Lawn and Grass

Takes alot of watering too... you have to soak it a great deal each day and give it a couple of weeks, you start to see it really show

 

all you need

 

Compared to nothing, I am sure it does work well. I was just pointing out a higher quality, non-toxic, cheaper alternative. Also the store I linked doesn't require you to park 1000 feet from the door or search for 20 minutes looking for the fertilizer.

 

I would disagree with this unless you are talking about a freshly sodded or seeded lawn.

 

Bermuda Grass is awesome. It takes a bit more time to put in, but much less maintenance. Less water, less cutting, likes the sun, looks good.

 

I dunno, it's hard to believe any other fertilizer would have made a noticeable difference...our lawn was pretty thick and weed-less for quite sometime. I guess I could try your weed and feed "john deere" stuff next time to see how much better it is...but with only 4 locations in houston i'm betting it will take a lot longer to drive to one of these places than it will to drive to my local Home Depot or Lowes and pick up the Scotts which I was really happy with already. Somehow I highly doubt it would be worth it. That's got to be tough if you have to contemplate walking distance from a parking lot to a store in your decision to purchase goods...bum leg or something?

 

The "weed" part of 'Weed and Feed' is herbicide. The theory is that even though it's hard on grass it's even harder on the weeds. But, if you have weak or nonexistent grass you'll just end up with dirt. The first year you should just go with a fertilizer without an herbicide. Fertilize about every 4 weeks and put a lot of water on it. You will grow weeds so keep them mowed down so they don't go to seed. Eventually when the grass gets thick enough it will choke some of them out. Once you get a strong enough stand of grass you can go to weed and feed.

No, you can't seed San Augustine. You buy it by the pallet. A pallet runs about $175 from a turf farm and covers about 400 square feet. The instant way to get a lawn is just to cover it solid. You can however go cheaper by using a checkerboard pattern to double the square feet. You can use a machete and cut the squares down to 8x8 pieces and spread as wide you need (can afford) or to patch into areas of your existing grass. It looks stupid when you start but it will eventually cover.

In Houston you pay a sewer fee for the amount of water you use so lawn watering gets pretty expensive, not to mention we are in a drought. But for this year you need to water a lot to get the grass established.

* a weed is defined as "any plant growing where man does not want it to grow".

 

For me, I prefer a small shop where I don't need to search and deal with long lines. Since I buy at most, two bags a year, the drive isn't really an issue for me. Again, that is just personal preference. If you want to pay more so you can go to HD or Lowes, no one will really be bothered.

Not sure how bare the yard is so I cannot comment on the new sod or working with your existing grass. That fertilizer you showed needs to be spread at a rate of around 10 pounds per 1000 square feet of yard, about 4 times per year. Depending on your yard size that might get expensive. For cheaper organic fertilizer, buy some soybean meal or alfalfa pellets from a feed store.

I just looked up the directions and they said to use 26 pounds per 1000 square feet. Considering you ordered one bag I doubt you were planning to apply at that rate, but I will just point it out in case you think I am saying to put down too much.