what is my sub doing

[clclawn]

i am not lisenced. I do not spray, I sub it all out One of my subs wants to start treating lawn in early march with straight pot ash. He wants a 6 app program ( I have no problem with) but the first one in early march ( 4-6 weeks befor first mow ) seems early to me. If it dose do good, how hard is it to sell the costomer on that one. Around here the only one to treat that early is truegreen, and i don't want to do buz like them.

[Seascape]

I run pre m in early march. First one is scheduled March 1. We cant wait.

mike

[clclawn]

i understand pre m then. but he uses post emergant. is the pot ash good, or a waist. around here ( ne ind ) the ground would be frozen 50% of the time on march 1.

[mariner]

Their herbicide they use called cool power, an ester formulation. It is used in those cooler temps. It is an excellent product for removing creeping charlie and wild violets. I would wait till mid March at least to see if you get another snow. March is an iffy month round there!

I don't know why the potash only. That seems like a waste. Pre M is not something you want to use every year. The product, using IPM strategies, should only be used if there is a weedy grass problem on the lawn. It can be used for a few years with no noticeable damage but once the problem has been adressed and control has been obtained, it is not necesarry. Those that disagree with that neeed to go back to school or are out for the money only! I believe in giving the customer what they pay for, not a generic program.

[sodking]

Mariner, I did go to school and you are wrong. Crabgrass seeds can remain viable for up to 15 years. If you do not apply a pre-emergent control you will get crabgrass. A certain percentage of teh viable seeds will germinate each year. It is after they germinate that Pendimethelin effects control.

You can, under an organic program, use corn gluten meal and I have seen decent results. If the contract calls for a pre-emergent to be applied then that is what the client is paying for. We are not ripping them off for applying the product. My company does rotate the types of control products we use from year to year but we do apply a pre-emergent every year.

Cool power would be more effective when the weeds are actively growing which around the northeast would be between April 1st and May 15th depending on the year. A potash with pre-emergent could be applied in early March, provided there was no snow. The product would be absorbed by the soil and be available to the plant immediatley. The pre-m in early march is rather early, however, we have applied it in December on problem lawns and had great results the next year.

[Seascape]

We would never get it all down if we didnt start in the first part of march. Soon as the snow melts we are out of here !!!! We are locked and loaded !


mike

[sodking]

Wow, the snow doesn't melt around here until late March at the earliest. The earliest I have been able to start was March 22nd.

[Seascape]

1998 ,, we got 8" on march 1

and last year we about 11 inches still on the ground march 1 but for the most part we are able to get rolling by the middle of march. March 1 is my target date and usually it works out. Makes for some cold mornings though.

mike

[mariner]

Originally posted by sodking
Mariner, I did go to school and you are wrong. Crabgrass seeds can remain viable for up to 15 years. If you do not apply a pre-emergent control you will get crabgrass. A certain percentage of teh viable seeds will germinate each year. It is after they germinate that Pendimethelin effects control.

You can, under an organic program, use corn gluten meal and I have seen decent results. If the contract calls for a pre-emergent to be applied then that is what the client is paying for. We are not ripping them off for applying the product. My company does rotate the types of control products we use from year to year but we do apply a pre-emergent every year.

Cool power would be more effective when the weeds are actively growing which around the northeast would be between April 1st and May 15th depending on the year. A potash with pre-emergent could be applied in early March, provided there was no snow. The product would be absorbed by the soil and be available to the plant immediatley. The pre-m in early march is rather early, however, we have applied it in December on problem lawns and had great results the next year.

Keep laying down those chemicals Buddy!

[clclawn]

so do i let him do the straight pot ash????

[Seascape]

Its not a typical practice here in the mid west.

[CCLS]

I would recommend putting down a 20-0-5 or something to that effect. You don't need a lot of nitrogen in the spring, but you still should apply it in your mix. Just depends on the lawn and how well established it is. For your well established lawns I wouldn't worry too much about the N. For your thin and weed infested lawns I would recommend using some N. Get something with a little bit of iron in it for added green-up.

[PTLlandscapingIL]

im planning on going out around the 20th of march is that 2 late?

[Seascape]

Originally posted by PTLlandscapingIL
im planning on going out around the 20th of march is that 2 late?

Nope,, more ideal than march 1 actually.

[SucSeed L&LS]

The potash is mainly for root devolvement and it is my understanding you should use high phosphorus and potash fertilizer in the fall when the roots are taking in nutrients. I would not think doing it in the spring would be the best time.

rgs
Dave