Sometimes people have the belief that their yard is too far gone to have a pretty yard. Nothing could be further from the truth. I understand it can be overwhelming, but here are a few basics that can help. First, understand that there are winter weeds that germinate in the Fall and Summer weeds that germinate in the Spring. One of the most important things you can do for your lawn to reduce weed pressure is to apply pre-emergent twice a year.
When applying pre-emergent in the Fall, you want it down typically by the time the ground temperature reaches 70 degrees. When applying pre-emergent in the Spring, you want to have the pre-emergent down before the ground temperature reaches 55 degrees. Well, when is that you may ask? There are a lot of weather factors, which can determine the right time application window for ground temperature, but one of the tools I use in my business is a website by Syngenta and I’ll include a link below. Not only does it provide the current ground temperature, but also last year’s data and averages from the past 5 and 10 years.
Here in the East Texas Area the clock is ticking to get out pre-emergent for summer weeds especially crabgrass which is one of the most problematic weeds we have. I’m sure a lot of you have crabgrass issues, which can be a problem because it chokes out the favorable summer grasses root systems and consumes your lawn’s valuable nutrients and moisture.
It would also be time and labor intensive to pull out every crabgrass plant that grows. It spreads so quickly that by the time you discover and remove a single plant, enough seed to start thousands of new crabgrass plants have been spread all over your yard by mowing, water, and wind.
It does not matter how committed you are to the process. The only effective way to eliminate crabgrass is to stop the plants before they start – in the soil. If you are uncomfortable applying pre-emergent to your own, this is where the Lawn Doctor can help.
What happens after the crabgrass is gone? Having room for the roots to stretch out and grow is obviously good for your lawn’s health and adding in regular fertilization to your lawn will boost nutrition and will be a real game changer.
