Lawn is beginning to look a bit peaked, in parts, so I guess it's time to fertilize again.

We have a lot of clover. I knocked a lot of it back, a month ago or so, with Roundup weed and clover killer. (Worked well, btw.) But that stuff's hella expensive for an entire lawn.

In my experience it has seemed to me that liquid weed control has been more effective than granular products.

So I'm thinking one of the Scott's Turf Builder feeds and some-or-another cost-effective liquid weed control, but which one?

Suggestions?

I really like Scott's Turf Builder fertilizer though it may be not the ideal time to fertilize unless you will be watering or getting a fair amount of rain. Here I usually fertilize mid May and then again late September/Early October.

For weeds I use Ortho Weed B Gone with crab grass killer because we do get crab grass about this time of year and it works pretty good on that too though a pre emergent in the spring is best to control crab grass. Clover can need a couple applications from my experience unless you use something specifically for clover maybe like you have already tried.

I have found it is best to spray weeds when they are actively growing which means a recent rain or watering if possible but I still get pretty good results with most weeds even when drier.

Get some 2-4,D at Tractor Supply. I use one called Amine some number. Cheap to spray. I sometimes add Crossbow to kill whatever it won’t.

IMO a liquid, name-brand broadleaf weed killer should pretty easily handle the clover. After that's dead, then use a granular fertilizer, and make sure your grass is getting the recommended amount of water. (depends on what type of grass you have)

Speedzone is by far the most effective weed killer I've ever used. And after many years of trying just about all of them, my search is over.

do you have a DIY shop in your area?

I get my stuff there, generally I use granular and get it down on schedule to abate weeds and bugs, as well as feed.

They will provide you with a monthly schedule and emails telling you what to watch for if they have a lot of reported problems in the area.

Liquid is used for attacking problem areas not the whole yard in this case, and it's best to stay on top of the problem, at least here in FL a week or two of ignoring a bug or weed problem can go from tiny to take over...

Do you have clover or oxalis? Scotts Turf Builder Weed & Feed3 should do the trick.

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
Get some 2-4,D at Tractor Supply. I use one called Amine some number. Cheap to spray. I sometimes add Crossbow to kill whatever it won’t.

You know the active ingredient in Crossbow is 2,4-D, right? So you are adding 2,4-D to 2,4-D. Unless you intended to say Cornerstone instead of Crossbow?

Anyway, for the OP, be careful using most products containing 2,4-D. 2,4-D tends to volatilize easily and can drift a long way (several hundred yards in some cases) and some plants are really affected by it.

I used Scotts and a few other name brands for 10yrs+ with mixed results. The clover and what turned out to be crab grass was kicking my ass and driving me nuts. The Scotts stuff really has gone up in price.

So, last year I went with "The Weed Man" service. $65 per treatment, I think were set up for 7 or 8 treatments total this year. 2 or 3 of them are fertilizer, the others are weed control related. Overall I think I'm spending maybe $200/yr more than I was spending on Scotts and the other Home Depot stuff. If I wanted I could shave off a few treatments by not having them do the fertilizer, but I'm very happy with the results and would highly recommend.

https://weedmanusa.com/

quote:

Originally posted by Herkdriver:

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
Get some 2-4,D at Tractor Supply. I use one called Amine some number. Cheap to spray. I sometimes add Crossbow to kill whatever it won’t.

You know the active ingredient in Crossbow is 2,4-D, right? So you are adding 2,4-D to 2,4-D. Unless you intended to say Cornerstone instead of Crossbow?

Anyway, for the OP, be careful using most products containing 2,4-D. 2,4-D tends to volatilize easily and can drift a long way (several hundred yards in some cases) and some plants are really affected by it.

Yes. It also has a significant amount of trilopyr for the creeping Charlie I have to deal with.

Tip: do NOT put MSMA weed killer on a St. Augustine lawn...just ask my former lawn service.

quote:

Originally posted by grumpy1:
I really like Scott's Turf Builder fertilizer though it may be not the ideal time to fertilize unless you will be watering or getting a fair amount of rain.

We have an in-ground sprinkler system that runs three times a week.

quote:

Originally posted by RogB:
Speedzone is by far the most effective weed killer I've ever used. And after many years of trying just about all of them, my search is over.

That stuff looks like it does get good reviews. And it looks like it can be used up into high 80°F temperatures.

quote:

Originally posted by Speedbird:
So, last year I went with "The Weed Man" service.

We tried TruGreen Chemlawn one year. Unfortunately it was the year they were trying a new lawn herbicide that it later turned out was death to trees.

