[MyCoolGrass]

My first day here.

I'm brand new to all of this so bare with me. My yard is 6,500 sq. ft. and it's 8 years old (sodded when house was built). I have never done anything with it except mow. You can imagine what it looks like now. I'm in Iowa so I assume it's cool season grass but I have no clue what type of grass.

I've been reading herbicide labels trying make out the information on them. That's my first question. I've contacted a few of the manufactures and they pretty much agree on what the numbers mean. This is what I'm talking about.

For product X it says for cool season grasses uses 3.0 oz. for 1,000 sq. ft. Then it also says use 1.2 to 5.0 gals of water. My understanding of this is: If I put 3.0 oz. of product in the tank, no matter how much water I put in the tank (between 1.2 to 5.0 gal) I only spray 1,000 sq. ft. before refilling. The reason for using more or less water is for volume or coverage. No matter if I use 1.2 gals of water or 5.0 gals, the product has the same effect. Meaning it doesn't become less effective if I use 5.0 gals vs 1.2 gals of water. Is this correct?

Next question: What product do you recommend to rid my yard of weeds and keep it that way? I know there's pre-emergent and post-emergent stuff. I don't really know much about either one and when to use it.

I believe I have identified all the weeds I have.

1. Creeping Charlie
2. White Clover
3. Dandelion
4. Foxtail
5. Crabgrass (Large)
6. Crabgrass (Smooth)
7. Wild Violet

At this point, I'm all ears. I have all winter to figure out a plan of attack for spring so there's no hurry.

I did go out yesterday and spray herbicide on the entire yard 6,500 sq. ft. I used a 2 gallon pump sprayer and I walked in a straight line back and forth trying not to overlap where I sprayed. When I got done, I had used 6.3 gallons of water and 19.5 oz. of product. I used Q4 Plus herbicide. The grass is still alive this morning so that's good. :lol: I'm not sure this is the best way to go, so that's why I'm here.

 

[GrassDaddy]

That's essentially what I do with applying liquid products. I know with my backpack sprayer I can do the whole front yard with 4 gallons of liquid. So what I do is measure how much product is needed to put down for that much square footage, and fill the tank the rest of the way with water to the 4 gallon line. That being said, this assumes it's a *blanket spray*. When you spot spray you want to mix the right ratio and spot spray.

As for what to use, I would wait and see what is left after you just sprayed. That way you can target whatever weeds didn't die.

 

[g-man]

My understanding of this is: If I put 3.0 oz. of product in the tank, no matter how much water I put in the tank (between 1.2 to 5.0 gal) I only spray 1,000 sq. ft. before refilling. The reason for using more or less water is for volume or coverage. No matter if I use 1.2 gals of water or 5.0 gals, the product has the same effect. Meaning it doesn't become less effective if I use 5.0 gals vs 1.2 gals of water. Is this correct?

You are correct, as long as you keep the amount of water within the label range (1.2-5.0/ksqft). The key variable is that you need to apply all the mixture evenly to the 1000 sqft. So you need to know how much water you need to be able to apply it to the area without overlap, without running out or with extra water. The best way is to practice with your setup (wand, walk speed, nozzle height) in a drive way until you get a consistent result (ie. 2.4 galons will cover the 1000sqft).

Next question: What product do you recommend to rid my yard of weeds and keep it that way? I know there's pre-emergent and post-emergent stuff. I don't really know much about either one and when to use it.

Recommendations for your lawn size, a larger lawn it would be more economical to use other products
1. Creeping Charlie - weed b gon CCO
2. White Clover - weed b gon CCO
3. Dandelion - weed b gon
4. Foxtail - weed b gon + crabgrass control (i think)
5. Crabgrass (Large)- weed b gon + crabgrass control
6. Crabgrass (Smooth) -weed b gon + crabgrass control
7. Wild Violet - weed b gon CCO

The ones with CCO, do it now. They are perennials and will be there next year. Now is a good time to deal with them. The crabgrass and the others, ignore them. They will die with the first real frost. Next year around mid march, apply a Pre-emergent (PreM). It will avoid the crabgrass and other weed from growing from seed. It is cheaper and easier to prevent the weeds than killing them after (postM). My weed b gon container is around 5 years old since I only mix ~one gallon per year, all thanks to the PreM.

I did go out yesterday and spray herbicide on the entire yard 6,500 sq. ft. I used a 2 gallon pump sprayer and I walked in a straight line back and forth trying not to overlap where I sprayed. When I got done, I had used 6.3 gallons of water and 19.5 oz. of product. I used Q4 Plus herbicide. The grass is still alive this morning so that's good. :lol: I'm not sure this is the best way to go, so that's why I'm here.

This must have taken a while. I tend to only spot spray instead of blanket spray not to stress the lawn too much. The Q4 plus is similar to the weed b gon plus crabgrass. It has a fourth active ingredient (ai) that deals with sledges. It is a good product, but stronger and more expensive. Over applications will hurt (kill) your lawn.

 

[GrassDaddy]

I actually practice in the whole lawn with water. You walk different on pavement than grass especially if your lawn isn't flat.

 

[MyCoolGrass]

This is great information! So what is a good pre-emergent to put down in March for the weeds I have listed above? Is a liquid or granules better? I guess I prefer granules with a spreader as I'm not a big fan of handling liquid chemicals.

I will mark off a 20x50 ft area of my backyard. Put in some water and blue turf mark and try walking that and see how much water it takes.

 

[g-man]

The best two PreM are Prodiamine (brand name barricade) and dithiopyr (brand name dimension).

Prodiamine is sold as a water soluble granulate (apply at the 0.65ai/acre rate). It is applied in liquid form and it is the cheapest per area. Most of us use this one.

Dithiopyr is sold as water soluble and granular (apply at 0.5ai/acre rate). It is more expensive and it does provide some post control to crabgrass. It is best to source it locally since shipping cost would be high (50lb bag). I could get it from advance turf at 5miles from my house. I use it in early spring since I dont like to deal with water in the cold.

The third option is buying from a big box store (home depot, lowes, menards). Brands dont matter. Try to find one with those two ingredients in the bag and a low percent of nitrogen. It is not ideal to apply PreM with nitrogen, but it better than not applying any. This is an old article: http://purdueturftips.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-to-select-crabgrass-preventer-from.html

Timing of application matters. Here is one method: http://purdueturftips.blogspot.com/2013/03/use-growing-degree-days-to-better-time.html

Rate reference:
https://turf.purdue.edu/tips/2009/02202009_Premergence.html

 

[g-man]

I forgot about this thread. Free prodamine with a donation to a charity.

http://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1274

 

[MyCoolGrass]

I'll head out to the big box stores and check a few of the lawn specialty places for PreM just to get a sense of what they have and read some labels. If I do find something, would I be safe buying a bag now and just holding on to it until spring? Maybe I won't find much since it's fall and probably nobody is buying that stuff now so there may not be anything in stock.

I'll also look into the donation thing.

 

[g-man]

It is a hit or miss. If you see it, it will likely be on sale since they don't want to hold it thru winter. They also normally bring it out too late during the spring (April instead of March).

It is safe to buy now and keep. Just keep it in a dry place in the garage/shed (some of us have stacks of bags in the garage).

You will need around 1.5oz of prodamine for your yard. That's very little. Here is a prodamine calculator, http://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=921&p=20398

 

[jimmy]

The ones with CCO, do it now. They are perennials and will be there next year. Now is a good time to deal with them. The crabgrass and the others, ignore them.

Dandelions are also perennial, so you could take a crack at them now too.