| I need to completely redo my back yard. It originally had carpet grass, but due to lack of water and care, weeds have completely taken over. Should I spend the money to put in carpet grass once again, or is there another option . . . such as tilling up the soil, and planting another type of grass. We live by the gulf, it is very hot and dry here. We do have a sprinkler systerm, but we are often on watering restrictions. Thanks for your help!!! |
| Jeanna, I am sorry for this delayed reply to your gardening question. The spring rush has brought a deluge of questions and we are working hard to catch up! I suggest you kill the existing lawn and weed with a product containing glyphosate following label directions and the resod with new grass. I might consider zoysia, semi dwarf bermuda and if you are able to water enough St. Augustine. The following web site can help you choose the preferred grass for your lawn: http://aggie-turf.tamu.edu/ans... Good lawn care can be summarized in three cultural practices: mowing, watering and fertilizing. If you will do these three properly, your lawn will be the best on the block! Frequent mowing is better than infrequent mowing. Mow on a 5-7 day schedule, removing no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade with each mowing. For example, a St. Augustine turf should be mowed to 2 1/2" when it reaches 3", while a semi-dwarf bermuda or zoysia would be mowed to 1 1/2 or 2" when it reached 2 or 2 1/2". While many homeowners like to water 15 minutes a day, your turf will benefit from a good soaking applied less often. Apply 1/2 to 1 inch of water once or twice a week. A coffee can makes a good rain gauge to test out how long it will need to be run to apply an inch. Frequent wetting promotes disease problems and a shallow rooted turf. Let the soil dry out a bit between waterings and the grass will develop a deep root system and do much better. Fertilize with no more than 1/2 to 1 pound of nitrogen in spring after you have mowed the grass twice, and again in fall (around late October). Apply a product with a 3-1-2 ratio of nutrients as this is roughly the ratio of nutrients grass takes in. So, for example, if you purchased a 15-5-10 fertilizer (15% nitrogen), you would apply about 7 pounds per 1000 square feet (1 pound / .15 = about 7). If you purchased a 21-7-14 fertilizer (21 % nitrogen), you would apply about 5 pounds per 1000 square feet (1 pound / .21 = about 5). Healthy turf will choke out most of its weed problems. When the turf is thin and soil is exposed to the sunlight, weeds will sprout and you have a battle on your hands. So first concentrate on the above 3 cultural practices and you will be amazed at the results. Thanks for the question. Best wishes for a wonderful gardening season. Please stop in again soon! |
