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 [...]

Sticker Bur Control We get many questions throughout the year regarding control of stickers in the home lawn. Some of the stickers come from the Bur Clover plant, and others come from the Field Sandbur plant. Control for each type of sticker bur relates to the time of the year that the seed germinates. Bur Clover (Medicago sp.) is an annual weed that has a similar appearance to the white clover plant. The plant has round stems and three leaflets which are oval or egg-shape. The flowers of bur clover [...]

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 [...]