Weed and feed products help you multitask as you care for your lawn, adding fertilizer and herbicide in the exact same moment. However, not all weed and feed goods will get the job done for your lawn, and a few are developed for particular times annually. Check the details on the weed and feed label to obtain the best product for your needs.
Early Spring Applications
Most weeds don’t sprout from the first spring, wanting the heat of late spring to early summer to start poking through the soil. However, using a weed and feed with a pre-emergent herbicide can stop the weeds, especially hardy ones such as crabgrass, from germinating before they begin. The very best option early in the season is a weed and feed which has low nitrogen, such as a 5-10-10. Giving your grass too much nitrogen too early in the growing season can allow it to turn green quickly, but it can cause the grass to come up with shallow roots.
Late-Spring Applications
Later in the spring, some weeds have likely appeared, particularly broad-leaf weeds such as dandelions. The ideal weed and feed for a late-spring application is one which has a post-emergent herbicide which can fall on the weed leaves and then kill them. Choose one with a higher nitrogen content, such as a 30-10-10, ever since your grass has had more of an opportunity to establish deep roots. A slow-release fertilizer will continue feeding your grass into the summer, so that’s your very best option.
Fall Applications
About Labor Day, treat your lawn with a different round of weed and feed. The very best fall option is one that’s high in phosphorus, including a 13-25-12, which promotes root development and will help the grass bounce back from the spring. Use one with a post-emergent herbicide, since fall is an perfect time to kill weeds. The weeds are drawing nutrients from the leaves into the origins to help them prepare for cold weather, and they will immediately draw the herbicide in rather.
Considerations
Utilizing a weed and feed in just four weeks of planting new grass seed can keep the seeds from germinating, so stick to your straight fertilizer in areas you seeded. Also, start looking for weed and feed products which don’t contain dicamba, metasulfron and atrazine, which can run off into different areas of your lawn and damage ornamental plants and trees in your flower bed. According to scientists from the City of Austin, Texas, atrazine is a problem near waterways as it remains in the water and can harm wildlife and plants. If you don’t have a huge weed issue in your lawn, think about pulling weeds which seem or spraying them individually with a liquid weed killer instead of broadcasting the chemical herbicide over your entire lawn.
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