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| HI,
Recently moved into my new home and we're having a weed issue. Any tips and suggestions would be grateful! 1. Where you live? New Jersey 2. What type of grass you have? Not sure unfortunately. We have a small yard that's about 600 square feet. Of this yard, about 100 square feet of it is over run by weeds. We moved in in December and now the weeds are starting to grow. 3. What products you have applied to your lawn, and how much? These include fertilizer, herbicide, fungicide, insecticide, etc. Just pulled all the weeds outs, raked and tilled soil. Spread Scotts EZ Seed and watered. 4. How often and how long you irrigate? It's only been a few days, but once a day. 5. Is the lawn established, or have you recently seeded/re-seeded or added sod? If so, when? Two days ago. 6. At what height you mow and how often? Just moved in. 7. Results of soil test if applicable. Specifically describe the problem being as descriptive as possible 8. Entire lawn is affected or a specific area(s)? Parts of the lawn. About 100 sq feet.
10. If your problem is with weeds, what type of weeds? Not sure unfortunately. I'm a lawn/garden illiterate. 11. How long you have noticed this problem and it is recurring?
12. Do you have a preference towards a synthetic or organic solution? Organic. 13. Past efforts to remedy the problem. Over the past weekend, I pulled all the weeds out, racked and tilled the soil. Added Scotts EZ Seed hoping this would be the best solution but after discovering this site, it may not be. 14. Are any solutions not feasible? (hand pulling weeds for 2+ acres, daily watering, etc.) Yes.. it's a small yard so I don't have any issues doing the work. Thank you!! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| A new lawn (new to you anyway) is a bit like a used car, but with no inspection or carfax. You can get something really nice, but usually you get a lemon or something that needs a lot of work. The fact that it is getting overrun with weeds tells you that the previous owners probably didn't do much lawn care. Fortunately 600 square feet is not very big, and won't be too expensive or too much work to get in good shape. If you really want to do things right, you should wait till late summer/early fall (Sept. 1-15th) to seed. The EZ seed you used is a good idea.....for Scotts. It sells well because it looks so easy, but in reality, it is a lousy product that is mostly just mulch. The amount of seed in it is tiny, and to get a nice patch of grass from it is almost impossible. Organic is a great way to go, but to deal with weeds, and to amend your soil, it is very difficult to be totally organic. I would recommend the following. Get a soil test from a reputable lab (I use Logan Labs www.loganlabs.com the $20 basic soil test). Forget about the EZ seed you put down. I would mow the lawn, bagging the clippings, and then a few days later spray the lawn with a weed killer like Weed B Gone max. I would also apply a preemergent herbicide like Dimension or Stonewall. This will kill all the weeds that are going to germinate later, especially crabgrass. Once you get your soil test back, then you should start to ammend you soil. You will probably need lime, as most eastern soils do, and whatever else is deficient. At the same time regular applications of organic fertilizers such as Milorganite, Soybean meal, corn meal, etc. will add organic matter to your soil and feed the microbes in you soil. This will keep you busy till late summer. Then you can focus on seeding. The best way to seed, is to kill everything with glyphosate, mow it very short, and then apply your seed. Good lawns have good soil, and good seed. Most seed in Home Depot and Lowes is not good seed. You will also need to decide what kind of seed you want to use. In NJ, cool season grasses are the best choice. The major ones for lawns are Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, perennial rye, and fine fescues. If you have full sun you can grow the first three, I wouldn't try the fine fescues. Shadier lawns are better off with the fescues, although there are several KBG cultivars that do well in 4-5 hours of direct sun. The lawn renovating process is a whole other topic, but you have plenty of time and other stuff to do for a few months before you worry about that. Hope this helps. |
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| yes everything tiemco said is correct. heck, 600sqft you could sod with a pallet and a half. you would still need to get a soil test. |
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- Posted by peasandpods none (My Page) on Wed, Mar 28, 12 at 9:44
| Thank you! This is definitely helpful along with all the other posts. There's definitely a wealth of knowledge here! |
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| Tiemco wrote: > Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, perennial rye, and fine fescues. If you have full sun you can grow the first three, As always, Tiemco provides some of the very best advice here. I like reading his reports. Just want to make a slight amendment to the above. Tall Fescue doesn't require full sun to grow. Some folks even grow it under trees. It's also more wear tolerant than fine fescue, so if you have both trees and dogs, tall fescue is a better choice than fine fescue. Tall Fescue is the most suited fescue for warmer climes like the Upper South; it's popular there as in the North. You wrote that you're not sure what kind of grass you have and that you spread Scotts EZ Seed a few days ago and watered. On the bag of EZ Seed, there should be a label that lists the kinds and varieties of grasses you have and their percentages. Good luck! |
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