I looked up that Wipe-out cuz I was hoping I could use it for spot treatments, but it says it will kill Saint Augustine. :-(

Where did you read that it killed St Augustine grass? My lawn is St Augustine( in the shade, and Flotam( full sun). Right on the container it says for use on St Augustine Grass????? It just kills the weeds and not the lawn. Are you sure you looked up Wipeout crabgrass weed killer by green light? Barbra

We've used a lawn service before, but not now. However, I do recommend that you employ them for at least one year just to help you get everything under control. Then go back to doing it yourself. And don't forget to use the pre-emergent twice a year.

Honeybunny - Is the Wipeout you use made by Green Light? The website doesn't say anything about not using it on certain types of grasses, but I don't know if they're showing the whole label.

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Light Wipeout

I looked it up too and it said you could use it on St Augustine grass.
But it said it only suppresses the nut sedge and kyllinga.

Is suppressing it enough?

I suggest that you call green light tomorrow, I think there office is right here in San Antonio. I can only tell you what works for me. We used weed and feed for years, then found out it was bad for dogs to walk on. We had nothing else to use and had a bad problem with sticker burrs, nut sedge, and dollar grass, then the nurseryman who was installing our sprinkler system, told my husband about wipeout. We went to his nursery, and bought a bottle. The name Wipeout scared us, so we only used it on a small section of our lawn, to see if it would do what he said. At first we thought it did not work, because it over a week before you see the results. When we saw the results we did our entire lawn, almost an acre. We have been using it since 2003. Its easy to apply my husband just uses the lawn sprayer and hose. We have to use it twice a year, because of this the only thing that I have found that kills dollar weed at the coast, and doesn't hurt the St Augustine Grass. Please call green light, and save your knees. Barbra

I found this in My Texas garden.com:
I saw the "time for" was time to spray Wipeout for broadleaf weeds, can I use that on St Augustine Grass? I�m in the Dallas area.

Rating: +0
Wipe Out is formulated to be safe for St. Augustine and should be safe even in cooler temperatures, but probably not when it is as cold as it is right now (30s to 40s). I'd wait until it is a warmer, sunny day and when the wind is not strong so that you avoid spray drift

Do you think the granules would work as well as the spray?

I'm not much of a large scale sprayer. :(

I don't know, we use the liquid, I would call green light and ask. We buy it a Fertile Gardens here, but I have seen it at other nurseries. Lowes and Home Depot do not carry it. Its always sold out at the nurseries in Rockport.

My husband taught me how to use the sprayer with the hose so I can feed my plants. I used the granules before, I discovered how simple it was to use the spayer and hose. It has made gardening so easy, and fast.
Barbra .

The web site shows its at 6 places near me, nurseries and even Lowes. I'll have to go look and see if its really there. I need a new trellis anyway. :)

Last year the Lowes at the Rim in San Antonio did not carry it, I hope they do this year. It would be cheaper than buying at a nursery. I was at Lowes today and did not even look. I will go tomorrow and check it out. I will post what I find. Barbra

I think anything that says 'for broad leaf weeds' would work the same. Be careful and use it on a still day as you don't want the spray to drift onto flower beds.

I've mentioned this before but the best sprayer I've ever used is the Gilmour 362. It's guaranteed for life. After years of use I wrote to the company to ask for a part, the plastic tube that picks up the liquid, and they sent me a whole new sprayer.

Lots of garden centers and feed stores carry them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gilmour 362 Pro hose end sprayer on Amazon ...

I use a Gilmour sprayer for my Roundup, they stand behind their product, sent me a replacement part free. I like companies like this!

I want one of the sprayers that you posted Roselee, how do I get into the website, so I can order Does someone want to go in with me a get one, that way we get free shipping( if the order is over $25? Do I need to keep the original receipt in case something happens to it, or do you register it with the company? Barbra

Barbra, no original receipt or registration needed. All I did was email the Gilmour website, www.gilmour.com, with the model number of the sprayer and ask for the part. There was no reply or anything. A box with a new sprayer came in the mail. All their products are outstanding.

