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On Jul 1, 7:56 pm, (MICHELLE H.) wrote:
We try to keep the lawn the lawn as "natural" as possible, as last year
we ONLY did the Scotts "Weed Control", as we had a problem with
Dandelions EVERYWHERE throughout the yard. Not like 1 or 2 Dandelions,
but hundreds!!!


Using the Scotts multi step program is about as far from "natural" as
possible. What they propose is constantly treating your lawn with
chemicals, whether you have a specific problem requiring them or not.

Given that you think the Scotts weed n feed killed your lawn over
night, the first thing I would do is call Scotts. Getting opinions
from the store or a neighbor is worthless. The neighbor spoting off
about the clover is clueless. There is no way the clover nitrogen
cycle has anything to do with your problem. Also, you put down a
slow release nitrogen, not Amonium Nitrate. Also, putting down
hebicide when it's in the 80's is not a good idea, as it can indeed
damage the grass. But if you applied it anywhere near the correct
rate, there is no way it would turn the whole lawn yellow over
night. For that to happen suggests something was wrong with that
bag.

I'd keep the lawn well watered and see what happens. Just because
it's yellow doesn;t mean it's dead. It's possible it may come back,
however the fact that whatever happened occured so quickly suggests it
may indeed be kaput.

If you want to start reducing the chemicals you are using, start by
not using weed n feed. With a 2 gal tank sprayer, you can apply a
minimal amount of herbicide directly to the weeds. This does 2
things. It minimizes the amount used and it delivers whatever is
used directly to the weeds instead of broadcasting it everywhere.

I also would not be putting down nitrogen hot weather either, as it
promotes fungus and disease. The best times to fertilize are Spring
and Fall.

Finally, if clover is your main concern, I doubt a weed n feed product
is going to do much, if anything to eliminate it. Clover is much
tougher to kill than broadleaf weeds. Look in the lawn/garden center
for products labeled for clover and apply it with a sprayer. That
is assuming you have so much that you want to get rid of it. The
"natural" folks acually prefer clover.

Michelle - So far you've gotten a lot of bad information, mixed with a
little decent advice.

The fertilizer part of the Scott's weed control program is a 28-2-4, which
means several things --
a. It's got a LOT of nitrogen in it, and probably a lot of that is
ammonium nitrate, just as you said. Trader is wrong in his comments about
slow release - to be effective, a lot of the fertilizer in a weed-and-feed
is water soluble to provide near-instant greening that will mask the
herbicide effects of the product.. There's probably a lot of ammonium
nitrate that you spread, but Scotts website does not list the specific %s of
ammonium nitrate and other nitrogen sources, probably intentionally.
b. He's right, however, that the ammonium nitrate shouldn't have made
your lawn yellow (unless it was really overdone in very hot weather)-- but
the herbicide in the product might. This effect is magnified if you used a
product intended for cool weather lawns on a warm-weather grass such as St.
Augustine grass, or vice versa. Scott's weed control is not for use on
certain types of grasses, and it's probably significant that Scotts has
chosen not to put the chemical analysis of its product on its web site.
c. It's also possible that you have so much clover and dandelions in
your turf that what you are seeing is the impact of the herbicide that
you've spread around, magnified by using the product during the hot weather
instead of spring or early fall as the instructions dictate.

In any case, about all you can do now is regular watering to encourage the
turfgrass to recover. There's a good likelihood that you've done enough
damage to the turfgrass that you've left open spaces for more weeds and that
your weed problem may become even more pronounced as the summer progresses.
Both the herbicide and the water-soluble fertilizer parts of your treatment
are going to be gone within days, making this a really expensive way to have
done minimal short-time work on your lawn.

In my experience as a Master Gardener, many people over obsess about their
lawns, spending too much money and time for little, if any, good. With
normal soil and care, obsessing about pH levels or instant weed control is a
waste of time and money. As you've seen, there are a lot of ways to spend
time and money without getting good results. Ideally, with just a little
water and perhaps some fertilizer a lawn can be grown that will crowd the
weeds out. I've reached the point with my lawn that I no longer fertilize
and no longer pull weeds, but simply use a mulching mower to return modest
levels of nutrients from the cuttings, the weeds are gone and each year the
lawn gets better and better.