By Daryl Davidson
You may notice after all this rain and flooding around the country your local sports field, park or home lawn may be infested with weeds.
This is probably because your grass is struggling from the weather. With cold wet temperatures and no sunlight, the weed seeds are taking advantage of the situation.
Most seeds can lay dormant in the soil for years waiting for the right time to germinate and while the turf is currently weak and growing up in the air trying to reach some sun light instead of spreading laterally, the weed seeds are taking advantage of this terrible weather event.
Weed seeds can be transported with things like wind, water, humans, animals and machinery.
It is impossible to stop weeds from entering your property but there are things you can do to prevent an outbreak.
1. Hand weed as soon as you see a weed, as if that weed starts to seed it can produce hundreds even thousands of seeds.
2. Use a selective herbicide to kill the weed.
3. Mow your grass with a catcher attached to the mower to collect the seeds before they hit the ground.
4. Clean your machinery before transporting between sites.
5. Try to divert storm water runoff from running onto your field, thus may be hard as a lot of sports fields double up as a retention basin.
6. Use a pre-emergent herbicide to prevent seed from geminating.
If using a pre-emergent herbicide it’s alway important to follow the label, heavy rain periods can shorten the effectiveness of the product as it leaches out of the soil. You might have to bring a second application a week or two forward so you are protected.
Some people may be treating there weeds every year and they are not getting the same results like they have in the past. If so, first check what chemical or chemicals you have been using as the weeds may have come resistant to it. If so, try a different herbicide.
If you are having any troubles trying to control a weed or weeds in your turf, feel free to check out our free pesticide manual on our website
internationalgreenkeepers.com/free-education or email us at internationalgreenkeepersfh@gmail.com
