Lawn Irrigation Most of us cringe when asked how much and how often we should water our lawns. Well, cringe no more! There is a very simple way to determine how long to run our lawn irrigation, and a simpler way to determine how often to run it!  Better yet, once you determine the “magic number”, you will not have to do it again! (I know that most people pick a “magic number” out of the sky to determine how long your sprinkler will run.) No more guesswork! Each lawn [...]

Many people are asking whether to water their lawns in the winter. In Central Texas, that can be a loaded question. Some winters, the temperatures do not drop low enough for a long enough time for our lawns to even go dormant. In that case, if we do not receive ½” of rain, we would advise watering about ½” every two weeks. During our colder winters, when grass turns brown and goes dormant, the roots still remain viable and grow very slowly.  In the absence of rain, a monthly watering [...]

Remember the old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? That certainly applies to the use of pre-emergent herbicides. Who wouldn’t prefer spreading a product on our lawns and beds that STOPS the weed BEFORE it comes up? A real no-brainer for me! Because weeds are classified as “warm-season or cool-season”, according to the temperature at which they germinate, we can address a particular weed we have by timing the application of pre-emergent appropriately. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Timing is everything [...]

Weed and Feed Why are Weed and Feed products not recommended in Central Texas? It’s simple, really. For spring application, we address both pre- and post-emergent weed problems early in the season, many times before the grass has re-emerged from winter dormancy. The grass will not require fertilizer until it has emerged in the spring and has been growing well enough to have been mowed at least two times. For fall application, we address the weed seeds early, by using pre-emergent in mid-September to October, BEFORE they have germinated. We [...]

March-April is the time to wake up the SOIL! As we watch our lawns begin to green up and grow enough to mow them, they will benefit from an application of an organic fertilizer to aid in their carbohydrate production. The general "rule of thumb" is to apply fertilizer to lawns after you have mowed it 2-3 times. However, that applies to chemical forms of nitrogen, not organic forms. (Avoid  chemical forms of fertilizer with a very high nitrogen analysis. High nitrogen can predispose lawns to diseases such as Take [...]

Remember the old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? That seems to have been written about the use of pre-emergent herbicides. Who wouldn’t prefer spreading a product on our lawns and beds that STOPS the weed BEFORE it comes up? A real no-brainer for me! Because weeds are classified as “warm-season or cool-season” according to the temperature at which they germinate, we can address a particular weed we may have by timing the application of pre-emergent appropriately. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it [...]

Lawn Watering in Central Texas Understanding the water needs of our lawns will ensure greater success with maintaining a healthy lawn. A lawn that is properly watered can compete aggressively with weeds and avoid stress that contributes to lawn diseases. LAWNS:  Creating a deep root system is probably the single-most important goal during hot weather.  Lawns should be watered to a depth of 6 inches during each irrigation.  To calculate the length of time to run irrigation, collect several empty tuna fish cans or cat food cans and set them [...]