The best time to fertilize your lawn is NOT the best time to kill weeds.

Let’s first talk about fertilizing. The number of times you fertilize your lawn is up to you, but most lawns do nicely with three fertilizations per year. In the fall, we recommend feeding the lawn when temperatures cool off around Labor Day. Your lawn has usually broken its summer dormancy by that time and is looking for food for its fall growth.

Then feed the lawn before Halloween. This fertilization promotes a strong root system, which is the key to a strong turf. Grass roots keep growing until the ground freezes around Thanksgiving. Any fertilizer not used by the lawn in fall will be used in early spring, giving you a quick green up. If you only fertilize one time of year, do it in mid to late October.

Now here is the rub. The best time to kill weeds is neither around Labor Day nor Halloween. It’s right now, after the first frost.

That’s because weeds are smart. Creeping Charlie, for example, knows how to prepare for winter. He realizes that the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. So in late September through mid October, Charlie starts to channel food from his leaves down to his root system for winter storage.

That’s where we get the last laugh. If we spray the leaves of Creeping Charlie in late fall, he will accidentally channel the herbicide down to his roots (along with his food). Charlie dies! The same goes for other perennial weeds such as dandelions, clover, and thistles.

One last point. Many of us use weed-and-feed fertilizers, which are usually sold in granular form. When it comes to FERTILIZING, granular forms are just as good as liquid fertilizer sprays. In fact, granular forms may be superior since they are more likely to contain slow-release nitrogen (a big plus).

But when it comes to KILLING weeds, sprays are best. That’s because herbicides need to be absorbed by the leaves of the weeds to kill. You usually get superior absorption of herbicides onto weed leaves by using sprays. The leaves of some weeds, such as clover, are too limp to hold onto and absorb the grains of herbicide. Also, most weed-and-feed granular fertilizers lack salt of dicamba, which is the most powerful weed killing chemical available to homeowners.

To sum it up: if weeds in your lawn are a problem, don’t wait to spring. Go get them! Use a liquid herbicide spray. Then give your lawn a tasty treat of fertilizer before Halloween.

Due to the early spring and hot temperatures this summer, we are seeing an explosion of wasps now. Warm weather has allowed the queens to lay an incredible amount of eggs this summer and wasp populations are soaring! Many nests have several hundred or more wasps competing with us for food. That’s dangerous! Don’t confuse wasps with bees. Wasps, which include yellowjackets and hornets, can be very aggressive. They can sting you several times without dying. Bees, on the other hand, are naturally docile and will only sting if they are under attack. It’s pretty easy to tell wasps and bees apart: wasps are glossy while bees are fuzzy. Yellowjackets and hornets start to get more aggressive this time of year as their natural food supplies dwindle. Their food preferences also change; instead of eating caterpillars, they prefer sweets and carbohydrates (human food). This attracts them toward us! The best way to handle wasps is to avoid them. When eating outdoors, wait to serve food until people are ready to eat. Examine glasses and cans before drinking from them to check for wasps that may have flown inside. If a wasp flies to your food, wait for it to fly away or gently brush it away. After eating, promptly put away food and throw any garbage into a container with a tightly-fitting lid. The good news is that wasp nests will eventually die from a hard frost. If you find a nest in a remote area, just leave it alone and let it die naturally. But if a nest is in a hazardous area, now is the time to take action. Be smart (and cautious) if you try to kill a wasp nest. The German yellowjacket is the most common wasp that lives in ground nests. They can often be killed by quickly dumping a 5-gallon pail of soapy water into or near the entrance hole. Wait until the next sunny day and see if the wasps keep using the hole. If soapy water doesn’t work, sprinkle Sevin dust or a wasp-killing spray into the hole. That should do the job. Hornets don’t build nests in the ground. Rather, they build a football-sized, papery nest along the eaves of buildings or on a limb of a tree. Shoot a wasp-killing spray into the entrance of the nest. These wasp-killing sprays can be shot from a distance of 20 feet or more. These sprays are “knock-down” killers and kill the pests immediately on contact. Always, always kill wasps at night! They are less aggressive at night and will all be in the nest. A cool night is best. Wasps are less likely to fly when temperatures are in the 50s or cooler. Lastly, show some respect to wasps or they will give you a painful lesson. Wear protective clothing. Don’t alert them to your presence when you try to kill them. After you spray their nest, get out of the area!

We’re in the midst of another drought this summer, the third one in a row. The following are some frequently asked questions on how to manage drought in our home landscapes:

Is it more important to water my lawn or my trees?
Most of our lawns have turned pale and yellow. That is okay. There is nothing wrong in letting your lawn take a summer nap. You can take a break from lawn care, too. You can both be happy. Watering the lawn is usually less critical compared to watering the other plants in your landscape. The top priority should be young trees and shrubs, especially those that were planted within the past two years. These plants lost most of their roots during the planting process and they need special care. Besides, these plants are expensive to replace. The second priority is your garden. Many vegetables and flowers will die unless they get a drink now and then. The lowest priorities are mature trees and the lawn. These plants can tolerate drought better than other landscape plants.

When should I water?
Watering in the morning is best. The plants are active and will absorb the water they need. Any extra water will evaporate, keeping the leaves dry and preventing disease problems. Watering during the middle of the day is not recommended. Much of the water you apply will evaporate before the plants are able to absorb it. The worst time to water is during the evening. Water will sit on the leaves all night, leading to diseases. In general, avoid overhead sprinkling to prevent disease problems. Apply the water at the base of the plants. This makes sense, right? Plants do not drink through their leaves, so why do we water the leaves of plants?

How often should I water?
Most landscape plants need 1 to 1½ inch of water per week, whether from you or from Mother Nature. Most Altoona landscapes have a sandy soil. Sandy soils can only hold ½ inch of water at one time. Therefore, a deep watering two or three times a week is the most efficient way. Roots will grow where the water is. If you water deeply, the roots will naturally grow deeper. People who sprinkle the surface every day or so will develop a shallow root system that is susceptible to drought damage.

How much should I water my lawn?
Set up some containers around the lawn (tuna cans work well for this). Keep the sprinkler going and measure the time it takes until the proper amount of water (½ inch on sandy soils and 1 inch on clay soils) falls into the containers. Use this as your base time for future watering.

How much water does my tree need?
Apply 10–12 gallons of water per inch diameter of tree. So if your tree is 2 inches in diameter, apply 20–24 gallons of water per week, when needed.