Tips for a fertilizer/weed control as I seed this spring

[forgop]

I'm going to put down 100# of kentucky bluegrass in the near future and was looking for a good fertizlier/weed killer. I wasn't sure if a Scotts Liquid Turf Builder +2 would be a good application for it or not. I won't be putting down a crabgrass preventative as I know I won't get grass to grow with applying it.

I just bought this house last spring and it has its problems with the lack of a nice quality turf and just trying to keep seeding the hell out of it to fill in bare areas. I don't want to deal with muddy areas all summer any time we have much rain.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

[wayner123]

I would go with sod. I know it's not what you were looking to do, but it makes more sense.

[Silound]

Personally, I wouldn't use a weed'n'feed at all. Almost all of them target a specific type of weed but don't do much to stop anything else.

I would start with a base coating of RoundUp twice a week for two weeks, and till the land to a depth of three inches in between weeks. One week after the last spraying, I would seed the ground and water it well. As soon as the grass starts to sprout, keep a close eye for weeds and unwanted clover and other things sprouting. After the grass has a good footing I would come back and spot spray it with Crossbow/2,4-D to eliminate any unwanted broad-leaf weeds growing. Fertilize as recommended by the seeding instructions after the spraying.

That's what I would do...a bit more expensive but cheaper than sod and helps prevent overgrowth of unwanted crap.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by wayner123

I would go with sod. I know it's not what you were looking to do, but it makes more sense.

Only problem is I just don't want to shell out $3,500 for the sod alone-that's figuring I hoof the labor (which I don't have the time and back to do it) and do the tear out. It'd probably be a minimum of $5k to have someone do it.

Just gonna have to aerate the hell out of it, seed, and fertilize.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by Silound

Personally, I wouldn't use a weed'n'feed at all. Almost all of them target a specific type of weed but don't do much to stop anything else.

I would start with a base coating of RoundUp twice a week for two weeks, and till the land to a depth of three inches in between weeks. One week after the last spraying, I would seed the ground and water it well. As soon as the grass starts to sprout, keep a close eye for weeds and unwanted clover and other things sprouting. After the grass has a good footing I would come back and spot spray it with Crossbow/2,4-D to eliminate any unwanted broad-leaf weeds growing. Fertilize as recommended by the seeding instructions after the spraying.

That's what I would do...a bit more expensive but cheaper than sod and helps prevent overgrowth of unwanted crap.

Problem is that it's already an established lawn, although poorly IMO. There are a few different patches that just look completely out of place.

[neoflex]

Have you priced out sod or are you just guessing at the cost? When my wife and I bought our house 4 years ago it was new construction so the builders definition of a lawn was much different than ours. When we priced out our options, having top soil brought in and than seeding and all that goes along with growing a new lawn it was about the same cost as it was for us to just go the sod route. Granted I did the work myself but price wise they were almost equal for us. Either way I would have been doing the leg work myself. I rented a commercial machine to till what we already had which I would have done either way so that cost was moot and than had a turf company deliver 12 palates of sod which was nice as I had them drop the palates in different areas of the yard so I wouldn't have to hump sod from the street or driveway the whole time. The nice part was when I was done it was instant gratification where as with seed it takes weeks and your not always guaranteed successful results. After tilling up what we had it literally took us a day and a half to roll it all out. Many of our neighbors went the other route and to be honest I still think we have the best looking lawn in the neighborhood. For me to go with seed I would have had to lay at least 2inches of topsoil so it still would have been PITA. Depending on what you currently have I almost always recommend bringing in at least an inch of topsoil when starting a new lawn from seed. In my opinion it gives you better odds of the lawn coming in thick and healthy.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by neoflex

Have you priced out sod or are you just guessing at the cost? When my wife and I bought our house 4 years ago it was new construction so the builders definition of a lawn was much different than ours. When we priced out our options, having top soil brought in and than seeding and all that goes along with growing a new lawn it was about the same cost as it was for us to just go the sod route. Granted I did the work myself but price wise they were almost equal for us. Either way I would have been doing the leg work myself. I rented a commercial machine to till what we already had which I would have done either way so that cost was moot and than had a turf company deliver 12 palates of sod which was nice as I had them drop the palates in different areas of the yard so I wouldn't have to hump sod from the street or driveway the whole time. The nice part was when I was done it was instant gratification where as with seed it takes weeks and your not always guaranteed successful results. After tilling up what we had it literally took us a day and a half to roll it all out. Many of our neighbors went the other route and to be honest I still think we have the best looking lawn in the neighborhood. For me to go with seed I would have had to lay at least 2inches of topsoil so it still would have been PITA. Depending on what you currently have I almost always recommend bringing in at least an inch of topsoil when starting a new lawn from seed. In my opinion it gives you better odds of the lawn coming in thick and healthy.

