Did I just ruin my lawn with too much fertilizer?
kgrant
11 years ago
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tiemco
11 years agograss1950
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Onion seedlings - Did I ruin them with too much light?
Comments (3)I think they will be fine, 16 to 18 hours of light seems to be ideal for the vegetative growth phase of most plants. 12 hours is used most often for the flowering. I also have heard of the 24 hour thing?, but onions will not bulb properley untill the amount of degree hours and length of day requierments have both been met. Curt...See MoreDid I just ruin my fruit trees with Miracle Gro All Purpose??
Comments (7)Some form of nitrogen will generally help trees in average soil establish more quickly, but a quarter pound of actual N. for a small tree could be damaging to the tender roots, I'm guessing. However, I am not speaking from the experience of this particular mistake- I have only damaged more sensitive plants with surface applications of excessive N- never fruit trees. Depends in part on texture of soil, in sandy soil your are more likely to scorch the roots- especially if the tree isn't mulched. Heavy watering can leach out the fertilizer in a hurry....See MoreDid I ruin my lawn? Please help!
Comments (8)Good advice, Bonnie. Here are a few more tips: - use a grass seed mix that is high on the fescues and low on the Kentucky Bluegrass. Bluegrass is a water-hog and very high maintenance. Stick to the deep-rooted fescues. - lay off on the watering. You want the grass seedlings to develop roots that will go deep for water and nutrients. Grass needs no coddling. - lay off on the fertilizer. Again, it's the roots, not the top growth, that matters most when you're getting plants established. Most commercial fertilizers are high nitrogen, so you get a flush of green, and your pampered lazy grass develops a taste for fast food. Ok, metaphors aside, once you get your overseeded areas established, topdress with some quality, weed-free compost and let the grass develop as it should - establish some white clover in your lawn and let the grass go dormant during the hot, dry spell in August. The clover will stay green and, being a legume, will help develop healthy, rich soil. Diversity is good. - stop worrying about weeds. Remember, diversity is good. This spring I had a bumper crop of creeping charlie, blooming for all it was worth. All the early-emerging bees had flowers to visit. Bees are good. All for now. Link below is very good. Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Landscape Alliance Fact Sheets...See MoreMy Weekend Plan, or How You Can Help Me From (Further) Ruining My Lawn
Comments (10)If you can come up with an old piece of chain link fence and a couple logs you can make a drag to pull behind the mower. Basically the chain link will scrape a little dirt off of the high spots and drop it in the low spots. It may take a little while but as long as it's not too bad this will work wonders for smoothing out the bumps. If it were me, I would hold off doing anything that will leave you with bare dirt for now. Otherwise you will end up with more weeds to deal with and there's a good chance you could have some soil erosion from storms or heavy rains during the summer. Leaving the weeds alone will allow them to hold the soil in place. From there, get started with the "destruction" process in mid to late July. About 1 week prior spray everything with RoundUp to kill off all of the weeds. Once the destruction is complete and the lawn area has been smoothed and ready for seed begin watering lightly 3 times per day for a couple of weeks to germinate any weed seeds that were left behind. By lightly I mean just enough to keep the very top layer of soil damp. Spray anything green again with RoundUp. By this time all this is done you will be into your ideal time for seeding which should be mid to late August for you. In the meantime, use the search feature here to learn proper seeding, watering, fertilizing, and all the other stuff involved in maintaining the new lawn as all this is important if you want the lawn to be successful. It's really not too hard but you don't want to spend all this money to have it go wrong. You've got a good group of folks here on the forums to help you through it and answer any questions that come up along the way....See Morekgrant
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