Watering

You would think we would not have to worry too much about keeping our grass saturated during the winter months with all the rain we had in 2002. But if your grass becomes too dry, there is a chance of damaging the roots and stunting its growth. More damage can occur during the winter months due to low temperatures than to dryness damage. Your grass is living plant material that needs to be cared for year round. Because of dryness, St. Augustine grass requires water every 15 days and Bermuda grass at least once a month during the winter. During growing season, watering for short periods, i.e. five to ten minutes, every other day will only promote shallow roots and more stress. But watering once or twice a week with one inch of water will help develop a deeper root system, which will enable your turf to handle the stress of heat and drought.

If your turf has an abundance of weeds from this past winter, they can inhibit your turf's healthy transition to the spring growing season. If no action is taken, it will be left weak and nutrient deficient, resulting in the turf being thin and very susceptible to an attack of weeds and other undesirable plants. What can you do to protect your turf?

Weed Control

An application of pre-emergent herbicide will help control crabgrass by preventing seedlings from establishing in the turf. But if you did not get a chance for a fall application, a post-emergent herbicide is used to treat the weeds after germination. Post-emergent herbicides are applied on annual grasses after weeds have germinated and begin to mature. To prepare for the growing season, most professional landscape companies will apply a pre- and post-emergent down in February. This procedure is performed to control annual weedy grasses after the seed has germinated and the weeds start forming leaves.

Pre-emergent Herbicidal Control

• Apply pre-emergent herbicides prior to weed seed germinating. Apply pre-emergent to new turf after its third mowing.
• Do not apply pre-emergent if you will be seeding.
• Never apply pre-emergent to soil before laying sod.
• Avoid application in heavily shaded areas. This can cause herbicide injury because of the previous shaded conditions.
• Never over-apply the pre-emergent.
• When applying any herbicides, apply it uniformly, at the correct rate and watered in sufficiently. If applied streaky or patchy, this will not form a chemical barrier of protection and will allow weeds to still grow.

• Apply post-emergent crabgrass herbicides to new seedlings only after the third cutting.
• To control mature weeds, a second application of a post-emergent can be applied after four to seven days. It is important to irrigate with one inch of water after the last treatment to minimize damage to the turf.
• The temperature recommended for application of organic arsenicals is between 70 to 85 degrees. Other conditions, such as shade or cloudy weather with cooler weather, reduce the effectiveness of the applicant.

• Mow as high as practical during the summer months. Each species of grass has a specific recommended height. For St. Augustine and Buffalo Grass mow at 3 inches and for Bermuda and Zoysia mow at 2-2 ˝ inches. Doing this will preclude some weeds germinating because of the dependency on high light intensity.
• Frequency of mowing is important. You do not want to remove more than 1/3 of the grass blade per mowing, because turf density will be reduced … so in the springtime you may be mowing every three to five days.
• The use of a sharp blade will allow the grass to heal faster. Sharpen the blade every five to six mowings.
• Proper irrigation helps in the reduction of weeds and encourages the development of a stronger turf with a deep root system. With a preemergent applied, you have to frequently water the area with at least ˝ inch saturation.
• Proper fertilization should be followed according to the species of turf, environmental conditions, mowing practices and turf use. Using the wrong fertilization program can do more harm than good. For best results it is recommended that a slow release nitrogen fertilizer be used.
• Aeration at least once a year will help control thatch and reduce soil compaction.

McAfee, James A. “Get a Grip on Winter Weeds With Preemergent.” September 1997. Texas Agricultural Extension Service. January 2003.

McAfee, James A. “Keys to Keeping Your Lawn Healthy Now ...and Later.” January 1997. Texas Agricultural Extension Service. January 2003.

Baumann, Paul A. and Ketchersid, Mary L. “Protecting the Environment Using Integrated Weed Management in Lawns.” September 1999. Texas Agricultural Extension Service. January 2003.