Erath Extension Agent Lonnie Jenschke
Summer is winding down and fall is quickly approaching. If you want to control some of your winter annuals, (annual bluegrass, rescue grass, henbit, and chickweed) September is the time. Annual weeds germinate from seed each year and live for one growing season. The winter annuals germinate in the late summer or early fall and die the following spring or summer. Now is the time to control some of your unwanted winter weeds.
Make sure to read the label before applying the herbicides, to understand application. It is very important to get uniform coverage so that there are not any stray weeds. To keep from losing some of your flowerbeds and shrubbery, make sure to apply herbicides only in the lawn area.
According to Dr. Hennen Cummings,” Be careful putting herbicides on St. Augustine grass. The fewer herbicides placed on St. Augustine grass the better. Even if St. Augustine grass is on the label, it may still be stunted for a month or more. Fall preemergence herbicide applications for winter annual weed control (henbit, chickweed, annual bluegrass) are safer on St. Augustine grass than spring applications, but they control different weed spectrums. “
Don’t worry about adding high nitrogen fertilizers to your lawns this late in the year. If you feel the need to put out a fertilizer, use one that is high in potassium and iron with a little nitrogen. Something similar to (5-0-31). Make sure and use slow-release fertilizers and more is not always better.
The key to a weed free lawn is a dense turf. (Mow, fertilize & irrigate properly). Less sunlight on the soil surface will result in fewer weeds.
A good publication for reference is “Herbicides for Weed Control in Turfgrass,” available through the Texas AgriLife Extension Bookstore at http:// agrilifebookstore. org.
Cattle Gathering Beef Program The Texas AgriLife Extension Office in Erath and Comanche County will be hosting a Beef Cattle Gathering Program, October 30th, 2025, at The Station FNB, 815 North Patrick in Dublin. The program will be from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm with lunch provided by local sponsors.
Program topics will include New World Screwworm with Dr. Sonja Swiger, Professor/ Entomology Extension Specialist; Beef Cattle Nutrition and Hay Quality with Dr. Jason Cleere, Professor / Extension Beef Cattle Specialist, Beef Cattle Market: Where Do We Go from Here, with Dr. Jason Johnson, Associate Professor / Extension Economist for Management.
1 IPM CEU will be offered to producers with a private applicator license.
Please RSVP by October 24, 2025, at the Erath County Texas AgriLife at 254-9651460