Weed Control Guy.com

Its almost fall again in Phoenix. Football season started a few weeks ago, baseball season will be wrapping up in a few months and preseason Hockey fires up Sept 21. In parts of the country parents are realizing that their kid outgrew their winter coat over the summer but in Arizona we turn to Google and type “Last 100 degree day in phoenix” and are sorely disappointed. Oh crap, up to a month left of this. We are thinking, last year it wasn’t this hot this late. Here is the data that I found on NOAA and yep it was this hot last year, in fact, my electric bill is actually lower this year than last this month, and I dont have those new age solar thingies on my roof.

FACTS ABOUT 100 DEGREE TEMPERATURES AT PHOENIX

The first occurrence of 100 degrees or higher annually:
Earliest – March 26, 1988
Latest – June 18, 1913
Average – May 13

The last occurrence of 100 degrees or higher
Earliest – September 2, 1904
Latest – October 23, 2003
Average – September 28

The first occurrence of 110 degrees or higher
Earliest – May 8, 1989
Latest – August 9, 1915
Average – June 20

The last occurrence of 110 degrees or higher
Earliest – June 5, 1912
Latest – September 15, 2000
Average – August 10

Average annual number of days with maximum temperatures of 100 of higher 1896-2006: 92
Average annual number of days with maximum temperatures of 100 of higher 1971-2000: 106
Least number of days with maximum temperatures of 100 or higher: 48 in 1913
Greatest number of days with maximum temperatures of 100 or higher: 143 in 1989
Greatest number of consecutive days with maximum temperatures of 100 or higher: 76 in 1993
Average annual number of days with maximum temperatures of 110 of higher 1896-2006: 10
Average annual number of days with maximum temperatures of 110 of higher 1971-2000: 17
Least number of days with maximum temperatures of 110 or higher: 0 in 1911
Greatest number of days with maximum temperatures of 110 or higher: 32 in 2007
Greatest number of consecutive days with maximum temperatures of 110 or higher: 18 in 1974

Highest Temperatures ever recorded in Phoenix
122 June 26, 1990
121 July 28, 1995
120 June 25, 1990
118 July 16, 1925, June 24, 1929, July 11, 1958, July 4, 1989, June 27, 1990
June 28, 1990, July 27, 1995, July 21 2006

Source: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/psr/general/history/index.php?page=100deg

Plants are much like people. We all need food to survive. I moved to the Phoenix area in 2003 and I can tell you that the summers are brutal. People always tell me, “You live in a dry climate.”, which is true. But that doesn’t mean that there is no humidity. For about 6-8 weeks in the summer the ‘Monsoon’ takes over the Sonora Desert. Most people think that monsoon means rain, which is true if you live in South Korea and you experience a wet monsoon. But we live in the southwest and we have a dry monsoon. The humidity and dew points both rise. During most of the year dew points are well below 30 degrees and the humidity can be as low as 2%. Summer temps outside the monsoon can be as high as 122, during the dry monsoon temps can drop to an average high of about 107. With the cooler temps the dew points raise to over 55 degrees and the humidity raises to an average of 25%-50% on most days. I noticed last week during the first week of the monsoon here in the Valley that it was harder on my body to complete my tasks at work. Jobs that should have taken me 15 minutes to complete were taking me 20-25 minutes complete. Imagine the same stresses on your turf and plants. During these difficult times I have to eat more fruits and vegetables and drink more fluids (not the ones that you have to be over 21 to purchase). Most people think that it is bad to fertilize plants in the summer. Now is a great time to fertilize. I try to fertilize the 1st of every month. I use a fertilizer that is made locally and can be bought at an independent nursery. The stuff at the big box stores will work but living in the Sonora Desert we need a little extra in our fertilizers for the best looking landscaping and the locally made ones have that little extra. Another extra Monsoon tip: if you use cotton AC filters in your home, switch to the cheap fiberglass ones for July and August. The cotton ones clog easily with all the dust storms. The fiberglass ones allow better air flow for less stress on the air handler.

This question is asked by many in the Valley of the Sun. On one side we are tired of pushing the mower, but on the other side we want to one up our neighbor and have a green lawn all winter. Others might look at it differently. I myself would like to save the money from not having to water the grass, the maintenance on the lawn mower or having to fertilize the grass. For those that dont want a winter lawn I would suggest putting down a pre emergence weed control. This will keep the winter annuals from germinating. As the temps drop below 100 lower your watering by 10%-15%. As the temps continue to drop lower your watering. During the winter you can lower your watering to as little once every 10-14 days. When you put the pre emergence on the turf it would be a good idea to also put another pre emergence on the desert area of your property. Coming in the next few weeks I will give you advice to seed that winter lawn that you want.

