I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow. It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?

On 4/29/2010 4:52 PM, Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow. It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?

May be too late. I put my premerge down around April 1 - Northern DE.
Rule of thumb, put it down before forsythias bloom.

The Scotts stuff normally contains rye which comes up fast but better
seed in it lags behind.

Frank wrote:
On 4/29/2010 4:52 PM, Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow. It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?

May be too late. I put my premerge down around April 1 - Northern DE.
Rule of thumb, put it down before forsythias bloom.

Correct.


The Scotts stuff normally contains rye which comes up fast but better
seed in it lags behind.

Also true. Bluegrass is very slow to germinate (usually 21-25 days).
Almost any bluegrass seed mix has some perennial rye in it as a "nurse"
grass. You see green, you're happy. If the bluegrass takes well, it
eventually crowds out the rye. And there's nothing wrong with that,
it's as Jimmy Durante used to say, "the conditions that prevail".

Tony

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow. It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?

I'd probably wait until all the grass has started growing.

On Thu, 6 May 2010 09:10:27 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow. It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?

I'd probably wait until all the grass has started growing.

I'd wait until next spring. There is only a short window for applying
pre-emergent crabgrass killer... once the crabgrass seeds sprout it's
too late... read the directions for when to apply in each zone.
Crabgrass pre-emergent has nothing to do with turf grass, it only
prevents crabgrass seed from germinating. For this season all one can
do is dig up grabgrass by hand... defoliants work but then there will
be lots of large bare spots.

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 6 May 2010 09:10:27 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow. It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?

I'd probably wait until all the grass has started growing.

I'd wait until next spring. There is only a short window for applying
pre-emergent crabgrass killer... once the crabgrass seeds sprout it's
too late... read the directions for when to apply in each zone.
Crabgrass pre-emergent has nothing to do with turf grass, it only
prevents crabgrass seed from germinating. For this season all one can
do is dig up grabgrass by hand... defoliants work but then there will
be lots of large bare spots.

I find the best and non toxic way to keep crabgrass and other weeds down
to a minimum, is to put down a fast growing perennial grass seed like
rye or a tall fescue in early spring that does not spread by stolons.
The faster growing grass tends to over crowd the slower growing weeds.

I have had it with the so called slow growing Kentucky Blue Grasses or
any grass that spread by the stolons. It is much easier and far cheaper
to over seed the yard each spring than to use the old WEED and FEED
toxic garbage. With grass that does not spread by stolons, it is also
easier to maintain a natural looking edge without those plastic or metal
edging materials 6 inches in the ground.

My opinion - the rye grasses look better than the blue grasses.
A nice organic yard will take a few years to get but worth it.

Ok, I'm off my soap box now. Start the insults I can take it!

--
Enjoy Life... Dan

Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.

On Fri, 07 May 2010 13:29:52 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 6 May 2010 09:10:27 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow. It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?

I'd probably wait until all the grass has started growing.

I'd wait until next spring. There is only a short window for applying
pre-emergent crabgrass killer... once the crabgrass seeds sprout it's
too late... read the directions for when to apply in each zone.
Crabgrass pre-emergent has nothing to do with turf grass, it only
prevents crabgrass seed from germinating. For this season all one can
do is dig up grabgrass by hand... defoliants work but then there will
be lots of large bare spots.

I find the best and non toxic way to keep crabgrass and other weeds down
to a minimum, is to put down a fast growing perennial grass seed like
rye or a tall fescue in early spring that does not spread by stolons.
The faster growing grass tends to over crowd the slower growing weeds.

I have had it with the so called slow growing Kentucky Blue Grasses or
any grass that spread by the stolons. It is much easier and far cheaper
to over seed the yard each spring than to use the old WEED and FEED
toxic garbage. With grass that does not spread by stolons, it is also
easier to maintain a natural looking edge without those plastic or metal
edging materials 6 inches in the ground.

My opinion - the rye grasses look better than the blue grasses.
A nice organic yard will take a few years to get but worth it.

Ok, I'm off my soap box now. Start the insults I can take it!

I don't use any chemicals, my lawn is composed of probably a hundred
different plants... I mow, it's green, the critters fertilze.

