Hi All. Fist post! BIG weed problem...

[mrichardson]

Hi everyone. I live in Texas, and I've got a BIG weed problem in my yard, and I'm wanting to get rid of them as quickly and thoroughly as possible. I've tried things like Spectracide with basically no success. Roundup seems to almost work.

My front lawn is about 80 to 90 percent crabgrass, with hints of Bermuda grass mixed in. My back yard is even worse. it's probably75% crabgrass and weeds I don't even recognize. When our house was built, they sodded Bermuda in the front, and I bought seeds for the back. I'm not attached to Bermuda, so if a better grass is an option, I'm willing to listen.

Is there any way at all to get rid of these weeds quickly and effectively? I've considered just killing off the entire lawn and starting over with a different grass (I've read zoysia is good), but I don't think my wife would go for that. And I'm not even sure what would do that effectively that wouldn't take me out there spraying small strips of my yard with Roundup.

I have a battery-powered mower that sometimes bogs down and can't cut through the weeds. I have a reel mower that I'd like to use more often, since I heard it's better for the grass and such. But first I have to get rid of these weeds!

Help, please! Any advice is greatly appreciated, especially if it works! Yard work would be so much more pleasant to do if I could get rid of these weeds!

[rainbowgardener]

Here's a little information about lawn grasses in Texas:

STATE GUIDE | TURF HELP | GRASS CHOICES | CLIMATE ZONE | HOME

Grasses in Texas for lawns are dependent on largely where in this large state they will be planted. You can divide Texas into basically four climatic regions. these include the north-central plains, the south-east coastal plains, The great plains lying north and north west in Texas and the Trans-Pecos Mountain area west of the Pecos Valley. Growing season ranges from 185 days in Northern cooler areas to over 300 days in the Southeast. Rainfall is also a factor in lawns with a wide range from over 50+ inches in the East to less than 10 in the western areas. Soils also vary greatly and lime is usually required in the Southeastern part of the state.

TEXAS LAWN SPECIES PLANTED:
Bermuda and St. Augustine grasses are found extensively throughout the state. St. Augustine is limited more to warmer areas due to not surviving winter temperatures as cold as Bermuda with its Northern area of adaptation stopping around the Fort Worth area. It is found extensively in Gulf coast areas. It is also the best warm season grass for shade problem areas. Zoysiagrass is also planted in Texas. Buffalo Grass is found in the dryer areas where rainfall is limited to less than 20 inches annually. Centipede is adapted for use in central and South Eastern areas of Texas especially on sandy, well drained soils. Tall Fescues are used extensively in the Dallas / Fort Worth area and Northern Texas, but generally will require irrigation to survive heat / drought.
http://texaslawns.com/

Really if your lawn is mostly weeds, it is time to start over. After the weather breaks in the fall is a good time to do that. Rent a rototiller and till the whole thing under. Water it, then let it sit for a couple weeks for all the weed seeds to sprout, then till it under again. Then plant your grass seed.

[ButterflyLady29]

If you want to kill grass you need a grass killer, not a broad-leaf herbicide.

Spectracide is a bug killer, won't work at all on plants. In order for Round-up to work effectively the plants need to be in an active growth stage. I don't know what your weather is like down there but if the grass/weeds aren't growing the Round-up won't work well.

[imafan26]

I agree, if you have more grass than weeds, especially if the lawn is more than seven years old and the ground is compacted, it is time to start over.

Mow everything down. Use a sod cutter and take out the lawn. Its a lot of work with a hand model but you can rent a powered one. It will cut every thing in strips and you can roll it up and remove it. Locate your utilities and your sprinklers if you have them and mark them. Rent a tiller and roto till everything. Remove any remaining weeds that get dug up. Add about 6 inches of compost or soil amendment and about 1/2 inch of composted manure over everthing and rototil into the 6-8 inches of the native soil. Level it all out but make sure you grade it away from the house and foundation. Adjust the sprinkler heights or put in a sprinkler system now if you are going to do that. Test it to make sure you did not spring a leak anywhere. Water the soil every day and wait for the weed seeds to germinate. kill anything that comes up with round up. Repeat a couple of times until you don't see weeds popping up. Buy an appropriate grass. Do not use seed. Install the grass either as sod, stolons, or plugs and water 4 times a day until it is established which will take a couple of months. Use preen for lawns plus crabgrass control. It will stop germination of weed seeds ( which is why you cannot use grass seed). It stops broadleaf weeds, but you may still have to pull some any weeds that have already germinated. Read the label and follow instructions.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/trav ... aslres.pdf
http://publications.tamu.edu/TURF_LANDS ... 0Lawns.pdf
http://publications.tamu.edu/TURF_LANDS ... ealthy.pdf