Now is the time to start thinking about fall pre emergent herbicides. Just to let you know, pre emergent herbicides can be applied any time. The reason most people apply it in the spring and fall is because that is the time it works best. These herbicides do one thing and one thing only, they kill seeds. The trick is all about timing. We need to apply pre emergent herbicides before the seed starts to germinate. The big question is when is the best time? The rule of thumb is from the first of September to the first of November. The kicker is that seeds don’t care what month it is. All they care about is the presence of soil, air and soil temperature, moisture and a specific amount of sunlight. When the conditions are met, the seed will sprout. You should not apply pre emergent herbicides in the garden when planting seeds.
Pre emergent herbicides are available in both all-natural and synthetic forms. The two products I prefer are Dimension for the grassy weeds and Gallery for the broadleaf weeds. The all-natural alternative is corn gluten meal. It is available in both powder and granulated. The powder activates faster but is a mess to apply. The granulated is slower to activate but is considerably less of a mess. And as always read and follow the label directions.
