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Vigoro weed & feed killed my grass - now what?

10 years ago

While I was on vacation my well meaning neighbor was caring for my yard. He sprayed vigoro weed & feed everywhere & now my grass is dying.

I'd been using milorganite & had some clover patches & a few broadleaf weeds but nothing that I would have ever considered spraying the whole lawn for!

I originally seeded the yard in the fall of 2011, using penningtons Midwest mix, which had grown really well for me. I'm in zone 5b, Indianapolis. We've had rain every day for the last week, but my grass isnt coming back. its been about 2 weeks since he sprayed. Any ideas on how to bring back/save my yard?

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Comments (5)

maplerbirch
10 years ago
What is it about Vigoro that would do that? I'm not familiar with this product and why it would suddenly kill grass that doesn't appear to have too much of anything on it?
dchall_san_antonio
10 years ago
It might have been too hot that day when he sprayed.

Fall (Labor Day) is the best time to reseed for your location. Find that same grass seed and do it again.

What is your watering regimen (frequency and duration)? Weeds usually indicate watering wrong.
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Hmm, OK, I will consider that. I was trying to make this border with my neighbor look better sooner rather than later, as their lawn looks gorgeous and it's a bit of a dump on my side. Hoeing that clay is not a pleasant prospect when it's hot and dry in August and September. It will be like rock. In the event I have to use some herbicide, what do you think about the question of how long to wait after that before planting seed?
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When did you seed and how soon after seeding did you have Chemlawn spray? Herbicides that are safe for grass can still damage (or kill) grass if it is too young. In Iowa, the best time to seed is early fall, so that the grass has plenty of time to grow before the heat of summer hits. The next best is probably dormant seeding (just before it starts snowing). The idea for this is that the snow will carry the seed into the soil, and it will sit there dormant until conditions are right for it to germinate. This can give you a slight jump on spring seeding. The next best time is to seed as early in the spring as you can. You're more likely to lose some grass to the summer heat with a spring seeding. The later in the spring you seed, the more grass you're likely to lose to heat.
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I am just guessing here but this is my reasoning... The weed/feed is used to prevent seed from sprouting and it should last at least a couple of months. So if you use the weed/feed first probably your seeds will die. The weed/feed will have no effect on seed that already sprouted. If it is me, I would put the seeds first, wait until they sprout and then use the weed and feed Hope it helps
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Weed and feed is regular fertilizer plus herbicide. You should get the same fertilizer effect from the product. The issue that most of us have with the combo product is that it is fairly rare to need to fertilize and use a blanket application of a weed killer at the same time. We prefer to get the appropriate product and use as needed, when needed. Fertilizer will promote weed growth just like it does with grass. If there are weeds germinating and not killed with the herbicide in the weed and feed, those weed will grow. Ideally you want to fertilize then hit the weeds later if/when they growth.
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jill_wingett
Original Author
10 years ago
We've had close to record rainfall in Indianapolis this spring, so I haven't really had to water at all yet. When I watered last year, it took about 4 hours with a sprinkler to get a tuna can full of water onto each section of the yard.
With the drought last year, I watered a couple of times a week, since it was the first summer for the grass.

I over-seeded last fall & again this spring, so didn't use any pre-emergents. The lawn was filling in great, with just a few bare spots.

I was super excited because I have the worst soil imaginable. We're the last street in the subdivision & I think my yard contains all the back fill from all 800+ houses here! In the fall of 2011 I cleared out all the weeds & rubber mulch left by the previous owner &spread yards of a compost/topsoil mix over the existing dirt before I spread the seed. It was a miserable job, but finally having a lawn made it worthwhile.

Then I came home to a yard that is half brown, dry & dying.

From your reseeding comment, I'm guessing i'll have to live with it now & that's my best bet for a lawn NEXT summer. Should I dethatch it before I seed to get rid of the dead stuff? Will aerating it help?

I'll try anything at this point!
dchall_san_antonio
10 years ago
Aerating won't help.

Yes, next summer your lawn should be much nicer. Fall is the very best time to seed.

Dethatching won't help. Spraying molasses and/or milk on the soil at a rate of 3 ounces (of each) per 1,000 square feet will help regenerate the microbes needed to decompose the dead grass you have.

Mother Nature has provided for her wonderful weeds with too much moisture. Ideally you would allow the soil to completely dry out at the surface before watering again. In the hot heat of summer that usually takes a full week. Let the grass tell you (by wilting) when it needs to be watered again. Then water a full inch.
jill_wingett
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for your advise! How often should I spray the milk/molasses? Should I continue to use the milorganite monthly as well?

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