We ultimately lost an ornamental cherry and our once-beautiful blue spruce has never been the same. Turns out we were lucky that's all the damage we suffered.

We'll never go with a lawn service again, after that.

Thanks for the feedback, guys! I think it's going to be Speedzone with an Ortho hose-end sprayer. I'll spray just the areas that have active weeds/clover. The 20 oz. bottle, which claims to cover 14-18,000 sq. ft. should be enough. If it works well, I'll buy a gallon.

For fertilizer it'll be Scott's Turf Builder. My wife likes to claim that any fertilizer works about the same as any other, but I feel I've always gotten better results with Scott's.

I do not know your climate in Michigan, but I am in the Mid-Atlantic region (Northern Virginia). The type of grass here is typically tall fescue - soil tends to have a lot of clay in it.

In my area, fertilization with a high nitrogen fertilizer is not recommended this time of year. The reason is that with the heat and humidity, the rapid growth, combined with the salt content of the fertilizer (If it's a cheap fertilizer) will tend to burn-out your lawn, and possibly cause fungus growth. In addition, if you have high heat in your area (like above 85 degrees daytime), some weed control solutions can cause damage to grasses as well.

If you must fertilize, use a fertilizer with a low amount of nitrogen (10 percent or less) and high iron. This will tend to green up the lawn with minimal problems. If your weather is hot, wait until it cools down a bit to kill your weeds.

In my area, late August/early September is a perfect time to re-seed the lawn. I would imagine in your area it might be a couple of weeks earlier.

I would consult local nurseries in your area for best practices.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
..Speedzone with an Ortho hose-end sprayer...

That's how I use it. The Ortho is a nice tool. If you haven't used one, get a feel for the different spray options first.

quote:

Originally posted by btanchors:
I do not know your climate in Michigan, but I am in the Mid-Atlantic region (Northern Virginia). The type of grass here is typically tall fescue - soil tends to have a lot of clay in it.

We are almost entirely clay.

quote:

Originally posted by btanchors:
In my area, fertilization with a high nitrogen fertilizer is not recommended this time of year. The reason is that with the heat and humidity, the rapid growth, combined with the salt content of the fertilizer (If it's a cheap fertilizer) ...

I won't be using "cheap fertilizer."

When I was working full-time the lawn was more a "necessary annoyance" than anything else. I gave it little time or care. Now I have time and I enjoy doing yard work. So I aim to attain a nice, maybe not perfect, but nice lawn. That means sweat equity on my part and using good products.

Heck, SWMBO I think is so happy I'm taking an interest in making the lawn look good she's not even giving me grief about buying top-shelf products

quote:

Originally posted by btanchors:
If you must fertilize, use a fertilizer with a low amount of nitrogen (10 percent or less) and high iron.

I did a bit of superficial research on this and am not seeing that recommendation elsewhere. In fact the claim I'm reading is that nitrogen promotes deep root growth, which you want during more arid conditions.

I plan to apply Scotts Turf Builder SummerGuard Lawn Food with Insect Control. They have that only in 15,000 sq. ft. bags, so I'll mix that with 5,000 sq. ft. of Scotts Turf Builder with Summerguard Water Smart to get me to 20,000 sq. ft. of coverage.

quote:

Originally posted by btanchors:
If your weather is hot, wait until it cools down a bit to kill your weeds.

It is, right now, but it's supposed to drop by about 10°F by this time next week, so that's what I'm aiming for.

Local place I just talked to said "or wait until early evening, when it's cooled-off a bit and apply it then."

quote:

Originally posted by btanchors:
In my area, late August/early September is a perfect time to re-seed the lawn. I would imagine in your area it might be a couple of weeks earlier.

Nope. About the same. Maybe later, depending upon conditions. We're in pretty much the same plant hardiness zone as you.

Need it to cool down and wetten-up enough so the lawn won't be distressed when I dethatch prior to over-seeding.

Then a pre-emergent in about Mid-April, grub control Mid-May, a second pre-emergent about this time next year. Spot broad-leaf and clover control as-needed.

Once I get the lawn healthy, I figure should be able to back off the chemicals.

Some follow-up comments:

quote:

I won't be using "cheap fertilizer."

Scotts is a "middle of the road" fertilizer. It still has a high sodium content (which would burn the lawn in hi-heat conditions) and is not very slow release. The best fertilizers are generally obtained from local nurseries. Expect to pay about $1.50 - $2.00 a pound for high-end fertilizer, which has a very low salt content, and a very long-release time, over many weeks. That means you might pay around $75 - $100 for a 50-pound bag of fertilizer.

quote:

I did a bit of superficial research on this and am not seeing that recommendation elsewhere. In fact the claim I'm reading is that nitrogen promotes deep root growth, which you want during more arid conditions.