One tip on maintenence: when you are through using the sprayer, unscrew the receptacle that holds the product (you can pour any left over back into the original container) and back flush with water by holding your finger over the spray tip. Then remove the sprayer from the hose and spray WD40 into the tip to lubricate a ball bearing type part.

I've ordered yard stuff, as well as books and other products, from Amazon lots of times. Never had a problem with them either.

I was looking at the Ready to Spray product. Maybe it is different?

Here is a link that might be useful: Wipeout RTS label

Didn't you get a $400 water bill last summer? I couldn't take that kind of punishment. I also seem to recall you don't get any shade in your front yard. Tough situation, weeds or no weeds.

Can Wipeout be used under trees? I've got a few oaks in the front and have only been going organic. I need to get my weeds under control before I return to organic weed control.

I just printed the pages for the ready to spray wipe out, (Where To Use) Established turf of Northern( cool season) and Southern (warm Season grasses may be treated. The northern turfgrasses include Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and the fescues. The Southern turfgrasses include St Augustine grass, centipede grass, bent grass, bahia grass, and bermuda grass.

(Broadleaf Weeds that it kills)bedstraw, bindweed, black medic, burweed, buttonweed, carolina geranium, chickweed, clover, cockebur, creeping jenny, curly dock, dandelion, dichondra, dollarweed, goathead, ground ivy, henbit, lambsquarters, lespedeza, morningglory, nettle, oxalis, pennywort, pigweed, plantain, poison ivy, poison oak, prostrate spurge, puncturevine, purslane(common), shepherdspurse, speedwell, spurweed, thistle, virginia buttonweed, wild carrot, wild four-o-clock, wild onion, wild vetch, wood sorrel, and other broadleaft weeds.

under (Use Precautions) Do not allow spray or drift onto vegetables, flowers, ornamental plants, shrubs, trees, and other desirable plants since injry may result. Do not pour spray solutions near these plants. When using a hose-end sprayer or pressure sprayer, do not use fine sprays becasue they can drift and cause damage to non-target plants. Coarse spray droplets are less likely to wind-drift. Use only lawn-type sprayers. Do not spray roots of trees and ornamentals. Do not exceed specifiied dosages for any area: bebe particularly careful within dripline of trees, and other ornamental species. This product may be injurious to St Augustine grass, bent grass, and centipede grass under conditions of high temperature and moisture. Under these conditions, or in cases of accidental overdose, some slight temporary discoloration of the St Augustine Grass may occur. Cultivars vary in tolerance to this product. Do not apply this product to Floratam St Augustine grass.

I am glad I read this, I am going to call green light and ask if the do not apply to Floratam St Augustine grass, is just in high temperature and moisture conditions. About half our grass is in the sun, and that is where we have the floratam. Only St Augustine in the shade, under oak trees. We spray every March during spring break,and again in Oct, and it has never hurt our lawn. We do not spray within 5 ft of the oak trees trunk, because we have flowerbeds under all our oak trees, but we do spray under the dripline of our 17 oak trees, Most of our trees are hugh, the dripline extends way into the lawn. In fact that is where we have our dollar weed problem, since the dollar weed likes shade. I will post what green light has to say about the floatam. Barbra

I just called Tony at Green light and asked about the Floratam St Augustine warning, he said that Floratam is a sensitive form of St Augustine Grass, and is usually sensitive to chemicals, so they put that warning. He said we have been putting it on our grass when the conditions are good, so it has not affected our grass. If we had put it down when the temp was over 90 degrees or excessive moisture we would have hurt the Floratam. Talk about dodging the bullet. Tony said to just continue using as we have for the past 8 years, just remember not to use wipe out if the temp is over 90 degrees, or excessive moisture, and we will be fine. They are closing there office on Wetmore Rd here in San Antonio ,and moving to Plano Tx, he also told me where I can buy it here in San Antonio, they do not sell it at Lowes.

