[thomasg]

We moved in to our house a few years ago, and the yard was not my top priority. Starting a few months ago I began to heavily read about lawn care and maintenance. I have decided that I would like to start to do something about it. I would say my goal is to get to the "level 2" lawn. I simply do not have the time to make it to level 3.

I must confess, I did not apply a PreM. I did not realize its importance until it was too late. As far as weed control goes, on May 5th I spot sprayed 2, 4-D to kill all of the dandelions.

Of course I now have many broad leaf weeds that need taken care of since I did not apply the PreM. Is it too late (too far in to summer) to do a full yard spray of 2, 4-D or some other herbicide?

My yard is not irrigated as I have about 60,000 sq feet of grass. Being that the yard is so large, I have all kinds of different spots. Some have some really thick, nice grass. Other spots are very thin. My current plan is to attempt to do some kind of over seeding in the fall to help thicken up the entire lawn.

What else should I be thinking about right now? Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[Harts]

I would take care of the weeds throughout the course of the summer. I started out spraying once a week, but mainly spot treatments, for 4 consecutive weeks to get rid of everything. I still have the odd one pop up and I spray it right away. With that being said, I only have about 2200 sf.

I would also try to identify what weeds you have as 2, 4-D won't kill everything - Crab, Dallis, Quack etc. Once you know what you have, everyone here can help point you in the direction you need to go in terms of what herbicide(s) to use.

Welcome to TLF!

 

[thomasg]

Thanks for the help. I will attempt to maybe get some pictures of some of the major ones I see. I know I have clover, broad leaf plantain, and prostrate spurge in a few spots.

 

[g-man]

No prem anymore if you plan to overseed. I think 60k is a lot to maintain without irigation at a level 2. It is also expensive.

 

[thomasg]

Maybe we will call it level 1.5

 

[Suburban Jungle Life]

Great ideas. To have a decent cool season lawn, you really need 3 things. Seed to have more grass plants, fertilize to help the grass grow, and kill weeds to reduce competition for your grass. Water of course is necessary but with 1.5 acres, you may be at the mercy of nature. Pray to the rain gods? Do a rain dance?

Overseeding every fall is optimal. If you have mostly KBG, then that spreads but rye and fescue don't. So, with a northern mix, seeding every fall helps to fill the bare spots and makes the turf thicker. This requires roughing up the surface so the seeds can sit into the top layer of the soil. You will have poor results if you just put the seed on the top of the dirt.

I like the recommendations of managing weeds now. Do your best to identify the weeds you have so you know what herbicide to apply. Use a 3 way herbicide to take care of the majority of the broad leaf weeds and you can spike it with triclopyr for a more effective kill and also to hit a few tough weeds the 3 way has trouble with. If you have sedges, add sedgehammer or dismiss to the mix. Also use a non-ionic surfactant in that mix. Consider temps when you spray herbicide. Above 85-90 is when you get more damage to the grass. Also, if it has been dry without rain for awhile, the turf will be stressed out and adding herbicide to that might kill some of the grass.

If you are spraying for weeds, do consider the reseed interval after. Many herbicides require 30 days or longer before you can seed.

I guess this brings up the big question, do you have a sprayer setup? Are you consistent with the spray volume and coverage? Did you practice with spraying water to be sure? You don't want to over spray herbicides or overlap since it can harm the grass you do have.

 

[Delmarva Keith]

One other thing to think about now for a planned Fall overseed is send soil sample to lab for a soil test and start getting the ph right if it's off.

 

[Suburban Jungle Life]

One other thing to think about now for a planned Fall overseed is send soil sample to lab for a soil test and start getting the ph right if it's off.

:thumbup: So true! So true!

 

[thomasg]

Thanks for all the reply's. I have been on vacation for the last few weeks and unplugged as much as possible.

I have a pull behind sprayer that I use. I know how much it is putting down per 1,000 sq feet as I have practiced with water several times.

I sprayed the weeds two weeks ago, and see a few spots that I missed. It has been in the 90s this whole week, but once it cools down, I plan to go hand spray those spots with my backpack sprayer.

Do you have a rec company to use for the soil sample? Seems there are a lot of them out there.

My rain dance must have worked last week. We got a few inches of rain and the grass snapped back in a hurry. Although I am not sure how long that will last with weather this hot.

 

[Delmarva Keith]

Thanks for all the reply's. I have been on vacation for the last few weeks and unplugged as much as possible.

I have a pull behind sprayer that I use. I know how much it is putting down per 1,000 sq feet as I have practiced with water several times.

I sprayed the weeds two weeks ago, and see a few spots that I missed. It has been in the 90s this whole week, but once it cools down, I plan to go hand spray those spots with my backpack sprayer.

Do you have a rec company to use for the soil sample? Seems there are a lot of them out there.

My rain dance must have worked last week. We got a few inches of rain and the grass snapped back in a hurry. Although I am not sure how long that will last with weather this hot.

Looking good! You need to patent that rain dance. Must be something remarkable in that rain.

For soil lab, I use the local university extension. For me that's U. Del. They know local conditions, what to expect and are super helpful with recomendations, You can even call and talk to a master gardener for tough issues.

There has to be something like that in a big city like Indianapolis.