My first mowing this season... yesterday:
http://i41.tinypic.com/11jvpg2.jpg

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Fri, 07 May 2010 13:29:52 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 6 May 2010 09:10:27 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow. It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?

I'd probably wait until all the grass has started growing.

I'd wait until next spring. There is only a short window for applying
pre-emergent crabgrass killer... once the crabgrass seeds sprout it's
too late... read the directions for when to apply in each zone.
Crabgrass pre-emergent has nothing to do with turf grass, it only
prevents crabgrass seed from germinating. For this season all one can
do is dig up grabgrass by hand... defoliants work but then there will
be lots of large bare spots.

I find the best and non toxic way to keep crabgrass and other weeds down
to a minimum, is to put down a fast growing perennial grass seed like
rye or a tall fescue in early spring that does not spread by stolons.
The faster growing grass tends to over crowd the slower growing weeds.

I have had it with the so called slow growing Kentucky Blue Grasses or
any grass that spread by the stolons. It is much easier and far cheaper
to over seed the yard each spring than to use the old WEED and FEED
toxic garbage. With grass that does not spread by stolons, it is also
easier to maintain a natural looking edge without those plastic or metal
edging materials 6 inches in the ground.

My opinion - the rye grasses look better than the blue grasses.
A nice organic yard will take a few years to get but worth it.

Ok, I'm off my soap box now. Start the insults I can take it!

I don't use any chemicals, my lawn is composed of probably a hundred
different plants... I mow, it's green, the critters fertilze.

My first mowing this season... yesterday:
http://i41.tinypic.com/11jvpg2.jpg

Nice Yard!
Mine is not as nice as yours, but not far behind. I have 12 acres and
have a three acre lawn. Life in the country is better than the city.

--
Enjoy Life... Dan

Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.

brooklyn1 wrote:
On Fri, 07 May 2010 13:29:52 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 6 May 2010 09:10:27 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow. It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?
I'd probably wait until all the grass has started growing.
I'd wait until next spring. There is only a short window for applying
pre-emergent crabgrass killer... once the crabgrass seeds sprout it's
too late... read the directions for when to apply in each zone.
Crabgrass pre-emergent has nothing to do with turf grass, it only
prevents crabgrass seed from germinating. For this season all one can
do is dig up grabgrass by hand... defoliants work but then there will
be lots of large bare spots.
I find the best and non toxic way to keep crabgrass and other weeds down
to a minimum, is to put down a fast growing perennial grass seed like
rye or a tall fescue in early spring that does not spread by stolons.
The faster growing grass tends to over crowd the slower growing weeds.

I have had it with the so called slow growing Kentucky Blue Grasses or
any grass that spread by the stolons. It is much easier and far cheaper
to over seed the yard each spring than to use the old WEED and FEED
toxic garbage. With grass that does not spread by stolons, it is also
easier to maintain a natural looking edge without those plastic or metal
edging materials 6 inches in the ground.

My opinion - the rye grasses look better than the blue grasses.
A nice organic yard will take a few years to get but worth it.

Ok, I'm off my soap box now. Start the insults I can take it!

I don't use any chemicals, my lawn is composed of probably a hundred
different plants... I mow, it's green, the critters fertilze.

My first mowing this season... yesterday:
http://i41.tinypic.com/11jvpg2.jpg


And one can't even tell it isn't grass--from a distance. Good!

--
Jean B.

On Sat, 08 May 2010 17:35:01 -0400, "Jean B." wrote:

brooklyn1 wrote:
On Fri, 07 May 2010 13:29:52 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 6 May 2010 09:10:27 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow. It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?
I'd probably wait until all the grass has started growing.
I'd wait until next spring. There is only a short window for applying
pre-emergent crabgrass killer... once the crabgrass seeds sprout it's
too late... read the directions for when to apply in each zone.
Crabgrass pre-emergent has nothing to do with turf grass, it only
prevents crabgrass seed from germinating. For this season all one can
do is dig up grabgrass by hand... defoliants work but then there will
be lots of large bare spots.
I find the best and non toxic way to keep crabgrass and other weeds down
to a minimum, is to put down a fast growing perennial grass seed like
rye or a tall fescue in early spring that does not spread by stolons.
The faster growing grass tends to over crowd the slower growing weeds.

