September 2024

The calendar says Sept. 22 is the first day of fall; however, it still feels like summer. When I went outside to get garden chores done this morning, it felt like a sauna. There was no breeze, and it was already in the 80s. At least the temperatures are much cooler at night now. One of the fall gardening chores that should be undertaken to maintain landscapes is the application of a fall pre-emergent herbicide to prevent winter weeds in the lawn. Pre-emergents work by preventing weed seeds from sprouting. Specific dates for applications of pre-emergence herbicides are difficult to give due to varying environmental conditions for each year. Applications must be made before weeds emerge - hence the name pre-emergent. Winter annual weeds germinate in late September and October in Oklahoma and die the following summer so OSU recommends that application of a pre-emergent needs to be done, generally, starting around Sept. 15 in Oklahoma because those weeds are getting ready to germinate. When the soil temperatures cool and the rains come, so will the winter weeds.