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Tell be about fertilizing my yard.

Posted on 2/5/22 at 10:41 pm
Posted by arktiger28
Member since Aug 2005
5390 posts
Posted on 2/5/22 at 10:41 pm
I’ve done some fertilizing but I’m always late and don’t feel like I know what I’m doing. We get stickers in the front yard and I’d like to nip that this year. When do I fertilize? What do I use? Is there a cheaper option than the weed and feed stuff? Can y’all give me a primer on spring fertelizing or point me to a thread on here?
Posted by Sir Drinksalot
Member since Aug 2005
16868 posts
Posted on 2/5/22 at 10:49 pm to
is your nose stopped up?
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5827 posts
Posted on 2/5/22 at 11:40 pm to
Start by telling us where you are located - Arkansas, Louisiana (N or S), ……
What type of lawn grass - St Augustine, Centipede, Bermudagrass, Zoysia, mixed, you don’t know, …..

Many knowledgeable posters on this board that can help, but need a bit more info to point you in the right direction.
Posted by arktiger28
Member since Aug 2005
5390 posts
Posted on 2/5/22 at 11:45 pm to
I live right on the border of Arkansas and Louisiana. I’m not sure what kind of grass I have.
Posted by PaulBurbank007
Member since Nov 2013
821 posts
Posted on 2/6/22 at 12:06 am to
I assume you have a smart phone.. but there is an app called “picture this” and you can take pictures of grass and it will say what it is
Posted by arktiger28
Member since Aug 2005
5390 posts
Posted on 2/6/22 at 8:12 am to
Picture this says it is Bermuda.
Posted by Grassy1
Member since Oct 2009
7330 posts
Posted on 2/6/22 at 8:54 am to
Do you have anything green in your yard right now?

You might want to take a pic of this bermuda you have and post it here. Maybe a close up and big scope pic.

Posted by BallsEleven
Member since Mar 2019
6163 posts
Posted on 2/6/22 at 8:59 am to
I'd start off by suggesting you do a soil test. There are a lot of kits that you can get that you take the sample and send off to a lab and they will email you results a couple of weeks later.

quote:

Is there a cheaper option than the weed and feed stuff?


Many people don't use weed and feed because you can't get as good control over weeds using it versus weeding and fertilizing separately. The initial cost of doing this is bigger but in the long run you will save.

My personal routine with my bermuda is to put down a pre-emergent like prodiamine, start off a growing season with something like triple 13, push with nitrogen the rest of the season as needed, and knock out any other weeds with a post-emergent like celsius. For me, that takes care of 99% of weeds and keeps my lawn growing thick and healthy.

A good read for you would be Bermuda Bible on thelawnforum.com.
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5827 posts
Posted on 2/6/22 at 10:58 am to
quote:

Picture this says it is Bermuda.

Assuming it Bermudagrass (and I agree a photo would help) ronk posted a comprehensive Bermudagrass lawn annual calendar he uses on his Bermudagrass lawn in Dallas which will be at the same latitude you are located. (ronk is a lawn care professional). Perhaps he or someone else who bookmarked his post on this can post his lawn management calendar.

And I agree in regards to weed and feed combinations products, they are a convenience product and have limited flexibility in their use. Buy herbicides only to treat weeds when they are present, year around, and buy fertilizer only to fertilize the lawn.

Patience and persistence will be required to get your lawn in the shape you want it to be. Keep following this board - they’ll be many posts on lawn management ramping up shortly, with lots of good info that will help you.

The sticker or lawn burweed weed you are dealing with, spray with herbicide now on the first “warm” day you encounter. Consider using Fertilome Weed Free Zone with surfactant added - follow the label direction on the herbicide bottle. Consider applying a pre-emergent herbicide like Prodiamine in the next couple weeks to kill upcoming weeds whose seeds will be germinating shortly.
Posted by arktiger28
Member since Aug 2005
5390 posts
Posted on 2/6/22 at 1:06 pm to
Here are a couple of pictures.



