Attachments for lawn care.

ikline · Aug 10, 2004

My lawn at my new house is starting to look pretty good. (expect for the weeds). Lawn has been established for about 4 months now and really filled in nice. My question is do you use a spreader or sprayer or both for the fertilizer and weed control. I have about 4.5 acres and about 3.5 will be a nice lawn that I will need to maintain. Any suggestions on attachments? (Do you roll your lawn every year, aerate, etc.) Also at my last property I only had about 3/4 acre and I used the Scotts 4 step program. It gave great results but that would be extremely expensive on 3.5 - 4.5 acres. Any suggestions. (I know I need a soil test, but just looking for alternatives). Thanks in advance.

jayhawkRoy · Aug 10, 2004

I aereate right after a good rain every year. With the clay soil we have, it helps out quite a bit. Get the soil test and use it to identify exactly what you may need to add in terms of fertilizer. I was surprised at the results for our pasture, and the soil test will save me substantial bucks, in terms of applying exactly the right fertilizer mix.

beenthere · Aug 10, 2004

I have a sprayer (6' boom) that I spray for weeds (2-4d) and have been experimenting with also including liquid fertilizer (no confirming results yet) at the same time. I mow 8 acres and find the weed spray takes about 2 hours spraying five 30-gal. tanks of spray every spring and usually every fall. I don't aerate but have picked up a 'spiker' (star shaped rotary 'wheels' that penetrate but do not take out a plug) that will also spread some seed in hopes to thicken some of the grass spots.
I have a couple broadcast fertilizer spreaders, but both have wheels placed too close together for the 'load' too high up, and are a bit tippy if moving along any kind of side hill. Thinking, if the liquid fertilizer program doesn't work, that I'll get a spreader with a wider wheel-base.

ikline · Aug 10, 2004

I was told since I have dogs not to use 2-4D (something about cancer in dogs) Any one know of truth to that rumor.

zuiko · Aug 10, 2004

It has been used for a really long time and is probably the most tested herbicide out there. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Common sense would be to keep the dogs inside while spraying (I always keep mine inside whenever I am tractoring) and for a few hours after.

ikline · Aug 10, 2004

Thats what I was thinking. Just didn't want to take a chance with the pups. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Golfgar4 · Aug 10, 2004

You could always contact the manufacturer directly, either through e-mail or a phone call, and ask them.

That would be getting the info. straight from the horses......uh......dogs........er.........oh, you know! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

DiskDoctr · Aug 10, 2004

Ikline,

A roller works pretty well here. After one removes all the rocks, the soil is pretty soft.

Anyone: I'm curious- where is a good place to get your soil tested? I've always just done trial and error, but as planting a new lawn myself, would like to do it right.

Thanks,

-JC

SCB · Aug 10, 2004

what is 2-4d? I have not heard of this before.

MMM · Aug 10, 2004

County ag agent.

em14 · Aug 10, 2004

As suggested see your County Extension Agent. I have had mine tested at the State University (Here it is the University of Florida) The Agent will more than likey provide you with the soil sample container and mailing address. Incidently, the Agent can do many very good things for you and you should use that office. Visit them! You will see what I mean.
Leo

beenthere · Aug 10, 2004

2,4-d is a broadleaf weed herbicide.

hwp · Aug 11, 2004

I have found that the lawn maintenance companies take care of fertilizing my lawns (about 2 acres) for less than I can buy the fertilizer, I do my own aeration spring and fall with a tow-behind aerator. I put a hydraulic cylinder on it to raise and lower the transport wheels which makes it much easier to use. The most useful thing I did was put a hydraulic motor on the dishcarge deflector of the mower deck so that I can lift and drop the deflector on the fly as I mow around trees, gardens, etc. in the lawns.

Molerj · Aug 11, 2004

I use a 25 gallon sprayer with a gas engine. I think the one with the 12 volt motor would be better (easier to shut off for areas you don't want to spray) but I got a good deal on this used one. I actually have been wanting to spray since spring but for one reason or another haven't. I am hoping to do it tomorrow morning. I was using a broadleaf weed killer from a local golf course but the price has doubled since I started using it so I now use 2-4-D. I sometimes use Scotts, fertilizer only, around the house. Usually buy about 2-3 of the large bags & put it down with a tow behind broadcast spreader. I just saw the liquid fertilizer at TSC but haven't tried it or read much about it yet. Aereating is on the list but I haven't found a rental place that carries a 3 pt. aereator & I don't want to invest in a new one.

megotatractor · Aug 11, 2004

I believe 2-4-d is the generic name for this. It's commonly found in "Weed b gon" available in kmart or Walmart. check with your farm supply store. 2-4d has been around longer than I have.

dmftoy1 · Aug 12, 2004

Around here at Farm and Fleet it's called "trimec" and it's about 1/2 the price of the weed-b-gon in 1 gallon containers. (1 ounce per gallon, so you get 128 gallons for $17)

Regards,
Dave

EdwardB · Aug 12, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( what is 2-4d? I have not heard of this before. )</font>

FYI - 2-4-D is the active ingredient in a wide variety of herbicides. It is safe and effective. I have included an excerpt from a web site talking about 2-4-D. It is great for use on lawns, especially if you have a broadleaf problem. As with any herbicide, it is important to follow the instructions.

INDUSTRY TASK FORCE II ON
2,4-D RESEARCH DATA
Welcome to the Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D Research Data Web Site.

2,4-D, a member of the phenoxy family of herbicides, was the first successful selective herbicide developed. It was introduced in 1946, and rapidly became the most widely used herbicide in the world.

A selective herbicide is one that controls weeds in a crop without damaging that crop.

After 50 years of use, 2,4-D is still the third most widely used herbicide in the United States and Canada, and the most widely used worldwide. Its major uses in agriculture are on wheat and small grains, sorghum, corn, rice, sugar cane, low-till soybeans, rangeland, and pasture. It is also used on rights-of-way, roadsides, non-crop areas, forestry, lawn and turf care, and on aquatic weeds. A recently published eight-year U.S Department of Agriculture study (NAPIAP Report NO. 1-PA-96) concluded that, should 2,4-D no longer be available, the cost to growers and other users, in terms of higher weed control expenses, and to consumers, in the form of higher food and fiber prices, would total $1,683 million annually in the U.S. alone. The study also reviewed the 2,4-D epidemiology and toxicology data packages and concluded (page2) that after 50 years of extensive use, "The phenoxy herbicides are low in toxicity to humans and animals (1,9). No scientifically documented health risks, either acute or chronic, exist from the approved uses of the phenoxy herbicides."

A study entitled. "An economic assessment of the benefits of 2,4-D in Canada" done in 1988 under Canadian Government sponsorship, concluded that the net benefits of 2,4-D in Canada totaled a third of a billon dollars annually. A worldwide study of the benefits of 2,4-D measured in terms of increased food production and lower food prices has never been done, although those benifits are known to be enormous. 2,4-D has for the past fifty years, been a major tool in the continuing fight to reduce world hunger.

2,4-D is the most thoroughly researched herbicide in the world.