MarkinAL – posted 21 June 2006 15:37
I live in AL and planted Fescue in my yard. I also had a sprinker system put in…ah yes…you have to have that to grow fescue in AL! After a lot of hard work (roundup, tilling, raking, hydroseeding…it came out beautiful.
However, after admiring it all spring I now have two problems:
(1) Brown spots forming at the edge of the gavel driveway and bleeding inward. Is this a fungus? What should I apply to fix the problem.
(1)Barnyard type (wide, ugly, yellow/green bladed)grasses and wild bermuda (the scrawngy, large, ulgy stuff)have begun to come in with a vengeance in certain parts. Someone here recommended Fusilade II, saying it would kill the unwanted grasses while not harming my Fescue. I plan to aerate, fertalize with a per-immergent and overseed heavily in Sept/Oct. so that I come into spring with a thick, healthy fescue stand, but what can I do with a postimmergent to fight off all the unwanted grasses and weeds during the summer?
BTW: Because of the heat, I water everyday (I have a well, so I can). The fescue seems to love it but should I cut back to prevent funguses?
[This message has been edited by MarkinAL (edited 21 June 2006).]
[This message has been edited by MarkinAL (edited 21 June 2006).]
Grassguy – posted 21 June 2006 21:18
If you use a hand held soil plugger and remove a single soil plug to a depth of 4 inchs in the areas that appear to be blighted you will take note if the irrigation is wetting the soil to these depths. If the soil is not atleast moist at these depths(will the soil form a ball when pressed in your fingers)and not crumble apart when you break it there is adequite moisture and you can rule out drought stress. if the soil is dryed out at these depths I would say lack of proper soil infiltration and percolation are present and the water is not making it to the root zone and you are wasting water. There are blight resistant varietys of fescue. when and how long do you irrigate. If you suscect a fungusYou can use daconil or gordons Formec 80(a wettable powder) in conjunction with an anti transpirant to make it effective longer. I would look at inadiquite irrigation first. are the leaf blades spotted or just seem to be drained(chlorosis)and/or turning white like straw.
Grassguy – posted 21 June 2006 21:23
one other thing, dont apply any selective herbicides to the fescue in this heat, it will kill the fescue. You could try half rates but it is still very risky. Proper cultural practices are the best defense against weed invasion. Mow about 3 inchs high and dont remove more than 1/3 at a time. Irrigate at leaset 90 minutes, although your soil will dictate how effective your irrigating efforts will be. watering at night promotes fungus if you dont have the improved fescue cultivar. Extending the dew period by watering in the late morning promotes fungus.water in the morning between 4am and 7am. also, did you get that well water tested for use as irrigation water.
Grassguy – posted 21 June 2006 21:27
I cant figure out where to edit so I have to install another post. wait until september 23 to start using selective herbicides on your lawn. Put down a pre- emergent if you fear weeds next spring, Great soil and proper cultural practice are your best tools against weeds.
MarkinAL – posted 23 June 2006 08:18
quote:Originally posted by Grassguy:I cant figure out where to edit so I have to install another post. wait until september 23 to start using selective herbicides on your lawn. Put down a pre- emergent if you fear weeds next spring, Great soil and proper cultural practice are your best tools against weeds.
Thanks so much for the response. Great info. and advice.
Did not have the well water tested but the grass seems to love it. Where would I get that tested and what am I looking for?
I bought some Fertilome Weed Free Zone (I appears to be a 2,4 D Herbicide?) to test on small spot in my yard. I thought I would spray a small area in the evening when it is cooler to see if it kills the unwanted, ugly broadleaf grasses and hopefully not the fescue. I have so much of this broadleaf junk grass in some sections that it has totally taken over the fescue (you can barely see fescue). I am concerned that if I don’t stop its progress this summer it will choke out much of my fescure anyway.
I guess spraying it (once I determine that it will in fact kill the bad stuff) in the fall, before overseeding would be preferred regardless since I don’t want a pre-emergent in the ground…correct?
How long after putting down a pre-emergent before I can over or re-seed?
MarkinAL – posted 23 June 2006 08:24
quote:Originally posted by MarkinAL: Thanks so much for the response. Great info. and advice.
Did not have the well water tested but the grass seems to love it. Where would I get that tested and what am I looking for?
I bought some Fertilome Weed Free Zone (I appears to be a 2,4 D Herbicide?) to test on small spot in my yard. I thought I would spray a small area in the evening when it is cooler to see if it kills the unwanted, ugly broadleaf grasses and hopefully not the fescue. I have so much of this broadleaf junk grass in some sections that it has totally taken over the fescue (you can barely see fescue). I am concerned that if I don’t stop its progress this summer it will choke out much of my fescure anyway.
I guess spraying it (once I determine that it will in fact kill the bad stuff) in the fall, before overseeding would be preferred regardless since I don’t want a pre-emergent in the ground…correct?
How long after putting down a pre-emergent before I can over or re-seed?
Also…on the brown spots. My irriagaton contrator told me my sprinker heads (Hunter) are putting out about 3 gals./minute. Is there a gals/watering that is recommended for fecuse or should I just just use time as a metrix. I had been watering once a day (each morning) for 20 minutes. Per your suggestion have changed to 40 minutes – every other day.
The brown spots are all next to my gravel driveway – obviously bleeding in form the edge. I put on a fungacide.
Grassguy – posted 23 June 2006 13:52
Is the 2,4,D the “Amine” formula? If so its a little easier on the turf and great for broadleaf weeds(not grassy weeds). There is another 2,4,D dicamba formulation thats harder on the turf, especially in hot weather. The herbicide needs photosysthesis to work so risk of burn is possible. try an area to see how its going to work out. The best bet is not to freak out. it takes time to bring a lawn under control. Have your soil tested thru your local county extension to be sure the PH is proper(they may be able to test your water as well). 6.0 – 7.0. as far as the wild bermuda thats poping up if there is not to much yank it up by hand and concentrate on getting the fescue to thicken up. summer is not the time to plant fescue or to try to make it perform. any thinning areas will need to be reseeded at the end of september. keep in mind that if you re-seed or add additional seed to fill in any bare areas you cant apply pre-emergence. wait until april when its weed time again then apply the pre-emergence to beat the weeds back for the spring growth period. if you want to spot treat in the fall with a selective herbicide check out Gordons trimec or super trimec, or if there is a local feed store in your area they should have 2,4,D Amine. add a little spreader sticker to the 2,4,d. it really improves the performance.