The Master Gardener Articles

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Mowing Season will Soon be Here! 
Prepared by Bobbi Brown, Union County Master Gardener

It’s soon going to be mowing season and many of us are once again trying for the perfect lawn. If weeds are your problem, then here are some things you can do to control them. Treat your grass with pre-emergent herbicides (which kills plants as they germinate), and post-emergent herbicides (which kills plants that have grown to the seedling stage and beyond). If you follow a good fertility program, the grass will fill in the voids where the weeds had been. This will result in a dense lush lawn.

For crabgrass to germinate the temperature must reach 52-54 degrees at night for 5 consecutive nights under moist soil conditions.  Some crabgrass germinates in April but most of it doesn’t germinate until May.  Typically, you should apply a pre-emergent herbicide by April 15th-22nd in central Ohio. If you miss the crabgrass germination period, then you can apply a post-emergent herbicide in early June when plants are about 1 inch tall. This approach will probably take multiple applications, using a herbicide that contains methanearsonate.

Broadleaf weeds such as dandelions and chickweed are best treated in September but mid- May to mid-June is also acceptable.  Use a trimec product that contains a 2,4-D, MCPP and dicamba.  Some people like a little clover in their lawn.  If you are not one of them, you can control it in mid-May to mid-June or mid-September to mid-October using a product containing triclopyr. In newly seeded lawns, you should only treat with a herbicide after the lawn has been mowed at least 3 times.  If this takes you past the mid-May to mid-June date, then wait until mid-September to early October to apply the herbicide.   Ultimately, you want to get your lawn healthy enough to crowd out the weeds so you don’t have to use herbicides.  By fertilizing, mowing properly (taking no more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time) and good irrigation (about one inch every 5-7 days), you can achieve your goal.

The Master Gardener Offers horticulture advice and tips, focusing on current issues by volunteers who are with The Ohio State University Extension, Union County Master Gardener Program. For answers to gardening questions, call 937.644.8117 or e-mail gmcvey@ag.osu.edu. Hourse are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday