[Arid_gardener] Re: Herbicide Spray For "Water Grass"

[olin miller]

Before you use a herbicide spray, you need to identify the weed, then read
the label on the container.  It is illegal to use a pesticide (herbicide,
insecticide, fungicide, et. al.) in violation of the label instructions.

As to the comment about Roundup in the cool season, it is a systemic
herbicide that translocates from the top growth to the root system of a
growing plant and will work as long as the plant is actively growing and the
phloem/xylem systems are active.  In cool weather It doesn't work on warm
season grasses like Bermuda grass but is effective on actively growing cool
season grasses.

The most common grasses  I see now are either barnyard grass in the
vegetable garden or crabgrass in the lawn.  Barnyard grass spreads only by
seed is best controlled by simply pulling it ou by the roots before it goes
to seed.  Crabgrass spreads by seeds and by stems rooting at the lower
joints.  We spent a lot of time last fall pulling it out by the roots but it
is now showing up agiain in the lawn.  The summer lawn usually sufficates it
but until then it is a problem that needs to be controlled.  MSMA is
supposed to work on it but my experience is that it kills off more of the
hybrid Bermudagrass than the crabgrass.

There are many reasons not to use spray herbicides.  Herbicide sprays also
often result in unintended consequences such as peastcide drift that can
damage other plants.  Pub. 1050 at
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/az1050.pdf
describes some of the problems and offers suggestions on how or if to use
pesticides.

Olin
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----- Original Message ----- From: <pollyrs at cox.net>
Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 6:00 PM,  Polly, 85302, pollyrs at cox.net
> Unfortunately, the recent freezing temps did not kill of the little
> grasses (I call them "water grass") that sprung up in my flower beds and
> elsewhere.... Can anyone recommend a weed killer that's effective at this
> time of year?  I have Round-Up but understand it might not be effective in
> these cooler temps...