My grass is terrible

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Ok, so now that its warming up I'm having to mow weekly not because the grass is growing much at all but because the weeds are going crazy. I'm talking mostly dandelions but I also have patches of clover (I guess thats what it is).

It looks like it was originally St. Augustine before it was completely let go by the previous owner. What can I do to help the grass choke out the other crap growing on my lawn?

I went to Home Depot last weekend and talked to the guys up there. They gave me a hose attachment spray bottle designed to kill the weeds so I will see if that works.

Any other ideas in terms of watering, fertilizing (timing of it), mowing, pulling vs killing weeds, etc.?
 
Here's a great site for a beautiful lawn. It's probably more information than you'll ever need, but it's a great reference. Also, you don't necessarily have to follow the organic methods, but they are safer for the environment and you'll eventually have a much healthier and weed free lawn b/c your soil will be so much better.

The Link

In regards to taking care of your immediate weed problems you're always better off pulling as many as you can. If you've got too many to pull, you might want to spray some weed killer on your lawn. You can buy the Ortho brand that attaches to you water hose at Home Depot. It will kill both the dandelions and clover. Most people that advocate organics would never recommend weed killer, but I think an initial spray to knock back the weeds never hurts.
 
Think twice about putting herbicides on your lawn ESPECIALLY if you have children. This is a natural weed-killer that works well, just make sure you spray it only on the weeds. A squirt bottle (like a sports drink one) would work well if you want to avoid killing the grass.


The Dirt Doctor -- The Link

Vinegar - The Organic Herbicide

The best choice for herbicide use is 10% white vinegar. It should be used full strength. I've mentioned 20% in the past but it stronger than needed and too expensive. Avoid products that are made from 99% glacial acetic acid. This material is a petroleum derivative. The proper vinegar is distilled from grain alcohol. Natural vinegars such those made from fermenting apples have little herbicidal value. They are used in irrigation water and as an ingredient in Garrett Juice.

Herbicide Formula:

1 gallon of 10% vinegar
Add 1 ounce orange oil or d-limonene
1 teaspoon liquid soap or other surfactant
Do not add water

Spot spray weeds and keep the spray off desirable plants. This spray will injury any plants it touches.
 
Work on getting the grass healthy. That will take care of the weeds. I'd wouldn't waste money on weed killers. The weeds will just come back after a while anyway.

Now is the time to apply fertilizer.
 
St. Augustine will choke out everything, no need for weed killer. Fertilize in the spring right before a rain. And most important for St. Augustine is to mow high, at least 2 1/2 ".
 
I'm not exactly an expert, but IMO BERMUDA grass and weeds will choke out St. Augustine more easily than the reverse. With that type of grass, you'll need to poison the yard to get rid of massive amounts of weeds.

I have bermuda lawn and used the Scott's weed-n-feed and the majority of my weeds died within 2 weeks. I agree you need to get your lawn healthy, but having weeds around will not allow that.
 
I've got the exact same problem and I've been researching it for a couple of weeks now.

Keep in mind that Weed-N-Feed will kill all broadleaf weeds, which include the leaves on your trees. If you put that stuff on the grass above the root system of your trees it will soak in and a few weeks later your notice the leaves start dying. This is not just my advice as a treehugger, it says the so right on the back of the package.

The dandelions are easy to dig up, roots and all, with a small spade. The clovers are harder because they are typically more widespread, but they do come up easily with the roots when you pull them. I spent about two hours today pulling them up in my front yard. I'm hoping that will do the trick without having to put too much crap on my lawn and into the Edwards Aquifer.
 
Yeah, I have no trees in the front where I'm working so I dont have that to worry about. I'm in the middle of a flat, black dirt/cotton land part of the state so the environmental concerns arent what they would be down in Austin.

I need to get one of those weed-pulling contraptions. Is there a certain type or brand that you've had luck with? Or do you just use a normal spade?
 
google "angle weeder". its a simple, but well designed hand tool. stainless steel blade, wood handle. about $15
 
I used Chemlawn once and ended up having to resod. My recommendation to everyone with a St. Augustine problem is to rip that **** out and resod with cavalier Zoysia. I am terrible at keeping up a lawn, but I planted this stuff 2 years ago and I easily have the best lawn in the neighborhood. Even I have not been able to F' it up yet in 2 years. Outstanding grass that holds up very well to drought and stays green through most of the winter though you don't have to mow it in winter. Just water twice a week, and mow once a week and it will choke out everything else.
 
I moved into a similar situation. To make matters worse, I have two very active dogs that enjoy to wrestle all over the yard. There are several trails where they've killed the grass as well. I had St. Augustine, but I need somethign that can handle the dog traffic. I'm expecting to need to till er up and resod, so anyone have any advice for what kind of sod to get as a replacement?
 
NAIU,
See above. Cavalier Zoysia. Looks great and is durable. If you have female dogs their urine will kill it, but if you dilute it with water after they urinate on it it will hold up. Male dogs do not seem to harm it.
 
One application of Scot's Bonus S (weed and feed) in the Spring will do the job. My dollar weed, clover is gone, and my lawn is very green.
 
Maroon - I use the Bonus S and it does kill clover pretty quick. The dollarweed is the ***** and I haven't seen any change in it in the last 3 weeks. Does it take longer to kill that crap - or do I have some mutant version of dollarweed?
 
If you mow your lawn too low, it can expose the soil to the sun. This can cause drier soil and weeds to germinate.
 
This cavalier Zoysia, does it spread rapidly? In other words, if I put a section of it on a part of my yard where there is some wear and tear, will it eventually overtake the St. Augestine? And can you buy this grass anywhere, or is it only in certain areas? I'm in Houston (west side) if that helps.
 
HH,
The CZ grass is pretty slow growing. I would get everything out of your yard, put down some sand, and the resod the whole area. It is not really a grass that would do great as a plug that will spread because it does grow rather slowly. It will take over and choke out weeds for sure, but I would not want it competing with St. Augustine.

I got my grass from a place West of Houston called Whitten Turf Farms(It is out 59 to Highway 6 then somewhere else I cannot remember). They deliver, or you can go out there and pick it up. It is not that expensive, but the grass that I got from them was incredibly pure. Yard looked awesome very quickly. When you put it down immediatly get a ton of water on it. Get it to wear it is muddy. Water every day for a couple of weeks and all the seams will disappear, and you will have the best lawn in the neighborhood with very little maintenance.
 
Ahhh, man's obsession with turning his lawn into a putting green.
I have a mixture of Bermuda and buffalo. I rarely water it, and I never use herbicides in it.
My bluebonnet patch will eventually take over the entire world.

BBFront.jpg
 
Any ideas on how much it might cost to resod a typical front yard with the CZ? I'm guessing I have about 900 to 1000 square feet of grass area out front.
 
If I remember correctly, and it is very possible that I do not about that same size cost me roughly 300. I think it was 350 for a big *** pallet they delivered to my house. I later had to drive out to the place to get about 15 more pieces to finish my yard.
 
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