I have had it with the so called slow growing Kentucky Blue Grasses or
any grass that spread by the stolons. It is much easier and far cheaper
to over seed the yard each spring than to use the old WEED and FEED
toxic garbage. With grass that does not spread by stolons, it is also
easier to maintain a natural looking edge without those plastic or metal
edging materials 6 inches in the ground.

My opinion - the rye grasses look better than the blue grasses.
A nice organic yard will take a few years to get but worth it.

Ok, I'm off my soap box now. Start the insults I can take it!

I don't use any chemicals, my lawn is composed of probably a hundred
different plants... I mow, it's green, the critters fertilze.

My first mowing this season... yesterday:
http://i41.tinypic.com/11jvpg2.jpg


And one can't even tell it isn't grass--from a distance. Good!

Had ya all fooled... 48,000 sq yds of astroturf! LOL

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Sat, 08 May 2010 17:35:01 -0400, "Jean B." wrote:

brooklyn1 wrote:
On Fri, 07 May 2010 13:29:52 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 6 May 2010 09:10:27 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow. It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?
I'd probably wait until all the grass has started growing.
I'd wait until next spring. There is only a short window for applying
pre-emergent crabgrass killer... once the crabgrass seeds sprout it's
too late... read the directions for when to apply in each zone.
Crabgrass pre-emergent has nothing to do with turf grass, it only
prevents crabgrass seed from germinating. For this season all one can
do is dig up grabgrass by hand... defoliants work but then there will
be lots of large bare spots.
I find the best and non toxic way to keep crabgrass and other weeds down
to a minimum, is to put down a fast growing perennial grass seed like
rye or a tall fescue in early spring that does not spread by stolons.
The faster growing grass tends to over crowd the slower growing weeds.

I have had it with the so called slow growing Kentucky Blue Grasses or
any grass that spread by the stolons. It is much easier and far cheaper
to over seed the yard each spring than to use the old WEED and FEED
toxic garbage. With grass that does not spread by stolons, it is also
easier to maintain a natural looking edge without those plastic or metal
edging materials 6 inches in the ground.

My opinion - the rye grasses look better than the blue grasses.
A nice organic yard will take a few years to get but worth it.

Ok, I'm off my soap box now. Start the insults I can take it!

I don't use any chemicals, my lawn is composed of probably a hundred
different plants... I mow, it's green, the critters fertilze.

My first mowing this season... yesterday:
http://i41.tinypic.com/11jvpg2.jpg


And one can't even tell it isn't grass--from a distance. Good!

Had ya all fooled... 48,000 sq yds of astroturf! LOL

If your yard is like mine...
let us see what the yard looks like before you mow, not after
Mine looks like a pasture

--
Enjoy Life... Dan

Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.

On Mon, 10 May 2010 11:55:49 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Sat, 08 May 2010 17:35:01 -0400, "Jean B." wrote:

brooklyn1 wrote:
On Fri, 07 May 2010 13:29:52 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 6 May 2010 09:10:27 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow. It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?
I'd probably wait until all the grass has started growing.
I'd wait until next spring. There is only a short window for applying
pre-emergent crabgrass killer... once the crabgrass seeds sprout it's
too late... read the directions for when to apply in each zone.
Crabgrass pre-emergent has nothing to do with turf grass, it only
prevents crabgrass seed from germinating. For this season all one can
do is dig up grabgrass by hand... defoliants work but then there will
be lots of large bare spots.
I find the best and non toxic way to keep crabgrass and other weeds down
to a minimum, is to put down a fast growing perennial grass seed like
rye or a tall fescue in early spring that does not spread by stolons.
The faster growing grass tends to over crowd the slower growing weeds.

I have had it with the so called slow growing Kentucky Blue Grasses or
any grass that spread by the stolons. It is much easier and far cheaper
to over seed the yard each spring than to use the old WEED and FEED
toxic garbage. With grass that does not spread by stolons, it is also
easier to maintain a natural looking edge without those plastic or metal
edging materials 6 inches in the ground.

