# Celsius Boom Sprayer



## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

Hello everyone, relatively new to the forum and very new to fertilizers, herbicides, etc. I recently moved into a new house/new build. As expected, the developers didn't do much for soil prep (both from a leveling standpoint, which I plan to attack in July, as well as weed prevention). Being that it was newly sodded in late October I was hesitant to lay down any pre-emergents and instead spot sprayed January-March. It helped some but my lot sits on what was rural farmland so I have various weeds and prairie grasses pushing up through my 419. I have poa, Johnson grass, ryegrass, goose grass, henbit, dandelion and other broadleaf weeds showing up. My sodded area is around 27k sq feet and I would love to have it look like a lot of the yards on here. 
That being said, I am planning to buy a northstar 21 gallon, tow behind boom sprayer. It seems like the Celsius/Certainty/Prodiamine route is the way to go. If I'm correct, now is a good time to address the post-emergent and sedge portion of the triangle. The literature for that sprayer shows that it sprays at 2.1 gallons per minute...or 21 gallons in 10 minutes. Would someone be willing to chime in and educate me on what my mix rate and application plan should be? I'm slightly intimidated by all of this and apprehensive to just wing it in fear of killing off all my grass. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

Philly_Gunner said:


> Hello everyone, relatively new to the forum and very new to fertilizers, herbicides, etc. I recently moved into a new house/new build. As expected, the developers didn't do much for soil prep (both from a leveling standpoint, which I plan to attack in July, as well as weed prevention). Being that it was newly sodded in late October I was hesitant to lay down any pre-emergents and instead spot sprayed January-March. It helped some but my lot sits on what was rural farmland so I have various weeds and prairie grasses pushing up through my 419. I have poa, Johnson grass, ryegrass, goose grass, henbit, dandelion and other broadleaf weeds showing up. My sodded area is around 27k sq feet and I would love to have it look like a lot of the yards on here.
> That being said, I am planning to buy a northstar 21 gallon, tow behind boom sprayer. It seems like the Celsius/Certainty/Prodiamine route is the way to go. If I'm correct, now is a good time to address the post-emergent and sedge portion of the triangle. The literature for that sprayer shows that it sprays at 2.1 gallons per minute...or 21 gallons in 10 minutes. Would someone be willing to chime in and educate me on what my mix rate and application plan should be? I'm slightly intimidated by all of this and apprehensive to just wing it in fear of killing off all my grass. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.


How fast do you plan to drive? How much ground you cover in those 10 minutes (or 1 minute for calibration) will go a long way to determine your mix rate. If you drive so the 1 gallon covers 1000 sq ft then you would mix by the label for 1000 sq ft. If you drive so the 2.1g covers 1000 sq ft then you would mix the recommended amount of product with 2.1g. It all depends on your driving speed.


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

> How fast do you plan to drive? How much ground you cover in those 10 minutes (or 1 minute for calibration) will go a long way to determine your mix rate. If you drive so the 1 gallon covers 1000 sq ft then you would mix by the label for 1000 sq ft. If you drive so the 2.1g covers 1000 sq ft then you would mix the recommended amount of product with 2.1g. It all depends on your driving speed.


Thank you for the input. My best answer to that question...I don't know. My mower doesn't have a speedometer so it would only be a guess. What would be the easiest way to figure that? Some type of lawn grid to determine my driving speed per acre? Test run with water to see how much I cover with the full 21 gallons? Thanks again for the help.


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## FlaDave (Jul 10, 2018)

Philly_Gunner said:


> > How fast do you plan to drive? How much ground you cover in those 10 minutes (or 1 minute for calibration) will go a long way to determine your mix rate. If you drive so the 1 gallon covers 1000 sq ft then you would mix by the label for 1000 sq ft. If you drive so the 2.1g covers 1000 sq ft then you would mix the recommended amount of product with 2.1g. It all depends on your driving speed.
> 
> 
> Thank you for the input. My best answer to that question...I don't know. My mower doesn't have a speedometer so it would only be a guess. What would be the easiest way to figure that? Some type of lawn grid to determine my driving speed per acre? Test run with water to see how much I cover with the full 21 gallons? Thanks again for the help.


Yep you got it, test run with water. If you can adjust your mower speed to spray one gallon of water on a 1000sqft section that would be ideal.


