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krauskim_gw

Overseed or weed and feed (or is there still time for both)

krauskim
10 years ago

I'm a new home owner and lawn care taker located in south eastern WI (zone 4). My new lawn is in decent health, but has a few issues that need to be addressed.

1) There is a ~2ft strip of "broad leaf" weeds along the edge of my yard by the road. A couple of the spots in this strip are bare. 2) Grass under a large shade tree in the front yard very thin. 3) There are some spots of "broad leaf" other weeds cropping up throughput the yard.

Not knowing much, my first instinct was to get some herbicide concentrate, grass seed, and lawn feed + weed control.

Now that I'm getting a little more educated, I realize I cannot use all of these products at once.

I already sprayed herbicide on trouble areas. Now I don't know what to do next. Do I wait a few more weeks, then overseed? Or do I spread the feed + weed control now and forget about seeding until next spring? Is there still time to do both, spread weed and feed now and seed in late October?

Comments (3)

  • dchall_san_antonio
    10 years ago

    1. Return the weed-n-feed and get your money back. It won't do what you want it to do. If you want to feed the lawn, use a plain fertilizer. If you want to kill weeds, use a liquid that you can spot-spray individual weeds. This minimizes any issues you might have with the soil.

    2. What kind of herbicide did you use? Was it Round Up or something with 2-4,d like Weed-B-Gone? Makes a difference how to proceed.

    3. Is there much shade over the lawn? Especially under the trees and out by the road?

    4. Or is the road area full sun?

    When you spray herbicide there is a strong tendency to use too much. You REALLY want to get rid of those weeds. Using too much is a waste of the product and could harm the soil if you drench it. Just mist the leaves of the plant and move on.

    Do you know what kind of grass you have? I'm guessing it is Kentucky bluegrass if your thin or weedy areas are in the shade. If they are not in shade, then you likely have either fescue or rye. I would be real anxious to get the seed on the ground asap and hope for the best. If you have nothing but full sun, I like either Kentucky bluegrass or a mix of KBG and turf type tall fescue. If it is shade then your only choice is fine fescue. Read the labels on the bag. I would avoid a mix of seed that includes rye. Rye is a fine grass, but for beginners, it has issues that can lead you astray. You can have a 5-star lawn with any of the types of grass I've mentioned, so I'm not trying to steer you away from rye because it is difficult. You just need to know more about lawns first.

    If you are going to use a fertilizer with new grass seed, use a starter fertilizer. Follow the label for directions. NOW is the time to do this. Don't wait for spring. Spring is the wrong time to do this.

  • krauskim
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I used 2-4 d mix; Bayer All-In-One Lawn Weed & Crabgrass Killer.

    Area by the road is in full sun. Most of the yard is in full sun. There is one line of tall trees along my back yard and the grass looks great out there.

    One correction from my previous post - thin area in front yard is under a shade tree, but not in the shade. Thin area is on south side of tree and shade is cast on north side of the tree.

    I don't think I overused the spray. It was definitely a misting on the leaves then move on, maybe with some overlap as I went walked through the affected area.

    I think I have a Bluegrass / Rye / Fescue mix.

    So my plan is return the feed + weed. Get some starter fertilizer and put down seed and fertilizer down ASAP.

  • dchall_san_antonio
    10 years ago

    Great. Sound like you did not make the common mistakes.

    The problem out by the street is that the concrete and/or asphalt bathes in the sun all day absorbing light and converting it to heat. It stores the heat during the day and releases the heat all night. With 24/7 heat, the water in the soil evaporates faster there. The grass that was there died from drought. Then one week in the past, you got enough rain on a daily basis to sprout the weed seeds in the bare spot. Some of those weeds likely died for the same reason, but those which did not are likely doing quite well. To fix that problem you need to water more deeply next to the road. By watering deeply the roots will grow deeper where the temperature of the soil is cooler and evaporation is reduced.

    Measure your sprinkler output with cat food or tuna cans placed around the yard. Time how long it takes to fill all the cans. That is your starting point for watering. If you have some cans that filled right up and others that took significantly longer to fill, then you might need to adjust your sprinkler heads. The worst case is that you might have to replace a couple heads with higher or lower output heads. That's not a big deal, but you need to figure out which ones, if any, need it. The time it takes to water a full inch is your starting point for future watering. Apply the water and watch how long it takes before the grass starts to wilt. This time of year, with mature lawn and "normal" deep roots, it should take at least 2 weeks for the grass blades to fold together or the grass to lay down when walked on. As soon as you see those symptoms anywhere in the lawn, water again right away. If it happens before 2 weeks is up, then water longer next time. When your daytime temps fall into the 70s on a regular basis, you should be watering deeply once every 3 weeks. Below the 70s and you can back off to monthly watering. Then in the spring, bring your watering frequency back up as needed. With temps eventually above 90 degrees F, you will be watering weekly.

    Why do this? To get deeeeeeep roots. Deep roots get their water from deeper in the soil and can go much longer without surface watering. Also you want to break the life cycle of weeds. Weed seeds need to be kept moist for several days to germinate. If you are watering every day, then you are creating perfect conditions for weed seeds. By watering deeply once and letting the surface dry completely, the weed seeds will never get enough moisture to germinate...that is until Mother Nature intervenes. But at least you don't have to contribute to your own weed problems by watering too often.