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| I'm still pretty new to lawn care and trying to develop practices that are effective and do not tie me into very time-consuming activities and excessive mowing.
Last fall I did a thorough core aeration. In late spring we applied weed/feed and things were great until mid-summer. Few broadleaf weeds or crabgrass. We then had a very hot July and the regular grass went dormant and crabgrass just exploded. Now we're in growth season and there are crabgrass plants over a foot across in places and clearly blocking out the real turfgrass. One other factor: the back of our lot is mostly pin oak trees and I suspect the soil here may be accordingly acidic. I have yet to get our soil tested. So I did some research and while there are plenty of things to do I haven't found a plan that is limited in scope and chemicals. I'm looking for the "light" version. I also want to minimize practices that result in chemical/nitrogen runoff. I have written the big list of things suggested by Penn State: 1) September - overseeding (Short mowing, dethatching, aeration 6-8x passes. Disc seeding is best.) 2) September - Fertilization (weed and feed, 2-1-1 ratio (e.g. 10-6-4) with 35%+ Water Insoluble Nitrogen or Controlled Release Nitrogen, 15-20lb/1000 sq.ft) 3) November (also Feb-Mar) - Apply lime 4) February 15 - March 15: Liming (if needed) 5) April 1 - May 1: apply preeminence herbicide for crabgrass control 6) May 1 - June 1: Fertilization (weed and feed) Which of these are most important to keeping down crabgrass and improving coverage of the real grass? Thanks for your input. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Penn State Turfgrass Management
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Here is what I would do: 1: Soil test now, Logan Labs, $20 basic test (this should be the first thing you do, it will determine what lime you use, and what else your soil needs from here on out) 2. Don't do the aeration unless you soil is compacted (which is rare). You did it last year, that might have contributed to your weed problem. Disc seeding is good but only if the machine is well calibrated, and you make multiple passes (east-west, north-south, northeast-southwest, northwest-southeast) . I would broadcast seed and topdress instead if the area isn't that large. 3. Stop using weed and feed. It is better to fertilize seperately from killing weeds for a few reasons. You will use less weed killer this way as well. If you are seeding you should probably use starter fertilizer, no weed killer on newly seeded turf (unless it's Tenacity). 4. A November liming isn't bad, but the lime will probably sit around most of the winter unless it's a very wet one. Wait till your soil test comes back before putting any lime down. Most people use the wrong lime. 5. Use a liquid herbicide on weeds a week or two after fertilizing, weed and feed is a terrible product. |
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| Thanks. The lawn I want to work is 1/4 acre. How much would the supplies cost (sand, loam, peat) to topdress it? I have access to a large amount of composted horse manure. I'm sure it has some level of weed seeds. Would that be helpful in preparing topdressing? |
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- Posted by yardtractor1 none (My Page) on Sat, Sep 10, 11 at 21:19
| Do test your soil before amending it. You can get a "do it yourself" test kit at lowes for about $10. Soil ph for lawn turf is ideally between 6.5 and 7.5. You do not want to try to raise or lower the ph unless it is absolutely necessary, you will be shocked by how much lime or sulfur it takes to change the ph. As to the crabgrass, forget weed and feed,use your dedicated pre-emergent in late March-early May (find a seed/fertilizer/sod store in your area, they can tell you when the right time is (has to do with when certain plants bloom). They are knowledgeable and carry a variety of lawn and garden products -seed-fertilizers-poisons- at lower unit prices.)The best product for established crabgrass is Ortho Weed B Gone Max. Use it in the fall to eliminate crabgrass AND throughout the summer to eliminate other noxious weeds. BTW, the first frost will kill crabgrass anyway. Fall is the most important time for lawn care.Your fall program looks good, maybe add a late October fertization with additional potasium. |