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

FlaDave said:


> Philly_Gunner said:
> 
> 
> > > How fast do you plan to drive? How much ground you cover in those 10 minutes (or 1 minute for calibration) will go a long way to determine your mix rate. If you drive so the 1 gallon covers 1000 sq ft then you would mix by the label for 1000 sq ft. If you drive so the 2.1g covers 1000 sq ft then you would mix the recommended amount of product with 2.1g. It all depends on your driving speed.
> ...


The easiest way would be how @TommyTester suggests. Measure off 1000 sq ft in your yard. Put X amount in your sprayer and spray the 1000 sq ft. Look at how much water you have left. Subtract what you started with and that is what you use per 1000 sq ft. Do it a few times until you are comfortable with holding that speed. Use that speed and that amount of water you used as your baseline. Mix what they recommend for 1000 sq ft with water to make what you used in your test spray. If you spray 1.5g of water at a repeatable speed then mix what they recommend for 1000 sq ft and water to make 1.5g. Keep that ratio until your tank is full.


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

Appreciate the replies. I'm definitely gonna try some test runs and see if I can get it dialed in before I actually spray.


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## ceral weed killer (Jul 29, 2018)

Google calibrating sprayers. There is a way to determine how much per acre as well per 1k. Some things i have found give you that information as opposed to the 1k ft number.

The way i spray with my mower is that i put the throttle as low as it will go and then spray with the pedal on the floor. Not exactly the best method but works.

Would love to have a mower with "gears"


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

I used water to check my sprayer when I first assembled it. If you have leaks, you don't get hosed with chemicals.

After fixing all the leaks, test spray to function check your equipment. I had a hose blow off the pump when I bounced over a sloped curb when I first started....

Then I measured my spray width, marked out 100 feet, and figured out the right speed (no speedometer) by making four runs until I hit the right speed.

Using water lets you just water your yard until you get your equipment dialed in and get comfortable your setup will work right.

Here's a good video to explain how to properly calibrate, how not to put on a helmet (sorry, couldn't resist) and how to do the math:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fW6g0uq8byo

I use the boom sprayer to spray liquid fertilizer, because you will get some drift from wind, and I have a lot of plants and trees I don't want to hit with herbicides.

I use the hand wand for herbicides because I can virtually eliminate drift by spraying about a foot off the ground as I drive, and I use marker dye to see where I have sprayed to avoid overlapping and over applying, and if someone enters the area I can see them and stop spraying until they leave the area.

It all gets easier once you have done it for awhile. I recommend just taking your time and get used to the equipment as you progress forward. It really helps cut down on the time you have to spend.... I enjoy it, especially when you see your results! :nod:


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

So I got my sprayer. Went with the 31 gallon NorthStar pull behind boom sprayer. It's spray rate it 2.2 gpm so I'm gonna take it out tomorrow and see how much it puts out over 1000 sqft at varying speeds. After that I will do my calculations for all 28000 sqft of yard. I think I will cut in all the edges and tight corners with a backpack sprayer first so that I can keep a constant speed even while turning. That being said, I have a 4 gallon backpack sprayer that I will use to do that. At what rate of mix would you guys recommend for doing that? Also, I'm assuming it's just a light misting from the wand and not a soak while I'm doing all the edges and corners, etc? Thanks for any help!


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## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

You can use your phone speedometer app to set your speed. Then use the methods outlined in this article:

https://pesticidestewardship.org/calibration/formula-calibration-method/

Your pump might say 2.1gpm but that's usually never the case. Measure the output from one nozzle and plug that number into the formula in the article above along with your speed and boom width (not the width it sprays but the physical width of the boom) and you'll have actual gallons per acre. You then can figure how much product to use per acre or per 1000m. It can all be adjusted by changing your speed or pump pressure or even changing your nozzles


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

Philly_Gunner said:


> So I got my sprayer. Went with the 31 gallon NorthStar pull behind boom sprayer. It's spray rate it 2.2 gpm so I'm gonna take it out tomorrow and see how much it puts out over 1000 sqft at varying speeds. After that I will do my calculations for all 28000 sqft of yard. I think I will cut in all the edges and tight corners with a backpack sprayer first so that I can keep a constant speed even while turning. That being said, I have a 4 gallon backpack sprayer that I will use to do that. At what rate of mix would you guys recommend for doing that? Also, I'm assuming it's just a light misting from the wand and not a soak while I'm doing all the edges and corners, etc? Thanks for any help!


You might do your trim pass after. This way if there are spots that you miss or that are tough to get the big sprayer around you can clean it up without needing to mix another concoction. Are you going to use marker dye?


