Weed and Feed / Fungicide Timing

jsouth – posted 20 September 2006 19:29

Live in Northeaset FL, have St. Aug grass. Front yard showing some signs of leaf spot.. has not been treated or fertilized. Back yard has got leaf spot pretty bad. Applied Revere fungicide 2 weeks ago. Some marginal improvement. My question is: Can I apply weed and feed now. Since I’ve still got signs of the fungus, I dont’ want to make it worse by adding more nitrogen to the soil. Should i just apply more fungicide and skip the weed and feed. Weeds are not too bad, have some dollar weeds in certain spots, but I have had success spot treating with Image or Atrazine.

TexanOne – posted 21 September 2006 23:59

Just my opinion jsouth, but I would steer clear of any weed & feed products. St Augustine that is in a healthy condition will naturally choke out most all weed problems.

About 10 days ago, I tried two different fungal control methods for similar problems you are having – one part of my St Augustine was treated with the fungicide “Fore”, and the other part was treated with horticultural corn meal (NOT corn gluten meal). After one week, the Fore had a slight improvement, but the corn meal treated area is 100% better.

Someone may jump in here with a more informed opinion, but I think it would ok to go ahead and apply a nitrogen fertilizer as long as you are actively treating the fungal problem. I do think you are on the right track by temporarily spot-treating the minor weed problem while the St Augustine is recovering.

jsouth – posted 22 September 2006 06:45

From what I’ve read on this forum, I think I’ve eliminated cornmeal as an option because I’ve already used a chemical fungicide. I assume you’re thinking the atrazine in the weed and feed would slow the grass’s ability to recover. If I go with just regular fertilizer and spot treat the weeds, is it OK to apply the fungide simultaneously?

jsouth – posted 27 September 2006 18:55

The fungus appears to be more widespread thatn I thought even in the front yard. Not sure if i should even bother doing anything now as we are at the end of Sept. and cooler/dryer weather is not to far off.

TexanOne – posted 01 October 2006 02:57

I think you’ll be ok to go ahead and use the cornmeal if it’s been a couple of weeks or so. Many of the typical chemical fungicide controls only last 7 – 10 days before another application is needed.

If in doubt, spread out a layer of cow manure to jump start the beneficial fungus that reproduce in the cornmeal.