Spring lawn season is officially here in Minnesota, and homeowners are advised to do some careful planning before rushing to the garden center.
Minnesota Ag Department agronomist Denton Bruening says the first step is figuring out exactly what’s growing in your yard…
“Just do an assessment of what type of weeds you have and so that you can plan your pesticides accordingly. Does your lawn, does it have crabgrass? Maybe you’ve got creeping charlie, that’s a broadleaf. That way you can coordinate to your pesticides, to the weeds.”
Bruening says matching pesticides to specific weeds helps avoid unnecessary chemicals and keeps treatments targeted.
Bruening also says reducing weeds in your lawn or garden doesn’t always require chemicals and pesticides. He says simple changes in lawn maintenance can often make a big difference…
“There’s always other things that you can do to make the weeds not grow. One of them is actually just keep your lawns a little longer. If you keep your lawns at about that four inch level, what’ll happen is that’ll shade the weeds from coming through. If you’re shading the weeds from keeping them coming through, you might be able to get by with just some spot spraying.”
Experts say using mulch, cover crops, and following good mowing practices can cut costs, protect water quality, and keep lawns healthy all season long.
(content: courtesy MNN)