My opinion - the rye grasses look better than the blue grasses.
A nice organic yard will take a few years to get but worth it.

Ok, I'm off my soap box now. Start the insults I can take it!

I don't use any chemicals, my lawn is composed of probably a hundred
different plants... I mow, it's green, the critters fertilze.

My first mowing this season... yesterday:
http://i41.tinypic.com/11jvpg2.jpg


And one can't even tell it isn't grass--from a distance. Good!

Had ya all fooled... 48,000 sq yds of astroturf! LOL

If your yard is like mine...
let us see what the yard looks like before you mow, not after
Mine looks like a pasture

Here's mine... now show me yours.

http://i40.tinypic.com/qs5w6d.jpg

I've no idea what you consider a pasture... to me a pasture is land
used to keep/pasture livestock (not a lawn area) typically more bare
ground than green, which is why farmers constantly move livestock from
pasture to pasture, to give the green a chance to recover. In very
early spring my lawn areas are short brown grass with large areas
covered with snow. As temperature rises the snow melts and the lawn
areas green up and begin to grow. I don't base my first mowing on the
height of the growth, I wait until the ground becomes dry enough to
support the weight of a tractor.

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Mon, 10 May 2010 11:55:49 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Sat, 08 May 2010 17:35:01 -0400, "Jean B." wrote:

brooklyn1 wrote:
On Fri, 07 May 2010 13:29:52 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 6 May 2010 09:10:27 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow.
It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?
I'd probably wait until all the grass has started growing.
I'd wait until next spring. There is only a short window for
applying
pre-emergent crabgrass killer... once the crabgrass seeds sprout it's
too late... read the directions for when to apply in each zone.
Crabgrass pre-emergent has nothing to do with turf grass, it only
prevents crabgrass seed from germinating. For this season all one
can
do is dig up grabgrass by hand... defoliants work but then there will
be lots of large bare spots.
I find the best and non toxic way to keep crabgrass and other weeds
down
to a minimum, is to put down a fast growing perennial grass seed like
rye or a tall fescue in early spring that does not spread by stolons.
The faster growing grass tends to over crowd the slower growing weeds.

I have had it with the so called slow growing Kentucky Blue Grasses or
any grass that spread by the stolons. It is much easier and far
cheaper
to over seed the yard each spring than to use the old WEED and FEED
toxic garbage. With grass that does not spread by stolons, it is also
easier to maintain a natural looking edge without those plastic or
metal
edging materials 6 inches in the ground.

My opinion - the rye grasses look better than the blue grasses.
A nice organic yard will take a few years to get but worth it.

Ok, I'm off my soap box now. Start the insults I can take it!

I don't use any chemicals, my lawn is composed of probably a hundred
different plants... I mow, it's green, the critters fertilze.

My first mowing this season... yesterday:
http://i41.tinypic.com/11jvpg2.jpg


And one can't even tell it isn't grass--from a distance. Good!

Had ya all fooled... 48,000 sq yds of astroturf! LOL

If your yard is like mine...
let us see what the yard looks like before you mow, not after
Mine looks like a pasture

Here's mine... now show me yours.

http://i40.tinypic.com/qs5w6d.jpg

I've no idea what you consider a pasture... to me a pasture is land
used to keep/pasture livestock (not a lawn area) typically more bare
ground than green, which is why farmers constantly move livestock from
pasture to pasture, to give the green a chance to recover. In very
early spring my lawn areas are short brown grass with large areas
covered with snow. As temperature rises the snow melts and the lawn
areas green up and begin to grow. I don't base my first mowing on the
height of the growth, I wait until the ground becomes dry enough to
support the weight of a tractor.

Hmmm... Ok: http://www.nadrhel.com/Welcome.html

The pasture will soon have a fence around it and a small barn next to
the pasture for a cow and calf (both not yet received).

--
Enjoy Life... Dan

Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.