If I were new construction, I would do sod for the reasons you stated. Problem is in getting approximately 1300 sq yards cut out, new topsoil put down, and then laying down 20 pallets worth. That doesn't even take into account there's now way to get the topsoil to my back yard without hoofing all of it.

This is a google maps pic...my house is at the top and neighbor's is below. Hard to really tell that much, but you can see quite a contrast in my back yard and my neighbor's yard. His entire back yard is already thick and dark green and I barely had enough to even cut yesterday.

[yakman]

I still use the beer can fertilizer it works great. It takes care of weeds and helps the grass grow fast. If you want it send me a message.

[neoflex]

The nice part about the sod is I skipped the topsoil portion of the equation that I wouldn't have been able to do had I gone with seed. That is where the costs started to even out between the two.
I would love to hear about the beer can thing. I used to know someone that swore to using beer as a fertilizer but at the time I was renting so I never paid much attention.

[Gophernut]

I too would be interested in hearing about the beer can fertilizer.

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by neoflex

The nice part about the sod is I skipped the topsoil portion of the equation that I wouldn't have been able to do had I gone with seed. That is where the costs started to even out between the two.
I would love to hear about the beer can thing. I used to know someone that swore to using beer as a fertilizer but at the time I was renting so I never paid much attention.

Originally Posted by Gophernut

I too would be interested in hearing about the beer can fertilizer.

This is probably the recipe:

1 can beer
1 cup epsom salt
1/2 cup ammonia
2 cups water

Mix together and add 1/2 oz to 1 gallon of water, feed every 2 weeks.

I would NOT recommend using this for a fertilizer.

[tsolomon]

Look at Purdue University's Turf Grass site and it will answer a lot of your questions.

http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/pubs/

You really don't want to seed or over fertilize at this time of year. That should be done starting in September. Depending on what turf grass is growing in your yard, you need to mow at the correct height. If you have anything other than Zoysia, that means 2 1/2" to 3 1/2". This keeps the weeds seeds from germinating, but it also means you're cutting the grass once a week.

[JaKaacH]

Originally Posted by tsolomon

Look at Purdue University's Turf Grass site and it will answer a lot of your questions.

http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/pubs/

You really don't want to seed or over fertilize at this time of year. That should be done starting in September. Depending on what turf grass is growing in your yard, you need to mow at the correct height. If you have anything other than Zoysia, that means 2 1/2" to 3 1/2". This keeps the weeds seeds from germinating, but it also means you're cutting the grass once a week.

What he said, seeding works best in late summer/ early fall.
Spring seeding IMHO never works out very good, I live in the Kansas City area, don't know about your area.
A quick spring and summer grass is rye, but it will not come up next year.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by tsolomon

Look at Purdue University's Turf Grass site and it will answer a lot of your questions.

http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/pubs/

You really don't want to seed or over fertilize at this time of year. That should be done starting in September. Depending on what turf grass is growing in your yard, you need to mow at the correct height. If you have anything other than Zoysia, that means 2 1/2" to 3 1/2". This keeps the weeds seeds from germinating, but it also means you're cutting the grass once a week.

I already said it's not ideal, but I just need to get the coverage ASAP for what I wasn't able to get filled in last fall. I'm not really wanting bare spots/mud every time we get anything more than a sprinkle. Figure I'll just aerate the hell out of it in a week and seed the hell out of it even more.

[JaKaacH]

This is a great product.

http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Right-So.../dp/B00178Q936

Really makes the grass grow nice and thick, gets the soil properly conditioned. I couldn't believe how good it worked.

Like others have said mow it tall, thick and tall shades the soil, keeps the weeds choked out.

[tsolomon]

Originally Posted by forgop

I already said it's not ideal, but I just need to get the coverage ASAP for what I wasn't able to get filled in last fall. I'm not really wanting bare spots/mud every time we get anything more than a sprinkle. Figure I'll just aerate the hell out of it in a week and seed the hell out of it even more.

It can be done, but you will need to water it a lot until the roots get established. Look at the Seeding a Turf Area in the Spring publication, that pretty much covers everything you need to do. I have been over-seeding bare spots for the last couple of weeks, so you're not the only one doing this.