We’ve got a big event Saturday at Cinco Ranch Ace Hardware … more on that below.
But first, I want to emphasize that Southeast Texas is coming up on an important two-month stretch of lawn care. In October and November, it’s time for fall feeding or winterizing, applying pre-emergent weed control, and proactive and even preventative brownpatch control.
This also brings up a “peel back the curtain” moment … how I and the GardenLine show run interference for you, shielding you from the ignorance and lack of knowledge displayed by PR and marketing firms when it comes to lawn care protocols for this area. I get a gazillion emails each week from outfits trying to promote products and services that rarely work in this climate or aren’t even available here. Or, they’re pitching interview opportunities with their “experts.”
Here’s one I got Tuesday morning:
Fall is here, and many home and business owners are busy aerating and getting their lawn ready for winter. Many people forget that outdoor power equipment also needs to be winterized before it is stored for the fall – so homeowners can avoid problems in the spring. The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) reminds homeowners about the importance of servicing and winterizing lawn mower, string trimmer, leaf blower and other outdoor power equipment after fall yard work. Kris Kiser, president and CEO of OPEI, is available for interviews. Please let me know if you need a photo to accompany these tips.
So, the OPEI wants some publicity on the most listened-to gardening show in Texas. The one with the most listeners and the one that’s on for more hours than any other radio program of its kind. But they apparently don’t know that we don’t stop doing lawn care during fall in Southeast Texas, or that we experience little down time in our version of winter. And there you have, in a nutshell, the reason I don’t do many interviews with so-called experts, especially if they don’t live in this region.
Which gets me back to my point. Oct. 1 is the jumping off point for our fall lawn-care regimen and the GardenLine Fertilization Schedule. It’s when we feed the lawn with a “winterizing” formula that isn’t high in nitrogen but is higher in potassium, to strengthen roots and stolons for the colder months.
It’s also the time to put down pre-emergent herbicide to block the weed seeds that will start popping up November through January. But this year, thanks to Harvey, I would invite you to consider two applications, spread out by 45-60 days. And if you are inclined to follow that advice, get the first one down today.
With all the flood waters and excessive rains, there’s no telling how many weed seeds are ready to pop, if they haven’t already. So, to prevent any weed seeds from germination over the next three months, it’s a good idea to double up on pre-emergent herbicides.
Cinco Ranch Ace Hardware appearance Saturday
This Saturday at Cinco Ranch Ace Hardware, I’ll be giving away several bags of pre-emergent herbicide - Nitro-Phos with Barricade. I’ll also have some Nitro-Phos Fall Special and Nitro-Phos Sweet Green for “winterizing” or fall feeding. And our friends at Medina have also pitched in with a couple of cases of their Soil Activator for giveaways.
You will have to register to win the Nitro-Phos products, but I’ll be personally handing out quarts of Medina Soil Activator to folks whose Katy-area yards were impacted by Harvey’s flood waters.
If that’s not enough incentive, I’ll have copies of my latest book, Texas Tough Gardening with Randy Lemmon, for sale. Interestingly, it features an entire chapter dedicated to “Plants that Like Wet Feet.” That’ll be handy if you have a landscape area that stays wet consistently.
Cinco Ranch Ace will also be well-stocked with Consan 20 for anyone still attacking mold and mildew problems in flooded homes. And they will have samples of food cooked on a Big Green Egg. If you have been on the fence about getting the griller/smoker/roaster that has changed how we cook in the Lemmon household, a taste could win you over.
And, of course, this is a great opportunity to bring me problem samples so you can GET A PAIR OF EYES on the issue. By the way, the appearance is scheduled for 11 a.m.-1 p.m., but I will get there as early as possible, and may stay around until as late as 1:30.