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PostPosted: Sat May 29, 2010 9:03 am 
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these are what i have in front and back yards at a minimum (and I cant find out what they are). if anyone has any ideas on what they are and how to get rid of them asap let me know. thanks


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PostPosted: Sat May 29, 2010 9:22 am 
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and number 4
there are a couple more i can post later


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PostPosted: Sun May 30, 2010 4:36 pm 
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well i think number 2 might be a fescue patch.


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PostPosted: Mon May 31, 2010 5:11 pm 
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my 2c fwiw:

#1 dichondra....mow close as they start to appear, healthy grass should crowd it out

#4 don't know the name, a type of thistle, i think....i call it "texas dandelion" for want of better....this must be pulled out from the root like dandelion, or it grows back....after a rain, or irrigation session, get out a narrow digging tool (i like a sharp wood chisel) dig in about 4-6" against the base of the plant then lever soil, and pull.

the softer the soil the easier to pull out....and use heavy gloves, the leaves can be hard on bare hands.

(to the woodworkers who are having a heart attack, i promptly clean and oil the chisel before i store it.)


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PostPosted: Mon May 31, 2010 5:25 pm 
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thnx for the info. i spent the weekend looking up these plants and found what they were. But not how to get rid of them organically.
my backyard is about 50 percent clover (pic #3), 20 percent dichondra (pic #1), 5 percent thistle (pic #4), then the remaining just flat out dirt, stubs of fescue, and a little bermuda. so i dont know what to do at this point.

i notice that the sun will burn the clover and dichondra to a crisp though if i dont water at least once a week.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 8:40 am 
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Do you have pictures of the clover? It might not be clover.

When I lived in Calif we had a dichondra lawn. It is a pitifully weak turf. Mowing it short only encourages it and weakens the St Aug. Unfortunately dichondra provides enough shade that St Aug runners will avoid it and thus it weakens the turf. Hot sun and drought will kill it. So will a beetle called the flea beetle. If you can stick it out until July it should disappear by itself. If you don't have a dense lawn next April, it may return. To the idea between now and then is to "densify" your turf.

Definitely you should not be watering more than once a week at any time of year. I'm in San Antonio and have not started weekly watering yet. Mow at the highest setting to get rid of the dandelion. I stopped getting dandelions when I raised my mower to the highest setting and started watering right (deeply and infrequently). I've never pulled one out so I can't comment on getting the entire root out.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 8:59 am 
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Here is what is taking over my backyard:
http://www.victorianflora.com/Victorian ... 9316_QxF2y
This is pic #1. The website calls it Dichondra "kidney-weeds". It has been around all over my backyard since i have lived here. Just about everywhere except under trees. Just like last year, if I dont water, they die out pretty fast in the hard sunlight, but then again so does the small bits of bermuda mixed in with it. dlwenzel6 says I should get rid of it by mowing low, but you say high? it doesnt seem to grow that high in the first place. I just spread corn glutten a week ago and watered, and its about as green as its been in a while. But Ill leave it alone for the rest of summer and watch it turn brown and disappear. What should i do tho to get bermuda (or the augustine, which is spreading on another side of the house) to grow in its place?


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 9:12 am 
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I said to mow high because I know for a fact that dichondra can stand being mowed down to 1/4 inch and still thrive. I also know it will stop growing at about 6-7 inches high (neighbor down the street only mowed their dichondra once a year). Dichondra in St Aug is a very unfortunate thing because every leaf has it's own roots and it drops a lot of seed. Dense St Aug is the best solution.

1. Water deeply and infrequently to encourage deep roots and minimize weed seed germination. I water no more than once a week for 3 hours in each zone. Check your sprinkler to see how long it takes to get 1 inch of water. Measure in a tuna or cat food can. Every water system, hose, sprinkler, and sprinkler setting combination will be different. Get to know your sprinkler. Hopefully the infrequent watering will help take out the dichondra and prevent its return.

2. Mow at the highest setting to provide the most shade to any weed seedlings that might appear.

3. Fertilize regularly to promote St Aug runners, long life, and good color.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 9:30 am 
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And i should use corn glutten as the fertilizer? i notice that howard says its the second time of the season to fertilize (which I have already done with CG). so should i continue to fertilize more often, or just let it be for the rest of summer/fall?


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 10:57 am 
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Thank you so much for the dichondra discussion! After being left with a grassless patch after pulling out a significant section, I am on red alert at the sight of it. The dichondra in the full sun section was fried into oblivion, but there is still some left under the tree where there is quite a bit of shade. Thank you for the strategies on how to deal with it!


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 7:44 am 
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peptopro, your budget is your guide as to how much you fertilize. You have a financial budget and a time budget. If lawns are your only hobby, then you might want to spend a few bucks on that. For me, reading and writing about lawns is more of a hobby than the actual lawn itself. In other words I tolerate more weeds and weaknesses in my lawn than in my writing :D

o and u, dichondra loves shade. Good luck with that.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 3:01 pm 
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Shade and lots of rain (which we've had here recently...). OK, it's time to take the gloves off, figuratively speaking!


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 4:20 pm 
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Dchall ill spend whatever i need to in order to get the lawn up to shape.
i was going to spread corn gluten in the front today, but the local shops were out. so i just went with molassis instead.


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 8:54 pm 
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That's good. Molasses is not a fertilizer. It has no protein in it. Molasses is a source of carbohydrates (sugars), so the sooner you can get some ground grains on it, the better.

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 9:57 pm 
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weird but ever since i started this post 2 weeks ago, the dichondra has started to go away (crowded out and/or sunlight burning it up) by not watering the area as often and letting whatever is left of the bermuda around it grow. Im sure the DM and CGM has helped as well. i also dug up some crabgrass in certain areas and filled with compost. some blades of grass are already starting to poke out.


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