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Calvin Finch
Q. When should we fertilize the lawn and what should we use?
A. Fertilize the lawn with slow release lawn fertilizer such as 19 05 09 after you have mowed real grass (St Augustine, zoysia, or Bermuda grass) two times. That usually means about May 1. If you fertilize earlier the process is not as efficient in terms of utilizing the nutrients.
Q. Is there a way to prevent all these winter weeds next year?
A. Yes, most of them are annual weeds so the easiest way to prevent them is to apply a preemergent herbicide like Crew or Dimension on or before March first. Mark your calendar. If one of the winter weeds bothering you right now is sticky bedstraw tackle it with a rake. It rolls up into compact bundles relatively easy.
Q. The leaves from our live oak trees are hard to collect! I thought it was suppose to be an evergreen species?
A. It is described as an evergreen species even though it drops its leaves every year at this time. The leaves quickly resprout on the tree. You do not have to collect the leaves. If left on the ground they quickly decompose. Speed up the process by mowing them. Your mower will collect the leaves and they make great material for mulch in the shrub border or paths in the garden or raw material for the compost pile.
Q. How often and with what should I be spraying my peach and plum trees to protect them from fungus and insects?
A. Look through the insecticides and fungicides at your favorite nursery. There are products with organic active ingredients such as pyrethroid and permethrin and neem oil but I like malathion or Sevin as the insecticide and Captan as the fungicide. Apply them once per week together.