Weeds suck up moisture

A ground cover of weeds may do growers a favour on fields too wet to seed. Weeds are better than evaporation in getting rid of water, especially from deeper soil layers. But don’t let these weeds get too big, as they may be difficult to control or prevent from going to seed once flowering starts.

When fields are ready to seed, give the weeds an appropriate rate of pre-seed burnoff. This may need to be a double rate, or more, because of their relative size. Give the herbicide 24 hours to translocate down to the root system before seeding.