JustAnotherFarang Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Hi Guys After the rainy season here I have noticed that this weed has taken hold and started to spread out around my grass lawn, especially where the grass has thinned out. It seems to be spreading rapidly and when I pull it out of the soil it doesnt seem to have an individual rooting system which is worrying as I dont want it to spread. Any ideas what it is and how should I go about removing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Christmas13 Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Just dry it and smoke it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickstart Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 It is ผักอีแปะ in Thai ,or Frog Bit, Hydrocharis Dubia (Blume) Baker . As you said it likes the rain we have some about the place ,if you keep pulling at it ,it will stop growing ,now we are in the middle of October ,we probably had most of the rains ,( unless you are us in the central region), things will start to dry out it might go on its own accord . When the lawn dry out a bit give it a good spiking, it will help aerate the lawn , I would say where the grass has thinned out ,could well be wet, it would help drainage to , dry it out and might help prevent it coming back . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherFarang Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 18 hours ago, kickstart said: It is ผักอีแปะ in Thai ,or Frog Bit, Hydrocharis Dubia (Blume) Baker . As you said it likes the rain we have some about the place ,if you keep pulling at it ,it will stop growing ,now we are in the middle of October ,we probably had most of the rains ,( unless you are us in the central region), things will start to dry out it might go on its own accord . When the lawn dry out a bit give it a good spiking, it will help aerate the lawn , I would say where the grass has thinned out ,could well be wet, it would help drainage to , dry it out and might help prevent it coming back . Thanks Kickstart, very informative posting. I havent spiked my lawn for 2 years as I cannot find the right tool to do it. Its about 1/2 rai in size so need something like a garden fork or something better to do it. Any suggestions? JAF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooked Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Spiking the lawn correctly will be good for the lawn but not do much to get rid of the weed. Spiking is meant to aerate the soil and should be done with a hollow tine fork, the likes of which has never been seen in Thailand. (Maybe golf club green keepers have something). Using a fork just compacts the soil around the hole, which should be filled with sand anyway. As mentioned, Hydrocharis is essentially an aquatic plant and should disappear when things dry out, which doesn't mean that its roots won't survive the drought. Anyway, something like this rake would do the job for pulling out most of this beast. Myself if I was fanatical about lawn care I would find a broad leaf herbicide such as is used by rice farmers and try a small corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickstart Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 2 hours ago, cooked said: Spiking the lawn correctly will be good for the lawn but not do much to get rid of the weed. Spiking is meant to aerate the soil and should be done with a hollow tine fork, the likes of which has never been seen in Thailand. (Maybe golf club green keepers have something). Using a fork just compacts the soil around the hole, which should be filled with sand anyway. As mentioned, Hydrocharis is essentially an aquatic plant and should disappear when things dry out, which doesn't mean that its roots won't survive the drought. Anyway, something like this rake would do the job for pulling out most of this beast. Myself if I was fanatical about lawn care I would find a broad leaf herbicide such as is used by rice farmers and try a small corner. cooked Would a bit of lime help ? ,thinking ,a lot of aquatic type plants like an acid soil .lift the ph. a bit ,will not get rid/kill the weeds .but it might slow them down a bit ,and Thai soil"s being just about short of everything they is ,would not do it any harm . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooked Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Blimey. No idea what pH value Hypocharis prefers. According to Google, they prefer acid environments. Give it a try. In 40 years of lawn care I never had to tackle this weed. Don't ask me how much to dose! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherFarang Posted October 14, 2016 Author Share Posted October 14, 2016 I am on my hands and knees plucking the little buggers out left right and centre and then it starts to rain again. I would say its taken quite a hold because my wifes friend gave us some orchids on an old tree stump that came from her forest residence. At first I only saw a few leaves but I turned my back on it for a few weeks and then it took hold. I hope its something I can get under control but I have put some nitrogen down to encourage more grass growth as in that particular area it was looking a little yellow and sparse. Knowing my luck, it will only help the little blighter to sprout more. Does anyone know where I might be able to get some quality gardening tools from, preferably online or through the post as I am down south in the middle of a rainforest and dont often venture upto the big smoke. JAF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooked Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 1 hour ago, JustAnotherFarang said: I am on my hands and knees plucking the little buggers out left right and centre and then it starts to rain again. I would say its taken quite a hold because my wifes friend gave us some orchids on an old tree stump that came from her forest residence. At first I only saw a few leaves but I turned my back on it for a few weeks and then it took hold. I hope its something I can get under control but I have put some nitrogen down to encourage more grass growth as in that particular area it was looking a little yellow and sparse. Knowing my luck, it will only help the little blighter to sprout more. Does anyone know where I might be able to get some quality gardening tools from, preferably online or through the post as I am down south in the middle of a rainforest and dont often venture upto the big smoke. JAF You are having fun, I might mention that one of the important steps in preventing weeds is regular mowing at the correct height and adequate fertiliser. Try downloading a catalogue from http://www.cromwell.co.th/catalogue.html#ht . They have a lot of tools that are otherwise difficult to get hold of in Thailand, maybe they have what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherFarang Posted October 15, 2016 Author Share Posted October 15, 2016 13 hours ago, cooked said: You are having fun, I might mention that one of the important steps in preventing weeds is regular mowing at the correct height and adequate fertiliser. Try downloading a catalogue from http://www.cromwell.co.th/catalogue.html#ht . They have a lot of tools that are otherwise difficult to get hold of in Thailand, maybe they have what you want. Thank you for that link, I shall peruse it after I have finished in the garden before lunch. JAF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.