turf grass in once fertile forest. *It does address erosion control but is
not in the interest of the trees of the forest. *Kind of like putting a
tourniquet around the neck for a nose bleed. * Or digging fire trenches in
Euc. groves for fire control..

Oh, yeah, is Kikuyu native to your area?

--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologisthttp://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and *www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Quoted from http://www.au.gardenweb.com/forums/l...80011033..html

Hi Everyone...
I have a relatively new couch lawn (about 9 months old), the trouble I
have is that Kikuyu grass is slowly invading the lawn and taking
over.

I spoke to the man at the local nursery who told me that since Kikuyu
is a type of lawn then most of the lawn weed killers will not kill the
Kikuyu (because it's a grass not a lawn).

I've tried to remove it by hand, but it's quite a large lawn and it's
always beats me (ie it grows faster than I can pull it out).

The other option I have read about is to mow it very low and it will
die. Trouble is that this will definitely kill my couch lawn too,
which is more delicate than the Kikuyu. And I know from experience it
burns badly if cut too low.

Does anyone have any ideas? Ideally I'm after a spray I can use that
will kill broadleaf grass like Kikuyu but not kill the couch. I have
seen a product advertised in the US called "Turflon Ester" but I'm
unsure if it is ok to use on Couch and also unsure about where/if I
can get it in Aus.

----------------------------------------------------
Note: The above link has a lot of annoying popups!
----------------------------------------------------

There are some weed twisting tools that work well on removing
crabgrass and bermudagrass, which grow by runners much like Kikuyu.
Unfortunately, these tools may not be available in Australia.

Search the web for "crabgrass removal" for more ideas.

Best of luck!

Removing kikuyu grass lawn
 

"symplastless" wrote in message
. ..
First as the mulch would become incorporated in the soil it should not
blow around too much. Also the news paper idea never went over very well,
I brought that idea up many years ago with Dr. Shigo and did not find
favor for the treatment. If you cut the grass low with a mower or string
trimmer (watching not to injure trunk flare of trees with trimmer) and
place 3-4" of mulch (composted tree trimmings, not fresh chips) on top, it
should give the results desired. Also if you do have trees in this area
you would want to keep the mulch away from the trunk flare at least 6". I
was wondering if you had any pictures of the area? Are there any root
zones of trees in this area you are treating? The Kikuyu apparently
grows on runners.

Turf grass topic. Often in USA people make the mistake of using
non-native turf grass in once fertile forest. It does address erosion
control but is not in the interest of the trees of the forest. Kind of
like putting a tourniquet around the neck for a nose bleed. Or digging
fire trenches in Euc. groves for fire control..

Oh, yeah, is Kikuyu native to your area?


Not exactly. But Kikuyu grass is very common here in Melbourne Australia-
virtually all the Parks and nature strips and council lands employ this type
of grass. It loves sun- doesn't mind our dry summer, and is tolerant of our
droughts.

Back to topic - no tree in that area. Apart from a very old rosemary bush
and a pretty Blue Moon rose and a hybrid rose, the rest is just weed.

Removing kikuyu grass lawn
 

"raycruzer" wrote in message
...
On Jul 26, 6:29 am, "symplastless" wrote:
"YMC" wrote in message



Does anyone have any ideas?

Accept the good with the bad. Find SERENITY specifically accepting the
things we cannot change. Our desire to control nature is not in our best
interest, most of the time, I believe. I just got the bulls eye for Lyme
disease. My thought, I fought nature and mature one. If I was not out
there clearing the area where the woods meet the field, to plant grass, I
would not have Lyme disease. I would like to do a better job, myself, in
working with nature and not against it. Here where we live in the USA if
its green than its grass. People with monoculture lawns not only compromise
ground water but have brown lawns in August while ours with clover gets free
fertilizer (nitrogen) without compromise of ground water and stays green.

When you find the chemical you are looking for you might find some useful
information about some of the harmful effects of the chemical at these
sites:
Please look under PESTICIDE ISSUES, Alternatives and more
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman/env/index.html


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.

----------------------------------------------------
Note: The above link has a lot of annoying popups!
----------------------------------------------------

There are some weed twisting tools that work well on removing
crabgrass and bermudagrass, which grow by runners much like Kikuyu.
Unfortunately, these tools may not be available in Australia.

Search the web for "crabgrass removal" for more ideas.

Best of luck!

Removing kikuyu grass lawn
 

"YMC" wrote in message
...
"symplastless" wrote in message
. ..

Oh, yeah, is Kikuyu native to your area?


Not exactly. But Kikuyu grass is very common here in Melbourne Australia-
virtually all the Parks and nature strips and council lands employ this
type of grass. It loves sun- doesn't mind our dry summer, and is tolerant
of our droughts.

Back to topic - no tree in that area. Apart from a very old rosemary bush
and a pretty Blue Moon rose and a hybrid rose, the rest is just weed.
I wonder if the grass fixes nitrogen like our clover? Clover stays green
and seems to tolerate our dry and hot August month.


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.

Removing kikuyu grass lawn
 

"symplastless" wrote in message I wonder if the
grass fixes nitrogen like our clover? Clover stays green
and seems to tolerate our dry and hot August month.


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com

I don't mind clover - but the kikuyu grass is like barbed wire growing into
the flower beds. Once they get out of control - they literally strangle the
roses and other plants to death.

I also have buffalo grass- very nice. slow and very much less invasive than
the kikyuyu.

Removing kikuyu grass lawn
 

In article ,
"YMC" wrote:

"symplastless" wrote in message I wonder if the
grass fixes nitrogen like our clover? Clover stays green
and seems to tolerate our dry and hot August month.


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com

I don't mind clover - but the kikuyu grass is like barbed wire growing into
the flower beds. Once they get out of control - they literally strangle the
roses and other plants to death.

A propane torch may be of some help or satisfaction.
--

Billy
Bush and Pelosi Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related

Removing kikuyu grass lawn
 

On Jul 28, 10:31*pm, Billy wrote:
In article ,





*"YMC" wrote:
"symplastless" wrote in message I wonder if the
grass fixes nitrogen like our clover? *Clover stays green
and seems to tolerate our dry and hot August month.

--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and *www.treedictionary.com

I don't mind clover - but the kikuyu grass is like barbed wire growing into
the flower beds. Once they get out of control - they literally strangle the
roses and other plants to death.

A propane torch may be of some help or satisfaction.
--

Billy
Bush and Pelosi Behind Barshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTfcAyYGg&ref=patrick.nethttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo59c7zU&feature=related- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

A propane torch won't kill or remove the roots like this drill-powered
turbo thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvf29nIJ5m8

---------------------------------------------------------
Muscles optional, Herbicides obsolete!