As unpleasant as some of this tropical moisture has been for some, it has been an excellent opportunity to get fescue and winter annuals established. Hopefully, you seeded early in September and this water is helping to turn your lawn or pasture into a beautiful stand. As frost approaches, it’s time to shift gears and realize that planting things like fescue, rye or wheat aren’t going to be so productive. Once we get that first hard frost, it’s time to evaluate winter annual and perennial weeds for the coming winter months.
Scout your pasture or lawn for weeds like chickweed, buttercup, purple deadnettle or henbit. These weeds are called winter annual weeds, that won’t look like much now, but if left uncontrolled, wreak havoc on your stand of desirable grasses. Perennial and biennial weeds will also survive the frost event, so it’s a great time to evaluate your situation. What should you do? That depends on the type and coverage of which particular weed. It is important to realize though, that if you don’t control them now, you’ll have no options when they begin blooming in early spring.
Fall is also a great time to evaluate your mulching, for planting perennials, shrubs and trees, and for settling your equipment in for winter. Now is the time to make sure you have ethanol-free fuel and fuel stabilizer in your equipment. This will prevent them from being gummed up when you need them in the spring. This is a great time to get a soil test as well, to determine how much lime your plots need to ensure your soil pH is at sufficient levels for the next growing season.
As always, if you have questions, feel free to call or email them to [email protected]. We’d love to help you save time and money. Our information is research based, unbiased information from the University of Georgia and Extension system.
