Question
Good Morning!
I have been reading your suggestions, and at first i was skeptical but I'm at the end of my rope. my wife and I purchased a new construction in the lower coastal region of North Carolina covering .60 acres. The contractors sodded a small portion and laid seed over approx. .40 acres. They claim to have set out a contractors blend of 50% centipede and 50% rye and carpet grass. Long story short, my lawn grew into about 97% weed, 3% grass. I laid down a heavy duty weed killer, destroyed everything, tilled, fertilized, re-seeded and covered with pine straw. Once again, almost nothing but weeds. Early this year we once again tilled and re-seeded, this time with a Bermuda mix and amending with a dump truck full of loam topsoil (we do have a bit of a concentration of clay). The dastardly weeds have once again sprung with a vengeance, although we do finally have some grass beginning to sprout. The percentage is still about 70/30 in favor of the weeds. It wouldn't be so bad if wasn't such a huge focal point of our lawn. These weeds grow seemingly overnight and develop ridiculously deep and complex root systems, which leads me to believe that there is a nutrient deficiency. Do you recommend leaving the seed to continue growing and appyling the sugar technique, (this growing season is probably a wash anyway) or shall I once again kill the thing and start over? Please help, I don't think I can stand anymore looks from the neighbors!

Answer
Hi Jay;
You don't need weed killers, you need some micro-organisms in there enriching the soil.
I heard, "Make rich soil and weeds won't grow, for years and years, and tried.
I fertilized as often as it was possible.
The problem is, fertilizers feed all the vagetation growing there, including the weeds, and wears out. It DOESN'T enrich the soil.
The micro-orgamisms work continually enriching and improving the soil, and when the soil is rich, the weds don't thrive, so if they even come up, they start to die out right awaty.
Some will come back in the spring for the first few years, but fewer each year, because the wind and birds seed your yard with new eeed seeds.
The nasties like crabgrass etc go dowmant, but the same old ones come back in the spring, so yopu get more weeds each year.
On the organic program, you get fewer weeds each year.
Your clay is the biggest problem.
If you have some of the area that you have not yet planted, I would tiil ome bark mulch into it to loosen up the clay in that area.
Unless you have a tractor to do the tilling with, I would do a section at a time.
I wouldn't use any more weed killer.
That stuff does a WHOLE lot more damage than it does good, in fact, so do the fertilizers.
Chemicals really DO cause the problems, organics fixes them.
Where you have grass growing, I would go ahead and apply the sugar, and also some alfalfa meal, and lava sand.
Texas Green sand is good also, but lava sand is so full of nutrients, and so is the alfalfa.
Now they are going to do the weeds as much good as the grass, but the sugar will feed the beneficial microbes, and get them reproducuing and working, and with some patiense, you may get by without tilling again.
If the clay is so hard that water can't get through to the roots, the roots will not be able to push through it either, then you would need to till in a lot of bark mulch to loosen it up, but if it is loose enough to let the water in, and let the grass roots grow, the micro-organisms will emprove it in time, and it will end up as good soil in a few years.
Another thing that loosens up clay, and you don't have to till it in is granul;ated gypsum.
the snow white granulated.
I used some of that peletted stuff, and didn't think it was worth a darn.
You can put an inch or so down at a time, and let it disolve with raqins and watering, and as it soaks into the soil, it breaks up the clay.
If you can find it, you could put some down now, some a little later, and a really good application of it in the fall.
About 2 inches of granulated gypsum, working into te soil, will loosen up about 3 or 3 inches down over the winter.
Wate deeply to help establish a deep root system on the grass.
Weeds will grow through concrete, but grass roots are more tender, and need a little room to get through.
If you have a source to buy earthworms, they will loosen it up pretty fast.
Cockroaches will too.
the normally live in the soil and feed on microscopic harmful critters. We put down pesticides, and it kills off their food source, and drives them into our houses to find foor and safety.
I use fresh rosemary in the house to keep them out, and I never seen one in my house, but I have millions of them in my soil.
They tunnel through the soil, and make larger tunnels than the earthworms do, so they improve the soil even more.
Everything I put on my soil goes to enrich. I don't spend a cent on chemicals, and my lizards, toads and grass snakes have a healthy enviornment to live, and lots of crispy critters to eat, so I never have enough harmful insects to bother with.
My lawn livestock eats them before they get large enough in numbers to do any damage.
My little anole lizards run through my rose bushes, and I never see an aphid damage anymore.
I don't even see the grass snakes,so I don't plow up my yard getting away from them. Hardly ever see a toad, but I watch the lizards quite a bit.
They are not so shy, and if you talk to them, they will stop and listen awhile.
Don't want to pet them, just want them to be happy and eat my aphids.
You will have to go to a feed store to get alfalfa meal, and you can probably get lava sand there too, if they carry organic lawn care products.
Walmart caries lava sand here.
ind a good nursery that sells organic products, and for goodness sake, make a compost pile, or but a composter.
Garden Supply had them on sale for half price, so I bought two of them last yaar.
I kep all the vegetable peels and scraps from the kitchen, tea leaves, and coffee grounds and egg shells, anything that is vegetable. Even if they have been cooked, as long as they haven't had bacon grease or butter added to them. You don't want any animal products in it, or yopu will create more problems than you want, in the way of fungus, bacteria and harmful micro-organisms.
Leaves in the fall.
y husband brings the coffee grounds from wirk, and he begs the neighbors' leaves, so he makes a bunch of good compost.
If you do it right, it comes out of there just sweet smelling good soil, and you can add it to containers, flower beds or veggie gardens or just top dress the lawn anywhere.
I buy at   www.gardeners.com
that is the Gardener's Supply Company site.
I have ordered from them for years, and never had an unpleasant experience.
They have some tools etc that you can't find just anywhere.
another source of good information is    www.garden.org
That is the Nationals Garden Association's site.
There are some good articles on making compost in there.
Write anytime I can answer anything for you.
this is the program I have used for about 10 years, and I haven't had weeds in at least 7 years. I had better than 50% weeds the first time I used the sugar.
---------------------------
You will constantly improve your soil if you go on a totally organic program, and don't use any chemicals at all.
I have beenm on such a program for the last 9 to 10 years, after breaking my back and ruining my body trying to maintain a decent lawn, with only mediocre results.
the organics has freed me from about 90% of the physical work, about that much of the expense, and the results are a think, beautiful yard with no weeds or harmful insects.
Man!!! Wish I had known all this 50 years ago !
The corn clutem meal is an organic product.
If you use organics, and then use chemicals, you will cancel out the organics.
Chemical fertilizers kill all the beneficial microbes, nematodes and other beneficial insects and critters that work around the clock improving your soil.
Beneficial microbes enrich the soil. Chemicls do NOT.
If you put a little too muchj chemical products on the lawn, it will burn your grass, and do a lot of other damage.
If you put too much organics on it, all you do is waste a little time and money.
Sugar does absolutely nothing but nourish the beneficial micrebes. THEY do the work.
Weeds will not grow in rich soil. If they cme up, they will start to die out right away.
The first time I use sugar was in the spring. I had not put any chemicals on the yard since the fall feeding, so they were all worn out of the soil.
I had a lawn about 50% full of dandelions, crabgrass, johnson grass, clover, dollar weed and some other shallow rooted weeds like chickweed etc.
a couple of weeks after I put down the sugar and watered it in, I had about half as many weeds. Nobody had pulled a weed or anything. My husband had just mowed.
I went nuts, like a school of sharks in a feeding frenzy, and ran out and bought more sugar, put it down and waterewd it in.
A couple more mowings, and there were so few weeds. In a few more werks they were all gone.
The next spring about half as many weeds as before came up, but in a few weeks they were gone.
All I had done was the sugar in the spring, and I did that again in the fall.
I used baking soda disolved in water for black spot on my roses and powdery mildew n my crepe mytrtles. That works much better then the chemical fungicides I had used before.
I started getting a nice herd of lizards, toads and grass snakes in my yard.
I had a BIG grub problem every year. I haven't had that since, nor do I have those nasty tent catapillars dropping on my head from the trees.
I see lizards running in the trees and along the fence. I never see the grass snakjes, which is fine with me. I seldon see a toad, but they are all there.
Sugar; I use 4 or 5 pounds per 1000 sq.ft. I just broadcast it by hand, and water it in well. If you spill a blob in one spot, no problem. No burning or other damage.

