Category: Lawn and Landscape Care

Last week I posted a photo on the Village Green’s Facebook page. The photo which you can see here, shows a lawn that isn’t using Village Green for fertilization and weed control. As you can see from this photo, there is a lot of green in their yard which you would think is good. It is not. That much green in January is bad. It means their lawn has far too many winter weeds. During the winter months we have a saying at Village Green, ‘brown in beautiful.’ A brown lawn in winter means it is mostly free from weeds which will lead to a thriving and healthy lawn come spring and summer.

To understand why, it important to know a little more about weeds.

Fortunately for us in North Texas it is rare for cold weather that is well below freezing to last that long (we’re too close to the Gulf of Mexico.) And while it may be uncomfortable to us humans (and pets,) the truth is these cold temps aren’t that big of a problem for our plants.

There are two types of weeds, the kind that sprout from seeds and those that come back from their roots every year. Apply a winter pre-emergent will create a barrier in the soil, blocking most weed seeds from growing which means we only have to spot treat the weeds that are coming back from their roots. These treatments while the lawn is dormant in the winter cut spring weeds dramatically. This saves time and more importantly herbicides.

The exception to this is St. Augustine lawns. They are very sensitive to being treated with products and blanket treating a St. Augustine lawn with a weed control products will often stunt its growth. While we do apply a winter pre-emergent to St. Augustine, we apply it at about half the recommended rate. Our goal with St. Augustine is to make it so happy and healthy with watering and correct fertilizer the rest of the year that during the winter it is too thick for weeds to touch the soil. I call this Mother Nature’s weed control!

At Village Green we can’t prevent all weeds, but we can prevent most of them. If you need help with your lawn this year, give us a call at 972-495-6990 or email me at Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com. We’ve been helping our neighbors improve the health and beauty of their lawns and landscapes for over thirty five years and have a lot of experience and answers when it comes to fertilization and weed control in North Texas.

Many of our customers wrongly assume that leaving fall leaves on their lawn is a good thing. Actually it is not, and the reason why surprises many of our customers.

When you leave your leaves (that’s a mouthful!) on your lawn it becomes accustomed to the added protection the leaves provide. Then, when that inevitable North Texas wind blows, the leaves will move exposing your lawn from the cold which could leave to freeze damage if our temps drop low enough.

Another concern is that leaves hold moisture in the lawn which sounds good in theory, but often leads to fungal problems in lawns in our area.

St. Augustine is especially susceptible to both freeze damage and fungal problems so piles of leaves is very bad for our St. Augustine customers.

Now that I’ve hopefully convinced you to get rid of your leaves, what do I recommend as the best way to clean them up in the fall? A mulching lawn mower is the way to go, simply shred them every couple of weeks. If you shred them, most of the time you won’t end up with nearly as many bags than if you simply rake and bag them.

Finally, what should you do with leaves in your landscape beds? Think of it as free mulch for the winter and let the leaves stay put (or use some of the shredded leaves from lawn in your beds.)

If you have any lawn or landscape related questions give us a call at 972-495-6990 or email me at Ken@VillageGreen-Inc.com. We’ve been helping our neighbors improve the health and beauty of their lawns and landscapes for over thirty five years and have a lot of experience and knowledge in what plants and trees will thrive in North Texas, which will save you time and money in the long run.