GardenBanter.co.uk - Need help with springtime maintanence of lawn

On Apr 7, 4:03 pm, "cardarch" wrote:
My lawn will never be fabulous but I like to try and I really need
some help in deciding what to do. I looked at the Scott's products and
the one with the weed killer says not to use it when the grass has
grass seedling nor should I plant grass seeds in 3 months of
application. I do have seedlings.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...sseedlings.jpg

So I think I should not use the Scott's product with Halts.

I do have weeds though.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...dbrownweed.jpg

The worst thing is there are brown spots that appeared last summer.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...rownspotfromla...

AND there is somekind of grass plant in the lawn that I would like to
get rid of. It turns brown in the winter. Other people have it as
well.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...weirdbrown.jpg

I would be very grateful if someone could help me and suggest what to
do now. I live in the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania. What
products should I use now? Thank you very much for any advice.

When did you put down the seed that you are concerned about? If it
was last Fall, then you should be able to use broadleaf weedkiller on
it now. The correct way to do this is to take care of the weeds
prior to seeding. And from a timing standpoint, the best way is to
get the weeds taken out by late summer, then seed in Sept.

You may want to take a sample of what you have to a local county
agricultural extension service, if one is available. They can ID what
you have and give advice. A broadleaf weed killer is most effective
when it's applied as a spray, as opposed to the weed n feed granular
type products. For a typicla size lawn, I'd go with a product like
Weed B Gone, applied with a tank sprayer. Once you have the weeds
under control, you can just spot treat as needed. That delivers the
herbicide right where it's needed which maxmizes effectiveness and
minimizes the amount used, which is better for the lawn and
environement. But these products won't kill everything, particularly
if it's a undesirable grass that's a problem. In some cases, there
is no way to get rid of that without also killing the desirable grass.

If it were me, and I had seeded last fall, I'd put down fertilizer
with pre-emergent crabgrass control. If you have seeded this Spring,
then I'd use one of the pre-emergents that is safe for newly seeded
lawns, eg one with Tupersan. Then, treat the weeds with Weed B Gone,
or similar, in another few weeks, when it gets warmer. The herbicides
are most effective when the plant is actively growing. I'd also test
the soil PH and adjust as necessary.

And then, see where you're at late summer. If you're not satisfied,
that is the time to kill off the whole thing and re-seed in Sept.
Sometimes that is the way to go. For example, if the grass you have
is not of good color, texture, drought/disease tolerance, etc, the
solution is to kill it off and re-seed with an appropriate high
quality product.