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

Yes Hawkeye, I have marker dye and plan to use it. That's a good idea. I can just transfer whatever is left in the tank to my backpack sprayer.

Thanks for the info Art...that article is daunting. I feel like I need another calculus class to use that method. I think I'll just stick to some Southern American technology and crossing my fingers. &#129315;&#129315;


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## Art_Vandelay (Nov 20, 2018)

Philly_Gunner said:


> Yes Hawkeye, I have marker dye and plan to use it. That's a good idea. I can just transfer whatever is left in the tank to my backpack sprayer.
> 
> Thanks for the info Art...that article is daunting. I feel like I need another calculus class to use that method. I think I'll just stick to some Southern American technology and crossing my fingers. 🤣🤣


Yeah it's actually easier and more accurate


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

So I have my sprayer assembled and have done some testing. I have it set to 40 psi and at that pressure it's putting out just under 1 gallon/minute. So I am using that as my baseline. I loaded the sprayer up with water and have done multiple passes to get my throttle and speed just right. I have it where I am covering 2,000 sq ft per minute. My yard is 26,000 and I was able cover that amount in 13 minutes give or take 10-15 seconds depending on my turns. Soooo, check my math (using the medium application rate of 2.4 grams/1k sq ft):

Total yard 26,000 sq ft

26,000 sq ft / 1000 sq ft = 26
26 x 2.4 = 62.4 (rounded to 62 grams)

Spraying .5 gallons per 1k sq ft, so 26/2 = 13 gallons of water. I will probably use 14 gallons just to make sure I don't run dry.

Checking my math, 62 grams / 13 gallons = 4.8 grams per gallon. Applying 0.5 gallons per acre so 4.8/2 = 2.4grams.

Does my math check out?


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

Philly_Gunner said:


> So I have my sprayer assembled and have done some testing. I have it set to 40 psi and at that pressure it's putting out just under 1 gallon/minute. So I am using that as my baseline. I loaded the sprayer up with water and have done multiple passes to get my throttle and speed just right. I have it where I am covering 2,000 sq ft per minute. My yard is 26,000 and I was able cover that amount in 13 minutes give or take 10-15 seconds depending on my turns. Soooo, check my math (using the medium application rate of 2.4 grams/1k sq ft):
> 
> Total yard 26,000 sq ft
> 
> ...


I didn't check the label for the 2.4g but the rest of the math seems right. Just make sure you leave enough for a trim at the end.


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## CenlaLowell (Apr 21, 2017)

Philly_Gunner said:


> So I got my sprayer. Went with the 31 gallon NorthStar pull behind boom sprayer. It's spray rate it 2.2 gpm so I'm gonna take it out tomorrow and see how much it puts out over 1000 sqft at varying speeds. After that I will do my calculations for all 28000 sqft of yard. I think I will cut in all the edges and tight corners with a backpack sprayer first so that I can keep a constant speed even while turning. That being said, I have a 4 gallon backpack sprayer that I will use to do that. At what rate of mix would you guys recommend for doing that? Also, I'm assuming it's just a light misting from the wand and not a soak while I'm doing all the edges and corners, etc? Thanks for any help!


I'm interested in buying the Northstar setup as well and my main concern was if I could maneuver it within my yard.


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

CenlaLowell said:


> Philly_Gunner said:
> 
> 
> > So I got my sprayer. Went with the 31 gallon NorthStar pull behind boom sprayer. It's spray rate it 2.2 gpm so I'm gonna take it out tomorrow and see how much it puts out over 1000 sqft at varying speeds. After that I will do my calculations for all 28000 sqft of yard. I think I will cut in all the edges and tight corners with a backpack sprayer first so that I can keep a constant speed even while turning. That being said, I have a 4 gallon backpack sprayer that I will use to do that. At what rate of mix would you guys recommend for doing that? Also, I'm assuming it's just a light misting from the wand and not a soak while I'm doing all the edges and corners, etc? Thanks for any help!
> ...


So far it seems pretty well built. I may try and change out the spray nozzles to brass fitting instead of plastic. Other than that it looks like it's gonna work quite well.


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

CenlaLowell said:


> Philly_Gunner said:
> 
> 
> > So I got my sprayer. Went with the 31 gallon NorthStar pull behind boom sprayer. It's spray rate it 2.2 gpm so I'm gonna take it out tomorrow and see how much it puts out over 1000 sqft at varying speeds. After that I will do my calculations for all 28000 sqft of yard. I think I will cut in all the edges and tight corners with a backpack sprayer first so that I can keep a constant speed even while turning. That being said, I have a 4 gallon backpack sprayer that I will use to do that. At what rate of mix would you guys recommend for doing that? Also, I'm assuming it's just a light misting from the wand and not a soak while I'm doing all the edges and corners, etc? Thanks for any help!
> ...


