[diy_darryl]

Hi all, I have a 1 acre lawn in the country and surrounded by a large hardly cut pasture so I will have that problem to always fight but my own yard has a lot of weeds. St. Louis, MO area.

I was always mostly happy if it looked green but now I want to get it into shape. I believe it is a typical Fescue mix sold at the local elevator. I have lots of clover also.

I have overseeded in areas hoping to choke out some weeds but am about to spray for the first time with RoundUp Pro Concentrate and then some Milorganite a few times before seeding this fall. What else should I be paying attention to? Lets get me to Tier 1, then we may try for Tier 2 after some experience.

I have a 2010 Toro Timecutter Z4235 that is clumping pretty badly. I always have to raise the deck and mow again to disperse the clippings. I leave the chute up, blades sharp and underside clean. I get a good velocity and well dispersed mat of grass exiting the chute and carpeting the yard when not clumping when it is especially thick so even that needs gone over. It doesn't seem to matter even if I mow every four days. I am cutting at 2.5" but know from reading here that I should go higher.

Would a Mulching Kit be good for my setup? I would prefer to mulch to help keep it out of the flower beds and pool.

Just read about stacking a high lift blade above the regular one, what about that, or in conjunction with a mulching kit?

I am completely lost and trying to watch videos and read this forum. THANKS!

 

[jessehurlburt]

Welcome to TLF!

There is a ton of good information here. Share some pics too.
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1595

So you are planning a renovation to kill all the grass and reseed? If so, you may be better off getting down the basics before killing off your whole acre lawn.

 

[diy_darryl]

I likely will not do a renovation ever. I just hope I can get things into much better shape.

 

[ericgautier]

but am about to spray for the first time with RoundUp Pro Concentrate and then some Milorganite a few times before seeding this fall. What else should I be paying attention to? Lets get me to Tier 1, then we may try for Tier 2 after some experience.

Can you link us to the RoundUp Pro Concetrate you plan on using?

 

[Suburban Jungle Life]

@diy_darryl You said you were using RoundUp Pro Concentrate? Does that have glyphosate? Glyphosate kills all grass. You should be using RoundUp for Lawns, if you wish to use the roundup branded stuff. Otherwise, you can use weedbgone CCO and do a blanket cover for the whole lawn. With 1 acre though, you may want to consider professional products since you will probably use a good amount.

As for mowing a northern mix, mowing higher if you have hot summers is better for the fescue and can help retain soil moisture if you don't irrigate.

 

[ForsheeMS]

Don't use Round Up, it will kill the weeds but will also take out the grass too. Yes, it kills everything. What you need to do first is determine what weeds you have and choose a selective herbicide so you only kill the weeds. My go to for broadleaf weeds is triclopyr. It will take out clover, chickweed, dandelions and most any other broadleaf without harming the grass. Once you have those under control there will be less competition and the grass will do much better. Grassy type weeds are a different story and are much harder to kill without damaging the grass.

IMO 2.5" is too short for tall fescue. My first cut of the year is at 3.5" usually mid to late February. After that I gradually go up and currently I'm at 4.25" getting it ready for the summer heat. By the end of June it will be close to 5" depending on heat and how much rain we get. Cutting it tall will help to grow deeper roots and will help to shade out a lot of weeds. Even at that height I'm still mowing twice a week right now.

My plan would be to work on the "easy" weeds for now and do a heavy overseed come fall. Just getting the turf thick will choke out a lot of the weeds. A good soil test would be a good idea too. This will give you the entire summer to make adjustments and get things ready for the new seed to do well. You should see major improvements by next year and in a few years it will be a great lawn.

 

[diy_darryl]

Thanks for all of the responses. Here is a link to the Roundup I bought. I don't think it kills everything butPlease verify as that would be a disaster. https://www.ruralking.com/roundup-powermax-2-5-gallon-10119199

I was going to spray 2,4-D but a co-worker said this is better and as I said I know nothing. It is unopened and I can take it back if something else is what I need.

Where would I buy the professional products like the triclopyr mentioned? I have dandelions, clover, and all sorts of things I cannot identify at this point.

 

[g-man]

That kills everything. (Non-selective)

 

[diy_darryl]

OH MY!!!!!! If I hadn't just had surgery I would have sprayed this already! I'll be talking to my co-worker for sure, he seemed like he knew what he was talking about. He even looked it up online so I know I got the same stuff he recommended.

