Question
For the second year (1st year great growth) we overseeded our bermuda grass with Double Eagle Blend perennial ryegrass (wilminton perennial ryegrass, pacesetter perennia ryegrass, Arrival perennial ryegrass each 33 percent). We live on the North side of Dallas (75034). I informed our lawn chemical company (Trugree) that we put rye down in the winter and to flag our account (2 dogs) and to avoid pre emergent that would effect the rye growth. On 8/23 they put Tripower( MCPA,mecoprop, dicamba) and MSMA and fertilizer on the lawn.  9/13/04 yard was aerated. 9/27 the yard was overseeded with the rye seed.
11/18/04 they applied Tripower (pre/post emergent) again. (was told it wouldn't hurt the rye. The rye was doing well at that time. 11/04 a fireant treatment was put over the whole yard (Topchoice and Ceasefire (fipronil)
Now 2/3 of the rye grass is dead. Many of the area of green rye have a edge to them like that looks like a path of a chemical spreader. Can you tell me if any of the chemicals used on my yard could have killed the rye. I have pictures of a yard in our area that was seeded by the same people, same seed, at the same time and it is doing very well. Just different chemicals used on it. If you don't have this knowledge, do you know someone I could contact?

Answer
Hi Jouce;
Don't know about the grass seeds, but all those chemicals would sure kill me.LOL
ANY pre-emergent put down before seeds germinate and start to grow will keep it from coming up. strong chemicals will definatly damage a lwan, especially new growth.
I use NO chemicals, and have a much prettier lawn than I did before I went organic, and none of the back breaking work.
Seeding with perrenial rye usually causes a weed patch.
Annual rye comes up in cool weather, and in the summer, when it gets hot, it dies out and doesn't create problems.
We used to have a neighbor down the street that used a chemical lawn maintenance company , and when their lawn was treated, half the neighborhood couldn't breathe.
If you don't like doing your own lawn work, check out the organic lawn maintenance companies. there are some good ones in our area. they don't use all those poisons and chemicals, and the results are a much netter lawn.
I would NEVER allow all those chemicals to be put on a lawn my grandchildren or my dogs will play on. those chemicals are deadly to animals, as they are so close to the ground, and animals tend to chew on grass blades. They don't just chew on plants when they have a stomach problem, contrary to popular opinion, most animals also eat some vegetables and fruits. My sheltie loves lettuce, carrots, and almost all veggies. He also loves mangoes.
My other dogs also have some fruits and veggies they like, but a couple of them ar pickier, and will only eat a few.

Fire any treatment in Novenber?
Fire ants swarm in the early spring. Treating in the fall, I would imagine all the treatment would be washed through the soil by the time fire ants show their ugly little heads. The main ingredient in fire any killers, that work, is orange oil. i scatter chopped orange peels all over my lawn when it is time for fire ants to swarm, and I never see one of the little varmits in my yard.
When I used all the fertilizers, weed killers, insecticides, fungicides, I had to work on my lawn all the time to keep up with the problems, and I NEVER got ahead of them.
Since I went to an organic program, I have a weed free, thick, dark green lawn, never see aphid damage or black spot on my roses.
I put sugar on my lawn and water it in well, in early spring and again in the fall.
Fertilizers kill beneficial microbes that enrich the soil, sugar keeps them alive.
I top dress with compost in the spring. Other than that, mowing, watering and edging is all we do.
I dethatched when we bought this house, 39 years ago, and haven't had to do that since.
shallow watering is the main culprit that causes a thatch buildup. shallow watering causes the roots to come close to the surface to get water, our Texas summers kills them, and they lie there, trapping other debris, and that is the thatch buildup.
My husband and I combined, spend about 4 hours per week maintaining our lawn and garden. He mows and edges, I water.
No way on God's green earth would I have an automatic sprinkler system ! those things waste a LOT of water, that your meter registers and charges you for, and they do not adequately water the lawn. They put the amount they are set to put down, and not the amount your grass and plantings need.
I water to a depth of at least 6 inches, and re-water when the top 2 inches of soil are dry. Your grass is the best meter for guaging when your grass needs water. Look at it, as soon as it gets just a little too thirsty, the blades show you it needs water. They are not in danger of dieing, unless they do not get water for several ore days.
My lawn weathers our draughts in the summer, without any damage. The deep root system is down where the water is, and the bottom of the root system never gets dry enough to cause damage.
When the temp gets up in the lower 80, I set the lawn mower blades to their highest setting, which is 3 inches on our mower.
The added height shades the roots and soil from the heat, like an insulation blanket.
I had to retire, for health reasons, but when i was in the businas world, I had such a busy schedule that i never got out for anything except to go to work, or metings. i used lawn work as an excuse to relax. I love growing things, and my roses were a good relaxation therapy.
Part of my back yard is in Burmuda, the rest is St. augustine.
Burmuda takes even less work that St. Augustine.
Get a good deep root system on burmuda, and it will stand up to the Texas heat like a trooper.
Another drawback to chemicals on the lawn, Plumbing pipes are porous, and all those chemicals put on the lawn, seep into the pipes, and a percentage of them is in the water that comes out the faucets in your home. You are ingesting them every time you get a drink of water or coffee, tea or anything water is used for to cook. Filtration systems do not clean all those chemicals out of our water. The engineer who oversees our water department in Irving, one told me,'We recycle sewer water, and the recycled sewer water we treat leaves our treatment plant is cleaner than it is when it comes through the pipes into your home.
Frightening!!!!!!!
I have Asthma, and since I went organic, my Asthma is about 90% better. i rarely have an attack, unless one of my neighbors uses a lot of chemicals on their lawn, or that %^%&^*(&% mountain cedar pollinates, which it does, everytime the weather turns cold and then warms up again.
Did you know the climate, the winds we do and do not have etc, gives North Texas the dubious distinction of being the allergin capitol of the world?
My advice?
Scrap that maintenance company, and go with one that uses an organic program, or do the work yourself. Nothing is as relaxing or as rewarding.
I love my lawn livestock (lizards, toads, grass snakes, and critters that keep my soil loose and lovely).
I won't allow anyone to put anything on the lawn that will harm them. They do all the work i used to labor to do. I even love cockroaches!
Can't abide the thought of one coming in my house, or getting near me, but they are even better aerators that earthworms. they naturally live in the soil, and they tunnel through it, aerating as they go. I use gresh rosemary sprigs in my house, and you never see one of those vermin in my house. No ants, spiders, silverfish, anything!
I treat naturally for termites and other unwanted insects, and I NEVER have to have an exterminator, and I have no pests! No termite worries, no fleas and ticks in my yard.
I have 4 dogs, and i am as careful of their health as I was of my children's, and now my grandchildren's.
If you would like to know these herbal treatments to repel everything from, bugs in the house, to squirrels in the attic, write me. I am more than happy to share what I have learned.
Charlotte