# Rookie questions



## bp2878 (Feb 13, 2019)

Hello everyone, first post. I just bought my first house and it came with a great lawn and Im very excited about working in it and making it beautiful this spring. I think its centipede but I could be wrong. I have the start of a great lawn but it hasn't been kept up perfectly for the last 2-3 years according to my new neighbors. I have allot of winter weeds and they are driving me crazy. I want to put something out to kill them but I dont know what. Everything I see at the box stores is weed control+fertilizer. Do I want to fertilize dormant grass? Seems like a waste to me. My dad says to spray the entire yard with round up but that seems crazy to me. There has to be a better way than that. Ive read allot of the post on this site but everything seems to be pretty specific towards types of grass, type of weeds, location, etc... Im not even sure on my type of grass, much less type of weeds. Please help with some tips, Ive posted pictures of what I have growing. The grass is obviously dormant, not sure if anyone can tell what kind it is at this state. Thanks in advance, any advice is appreciated.


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

Not sure on the kind of grass since it is dormant but you do have a good variety of weeds. You'll want to look for a product with 2,4D as the active ingredient (AI). A lot of times it's mixed with a couple other AI's and will be called a 3-way herbicide.


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## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

Get something like spectracide weed concentrate from lowes, less than $10 and will do a good job killing what I see in these pics.


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## CenlaLowell (Apr 21, 2017)

erdons said:


> Get something like spectracide weed concentrate from lowes, less than $10 and will do a good job killing what I see in these pics.


+1 This is really all that is needed during the winter time. During the spring and summer is a totally different thing. By the way welcome to the forum.


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## Stellar P (Apr 13, 2018)

erdons said:


> Get something like spectracide weed concentrate from lowes, less than $10 and will do a good job killing what I see in these pics.


@erdons's recommendation is good while your grass is still dormant. Most herbicides need to be applied to the leaf surface of an actively growing plant. If your grass is still dormant, it will not be affected. Do it sooner than later. Grass will be coming out of dormancy soon and the longer you wait, the higher risk you'll be at damaging your grass. Glyphosate would work too, like your pops said. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide. Its purpose is to kill what it contacts (Actively Growing).

Fertilizer is slow release or fast release. Most of those big box store weed n feeds are a synthetic fast release fertilizer. Fast in/Fast out. I'd just find a bag of slow release and throw it down now. It'll be in the soil when the grass comes out of dormancy and utilized then.

Good luck man! Welcome to TLF.


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## lvlikeyv (Jan 26, 2019)

Welcome to the forum, I am in a similar situation as you. (new to lawn care with a plethora of weeds)
This forum is a gold mine with knowledgeable people that genuinely want to help and respond quick.

What I have learned is to get on a Pre-emergent program. Once in fall, once in early spring
The best time to start is now! 
What your spraying will take care of actively growing weeds, while a pre emergent will take care of the weeds during the growing season so you don't have to put down any harsh chemicals that can harm the grass. You can just push fertilizer. (The best weed control is weed prevention) 
Some guys on here have even stated they do not manage the winter weeds and just let them die off when the temps rise.


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## LawnDrummer (Jan 16, 2019)

What part of GA are you in? I'm in Brunswick and have centipede as well.


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## bp2878 (Feb 13, 2019)

Thanks for all the response, put the spectracide out today, on half the yard anyway. Have to go back tomorrow for more. Thanks for all the response and welcomes!

@LawnDrummer Im right in the middle, Warner Robins.


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## Nkoehn22 (Aug 21, 2017)

I feel your pain and hopefully I can give you a few tips. I had to redo my entire yard because it was trashed from the previous owner. Yeah I made mistakes but that's part of the process.

1. Follow Allyn Hayne "The Lawn Care Nut" on Youtube he give a lot of good tips in his weekly videos. He also just stated a new podcast "Lawns Across America" 
2. Find out what type of grass you have warm or cool season and the type.
3. Document what you do when you spray, what you sprayed. Keep a journal.
4. For the hard to kill weeds like Blue grass (Poa Annua) this product worked very well for me last spring. I redid my back yard in 2017 and transplanted Zoyia grass from my front yard. Last winter, spring I had a ton of winter weeds. Allyn recommended Celsius and it worked out very well. This product take a while for it to take full effect like 3-5 weeks depending on the ground temperate. I sprayed when it was in the 40's and did a second spraying two months later.

Bayer Celsius WG 10 oz, it may seem very expensive but the amount you will actually use per spray is very little. It can last you a number of years depending on the size of your yard. Here is the link.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PLNB19K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Another good product i've used is Sedge Ender this product works much faster but it dose'nt kill poe annua (blue grass) after its established.
https://www.amazon.com/AMES-Companies-Inc-069-Concentrate/dp/B006MVFSOE/ref=sr_1_8?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1550172146&sr=1-8&keywords=sedgehammer+herbicide

5. READ THE LABEL and make sure you can use these products on your grass!

6. Depending where you live, don't use round up. Two years ago I spot sprayed weeds in my front yard in mid February, luckily it was only spot spraying. When my lawn started to wake up I had a dozen dead spots. I live in southern Virginia and even though my lawn looked dormant it was actually starting to wake up. I was going into my first full season with zoysia grass after planting plugs the previous summer. I learned if your going to spray roundup make darn sure the grass is completely dormant. I looked closer a few weeks after I sprayed to see if my yard was waking up and sure enough it was and was like crap! It took the summer for those spots to fully fill back in but it was a valuable learning lesson.

Here is my yard renovation journey https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B09G6XBubNDtp

If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Nathan In VA



bp2878 said:


> Hello everyone, first post. I just bought my first house and it came with a great lawn and Im very excited about working in it and making it beautiful this spring. I think its centipede but I could be wrong. I have the start of a great lawn but it hasn't been kept up perfectly for the last 2-3 years according to my new neighbors. I have allot of winter weeds and they are driving me crazy. I want to put something out to kill them but I dont know what. Everything I see at the box stores is weed control+fertilizer. Do I want to fertilize dormant grass? Seems like a waste to me. My dad says to spray the entire yard with round up but that seems crazy to me. There has to be a better way than that. Ive read allot of the post on this site but everything seems to be pretty specific towards types of grass, type of weeds, location, etc... Im not even sure on my type of grass, much less type of weeds. Please help with some tips, Ive posted pictures of what I have growing. The grass is obviously dormant, not sure if anyone can tell what kind it is at this state. Thanks in advance, any advice is appreciated.


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## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

I would say don't waste celcius during the winter.


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## bp2878 (Feb 13, 2019)

@Nkoehn22 Thats a heck of a journey. Im glad my project isnt nearly as extensive as yours was! Looks great. Good heads up on "the lawn care nut". Great videos, ive learned a ton in the 5-6 ive watched so far.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

I would also second the 2,4D. Look for Fertilome or Speedzone Southern. Also put down a pre emergent that has Prodiamine in it. For fertilizer you can always do Milorganite which is a slow release fertilizer. I put down about 80 or 100 pounds every spring on my 3K of lawn, so don't be shy.


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