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re: drought killed my yard: what to do to prep for next spring
Posted on 9/26/23 at 4:08 pm to Boudreaux35
Posted on 9/26/23 at 4:08 pm to Boudreaux35
quote:
Would you mind posting a general procedure for that? I have the same problem and would really like to try to see a decent lawn next summer. I've had the same mix for about 10 years and always had a healthy green lawn; very few weeds but manageable. This year, the only green things in my yard were weeds.
What type of grass do you have?
In general,
Work on your current turf until it goes dormant.
1. Spray existing weeds.
2. Put down a pre emergent for winter weeds. I'm using Lesco Stonewall 0-0-7. This will help to "winterize" your lawn.
*Do this no later than 15 October.*
3. Start cutting more frequently to get the most out of a healthy lawn until dormancy. It's still hot out there!
4. Apply another round of pre emergent in late Febuary. This will protect against summer weeds next year.
----So that's how to prep for spring-----
Then comes spring:
5. Scalp your lawn in March to prepare for green up and bag the clippings.
6. Fertilize in April to encourage growth and green up.
7. Spray for weeds and cut 1-2xs/week from April onward, establishing a consistent and appropriate height of cut for your grass.
8. Fert up to once/month
9. Water up to 1"/week
That's enough to get you started. Look into dethatching and aeration if you wish, soil modifications, leveling, etc.
This could be you in 2025 (if you have Bermuda).
This post was edited on 9/26/23 at 4:13 pm
1
Posted on 9/26/23 at 4:24 pm to bayoubengals88
JUst like the OP, I have (had) a mix of St Aug and Bermuda. Now it's a mix of dead everything and weeds.
Spray weeds with something like Round-up, or what?
How do I tell when it's dormant if it is all brown and hard? There is absolutely nothing healthy left except for weeds.
Spray weeds with something like Round-up, or what?
How do I tell when it's dormant if it is all brown and hard? There is absolutely nothing healthy left except for weeds.
Posted on 9/26/23 at 4:36 pm to Boudreaux35
I wouldn’t use round up as you might be able to use this reset to nurture an all Bermuda lawn in 2024.
Go with MSM Turf for existing weeds.
I’m curious as to what would happen if you watered deeply once a week and cut low with the remaining fall heat.
Of course you could do a complete renovation and round up the entire yard now. But that’s worth a new thread, which I would gladly follow.
Check out YouTube too. I like Ron Henry and The Average Lawn Guy (both have Bermuda Lawns). The Lawn Care Nut is pretty good too (Zoysia, St. Aug).
Pre emergent is preeminent regardless! October and February.
Go with MSM Turf for existing weeds.
I’m curious as to what would happen if you watered deeply once a week and cut low with the remaining fall heat.
Of course you could do a complete renovation and round up the entire yard now. But that’s worth a new thread, which I would gladly follow.
Check out YouTube too. I like Ron Henry and The Average Lawn Guy (both have Bermuda Lawns). The Lawn Care Nut is pretty good too (Zoysia, St. Aug).
Pre emergent is preeminent regardless! October and February.
This post was edited on 9/26/23 at 4:44 pm
Posted on 9/26/23 at 5:43 pm to bayoubengals88
I have 1.5 acres of mostly crab grass and junk grass. This going to cost me thousands to get corrected isn't it?
Posted on 9/26/23 at 5:50 pm to DiamondDog
No just nuke it all
And lay granular pre emergent after
Start fresh
Seed and use the correct starter fertilizer for that grass type next spring when temps are appropriate
Lay top soil, sand and some peat moss
Bermuda seed is cheap, centipede and others not so much if you don’t want to seed buy sod or plugs.
If I ever have to start fresh I’m going empire zoysia
And lay granular pre emergent after
Start fresh
Seed and use the correct starter fertilizer for that grass type next spring when temps are appropriate
Lay top soil, sand and some peat moss
Bermuda seed is cheap, centipede and others not so much if you don’t want to seed buy sod or plugs.
If I ever have to start fresh I’m going empire zoysia
This post was edited on 9/26/23 at 6:32 pm
Posted on 9/26/23 at 5:56 pm to DiamondDog
This post was edited on 9/27/23 at 6:49 am
Posted on 9/26/23 at 6:00 pm to DiamondDog
So about 65k square feet?
Kill, level, sprig, water, fert, water, water, water.
Probably a few grand. Not sure how much sand/topsoil you need.
I’ll send you an inspiring journal from a guy in north Louisiana…fits your situation perfectly. 1.5 acres and used just two pallets! That’s a lot of savings.
LINK
Kill, level, sprig, water, fert, water, water, water.
Probably a few grand. Not sure how much sand/topsoil you need.
I’ll send you an inspiring journal from a guy in north Louisiana…fits your situation perfectly. 1.5 acres and used just two pallets! That’s a lot of savings.
LINK
Posted on 9/26/23 at 11:26 pm to Dire Wolf
I gave up this year. Between drought and sod web worms my yard looks like Dodge City in the movies. I'm just gonna let it ride and start mowing an inch higher and hopefully the St Aug will catch up next year.
Posted on 9/27/23 at 7:07 am to DiamondDog
What are you calling junk grass? If it is an open field then you probably have a lot of common bermuda already growing.
Posted on 9/27/23 at 7:43 am to ronk
If so, I can’t speak highly enough of common Bermuda as a cheap option.
Aside from leveling, watering, and fertilizing, it’s free!!
This is what happens to an extremely small patch of common during drought conditions when you only water the Bermuda area and you cut it every 2-4 days.
This area was 100% carpet, goose, crab, clover, and VBW as recently as late July:
Aside from leveling, watering, and fertilizing, it’s free!!
This is what happens to an extremely small patch of common during drought conditions when you only water the Bermuda area and you cut it every 2-4 days.
This area was 100% carpet, goose, crab, clover, and VBW as recently as late July:
This post was edited on 9/27/23 at 10:37 am
Posted on 9/28/23 at 1:03 am to bayoubengals88
If the lawn still has any small spots of grass, a couple of deep watering right now can start the grass growing some.
I did this about 10 days ago, and this really bad area is starting to show some greening up now.
I did this about 10 days ago, and this really bad area is starting to show some greening up now.
Posted on 9/28/23 at 7:16 am to Dire Wolf
Kill everything, scrape the yard, backfill and level dirt, and then plant Bermuda. My Bermuda did not "die" with the drought this year. OH, buy plenty of MSMA/fertilizer/2-4-D for when the Bermuda takes hold.
One more thing, do this in the spring of '24. :-)
One more thing, do this in the spring of '24. :-)
This post was edited on 9/28/23 at 7:18 am
Posted on 9/28/23 at 3:29 pm to bayoubengals88
quote:
Pre emergent is preeminent regardless! October and February.
What's a decent pre-emergent that the average guy can get and apply?
Posted on 9/28/23 at 4:09 pm to Boudreaux35
quote:I'm going with Lesco Stonewall 0-0-7. Grab some while it's still on sale.
What's a decent pre-emergent that the average guy can get and apply?
Posted on 9/30/23 at 8:59 pm to Dire Wolf
I'm going to guess it wasn't just the drought but it was the catalyst
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