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Lawn Care Tips (3 Viewers)

My wife won't let me spray the yard for weeds because of the chemicals (dog/kids bringing them inside).  Any ideas in what i should do besides rock the yard?

 
An old golf course maintenance buddy of mine told me you want to apply your pre-emergent when the forsythia start to bloom.    That's right around the first two weeks of April here in northern NJ. 

 
rascal said:
My wife won't let me spray the yard for weeds because of the chemicals (dog/kids bringing them inside).  Any ideas in what i should do besides rock the yard?
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Is this in the grass where you want to keep the grass?  If not, make your own...dish soap, salt, vinegar, water.

 
Slider said:
Halts is useless when stuff starts growing. Here in PA it's growing.
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Scotts recommends applying it when soil temp reaches 50-55 degrees.  Here in southwest Ohio, the 5 year average for soil temperature on today's date is just at 50.  

You can find yours here.

Regardless, I don't think it's ever "too late" because it will prevent germination of many other weeds for a few months.  There have been years when I've actually put down a second treatment later.  

 
shuke said:
Scotts recommends applying it when soil temp reaches 50-55 degrees.  Here in southwest Ohio, the 5 year average for soil temperature on today's date is just at 50.  

You can find yours here.

Regardless, I don't think it's ever "too late" because it will prevent germination of many other weeds for a few months.  There have been years when I've actually put down a second treatment later.  
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I bought my Scotts at Costco last week as it was nice out and was going to put it down today. Of course it snows yesterday after being in the 50s all week and now soil temp is 33 degrees. :wall:

 
derek245583 said:
Not really. I cut it maybe 2-3 times after seeding...but didnt notice anything growing more than normal.
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Was this overseeding or a certain area?  You shouldn't have been cutting it until it reached a certain height.  Not sure what to tell you now.  

 
Lawn newbie here. Central Florida with St Augustine grass. Is there a consensus product that will help with dollar weed that I can mix with water and spray on my lawn? Ive got a nice little 4 gallon backpack sprayer I can use to apply it. Also, are any of the lawn "feed" products at Lowes worth a damn?

 
Wingnut said:
Lawn newbie here. Central Florida with St Augustine grass. Is there a consensus product that will help with dollar weed that I can mix with water and spray on my lawn? Ive got a nice little 4 gallon backpack sprayer I can use to apply it. Also, are any of the lawn "feed" products at Lowes worth a damn?
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I've used the Ortho one before and it worked.  Right now I have Massey services coming out to do my lawn and shrubs.  The place we bought was in dire need of help and that included outside.  So far, I've spent about $5K on debris removal, tree trims etc.  We had almost everything ripped out so we could start over.  Once the work was complete our back yard looked like a construction zone.  It's now covered in weeds too many to count.  Up around our pool was pristine StAug.....so we are treating in the back just to see what happens over the course of the year.  The front is coming along nicely and the Massey guy asked if he could "prove" himself with the back at no charge.  I told him he had a year.  It's not going very well, but I am not paying for it, and we have a ton of other stuff we're doing so I don't really care.  I will most likely have to tap my BIL for some sod next winter.  

 
Slapdash said:
My first spring having my own yard.  Weeds are everywhere :(  
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Use the products out there...Better yet pay Scotts/TruGreen/Turf Doctor/whomever to fertilize and weed treat for a year or two to get it under control.  My yard (2.4 acres) was a #### show when I first moved in.  More plantain and crab grass than actual grass.  A few years in it thickened up enough that I could cut back on my treatments and save $$.  Cut it high (I do 4-5") and it'll just choke out weeds.  

 
Any of you guys deal with nutsedge?  Looking for the best way to get rid of it when it shows up this summer.  I was pulling it out a little at a time last summer...I read that pulling it out with the root isn't the best thing to do.  Any help appreciated.

 
gdub said:
Any of you guys deal with nutsedge?  Looking for the best way to get rid of it when it shows up this summer.  I was pulling it out a little at a time last summer...I read that pulling it out with the root isn't the best thing to do.  Any help appreciated.
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You have to be really careful trimming by the nutsedge.  I generally pull them really tight so that it's less likely make any nicks.

 
Fat Nick said:
Use the products out there...Better yet pay Scotts/TruGreen/Turf Doctor/whomever to fertilize and weed treat for a year or two to get it under control.  My yard (2.4 acres) was a #### show when I first moved in.  More plantain and crab grass than actual grass.  A few years in it thickened up enough that I could cut back on my treatments and save $$.  Cut it high (I do 4-5") and it'll just choke out weeds.  
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I agree with cutting it high.  But no need to pay for a professional service.  Do it yourself.

 
gdub said:
Any of you guys deal with nutsedge?  Looking for the best way to get rid of it when it shows up this summer.  I was pulling it out a little at a time last summer...I read that pulling it out with the root isn't the best thing to do.  Any help appreciated.
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Sedgehammer....look it up and then do it.

 
shuke said:
Scotts recommends applying it when soil temp reaches 50-55 degrees.  Here in southwest Ohio, the 5 year average for soil temperature on today's date is just at 50.  

You can find yours here.

Regardless, I don't think it's ever "too late" because it will prevent germination of many other weeds for a few months.  There have been years when I've actually put down a second treatment later.  
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Great link, Shuke  :thumbup:  Soil temperature is taken daily at 2pm at 2" depth as a general rule of thumb.

