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michelle
04-05-2010, 07:41 PM
So what's your spring lawn routine? Fertilizers, Weed 'n Feed, etc.

We did the crabgrass preventative when we saw the weather forecast for rain on Saturday, so that worked out very well. We'll do the weed 'n feed sometime soon, but I know it's kind of early for a lot of lawn care. Don't want to do it too early to have to buy all that stuff again for as much land as we have, but we'll probably cheat and only do the front part.

wrath
04-05-2010, 08:00 PM
Since you run a pet boarding house I'd think twice about putting anything more than manure on your lawn. Even most nitrogen fertilizers have poisonous crap in it.

I've found planting decent grass seed works better than trying to get rid of weeds.

0TransAm0
04-05-2010, 08:04 PM
i put down the cheepo lawn food a week and a half ago. my lawn was already really nice and thick and no weeds. its already nice and green and if it didn't rain today i probably could have cut it. i will be by friday.

michelle
04-05-2010, 08:13 PM
Since you run a pet boarding house I'd think twice about putting anything more than manure on your lawn. Even most nitrogen fertilizers have poisonous crap in it.

I've found planting decent grass seed works better than trying to get rid of weeds.

We didn't go anywhere near the pet area behind the house when we used the spreader. Unfortunately we put straw over the dog area (our dogs would not step on the mud from all the snow melting) and didn't take it off soon enough, which killed 80% of the grass in the outdoor kennel/run. I'm hoping this rain will help bring some life back into it.

But yes, I am well aware of the poisonous stuff in most fertilizers. There are, however, pet friendly advertised options, but I haven't looked into it enough to really know how pet friendly they are. Our neighbors are really good about keeping their dogs out of our yard, minus this one little chihuahua that thinks the area around our mailbox is his personal litter box.

pOrk
04-05-2010, 08:17 PM
Michelle, if you just put crabgrass preventer down you want to wait ATLEAST a month before you weed and feed

michelle
04-05-2010, 08:18 PM
Michelle, if you just put crabgrass preventer down you want to wait ATLEAST a month before you weed and feed

That works for me - thanks for the tip! What are you doing this year with your lawn?

Yooformula
04-05-2010, 09:02 PM
I havent figured out when to start mine yet since the dogs tear up the lawn I have now and the damm birds wiped out the seeds I did lay down several weeks ago.

Prince Valiant
04-05-2010, 09:23 PM
Generally start by putting my first application in the fall, really...right before the freeze. The nutrient levels will deplete over the winter and you'll want something in the ground prior so the grass doesn't get too starved....as you want in the spring (as you do in the fall) to get as much grass growth early to crowd out the weeds.

Then spring, well, now's a good time to put the weed n' feed/crabgrass....unless you plan on doing growing patches (which is best done in the fall again, btw). If so, just a plain fertilizer would probably work best.

Myself, I just watch the pets and keep them out of the yard as much as I can for 3-5 days (depending on rain, dew, etc) and take them out to the dog park more, or in the city space behind the house...

Also now is a good time to rent an aerator to get good root growth to make it harder for weeds to take hold. If you can't do that before mid may, then just wait till fall.

If it's dry (which it probably won't be until next week), thatching is a good thing to do earlier rather than later...just make sure the lawn has greened up, as it should be doing now.

Slow Joe
04-05-2010, 09:31 PM
Hrmm I just raked the back yard, and throw down grass seed in the grass-less areas after raking with a metal rake... Good enough for me, then again this is a rental... lol

ND4SPD
04-06-2010, 01:25 PM
I run over all the left over dog poop, apples, leaves, etc... with the lawnmower and call it good. Even when I've sprayed or put weed-n-feed down the dandilions still go nuts so I just let them do their thing for a month or so and they go away.

xxsn0blindxx
04-06-2010, 04:57 PM
If you you jsut put crabgrass preventer down it unfortunately was a waste, crabgrass seeds have already germinated and the preventer only work if applied before the seed spreads and prevents the germination. At this point pre-emergents are too little too late. Wait until the dry days and lay down a post emergent herbicide to get the broadleef weeds.

michelle
04-06-2010, 05:05 PM
If you you jsut put crabgrass preventer down it unfortunately was a waste, crabgrass seeds have already germinated and the preventer only work if applied before the seed spreads and prevents the germination. At this point pre-emergents are too little too late. Wait until the dry days and lay down a post emergent herbicide to get the broadleef weeds.

Why would you say that when they don't germinate until 3 days of 50-60* soil temperatures? I know it's been warmer, but the ground hasn't been that warm yet when Adam went around with the spreader. The first weekend of April seemed like the best time of the year to do it this year, if you look at the temperatures throughout March and the first few days of April.

xxsn0blindxx
04-06-2010, 05:27 PM
While I haven't measured the ground temperatures, I'm fairly certain that ground temperatures got over 50. The crabgrass is certainly doing quite well in my yard and I'm kicking myself for not putting pre-emergent down earlier.

05caddyext
04-06-2010, 07:39 PM
I am a certified Scotts lawn pro dealer and trust me, it is not to late to put down crabgrass preventer. The average last freeze date in WI is april 28th. You can put down grabgrass preventer up until that date. If we get below freezing again, which you can almost garantee we will, it will kill the crabgrass if there is any present. Most people can't tell the difference between crabgrass and other lawn weeds such as creeping charlie, which is completely different. You want to wait 6 weeks before you put down weed and feed.

ND4SPD
04-13-2010, 04:29 PM
Wait a minute... before you kill off all of your crabgrass, you could be sitting on a useful resource... lol from wikipedia:


Crabgrasses have uses despite being classified by many as weeds. The seeds, most notably those of fonio, can be toasted and ground into a flour, which can be used to make porridge or fermented to make beer. Fonio has been widely used as a staple crop in parts of Africa. It also has decent nutrient qualities as a forage for cattle.

Come on, be green!

xxsn0blindxx
04-13-2010, 09:44 PM
I can't even begin to imagine how long it would take to collect 11+ pounds of crabgrass seed to brew a batch of beer.

kevcuda
01-13-2015, 07:38 PM
Wait for the snow to clear....LOL