Who is that knocking at the gate? Weeds, that's who....

I love the rain and the spring flowers that follow, greeting us with their beauty and hope. But now that I am home 24/7 and have had more time in the yard to enjoy them, I can't help but notice the unwanted guests in my flower beds and turf doing their best to fit in - creeping woodsorrel (oxalis) pushing out clusters of yellow blooms, scarlet pimpernel with it's sweet deep orange flowers, and the dastardly yellow nutsedge and kyllinga nice and green ready to take over. (If I am honest, I think it is well on it's way).

So what do you do with these unwelcome visitors? If you are not sure who the players are, visit the UC IPM weed photo gallery to identify the weed type and variety that is growing in your personal paradise - very important in order to properly control them before it gets out hand.

There are many methods to tackle weeds. The UC Weed Research and Information Center has put together a variety of training videos about these pests including demonstrating weed control techniques as collectively listed by Gale Perez in her blog article More training videos: Weed Control Techniques.

Good luck - don't let them overstay their welcome!