Best way to topdress a lawn?
1111gd1111 3b NW WI
10 years ago
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dchall_san_antonio
10 years ago1111gd1111 3b NW WI
10 years agoRelated Discussions
topdressing mixture for lawns
Comments (12)I am located just outside of Boston, MA. I too have some bumpy areas that I plan to level out this spring, and I have a soil test on its way out the door. I'm guessing the soil test is going to tell me I need more organic matter in the soil, and if so, I'll topress with a similar mixture as those recommended above. Assuming that is true, my questions is in regards to the timing of the topdressing vs the timing of the application of Halts. I'm probably still a week to a few weeks away from seeing the forsythia bloom, and thus my Halts application. What I'm wondering about is if the order of Halts vs topdressing has any implications? Obviously the Halts timing is more important, and needs to be applied at a specific time. But should I try to get the topdressing and top soil leveling dropped and spread prior to dropping the Halts in a few weeks? Do I need to give the topdressing time to get down into the soil before applying the Halts? Or, on the flip side, if I drop the Halts at the recommended time, but then a week or two later add a topdressing, would that topdressing on top of the Halts have any impact on the effectiveness of the Halts? Anyone have any thoughts on the proper timing in trying to get both Halts and a topdressing applied? I want to do both, but want to make sure I don't negate the Halts barrier. Thanks in advance....See MoreClumps of "other" grass in my lawn. Best way to get rid of?
Comments (9)That appears to be a forage-type Tall Fescue (TF). Note: This is different than modified types of TF known as Turf Type Tall Fescue (TTTF) which have thinner blades and blend well into other grass types like Kentucky Blue Grass. TF is considered a weed in residential lawns because it's undesirable due to not blending in well with other turf grass. You will either have to dig it out (which can be hard given the deep roots), or use chemical means. If there are a lot of clumps, like in the image in the original post on this thread then chemical means would be the way to go. Tall Fescue is a grass, so regular weed killers that are safe for lawns wont work. You will need to use a weed & grass killer that contains Glyphosate. Home Depot has a good 41% glyphosate concentrate, there is no reason to spend more on a name brand like RoundUp, they contain the exact same stuff. Buy a 1 gallon spray can and spot spray. Be aware that Glyphosate will kill EVERYTHING so be very careful and follow the instructions on the label. TF can be hard to kill (again because of the deep roots) you might need to spray twice about a week or week and a half after the first application. Good luck! If you really want to dive deep into TF read this article from Purdue University: http://purdueturftips.blogspot.com/2015/03/weed-of-month-for-march-2015-is-tall.html...See MoreTopdressing lawn w/ compost - Add lime too?
Comments (5)Fungi grow in soils that tend toward acidic, not alkaline. Research by Dr. Alex Shigo, once chief of research for the United States Forest Service found that if woody mulches, wood chips, were used that tended to encouage fungi developement which tended to make the soil more acidic. If leafy mulches were used that tended to encourage bacterial development in the soil which tended to make the soil more alkaline, more nearly neutral. If there is some woody stuff in the soil and if there is sufficient moisture in that soil then fungi will get to work digesting that woody stuff and if they really like where they are they will send up seed stalks, the mushrooms we see, to scatter more spores around to innoculate the soil so more fungus colonies are established. Sometimes people will make broad and erroneous statements because once they did this and thus happened so then they did another thing and thus did not happen so without taking into consideration all of the other factors that made the difference the assume, improperly, that the other thing is what helped....See MoreBest way to amend poor soil under existing zoysia lawn
Comments (4)Send off soil for a good soil test (I use and will read Logan Labs tests here). The lawn I started with was atop soil that had been corn field since my grandfather could remember. Tilled, fertilized chemically, beaten apart, you name it. My first test showed a pH around 4.5. Seriously. The soil was in near complete collapse. It was no wonder everything struggled. But I did have enough manganese (and still do) to open a mine. It did take time, but with judicious amendments, everything now flourishes. I never aerated (you really don't have to and it's a complete waste of your time and effort, comparatively speaking). I've even tried to overload the soil with organics one year, to the tune of 1,300 pounds per thousand square feet, and couldn't do it. But that was after re-stabilizing everything and re-establishing a healthy soil biology. Start with the soil test. Always mulch mow whatever grass you have, and any leaves and other organic materials you can get. Feed organically. And go from there....See More1111gd1111 3b NW WI
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10 years ago1111gd1111 3b NW WI
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10 years ago1111gd1111 3b NW WI
10 years ago1111gd1111 3b NW WI
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10 years ago1111gd1111 3b NW WI
10 years ago1111gd1111 3b NW WI
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10 years ago1111gd1111 3b NW WI
10 years ago1111gd1111 3b NW WI
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