Fall Weed Control: Stop Them Before They Start

As the heat of the summer begins to subside, homeowners are starting to gear up for the upcoming fall season. Not only does this mean breaking out the decorative hay bales and adorning your house in brightly colored leaves, but it also means prepping your lawn for the change of season. With the beginning of fall comes the blossoming of fall weeds, choking out your once beautiful lawn and leaving it a haunting mess. To avoid this outcome, it is important for you to take steps in preventing fall weeds before they even see the sun.

Fertilizer

We often take for granted that our lawn sprouts up green every spring, not paying much attention to the care the new grass needs to continue to flourish. To help make sure your lawn keeps on looking great throughout the year, you should continually fertilize it. “What does this have to do with weeds?”, you may ask. Well, when grass receives additional nutrients, the roots grow stronger and bigger, filling up the gaps in the dirt where weeds tend to grow. By fertilizing your lawn, you will not only be creating healthy, abundant grass — you will also be suffocating any weed that was planning to grow.

Herbicide

If you know weeds have already invaded your lawn, your best option is to turn to herbicide to get your lawn weed free again. Fall is the perfect time to target emerging and dormant weeds to ensure they aren’t there again by spring. The best method is to use pre- and post-emergent herbicide to target both the weeds that have already sprouted and the ones that are waiting to strike, still hidden in the soil. Choose the time to spray based on your region’s temperature. The best time is before the weather gets below 50 degrees, which could be right now, or well into October, depending on your residency.

Mowing

As is good practice for lawn mowing in general, you should always mow your grass tall, at least two inches above ground. This should be done to keep the soil beneath properly shaded for a variety of reasons. Choking out sunlight will not only prevent weeds from getting the sunlight they need to grow, but it will also shade the soil from the harsh sun. The taller the blade, the bigger and stronger the roots will be. The bigger the roots, the less room for weeds to push through and grow from their seedling form.

Many people choose to wait until weeds start taking over their lawn before they take any action. Once weeds start, however, it is much harder to get rid of them again. By stopping them before they start, or taking action as soon as you see even a hint of a weed, you can stop the potential onslaught that would happen had you just left them alone.

Written by Clark Jones, owner of Tree Frog Complete Grounds Maintenance. Tree Frog is the best company for landscaping Columbia MO has to offer.

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