Dear Craig,
My yard looks great since we've finally gotten some rain, but how do I prevent it from turning into a crop of weeds like last year? It seems like the weeds appeared overnight, spread rapidly and engulfed my entire front and back yards. Getting rid of them was a major undertaking. Can I nip this problem in the bud this year?

Michael in Sun City

Dear Michael,
Last year's rain provided a bonanza of weeds. Some seeds can lay dormant for years, just waiting for the right amount of moisture to initiate their procreation. I saw fields of wild oats next to the highway that are native California weeds, growing here for the first time. If our rain comes with a little lightning, our vegetation-be it wanted or unwanted-gets a boost of nitrogen which encourages growth and greening. This explains not only the lush, leafiness that happens to our landscapes after storms, but also the algae blooms in our ponds and swimming pools.

Since we live in the desert, some weed varieties only need the warmer weather and the slightest amount of moisture to initiate their growth. I noticed quite an assortment starting to appear at the nursery before we received any rain. Dandelions, mustards, mallow and yarrow were all starting to emerge weeks before the first raindrop fell. In addition to being unsightly, weeds encourage unwanted critters to invade your yard. Rabbits, rats and ground squirrels feast on the vegetation. Many will take up residence, burrowing in the nearby ground. To them, it's like living next door to an all you can eat buffet. Snakes may also show up seeking rodents as their food source and find refuge from the heat, lying in the coolness underneath larger, fuller weeds.

The first thing you'll need to do is get rid of any weeds that have already begun to invade your landscape. You can do this manually with a shovel, hula hoe, or by hand pulling. I recommend soaking the surrounding ground to make pulling by hand easier, or wait until after a rainfall. If you are using a shovel or hula hoe, go well under the surface to cut the weeds' roots. The easiest way is by using a post emergent such as Round Up® to kill them off. I've also had some success using common household products such as salt or vinegar.

Once you've eliminated the visible growing weeds, you'll want to stop their seeds from germinating. According to Skip Koskella (a licensed chemical applicator) of One Way, Inc., applying a pre emergent will eliminate 80 to 90 percent of the seeds already in the ground. Pre emergents like Surflan®, Barricade® and Endurance® work by killing seeds during their germination period, thus preventing them from
emerging or breaking the ground's surface. They should be applied in the spring and fall. This twice a year routine should keep you virtually weed free. If the ground surface is disturbed after application, you'll need to reapply to that area.