Tom Glasgow: Dont underestimate winters last hurrah

Especially given recent temperatures in the 80s, it might seem safe to assume that we have seen our last frost for the winter of 2015. But this being the month of March in Eastern North Carolina, its best to proceed toward April with some caution.

Freezing temperatures during the last week of March following days or weeks of mild weather is a familiar scenario if youve lived in the area for a while. And during my 28 years in Craven County, I can remember snow the first week of April, at least once.

Among other considerations, we should be careful about planting tomatoes, peppers and other warm season vegetables or annuals too early. Buying early for good selection is a great idea, but you dont have to actually plant things in the garden right away. Consider holding these plants in containers in a sunny spot, so that they can be moved into a shelter overnight if a freeze is expected. And remember that temperatures as high as 41 degrees Fahrenheit can subject tomatoes to chilling injury, which in turn can affect growth and fruit set for potentially the rest of the season (and peppers are even more cold sensitive).

Looking at March from a different perspective, we should move ahead with seeding new lettuce, mustard, radish and turnips as soon as possible, so as to sneak in one last crop before hot weather arrives. And if the weather turns out to be unseasonably warm for the rest of March and into early April, these late plants may be in for a bit of a rough ride. Potatoes also need to be set as soon as possible.

As always during March and April, weve been fielding a number of inquiries regarding fertilization of centipedegrass and the use of weed and feed products. Centipedegrass lawns are definitely starting to show some green foliage now, and theres always a temptation to go ahead and fertilize so as to push the lawn into greenup a little faster.

We strongly discourage fertilizing centipedegrass during March and April, and suggest waiting until around the end of May or early June. Since centipedegrass root systems have mostly died back and are starting over at greenup, fertilizer uptake will be very inefficient. Obviously, the portion of applied fertilizer not taken up by the lawn and the weeds will be lost to the environment.

Early season nitrogen that is taken up by your centipedegrass lawn will primarily have the effect of making it more susceptible to Rhizoctonia large patch disease. Furthermore, if we do have a late freeze which admittedly doesnt seem to be in the picture for this year centipedegrass lawns that were fertilized early will be more prone to cold damage. Finally, the case can be made that nitrogen applied in early spring will have the effect of pushing shoot growth at the expense of the recovering root system. Among other consequences, this increases the likelihood of iron deficiency and resulting streaks or patches of yellow (chlorotic) grass.

Regarding weed and feed, perhaps the best answer we can give is that these products are fine on centipedegrass if you apply them in late May or June, and if the fertilizer grade matches the needs of your lawn as determined by soil test results.

Tom Glasgow is the Craven County Extension director. Contact him at tom_glasgow@ncsu.edu.

See the article here:
Tom Glasgow: Dont underestimate winters last hurrah