What concerns about maneuvering do you have? I pull mine all over Hell's half acre with no issues other than occasionally jack-knifing it backing up. You can usually steer and back your way out of any jam. Or if you are worried, dismount and use the 15 foot hose and spray gun.


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

Philly_Gunner said:


> CenlaLowell said:
> 
> 
> > Philly_Gunner said:
> ...


Mine has been a tank. I would recommend researching about using brass nozzles before you switch from the delrin nozzles. Brass can cause issues with certain herbicides, and certain mixtures....


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

I would also recommend the spray agitation kit. :thumbup:


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## CenlaLowell (Apr 21, 2017)

FlowRider said:


> CenlaLowell said:
> 
> 
> > Philly_Gunner said:
> ...


Like say you are trying to go around tress or in corners.



Obstacles like this⬆⬆⬆⬆


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

FlowRider said:


> I would also recommend the spray agitation kit. :thumbup:


That's awesome. You mind linking me to the info for that setup? Also, did you stick with the stock nozzle setup or something that puts out larger drops? On the Celsius label it says to use spray nozzle that produce "at least" medium sized droplets. Thanks for chiming in, I appreciate the input. 👍🏻


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

So the weather broke today and gave me some great dry up and sun so I went ahead and sprayed. I sprayed 25,500 sq ft, my sprayer delivers about .75 gallons per minute and it takes me around 18 mins to do the entire yard. Using that math I rounded and used 20 gallons of diluent for 62g (26x2.4g) of Celsius. Finished my last pass in the backyard just as it was running out. The boom I use has 2 fans with some overlap in the middle of the spray patterns. Will this cause any issues? Perhaps some yellowing where the overlap was? I'm gonna go ahead and throw down some 28-3-10 also to smack it with some nitrogen.


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

CenlaLowell said:


> FlowRider said:
> 
> 
> > CenlaLowell said:
> ...


Basically, it is a lot like towing a short trailer. If your tow vehicle will fit through the opening, the tow behind will fit through.

It is far easier to drive forward than to try and back up, at first, but after awhile you can easily back up the tank/trailer, and that will only come from time in the saddle. I back mine with ease, and having a steering knob helps me a lot.

The best way I have found to use the sprayer is to cut in a perimeter around the area you want to spray, basically, like painting the outside edge of your property line or area you want to spray.

You use the hand held wand to do this, so you can control the edges better, cant or tilt the spray tip so the pattern stays off things you don't want to spray (trees, bushes, small animals, neighborhood children, etc.) and give yourself room to deploy the boom arms and the spray width for those larger easier-to-spray areas.

You should also bear in mind you *will* get some drift. So if there is an area downwind, you may want to leave it until the end, because the mist will settle into these areas, and you can overdose things if you are not taking wind and mist drift into account. Try to spray as close to dawn as you can - the winds are usually calmest then.

For your ornamentals, I would park your tank/trailer, dismount your vehicle, and cut these areas in with the 15-foot hose and hand wand. It will keep the spray off your ornamentals and trees. If it is just liquid fertilizer, just blanket spray it all...! :thumbup:


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

Philly_Gunner said:


> FlowRider said:
> 
> 
> > I would also recommend the spray agitation kit. :thumbup:
> ...


Here is the link to the sprayer agitation kit - it is on sale right now:

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200028974_200028974

I kept the stock nozzles on the spray boom arms because I found that the spray droplets were coarse and easier to see and thus control. Be sure and use marker dye; when you turn around, you can lose your previous line very easily, and overlaps lead to overdosed grass...

For the hand wand, I switched out the stock hand wand for a Solo wand, which was higher quality and offered a fan spray tip, along with a poly and brass spray tip option. The fan spray tip puts out a very nice pattern, very easy to see, very easy to control. Definitely worth the money - and I am very much a fan of German engineering....

I bought mine at Site One, which came with spare tips, but Northern Tool has the same version, with a stainless steel tip:

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200323979_200323979

This is the tip setup that my spray wand came with, available as a separate kit:

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200480313_200480313

I like that you can find spare parts for these readily. It definitely is an upgrade, but I kept the original wand because it works for fertilizer spraying really well, especially for spraying the leaves of your trees and bushes. Works really great...!


