Paid scotts last year and got smoked,put on some weed and feed this spring but I think it must've actually been feed the weeds!.I am now thinking treat the weeds,fertilize separately,any help appreciated.
what type of grass do you have? have you ever had a soil test done? what is your shade situation like? trees, which way does your house sit relative to the lawn? (so you know when it is getting the most sun etc)
Preemergent does nothing once the weeds are already coming up. Spring is already to late. You have to treat the weeds at this point.
I have never been a 'lawn guy'. I've always just let whatever is growing grow, and kept it mowed. I prefered the 'natural habitat' look (meaning I'm lazy and cheap). This year though just for grins, I went to Lowes and bought a Bayer product that hooks onto the end of a hose and you spray everything. Much to my chagrin, it killed most of the weeds and fed the grass. It was like $10. I'll use it again.
Me? Well, I'm not sure now that you asked. It didn't harm it, in fact, the grass part (bermuda) looks the best it has in a while. It's spreading nicely into the spots where the clover, dandelion, grabgrass, and chickweed was growing.
Scotts, and most other lawn services, really does not offer anything that you cannot do yourself for less money than you give them to do it for you. That being said, do some research on how to care for whatever kind of grass that you have for your area of the country. Checking in with nurseries in your area will set you on a good path. All that being said, weed control has to be done twice each year. Here in Texas, we apply a pre-emergence in early to mid March before weed seeds sprout and again in Sept before the winter weed seeds sprout. Again, those nurseries can give you the proper time to apply for your area. For growing weeds there are basically two types. Wide leaf and narrow leaf. Deciding which kind of herbicide to use will be determined by what kind of grass you have. For example, you can use a wide leaf herbicide on Bermuda grass but not on St. Augustine. St. Augustine grass is considered a wide leaf plant and a wide leaf herbicide will kill it. As you can see, there can be a few considerations to take into account so consult a professional from your area. It might be kind of work, and attention, intensive for about two years but you can end up with a damn good looking yard if you're willing to do it. Keep reminding yourself, "this is fun!"
Yes you, I went over and looked on their site....Im usually a sucker to try those all in one products, I couldn't find one that killed weeds AND fed.
When I was a kid in burleson Texas we had about 2 weeks of green grass, then the heat set in and it died. Not much need for getting rid of weeds then.
for my house, we water three times a day to keep it green as far as bermuda goes, dont use a lot of weed products on it. it does not like weed killers at all! it is basically a weed itself!
I'm still kinda fighting with my yard. I live on the side of a hill that gets a good amount of sun all day long. There's occasionally shade on the sides of the house, but the back yard gets beat all day. I've thought about putting down Bermuda grass in the back for a couple of reasons - I'd like to mow it less, and I'd like something to grow back there besides weeds and dirt. I wonder how it would do in a place where soil quality isn't all that? My neighborhood used to be a sod farm, and when it was sold, I'm guessing they took all the good soil, because my back yard is rocky and has a few spots that don't grow so well with fescue. I've put out lime and fertilizer, water, etc, but there's still some dirt/mud spots.
You're correct. I mispoke. It's just a weed killer that is safe..........for most grasses. Shit did work though. But, my yard is small around the house (I'm mainly wooded) so I didn't have to put out wads of the stuff.
2 4-D is your friend. Use Trimec and most of your weed problems will be resolved. http://www.pbigordon.com/professional/page.php?ID_PRODUCTS=881
Depends on the size of your lot. I can't buy the material, Lesco or Scotts, for the cost of my treatments. I pay less than $400 a year for 6 lawn treatments, a grub treatment and an aeration. And I don't have to do any of the work. He's a local guy too, so that's a plus.
For what you get, this cost is a bargain compared with doing it yourself. Plus most lawn treatment services will come back if you call them and do spot treatments if you have any problem areas for no cost. I do my own just because I enjoy doing it. Otherwise I would hire a service.
I'm pretty militant about my lawn, but I have Floratam St. Augustine. That's a whole different ballgame.