Thanks all for the tips on weed control! I'll wait until my boo's have finished shooting and then apply this stuff while the weeds are still small/most sensitive. Speaking of shooting, we have had a REALLY late spring here in WNY. My 'spectabilis' yellow groove just started poking shoots out of the ground and none of my other phyllostachys species (atrovaginata, nigra henon, nuda, and rubromarginata) show any signs of shooting yet. All the other trees and plants are equally behind. We're just starting to get small leaves expanding out of buds here, and some trees aren't even that far along! The evening lows are still below 40 degrees some nights; I feel bad for the farmers as their growing season is starting to get impinged on.

Sorry. This will be a long one. It always is with me. (blushing) I'm with the OP on this one. Even if no one but me ever saw my lawn, I would want it to be dark, rich green GRASS...and nothing else. (I'm known for wanting everything to be beautiful. I'm also a bit of a home body, and enjoy spending time in my yard. Many guests have remarked that, no matter where they look (on my property), there's always something beautiful. I'm always taken aback by those comments, since while that was MY goal, I never expected others to pick up on it.) Case in point about the intentional act of putting down grass, and not other (lower maintenance) plants. I own a small, remote island. I made the decision to create a lawn area and, once you include the slow-moving barge fees (3 days to get from its port to the island), labour, equipment, and materials, that lawn cost me $14,000. That obviously begs the question, why, on earth, would anyone spend a nickel putting in expensive, high-maintenance grass, only to let it be taken over by clover and other weeds??? My husband and I recently purchased a 19th century farmhouse in need of roof-to-foundation renovation. As such, I inherited a lawn that is EASILY 70% weeds, including clover so thoroughly interwoven, it would be impossible to pull by hand. I pride myself on my beautiful lawns and gardens, and can spend/have sent hours, each day, ensuring everything is healthy and how I want it. At my last home, I developed a bit of a reputation for being out weeding my lawn by hand for hours, plus how awesome my expansive lawn was. My point is, I want my lawn and gardens to be a certain way; plant the plants I want; pull the plants I don't want; unafraid to put-in the effort to achieve that. I prefer not to use any kinds of "chemicals", other than the ammonia and mild soap I include in my homemade fertilizer recipe. (My last home was a beach house. So, that only reinforced my desire to go chemical-free.) But this new-to-me house is demoralizing me...practically to the point of tears, much of it because of the state of the (laughing) "landscaping". Sure, mowing can cut off 60% of the sea of clover flowers that make my lawn look white (or dying...can't decide which). But there are still lower flowers that seem to sprout up to full height within the next 24hrs after a mow. These flowers last from late spring to fall. In short, I'm plagued by clover flowers throughout the entire season I want my lawn to look great. It's just such a shame the previous owners didn't nip the clover in the bud, when each plant was jut a little, round cluster. I love catching them early, knowing I've stopped additional infiltration. But I'm helpless, overall. Looks like I'll have to replace the entire lawn; start from scratch; do what the previous owners SHOULD have done, and pulled weeds when I first see them. I'm not really buying the whole "benefits of clover" thing, amidst a grass lawn. If I wanted a clover lawn, I would plant a clover lawn. Putting down and maintaining grass is an expense in time and resources. Clover is virtually free (since it shows up on the wind), and is seemingly mantenance-free. Since most sod and grass seed are sold with some guarantee of being weed- (and clover-) free, I just don't believe that most people who spend the money and effort to put in a grass lawn, are okay with losing any percentage of it to other, invasive, undesirable plants. I kind of liken it to suggesting that a Ferrari owner would be okay with someone switching it with a Cavalier, and just saying, 'They both get me from point A to point B, so I don't mind.' I can fully envision putting in other kinds of ground cover, and have considered it at past properties. Not being my first rodeo, I already have substantial plans to reduce the amount of lawn area, and increase planting beds. But much of this current property begs for a beautiful, thick, dark green lawn...of grass. No dandelions. No clover, but particularly no clover flowers. (I'd be more okay with clover, if not for the flowers.) The desperation was so great, I did something I thought I'd never do, and tried the iron-based WEED-B-GONE product. (Harsh, chemical herbicides have been banned in my area for years...resulting in public parks being taken over by weeds, for the most part. It's such a shame, in the sense that a healthy, well-maintained lawn is not only beautiful, but fantastic underfoot.) That is really my philosophy, beyond the aesthetic. A lawn should be cool, soft, and luxurious under bare feet. Weeds, even overgrown grass, also tend to make barefoot walking less than a joy. So far, I haven't found a way to get rid of mats of clover. The WEED-B-GONE did nothing I could notice. I'm at my rope's end on ths matter, and likely will have to pull up the entire lawn, to put down new, almost-weed-free sod, where I can physically manage pulling individual weeds as they appear. I guess I'd plead with people to pull unwanted clover plants when they're small... if not for yourself, then for the next property owner. Sure, it means time, every day, or every few days, combing the lawn, looking for weeds. Yes, it can be back-breaking and time-consuming. But that grass lawn didn't get there by accident. A grass lawn is intentional.

Where do you live? What kind of seed did you put down? Did you use a starter fertilizer? What is your watering program - how often and for how long? Lawn care is as easy as watering, mowing, and fertilizer. You're already overthinking it. This is the right time of year to seed a northern grass to minimize weed issues. Had you come here before seeding we would have suggested you water the bare soil daily to sprout any new weeds and then spray those out with RoundUp. Then you could seed without fear of getting weeds. But here we are. If you have broadleaf weeds in the old lawn, spot spray with Weed-B-Gone. If you have chickweed, clover, or oxalis, you'll need Weed-B-Gone Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis killer. It's a different, stronger, product. It will not harm the old grass, but read the label for instruction around new grass. Forget about weed n feed products. They usually don't do what you expect them to do. The problem is when you need weed killer you don't need fertilizer and vice versa. If you want to fertilize now I would use an organic. You can use that at any time even on the day you fertilize with a chemical fertilizer. They do different things for the soil and plants. You can use the organic over the new and old lawn at the same time and at the same rate. Start with 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. In 3 weeks you can reapply at the normal rate of 15-20 pounds per 1,000. But you do need to spot spray the weeds in the old lawn. Then around Thanksgiving or so you can fertilize with a high N fertilizer for the winter.

Weed and feed formulations are hugely inefficient in dealing with weeds and are also a major contributor to water pollution. And they can be problematic if you have small kids or pets using the lawn. You want to avoid them ;-) Based on what you describe growing in your lawn, a single weed killer will not work. Moss, ivy and nutsedge will require individualized treatment. Otherwise, most broadleaved lawn weeds and the crabgrass will be addressed by Bayer Advanced All-in-One Lawn Weed and Crabgrass killer. It comes in a ready to use spray as well as a concentrate and a hose end spray. But you may also want to look at pre-emergents for the crabgrass in spring. You will never be completely free of weeds.....it is just not the nature of a monoculture like turf grass. But developing a thick and healthy lawn will go a long way in keeping weeds to a minimum.