On Mon, 10 May 2010 22:30:21 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Mon, 10 May 2010 11:55:49 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Sat, 08 May 2010 17:35:01 -0400, "Jean B." wrote:

brooklyn1 wrote:
On Fri, 07 May 2010 13:29:52 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 6 May 2010 09:10:27 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to grow.
It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to prevent
crabgrass?
I'd probably wait until all the grass has started growing.
I'd wait until next spring. There is only a short window for
applying
pre-emergent crabgrass killer... once the crabgrass seeds sprout it's
too late... read the directions for when to apply in each zone.
Crabgrass pre-emergent has nothing to do with turf grass, it only
prevents crabgrass seed from germinating. For this season all one
can
do is dig up grabgrass by hand... defoliants work but then there will
be lots of large bare spots.
I find the best and non toxic way to keep crabgrass and other weeds
down
to a minimum, is to put down a fast growing perennial grass seed like
rye or a tall fescue in early spring that does not spread by stolons.
The faster growing grass tends to over crowd the slower growing weeds.

I have had it with the so called slow growing Kentucky Blue Grasses or
any grass that spread by the stolons. It is much easier and far
cheaper
to over seed the yard each spring than to use the old WEED and FEED
toxic garbage. With grass that does not spread by stolons, it is also
easier to maintain a natural looking edge without those plastic or
metal
edging materials 6 inches in the ground.

My opinion - the rye grasses look better than the blue grasses.
A nice organic yard will take a few years to get but worth it.

Ok, I'm off my soap box now. Start the insults I can take it!

I don't use any chemicals, my lawn is composed of probably a hundred
different plants... I mow, it's green, the critters fertilze.

My first mowing this season... yesterday:
http://i41.tinypic.com/11jvpg2.jpg


And one can't even tell it isn't grass--from a distance. Good!

Had ya all fooled... 48,000 sq yds of astroturf! LOL

If your yard is like mine...
let us see what the yard looks like before you mow, not after
Mine looks like a pasture

Here's mine... now show me yours.

http://i40.tinypic.com/qs5w6d.jpg

I've no idea what you consider a pasture... to me a pasture is land
used to keep/pasture livestock (not a lawn area) typically more bare
ground than green, which is why farmers constantly move livestock from
pasture to pasture, to give the green a chance to recover. In very
early spring my lawn areas are short brown grass with large areas
covered with snow. As temperature rises the snow melts and the lawn
areas green up and begin to grow. I don't base my first mowing on the
height of the growth, I wait until the ground becomes dry enough to
support the weight of a tractor.

Hmmm... Ok: http://www.nadrhel.com/Welcome.html

The pasture will soon have a fence around it and a small barn next to
the pasture for a cow and calf (both not yet received).

Looks good. Once it's fenced and contains livestock then it will be
considered pasture, but right now I'd call it a meadow. By mid summer
is is filled with wildflowers? My meadow used to be a pasture, the
last owners raised goats and sheep, had some horses too. On all my
mowed areas they grew hay. In late summer I rough mow my meadow
(about six inches high), this keeps the meadow healthy, helps it seed
and allows for germination come spring, otherwise it would become all
clumpy with the previous years dead growth and fill with brush. You
may not want to fence your entire meadow for livestock, maybe just an
acre around the barn... that should be plenty for a couple three cows,
and I'd cross fence it in half so that part can rejuvenate. Cows will
stomp all their area down to bare ground so that when it rains you'll
lose all the topsoil and soon have mostly exposed rock, that's what
occurs with every New England dairy farm. I'm in the Catskills, where
are you?

Mid summer:
http://i40.tinypic.com/t71tap.jpg

Early fall:
http://i44.tinypic.com/xmiovk.jpg

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Mon, 10 May 2010 22:30:21 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Mon, 10 May 2010 11:55:49 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Sat, 08 May 2010 17:35:01 -0400, "Jean B." wrote:

brooklyn1 wrote:
On Fri, 07 May 2010 13:29:52 -0400, "Dan L."
wrote:

In article ,
brooklyn1 wrote:

On Thu, 6 May 2010 09:10:27 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Pete E. Kruzer wrote:
I'm trying that new grass seed that Scott has, guaranteed to
grow.
It
seemed to work for the neighbor.
How long should I wait before I have pre-emerge applied to
prevent
crabgrass?
I'd probably wait until all the grass has started growing.
I'd wait until next spring. There is only a short window for
applying
pre-emergent crabgrass killer... once the crabgrass seeds sprout
it's
too late... read the directions for when to apply in each zone.
Crabgrass pre-emergent has nothing to do with turf grass, it only
prevents crabgrass seed from germinating. For this season all one
can
do is dig up grabgrass by hand... defoliants work but then there
will
be lots of large bare spots.
I find the best and non toxic way to keep crabgrass and other weeds
down
to a minimum, is to put down a fast growing perennial grass seed
like
rye or a tall fescue in early spring that does not spread by
stolons.
The faster growing grass tends to over crowd the slower growing
weeds.

I have had it with the so called slow growing Kentucky Blue Grasses
or
any grass that spread by the stolons. It is much easier and far
cheaper
to over seed the yard each spring than to use the old WEED and FEED
toxic garbage. With grass that does not spread by stolons, it is
also
easier to maintain a natural looking edge without those plastic or
metal
edging materials 6 inches in the ground.

My opinion - the rye grasses look better than the blue grasses.
A nice organic yard will take a few years to get but worth it.

Ok, I'm off my soap box now. Start the insults I can take it!

I don't use any chemicals, my lawn is composed of probably a hundred
different plants... I mow, it's green, the critters fertilze.

My first mowing this season... yesterday:
http://i41.tinypic.com/11jvpg2.jpg


And one can't even tell it isn't grass--from a distance. Good!

Had ya all fooled... 48,000 sq yds of astroturf! LOL

If your yard is like mine...
let us see what the yard looks like before you mow, not after
Mine looks like a pasture

Here's mine... now show me yours.

http://i40.tinypic.com/qs5w6d.jpg

I've no idea what you consider a pasture... to me a pasture is land
used to keep/pasture livestock (not a lawn area) typically more bare
ground than green, which is why farmers constantly move livestock from
pasture to pasture, to give the green a chance to recover. In very
early spring my lawn areas are short brown grass with large areas
covered with snow. As temperature rises the snow melts and the lawn
areas green up and begin to grow. I don't base my first mowing on the
height of the growth, I wait until the ground becomes dry enough to
support the weight of a tractor.

Hmmm... Ok: http://www.nadrhel.com/Welcome.html

The pasture will soon have a fence around it and a small barn next to
the pasture for a cow and calf (both not yet received).

Looks good. Once it's fenced and contains livestock then it will be
considered pasture, but right now I'd call it a meadow. By mid summer
is is filled with wildflowers? My meadow used to be a pasture, the
last owners raised goats and sheep, had some horses too. On all my
mowed areas they grew hay. In late summer I rough mow my meadow
(about six inches high), this keeps the meadow healthy, helps it seed
and allows for germination come spring, otherwise it would become all
clumpy with the previous years dead growth and fill with brush. You
may not want to fence your entire meadow for livestock, maybe just an
acre around the barn... that should be plenty for a couple three cows,
and I'd cross fence it in half so that part can rejuvenate. Cows will
stomp all their area down to bare ground so that when it rains you'll
lose all the topsoil and soon have mostly exposed rock, that's what
occurs with every New England dairy farm. I'm in the Catskills, where
are you?

Mid summer:
http://i40.tinypic.com/t71tap.jpg

Early fall:
http://i44.tinypic.com/xmiovk.jpg
Life in the country is better

The land was used for hay the last five years. Only a third will be
fenced off and that will in three sections for just one Jersey Cow and
Calf. I am from Michigan, I moved here 12 years ago on 24 acres. I
purchased the land from my neighbor (He still owns 300 acres). Since I
was city mouse and learning to be a country mouse and I did not have the
equipment, time or money to maintain the land, he farmed most of it. My
neighbor 73, is retiring and his kids no longer want to be in the dairy
business. So I am now slowing getting equipment and just having a small
personal use hobby farm. Just me, the dog, chickens, bees, cow and a
calf. I am in way over my head! Now reading books on cheese making

--
Enjoy Life... Dan

Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.