Bill

Do you know how much water a lawn needs in the desert?  That question does have more than one answer.  It depends on if you want a green lush lawn or just an alive lawn.  Most recommendations come from the water companies and their watering recommendations are just to keep the turf alive.  Do you really think that all the golf courses just water enough to keep the turf alive?  I dont think so.  I will give my recommendations and I am sure that there will be many that will disagree with me.

Some say that watering Bermuda grass once every three days is good enough.  I use those guidelines when I dont want to have to pay someone to mow my yard when I am out of town.  The turf color suffers and growth is slowed.  I water 6 days a week, skipping Fridays and any day that we get a summer storm.  If you dont want to have to adjust your sprinkler system when it rains you can buy a rain sensor that hooks up to the timer and it automatically skips watering during rain.  This not only saves time it also saves water.  I water before the sun comes out so that the water does not evaporate with the hot summer sun.  I water about 1/3 inch each watering.  You can measure this by using a plastic container placed in the yard during watering.  Set you system to kick on and measure the time it takes to fill the canisters 1/3 inch.  Then set your timer for that time.  Remember each zone can be different, so measure each zone.  For me its 4 min up front and 6 min in the back for each zone.

Mowing and fertilization are both very important to a healthy looking turf. Mowing heights depend on the blend of the Bermuda planted in your turf. A good rule of thumb is that Bermuda grass looks better the shorter it is. Tiff is popular in the Valley and that should be mowed at less than an inch. Most other Bermuda blends should be 1 1/2 – 2 1/4 inches. When mowing never cut off more than a third of the grass blade at a time. I know this means mowing more than once a week, but you want the best looking lawn in the neighborhood dont you?!? The fertilizing is the easy part. Visit a local nursery and get a good quality fertilizer that is made for our desert conditions. Apply it per the directions. Buying from a local nursery instead of a big box store will cost a few extra bucks, but you will notice the difference.

Following these directions in your turf will cut down on the amount of weeds that you gave in your turf. when I get weeds in my turf it is usually purple nutsedge and I just cut the water back by 10% and the nutsedge will die on its own, as long as it has not taken over.

Russian Thistle – Also known as Tumble weed.

This is an annual herb, not a weed, but most states have this categirized as a weed.  It will grow to be .5-6 feet tall.  These weeds can be found almost year round in the southwest.  It can grow in elevations between 150 – 7,000 feet and ususally flowers May to Oct or Nov.  This weed seeds out to spread.  As the plants dry out they break off at the base and start to blow around spreading it seeds.  They are known as ‘tumble weeds’ after they break off.  Glyphosate is the best product to control this.  To prevent this weed or herb use a premergence.

Milk Thistle – From the Thistle Family

This weed can be both an annual and biennial weed. It will grow to be 2 to 5 feet tall.  These weeds are common March thru August.  It grows in elevations usually between 1,000 to 3,500 feet elevation.  This weed has many spines in the leaves.  It has flowers that are purple in color.   Some say this weed contains nitrates at a toxic level but it is not common enough to cause issues in Arizona.  It can be prevented by a pre-emergent.  Some selective herbicides and glyphosate will also control it.  Please dont abuse the comment section on this blog or they will be disabled because I dont have time to personally approve every message.

Thanks, The Weed Control Guy.

Common Mallow – From the Mallow Family. This weed can be both an annual and biennial weed. It will grow to be 1 to 3 feet tall. The weed grows from the base. It has large leaves that alternate and are round in shape. They have a red spot at the base of the leaf. The weed does have small flowers. The flowers are blue or pink. The plant spreads by seeding out. It can grow year round with water but will usually die in areas not watered. It can be prevented by a pre-emergent. Some selective herbicides and glyphosate will also control it.

London Rocket – From the Mustard family. This weed is a winter annual and usually dies when the temps rise.  It will stay around longer in shady moist areas.  The plant is green and the flowers are yellow.  The plant grows to a height of up to 3 feet.  It can be controlled with some selective herbicides.  No need to use glyphosate for control. To prevent this weed from taking over use a pre emergent two times a year, especially in the south.

Welcome to Weed Control Guy.com.  We will be posting all kinds of weeds that cover the Phoenix Valley.  Weeds that corrode our neighborhoods.  Noxious thistles that cause HOAs to come knocking.  Got a weed problem?  We’ve got the solution!