2nd applications of pre emergents are always good practice as it extends your window of control.

Sledgehammer is a good product for nutsedge although it seems to knock it down temporarily. Dismiss (https://www.domyown.com/dismiss-turf-herbicide-p-1517.html?msclkid=bb8a53c7ac34129e15aa0f6f798d11cc&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=(ROI) PLA - DMO Shopping&utm_term=4580840320001351&utm_content=Ad group %231) works systemically on roots and tubers. Not available in all states.

 
The Commish said:
I've used the Ortho one before and it worked.  Right now I have Massey services coming out to do my lawn and shrubs.  The place we bought was in dire need of help and that included outside.  So far, I've spent about $5K on debris removal, tree trims etc.  We had almost everything ripped out so we could start over.  Once the work was complete our back yard looked like a construction zone.  It's now covered in weeds too many to count.  Up around our pool was pristine StAug.....so we are treating in the back just to see what happens over the course of the year.  The front is coming along nicely and the Massey guy asked if he could "prove" himself with the back at no charge.  I told him he had a year.  It's not going very well, but I am not paying for it, and we have a ton of other stuff we're doing so I don't really care.  I will most likely have to tap my BIL for some sod next winter.  
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Seems like a high price to pay for sod to me, but we're not here to judge anyone. 

 
shuke said:
I agree with cutting it high.  But no need to pay for a professional service.  Do it yourself.
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I did for the first few years.  Getting good, even coverage with a smaller tow-behind spreader on a 2.5 acre lawn is tough.  I use 6 or so 50 lb. bags of the Scotts stuff, and to avoid having to go back and forth to the shed, I pile it up on the floorboard of my zero-turn.  It's awkward to say the least.  6 bags is usually a minimum of $300 per application - add in the pain of buying it every few months, hauling it home, and applying it, I'll gladly pay near parity for a pro to do it.  It honestly costs me almost nothing more.  

I think there's some break-even with larger lawns where it starts to NOT make sense to do it yourself because of the amount of product and effort.  The pro weed killer IS better too.  I've looked at their full specs - much higher concentrate than you can get in-store.  Sometimes different stuff too depending on the weeds they are treating.  

I switched to Lawn Doctor this year.  Used Scotts for the last 6 years or so.  They were great, but their costs went up over 35% during that time, and that's even with me referring 3 neighbors to them.  I called them to negotiate it down, and they were honestly just nonsensical in what they would offer, so I left.  We'll see how Lawn Doctor does.  Costs me about the same as Scotts, but I picked up an extra treatment and lyme application.

 
Fat Nick said:
I did for the first few years.  Getting good, even coverage with a smaller tow-behind spreader on a 2.5 acre lawn is tough.  I use 6 or so 50 lb. bags of the Scotts stuff, and to avoid having to go back and forth to the shed, I pile it up on the floorboard of my zero-turn.  It's awkward to say the least.  6 bags is usually a minimum of $300 per application - add in the pain of buying it every few months, hauling it home, and applying it, I'll gladly pay near parity for a pro to do it.  It honestly costs me almost nothing more.  

I think there's some break-even with larger lawns where it starts to NOT make sense to do it yourself because of the amount of product and effort.  The pro weed killer IS better too.  I've looked at their full specs - much higher concentrate than you can get in-store.  Sometimes different stuff too depending on the weeds they are treating.  

I switched to Lawn Doctor this year.  Used Scotts for the last 6 years or so.  They were great, but their costs went up over 35% during that time, and that's even with me referring 3 neighbors to them.  I called them to negotiate it down, and they were honestly just nonsensical in what they would offer, so I left.  We'll see how Lawn Doctor does.  Costs me about the same as Scotts, but I picked up an extra treatment and lyme application.
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Good point.  I always assume everyone has the same size yard as me when we're talking in here.

 
Hired a company to get rid of the weeds and make my lawn look purty. Once it's good I'll attempt to maintain it myself. For $30/month I figured why not give it a shot since the Scott's stuff I've tried isn't working. 

They do about a dozen lawns in my neighborhood and they all look great. Hopefully they can get it up to snuff in a few months. 

 
ragincajun said:
Any thoughts on what this is?

https://imgur.com/gallery/BUvsyWK
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You'll have basically 2 things that you'll have to do:

  1. Loosen up the soil and plant seed
  2. Keep the weeds from overtaking the are while the grass thickens up.
I'd start by either aerating, or just using a pitch fork to break up the soil.  Throw down some seed and ideally starter fertilizer.  If it's not that big of an area, put some loose soil over that...but regardless, cover it with some straw.  Water it regularly - remember, for STARTING grass, long watering isn't necessary.  You just don't want the seed to dry out.  I usually water my bare spots 2-3x per day if possible (timers help) for just 15 minutes or so.  No need to soak deep.  There's no roots at this point (except the weeds).  Once you get some solid sprouts, start spraying those weeds.  As the lawn thickens up, it'll choke them out, but early on, the opposite happens.  Weeds choke the lawn.

 
Only problem I have right now is my yard is almost too awesome.  It really needs to be cut every 3 days but I don’t have the time.  

 
Wife texted me "Our grass looks greener than everyone's! 👍"

ETA: She must want something from me...

 
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