Weed & Feed for very small yard
 

I need a recommendation for a weed and feed product for a small
townhouse yard. I was thinking the liquid, hose spray type would
probably work best.

Nothing special about the yard except it hasn't been fertilized or
weeded for many years. Grass is very green but has a good bit of
weeds. We have noticed grubs.

Thanks for the assistance.
B.S.

Weed & Feed for very small yard
 

On 29 Apr 2004 04:36:18 -0700, )
wrote:

I need a recommendation for a weed and feed product for a small
townhouse yard. I was thinking the liquid, hose spray type would
probably work best.

Nothing special about the yard except it hasn't been fertilized or
weeded for many years. Grass is very green but has a good bit of
weeds. We have noticed grubs.

Thanks for the assistance.
B.S.


Don't use weed-and-feed products. Feed your lawn (and weeds), then
after two weeks wait for a 48 hour period of sunny, no-rain forecast
and apply a broadleaf killer. I use Weed-B-Gone and Spectricide in a
garden sprayer to spot treat. If the lawn has well-established weeds,
you may need to apply several applications, waiting at least 10 days
between. It is better to alternate products. You'll need a grub
product if there is more than one grub per sq foot. Consider
overseeding in the fall (or the best time for your area)--this will
produce a thicker lawn for the following year with fewer weeds (and
less weed killer usage). It also helps to "mow high and often."

Weed & Feed for very small yard
 

Bad advice -(You'll need a grub
product if there is more than one grub per sq foot.)

One grub per square foot is far below the action level for applying
grub controls.
10 or more grubs/sq ft is more appropriate.

A good product to control Japanese beetle and a few other species of
grubs is called milky spore which is a bacteria that specifically
targets them. It takes a year or two to work fully as the spores
reproduce inside the grubs to reinfect more grubs as long as they
occur.
Benneficial nematodes are another approach.

Setting your mower to cut the grass at about 3" high will do much to
control weeds
provided you mow often enough to keep the weeds from setting seed.
Adjusting the soil pH will also allow the turgrass to outcompete the
weeds.
A simple pH test is cheap and many garden centers will do it free.

In the Northeast where cool season grasses tend to go dormant during
the hottest part of summer the beetles prefer to lay their eggs in
turf that is irrigated. Simply allowing the grass to be dormant during
this peroid by suspending irrigation
will send the next generation of grubs to the neighbors who irrigate
during this period.