Too much weed and feed.

[Colin]

Hi,

My chum David sent me a picture of his lawn as shown below. David used an applicator to apply weed and feed and although he walked at a brisk pace his lawn has suffered badly.

David takes a lot of pride in his gardens so obviously this is most disappointing for him; any ideas or suggestions please as to how to recover from this?

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Chuck]

This is just another example of the dangers of using chemicals. The question was, what to do now? What we do here is first to flush the area to dilute and dispense the chemicals. After this is done heavily spray the entire polluted area and close by surrounding areas with a strong solution of molasses and then lightly water it in. I would use 4 oz per gallon of water. This will rejuvenate the soil microbes that have been affected, thus allowing for the uptake of nutrients. DO NOT FERTILIZE. What we don't know at this time is what caused the damage, the fertilizer or the herbicide. I would guess it would be the fertilizer. If this be the case then the roots were burned, to what extent is unknown, but in any case the molasses will help to bring them back.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Many thanks Chuck for your very useful advice which I'll be happy to pass on to David.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Verdun]

To me this is fertiliser damage......
I would do nothing at all now. Let the winter rains do what they do and treat the lawn in spring.
This is not the danger of using chemicals, this is the danger of over dosing with chemicals in my opinion.
I have found applicators problematic.....I apply feed and weed by hand and I suggest your friend Colin does the same. Actually, I suggest a granular feed and a liquid weed killer.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Many thanks for your suggestions and advice Verdun; my chum David is due back from holiday and I'm sure he'll be pleased to receive all this information from both you and Chuck. Much appreciated by me.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[mg guy]

Hi,

My chum David sent me a picture of his lawn as shown below. David used an applicator to apply weed and feed and although he walked at a brisk pace his lawn has suffered badly.



View attachment 27993

does indeed look like some nitrogen burn.
too much too quick.

 

[Chuck]

To me this is fertiliser damage......
I would do nothing at all now. Let the winter rains do what they do and treat the lawn in spring.
This is not the danger of using chemicals, this is the danger of over dosing with chemicals in my opinion.
I have found applicators problematic.....I apply feed and weed by hand and I suggest your friend Colin does the same. Actually, I suggest a granular feed and a liquid weed killer.

Well, to put it another way, chemicals are not forgiving while organics are. And since chemicals only feed the plant and take away from the soil, to me anyway, it is a no brainer as to which type to use.

As to the fertilizer applicator I couldn't agree more. The one I had used different size openings and you matched the opening with the size of the fertilizer. I never could get it right, either too much or not enough. I ended up giving it away. I fertilize like one feeds chickens, just throw it out until it covers the area, and no worry about using too much. To me using organic granular pelleted fertilizer is this: Too much is just right and the secret to weeding is to use a Hula Hoe. Makes weeding a snap

 

[MoonShadows]

Sorry if I offend, but why on earth would anyone use weed and feed? Maybe it is just my bias against any and all chemicals. I would rather have a less then perfect lawn with some weeds than use those toxic chemicals. Just MHO.

 

[Chuck]

Sorry if I offend, but why on earth would anyone use weed and feed? Maybe it is just my bias against any and all chemicals. I would rather have a less then perfect lawn with some weeds than use those toxic chemicals. Just MHO.

I have wondered the same thing for years. In the UK I don't think pelleted organics are available yet but folks in the US? I just can't fathom it. I don't know how many times on this forum I have seen the results of Scotts Weed and Feed but folks still buy it

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Chuck and MoonShadows for your replies; I doubt very much if you would cause any offence MoonShadows after all its an honest opinion and good of you to share it.

I know little about lawn care and once I locate a free source of wood chip loads our lawn is going to be history; our lawn is suffering from years of neglect by me because I simply haven't had the time to give it much needed TLC. The lawn in parts is more moss than grass and it's riddled with holes dug by our little friends the squirrels also a lot of it is in shade from our big trees; it's got couch grass as well so rather than spend a great deal of time trying to fight all the problems I'm going to let nature help me; I'll apply a thick wood chip mulch then turn the garden over to flowers and shrubs with plenty of evergreen ground cover plants. One bonus will be not having to mow the lawn which is very steep and hard work.

David is most interested in all your replies and is most grateful; David is going to try the molasses treatment because as he says it can't do any harm; David also informs me that on his return from holiday he found the lawn had already started to recover no doubt due to the persistent rain we've been enjoying for days on end.

I received the following link kindly sent to me by David showing the top lawn guy in the UK and I can but wonder thinking how sad?

