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At Least The 12th Lawn Thread


Damage In Tolland
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10 hours ago, OceanStWx said:

I think I have Japanese beetle grubs doing a number on my front lawn (neighbor across the street replaced his entire lawn after they got him) so I put down the milky spore for the first time. I prefer to do the least intrusive thing first before stepping up my assault.

You could try beneficial nematodes.   They work well and quickly.  A little pricey due to shipping costs but they'll stop the damage as soon as you apply.  Milky spore takes a few years to be effective, and even more challenging here with our lower soil temps.

https://www.amazon.com/NaturesGoodGuys-Million-Live-Beneficial-Nematodes/dp/B01N5DR2A1

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Yeah, Milky Spore can be great but takes a few years to establish and you need a Japanese beetle infestation to make it work since that's how it spreads.  Soil temps that far N can also be problematic and may make it take longer to establish and that's assuming you have a Japanese Beetle infestation.  There are other beetles that can do the same damage to a lawn.

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13 hours ago, tunafish said:

You could try beneficial nematodes.   They work well and quickly.  A little pricey due to shipping costs but they'll stop the damage as soon as you apply.  Milky spore takes a few years to be effective, and even more challenging here with our lower soil temps.

https://www.amazon.com/NaturesGoodGuys-Million-Live-Beneficial-Nematodes/dp/B01N5DR2A1

I was going to do nematodes too, but with the baby at home I just don't know if I'll have the time to commit to applying them before they die. Might be a next spring deal.

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9 hours ago, OceanStWx said:

I was going to do nematodes too, but with the baby at home I just don't know if I'll have the time to commit to applying them before they die. Might be a next spring deal.

I hear ya, I've been there :)

 

I think they can live two weeks (maybe four) in the fridge.

I takes me about 5 minutes to apply, fwiw.  Dump them in the watering can, pour (the temperature recommended) water in the can, water the impacted area.  

Where it can take more time is if your soil is dry and you need to water first and then potentially again subsequent days.

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15 minutes ago, OceanStWx said:

They’ve got me good. I just randomly pulled a weed in the front lawn, and the roughly 2x2 area that came up had 6 grubs in it. The grass is starting to just blow away in spots and I can see the bastards on the surface.

you're screwed. it's probably too late to save. Better off waiting till spring and spreading grub killer. After a few weeks, rototill it and start over again.

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2 minutes ago, SJonesWX said:

you're screwed. it's probably too late to save. Better off waiting till spring and spreading grub killer. After a few weeks, rototill it and start over again.

I was going to do a stone walkway to the front door which will tear up part of the front anyway. Now I can start over when that’s done.

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Hey guys- update- followed your advice...bought that green electric de-thatcher linked above- followed by fert/seed...things look fantastic.  So now what's the plan for the spring?

I wanna use the crab grass stuff scott talked about...do i do a spring dethatching or anything? and i presume no seed if i use the crabgrass control.

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10 minutes ago, Supernovice said:

Hey guys- update- followed your advice...bought that green electric de-thatcher linked above- followed by fert/seed...things look fantastic.  So now what's the plan for the spring?

I wanna use the crab grass stuff scott talked about...do i do a spring dethatching or anything? and i presume no seed if i use the crabgrass control.

don't dethatch in the spring, you never should. that will just open space for crabgrass to take hold. also, since you just put down grass seed, some of that seed will be sprouting next spring.

and yes, you cannot seed in the spring if you are going to use crabgrass control

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Just now, Supernovice said:

Hey guys- update- followed your advice...bought that green electric de-thatcher linked above- followed by fert/seed...things look fantastic.  So now what's the plan for the spring?

I wanna use the crab grass stuff scott talked about...do i do a spring dethatching or anything? and i presume no seed if i use the crabgrass control.

Probably won't need to do a de-thatch in the Spring but let the lawn tell than, if it needs it.  When soil temps get warm enough a shot of fertilizer, to wake up the lawn, will do (Mar-Apr)  Late Spring feeding is when you want to apply your weed inhibitor.  I'm not a fan of Spring seeding.  New grass ends up having to compete with weeds and crabgrass, so I leave that till late Summer like this year.

 

I'm coming up to 4 weeks since I over-seeded and the lawn looks phenomenal.  I plan on cutting it this weekend.  I ordered some of this that's being delivered nexy week

https://www.amazon.com/Andersons-Complete-16-4-8-Fertilizer-sq-ft/dp/B07SYLCKRH

I plan on dropping that either next week or the week after as my last lawn feeding of the season.

I'll do the same next Spring for my 1st feeding.

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Milky spores work from Long Island south - said the late Ralph Snodsmith.   Most of New England and all of Maine is too far north.

My lawn in Bangor looks absolutely the best it's ever been. Very few weeds, thick, luxuriant turf. Sure, it needs mowing twice a week with all the rain we have received ( 8.28" rain in September ).  It took 13 years for the lawn to recover from grubs to get to the point where it is right now. I had a long siege of sod webworms this summer but otherwise the lawn is in good shape. Purdue recommends a late fall (November) application of urea - which I have done for 15 plus years with good results for an earlier green up in the spring.

If a pre-emergent weed killer is used in the spring any de-thatching or aeration done after that application will render the pre-emergent ineffective.   Pre-emergents will allow turf to fill in via rhizomes but will not allow reseeding much success.

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