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Black Medic Vs. White Clover

16 years ago

My lawn seems to be amassing a large population of Black Medic - At first I thought it was clover, but then when I saw the yellow flowers I had to consult my weed book. Turns out this is in the legume family, same as Clover, and is a nitrogen fixer, same as clover.

Does anyone know if I will run in to problems letting it go? or Should i start attacking it? It seems to grow in the bare spots where my grass is week or non existant. If it was clover, I wouldn't have any concern and i kind of like that it keeps things green in the summer when the grass is dry.

Featured Answer

chris_ont

16 years ago

I get my deep-rooted agressions out when attacking black medic. I gather up all the runners, which gives me a good hand-full, and then manipulate the thing out of the ground (yanking it only breaks the root). Very satisfying. This works especially well after a rain, or watering. Then I "fill" the bare spot with DW clover or grass seed, depending on the location and time of year.
To me, pulling weeds (except for dandelions) is therapy.

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Comments (7)

lou_spicewood_tx
16 years ago
Black Medic is terrible weed. White dutch clover is so much better... Black medic seems to be very invasive and grow in any type of soil anywhere with no problem. Earlier this spring, the entire neighborhood park was covered in black medic! I dont seem them anywhere now but they seem to thrive in cool and wet weather.
bpgreen
16 years ago
Black medic seems to thrive in hot dry weather, too. I like clover, but I hate black medic. One problem with black medic is the way one plant will choke out grass as it spreads out low over the ground. I have very little of it now, but I used to have a lot of it. I'd see a big patch of it, and discover it was only one plant. I'd pull it out and it would leave a giant bare spot behind where it had choked out all the grass.
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esobofh
Original Author
16 years ago
Dang... alright, guess I better get my hunting gun. (Weed hound heh.. )
iowa50126
16 years ago
I was pretty much black medic free until 2 summers ago I bought a lot of bagged compost and spread it in the areas I was over seeding. The next year I had tons of B-M in those same areas.

Coincidence? It's really the only weed I have in significant quantities. Oh well, stuff happens.

The first year I used my Weed-hound to pull it. But, It was tricky to find the center of the plant and pull the tap root. Some times I had 3 holes in the turf and still had not found the darned root. I blamed my bifocals for the poor aim. (grin)

This year it was cool and wet and the B-M came back with a vengeance. I declared a "black medic police action". So I "lapsed from the organic faith" and filled my hand spray bottle with some deadly 2-4-D, diluted to 75% of the labeled rate.

I use a plastic shrub rake to pull up the B-M stems and then hit it with the spray. "Another one...bites the dust!"

To use an overly used movie clichÃ© ...

"I love the smell of 2-4-D in the morning...it...smells like...Victory!"
lou_spicewood_tx
16 years ago
yikes. 2-4-D will kill my trees! Hell will come if someone used it on windy days and ends up killing my trees.
lynn18
14 years ago
What is/Where do you get 2-4-D? I have been fighting patches of Black Medic for 3 years, hate the stuff.

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