Good afternoon everyone! I first off just want to give a big thank you to this subreddit. I recently took over care of my neglected St Augstine lawn, and it is amazing to see the fruits of my labor. It is now getting it's green back, but with lots of weeds.
1) I have a big clover (and other weed) problem, and I'm nervous about spraying a lot of weed killer. I have some Celsius WG, however I'm not sure that's the best thing to use?
2) I'm having some problems in the shaded areas of my lawn (picture with the orange tree). Is there anything that can be done? It does get about 4-5 hours of sunlight depending on the time of year.
3) This is a highly trafficked area with my 2 dogs. I was hoping to level out some of the big bumps because it is hard to get an even mow. I've read some people say not to mix sand with heavy clay soil. I was going to aerate and then level with a top soil sand mix. Is this a bad idea come spring time?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated, and thank you again to everyone!
by Claurence421
2 Comments
Celsius WG is the Cadillac of herbicides for St. Augustine, especially in Riverside heat where other chemicals burn the lawn. It is safe if you follow the label rates, but be patient, it stops the weeds from growing immediately, but they might not turn brown and vanish for a couple of weeks. Clover usually signals low nitrogen, so get your fertility dialed in alongside the spraying. For that shady patch near the orange tree, you are fighting a losing battle with only 4 hours of sun and dog traffic. Raise your mower deck to the absolute highest setting in that zone; the grass needs more leaf surface to catch what little sunlight is available.
Regarding the leveling, the “sand plus clay equals concrete” warning applies to tilling sand into the ground, not topdressing. You are fine to level, but since you have heavy clay and dogs (which equals massive compaction), you need to core aerate heavily before you drop material. I prefer a 70/30 mix of coarse sand and screened compost for this. The sand provides the structure to smooth out the bumps, while the compost feeds the soil biology. If that shady area stays thin despite your efforts, stop forcing it. You can use GardenDream to visualize expanding that tree ring with river rock or a shade-tolerant groundcover bed to see if it looks cleaner than fighting patchy mud. Spring is the right time to move on this, right as the grass wakes up.
You can also use triclopyr at a reduced 1/3 oz per gallon spot spray, check Ai % and read
And follow the label