Considering Move to Charlotte NC have questions
maryt_gardener
17 years ago
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rosebush
17 years agoRelated Discussions
New Lawn in Charlotte, NC
Comments (5)Start now to improve your soil. The clover has already started for you. 1. Fertilize with alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow) at a rate of 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Follow that up in 3 weeks with 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. 20 is normal but 10 is needed to help the soil microbes get ready for the 20 later on. This is much more valuable than the starter fertilizer and the compost combined. You might still want starter (personal choice) but you definitely will not need compost if you do the alfalfa. Alfalfa is much cheaper, easier to apply, and more beneficial than compost. 2. Water deeply, 1 inch, all at one time. Do that once every week from now until mid August. 3. Mulch mow the yard on the mower's highest setting once per week. Get used to doing these three things because those are the basic steps for lawn care. Then in late August (or when the summer heat just starts to cool off) 1. Spray RoundUp on everything. 2. Water daily for 4 days trying to get new stuff and weed seeds to germinate. 3. After a week rake off all the dead stuff. 4. Water daily again for 4 more days. 5. Spot spray RoundUp on everything that is still green or has sprouted. 6. Rake up anything else you need to but otherwise do not disturb the soil. You are going to seed right onto the surface. 7. Spread the seed. 8. Roll the seed down with a water filled roller. 9. Start watering 3x per day for just long enough to moisten the soil and seed. That should be about 5-10 minutes each time. If you plant only fescue you will need to continue this for 2 weeks before you see any grass seed sprouting. Continue with the 3x per day until you get about 80% germinated. If you add 10% Kentucky bluegrass to you grass seed (which I strongly encourage for the sunny areas), then you will need to continue the 3x per day for at least 3 weeks before the KBG sprouts. 10. After you have about 80% of the grass sprouted, start to back off on the 3x per day. Go to 1x per day but water 3x longer (15 minutes). When the grass is tall enough to mow at the highest setting on your mower, then back off on the daily watering to every other day for 20 minutes. Next time you mow back off again to every third day for 30 minutes. While you are doing this, use some cat food or tuna cans to measure how long it takes your sprinklers to fill the cans. That time is going to be your target time for watering. When you have mowed the grass 3 times, back off again to once per week and apply a full inch. If you decide the grass is too thin in the shady areas, NOW is the time to remedy that with more seed. Do not seed in the spring as that will bring crabgrass in. 11. Spot spray broad leaf weeds with Weed b Gone. Mist not drench. 12. After you have mowed 3 times, then consider another fertilizer app. It can be alfalfa again or it can be a starter fert. When you fertilize bare ground, there are no roots there to do anything with the fertilizer. It will wash through the soil before you have roots. I believe waiting is better. If you decide to fertilize with chemicals, you should apply once in late spring, once in early fall, and once in late fall. If you do this right you should not have to worry about crabgrass or other weeds. If you decide to continue with organics like alfalfa, you can apply those any time of year, rain or shine, without fear of hurting anything. They work completely different from chemical fertilizers....See MoreBermuda Seed for Charlotte, NC
Comments (11)The rye grass seeding was fairly successful and the lawn looks quite good now from the street. Up close you can see a fair amount of weeds that sprouted this fall. They are all over the neighborhood even in lawns that are meticuously kept so I am not unhappy with mine. Now another question. The property includes a one acre lot behind the house and across the creek. The lot is in full sun and is sloped. The previous owner kept the lot well mowed and I have continued this practice. The lot is covered by some, what they call here, "wild" bermuda and mostly weeds. Is this common bermuda? Before the houses were built there was a pasture here and this bermuda may have come from the pasture. Second question, I am considering core aerating and seeding this lot next year with common bermuda. I will not be able to water the seed and the rain around here is spotty. It might rain four times per week and we might go three weeks with no rain. Would bermuda seed survive these conditions? My other option is to Roundup the lot in August and seed fescue in late September/early October. I hate to do that because we lose so much fescue in July/August and have major aerating/overseeding to do every fall. Thanks....See MoreGood nurseries in Charlotte NC
Comments (24)I am glad to find Rountree well liked when I saw this old thread. I have been checking out like every greenhouse in charlotte and they have really impressed me. Aside from Rountree, I also love Campbell's Greenhouse on South blvd. It is in South End just below East; next to the Mr K's soda shoppe & the Chipotle, so it is very very convenient if you live or work in uptown. It looks like a tiny place on the outside but there is a nice long greenhouse stuffed full of beautifully cared for orchids and houseplants and vines, and then an outdoor area behind with lots of good stuff. A much smaller operation than Rountree, I have only ever seen 4 or 5 people there, but they have chatted with me a lot and answered all my questions until I was always comfortable. Every house plant I have purchased there is still lush and healthy. So I frequent them too....See MorePotted Dwarf Avocado (zone 7b) Charlotte NC
Comments (10)I don't have that variety. Mine do require cross pollination, but if your research states that Wurtz is self pollinating, then you don't need another variety. I have a Zutano seedling that has not yet fruited. It's in ground, 4-5 years old, and taller than me. Since seedlings often produce fruit unlike the parent, I purchased a Jan Boyce to graft on to it. Jan Boyce needs pollination. So does Kona Sharwil, and they will pollinate each other. Part of me wants to see just what that seedling can do, but the smart part of me says, graft Jan Boyce onto it so you will know you have a delicious variety. Enjoy your tree!...See Morecarrie630
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12 years ago
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