Question
We live in Central Texas, so the weeds begin coming out in early March, or sooner.  I have found it difficult to find a good preemergence treatment.  What we used to call "sand spurs" in Florida are a big problem in some areas, along with other weeds.  When it turns hot in Jul/Aug, the fungus (brown patch I think) begins in low lying areas of the lawn and speads.  Can you recommend methods of treatment and products to use for both problems?  Thanks, George

Answer
Hi George;
Sorry I am late answering this. I finally got time to catch up.LOL
for fungus, molds, mildew etc, I use baking soda disolved in water. I spray the leaves,underneath and on top, saturating the plant thoroughly. for fungus on the grass (brown patch etc) I spray enough to saturate the soil as well as the grass.
For those *%)(*&%^$# weeds,,,,,,,,,,,
I crawled on my hands and knees, pulling them out or digging out the tough ones like dandelion, crabgrass and johnson grass.
I won't use weed killers, because cats are attracted to them. they will chew weeds with weed killers on them, or they will eat or drink it if the package is stored where they can get at it. children sometimes put a grass blade or a leaf etc in their mouths,and dogs sometimes eat grass, and weed killers are so concentrated, and deadly.
I read our organic columnist's column in the dallas morning news, and one srticle was on weeds.
Weeds don't thrive in rich soil. Make rich soil, and you won't see any weeds.
Fertilizers kill beneficial microbes that enrich the soil.
Putting down dry molasses keeps them alive.
It said if you couldn't find dry ,olasses, plain table sugar would work.
I souldn't get dry molasses, so I broadcast sugar, by hand, at the rate of 1 pound sugar per 300 sq.ft of lawn and garden.
My yard was full of the three weeds I mentioned above, as well as clover, dollar weed, chick weed, and what we call grass burrs. what we call goatheads.Mu next door neighbor never pulled a weef or anythinf else except mowing when his grass gor knee high.
In about 2 weeks, about I noticed about half the weeds were gone. I hadn't pulled any and my husband hadn't, so I threw down some more sugar. A couple more weeks, I could hardly see a weed. I don't think I really needed the second applications of sugar, but I tend to overdo.LOl
That was in the spring, and i did it again in the fall. Next spring, about half as many weeds even came up, and they didn't thrive. In 3 or 4 mowings, not weeds to see anywhere. about the 3rd or 4th year, they stopped even coming up. My neighbor's yard was still a weed farm. I haven't seen a weed in my yard in years. I put sugar in the spring and fall, and water it in well.
When I could find dry molases, I used it, and in a couple of years, went back to the sugar. I think I got better results with it than with dry mollasses
Both kept the weeds away, but I used no fertilizer anymore, and my grass was a darker green, and stayed green longer in the fall, and greened up faster in the spring.
now all i do is put down sugar in the spring and fall, water and mow and edge. We top dress with compost in the spring. I make my own compost. I gather all the bags of leaves my neighbors rake up from their yards, my husband brings the coffee grounds from work, they make a lot of coffee, and I put my scraps of raw veggies from the kitchen.
Coffee grounds and tea leaves add good nutrients, and coffee grounds help loosen soil. egg shell are good to add roo, but most of mine I crumble and put in my container plants. they help keep the slugs out of them. slugs won't crawl over crushed egg shells, lava gravel and other scratchy things, because it cuts up their undersides.
Sugar is easier to use. The bags are easier to handle than the 40 lb, bags of dry molasses, and I can just pick it up when I shop for groceries.
The compost dressinf and sugar keeps my lawn so rich I don't need dertilizer and I have no weeds, so I don't have to buy that. also, since I went organic, my Asthma is 90% better. smelling all those chemicles jept me wheezing.
If you want to use a chemicle weed killer, the best is WipeOut by green Light. It will kill ALL broadleaf plnts, and won't hurt grasses, even St. Augustine. Get a couple of drops on a rose bush though, and you lose a rose bush.
It will kill ALL broadleaf plants. Roundup kills EVERYTHING, grass and all. WipeOut absorbs through the leaves, stem or trunk, and through the ground. so treat with that, and the weeds will be gone. If you use it on the ground, and nearby shrubs roots go into that area of ground, they will die, so much better to spray the leaves, or paing it on with a small brush. I used to do that with the pecan trees the squirrels seeded into mu climbing roses.
I would cover the rose bush with plastic for an hour or so, unril the WipeOut dried, to protect my precious roses. I would paint a few of the leaves of the tree seedling. The leaves would absorb it and carry it to the tap root and kill out the little tree.In a few weeks, I could just give a tug on the dead tree trunk and pull it out easily. The tap root of those little pecan trees are twice as deep as the height of the tree.
You didn't say of you have flower beds or comtainers with plants, but cats will use them for a litter box, and when you plant bew flowers or anythinf you dig in them for, you will get unpleasant surprises. I chop all my lemon peels, and scatter them in my flower beds and planters. Cats won't go there. Male cats used to use the shrubs under my front windows for a mail box to leave messages to little girl kitties. That gosh-awful odor would waft in when we opened a window, or opened the front door. Since i started putting the chopped lemon peels under the shrubs, no more odor.
I wish I had known the real scoop about organics years ago. I thopught it sounded like you had to do much more work, and spend a fortune on all those things to use. the oposite is true. You don't have to use all those products, and I spend less in a whole year than I did in one montn  when I used chemicles.
I had to continuely check my yard for poison iny. My grandchildren are highly allergic to it. Since i started using sugar, I have not had one sprig of poison ivy come up.
When you use pre-emergents, any flower seeds,grass seeds, or bulb flowers you have will not come up either. If you have any of the bulb plants, daffodils, irises, tulips etc, they will not greminate, and will not flower.
Since the weeds don't even come up anymore, my st. augustine grass spreads so well, my lawn is plush and full.
where we used to spend 8 to 10 hours, EACH working on our lawn and garden, now we spend a combined 3 to 6 hours a week. I grow roses, and my husband grows a vegetable garden. We have other flowers and shrubs. If we only had gras, it would be a total of about 2 hours per week.
Water deeply, top at least a depth of 6 inches. This causes to roots to grow deep. shallow watering makes the roots come close to the surface to get water, and heat and cold damage and kill them. this is what makes thatch. I NEVER have to areate or dethatch. My earthworks, and cock roaches keep the soil aerated. Cockroaches are good in the soil, can't abide one in my house though, so i grow rosemary and put a little piece about 2 inches long on each pantry and cabinet shelp, a little bigger piece under the fridge, washer and dryer, etc, anywhere they can come in or hide. I do this every mnonth or two. you never see a roach or spider in my house, so I don't have to use poison sprays to kill them, and that also helps my asthma.
I have an organic solurion to every pest that can be a problem.
Hope this helps you. Feel free to write me any time about organics, or lawn and gardening peoblems. I love to share what i have learned.
Charlotte

P.S. WELCOME TO TEXAS !!!!!!!!!!!!