Watering; I always water to a depth of at least 6 inches. Deep watering like that encourages a deep root growth. That protects from heat, cold and drought damage, and prevents thatch. I water with soaker hoses, and run them till the water is close to the edge and is about to start running off the yard. then I turn it off and wait an hour or so for it to soak in, and turn it on again. I keep doing that until it is wet down to a depth of 6 inches at least. Even here in our Texas heat, I water only once a week, unless it stays well above 100 for a week or more, which it sometimes does. then I look at the grass, and if my St. Augustine is folded up, lengthwise, I know it needs water. It folds the blades up to reduce the area exposed to evaporation. Burmuda, when it gets thirsty, bends it's little blades a little, like it is bowing.
My earthworms and cock roaches etc tunnel through the soil, and that keeps it aerated. Their castings add nourishment. Cockroaches are beneficial. They normally live in the soil and feed on other harmful insects. We put down pesticides, and kill their food supply, so they come in our houses to get food and hide from the pesticides.
I use fresh rosemary to keep them out of my house.

Baking soda disolved in water, about 2 TABLESPOONS per gallon of water, sprayed on top and underneath all the leaves, prevent molds and fungus on plants. You can also use it for fungus in the soil, or you can apply agricultural corn meal and water that in. About 10 pounds per 1000 sq.ft.

Corn gluten meal is an organic fertilizer and weed killer.
It won't interfere with the sugar.
None of the organics calcel each other out.
Alfalfa meal is another good food to add. Just sprinkle it on in about the same thickness the sugar goes on, and water. It is full of nutrients. So is lava sand. Yopu can add it to the top of the soil, dig it into the soil, or add it when you are adding soil, or putting soil in a comntainer for a plant.
Alfalfa meal, as well as generally nourishing the soil, helps promote larger and more blooms in blooming plants and house plants.
You can also make a tea of it for foliar feeding or for watering house plants.
Put 1 cup alfalfa meal in 5 gallons of water and let steep overnight. Still and use to water plants, or strain it and put it in a garden sprayer for foliar feeding.  Be sure, if you strain it, to dump the dregs on the soil somewhere, it is still full of nutrients.
You probably won't need more fertilizert than that. I didn't use anything but sugar for about 8 or 9 years, and last spring, I leartned about the alfalfa meal and lava sand, so I use them.
If you have more questions, write to me.
I am very happy to share what I have learned, and am learning.
Charlotte