New House

[vwpower44]

I have been reading this forum for a few months, and think it's great. Please be easy on me if my questions seem remedial.

We just purchsed a house, and before the house we lived in condos and apt's. I have never really had to take care of a lawn. The house we purchased has a lawn that looks terrible. The entire front section between the sidewalk and street (4' x40') is almost entirely Chickweed.

The main section of the front yard (40' x60') has Purple bells, purple lilacs, chickweed, and crabgrass.

The back yard (65' x 45') has clovers here and there and chickweed in places. I have eliminated most of the clover with Weed B Gone Max int he back yard.

I was looking into fertilizing with a weed and feed around memorial day. What type of weed and feed would you recommend? I have a Lesco about .5 miles away from my house. I used the Scotts Weed and Feed and Fertilized int he morning when there was still dew on the ground, but didn't really see any results.

Should I try to treat the Weeds with Weed B Gone or a Weed and Feed Fertilizer? I am just trying to figure out the path I should take.

The Grass is mostly Blue Grass with a small amount of fescue and rye mixed into it.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

[PHS]

One of the northern guys can help you better with the specifics but nice to see that you took the effort to identify the weeds and grasses...the correct first step in solving the problem and more interesting for "us" to read. The 20 questions game we have to play after the, "I got weeds, what do I spray" posts, get tiresome.

[Heatman]

You will get much better results by spraying the weeds. I gave up on weed and feed years ago. If you have a Tractor Supply store near you they sell Speedzone and it works very well for me.
http://www.pbigordon.com/homefarm/lawncare_weed.php

[Newt*]

The main section of the front yard (40' x60') has Purple bells, purple lilacs, chickweed, and crabgrass.

Hi Mike,

I can't help you with the weed and chemical stuff as I don't use it, but if your lilac is in the lawn and not a garden bed, try and have a mulch ring around the base at least 12" out from the outer edge of the shrub base. Lilacs won't flower well if you fertilize your lawn, especially if you use synthetics. If you have tested the pH of your soil and it's a bit on the acid side, scratch a cup of lime into the soil around your lilac. They prefer a more alkaline soil and will flower better for you that way.

Newt

[vwpower44]

I will try to remove the lilac when I get back from vacation next week. It looks really stupid in the lawn. I am also going to talk to the local Lesco and see what they would recommend. Thanks.

[Newt*]

I will try to remove the lilac when I get back from vacation next week. It looks really stupid in the lawn. Thanks.

You are very welcome! Are you going to transplant it or dispose of it?

Newt

[vwpower44]

We will Dispose of the lilac and plant grass.

[Newt*]

Thanks for letting me know. :cry: Lilacs are a favorite of mine, that's why I asked.

Good luck with the lawn. :)

Newt

[tlg]

Hi Mike,

I can't help you with the weed and chemical stuff as I don't use it, but if your lilac is in the lawn and not a garden bed, try and have a mulch ring around the base at least 12" out from the outer edge of the shrub base. Lilacs won't flower well if you fertilize your lawn, especially if you use synthetics. If you have tested the pH of your soil and it's a bit on the acid side, scratch a cup of lime into the soil around your lilac. They prefer a more alkaline soil and will flower better for you that way.

Newt

Can a lilac tell the difference between a synthetic fertilizer vs an organic based fertilizer?

[Newt*]

Can a lilac tell the difference between a synthetic fertilizer vs an organic based fertilizer?

Yes, and all the lilacs relatives that are plants. Synthetic fertilizers are like sterioids for your plants. They feed the plant and not the soil. That causes lush growth that can attract insect pests. Synthetics leave behind residual salts which organics don't. Synthetics don't contain trace minerals and organics do. You should find this informative.
http://www.agreauxorganics.com/fertilizer.html
http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=131

Newt

[tlg]

Yes, and all the lilacs relatives that are plants. Synthetic fertilizers are like sterioids for your plants. They feed the plant and not the soil. That causes lush growth that can attract insect pests. Synthetics leave behind residual salts which organics don't. Synthetics don't contain trace minerals and organics do. You should find this informative.
http://www.agreauxorganics.com/fertilizer.html
http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=131

Newt

Ok so we have two web sites that claim organics are better than synthetics. Before I buy into any of this I would like to see one scientific study that compares synthetic fert to organic fert. I have a huge lilac in my own yard that has not only been treated with synthetic fertilizer the lawn surrounding it has had synthetic fertilizer for over 10 years. The lilac has more blooms than I can count each spring and looks great. Is it possible that there really is no difference, that if the right balance of nutrients are supplied the plant ( any plant for that matter) don't really care where the food came from. From my own experience I just can't see a significant reason to lean to organics over synthetic fertilizers. I'm sure organics are fine as a plant food source. I just don't believe they are superior as you claim.

[Newt*]

Tlg,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I never said that organic fertilizers were superior. I did point out they work differently. You may be surprised at what you find here.
http://www.earthtoys.com/emagazine.php?issue_number=06.08.01&article=fertilizer
http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/internal/preview.cfm?NID=4185
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/2006/pr-organics-030806.html

Newt