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Today I finished my spring application of WOW! Plus. I applied two 20# bags to the front yard and part of the side yard near my shade garden. My past estimates of square footage for the front yard was 2200 sq ft - not sure how accurate that really is! I think I should revisit that. If that was correct, then I should have applied 27.5# of WOW! Plus to get 1# of nitrogen per square foot. (WOW! Plus is 8-2-4) I applied 40#, so that was way overkill, but don't I get better weed control if I put down more? I vaguely remember that from the text on the old bags. Also, since this isn't a chemical fertilizer and is a slow-release form of nitrogen, presumably I'm okay to put down more and am not adversely affecting water quality in the event some of it runs off? That last part might be wishful thinking, I'm not sure.
For future reference, the best spreader setting for the WOW! Plus seems to be 14 . I did quite a bit on 10 and that really makes it take forever - so, note to self: next time set the spreader to 14. I also sprinkled handfuls of WOW! Plus on the shade bed and on the liriope along the edge of the driveway. It should serve to inhibit weed growth and as fertilizer, too. Looking forward to seeing things green up and start to grow! Daffodils foliage is up and camellia japonica is about ready to burst forth.
Today I finished up my initial (and hopefully last?) application of weed control. I used the updated version of what I used last year "Weed Stop." The label boasted it having a crabgrass killer in it. I always thought crabgrass had to be treated with a pre-emergent, so its news to me that there is some chemical out there that will kill only crabgrass on contact and not the rest of the grass, too. I'll have to do more research when I have the chance to clarify the matter.
For now, I'm glad to be done with chemicals for a long while. Wonder if I'll need a retreatment later in Spring?
Next on the list, fertilize with WOW! Plus.
Today was the first day I've been out in the yard all winter and I made some good progress. I raked up lots of errant leaves, filled up a dozen plastic trash barrels full of sticks (the yard waste truck came by 2x to empty them!), and, as ashamed as I am to admit it, I sprayed the lawn for weeds using "Weed Stop."
I hate applying pesticides, but my forays into total organic lawn care left me unable to control chickweed. I'd say chickweed (and violets!) are the main weeds in my lawn. This year I'm employing a different strategy and trying to spray for the chickweed earlier. I believe it will take a lot longer for the pesticides to work given that the temps are low, but that's okay. My thought was that if I sprayed the chickweed now while they are just tiny little rosettes closely hugging the ground that I will overall have to use less pesticides. In the past, I have waited until the chickweed was full out growing and required more spray to kill them. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to reduce my impact by addressing the chickweed problem earlier.
I essentially had to crawl around the yard on my hands and knees with my little pressurized hand pump to spray. (Oh, my aching back!) My normal backpack sprayer seemed like overkill since I literally had to squint at the grass to find most of the chickweed at this point. I'll report back on the results of this experiment later on in the Spring.
It got dark before I was finished spraying, so I'll be out tomorrow finishing up and then if the weather is nice I'll do my Spring application of corn gluten meal (WOW! Plus). I need to revisit the amount I'm supposed to apply because the grass is not especially green at the moment. I'm thinking I might not have applied enough in the Fall or maybe it's just ready for more at this point - I know nitrogen doesn't last long.
In other notes, my Camellia is getting ready to bloom, but it's not quite there yet. The daffodils have emerged and, oh, my hellebore has been blooming now for a couple weeks. This is the first year it's bloomed - the flowers are green.
Truth be told, winter is really the best time to work in the yard around these parts. Summer is too damn hot. So, I'm trying to get out there and do what needs to be done asap. Lots of pruning and other things on the list of coming attractions!
If the weather is nice tomorrow, I think I'll take some photos.
