Spring is the perfect time to plan the pre-emergent treatment of your garden beds. If you want your lawn to be weed-free, start with pre-emergents. The first and most effective step in preventing weeds throughout the growing season is to apply pre-emergent to ornamental plants when they are dormant. It requires a lot of hard, time-consuming labor to control weeds after they have emerged alongside the ornamentals.
Timely application of pre-emergent is crucial for weed management since it may be done in a single visit. Because pre-emergent herbicide remains in the soil after sprayed, accuracy is key when using it. The treatment effectively controls noxious weeds that germinate and grow from seed. Pre-emergent treatment is a crucial step in controlling weeds.
Common Weed Control Methods
If you want good grass all year round, you should incorporate preventative measures against early spring weed development into your lawn management program. Applying pre-emergent herbicides, hand-pulling, and spot-treating with post-emergent herbicides are some of the most common practices for controlling weeds in early spring. The three common methods are:
1. Pre-Emergence Herbicides
When applied to the soil, weed seeds quickly absorb pre-emergence herbicides as they germinate. After being absorbed by a weed, it prevents it from growing roots. In other words, PREs don’t stop seeds from germinating; they stop growth after germination.
Two things must happen for the weed to pick up PREs from the soil for effective weed control. First, be sure to moisten the substance into the soil. Applying a PRE to the ground and then letting it break down on top won’t do the job. Watering it in can percolate through the soil and reach the seedbed, where it will come into contact with the germinated seed. Second, ensure the PRE is mixed into the soil before the seed germinates. The PRE must be present and prepared for uptake without delay for optimal control. If administered too late, pre-emergence herbicides may nearly completely lose their efficacy. You should get your plants out sooner rather than later because certain PREs work on younger plants.
Best Time to Use Pre-Emergents
Which weed are you trying to eliminate? The answer will determine the time. It is reasonable to presume that annual grassy weeds like goosegrass (Eleusine indica) or crabgrass (Digitaria ischaemum) are present during spring. When most people think of when crabgrass will germinate, they usually picture soil temperatures that have warmed to a maintained 55 degrees F. So, before this occurs, we need to ensure our PRE gets soaked into the soil.
However, goosegrass is a bit more sluggish to germinate in the spring, waiting for soil temperatures to rise above 60–65 degrees F. One way to increase your PRE application’s control window is to divide the whole application rate in half. Half of the entire rate should be applied at the usual intervals before soil temperatures reach 55 F. After waiting one month, the remaining half should be applied. This can potentially capture both the later-germinating goosegrass and any stray crabgrass.
Types of Pre-Emergents
In turfgrass, three of the most common active components in pre-emergence herbicides are:
- Dithiopyr
- Prodiamine
- Pendimethalin
These active substances effectively control crabgrass and a wide range of other weeds. An excellent place to start looking for a pre-emergence weed control product contains one of the active compounds mentioned above. With the summer weeds gone, you’ll have more time to give your grass the boost it needs with a fertilizer treatment.
Picking the Right Pre-Emergent Herbicides
There is no magic bullet when controlling weeds using a pre-emergent herbicide. Some work better on annuals than perennials, and vice versa. Diverse weed killers exist; some excel at nixing broadleaf weeds, while others target nutsedge and other very tenacious weeds.
A few varieties of pre-emergent herbicides have the potential to be used with ornamental fertilizers. Not only will this improve the health of your plants, but it will also prevent weeds from developing. To aid in the prevention of weed development in your yard and flower beds, we have compiled a list of the most useful and often used pre-emergent herbicides for weed control:
- Tenacity
- Gallery
- Prodiamine
- Pendulum
- Barricade
- Dimension 2EW
- Spectacle Total
- Snapshot DG
- Vexis
Pre-Emergent Herbicide Application Instructions
Never Miss a Label. This is of the utmost importance. Reading the label before using any product is crucial. The label is the law. Much information is required, including whether or not it addresses your weed problem, the optimal time to apply the product, the amount to use, and more. This information may be found on the label. Read the label before using it.
