What is the biggest question that we have about lawns?  Of course, it is how do I get rid of the stickers in my yard.  That is a hard question to answer.  To tell people that you should spray in the fall to keep them from coming up in the spring.  Most people don’t realize that once the sticker forms, you cannot get rid of it.  You need to kill the weed before the sticker forms.  Try explaining that!  

Using a preemergence herbicide application in the fall will help with this matter.  Preemergence herbicides should be applied in November to prevent weed germination.  Fertilome makes a product called Atrazine that is a good preemergence herbicide.  Mix 9 ounces to a gallon of water plus a couple of teaspoons of a surfactant(spreader sticker) to the mix and start walking.  This should cover about a 1000 square ft, depending how fast you walk and how much you put out at a time with the sprayer.  Atrazine is labeled to spray St Augustine and centipede lawns.  Do not use on bermuda.  You can also mix another Fertilome product called Weed Free Zone to the mix.  Use 1 oz of the Weed Free Zone to a gallon.  

Another thing you could do in the fall is to take soil samples.  This will help you decide what kind of fertilizer you need to use in the spring.  A soil sample will also tell you weather or not you need to spread lime in the yard.  Ninety percent of the land in Webster Parish needs lime.  You can spread the lime and fertilizer at the same time.  If you get your soil sample results back soon enough, you could put out the lime, if needed, now.  The sooner you apply it the faster it will do some good.  

All of this information proves that keeping up the lawn is a full time job.  It is worth all of the work when you look outside and see how pretty the grass is.  

(Mitzi Thomas owns Minden Farm & Garden LLC. Watch for her column on Fridays in Webster Parish Journal.)