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## CenlaLowell (Apr 21, 2017)

Thanks @FlowRider

The reason I was worrying about obstacles is because I just got the earthway tow behind spreader and that thing is hell to back up. I was figuring the Northstar sprayers would be the same. I'm tried of walking though so I will buy one and practice until I get it down.


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

CenlaLowell said:


> Thanks @FlowRider
> 
> The reason I was worrying about obstacles is because I just got the earthway tow behind spreader and that thing is hell to back up. I was figuring the Northstar sprayers would be the same. I'm tried of walking though so I will buy one and practice until I get it down.


You're most welcome!

Yeah, short trailers love to jack knife when you back up. I do have to finagle around some sometimes, but you learn how not to get yourself deadheaded in a corner after you have it happen a few times.

I just jump off the tractor and move the trailer by hand to put it back in a straight line.

But you are not going to be able to do that with 31 gallons on board, unless you are strong like bull. :lol:

I have learned to just back up real slow and watch your trailer over your shoulder - if it moves make a slow course correction (don't overcorrect) to keep it going back in a straight line (or a semblance of a straight line, for me)…! :roll:

After awhile, you will be wheeling and dealing with that thing. My neighbors all gaze in wide wonder at the stuff I can do. :nod:


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

Thanks @FlowRider I appreciate the links to the agitator. There is some spray drift with this setup so I just got some grocery bags and covered all of our plants and what not. I'm cautiously optimistic about my application as I have such a wide range of weeds to deal with right now. I also don't really care for the nozzles that came stock on this setup. I practiced spraying up and down the road to my house with just water and the spray pattern wasn't super consistent unless I was driving very slow. If I sped up, it became streaky. I'm not sure if I need tips that put out more volume or a just need a reduced angle of spray. I believe the 4.0 nozzles on there are 120 degrees, perhaps something like 105 degrees would be better. I am definitely going to try and fine tune it before I do any additional applications.


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

@FlowRider and @dfw_pilot I'm going on about 60 hours since I laid down my Celsius app. I'm starting to see wilting of some broad leafs and some of the annual rye I had in my backyard is starting to curl on the ends so I'm definitely seeing some results. However, I am more than a little concerned that my grass may have taken a hit too. I'm starting to see a little bit of yellowing and some of the Bermuda blades are spotted brown and wilty. Should I be watering daily to help the Bermuda to recover or is this normal post application stress? I'm kinda freaking out that I just torched 15k worth of lawn.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

Water won't help but it should be fine. If you put down too much, it will stun your Bermuda but it will bounce back.


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

Yeah, I agree that the herbicides do have some adverse effects on the Bermuda turf grass. It does seem to slow the growth down some, and I have some yellowing in some areas. The label warned of this, but overall the grass did well being blanket sprayed. The Roundup for Lawns seemed to be less harsh than the Q4 Plus, but the Q4 worked quicker, and killed more stuff.

However, I have a dump truck full of dead weeds to show for it, and there were way too many weeds springing up to not spray to kill them. I went light on the application rate (lowest rate) and I had to blanket spray - there were thousands of weeds and spot spraying would have had me out in the sun for two solid weeks, which I have no time or inclination for....

And now I can spend money on fertilizer and water to get my grass to grow without feeding and watering the weeds. That alone was worth it. No competition for water, food and soil nutrients from weeds is only going to help my lawn get healthier.


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

Ok, that at least helps quell my anxiety a bit. I went ahead and put down 100# of LESCO 28-3-10 to help drive some nitrogen in so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm hoping 4 weeks from now I don't have a dirt yard. &#128556;


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

Before:



20 days after blanket spraying:


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## Philly_Gunner (Apr 23, 2019)

FlowRider said:


> Before:
> 
> 
> 
> 20 days after blanket spraying:


Isn't the Q4 for cool season lawns? Are those before and after pics from Celsius or the Ortho product?


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

Q4 Plus is labeled for cool season and "listed warm season" grasses, including Bermuda....

The before and after pix were taken using Roundup for Lawns for Southern Lawns, which I had from last season and sprayed on my front yard to use it up.

I have had some nutsedge survive and some grassy weeds in my front yard, so I am going to spot treat those areas with the Q4 Plus I had left over from spraying that mixture on my back yard....

Otherwise my front yard is pretty much weed-free and grass is looking very good, and ready for more fertilizer and water...!


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