Why is my “grass” patchy? or is it weeds?
Alexandria Juarez
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Alexandria Juarez
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Vigoro weed & feed killed my grass - now what?
Comments (5)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!...See MoreWhy does my grass grow these long stalks so quickly?
Comments (15)What you are looking for is a fertilizer with a Big 1st number and Small 2nd and 3rd numbers.... 39-0-0, 29-0-5, etc.... Remember... High 1st number, Low other numbers.... Flip over the bag and look at the analysis... You are looking for the words "Poly coated Urea" This means "Slow Release" There is plenty of this stuff available at HD and Lowe's... though it isn't the Lesco product that TW recommends in the Bermuda Bible.... Use up your Starter Fertilizer at Bermuda Bible Rate -- then start buying something like 29-0-5 or 39-0-0 for the rest of the season.... Thanks John...See MoreWeird "grass" (weeds) in my Sugar Land lawn
Comments (6)Looks like it's "poa annua/annual bluegrass" from the pictures I've Googled. I don't know why the bare spots are there. The St. Augustine was coming back to life much better in the front, though this picture was taken at the onset of Spring. Kids and pets are back there minimally... not enough to affect anything. Looks like Atrazine is the solution. Thanks everyone!...See Morepatchy lawn, crappy soil, lots of weeds..
Comments (9)Is that at UMASS soil test? Most people think their soil is crap, but their soil test proves them wrong. Your soil might be the exception. It looks more like coal mine tailings than soil. I don't think I've ever seen a pH of 4.5. Does it burn your skin? The pH of vinegar is 3. Okay enough commentary. Ridgerunner is the guy you need to look at that test. Now is a poor time to seed a lawn. If you want to continue with poor results, then you could do it now. By July you'll have a crabgrass lawn. The best time to seed is in the early fall. That would be late August for you. Summer weeds (like Crabgrass) are not sprouting in the early fall, so the summer weed pressure is toned down. Plus seeding in the fall gives the grass time to develop a root system that can withstand the summer heat. The good news is that you can use a preemergent herbicide (not mixed with fertilizer) NOW and not have to worry about grass seed. Don't fertilize until Memorial Day...unless Ridgerunner has other ideas. Memorial Day is a good date for normal lawns. If you get a lot of crabgrass year after year, you might be watering wrong. I live in South Texas where we don't get a lot of moisture and have had temps in the mid 80s already. Still I have not watered the lawn yet and don't have any immediate plans to. The occasional rains we get have been plenty of moisture. Frequent watering is exactly what the summer weed seeds need. Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall....See MoreSigrid
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