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Neglected Lawn

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Posted by Iowa_resident Iowa (My Page) on
Mon, Aug 1, 11 at 21:30

I just bought and moved into a house in Iowa, which the previous owners had been trying to sell for about a year. It's clear nothing was done to help the lawn in that last year, as weeds are popping up quite a bit. At this stage of the year, what should I do/not do to it to help get rid of the weeds and help the grass fill in more? What should my schedule look like for the next year?

Dandelions and crab grass seem to be the main perpetrators. I was planning to seed the lawn in another month or so, but not sure if I should be doing something else in the meantime.

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RE: Neglected Lawn

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If you do much with chemicals (like fertilizer or herbicide) now, you will kill the grass you have. You could use organic fertilizer like soybean meal or alfalfa pellets (Purina Rabbit Chow) from the feed store at a rate of up to 30 pounds per 1,000 square feet. That is about the best thing you can do for the yard in any case but especially if you are trying to make fast improvements before a seeding project.

Here are the 1-2-3s of basic lawn care.


  1. Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an hour in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds.

  2. Mulch mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. Bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses are the most dense when mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. Dense grass shades out weeds and uses less water when tall. Dense grass feeds the deep roots you're developing in 1 above.

  3. Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 4 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less important than numbers 1 and 2 above.

Write back and tell us what kind of grass you intend to seed.

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