I live in Granbury, TX and my lawn is bermuda with weed problem particularly grassburs/stickers. Purchased yesterday Corn Gluten Meal to apply today in hopes to lessen the sticker count this year but thought Mr. Garrett said that this may be a tricky year timing CGM usage. would it be better to go ahead and put down the CGM now and in a couple of weeks put down molasses, then CGM again in June, or should we save the CGM purchased yesterday for June application and just use molasses now since we see many weeds already present. Our main goal is grassbur control. Thanks in adavance for your help/advice.

Hi and sorry to hear you've got grass burr troubles. We are still fighting them, too -- but we are definitely winning the war. Now we only have a few small patches at the front of the yard where it meet the street, instead of all through the yard. Yay!

We have been 100% organic in this house & yard for almost 3 years now. Previous owner was 100% chemicals. Our poor yard was FULL of grass burrs. Front and back. Last year, I don't remember seeing any in the back yard.

Once we started watering properly, applying CGM and molasses, and giving the yard some Garrett Juice now and then, we began seeing wonderful improvement.

I looked for a link for you (from the library on this site) about why proper watering is also an important factor in controlling weeds, including grass burrs. No success finding what I wanted (sorry), but basically watering deeply but infrequently allows the lawn to grow deep roots, but kills off shallow-rooted weeds since the upper layer of the lawn is allowed to dry out between waterings.

Back to your question: since Howard said the timing for CGM may be tricky this year (because of a potentially early spring, I'm guessing), if it were me, I would just apply molasses, get on a proper watering schedule (if you're not already) and save the CGM for summer application. Also, if you can afford it, you can put a 1/4" layer of compost or humate on your lawn.

As you will see here: http://www.dirtdoctor.com/organic/garde ... on/id/300/, anything you do to improve the overall organic health of the soil will tip the scales in your favor, instead of the grass burrs.

Also, if you have time and inclination, pull them, or dig them out by hand before you mow, so the stickers don't go down into the lawn and re-seed. It's kind of a pain, but we've had good success with it.

Happy gardening!

Grassburrs, in all their incarnations, are a symptom of poor fertility and poor organic life in the soil. The treatment is water, mowing, and fertilizer.

1. Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an hour in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds and prevent new (weed) seeds from germinating.
   
2. Mulch mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. Bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses are the most dense when mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. Dense grass shades out weeds and uses less water when tall. Dense grass feeds the deep roots you're developing in 1 above.
   
3. Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 4 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less important than numbers 1 and 2 above.

Once you get the basics under control, the grass burrs should go away by themselves. In the mean time you don't want to be walking on them. You can pick them up by laying any fabric down on them. The hooks on the burrs will latch onto the fabric and you can carry them away. If you use carpet you can brush the burrs off and reuse the carpet to get more of them.