Weed Control Liquid or Granular?

NY_Yankees_Fan · Apr 6, 2003

I was wondering what people use for weed control on your lawn. Do you use a weed and feed type granular fertilizer, or liquid spay weed killer? Looking at Northern Tool, they have a 26 gallon spray pull type unit with a 108 inch boom for $345. I just purchased a Herd Seeder M96 spreader and some say it does not spread weed and feed fertilizer well. My lawn service used liquid weed killer and granular fertilizer. It looks like buying just plain fertilizer is a lot cheaper then weed and feed type. I have 2 acres. What do you think?

Thanks

Anonymous Poster · Apr 6, 2003

My personal experience is that granules work best for pre-emergent weeds, and liquids work best post-emergent.

thcri · Apr 6, 2003

Tom,

Got a tough one here for you to believe. Was for me anyways. Two years ago I purchased approximately two semi loads of sod for our new house. I went with sod because of the hills and the type of soil we had and I was worried about wash outs. So what I did was about a 1/4 of the sod was normal sod and the rest was sod that was used by the DOT for ditches and stuff like that. It was full of weeds but was a 1/3 the cost of the normal sod. It came in big rolls that was distributed by the 3 point hitch on a tractor.

When I saw the weeds in it I felt I have made a mistake and I asked the guy who laid the sod as to when I could start using weed killers on it. His exact words to me was, "You never use any kind of week killers on any yard" What I said. He told me to not ever use any weed killers or any of the Scott's type brands of fertilizer. He told me to go and get some fertilizer from the local AG place. He also told me every 4 - 6 weeks to put it one.

His reasoning, when you use weed killers you also harm the grass to the point that it only allows weeds to fill back in. Using fertilizer makes the grass strong and it eventually chokes out the weeds. Mowing also kills weeds. I questioned him and said don't you have to get rid of the weeds first. He said nope. He talked me into just trying it his way for the first year. The sod was laid in September and in the spring, sure enough there was all kinds of weeds coming. But I followed his advice. By fall I had no more weeds and I never used a drop of weed killers. I also used this method on all the new grass I seeded myself, I had weeds at the start but eventually the weeds have pretty much left. So I guess until I see different I won't use any weed killers. Also take in mind this is a lawn that is only a year or so old now. I am waiting for spring to get here to see if my luck is as good as last year.

Just something to try

murph

Anonymous Poster · Apr 6, 2003

We use Corn Gluten Meal. This is necessarily a pre-emergent solution as it keeps seeds from germinating, but since we don't use chemicals on our property, it's about the best solution for the problem.

As a matter of fact, today was the day. Mixed up a bunch of organic fertilizer, pelletized lime, corn gluten meal and put it all through the Herd spreader at the same time. (Less trips over a lawn that still has some wet spots in the front) Picked up everything at Agway yesterday.

BeeBop · Apr 7, 2003

Hi Tom, if you have a new lawn and you're still unsure if germination is 100% yet then I'd forgo using a preemergent. You can come back later/now and use a post emergent, (something like dimension or even spectracide will do). Always use liquid post emergents because the granular products don't stick to the weed very well. Remember, you will need more than one application and watch your nozzle settings very closely so as to avoid burning. Happy spraying.

Bowhunter · Apr 7, 2003

The weather finally cooperated enough so that I could spray my yard this weekend. I have a 25 gallon sprayer with a boom that sprays 5 to 6 feet wide that I use on my atv. I mixed 1.5 ounces of LV400 2-4-D per gallon of water and sprayed about 120 gallons on my 3.5 to 4 acre lawn. I may try the method described above with the fertilizer, because there are spots that need to be thicker.

Bowhunter · Apr 7, 2003

Murph, did the guy that laid your sod give you a recommendation for fertilizer, or did you have a soil test done to see what you needed? How much do you sew each 6 to 8 weeks?

Thanks.

thcri · Apr 7, 2003

I guess it kind of varied. The guy that laid the sod just told me to where to go, (gee that doesn't sound good) but the guy at the fertilizer coop actually did the recomending. And this would vary from area to area. I want to have a soil sample test done this year so I make sure I do it right, but here is what I used last year.

Spring, 9-23-30
Summer 19-19-19
Summer 19-19-19
Fall 26-3-10

I put about 4 fifty bags on for 1.5 acres. I hope this helps you. Our soil is not in the best of shape. We have this stuff called silt loam. 6 weeks is the max as I do notice the grass turning brown if I don't keep it fertilized.

I was also told that in my area the middle number is not needed so when I bought fertilizer with a higher middle number I was wasting my money. But what else is new.

murph

Bowhunter · Apr 7, 2003

Thanks murph. Our soil isn't the greatest either (clay in some areas, sandstone in others) so I need to get the soil tested to make sure I don't waste my money. Over the years I've normally spread 6-24-24 in spring and 27-3-3 in fall, about 100 lbs. per acre, along with 100 lbs. per acre of pelletized lime. If I'd spread 200 lbs. per acre 4 times per year it would get expensive real quick (4 acres). At that rate, spraying for weeds is cheaper, but maybe not the healthiest. I'll have to get the soil test done, then crunch the numbers on cost before making my final decision. Thanks again for the info.

Aaron

thcri · Apr 7, 2003

Aaron,

I see I made a mistake in the amount of bags I use. That was suppose to be a 4 not a 6. I changed the post to eliminate any confusion. It is still a high amount and that is why I want to get a soil sample. I did have some topsoil hauled in from a farm that stunk pretty good like manure when they brought it in. For all I know if I need some lime I could put all the fertilizer I wanted on and if the acid is high the fertilizer wouldn't do any good.

murph

Sorry about the confusion