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| A ten dollar do it yourself soil test is worth what you pay minus ten dollars, i.e. it's worthless. For twenty you can get pH, total exchange capacity, organic matter percentage, sulfur, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, base saturations, and micronutrient levels (boron, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, and aluminum). It is done at a soil lab, not a jar in your kitchen. Which one do you think is going to give better results? Which one do you think is the better value? A quarter acre (about 11.5K square feet) is a lot of area to topdress, it would probably take 12-14 bales of peat moss, and would take all day to do it by hand. As long as you can keep all your seeds continually moist for the first 2 weeks you should be ok (hope you have an irrigation system). Topdressing gives you a little insurance against drying out and you can skip the midday watering on cloudy days. Slit seeding sounds like a good idea for you, but make sure you have the machine set right, and make multiple passes. If you make 4 passes then the machine has to be set to put down a quarter of the correct amount of seeds. |
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- Posted by bassplayer7 6 (My Page) on Sat, Sep 10, 11 at 22:25
| If you do aerate - only 4 passes. What kind of grass do you have? |
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- Posted by yardtractor1 none (My Page) on Sat, Sep 10, 11 at 23:42
| I suggested thow do it yourself test not because of its accuracy, but because of the time constraints (fall planting season is comming to a close) and because it will give a a ballpark figure of ph. I imagine most people have no idea the amont of lime it takes to amend ph, so I was trying to save the poster from wasting time and money spreading lime that would likely be inadequate in volume anyway if his soil was acidic. I agree a store bought test does not hold a candle to a professional analysis. |
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| "I suggested thow do it yourself test not because of its accuracy, but because of the time constraints (fall planting season is comming to a close) and because it will give a a ballpark figure of ph. I imagine most people have no idea the amont of lime it takes to amend ph, so I was trying to save the poster from wasting time and money spreading lime that would likely be inadequate in volume anyway if his soil was acidic. I agree a store bought test does not hold a candle to a professional analysis." If the do-it-yourself test says your pH is 6.0, which lime would you use? Would you apply the lime at the time of seeding with starter fertilizer? |
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- Posted by jrodriguez90 No. VA (My Page) on Thu, Sep 15, 11 at 13:28
| Hey just wanted to throw in my 2 cents and say that if you want a nice lawn listen to tiemco. I did a total renovation on my backyard last fall, which had been covered with leaves for the better part of a year prior (thanks previous owners!) leaving nothing but dirt and weeds behind. Following the advise of people like tiemco, gary in chicago, dchall, and others, lead me to a very sucessful renovation in a shady backyard. It sounds like you are taking the right steps. I would recommend slice seeding, unless you want to aerate again, in which case, you will have enough little holes and can just spread the seed with a broadcast spreader. Here's the lawn care program that I used over the past 12 months for what its worth: September - Aerate, seed, fertilize, lime, and topdress with some compost. This year I am not aerating and seeding, and instead am adding in a pre-emergent for poa annua and winter annuals like bittercress, which I had a lot of last year. None of this is difficult, you just put it in your broadcast spreader and walk. October - Fertilize (B/c my backyard is so shady, I use half as much fert as normal in the back) November - Fertilize (B/c my backyard is so shady, I use half as much fert as normal in the back) December - Lime. This year I am also planning to do a dormant overseeding for the few areas that are a little thin. That's also simple, all you do is load seed in your spreader and let Mother Nature bury the seed through the freeze/thaw cycle. Jan-Mar - Nothing. Although I might put down some starter fertilizer in March depending on the weather to give my dormant seeded grass some help. April - Fertilize (Only if I didn't already in March), lime, and apply crabgrass pre-emergent to sunny areas. May - Nothing June - Lime July-August - Nothing. Other than that you just have to mow it regularly and either spot spray weeds or pull them by hand. Most of the work is just laoding stuff up in your spreader and walking, which isn't too hard. Also keep an eye out for fungal diseases and/or bug problems and treat those immediately. The only thing I would change depending on what your soil test says is the number of times you lime. I live in an area with naturally very acidic soil, so I lime 3-4 times a year. I hope this helps. |
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