Question
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how much sugar do I use per 1000 sq. ft.? And how soon will I notice a reduction in the weed population? I also have a weed that resembles either Dallas or crab grass. It explodes out of the ground like fescue except that some of the stems are 10 to 12 inches long and lay close to the ground.  It also has a seed stock with seeds that resemble wheat (sort of).
However, unlike dallas or crab gras they do pull up easy. Are you familiar with the weed in quwstion?

Thank you
Guy


Followup To
Question -
I live in Ft Worth TX. My St Augustine (Bremudea mixed in) seems to be spreading slowly in shaded areas (I have black clayish soil). I've got dollar weeds and clover. I've tried weed and feed (chemical ferts.) to no avail. I've got some bare areas where I want St. Augustine not weeds. I've also had some trouble with brown patch in my lawn, and I can't seem to get any grass to fill in and recover thoes areas. What will sugar to to help my lawn? Will sugar help my lawn to spread faster and kill the weeds? I'm also concerned about sugar attracting all the neighborhood ants and roaches.
Thank You
Guy
Answer -
Hi neighbor;
I am down 183 from you, in Irving. I have St. Augustine too, and USEd to have clay.
First, the sugar question.
Sugar DOEN NOT kill weeds !!!!!
Sugar keeps alive the beneficial microbes, that enrich the soil, that fertilizers kill.
Weeds love poor soil, and will not thrive in rich soil.
It shouldn't attract ants, because you water it in.
I don't use anything but sugar on my lawn, and I don't have anys, of ant kind.
If it DOES attract them, that is ok, because they are just food for my lawn livestock.
I have a herd of a few hundred lizards, some toads, and I run a few head of grass snakes.
I Don't know how many. I don't count em, or socialize with em.
I don't allow anything put on my lawn that will harm them. They keep all the bad bugs away from my lawn and plants, better than all the insecticides I used to use, includint the aphids off my roses.
For all the funguii and molds, I use baking soda disolved in water.I use it in the spring, right after our rainy season stops, and again if there is a lot of rain, before the temp heats up.
I disolve a small box of baking soda in a 2 gallon garden sprayer, filled with water, and spray anything that is susseptible yo mold or mildew. Black spot wreaks havoc with roses in our area, and the baking soda does better than the Funginex did.
Brown patch is a fungus.
More sunlight on your lawn will also help.
Grass needs at least 5 or 6 hours of sunlight per day to do well, and spread. Prune out some tree limbs, trim down some shrubs, etc to get at least some filtered light on those shady spots.
If the shade is dappled, it will help a little, and the grass will do bettet than in total shade.
In those bare spots, condition that clay before you try to plant anythng in there.You need to loosen up that clay to get it to allow rain and watering to penetrate the soil, and get to the roots. Clay is too tight for the roots to move through the soil well. It is just a losing situation unless you get it loosened up.
Best and quickest solution is to till it all up, tilling in things to loosen the soil, and start over again.
You will accomplish a good lawn, in one season, starting this early.
To loosen up really tight clay soil, I make this mixture to till in to the existing soil.
4 bags cedar bark mulch
2 bags humus.1 bag peat moss.
This is about the same as Calloway's landscaper's mix. If i use that, I add a little more sedar bark mulch, like 1 bag cedar bark mulch for each bag of Landscaper's mix.
Till 1 part mix to 1 part existing soil.
the reason I like cedar bark mulch better is, it repels many insects, including termites, fleas and ticks. It takes 1 year for hardwood bark mulch to compost, it takes 2 years for cedar bark mulch to compost.
You want to till in this mixture to at least 8 inches, 10 would be better.
The peat moss will work through the soil, as well as nutrients from the humus, and when the barkmlch composts, and loosen it further, and prevent it from tightening up again.
where you jut will not consider tilling up and starting over, you can throw down granulated gypsum. about 2 inches of this, put down in the spring and fall will loosen up about 2 inches down, per year.
I have used the p[elleted gypsum, and it just didn
t do anything. It is gray. The granulated gypsum is snow white, and LOOKS like Perlite, bu it is not as bad to blow around.
If you ever have pieces of dry wall that you need to throw away, DON'T !!!!
Smash it up and throw it on your lawn. that is gypsum. don't waste it.
BUT,,,,, if you till up those bare spots, and till in that mix, half mic to half clay soil, and prune out so it gets more sunlight, then plug in some st. augustine, you will have grass.
