# How much rain is too much for Pre-E?



## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Trying to get my pre-e out here in north Alabama between our epic floods. HOw much rain is too much after Pre-E? You want some obviously, but is 1-2" tomorrow too much if I put it out this afternoon (Prodiamine is what I"m using if that changes the answer at all)?


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## w0lfe (Mar 19, 2018)

Man there are a lot of variables such as current soil saturation and run off.. but I'd be iffy with 1-2 if it's not a slow and steady rain


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

That's what I was thinking. Will probably wait until early in the week and do it in the frigid cold instead....ground is saturated...had our wettest February on record, about 12" over the last two weeks.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

@mrigney I'm waiting and taking the same approach. I might even end up waiting until the weekend of the 16th depending on the rain forecast.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

If it's a flowing current above the soil


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

@Movingshrub If you're waiting, I'll wait with you. Ha. Hasn't been a whole lot of chances to get anything done in the yard around here yet, has there? I've had measurable rain at my house something like 17 of the last 21 days.


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## Talental (Jun 29, 2018)

Well guys, I went ahead and put down my prodiamine this AM. With work and the kids upcoming spring activities this was the best day I have for awhile. 
Hopefully I won't have too much run off. Guess I I better stock up on some post-em.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

@mrigney It doesn't end.

National weather service today -

Showers will return this evening becoming numerous/widespread with isolated thunderstorms Friday. Widespread showers and thunderstorms are expected on Saturday and could become strong to severe.

Rainfall totals by Sunday could reach 1.75-2.5".

My pre-em is going down next week, one way or the other, before St patty's day.


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

You're right. The joke around work at this point is that we're only allowed one day of sun in a row.

So I did put down pre-e in my back today. Kind of a sad story. I thought on Tuesday I could get it down. Leave work a little early. Get home, grab the Chapin. Grab the battery. Of course not charged. No problem, I'll throw it on the charger while I take care of some other stuff. Plug it in. Red flashing light of death (evidently means either bad battery or bad charger...not sure which). Determined to get the back sprayed. Grabbed the 1-gallon Chapin and did a lot of pumping by hand and got it done. Probably not as even as w/the battery sprayer, but such is life. The back is my "nice" Celebration, so wanted to get it down. The front has had less weed pressure generally (more shaded?). The side, though...that has been the bane of my existence...it's about 7k of my 13k overall square feet and has been all weeds since I moved in 5 years ago. Finally last year decided I"d start really trying to "reform it." Was hoping that a few applications of pre-e and successive summers of blanket sprays of Celsius would knock out most of the weeds and let whatever grass was there start to take over. Plan this summer is to, I think, blanket spray Celsius and then take some Celebration plugs from the back and put them in the side. That'll be a project that gets it's own threat at some point this summer.

ARe you going to put down your pre-e tomorrow?


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

@mrigney 
I'm aiming for tomorrow or Tuesday after work; it all depends on the weather forecast.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

I got my pre-em put down on Friday. Part of my yard is already greening-up. I'm curious to see how the crabgrass looks this summer.


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Yep. I had some slight equipment problems when I went to put mine down. Tried to do it 3/16. Battery for the Chapin was dead. So...in a panic, I sprayed my backyard (about 3k square feet) with my 1-gallon, hand pump sprayer. Got a replacement battery. Sprayed the other 10k square feet (front and side...zoysia in front...side yard is weeds...that I'm hoping to nuke this summer and plug some of my Celebration in). I noticed a little green in my bermuda if I got down close and looked.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

mrigney said:


> I noticed a little green in my bermuda if I got down close and looked.


Same here. Green-up here we come.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Same. Was beginning to wonder if my lawn was dead. Probably just patches of it &#128514;&#128557;


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## AlaTex (Mar 27, 2019)

I'm thinking my pre-em was washed away. I foolishly put it down in mid Feb two days before we got 2+ inches of rain. I'm sure the ground was already saturated due to the heavy rains we got before then. Lots of crab grass now (and many other weeds).


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

I wouldn't expect there to be crabgrass in Birmingham this time of year.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

Movingshrub said:


> I wouldn't expect there to be crabgrass in Birmingham this time of year.


Could be foxtails, looks similar to crabgrass.


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## AlaTex (Mar 27, 2019)

Powhatan said:


> Movingshrub said:
> 
> 
> > I wouldn't expect there to be crabgrass in Birmingham this time of year.
> ...


That would make sense. Whatever it is pulled up pretty easily. Much easier than my past experiences with crabgrass.


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## jdpber (Mar 19, 2019)

For large partical Pre I aim for 1-2" over a 4-6 day period. If it is small partical like the Barricade DG from Anderson's then I aim for less than an inch over 4-5 days. I have found that if it is lightly wet in and let to absorb and start working that it has a better effect. Usually a few days of dry after wet in.

The larger partical Pre needs more water to get deslved and distributed into the soil.

So the actual product you are applying/granular size/slope of land/volume of water over days, these are the factors that need to be looked at.

Like many things it is application location specific for how you modify the mixture.


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