Posted by ronk
Member since Jan 2015
7606 posts
Posted on 2/6/22 at 2:07 pm to
You can search my post history and find my bermuda schedule. Looking at those pictures there is some work that needs to be done. Just keep on it religiously for a couple years and then it gets easier.
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5827 posts
Posted on 2/6/22 at 3:15 pm to
I found ronk’s month-by-month Bermudagrass lawn management program. LINK. Some of pesticides he mentions are those used by professionals but homeowners can buy the same product, often under different names, at retail garden centers. If you have questions on any of these products and the pests they target, a number of posters can help.

From your photo, looks like have some annual bluegrass mixed in with the sticker weed. While the Bermudagrass is dormant you can use Atrazine mixed with the Weed Free Zone to help control it (Poa annua) assuming it’s not resistant. Follow this recipe. Using pre-emergent herbicides in late winter and early fall, proper fertilization and mowing program, will significantly help you with weed control going forward.

As ronk said expect at least a couple year to see dramatic turn around.



Posted by Adam4848
LA
Member since Apr 2006
19777 posts
Posted on 2/7/22 at 9:08 am to
We're about to have a long week of sun and temps 40's-60's

Would this weekend be a good time to do the first spray?
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5827 posts
Posted on 2/7/22 at 9:37 am to
quote:

We're about to have a long week of sun and temps 40's-60's Would this weekend be a good time to do the first spray?

Yes - try to do it in the warmer part of the day. Also note that Weed Free Zone and Atrazine are systemic herbicides - they work slowly, particularly in cooler weather, so you may not see obvious results for 3 or maybe even 4 weeks, and it’s ok to re-spray if required after that time.

Be patient but persistent. Larger, older weeds are more difficult to control than younger weeds and often require a re-spray. Going forward, when weeds are young and small, they are easier to control, so try to spray when you first begin seeing them.

I also want to emphasize atrazine will kill actively growing Bermudagrass so you can only use in the lawn when the grass is dormant (brown). A good bit Poa is resistant to consumer herbicides, and more difficult to kill when large and it has seeds, so don’t be shocked if you don’t get herbicide kill on Poa after spraying. It will die in the heat of summer. Using a pre-emergent herbicide in fall, prob mid-Sept, does a great on controlling Poa, plus many other winter weeds. But you should get good control of the lawn burweed (sticker weed) and other winter weeds with the weed free zone + atrazine combo. Do not forget to add the surfactant (spreader/sticker) - it increases the uptake of the herbicides by the weeds.
Posted by Adam4848
LA
Member since Apr 2006
19777 posts
Posted on 2/7/22 at 10:23 am to
Poa is the main thing I have left. I've actually been manually tearing up big spots and plan to spray where they were.

Clegg's cocktail has done wonders on all of the broadleaf applications with St. Aug.
Posted by PillageUrVillage
Mordor
Member since Mar 2011
15988 posts
Posted on 2/7/22 at 10:49 am to
quote:

I also want to emphasize atrazine will kill actively growing Bermudagrass


I sure hope so
Posted by arktiger28
Member since Aug 2005
5390 posts
Posted on 2/15/22 at 2:46 pm to
Quick Question. I have been spraying with the Clegg's Cocktail. Do I do Premergent granules on top of that or is that what the spray is?
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5827 posts
Posted on 2/15/22 at 4:06 pm to
quote:

Quick Question. I have been spraying with the Clegg's Cocktail. Do I do Premergent granules on top of that or is that what the spray is?

The cocktail is a post-emergent herbicide and kills existing weeds in the lawn (atrazine though does have some pre-emergent properties)

You want apply a pre-herbicide, granules or spray version, as a separate activity - it will kill weed seed embryos as the weed seeds’ sprout, significantly reducing, though not totally eliminating, weeds before they emerge. They have effective life of about 3-4 months. Prodiamine and Dimension are the 2 most popular pre-emergent herbicides.

Bottom line you want to use both - going forward the pre-emergent will cut down significantly on the amount and time of post-emergent you’ll need to apply.

P.S. I just walked in from just spraying some cocktail on young lawn burweed and Poa annua that “escaped” my fall pre-emergent application.
Posted by arktiger28
Member since Aug 2005
5390 posts
Posted on 2/15/22 at 8:54 pm to
So do Prodiamine and Dimension now or do I need to wait until fall?
Posted by ronk
Member since Jan 2015
7606 posts
Posted on 2/16/22 at 8:18 am to
Prodiamine now. Simazine in the fall. Specticle in the fall if you want to go big.
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