Pete's Notes

Spring 2023  is here and it is time to apply your pre-emerge herbicide to prevent the summer weeds such as clover, crabgrass, dandelion and many others.

Pre-emerge herbicides kill weed seedlings as they germinate and are successful  when the soil temperatures rise above 50 degrees. The herbicides can be applied to your lawn by either spraying or using a fertilizer that has the chemical in it. 

Taking a soil test will tell you exactly what is needed to produce a superior lawn. Most soils in central Alabama will have a ph of around 4.5.

Lime and lots of it is needed to bring the ph up to 6.5. This is when your fertilizers will have the most effect on your lawn, so pay close attention to this. You can send a soil sample to the Auburn Soils Lab and get a report back in just a few days. If you don't want to go through this process, just apply lots of lime and use a 13-13-13 fertilizer along with 32-0-0 and follow the instructions on the bag.​

​Spring Transition 

Green-up has started in Bermuda but is slow so far. March has been cool and wet so far and the grass is struggling to get started. Zoysia grass is ahead this year and seems to have come through the winter in good shape. 

Winter 2022-2023

Rain and more rain have all soils saturated and absence of oxygen in the soils is not healthy for any turfgrass lawns. Be prepared to apply fertilizer

early this late winter and early spring to counteract these conditions. Water moves the fertilizer through the soil and out of reach of the root system, so wait for a drying trend after mid February  to apply lime and fertilizer.