I found the answer to my first question. This weed is called "Indian mock-strawberry" (Duchesnea indica), according to the Weed I.D. guide found at:
http://weedid.missouri.edu//weedinfo.cfm?weed_id=97

The link above to the University of Missouri's weed I.D. guide provides some excellent photos of this weed. The University's guide is awesome--very well done.

This weed differs from wild strawberry in several ways, among them is the color of the flower. Wild strawberry has a white flower whereas Indian mock-strawberry has a yellow flower. (Great photo of the flower on the site too.)

This is a perennial weed with stolons.

Question numbers 2 and 3 are still up for grabs.

If you are relying on clover and other weeds to provide the nitrogen your lawn needs then your lawn isn't getting enough unless it's full of clover. You should be on a regular fertilizing schedule for best results.

Those orange spots could be rust, or an other fungal issue. If it isn't affecting your grass I wouldn't worry too much about it, but if it was me I would get rid of those weeds ASAP.

Thank you. Sometime around March 15, I'm going to apply the Organic fertilizer called Corn Gluten Meal, more for its pre-emergent herbicidal effects, but it's also nice that it has 9 percent Nitrogen for fertilizer too.

Before that, I'll probably apply some calcitic lime over one of the last snow falls in early February, and rely upon the melting snow to carry the lime into the soil. I read that lime is slow-working and it can take 3 to 5 months for the soil and lawn to reap the lime's benefits.

The only problem is I've only seen dolomitic lime at the big box stores, not calcitic lime which has a better ratio of calcium to magnesium (7:1) than the dolomitic stuff. Tukey's book says too much magnesium in the lime in relation to the calcium isn't ideal for your soil. You want a 7:1 calcium to magnesium ratio, not 3:1 or anything else for pampering your soil the best.

Would anyone know where I can get calcitic lime in the St. Louis area? Worm's Way maybe? I'll give them a call.

What is your current pH and Ca:Mg ratio that you've made the call that Calcitic Lime is required?

Well, you got me. I haven't tested the pH of my soil yet, but I do believe the soil to be a bit acidic because I see moss growing in some bare spots of the backyard. But you're right, a novice like myself should get a soil test. Someone mentioned Logan Labs on this web site or some other web site (maybe it was Tiemco--I don't recall). I might try them or just look around for a local lab in my area.

Unless you're going to read the results yourself, I'd stick with Logan or UMASS. Each lab has its own testing methods, and nobody can know how to interpret all of the labs' various methods. Several people know how to read Logan and UMASS results well. Stick with the well-known ones or you'll be getting very little help from others on the web.

Okay, Logan Labs it is then. Thanks very much for the advice.

Thank you. Sometime around March 15, I'm going to apply the Organic fertilizer called Corn Gluten Meal, more for its pre-emergent herbicidal effects, but it's also nice that it has 9 percent Nitrogen for fertilizer too.

Well you are going to be real disappointed because its per-emergence control is almost non existent. It does have decent protein content but there are far better products to use like Soy Bean Meal at 1/4 the cost.

Texas-Weed wrote:
Well you are going to be real disappointed because its per-emergence control is almost non existent.
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I've read online that some forms of corn gluten meal (CGM) are much better and effective than others. For example, they say to use the pellet CGM, not the dusty powdery stuff, which doesn't work.

Also, they say to use CGM that is labeled specifically as a pre-emergent herbicide. Other non-labeled, non-certified bags of CGM often have lower concentrations of the proteins or whatever it is that has the pre-emergent herbicidal effect.

I think it's Mellor's book that says you can reduce crabgrass by about half the first year you use CGM, and reduce almost all crabgrass after the second year. All dandelions can be gone by the 4th year.

CGM can be used for lots of different weeds. Some folks even apply it near autumn to reduce cool-season annual weeds like henbit. So I'll probably use it on March 15 and again August 15. I may even use it a couple more times in between those two months. (Purslane, spurge, and a quackgrass-like weed really haunted my bare soil spots this year. I pulled so many, many of those weeds out by hand. And I pulled and vinegarized tons of henbit in those bare spots this fall too.)

Since you're not enthusiastic about CGM, what pre-emergent herbicide would you use near springtime to reduce crabgrass germination?

Dude, get rid of that weed ASAP. Its nasty and spreads quickly. I encountered it quite a bit when I moved into my house and was totally renovating the backyard. Its pretty hardy where it took more than one application of round-up to kill. Did I mention that it is a prolific spreader? Its also hard to pull becuase it wraps in around your grass. I still spot it from time to time and I stop whatever I am doing to pull it right away.

Jrodriguez90 wrote:
> Get rid of that weed ASAP. Its nasty and spreads quickly.
Yes, I've been pulling the Indian mock-strawberry. It's got long thick roots, almost woody, which aren't easy to pull out of the ground. This weed does make a good ground cover, though. I read online somewhere that some people plant this weed under their roses. I also read that the strawberry-like things are edible. I tasted one, and it was pleasantly juicy.

Dang, my next-door neighbor has nothing but henbit in his backyard now. The whole thing is one green mass of henbit with big islands of brown dying crabgrass. He's gonna have a big sea of purple this spring.