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loopypat

Need suggestions regarding my lawn

loopypat
10 years ago

I am not a gardener by any means, although I do love flowers, and have a few perennials that I have planted that I love. However, my lawn is a wreck! I would say that there are more weeds than grass, literally. We have crabgrass, clovers, cudweed, wild strawberries, some type of minty smelling weed, dandelions, and now this year, deadnettles and I am sure there are many more I have not identified. My fiancé and son do not clean up when they cut the lawn, which leads to all the debris filling in the crevices in the sidewalk, driveway, and street, which sprout into more weeds. I am really not a good judge of size, so I will upload pics to give you an idea of the size of our lawn, which is quite large for living in the city, plus we are a corner property. I would like to have our lawn look nice, like everyone else in the area. I am at my wits end with pulling weeds every year. Recently I purchased "weed and feed" spray, but not much result yet. Would we be better off just digging up the whole lawn and laying sod or grass seed? Any suggestions would really be appreciated, as I mentioned this is not a subject I am familiar with, nor have I ever dealt with before. Thank you in advance for your help.

Comments (3)

  • kimpa zone 9b N. Florida.
    10 years ago

    You lawns look green to me! Proper mowing and fertilizing are your best bets for helping the lawn compete with weeds. Also, broadleaf weed control (most of the weeds you have)is best done in the fall.

    If you know you have a lot of crabgrass, it is probably not too late to apply Dimension herbicide (dithiopyr). I found it at ACE hardware and it also contains fertilizer. If you don't want to use crabgrass control, fertilize now.

    I like clover so I only spot kill other weed with "weed b gon" but it sounds like you have already treated them this spring so wait until fall to do it again.

    The minty smelling weed is probably Ground Ivy AKA Creeping Charlie. Very hard to kill. The deadnette will die soon. It is an annual and will reseed again in fall. Wild strawberries are hard to kill.

    Mow the lawn when it needs it to keep it at 3" or higher.

    Don't fertilize again until fall.

    If you want to renovate the whole lawn and start all over, it is best to wait until fall. It will be hot soon and lawn does't like that.

    You might want to look at the Lawn care forum too.

  • Kimmsr
    10 years ago

    You can spend a lot of money as well as time and energy putting down synthetic fertilizers and poisons or you can take the time needed to make the soil your lawn grows in into a good healthy soil that will grow a strong turf that will be better able to thwart those "weeds". Before applying any fertilizer or much of anything else contact your counties office of the Penn State Cooperative Extension Service and have a good reliable soil test done so you know what your soils pH is and what major nutrients are present in what quantities. Dumping, especially synthetic, fertilizers on your lawn can simply mean you are polluting your environment.
    Beside your soils pH and major nutrients you should want to know how much organic matter is in your soil, how well that soil drains, how well that soil retains moisture, what kind of life is in that soil, as well as what that soil smells like.
    Perhaps these simple soil tests will be of some help.

    1. Soil test for organic matter. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top.

    2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drainsâ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.

    3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.

    4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell.

    5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Penn State CES

  • kimpa zone 9b N. Florida.
    10 years ago

    Yes, a soil test is a great tool. Something I should have told you. It will most importantly tell you the current PH of your soil and if you need to apply lime. Our soils tend to be acidic and grass grows best with a higher PH. But don't just go and apply lime. You need to know how much. The test kit costs $9 in my county (Bucks) and then you will mail the soil to Penn State. It will take a few weeks to get the results. The best time to lime is in the fall so you will have plenty of time to prepare. You can get the phone number by using the link that Kimmsr gave you.

    The test will not show nitrogen levels. Since you are having so much trouble with weeds, I feel it is appropriate to fertilize with nitrogen now, unless you have already done so this spring. There are organic or chemical choices readily available. This will get your grass growing to help outcompete the weeds.