# Eastern PA - 3 Acres to restore



## Skully (May 21, 2020)

Hello from rainy PA.

I initially posted this over at the cool season lawns journal and realized that was probably the wrong place for this post.

New forum member here. Hi Y'all. Thanks for having me.

Gosh, where to start? I have always been particular about the appearance of my lawn. comes from my upbringing and a father who taught me how to keep the lawn clean, green and well groomed. My first home was on 1/2 acre, purchased new and i was able to bring the lawn up from seed. I added an irrigation system and paid a professional lawn service. Our lawn was the nicest on the block.

2 years ago my wife and I decided to purchase and rescue a larger home that set on 3.5 acres on a hill overlooking the development that contained our first home and beautiful lawn. We have spent 2 years refurbishing this incredible home and now that the inside is complete it's time for the outside.

This is the reason I joined this forum. There is so much more lawn area and I cannot accommodate a professional service any longer. I am planning on restoring the lawn in sections and I'm looking for advice on what treatment to perform first.
I have a Chapin spraying system for my ATV for application.

These are the enemies.




I've been reading about a product called Tenacity and when used with a surfactant can bring great results. Would a full application of Tenacity and than a fertilizer get me off to a good start for the warm months ahead? i plan on over seeding in the fall. This is the first area i will work on.

I appreciate any feedback and criticism, i'm just looking for a place to start.


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## dacoyne (May 27, 2018)

As someone from eastern PA, commenting to bump this up for responses. Check out the cool season lawn guide too.


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## robjak (Mar 31, 2020)

Tenacity is more of a speciality herbicide. I would use more of something from Group 4. Please read. I would first try the typicial 3-way like weed b gon. Add a surfactant.

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6334

Group: 27
Mesotrione (Tenacity)
Pre-emergent, mainly to target weeds during seeding. Also targets poa annua as a pre-emergent.
Post-emergent to target mainly bentgrass and nimblewill but has some activity on poa annua and bermuda.


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## robjak (Mar 31, 2020)

triclopyr will prob also be needed. that is weedbgon CCO.

Per G-Man, As explained in the cool season guide. Feed the lawn with fertilizer first. Get those weeds growing for 3 days. Then spray it so the weed absorb the herbicide.


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## robjak (Mar 31, 2020)

Also do you plan to do a soil test?


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## Skully (May 21, 2020)

Thank you Robjak. I plan on grabbing some weedbgon concentrate this coming weekend and applying it with my ATV sprayer. That will be 5 days post fertilizer. I'll post some updated photos when I see some of the changes happen.

I appreciate your assistance.


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## robjak (Mar 31, 2020)

Its been dry and hot lately here. I have had to pull sprinklers for my lawn.

Have you had much rain since putting down fertilizer?


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## Skully (May 21, 2020)

Rain is expected today and tomorrow. That should help the results and open those weeds up for the Weedbgon CCO concentrate and surfactant.


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@Skully TZone will smoke almost all out. It is nastier than a standard 3way, but for a single use it may be your best choice. The only 'big' one that will remain is going to be crabgrass. If this is a solid infestation as well an app of Quinclorac will smoke it. You will definitely need to overseed this fall.


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## Skully (May 21, 2020)

@babameca Let me make sure i understand. Are you recommending that I use Tzone instead of the Weebgon CCO? Do i still need the Surfactant?

This stuff?

Is there anything I should be careful of when applying it. I haven't perfected the boom sprayer just yet.


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@Skully Yes it has what CCO has plus 2 more. Rubber boots, gloves. Not too hot, no rain on forecast for 24h. 1-2 days after last mow, no mow for 2 days after. Surfactant will help but is not mandatory if you don't have it on hand. You are in the perfect time window for weed control. No pets, no kids for 24-48 hours.


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## Sfurunner13 (Feb 26, 2019)

You don't need a surfactant with tzone per the label. Also it will discolor your turf for a week or so after the application. In my experience your turf looks pretty ugly and yellow but always recovers well.


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## robjak (Mar 31, 2020)

Weedbgon 3 way + CCO is basically a cheaper Tzone. Some differences. Tzone sure has a lot of 2, 4-D

I do not have any experience with Tzone so i cannot recommend it.


