Question
QUESTION: My lawn is infested with weeds that are oblivious to killers like killex or all the others I have tried. I am contemplating killing everything with round up, spreading 1" inch of topsoil, then planing seed. Will this work or do I have to rototill everything after I spray the round up and pick up all the dead material. What do you recommend?

ANSWER: In addition to spreading the topsoil, I would recommend aerating first with a good core aerator.  This will punch holes through the dead stuff and allow the new grass seed to develop a root system below the old lawn.  Otherwise, the dead old lawn will inhibit the root growth of the new grass for quite some time.

I'm curious though, what weeds are you talking about, and what products did you try?  There are very few that cannot be controlled if treated properly.  Are you positive the right product was used and the right application was made?  I'd be happy to advise you if possible.  It could save you an awful lot of work and expense.

-C.J. Brown
www.TheLawnCoach.com

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weeds   QUESTION: CJ.
I have attached 2 pics of the weeds I cannot get rid of.  Unfortunately I do not have a record of the "killers" that I used but I know that I followed the directions to the letter. Particularly with Killex, I have their sprayer for the purpose. If you have a suggestion for a "killer" I would appreciate it. I agree that killing everything and replanting is a lot of work.

Answer
Hi Bob,

This is pretty much what I was expecting.  You've got Ground Ivy bad.  You're right though.  It's brutal to get rid of.  It'll laugh at most of the weed stuff out there.

This IS something that can be done with professional grade products.  They're not necessarily more toxic.  They just have more restrictions on them for various reasons.  I use a professional product called "Speedzone" for this and it works quite well.  None of the over the counter homeowner things will do anything, despite the fact that they are labeled for it (which frustrates the daylights out of me).

I'd recommend calling a few local pros and asking them what they would do to get rid of it.  See if you can contract with them for this service.  You'll probably end up paying $100 or so for one or two service calls as opposed to much more for the entire replacement ordeal.

Just make sure that whoever you contract with agrees to the stipulation that they get rid of the weed satisfactorily, or no payment.  This'll weed out the guys that'll say anything just to close the deal.

That's my advice!  Good luck Bob.

-C.J. Brown
www.TheLawnCoach.com