I know I can get 2,4-D at Rural King or I can try to find triclopyr but not sure where. A quick online search had several different things and some of those killed everything.

 

[g-man]

This has triclopyr at rural king. https://www.ruralking.com/brushtox-with-triclopyr-32oz You might also need a non-ionic surfactant (NIS) like this one https://www.ruralking.com/drexel-hum-ac-820-surfactant-1-gallon

Please read the label and dont over apply it. I would start with the low side of a rate until you are more comfortable. Any herbicide at too strong of a rate could kill your lawn. For a blanket application, I would target 1gallon/ksqft. That means around 40 gallons for an acre of treated area. Do you have a sprayer setup and calibrated?

 

[diy_darryl]

I have a 26 gallon sprayer on a 4 wheeler I borrowed that I am quite sure isn't calibrated for anything. I think I need to regroup and order a sprayer and do this in a somewhat controlled fashion.

Is the 4 gallon backpacks good enough for a 1 acre yard? I have to start somewhere but not looking to spend $1k either as I am in the middle of a major porch renovation also.

I am confused about the triclopyr at Rural KIng as it kills woody plants and trees also. I have a 1/2 diameter peach tree in the yard also. It seems this might not be the best with triclopyr for me?

I apologize, didn't know it was this complicated.

 

[ForsheeMS]

The triclopyr will only kill what you spray it on. With that in mind, spraying near the peach trees will do no harm providing the wind isn't blowin a mist of it onto the tree. With triclopyr, all you need to do is moisten the leaves of the weeds you need to kill, do not drench them. Choose a day with little to no wind and use a fairly fine mist pattern.

The 4 gallon backpack would be fine for spot spraying. Might take a few tanks full for the initial spot spray. If you plan on blanket spraying then some sort of a larger pull behind type sprayer would be best as the backpack will take forever and then some. The 26 gallon sprayer on the ATV would work fine. Break the acre down into 4 separate sections and do a few dry runs (water only) to get an idea of what speed you need to run to use up everything in the tank. Once you have that down, fill the tank and add the herbicide according to the size area you will spray and go at it. If you're a little bit off one way or the other it won't hurt a thing. If you're a lot off there could be some damage to the grass. It's really not that hard but do read the herbicide directions several times and make sure you understand it. Feel free to double check here before you spray.

 

[Jconnelly6b]

Unless you are pressed for time, or your yard is greater than 50% weeds, I would advise against a blanket app. Good cultural practices suggest only spraying herbicide (weed control) on areas where there are weeds.... you'll see many here refer to this as "spot spraying."

A blanket app will be putting herbicide (chemical) where it's not needed, and too much runoff could harm aquatic life in the stream/river that it eventually ends up in. Of course you will do 0.1% the harm that a large scale farm does when they do a blanket app, but we should all do our part no matter how small the impact you know?

You can use the sprayer on your ATV, mix up a batch of herbicide and non-ionic surfactant (triclopyr is likely best for your application as others have said) and drive around the yard and spray the weeds. Repeat this every 2 weeks until weeds are gone. Probably will take you 3-4 applications.

It will take more time, but you will use less chemical, save money, and also learn a bit through the process on how different weeds react to treatment, and areas of your lawn that need more/less attention.

 

[diy_darryl]

I cant walk through any portion of my yard without seeing weeds and clover so spot spraying just doesn't seem like I could ever get it all.

Thanks for all of the advice it is very MUCH appreciated.

I went ahead and ordered a mulching kit today for my mower and am going to try and mow today on a higher setting. Just had surgery yesterday but the grass is growing like crazy.

 

[Rucraz2]

Before you spend the money on a mulching kit. Do some research. I personally have done both and prefer side discharge. Unless you are mowing every 3 days during a growing season you are going to have more clumping. Side discharge with good blades like gators don't leave windrows as bad. I am in the process of getting my sprayer set up on a bracket I had fabricated for the back of my rider. Using a 20 gal tank and my phone with gps app for my speedometer. I have a dash cell phone holder mounted on my hood to hold it. I use 2.25 tanks on my lawn thats a bit over an acre. I prefer to spot spray herbicide, but from the sound of it, a good blanket would suit your lawn best. Start with a low app like most have said. You can always do more later.