That information is not wrong, but it must be taken in context. Yes, nitrogen does promote deep root growth which you do want in more arid conditions. The issue is, you want those roots established BEFORE the arid conditions happen. You cannot develop deeper roots while the arid conditions are in place.

During the late Spring through summer, the metabolism of the grass plant is expended toward foliage (grass blade) growth, not root growth. If you apply lots of nitrogen now, you the grass will grow tall rapidly, but not much in the way of root growth.

In my area (Mid Atlantic) the best time to fertilize is in the fall season. In my case, I fertilize three times in the fall, and that's it. No fertilizer in winter, spring, or summer.

On my last feeding of the year, usually in November, I put down a high-nitrogen fertilizer very heavily. At that time of year, the metabolism of the grass plant is devoted to root growth. THAT is the time to be developing the root growth you will need to survive the following summer. In addition, whatever nitrogen is available that cannot be consumed in the grass plant is stored in the plant for later.

The result - is that in my area, as soon as water hits the grass in late March, my lawn starts developing a deep green color, and stays that way through most of the summer, as a result of the deep roots developed the previous fall, as well as the energy stored in the grass plant from heavy fertilization in the fall.

Another tip: If your soil is heavy in clay content, check the Ph of the soil. Ideally, for best results with grass, soil pH should be in the 6.5 - 7 range. Did you know that if pH is off by only 2 points, that the grass can only effectively use about 30% of the fertilizer you put down? Check your pH! Use Lime to get the pH in the right range. Note that pH changes slowly, and it might take you a couple of seasons to get the pH in the right range if it's a couple of points low. The good news is that lime is relatively cheap, but you may need hundreds of pounds of it if your pH is significantly low.

Nitrogen does not promote root growth. Phosphorus and potassium promote root growth. I lease a farm to a sod producer and they concur.

Yes, potassium is also very important to root growth. One of the fertilizers I use in mid-fall is sulphate of potash, 0-0-50, which provides a nice dose of potassium for root growth.

Ok, found a local(-ish) place that has a slow-release 16-0-8 made by a company named "Capital" (or perhaps "Capitol"). Guy said no phosphate means low-sodium.

Sound good?

This time of year I would use a lower nitrogen fertilizer. I don't fertilize in the summer but if you water enough it might be ok.Most of the the fertilization needs to be done in early Fall,and again before the ground freezes in late Fall early Winter. This promotes healthy root growth. Then in early and late Spring.

If I was going to fertilize in Summer I would use Milorganite. It will not burn the lawn or put out too much nitrogen in the heat.This is slow release and all I use. Helps build up the soil also.

https://www.milorganite.com/

You can find it at some Home Depots.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Mi...-100048741/100618523

When to Fertilize the Lawn

To remember when to fertilize in the north and south we recommend using the “holiday schedule.” The specific holidays when you fertilize will depend on whether you have northern (cool) season grass or southern (warm) season grass.

Check out the tables below for recommendations on when to fertilize with Milorganite and how much to use based on your type of grass.

If you’re overseeding your lawn, mix the grass seed with Milorganite. It’s an effective way to spread seed and fertilize at the same time. Mix 4 parts Milorganite with 1 part seed by weight according to recommended overseeding application rates.
Northern, Cool-Season Grasses

Northern Grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, and Perennial Ryegrass should be fertilized four (4) times per year.

In spring, fertilize your lawn with Milorganite after the last frost and once your lawn begins to grow and green. A good rule of thumb is when daytime temperatures are consistently in the 60s which means soil temperatures are in the mid-50s. Check out this online tool to learn your current soil temperature. If you fertilize too early, the plant will focus on shoot growth and you will sacrifice root growth. Deep roots help your lawn better withstand drought conditions during summer months.

For the last application, fertilize with Milorganite as late in the season as possible—just before the first deep freeze or snowfall. This fertilizer application, known as “dormant feeding,” encourages healthier, greener lawn in spring.
Milorganite | Cool-Season Grass Application Rates When to Apply Application Rate
Memorial Day, end of May 36 lbs per 2,500 sq ft
July 4th, Canada Day 36 lbs per 2,500 sq ft
Labor Day, early September 36 lbs per 2,500 sq ft
Thanksgiving, mid November 36 lbs per 2,500 sq ft

https://www.milorganite.com/us...e/rates-and-schedule