Question
Hi Charlotte,

I have read all of your previous answers to questions but I would appreciate a little guidance on what I should do. I live in Central Illinois and my yard contains almost every type of annual grass weed, perennial grass weed, broad leaf weed, and a miscellaneous weed (yellow nutsedge) common to the Midwest. I quit using chemical fertilizers and weed killers two years ago. My yard contains a lot of clay (evidenced by standing water puddles when I water). In early spring, I had my front yard re-graded and the "landscaper" brought in dirt for fill (I won't call it soil) that is full of weeds. I used a fescue grass seed mixture from Gardens Alive (A company out of Indiana that sells environmentally responsible lawn and garden products.) A slit seeder was used to plant the seed and a straw mat was placed over the newly seeded area (I have since removed). The grass came up quickly but so did the weeds. I used an organic fertilizer about six weeks after seeding. In some spots, the grass is very thick and weeds are few. In other areas the weeds seem to have taken over while in other areas the grass has died. The color is green to pale green. The rest of my lawn is full of clover and has a lot of perennial grass weed and broad leaf weeds.

I would like to fix my whole yard without having to till it all up, but I am not sure what to do. What I would like to do is this:
1. Spread gypsum 1/2 inch three times in July and August and then put down 2 inches in the fall.
2. In September, spread a thick layer of compost over my whole yard and re-seed (The front yard has low areas that need leveling too.)
3. Spread gypsum in early spring, as well as compost, sugar and agricultural corn meal.

Is my plan sound? This is all new to me and what I don't know is:
1. Should I add sugar every time I put down 1/2 inch gypsum?
2. Is there an alternative to lava sand?(I cannot find it around here.)
3. Can gound corn feed be substituted for agricultural corn meal?
4. Will I have to remove the perennial grass weeds in order to get good grass growing? (I have a lot of tall fescue and creeping bentgrass weeds.)

Thank you in advance for any guidance you can give me.


Answer
I think the problem is th clay.
It is too tight, so the grass roots aren't strong enough to push their way through it. Weed roots will push through anything.
T try to avoid tilling it all up, I would get a garden fork, and poke it as far into the soil as possible, and mave it back and forth to make the holes ar large as possible, the pour any kind of sand you can get into it ( or the gypsom). If you make the holes and put down a bunch of the gypsum and rake it back and forth to fill the holes, that should get it down where it will do more work, faster.
The gypsum won't burn or hurt your grass, so you can put about as much as you want, just don't smother the grass in it so it doesn't get sun to the blades.
You don't need to add sugar every time you put down the gypsum.
Put down sugar now, and again about mid-august and again in the fall.
I put it down in the spring, early, mid-summer and fall.
Putting the gypsum down the way you plan sounds good to me.
the main problem with putting more of it down is it blowing away if you have high wands, or washing off the yard with watering or rains.
Putting it down in stages like that is sound reasoning. It works byu being watered into the soil and disolving.
I don't know about the feed corn.
Whole ground corn should work well.
Actually, the whole ground corn meal would also sub for the Corn Gluten Meal.
Corn Gluten Meal is the protein fraction of corn meal, and is about the best organic fertilizer there is
Horticultural corn meal is the outside edgeds of the corn kernel.
Seems to me, using the whole groung corn would be getting both benefits.
You don't have to remove the perenial weeds to get the grass growing, the richness of the soil will do that, and they are actually a little green to keep while the grass is thickening.If the are geasses though, the organics will make them grow, it won't kill them out.
If you are planting St.Augustine, it eill eventually crowd out the other grasses.
You might sow some Kentucky Blue Grass in with it, and the textures and colors of all those grasses would make a beautiful lawn.
Me lil brain is running out of steam,LOL.
If you can think of other quiestions or if I missed anything, write me back.
I will be glad to help any way I can.
Charlotte
They will dies out over a period of a few months, so the grass will be spreading all that time.
Another thing that would help loosen up the soil is to encorporate some worms.
To buy some earthworms would be nice, if there is a worm farm near you, or just go down to a river etc and dig some fishing worms, or buy some at a live bait shop.
I think fishing worms are the same as earthworms.
I don't use bait like that ( can't look at a worm, much less touch it) but they crawl in the ground, and that aerates.
Cockroaches are also a beneficial insect.
They normally live in the soil,and feed on microscopic harmful insects. But we put down pesticides, and that kills off their food supply, and threatens them, so they come inside our homes to find food and safety.
I keep them out of my house by putting a small piece of fresh rosemary once a month, anywhere they can be seen, come in or hide.
I never see one in the house, but if I go out late at night and turn on the flood light, I see them scurring back into the ground.
The lava sand is full of nutrients and great if you can find it, but if you can't it is no big deal.
Get a compost bin, or make a compost pile, and put all your raw veggie and fruit waste in it, and leaves that fall etc. Start now, and add the fall leaves to what you make, and by spring you will have a lot of rich, good soil to top dress with.