# Newbie looking to increase my knowledge



## CluelessCuts (7 mo ago)

Hello all,
First off, thanks for having a forum like this for all to gain from! I purchased a home two years ago and have wanted to fix my lawn that has been neglected for who knows how long by the previous owners. I know that this will be an uphill battle with the state that its currently in and the time of year that I have chosen to take up this task but I am more than willing to do what I can now and deal with its current state until seasons change and I can make a bit more headway. I know that I have some drainage issues at a couple of spots in my yard where water will sit for a little while after a good rain and it is probably not helping any of this. I am located in coastal NC (about ~10 miles inland) and honestly couldn't even tell you what type of grass I have right now, but I guess that's why I am here. I don't want a putting green for a yard but wouldn't mind the fairway, hell even the rough wouldn't be bad :lol:

I went out today to grab some photos of some of the weeds that have taken up residence on my lawn and am asking for some wisdom on where I can start tackling this lawn. Enjoy my dumpster fire of a lawn and thanks for getting this far! I look forward to learning as much as I can from you all

Think this is dollar weed


No impact, no idea


???


Mystery flower


Mystery flower #2


Something that sends out runners from a tap root, they are all over my sideyard

Pulled out


Believe this to be some sort of sedge


And a bit of this sprinkled throughout 


My grass

Closer


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## CluelessCuts (7 mo ago)

Does anyone have any information at all on any of this? I know it's a lot and I don't expect all of the answers but would appreciate any help as to how to start climbing this mountain of weeds :lol: Thanks ahead of time!


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## ruscar (Oct 8, 2021)

Sure thought you would have had a few replies from people that know more about this stuff than me.

Think you are right about the Dollar weed.

In the first flower picture I see at least two weeds I can ID. The blue flower is Annual Blueeyed-grass. Also the white seed head is I believe green kyllinga. Their is also a third leaf I am not sure of. Might be beggarweed?

Flower #2 I believe is buttonweed.

You certainly have a challenge. I don't know what your grass is but suggest you find out so you will not kill it while trying to get rid of the weeds.

Good luck!


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## CluelessCuts (7 mo ago)

I know it's going to be a lot of work and won't happen in a short amount of time but I'm more than willing to put in the work to make any improvements I can. I don't want to make a large investment into resodding the yard so I want to learn as much as I can so that tackle this myself over time.

Thank you for taking the time to provide some insight!


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## kalcormier (May 9, 2021)

You have the correct mindset. It will take some patience but you can get there!

I'm an android user and Google Lens has a weed identification function, I've also read where the iPhone has one as well, but wouldn't know where to find it. There was a post not too long ago about it.

Step #1 Figure out what type of Grass you have/want.

Possibly St. Aug/Centipede/Zoysia. I'm not too good at identifying those.

Definitely not Bermuda.


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## CluelessCuts (7 mo ago)

Thanks, I am an Android guy as well and never thought of the whole Google lens thing. It's amazing the amount of information that we have in our hands that we don't even realize at times. I'll definitely be using that more often. Thanks again!


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## Jeffersonzoysia (12 mo ago)

Couple of questions to help us help you.
How many FT2 in front lawn?
How Many FT2 in back lawn?
Do you think you have the same grass in front and back?
Can you provide pics of entire yard (Front & back)? Maybe an aerial shot?
How short are you cutting and with what type mower?
Frequent mowing will help suppress weeds, how often do you mow?
Does your lawn get 6-8 hours of full sun, or is there a lot of shady areas you will have to work with as well?
You can get some Anderson's weed and feed with Surge that will cover about 10K Ft2 to start and will help control a lot of those weeds (Except the nut sedge, need something like sedgehammer, but would tackle that later, since it's similar in appearance to the type of grass you think you have.
I would take several core samples from different locations in the front lawn (zig zag pattern about 10-15 feet apart-depending on how large your lawn is) and send off soil samples for front lawn and back lawn so you know what is in your soil, or deficient in it.
After the weed and feed strats working on those broadleaf weeds, and you get your results back, you can share with the members the results and we can help you with next steps.
2 things to remember:
1. your lawn did not get where it is over night, took years of neglect to get where it is.
2. you wont sorrect the composition of your lawn overnight either. that will take a few growing season's and good/consistent best practices to get it where you want it.

Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint and if you take baby steps, you will be better in the long run than doing many things all at once.


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## CluelessCuts (7 mo ago)

How many FT2 in front lawn? ~9200 sqft
How Many FT2 in back lawn? ~5400 sqft
Also have a side yard that's about ~4700 sqft
Do you think you have the same grass in front and back? No, I did not post any pictures of it as it is in pretty bad shape and I wanted to tackle one yard at a time.
Can you provide pics of entire yard (Front & back)? Maybe an aerial shot? Here is a satellite image of my yard. Its a little out dated but you can see what I am working with.

How short are you cutting and with what type mower? I have an Ariens 52" zero turn that I have been cutting everything with at 2.75"
Frequent mowing will help suppress weeds, how often do you mow? I have been doing it at least once a week but have increased to twice a week recently.
Does your lawn get 6-8 hours of full sun, or is there a lot of shady areas you will have to work with as well? Full sun for most of the day on all lawns minus one side of my house that shades a small section in the evening and a small tree in that shades a little bit of the front yard.

I am well aware that this is a long-term thing and will take continued effort to accomplish. I'm willing to put in the effort, just need to get a better idea of where to start. Just today I went to my county's co-op and got some soil sample kits that I will get once my yard dries from the rain we just got. They will be sent to NC State for analysis and should have the results a few days after I submit them. I will update you all once I know more about that.


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## Leo_ (Jan 7, 2022)

I think your grass is Bahia


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## Pannellde (7 mo ago)

This is a great resource: Weed ID


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## CluelessCuts (7 mo ago)

That is an awesome resource, thanks! Should have figured that an agricultural heavy college like Virginia Tech would have something like this.


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## 440mag (Jan 29, 2018)

CluelessCuts said:


> …I look forward to learning …


Welcome!

*First, START HERE: Cool Season Guide*: https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1595

Don't let the ^title^ dissuade you; wayyyyy too much of what that thread covers pertains to all lawns

For Weed ID NCSU CES's web page is among the tops: *WEED ID*: https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/weeds-in-turf/

You will want to start some form of Journal be it bound notebook, tablet or simply a running email on your phone. (You can also start a journal in the "Lawn Journals, thread here as it will allow more experience members to reply with info that will save you money, time, hair …. and money!

You will also want to "Bookmark" or "Save to Favorite" the links to helpful references so you can access them on the fly … here're just a few to get you started reading in your spare time …

*TLF Herbicide Guide*: https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=6334

*Carolina Lawns: A Guide to Maintaining Quality Turf in the Landscape*: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/carolina-lawns

*From April - November, in NC, Have Your Soil Tested At No Charge!*
https://chatham.ces.ncsu.edu/soil-testing-for-lawns-and-gardens/

*NC Soil Test Request Form*: https://www.ncagr.gov/agronomi/documents/FormAD-15_corrected_logo.pdf


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## CluelessCuts (7 mo ago)

Thanks for the welcome. I will dive deeply into the links you provided and try to learn as much as possible. I submitted soil samples last week for analysis so just waiting on the results. Once I get them I will update this post with whatever they provide me. I have started a lawn journal but will look into duplicating it on this site for more intelligent eyes to critique. Thanks again!


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## CluelessCuts (7 mo ago)

Hello again, finally received my soil sample results back from NC Dept of Agriculture. I have attached them below:
FRONT YARD

BACK YARD


Looking for any recommendations on how I should go about tackling this and when. As stated in my previous posts, I have a significant weed problem that I will have to tackle but not sure if it would be beneficial addressing this now in the dead of summer. I would think to try and find a post-emergent solution that will also address my potassium deficiency. Also its recommending that I lime the hell out of the yard to get my pH up.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!


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## dicko1 (Oct 25, 2019)

THe ??? photo is japanese clover, I think.

The Pulled Out photo may be cutleaf primrose. Its really too dead looking for a sure ID.


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