Now is the time to control weeds for the season!!!

I am often asked by golfers about how they should take care of their home lawns.  The answer to that question is longer than I wish to write in this blog.  However, the most important step to a healthy full lawn that is free of most weeds is an easy answer.  Now is the time to be applying a pre-emergent herbicide to you lawn.  My normal rule of thumb is to have this application down by tax day.  With the cold conditions we have had recently, that deadline could be extended by a week or two.



The intention of a spring application of pre-emergent herbicide is to keep summer annual weeds from germinating and causing season long problems.  The two primary targets of this application are crabgrass and goosegrass.  By making a proper application of a chemical called prodiamine, you can keep these grassy weeds out of your yard for the entire season.  If an application of a broad-leaf weed killer is made around the same time, your yard can be virtually weed free all summer long.



If you are needing to plant more seed in your yard, a pre-emergent herbicide is not what you need to be doing now.  A pre-emergent application will also keep grass seed from growing.  If the grass has germinated, but is still immature, the herbicide can kill it.  Please remember to follow the directions on all chemical and fertilizer applications that you make to your yard.  You may think that "if a little is good, more is better" but sometimes more means dead.

If you ever have questions about how to improve or maintain your lawn, please find me at the course and ask.  I am happy to share any knowledge that I have.  I won't come do it for you, but I will tell you how to do it.

If you want to know all of the answers, here is a link to a guide put out by K-State Research and Extension.

http://blogs.k-state.edu/turf/a-homeowner-step-by-step-tall-fescue-and-kentucky-bluegrass-lawn-guide/