Question
Hello Charlotte,

Per your previous entries on sugar, I have a question.
I am in zone 7b and put down 10 lbs. of sugar in February (when weeds were showing growth) on approx. 2,000 s.f. of tall fescue lawn in heavy red clay soil (I also top dressed around 60 lbs. of composted manure which is supposed to provide microbes to feed on the sugar).

I did not notice anything since other than the weeds seeming to take off even more (clover and others), but I did not do my first spring mowing until a couple of days ago.  

Now, some of the weeds were simply mowed down, giving a better appearance to the lawn, but the portion of clover growing low to the ground is still very prevalent.

Should I have noticed  more of an improvement by now (over one month since the sugar application) or is this just "par for the course"?  

Also, if it helps you, in early winter, I did apply Milorganite organic fertilizer which is high in nitrogen (which may be helping the weeds?).

One other item, please.... I was a bit unclear on your previous entries about your opinion of using lime.  It is used here a lot to raise our acid clay soils, which in turn, besides helping the grass, is supposed to curtail a lot of weeds.

Thank you, Charlotte, for anything you can offer and please know your overall help in this section is much appreciated.

Cordially,


Larry  

Answer
Hi Larry;
I am in zone 7B also.
It takes a few weeks, depending on how bad the soil was before.
I saw a difference after the first couple of mowings, and I rushed out abd got more sugar and put it down again.
I am not sure if that was necessary or if it helped, but you can put too much of it. It doesn't burn the grass or anything. Using too much only wastes sugar. LOL
The clover was pretty stubborn about leaving.
It is not as much a weed as the jouhson grass, crabgrass, dandelions etc.
But after every owing, I saw fewer weeds, and then I put the sugar down again in the fall. Weeds came up the next spring, but about half as many as before.
The third year, there were very few weeds that lasted long enough to see them, and since then, if they do come up, they are not living long enough to see them.
I always thought lime raised the acid in soil, but I have read on a few gardening sites where they recommend using lime to raise the alkalinity.
Confuses me, so I just don't use it.
I had heavy clay soil here, but it is not the red clay.
Red color makes me think it is high in iron.
That red soil sure stains your clothes, but it really grows things. Our clay soils here are very alkaline.
Have to raise the acid level for my azaleas. I use a little cider vinegar in the water for them. That helps raise the acid level.
Don't really need to.
Leaving the grass clippings and using the sugar and just letting the microbes do they work has my yard in such good shape, I have not even used to bag of organic fertilizer I bought a couple of years ago.
Now, last spring and fall, I did put down lava sand, and I used alfalfa meal a couple of times.
My grass is green as a Leprechaun's vest and lovely looking, with nary a nasty weed in sight.
I didn't see that much difference last year after using the alfalfa and lava sand, but it greened up a little faster this spring than it has in years before.
Every since I have been on the organics, it has greened up faster than other lawns in the neighborhood.

If you applied organic fertilizer in the fall, I doubt it is helping the weeds. It should have gotten those organizims working on the soil improvement.
You want to take it easy using manure, a little too much of that CAN burn your grass. It is potent stuff. LOL

Wait through a couple more mowings, you should start seeing some results.
Howard Garrett says use corn gluten meal. He says that is a good weed and feed.
I know agricultural corn meal is a good fungus killer, so is baking soda.
I hope i am helping.
I would like to see the whole world go to organics. We have just been too careless with our planet, and God left us in stewardship of it.
So far, we ain't doin so good.
Charlotte