If you are at all interested in taking care of your garden, you’ll face the problem of weeds throwing a party in the middle of your lawn sooner or later. You can either be the environmentalist and let them grow to their hearts content, or take a drastic turn killing them all off. If it’s just some clover growing at random spots throughout the grass surface, you can leave them where they are. In case you’re looking at a group nettle plants, you should grab the grass trimmer and hack away.
Most people don’t like weeds growing in their garden as they please. When it’s some clover, you don’t need to worry as it’s a fairly safe plant to have around. When it drops its leaves it nitrifies the soil for the grass around. Sometimes clover seeds are added to the grass mix for this very reason. They also grow fast and shoot up multiple times after being beheaded with a power trimmer. It may be a pro if you actually want to cultivate the specie and a curse for those who would like to get rid of the buggers.
They aren’t harmful in any way unless an even-looking immaculate lawn is amongst your short term goals. Clover leaves are generally darker than blades of grass and they love to grow in patches leaving an unkempt sight. The best way of getting rid of them is manually removing them along with their roots. This method is environmentally friendly, you get to spend time in your garden and on the fresh air, and they’re unlikely to grow back once their roots are removed. The disadvantage of crawling around hunting for clovers become apparent for those who run an 18 hole golf course.
Removing nettle by hand can also be a nuisance. Fortunately there is a much more convenient way for people who are more concerned about the looks of their lawn than the environmental factor. An herbicide solution called 2-4D is pronounced safe both by US and European councils and there is no proven link between it and some of the most common mortality factors. It means that you can use 2-3 teaspoons of 2,4D solved in five gallons of water to kill all broad-leaf plants on your lawn without doing much harm to anything else. It’s a selective herbicide, which means it doesn’t affect grass the least bit.
If the weeds don’t want to hit it, up the dose by two teaspoons of 2,4D per five gallons, and repeat the process after two weeks until there is nothing left but the pristine and well maintained grass.