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## Skully (May 21, 2020)

Prior to getting the recommendation for Tzone I placed an order for WBG CCO, Surfactant and a marking die. I'm going to apply that combination this weekend (weather permitting) and evaluate those results. Understand this is the first crack i am taking at this lawn. Knowing full well that 50% of this lawn is junk and will need to be worked hard in the fall. This is definitely a marathon.

Also to consider is that i am applying this with a new 25 gal. Chapin ATV boom sprayer. I've figured out if i travel at 4mph that i am applying one gallon of mixture every 1000 sqft.

This is the math that i used to come to that conclusion:
- 3 nozzle Chapin delivers 1 gallon of liquid every 33 seconds. Measured in 3 buckets 1/3 gallon in each
- 5' spray pattern at a length of 200' = 1000 sq ft and at 4mph is traveled in ~ 34 seconds 
math is not my strong suit but i think this looks correct?


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## Skully (May 21, 2020)

Its been 6 weeks since i put down a round of fertilizer and 4 weeks since i put down WeedBgon CCO. The lawn is looking better with only a few stragglers weeds still living. What is the next best course of action? I was hoping that i could throw some fertilizer at it again and than hit it with Tzone SE.

I am wondering if this would be too much in a short amount of time. it has been very dry here with only a few passing storms in the last few weeks. Grass is looking thirsty.


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## robjak (Mar 31, 2020)

I am in Mountain Top area, and we have had some bigger storms so i am spot spraying weeds. Is spot spraying an option or is the area to big?

If it was dry, i would not spray weed killers or spread fertilizers. I would wait for Sept.


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## Skully (May 21, 2020)

The area that i am concentrating on is an acre and it has responded pretty good to the fertilizer and WBG i applied. There are some patches of clover and wild violet remaining. Maybe ill just spot spray those and wait until end of August/Sept when its time to overseed.


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## robjak (Mar 31, 2020)

How green is it? pics? Saturday might be some rain. But Hot after the 4th. What area are you in?


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## Skully (May 21, 2020)

@robjak - I'm in the quakertown area of PA. The area i am focusing on is not so green, lack of rain and heat have browned it up. The upside is that one round of liquid fertilizer and than a dose of liquid weebgon have minimized the weeds and opened up some area for grass to grow. I'm not sure if there is much i can do yet this summer except organize for a fall top dress and overseed.

That reminds me. I have a few ton of yellow bar sand that i was thinking about mixing with some good screed topsoil for the top dress. is that a good approach? i'm also trying to level some rough areas as well.

here are some recent pics.. all comments and suggestion are welcomed.

Thanks


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## robjak (Mar 31, 2020)

Quakertown is more south and lower in elevation. average about 5 degrees warmer than me. I would wait until later in the year as the forecast is for heat the next few weeks.

That reminds me. I have a few ton of yellow bar sand that i was thinking about mixing with some good screed topsoil for the top dress. is that a good approach? i'm also trying to level some rough areas as well.

Sounds okay to me but are I do not have too much experience with mixing sand and topsoil. Other do though. Are you planning on doing it all?


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

You've made some good progress, but I would wait for a cool spell before hitting it with the T-Zone. It can get dicey this time of year, and you might have to wait until the end of the summer. If you get 2-3 days of a cool spell in the next week, go for it. Mid July-Mid August is nursing it along time. Fall is best to take down broadleaf weeds. Believe me, I'm anxious too. I have some clover that didn't go down with my first Triclopyr app, so I'm waiting for a cool spell for the next opportunity to wipe it out. I feel like it's giving me the raspberries right now. Lol


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## Skully (May 21, 2020)

I cannot believe it is end of August already. The grass project for summer 2020 made a beautiful difference in the lawn. I don't have any recent pics, but I'll get some loaded tomorrow. It is seriously like night and day difference. Still plenty of weeds to fight but this is a marathon right.

I'm a little late getting to the fall treatments but am going to start this weekend.

This is the plan. Please comment if I am way off base. I've read the cool season guide a few times so I just want to make sure I'm heading into winter with the best chances for spring.

Performed a soil test and the PH is 6. The bad news is that all the others are very low N P and K were very light and N and P were almost clear, no color.

I was going to put down a 19-19-19 from grass hopper
Allow a few days than hit it with T-Zone

Can I also run some seed into the lawn after applying these?

Thanks for the help


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## dacoyne (May 27, 2018)

We need a picture update please. (From Pa)


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