Spring Lawn Care

[Yotkilr]

Never really cared about my lawn much but got a new place and would like to try have a half way decent looking one this year. Just FYI its out of town about an hour west of bismarck so you know about the reign for weather, and have about 50,000 square feet of lawn. Whats the best way to start out spring as far as fertilizer or weed and feed? can you also throw down more grass seed when doing this? is it good to spray for weeds right away or wait till later in summer for that? I'm looking for any advice on getting er to look good this summer if anyone has a step by step process they wouldnt mind sharing. thanks

 

[FishReaper]

If you like to fish on the weekends I suggested a mix of 50/50 roundup and napalm.

 

[701FishSlayer]

Helping your lawn revive from the winter starts with a good Fall fertilizer. At the end of the year fertilize that baby. When the temperature is on the up where ever you live, start by aerating your lawn in the Spring. On the same day that you aerate your lawn, put a good dose of Ever Green 18-5-0 fertilizer down on your lawn it has the right amount of iron and nitrogen to bring your lawn back to a lush dark green color quickly and safely. Don’t hesitate to put an extra heavy dose as it will not burn your lawn this early in the season. If it doesn't look like rain coming right after you fertilize it, get your lawn wet somehow or just wait til its about to rain before throwin fertilizer down. Wait a month or so, hit it with another round of fertilizer. Early summer get the fertilizer out again and hit it with some feed n weed fert. By June you'll be sayin, damn that's a nice lookin lawn.

 

[Kentucky Windage]

I have had the pleasure of creating a yard from scratch out in a dirt field so I have had some experience with this. I am a fall grass seed guy. If you can get it up and growing just a little in th fall, it's much more competitive in the spring with weeds. Spring seeding works too but I favor fall seeding. Spray for weeds ASAP in the spring. Get a good broadleaf residual herbicide down right away. This first application will take care of your early emerging weeds. I make a second application a few weeks later. Most of this depends on the weather since the first application. I'm not going to list what I use because it's not labeled. Just get a good aggressive growth regulator from one of your farmer buddies.

 

[MuskyManiac]

De-thatch, aerate, overseed.

 

[USMCDI]

Get some Milestone or if you get an applicator's license Tordon, I haven't sprayed my yard in 2 years and I'm a weed nazi. Don't nuke it right away in the spring especially if you have new growth and if you use any of the aforementioned chems do not use the grass clippings for anything you want to grow.

 

[huffranger]

Thanks guys !! I have some lawn to repair after a waste management truck did some 4x4ing in my front lawn and I dug in water and power to my new shed.

 

[DirtyMike]

Thanks guys !! I have some lawn to repair after a waste management truck did some 4x4ing in my front lawn and I dug in water and power to my new shed.

Ha! Shed, he says.

I was planning on aerating last fall and didn't have time. Luckily, my neighbor is a jack of all trades and has one to use. I'll drop some grass seed down after that and weed and feed in late june/early july. This time I won't have any beverages before as to avoid opening the trap all the way and dumping weed and feed in two big piles. Still haven't gotten anything to grow there.

 

[nxtgeneration]

Great thread. I have some major repairs to do this spring as well. The house we bought was rebuilt a few years ago after the original house burnt down. The original (old house) owners did not take care of the yard from what neighbors tell me. There is landscape rock everywhere, many many random trees were growing, bushes sprouting in the middle of the yard ect. During construction of the new house there was no care taken to protect the backyard. The first owner of the new house was a younger girl and didn't have the resources or ability to get it back in shape. Last fall we took out all the random trees along with some tough looking evergreens and did some regrading. This spring i need to bring in more fill and begin reseeding.

So here is my plan as of now. Place new fill around house and low spots, mow the rest of it down on the lowest setting and then spray it with some herbicide. Will need a thin(ish) layer of new dirt on the entire yard as it is very rough. Then seed and fertilize the entire thing. With that said, does anyone have a better plan or just some more tips.

 

[Lycanthrope]

De-thatch, aerate, overseed.

Not in that order tho, Aerate, Overseed, THEN De-thatch....

 

[MuskyManiac]

Not in that order tho, Aerate, Overseed, THEN De-thatch....

Why is that, Lycan, so the de-thatching can break up the plugs?

 

[Lycanthrope]

Dethatch will break up the plugs and also mix the seed in so youll get better germination. You could also seed after, but it would be a good idea to rake it in or run a drag of some sort over it after, so it isnt all blown away and germinates better.

 

[huffranger]

Holy crapola the Milestone is spendy, does it cover allot of sq footage ??

 

[Vollmer]

Great thread. I have some major repairs to do this spring as well. The house we bought was rebuilt a few years ago after the original house burnt down. The original (old house) owners did not take care of the yard from what neighbors tell me. There is landscape rock everywhere, many many random trees were growing, bushes sprouting in the middle of the yard ect. During construction of the new house there was no care taken to protect the backyard. The first owner of the new house was a younger girl and didn't have the resources or ability to get it back in shape. Last fall we took out all the random trees along with some tough looking evergreens and did some regrading. This spring i need to bring in more fill and begin reseeding.

So here is my plan as of now. Place new fill around house and low spots, mow the rest of it down on the lowest setting and then spray it with some herbicide. Will need a thin(ish) layer of new dirt on the entire yard as it is very rough. Then seed and fertilize the entire thing. With that said, does anyone have a better plan or just some more tips.

Assuming there is topsoil there now, could just till it all and save some time/money.

 

[Vollmer]

Dethatching is overrated imo. Keeping the dead grass on the underground helps hold moisture. Same with bagging grass. Overrated.

 

[DirtyMike]

What's that one spray that some guy used to kill dandelions. Interested in the name of that stuff....

 

[FishReaper]

Dethatching is overrated imo. Keeping the dead grass on the underground helps hold moisture. Same with bagging grass. Overrated.

I bagged my lawn and raked leaves till last year, last year i said F it and put on nice mulching blade. Now its just run it all down. grass, leaves, twigs, rabbits, the neighbors chihuahua, Mulch it all and hit the lake

 

[BDub]

Milestone kills thistle and not the grass. Thus it really helps if you have major thistle growth.

I too like fall seeding. Hit the area with roundup in the middle of September. When the weeds are dead till if you need to. Then drag it to level it off. Depending on the soil that may be good enough for seed without tilling. Seed late, right before winter starts. The seed shouldn't germinate until spring. With a little luck and snow it will be a good start. If you underground sprinklers you can start just about anytime. I've had good luck with fall seeding and mother nature's moisture.

 

[tikkalover]

Trimec Classic is what I've been using for broad leaf weeds, for the 17 years that I have worked in the agronomy world. It works great on dandelion and thistle. Remember you need to use something labeled for turf, and ornamental, or you could get it trouble if the state inspector stops by one day when you are spraying, or if you kill something in your neighbors yard, and they report you to the state.

 

[Kentucky Windage]

Milestone kills thistle and not the grass. Thus it really helps if you have major thistle growth.

I too like fall seeding. Hit the area with roundup in the middle of September. When the weeds are dead till if you need to. Then drag it to level it off. Depending on the soil that may be good enough for seed without tilling. Seed late, right before winter starts. The seed shouldn't germinate until spring. With a little luck and snow it will be a good start. If you underground sprinklers you can start just about anytime. I've had good luck with fall seeding and mother nature's moisture.

The seed that germinated in the fall went dormant and was that much farther ahead in the spring. Did I lose some from winter kill? Yes. Would you lose some seed from it sitting in the ground all winter and spring? Yes. Fall germination is better IMO.