Show FARM TOPICS SA CONTROL WEEDS DURING THE FALL check pest growth now save spring trouble by JAMES W DAYTON agriculturist agent at large massachusetts state sim college in the spring people talk abow about weeds as well as about the weather only they do something about the weeds but in the fall weeds aro ara overlooked they are often accepted as part of the scenery and nothing much is done about them in fact they are not always even talked about but the late summer and the fall is really the time to save a lot of future trouble for that time of year annual weeds are forming thousands of seeds and laying the foundations for next years abundance perennial weeds are busy storing up food in their roots for good strong growth next spring the simplest thing to do about these fall weeds is to see that they never ripen seeds mow them or pull them before the seeds are ripe it is usually best to rake them up and destroy them after they are cut for weed seeds will ripen after the plant is killed they put their last resources into preparing for the coming generation the mowing machine the scythe or just a plain knife may be used all depending upon the size of the job but dont forget fence comers and the patches of waste land these may be more expensive areas than you might suspect if they spread weeds over the rest of the farm and this is the time of year to cut down their costs encourage the weed seeds to sprout in the land to be seeded this fall then harrow them up at m intervals before seeding time comes around soon all the weed seeds in the surface soil will have sprouted and if when grass and clover are seeded care is taken not to bring to the surface new soil with additional weed seeds the crop next year should be exceptionally clean fall plowing is often a help in killing perennial weeds such as witch grass and other tough customers if weed roots can be exposed to the cold and drying of winter winds the plants will wili have a hard time starting in the spring harrowing with a spring tooth harrow to bring these roots to the surface is often a help taking care of weeds in the fall will make that spring weeding job much less arduous in the long run time spent fighting weeds at thin this time of year will do more good than it will in the spring and almost equally important fall weed control makes the whole place neat and attractive and supplies a good farmer label that no passerby can miss |