Need help with Emerald zoysia lawn / top dressing / weed control

[spitwad]

I have been a long time lurker of these forums and do allot of searching to find my answers, but I have a series of questions that pertain specifically to my 1 year old emerald zoysia lawn.

I absolutely love my emerald zoysia lawn, but I picked a horrible time to start it as Austin TX has been in a severe drought for the past year. I did however install a sprinkler system, so I was able to keep my lawn alive through the summer. I watered once a week after the lawn became somewhat established. I had two major problems. One was crab grass. I top dressed the seams of my new lawn with soil from my yard that evidently was full of crabgrass seeds. I dug up alot of crabgrass as I could not use chemicals on a new lawn.

My other problem was an armadillo that would come and dig up my new every night. :cry: Needless to say, the armadillo lost that fight. :hammerhead:

Now I desperately need to top dress the lawn because all of the unevenness caused by the armadillo holes from last year, but I don't want to induce the war with crab grass that I had to fight last year.

Should I top dress with a coarse sand / moss mixture to even things out?

Could I use a product like Image to prevent the crab grass?

Thanks in advance,

Brandon

[quiet]

Yes and sorta yes. Image can stunt the turf, particularly if used when emerging from dormancy. Image has has some pre-m properties, but works primarily as post-m. It is effective on crabgrass. Get the zoysia thick enough and you'll have very little crab pressure. Mow it short, mow it weekly, and fertilize it on the holidays - Easter, Memorial day, 4th of July and Labor Day. For the homeowner here in TX, use Scott's Southern Turf Builder. Water with deep soakings - 1" - then let dry out before watering again. Make the roots go down and get it!