It is that time of the year again. Now is the best time to start preparing your garden for the weeds that may begin to germinate soon. Think about trying a pre-emergent herbicide to help create a protective layer over your lawn to prevent the early weeds from growing. Early spring in our area is the perfect time to apply a pre-emergent, so around Valentine’s day is good timing. Getting ahead of weeds is one of the best options for weed control.
Once weed seeds begin to germinate and grow, they are taking necessary water and nutrients from other plants in your garden. If you apply a pre-emergent you can buy yourself some time from early emerging summer annuals such as lambsquarters, common mallow as well as pigweed. These are all very aggressive weeds that have developed much resistance to post emergent herbicides. Not allowing these weeds to mature and produce more seeds with resistant qualities will help maintain your garden and keep it from getting out of hand and preventing you from enjoying any beauty in your garden in the coming Spring and Summer.
If you want to avoid mechanical methods of removing weeds remember to apply a pre-emergent to lessen the amount of germinating seeds and any that you may miss be sure to attack when they are still very small and easier to pull by hand. If you are proactive and prevent the accumulation of weeds seeds in your garden, you will be very thankful of the results when your flowers and vegetables do not have to compete for resources and your garden is very clean and happy looking.
For more information, call the AgriLife office at 498-4071 in Odessa or at 686-4700 in Midland, email jeanette.castanon@ag.tamu.edu or visit aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu or westtexasgardening.org.
