 Welcome to Alabama Smart Yards. We're creating beautiful yards that protect natural environments. Why? Because it's a smart thing to do. Today, David Kuhn will talk about the importance of prevention in weed management. In spring, winter annual weeds are a nuisance in our turf. They crowd out and stunt spring green up. They also grow faster than our turf grasses, which cause us to do extra mowing. Two examples of winter annuals are Poanna and Lawn Burweed. Both grow in clumps, cause dead spaces in our grass that summer weeds can exploit. One key to weed control is maintaining a healthy turf from the start. Soil test every three years and follow those soil test recommendations and adjust pH for your turf type. Weeds are opportunistic. They love space, address disturbed or problem areas in your lawn before weeds can become established. A second key to winter annual weed control is to understand the life cycle of the weed. An annual grows from seed only. It germinates in the fall, October through December, and sits unnoticed in your lawn until spring where it puts on a flush of growth, flowers and produces seeds. At this point it dies from the heat. If we try to treat that weed at this point, we're trying to kill a mature plant that's already about to die from the heat and has produced seeds for next year's weeds. Using a pre-emergent herbicide in the fall, October through December, helps break the life cycle of those weeds by killing them when they try to germinate and gives us much better control.