[mpoland33]

Hello everyone....I need some advice from some veterans!

I grew up in Baltimore City with less than a postage stamp for a yard. My wife and I bought a house recently in the country with about 3 1/2 acres. I figure about 2 1/2 are grass. the rest is woods.

Anyway, the area we live in is mountain-y..lots of rock...sandstone I believe so we have some work to do on our lawn. We have a lot of blank patches that we are planning on seeding...actually we are having top soil delivered and then seeding on top of that.

My big question today is that we need crab grass and onion grass like nobodies business! I was hoping for some advise on the best weed killers out there for these kinds of issues.

Also, where should I go to buy in bulk or do I have to buy like 8 bags of killer from the store?

Thanks so much for all of you help in advance!

 

[g-man]

Welcome to TLF.

Congrats in your new house. Maintaining 2.5 acres is a lot of work and $$$. The first thing to establish is how much you want to spend and what equipment you have. I would start from at giving this thread a good read. Cool season lawn guide

To answer your specific questions:

-onions - grab a shovel and dig the bulb out. That's the fastest/efficient way to get rid of them.

-crabgrass - it has germinated yet. We start seeing it around May. So, what you have is something else. Post a picture in the weed thread and we will help id it. Try to get the leaf tip, leaf start.

The most economical way to treat weed is with spray applications. Granular will be expensive for 2.5 acres, even for 1 acre. After reading us know how you want to proceed.

Lastly, you do want to try to get a prem into your lawn in the next couple of weeks. Most of us applied it or are about to. The prem will prevent weeds from growing.

 

[ABC123]

I've fixed 187k sq ft without seeding and feeding what's already exiting.

With that much area and working with what's already planted should be the best approach if you don't have any irrigation system. Mowing tall and a very late summer milorganite app at bag rate followed by some urea going into winter will do almost 90% of the work. But before we get too crazy if you could post some pictures so we can see.

 

[mpoland33]

Thanks! what is a Prem?

I have a spike aerator/seeder so I was going to use that. If I did a sprayer I'd want one with a Boom on it. Do you have any suggestions on what to buy?

I'm up for investing if it's the cheaper route all around. Where would you buy "bulk" liquid solutions?

Should have been more clear on the crabgrass. We bought last August and that's when we saw the crabgrass. When should I apply for aiming to kill the crabgrass?

The onions- there are just TOO many to dig up the yard for them. Are they tough to get rid of otherwise?

 

[g-man]

We buy liquids online or tractor supply or rural King or site one. Most items are sold as a water soluble granulates (WSG). You mix x amount of the powder with water in the tank and apply it as a liquid. It is cheaper to sell a concentrated product that gets mixed with water by the end user.

Prem = Pre emergent = a product that prevents weeds/grass from developing.

For 2.5 acres, I think you will need a lawn tractor plus a pull behind tank or a mounted tank. I only have 5k of lawn, so I'm not the best to advise on large lawns. I think abc123 maintained 4 acres before moving to a smaller lot. Pete1313 keeps around an acre reel low. His Reno thread shows the equipment he uses and the work it takes. Take a look: https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=436

Crabgrass dies at 32f. Your died in December, but all their seeds are there waiting for soil temps to hit 50F.

The other way to deal with wild onion is to carefully paint the leaves with round up with a lot of non-ionic surfactant to make it stick. This is hard to do, without killing a lot of your good grass. A small spade shovel is faster.

Post some pictures and look at Pete thread. There are other members with large lawns that will give you great advice too. Look at their lawn size in their profile when they post.

 

[mpoland33]

Fantastic. I think if I can figure how to mount a sprayer to the tractor on the cheaper side, I'll go that route. Nothing against the tow behind though. Do you have a yearly pllan that you follow? I feel like I'm less familar with the WSG mixes I'm seeing. Granular I would just use Scott's or whatever was at the box store.