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...60-000-hours-of-mowing-in-doncaster-j3gcrjjsp

Dedication is one thing but total obsession is another thing; no way am I criticizing Mr Grindle after all what he does is his business but I think 60,000 hours mowing is a tad over the top.

Kind regards, Colin

 

[Verdun]

Ah! A weed free lawn for me every time.
However, I only need to spot kill weeds such is the density of my grass. Never have to use any moss killers
Not a bowling green, not obsessional about it, mine is kept at a reasonable height. It is soft to play on.....18 month old toddler here loves it, to collapse into it .......good to see, sets borders off and evokes plenty of compliments. Mine is pretty low maintenance, quickly cut (twice a week) and never muddy or problematic.
I grow my garden....veg, fruit and ornamental....organically ......plenty of bees, butterflies and healthy plants......but the lawn is treated with a feed or two in summer and I offer no apologies for that. I use nematodes to control leatherjackets in early September.
I am a lush, dark green, weed free and stripes-of-course lawn man....proud of it; love it

 

[DirtMechanic]

Additionally, one might use household sugar, by hand, as in a handful spread about in an area of 2 steps. It also seems to run off nematodes. It isnot the sugar itself to my limited knowledge, but the condition it helps create. I would take care in the presence of heat and humidity. Carbohydrates will fuel fungus and bacteria of unwanted variaties as well.

 

[Robert Cummings]

The problem with weed and feed is that the chemicals are not specific to the particular weeds that one requires to kill and the same with the feed element, it's just like spreading chemicals around and hoping that you have the right stuff to do the right job but actually that's pot luck, sometimes it works out ok and sometimes it Doesn't. If one wants to kill weeds in the lawn then one should identify the weeds e clover broad leaves such as plantain or grass weeds such as couch, once the weeds are identified then a phone call to a reputable supplier such as pitchcare will advise on the particular chemical y to use. Likewise with the feed element, a simple soil test will indicate any soil deficiencies so this can be dealt with in the same way. With regards to the photo in the post above this is in fact caused by overdosing numerous chemicals and the best way to deal with it is with a lawn tonic such as liquid seaweed in the uk it's sold as seanure also available from pitchcare.

 

[delightfulbags]

Hi,

Thanks Chuck and MoonShadows for your replies; I doubt very much if you would cause any offence MoonShadows after all its an honest opinion and good of you to share it.

I know little about lawn care and once I locate a free source of wood chip loads our lawn is going to be history; our lawn is suffering from years of neglect by me because I simply haven't had the time to give it much needed TLC. The lawn in parts is more moss than grass and it's riddled with holes dug by our little friends the squirrels also a lot of it is in shade from our big trees; it's got couch grass as well so rather than spend a great deal of time trying to fight all the problems I'm going to let nature help me; I'll apply a thick wood chip mulch then turn the garden over to flowers and shrubs with plenty of evergreen ground cover plants. One bonus will be not having to mow the lawn which is very steep and hard work.

David is most interested in all your replies and is most grateful; David is going to try the molasses treatment because as he says it can't do any harm; David also informs me that on his return from holiday he found the lawn had already started to recover no doubt due to the persistent rain we've been enjoying for days on end.

I received the following link kindly sent to me by David showing the top lawn guy in the UK and I can but wonder thinking how sad?

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...60-000-hours-of-mowing-in-doncaster-j3gcrjjsp

Dedication is one thing but total obsession is another thing; no way am I criticizing Mr Grindle after all what he does is his business but I think 60,000 hours mowing is a tad over the top.
weed and feed
Kind regards, Colin

For several years we have used Trugreen to maintain our lawn, but we are not happy with the results. What have you found to work best if you do it yourself? I read reviews of Scotts and found that many people were displeased with the results. 42°North and 90° West.

 

[Susan BBPM]

Hi,

My chum David sent me a picture of his lawn as shown below. David used an applicator to apply weed and feed and although he walked at a brisk pace his lawn has suffered badly.

David takes a lot of pride in his gardens so obviously this is most disappointing for him; any ideas or suggestions please as to how to recover from this?

Kind regards, Colin.

View attachment 27993

That happened to me one year. And as luck would have it, it was the year that Google took all the arial photos of my garden. For years all you saw on Google was big, brown streak on my front lawn.

It sorts itself out quite quickly. By summer it'll be lush, green .... and full of weeds again!

Not everyone's taste, but I just left my lawn to do it's own thing and it's never looked better - masses of fluffy, white clover and always green and lush.