Question
QUESTION: Hi Charlotte,
I live in the Dallas/Plano area of Texas and have been trying for the past year to rid my Bermuda grass lawn of the Dallas Grass weed. I spent the last year paying Chemlawn to do that for me, and while my lawn looks somewhat better, i STILL have the Dallas Grass weeds. Your suggestions to other people about organic treatment of your lawn sounds good. What would you recommend to us here in Texas? We also have some watering restrictions also?

Thanks

Russ
ANSWER: Hi russ'
I live in Irving.
About 10 years ago I switched to organics, and have not used a chemical product on my lawn since.
I have a thick, lush carpet of grass, no weeds or harmful insects.
Lots of lizards,toads, and grass snakes that live in my yard eat them ALL.
Never have any aphid damage to my roses, and those nasty little white tent catapillars don't drop out of the trees on me anymore.
When I started this, I had Dallisgrass, crabgrass, johnson grass, dandelions, clover dollar weed, you name a weed we get here in North Texas, and I had it.
within 2 or 3 weeks of using just the sugar, I noticed about half as many weeds, and in a couple of months, my yard was weed free for the rest of the year.
A few came up the next spring, about half as many as before, and in a month or so, they were all gone. The next year, hardly any came up, and since then, I don't see any.
I get about 5 or 6 questions a day about the program I use, so I wrote it out to one questioner, and just put it in a file, so I can copy and paste it.
This explains what I do, and why it works.
Follow this program, and you will not have to deal with weeds or insects, and will spend a lot less money and time, and have a much better looking lawn and garden.
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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



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Charlotte,

Good to know that someone in Texas has tried this.

One quick follow up, what do you do about fire ants. I have a chemical that
will take care of them, but will this mess up the organic side of things?

Thanks again,

Russ

Answer
Hi Ruiss;
Yes, if the treatment is more then just orange oil, it will mess up your organis.
Orange oil is the main ingredient in effective fire ant control.
I don't have to deal with them anymore.
I have so many lizards etc that I don't see fire ants either.
When I WAS seeing them, I would buy a big bag of oranges, and have the grandkids over, and some of the little ones in the neighborhood helped.
They would eat oranges, and I would chop the peel into small pieces, and they would help me scatter them all over the yard.
You can also get orange oil or Delimonine.
I am not sure I am spelling delimonene right. I watched it on a Howard Garrett video. Uou can mix 2 oz orange oil, 1 oz  molasses, and 1 cup compost tea, into 1 gallon water.shake it up and pump up your sprayer and spray it on plants, fo killing all kinds of insects.
You can use it inside too.
I jusat use roasmary in the house, and it chases everything out.
Another way to spread the orange oil, and use fewer oranges, is to chop the peels of 2 or 3 oranges in about a gallon jar of Epsom Salts, mix it well, and store overnight, closed, and scatter that over the yard.
If you see a fire ant hill, you can drop a handful of oprange pels on it, and they will be gone in a matter of a couple of hours.
I just watched that video, about mixing the orange oil. I haven't tried it.
I bought a subscription to Howard Gerrett's website last year, for about $25.00, and that gives me full access to the video library, the forums, and a monthly email magazine, and a monthly snail mail magazine.
The video library is pretty extensive.
Sometiomes I just go in there and watch videos for an hour or so.
He knows just about all there is to know about organics.
He recommends dry molasses, but when I read his column years ago, you coiuldn't get dry molasses in the nurseries here, and he said you could use plain table sugar.
So I used that. When dry molasses became available to me, I used it, but I liked the results I got with sugar better, so I went back to sugar.
The dry molasses comes in 40 pound bags, and that is too heavy for me now. I can buy the sugar when I shop for groceries, and don't have to go to the nursery to get it.
When I go to Calloways, I always come home with a lot more stuff than I can get planted.LOL
It takes 4 or 5 pounds of sugar per 1000 sq.ft, and it takes 10 pounds of dry molasses per 1000 sq.ft, so the sugar costa less.
I have never used a spreader to apply things, so that is maybe why the sugar is easier for me too.
I just get a 20 pound bag, open it and tuck it under my left arm, and walk around broadcasting it.
I like the orange peels best for fire ants, because it is a way to get the little ones to eat a lot of vitamins, and they feel they are doing a lot to improve the earth's condition.
When I use chemicals, I couldn't let the children or pets on the yard fopr a specified time. With organics, they can be out there with you, and can help.
Oh, to keep the neighborhood kitties out of your flower beds or potted plants, sprinkle chopped lemon peels.
If you want to check out Howard Garrett's website, go to
  www.dirtdoctor.com
Charlotte