I also went on line and ordered the Gilmore 362 sprayer, and the 1.5 qt yellow hand held sprayer, I am so excited to have my own fertilizer sprayer, I got the hand held one for insect spray. Thanks Roselee. Barbra

I don't know how many times I have felt the way you do. Come spring, I see some of my plants struggling to grow leaves and blooms and there I go again on my hands and knees under a rubber foam talking to my poor plants.

I have spend a bit of money in amending my soil and it seems to be paying off. For me, at least for now, being in my garden just seems to make problems bearable.

Posted by whitecap2 none (My Page) on
Mon, Mar 19, 12 at 5:42

Didn't you get a $400 water bill last summer? I couldn't take that kind of punishment. I also seem to recall you don't get any shade in your front yard. Tough situation, weeds or no weeds.

If that question was to me, yes, I had high bills last summer. But I also had a vegetable garden that I had to water every other day in that horrible heat.

We get shade near the house in the afternoon as the shade from the house spreads.

This is kind of OT, but soon after posting this thread, I started thinking about why all of my joints have suddenly started going south on me. It's not like I've started any new medication... and then it dawned on me that my GP put me on a cholesterol lowering med, and the pain in my joints started several months later. It's gotten worse gradually, so I never really noticed it until it started waking me up at night, and I couldn't bend one knee, or get up if I got down.

So I did a quick search for joint pain and that med, and sure enough, there was a link between them. So I stopped taking it that day, and that was almost 2 weeks ago. My shoulder is now pain free and I almost have a full range of motion back with it. My hips don't hurt as much, but the one knee is still a problem. Still swollen but I can bend it further than I could two weeks ago.

So maybe that was it, and I haven't suddenly turned into an 85 year old woman.

Still, I'd like to be able to work less in the yard and enjoy it more. Right now the crane flies and mosquitoes are ruining it for me. I even put out some insecticide the other day, and I haven't used chemicals in years. But I just can't take it anymore. No one is allowed to open the back door after dark, the bugs are so bad. They flock to the light coming through the glass door.

So I guess it's always going to be something.

We have noticed a lot of folks in our area giving up most or all of their yard after the experience of last summer. Can't say I blame them one bit, but I know it has been hard for some who really had garden show yards. I think we live on the edge of the great American desert, and it's taking us a while to admit it. My home is up for sale, so we have even re-sodded parts. But when we re-build (should our house sell), I don't think we will be doing nearly as much for yard as now. The inclination to give up is not unique to the OP.

Glad you're doing better Marti!

Personally, I don't have the time, inclination, or funds for the water bill to have a prestigious show yard full of grass. Which is why it's slowly being transformed into a "native" and "xeriscape" yard. Maybe you can convert part of the yard to garden beds filled with plants that thrive (or at least tolerate) your normal weather patterns and convert the rest to a native grass? Most native grasses need full sun, but once established only need mowing once or twice a year...but you have to be able to let them go to seed which can be a problem in some areas. None of this would be "easy" to install, but if you look at it as a one-time investment to be paid off in the future with reduced yardwork and water usage, maybe you can manage to swing it?

No matter what you do, I hope you can find a way to enjoy gardening (at least on a smaller scale) again.

I have a neighbor who has never watered his front yard. He enjoys some shade, but his yard faces the afternoon sun. He does mow the wild grasses and weeds frequently, though, and his yard just never looks as bad as you would expect. Even in late summer, "nondescript" is about the worst that can be said of it. The only really ugly part of it is where my St. Augustine got into it, choked out the native vegetation and then died, leaving nothing behind but bare dirt.

Whitecap has a point, my backyard (currently a combo of weeds, Bermuda, and St. Augustine and moving more towards weeds every year) doesn't look BAD when it's regularly mowed. It can look better, but, it's heavily shaded when the oaks & pecan are leafed out. Which is why I want to move it away from "Green-grass-lawn" and towards "something else...that doesn't take as much water and constant-care". And why my front yard has become "garden beds" except for the area that my neighbor's sprinkler system covers. If I can only control the weeds, I won't get any complaints. But, then, I don't have an HOA.