Still, using a pre-emergent isn’t rocket science. A rotary spreader is the tool of choice for applying granular herbicides. A hose end sprayer is a tool if a tank mix is necessary.
Granules, when applied with a rotary spreader, are the most convenient and uniformly dispersed. No mixing is necessary; the only equipment you’ll need is a cheap spreader (assuming you don’t already have one).
2. Home Care Strategies for Controlling Weeds
You can keep these cool-weather weeds at bay with a few simple home care strategies, the most important of which are proper watering and mowing procedures. The amount and frequency of watering should be your primary concern when you plan your autumn watering strategies.
If you water your grass too much in the cooler months (late fall, winter, and early spring), the weeds will grow more aggressively when the weather warms up. You should modify your irrigation system to accommodate the higher rainfall in autumn and winter. If you’ve been watering your grass once or twice a week during the summer, reduce that frequency when the weather gets cooler and more rain falls. Your grass may only need watering every other week or month from now on, depending on the amount of precipitation. Overwatering your grass will encourage weed growth.
The two most important mowing practices to remember are when you mow your lawn for the first time in the spring and how high you mow it. Cut the grass short in the spring instead of waiting until later.
Because taller grass provides more shade, cooler soil temperatures are maintained. This can give the weeds the conditions to spread and colonize your lawn. Keeping your grass trimmed short allows the sun to reach the soil at an earlier stage, which speeds up the process by which your lawn emerges from its winter hibernation.
3. Post- Emergent Herbicides
A post-emergent pesticide kills weeds. To eradicate weeds that have previously sprouted, use a post-emergent herbicide. The use of post-emergent herbicides must be timed much like that of pre-emergent herbicides. When weeds are immature and their root systems aren’t fully developed, it’s best to use post-emergent herbicides. Temperature is another consideration. Post-emergent herbicides are most effective when soil temperatures range from 55 to 85 degrees in late spring and early summer.
The herbicide’s ability to penetrate the soil is compromised when the soil temperature is too low. The herbicide could scorch or harm the grass if the temperature is too high. However, it is crucial to use the right kind of post-emergent herbicide. Mistakenly selecting the incorrect post-emergent herbicide for your task might significantly harm your grass.
There are two distinct classes of post-emergent herbicides, each with its own method of eliminating weeds. The first one is picky. Unlike broad-spectrum herbicides, selective post-emergent herbicides destroy the weeds or grasses they target. Next, there’s the non-selective kind. For extensive turf removal, use a non-selective post-emergent herbicide. These products will destroy virtually any plant or grass. Determine if you want to kill weeds in a specific region or in general before applying post-emergent herbicide. You can use this information to determine whether a non-selective or selective post-emergent is necessary.
After you’ve settled on your goal, treat the area with herbicide using a handheld or backpack sprayer. Unless necessary, the same sprayer shouldn’t be used for selective and non-selective herbicides. Instead, use separate sprayers for each herbicide tank to avoid accidentally damaging your yard.
Conclusion
To maintain a lush lawn throughout the summer, lawn management in the spring is a must. If you want a lovely lawn in the spring, all you must do is follow these simple techniques to control weeds. Avoid having weeds become a problem on your lawn by consistently watering, feeding, and mowing throughout the growing season.
How Can WeedxFertilizing Help?
Our all-inclusive Lawn Care Program, together with our premium fertilizers, will help you achieve a lush, green lawn. Proper nutrition and care are essential for a good lawn, and we at WeedX Fertilizing know this.
Contact WeedX Fertilizing for weed control assistance. Weed control and fertilization are two of the most important parts of lawn care, and we want our clients to have both. It is critical to find the weed quickly so you can stop it from spreading, and we aim to do that exactly! Let us work on improving your home’s curb appeal.
If you want a program tailored to your lawn’s specific requirements, our professional staff is here to help. Call us at (484) 787-2733 or visit our website.