We are actually having real spring weather it appears. We are not going from late winter straight into summer. We are still in a drought, but spring is here so now we can straighten up and spruce up the home landscape.
We can start by getting rid of weeds. This long drought has led to an increase in weeds. We are seeing some new broadleaf weeds we didn’t have before. If you do not have many trees and shrubs in your landscape, then a weed-and-feed all in one product will probably work. If you do have trees and shrubs, then weed-and-feed products are not recommended. The weed part is actually an herbicide, and it can be detrimental to your yard trees and shrubs. It is recommended to control the weeds in the lawn prior to applying fertilizer. We don’t want to fertilize the weeds. There are some good post-emergent sprays that are labeled to use in the yard to continue to raise the mowing height. You do not want your turf grass to be short/scalped once we get into the hot summer temperatures.
After you have mowed a few times this spring then we can apply fertilizer. Select a granular fertilizer blend that has a 3-1-1 or 3-1-2 ratio of the three main ingredients nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. So, a blend similar to 15-5-5 or 15-5-10 is recommended. The amount of fertilizer to apply to your yard is based on nitrogen, the first number on the bag. If you purchase a 50lb bag of 15-5-5 fertilizer, there will be 75lbs of actual nitrogen in that bag. It is recommended to apply 1lb of nitrogen per 1,000sq ft. Most people over fertilize. Be sure to water in the fertilizer well to avoid burning the turfgrass with the fertilizer.
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AGRICULTURAL LAWS FOR LANDOWNER’S PROGRAM SET FOR MAY 8 IN BROWNWOOD
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will hold an Agricultural Landowner Laws program on May 8.
The program will be held at the Adams Street Community Center, 511 E. Adams St., Brownwood. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a meal sponsored by Brown County Farm Bureau and conclude around 8 p.m.
The cost is $20, payable cash or check, at the door. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP by May 2 to the AgriLife Extension office in Brown County at 325-646-0386 to ensure an accurate meal count.
“Brown and most surrounding counties are seeing a considerable amount of land fragmentation where larger places are being split up and sold in that manner,” said Scott Anderson, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent, Brown County. “As a result, there are many new landowners.”
Some of these new landowners have never owned land for agricultural or wildlife management purposes and are not familiar with laws pertaining to land ownership, he said, and some of the new folks are from out of state and are not familiar with Texas laws.
Ag landowner laws topics
The topics and speakers are:
•1-D-1 Open Space Wildlife Designation and Required Land Management, Olivia Kost, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist for Brown and Mills counties.
•Agricultural Fencing Laws, Ashley Croswell, J.D., associate attorney with Marrs Ellis and Hodge LLP, Austin.
•Eminent Domain, Croswell.
•Landowner Property Rights, Croswell.
This is the first of a two-part effort by the AgriLife Extension office in Brown County to address agricultural landowner laws. The second program will be August 29 and will feature Tiffany Lashmet, J.D., AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist, Amarillo.