My front yard grassy area has never looked good. I've never reseeded, but tried to get the bermuda and St. Augustine to spread. Most of our yard is native grama grass. Not the most attractive native, doesn't choke out any weeds, and goes dormant when it's hot.

My problem with weeds is in the flower bed areas.

Part of the weed contingent. My front yard became flagstone and planted beds in the last 10 years. My back yard became a mix of Dallas grass and similar grasses with horse herb. I love the HH. I put in a pallette of St. A. 2 years ago and last summer most of it went. But that horse herb sure looks good now.

I also feel your pain. I see my flowering vines that are already growing rapidly and I wonder if I can keep them off the roses or if I should just try to pull them out now. Grass or plants it's always something.

c

Oy, yeah, I understand. I didn't have much luck with anything growing under my ceder elm. And, since it was infected with mistletoe and it was spreading to my oak trees, I said it had to come down.

Haven't had any luck with grama grass; horseherb seems to be spreading on its own, but slowly. And blotchy. If I could transplant it appropriately....

I'm going with native "shrubs/bushes" and those that can survive here without a whole lot of extra care. With the semi-regular watering that I'm willing to do, they'll make an impressive showing this spring and survive the rest of the year.

How are you dealing with the mistletoe in your oak trees? I've got some mistletoe in a Texas Ash and would like to get rid of it. There is a spray we bought one year and treated the lower ones and it seemed to work, but it won't reach the high braches.

I was out in the yard yesterday and looked over in the neighbor's yard that is next to my front yard and south of me. It was solid dandelions. And the yard that is south of my backyard is about the same. Chain link fences so no stopping those seeds when the wind blows.

Thankfully, I caught it when it was ONE plant in a location that we could reach. It was also young enough that cutting it off at the branch seems to have killed it. The cedar elm came down within a year.

The only things that I know to do are to cut the mistletoe off at the branch and keep doing so until it dies OR amputate the branch that it's on, preferably where it meets a larger branch/trunk as the roots spread under the bark.

I refused to water my lawn last summer, and am slowly trying to get rid of it completely this year. I have started smothering the grass with cardboard and mulch, and I am expanding the beds and filling them with native plants and trees. I am even going to squeeze in a vegetable bed in front, because I have too much shade in my backyard.

I just cannot justify the amount of time and water it takes to have a green manicured lawn. In the meantime, I am just mowing it regularly to keep the grass and weeds down, and it all looks fine to me.

Fortunately, I live in an area with no HOA or ordinances that insist on grass in the front lawn.

We've had to remove two 40 year old Cedar Elms that lost good sized limbs last year due to the wind, didn't need damage to the house, but I sure miss the shade!

Have you checked out the blog "Plano Prairie Garden"? Really neat, he changed his whole Plano yard from the normal looking, boring Texas yard into natives, I love it! I want to do this so bad in our front yard, but my DH just won't have any part of it!

Sun-n-Clay, if you have Bermuda you're going to need to kill it completely with Roundup first...it laughs at being smothered and will come up through everything anyway. And manual removal doesn't work very well...the roots go too deep. I've been fighting it in various places and saying very bad words every time I have to deal with it.

I second the "Plano Prairie Garden" and thank Ogrose for reminding me about it!

ogrose, my dh won't have it either. I am letting my flower beds slowly creep into the "grass" area. Maybe he won't notice if it happens gradually. lol

Many, many years ago, my then 4 year old son was 'helping' me weed. He gave me such a shocked and hurt look when he found out the weeds were the ones that made puff balls. i.e., dandelions. They were his favorite plant!

Since then, I've stopped stressing over the weeds. Most of the ones out now will die when it gets hot. The rest I pull or mow down.

Fortunately, I have been able to replace lots of grass with flower and vegetable beds. I keep those mulched and don't have much problem with weeds. Just have to pull the trees the squirrels plant before the trees get too big.

