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Shop Fall Pre-Emergent Herbicides

It has been a brutally hot summer. Then all of a sudden, I walk outside and I'm in the sixties!

With with those consistently cool mornings, that can mean only one thing...Fall is soon to follow.

And with Fall knocking, that means it's time...to get our fall pre emergent application down in the yard.

Ignore all of that. Just, just don't...yeah, that's another project for another time.

Remember that time when I said I was late to the game getting my pre and post emergent application down in the yard? Roll flashback!

I could have saved myself a whole bunch of work if I had put down an application of pre emgergents going into the fall. But like I had mentioned before, I missed that boat. Missed that window of opportunity and that's ok. Again, I'll just have to work extra hard in the spring and summer to really keep my lawn beautiful and healthy.

Will this time, I'm going to try and get ahead and stay ahead of the game by getting it down a little bit early.

Before we crack open our bottles and we start mixing up our chemicals, let's first talk about why you want to put down a fall pre and post emergent application.

The whole goal is to knock out an annual and perennial weeds you have thriving in the yard. And that's why we're mixing in a post emergent. You're also trying to put down a nice protective barrier with your pre emergent to prevent any kind of fall or over wintering weeds drifting into your yard, germinating and establishing themselves.

Now let's talk about winter annual weeds really quick. Winter annuals are weeds that germinate in late summer to early fall. They tend to grow through fall and in the winter through some warm spells and early spring. And just before temperatures start to jump in the spring time, this is when they start to seed themselves in the yard. Weeds like hinbit, chick weed and annual bluegrass, these are some of the weeds that you're going to have a problem with during this time.

So let's go a little bit further into why fall is a perfect time to put down a pre emergent.

It's been awhile since I've just sat down and enjoyed my yard! Very nice!

So one of the reasons fall is a great time to try and do some weed control, is this is when weeds start to store up food through the winter. They'll take their energy and food sources away from the leaves and move them down to the root system. Meh, it's kind of like squirrels storing up nuts for the winter. So spraying an herbicide in the fall time, just like the food, that chemical is going to move from the leaves, down to the root system.

And I've already briefly touched on this but if you're treating for an annual and perennial weed, you want to not only mix up a pre emergent but a post emergent as well.

Again the reason for this is the post emergent will kill off anything that's already growing and thriving in the yard and the pre emergent will give you that protective barrier against anything from floating in and germinating.

As far as the application timing is concerned, that's all going to vary depending on where you live. What region are you in? The climate, the weather patterns that you're having, all of that's going to play an affect on when you actually put down your application.

Now typically folks up north with cool season grasses, you'll sometimes apply during the Labor Day weekend, while us here in the south, it might be late October before we actually get an application down.

So for both cool and warm season, our window for applications is going to be anywhere from middle of August to about the middle of November. Again, it's all going to vary depending on where you live.

One thing to consider when thinking about putting down your application, is the air temperature outside. Most herbicides are really effective when you have air temperatures that are about fifty degrees or above.

Now if you're wrestling with this and you're just really unsure, one of the best things that you can do is reach out to your local extension office and get their opinion on when timing is right to put a pre and post emergent down in your yard.

So, I think that covers the main points, what do you say we get to mixing and spraying?

Back to our old back pack sprayer. So here's what we've got. We've got our pre emergent, we've got our post emergent, and I've got some marking dye. This is what I used when I did my spring application, it's what I'm going to use for my fall application.

And I've read the label of all three and they are safe to mix in the same tank. Which is another great point. Whatever products you choose, if you're thinking about mixing a pre and a post emergent, just make sure that you can mix them together. Read the product label thoroughly and it will tell you if you can or cannot do that.

So for my pre emergent, I'm doing an ounce per four gallons for 1,000 square feet, for my post emergent I'm doing four ounces for four gallons for a 1,000 square feet, and for my marking dye, I'm doing four ounces for four gallons for a 1,000 square feet. So let's get to mixing.

Alright, all mixed up, ready to spray!

That turf mark really does a good job of helping me keep track of where I've sprayed versus where I haven't sprayed, to make sure I have my nice, even coverage over the whole yard.

And boom! There we go! Fall pre and post emergent application is done!

You might have noticed that I didn't touch the back yard or spray on the side with the Bradford Pears, and that is for a very good reason. But that's another video for another time.

Again, if you want to know more about the products that I used for this video, I'll link them in the description box below and you can click over to the website and read all about them.

It's kind of sad to think that I'm not going to be out here as much when fall and winter get here.

I love using that turf mark to keep track of where I'm spraying and make sure I'm overlapping ever so slightly while I'm walking backwards through the yard making my application, but man is it messy! Use gloves! Try not to spray hard surfaces! Just be careful!

It feels so so good to be ahead of the game, and this application should help keep me there.

If you have any other further questions about anything we've talked about in this video, leave them in the comments section below, email the customer service staff, or pick up the phone, give us a call!

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And as always, thanks for watching!