So.... Since I have a spring KBG renovation growing up on me, when do you suppose would be a safe time to put down a layer of halts or dimension to control weeds... specifically; henbit, clover, spurge, dandelion and crabgrass. The seed was sown 04/05 and has grown up quite well but I'd like to be able to get an application of some kind of selective herbicide in before the heat of summer sets in and stresses my grass out further. To complicate matters further, I will be leaving on a holiday to miami on 05/22 and will not be returning until 06/01 so the lawn will be unmaintainable during that period. Weather has been kind to me by way of free water thus far and it should hold up until I get back - neighbor will turn on the sprinklers otherwise, however by the time I get back the air temps will start averaging 82-86(F) and the soil temps will follow quickly behind them. Think I could/should risk it this week? Also, should I hold off on giving it my lawn the other half of it's half-dose (1.5 lbs per 1000 sq. ft. of 34-0-0 urea) that I started off with when seeding or should I wait until after the herbicide... or is it the other way around, fertilize first and then wait a week and apply the selective herbicide second. I get confused on that one.

>>are there problems with mixing too many different seed types in a lawn? If you match color and growth rates, not really. Yes, they'll compete. That's actually a good thing--the one that does best in a given area will dominate. If the colors are the same, and they grow at the same rate, you'll notice--but you won't care. :) My initial lawn, from the builder, was a tri-mix of KBG, fescue (several kinds) and rye. Over time, the KBG dominated due to my care regimen and the fact that the lawn is pretty much full sun all the time. It was never obvious that there was competition going on, and never a problem. >>Are there any organic fertilizers you would recommend for helping to change soil structure compacted soils? Like Yardtractor said, ALL organics will help change the soil structure over time. Without exception. However, some are better than others because you can drop more of them without experiencing problems like the reek of decay. Soybean meal is a great feeding for the lawn, requiring about 15 pounds per thousand square feet four times per year to give a perfect feeding. However, dropping sixty pounds per year isn't going to change the soil at any fantastic rate. The equivalent feeding using cracked corn or corn meal (I prefer cracked corn as it flows through my broadcast spreader more easily) is 60 pounds per thousand square feet. At 240 pounds per thousand per year, it'll change the soil profile much faster. Corn is one of those things you can also pour on, unlike most other organics. One huge source of (frequently ignored) organic material is mulch-mowing all fall leaves. I don't get so many, so I import them from known-good lawns without problems to the tune of 100 pounds per thousand square feet per year. You have leaves in plenty right there. My top flight year (year 2 of organics, after the soil had built up bacteria and fungi to support rapid decay) was over 1,300 pounds per thousand square feet, for a grand total of 37 pounds of nitrogen equivalent per thousand that year. Do that with synthetics and you just sterilized the soil--probably for at least a year. Organically? The lawn flourished, as did the gardens, everything was deep green and grew like mad. Doing that took me from an organically tapped soil in 2005 to a soil with 14% organic matter this year--and most years featured nowhere near the application that one year did!

Agree. Assuming your garden layout is semi-permanent just rake back the straw, punch a hole in the paper and plant. No need to remove it just layer new mulch on top. If, on the other hand you must till/rearrange/etc. the bed then just till it in. Be sure to add additional N fertilizer of some kind to compensate for the tilled in carbons. Dave

Why use a starter fertilizer? That's typically for seeding/overseeding. You might want to look @ using Milorganite. That has all the right stuff in it - organic matter, iron, nitrogen and phosphorous. It will make your lawn green because of the iron and it will give it a quick boost from a small amount of nitrogen. The long term benefits are the most important part; the microbes in the soil will consume the Milorganite. You are feeding the soil, not the lawn, but when you feed the soil, the soil will feed your lawn. When soil microbes eventually die, they release nutrients from the food they consumed and broken down; these nutrients are released in a form that the plants can take up. When you feed the microbes, the population of microbes will increase --- and therefore, the amount of food for your lawn increases. As long as you continue to feed the microbe herd, it will feed your grass. The best part is that the microbes will eat just about any organic matter you introduce; this isn't unique to Milorganite. This is one reason folks recommend that grass clippings be left on the lawn and that fall leaves be run over with the mower & left on the lawn instead of being bagged or blown. However, I (like many others) like to give my soil an extra snack to really boost the microherd; Milorganite is my preferred soil snack because it's cheap and readily available at Lowes, Ace, Home Depot, etc. The microbes are already in your soil, right now ---and they always are ready for a feast.