I am so with tx ag. Why not xeriscape and go native. I know things that are drought tolerant do tons better here. Also think mulch and layers. I used sweet potato vine in my beds this past year to add another layer of "heat blocker" and converted to Pine straw mulch. I actually had a left over brocoli make it through last summer and bloom this spring. We are going to be building and I am already thinking of how I can reduce the lawn size "1 1/2 acres".

All the pea gravel in my area is sprouting weeds like you wouldn't believe.

Tx ag, where do you get your native plants, any place close? I know there is a nursery in Denton, but haven't found anything close to me in Dallas area. Last Fall I planted seeds, and it's coming up; at least I think it is -had landscape soil brought in from East Texas, and can't tell if they're East Texas weeds or flowers, LOL!

Ogrose,

I went to Marshall Grain Company in Grapevine on Saturday to purchase more molasses, corn gluten meal and some Drummond's Sundrops.

I went back today to purchase the WipeOut mentioned by honeybunny2 and plan to spray this weekend.

/whisper
But really I went back to pick up some Tropical Milkweed I saw there on Saturday.
(It kept calling to me, begging to be planted in my garden, I swear it did!) I have a few tiny seedlings of it now.. but these are HUGE!
/whisper

If you know what you are looking for you can find lots of natives there. If you don't see it they can tell you when it might be coming in.

There is lots to see at this location.. lots of doo daas and garden art and cool things to look at.

Have an amount you are willing to spend and stick to it.
You can always go back next payday. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: directions to Marshall Grain Company

I noticed this afternoon that the product I purchased and thought was WipeOut.. is really something called Weed Out made by some other company.
:(
It says its ok to use on St Augustine but I'm not taking any chances.
I'll have to go and return it and find the real Wipe Out at some other store.. unless it was hiding somewhere among the bottles of other weed killer stuff.

I wonder what other goodies (plants) I'll fine to make the trip worthwhile.

Melvanlina, I'll bet if you look hard enough, you'll find something!

I'm going to try to make it to Marshall Grain Co. soon and see what they have, although I have way too many plants as it is right now and keep saying "no more" for this year. But I'm not addicted, no way!

Marti8a ~

Between the oppressive heat, my determination *not* to run up the water bill, and my lower back pain . . . I made the deliberate decision to let the entire backyard go last summer. In the past 3 weeks (since the tornadoes & hail), I've spent more time in the yard than I did all of 2011! Lots of storm debris, but lots and lots of 2011 weeds and leaves.

I strongly 2nd someone's earlier recommendation that you employ a lawn service for a season (month, summer, year) -- you can select the $$ or type or method of service. So they could weed or they could napalm or they could use only organic . . . its your choice. But this will kickstart the project until it gets to a level you can manage. I did the same thing with a cleaning service last year -- I've never used a cleaning service before, but things had gotten out of control (both cleaning & life in general), so we did a one-time turbo clean for the kitchen, one bathroom and the living area, and I'm so glad I did.

~ freshair

freshair you sound like me. I don't think there are any organic services around me.

I did let the very back of my acre go. It's driving dh nuts, but I want to wait until the Indian Blanket are finished. If it gets hot and dry again, it will be the last time I have to mow that part this summer.

Mowing is the most relaxing of my "chores", Marti.......hope you enjoy it as much as I....good thing I do as I have a LOT to mow.

What a difference a year makes. I was doing a search for canning and this post popped up. I got a chuckle reading it because this year I don't have nearly as many weeds as last year. Other than that dollar weed type weed, I have very few weeds in my grass, and I'm working on that weed, whatever it's called.

So what did you do to get rid of the weeds?

I pulled them, or popped them out with a weed popper.

I still have plenty of weeds, don't get me wrong, but it's just not all weeds this year. I fertilized with mushroom compost early this spring and that must have given the grass a head start on the weeds.

Marti, where do you get your mushroom compost??

Dh got them at Home Depot.