St. Augustine loves water, so when I have plugged some in, I water the area till it is really wet, put down the plugs ( I usually cut up those pallets into 6 pieces, and space them about 4 to 6 inches apart, and then water till it is like a swamp, get barefoot and squish them into the mud, till they are into the nud, but ne sure some of the blades are still above the soil level, to catch the sunlight. Keep it pretty wet till new growth starts, and those roots have taken hold and started to spread. Now, I let my grandchildren squish in new grass plugs.
When growth starts, set your mower blades to about 2 inches., and mow when there is about 2 inches of growth. the more you mow, the more it spreads. when the temp reaches about 85, and stays there, set your mower blades up. The higher nlades will protect the soil and roots from heat.
Water deep, to a depth of at least 6 inches, and rewater when the top 2 inches are dry. You want a deep root system to protect against heat, cold and drought damage.
When you water shallow, it causes the roots to come to the surface to get water, and they are exposed to too much air, heat, etc, and die. they then trap other debris, and that is thatch. Thatch is a thick pad of waterproof, dead debris, that will not let water, air, nutrients, or anything else get to the roots. Your lawn will just die out.
NEVER scalp a lawn. Just about the worst thing you can do.
I had to dethatch when we bought this place 39 years ago, and have always watered deep. Haven't had to dethatch since.
So,
Prune for more sunlight on the lawn, till in stuff to loosen that clay, and put down the sugar to keep the beneficial microbes alive.
Put NO poisons or chemicals on your soil to kill the beneficial microbes and good bugs.
Let the little lawn critters do their good works.
Use baking soda disolved in water to spray shrubs, grass, and and anything that grows that gets mold, powdery mildew or fungus.
When you buy cedar bark mulch to mix in with the soil, buy an extra bag, and put a little trail of it, about 3/4 inches wide, and 2 inches high, around the foundation of the house, to keep the termites away from your house.
You CAN fertilize,mif you just can't bear the idea of going cold turkey without fertilizer, but as soon as you put it down, put down the sugar, to counter the killing of those lil microbes.
Don't put down weed killer.
After you put down the sugar, and water it in well, mow as usual, and in a few weeks, notice how many weeds less you have.
Some will come up each spring, but they won't thrive, and will die out soon. Fewer will come up each year, till none come up at all. Put down the sugar each spring and fall.
  This time of year, but a BIG bag of oranges, eat oranfes, gther in the grandkids, your kids, or the neighborhod kids to eat oranges. Chop the peels, small, enough to sift down into the grass and not look like a garbage dump. this will keep fire ants out of your yard. this is the time of year for them to swarm.
Orange oil if the ingredient that works, in all the effective fire antt killers. Chopped orange peels are full of pure orange oil, and they are not poisonous.
My grandkids love this. they eat healthy, and help granny make her yard safe for them to play in.
They do it for their yards too, but this annual ritual at granny;s sems to be special for them. a pint sized army, united to fight fire ants.LOL
Chop up lemon peels, and scattetr them in your flower beds and comtainer plants, and it will kep the neighborhood kitties fro using your flower beds and plants for a litter box, and not harm anyone's cat.
OH!!! almost forgot.
DON'T kill your roaches !!
They naturally live in the soil, and are great aerators. they are one of the most beneficial bugs you can have in yoyr yard.
To keep them out of the house?
I grow rosemary, and once a month, I put a small sprig of rosemary on each cabinet, pantry etc shelf, and a little bigger sprig under each appliance, and under the cabinet etc, wherever they can come in or hids. I NEVER see one in my house.Where pipes go through the walls, under the sink etc, I stick a piece of rosemary in the open space beside the pipe.
Hope I have helped, more than i confused.
If you need more info, or clarification of what i have written, write any time.
Charlotte  

Answer
Sounds like Johnson grass.
I noticed a reduction in weed population in 3 errks after I put the first application of sugar down. By the 3rd year, none was even coming up in the spring.
Just put down the sugar water it in, when you mow, pretend all those weeds are grass. After all, they are GREEN!!
Thin them out too soon, and you will have bare spots.
I had pretty good loose soil to stsrt withm but it was only about 6 to 8 weeks till all the ones that came up that year were gone.
It may take a few more weeks to improve that clay.
Bring in a load of earthworms, and they will help break it up faster.
I use 1 pound sugar per 250 to 300sq.ft.
I just throw it down by hand. If you get too much in one spot, it doesn't burn like too much fertilizer in one spot.
Charlotte