How to Get Rid of Johnson Grass Permanently

If you live in the Southern United States, you have battled all types of unwanted grasses in your yard. For those of us who work diligently in maintaining our yards the aggravation and persistence of Johnson Grass can drive you crazy. I was finally able to learn how to get rid of Johnson Grass by taking different suggestions from a variety of people and putting the following plan together.

Step 1
Do Something Quickly. Johnson Grass is a shallow-rooted grass that does well in a dry environment. I first noticed Johnson Grass overtaking my yard during a drought a couple of years ago. I made a mistake by not dealing with it quickly, and before long I had about 30 patches spread throughout my yard.

Step 2
Get Rid of It. Before you can prevent Johnson Grass you must first get rid of it. If you have a mild case of these pesky weeds you can just dig them up by the root ball. Make sure and soak the weed with 5-10 gallons of water to help pull all of the root. If you have a major infestation of these weeds you will want to be a little more aggressive. Use some weed killer and spray both the leaves and the root. It will take several days for the root to finally die, afterward you can begin soaking the ground all around the Johnson Grass to encourage healthy grass to begin taking over the dead area.

Step 3
Prevent It. Once you have Johnson Grass in your yard you have to prevent it or it will come back again quickly. Prevention is a multi step process that involves the following.

A. Keep your yard watered
B. Apply nutrients to your yard in the Fall, Spring, and Winter. (Fertilizing in the Summer is usually a waste of time due to heat degrading the effectiveness of the fertilizer)
C. Don’t Walk on your grass. There is a reason that people who have nice lawns want you to stay off the grass. Walking on the grass can damage the grass and damaged grass will often allow weeds to take root. The only time you should walk on your grass is when you are mowing. Use a mower that acts as a vacuum in order to pull keep the grass from matting down. I prefer using aerating spikes in my shoes when I push mow.
D. Re-seed your yard with only the highest quality seeds. Johnson Grass and other weeds can sneak into low quality seed bags. The extra money you pay for the higher quality stuff is well worth it.
E. Apply a Pre-Emergent. Johnson grass seeds come back year after year unless a quality Pre-emergent is applied in the winter and early spring. The Pre-emergent acts to keep the Johnson Grass seed from opening and effectively kills it.

Step 4
The Secret Weapon. One of the most effective tools I have found to improve the health of my yard is sugar. Simple table sugar applied with a spreader nourishes your yard in ways that fertilizers don’t. Healthy grass requires replacing nutrients in the soil, and I found sugar does this. I noticed within just a couple of weeks after my first sugar treatment that my yard was looking healthier. I reapplied another round of sugar and noticed that about 90 percent of all my weeds were gone within a month.

It requires a great deal of patience to get rid of Johnson Grass. The best piece of advice I received from a neighbor was to be persistent. It took me almost 3 years to get rid of of Johnson Grass but in the 2 years since I have not seen the first hint of Johnson Grass. Hope these tips for how to get rid of Johnson Grass are as useful for you as they were for me.