Fertilizing my lawn for initial spring application
- Thread starter spierceisu
- Start date
I gave up on timing crabgrass preventer. Yesterday and the end of may fo me. Doubles my cost but my soil tests always say I need nitrogen. I never put on any other nitrogen. It solved my late season grabgrass issues.
A tradition unlike any other ...
I come back to this each year.
I come back to this each year.
my front yard is looking like a professional playing surface at the moment. a heavy dose of nitrogen and iron a couple weeks ago have it looking great.
i swear by using this 3-4 times a year. its basically milorganite but costs half as much.
www.menards.com
the back yard is a different story. i go chemical free back there. i have seeded in white clover in several patches and pull the dandelions by hand. i sneak a spot spray with some ortho when the wife isnt looking a couple times a year on other stubborn weeds.
i swear by using this 3-4 times a year. its basically milorganite but costs half as much.
FOREVER GREEN® Natural Slow Release Nitrogen Lawn Fertilizer - 2,500 sq. ft.
FOREVER GREEN® Natural Slow Release Nitrogen Fertilizer is a ready-to-use fertilizer for use on: lawns, trees and shrubs, flower beds, roses, and gardens. A natural choice to fertilizing.
www.menards.com
the back yard is a different story. i go chemical free back there. i have seeded in white clover in several patches and pull the dandelions by hand. i sneak a spot spray with some ortho when the wife isnt looking a couple times a year on other stubborn weeds.
I spread 2 weeks ago with the Fleet Farm generic brand and the yard looks like a playing turf. Had some horseweed, thistle and dandelions I spot sprayed with 2,4-D and dicamba. As the summer rolls on I’ll hit it with the Fleet Farm fertilizer and a stress blend fertilizer that’s worked well for me.
my front yard is looking like a professional playing surface at the moment. a heavy dose of nitrogen and iron a couple weeks ago have it looking great.
i swear by using this 3-4 times a year. its basically milorganite but costs half as much.
FOREVER GREEN® Natural Slow Release Nitrogen Lawn Fertilizer - 2,500 sq. ft.
FOREVER GREEN® Natural Slow Release Nitrogen Fertilizer is a ready-to-use fertilizer for use on: lawns, trees and shrubs, flower beds, roses, and gardens. A natural choice to fertilizing.
the back yard is a different story. i go chemical free back there. i have seeded in white clover in several patches and pull the dandelions by hand. i sneak a spot spray with some ortho when the wife isnt looking a couple times a year on other stubborn weeds.
I found this too while I was searching for the best spot to pick up some Milorganite. It's on special at Menards and for the most part it's the same stuff. I was also able to make 3 bags cover instead of usually 4 bags of Milorganite. I think once it goes off special I might back to Milorganite but for now it did the trick. This is all I do for fertilizer anymore.
I'm not a weed-n-feed type, I think the combination is a waste. If you have weeds, spray for them. If you fertilize, just buy the fertilizer. I don't think the combo, especially granulated 2,4-D is particularly effective.
Also, the "my lawn looks amazing" is kind of funny to me. Everything comes up amazing in April/May! Especially with all the rain we've had. I'm just glad I didn't have much "winter kill" this year. I spread for grubs last fall and I'll probably hit that again soon to make sure that stays controlled.
Two question:
1. Best way to deal with spots that never grew grass in from winter (or from dog's favorite places).
2. Dethatching? A game changer? I can rent one from a local hardware store as I can't find a company that'll come do it.
1. Best way to deal with spots that never grew grass in from winter (or from dog's favorite places).
2. Dethatching? A game changer? I can rent one from a local hardware store as I can't find a company that'll come do it.
Honestly - when I switched to this stuff from Scotts, I think my lawn looks better than it did, and I'm saving $50-60 a bag. Absolute no brainer. Not to mention I've yet to find a clump in this but when I bought Scotts at Home Depot it was clumpier than cottage cheese.
I have some bare spots I need to clean up - seems as though we were a little heavy handed with salt this winter and have some dead patches near the driveway and where I would throw snow from the walkway.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a company to do top dressing/leveling? I'm interested in quotes to see what it would cost vs. doing it myself.
I’ll report back in July when it will still looks amazing and like a playing surface.
I used to have to dethatch. Then I bought a bagger for the mower and I haven’t needed to since.
Stir the spot up and reseed. If it’s small enough you can get a moisture holding potting soil to mix in with it and babysit it. If it’s big I’d get some of the straw mat.
A quick drive around my neighborhood (or any, for that matter) would reveal this isn't true at all. Patchy dandelion farms are nowhere close in quality to those who give a damn.
The granulated 2,4-D is a scam- I’ve never had it work effectively. It’s easier and more effective to make up a batch of water and spray it as a liquid than the granulated. The only problem with the liquid format is 2,4-D as a liquid is volatile and moves if you spray it when it’s too windy- but if you keep an eye on the weather it does work better
Fine, I qualify my assertion to be limited to "for those to actually care for their lawns."
The people who merely mow their weeds every once in awhile obviously don't benefit from the May honeymoon period other than having all those 'pretty yellow flowers', LOL.
I don't know that its a scam, but if you don't apply it when there is moisture on the plants, you'll get terrible results. Has to be right after rain, or very early in the morning with plenty of dew present.
I’ve followed the application instructions on the bag and it’s never worked- it might just be that I’m used to mixing chemicals, but the liquid has been a day and night difference for me
100% agree liquid is the way to go for post emerge weed suppression.
Also agree that mixing your own is the way to go. Those jugs of point and spray at the big box store are so watered down.
Stands to reason as most farm pesticides require/suggest a minimum volume of water as a carrier to insure uniform/complete coverage. A heavy dew far exceeds that volume of water on a per acre basis but the granules of product are not evenly distributed when the dew dries up. Sounds good in theory but not in practice.
I've heard that many that are toying with the drones as a means of applying fungicides are finding less effectiveness simply because they can't carry enough water for uniform distribution and sprayer tips cannot make up the distribution problems at the low rate of water required to make that application economical
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