I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.

I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.

Read the stuff that comes with triple strike and see if one week would
after application would be OK with cats. And if you have a lot of
clay, mix in lots of potting soil before you plant your new grass.

dgk wrote:
I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.

If you are considering chemical control, I suggest pre-emergence for the
crabgrass. Much less toxic and more effective than the stuff you would need
now.

As for clover, it is your friend. It is just trying to tell you that
you don't have enough nitrogen in your soil. Clover will not compete with a
healthy lawn having a good level of nitrogen. In fact clover is helping
since it makes more nitrogen than it uses and adds that to the soil. I
suggest a slow release organic source of nitrogen. Have a soil test, work
on improving that then test again. There really is no good reason to try
and kill crabgrass and clover until you have the soil problems corrected.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

On 27 Jul 2006 06:52:59 -0700, wrote:


I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.

Read the stuff that comes with triple strike and see if one week would
after application would be OK with cats. And if you have a lot of
clay, mix in lots of potting soil before you plant your new grass.

Triplestrike seems to kill the grass also. I'm trying to avoid that.
For now I just want to kill the weeds.

On Thu, 27 Jul 2006 15:30:55 GMT, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

dgk wrote:
I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.

If you are considering chemical control, I suggest pre-emergence for the
crabgrass. Much less toxic and more effective than the stuff you would need
now.

As for clover, it is your friend. It is just trying to tell you that
you don't have enough nitrogen in your soil. Clover will not compete with a
healthy lawn having a good level of nitrogen. In fact clover is helping
since it makes more nitrogen than it uses and adds that to the soil. I
suggest a slow release organic source of nitrogen. Have a soil test, work
on improving that then test again. There really is no good reason to try
and kill crabgrass and clover until you have the soil problems corrected.

Ok, soil test it is.

dgk wrote:
I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.

Excuse me, but why would any sane person reach for "agent orange" to
nuke clover? Clover fixes nitrogen in the soil, besides producing
attractive flowers. Disregard ads for "the perfect lawn" and you're
both healthier and wealthier. Break out the green spray dye when
putting the place on the market.

J

wrote in message
ups.com...

dgk wrote:
I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.

Excuse me, but why would any sane person reach for "agent orange" to
nuke clover?

Because they were told to, by the central brain.

Cat urine.

--
Jim McLaughlin

Reply address is deliberately munged.
If you really need to reply directly, try:
jimdotmclaughlinatcomcastdotcom

And you know it is a dotnet not a dotcom
address.
"dgk" wrote in message
...
I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.

wrote:
dgk wrote:

I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.


Excuse me, but why would any sane person reach for "agent orange" to
nuke clover? Clover fixes nitrogen in the soil, besides producing
attractive flowers. Disregard ads for "the perfect lawn" and you're
both healthier and wealthier. Break out the green spray dye when
putting the place on the market.

J

.... and why would any sane person want to spare the cats?

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

wrote:
Excuse me, but why would any sane person reach for "agent orange" to
nuke clover? Clover fixes nitrogen in the soil, besides producing
attractive flowers. Disregard ads for "the perfect lawn" and you're
both healthier and wealthier. Break out the green spray dye when
putting the place on the market.

J


While I agree that some scattered clover can be fine, there are
situations where there is so much in spots it becomes undesirable. In
that case, I see nothing wrong with people who want to get rid of it.
Or how about families where someone is highly allergic to bee stings
and would like to have a lawn they can enjoy without attracting bees?
Are they insane?

dgk wrote:
I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.

Your cats will likely encounter worse than Roundup if allowed to run -
attacks by other animals, disease, automobiles, etc.

Clover is easy to eliminate with broadleaf weed killer - can apply with
hose end sprayer. Apply when growing actively and not when lawn grass
is stressed.

Crabgrass is a lot more difficult - digging out, as tough as that is, is
one good way. Pre-emergents work on crabgrass, but timing (PREemergent)
is critical. It also requires care in appl, as it is not enviro-friendly.

On Thu, 27 Jul 2006 20:01:37 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

wrote in message
oups.com...

dgk wrote:
I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.

Excuse me, but why would any sane person reach for "agent orange" to
nuke clover?

Because they were told to, by the central brain.


I don't mind some clover, but an entire clover lawn is not what I have
in mind. Clearly there is something wrong with the conditions if
clover is replacing the grass. I think that I'll work towards fixing
that problem and hopefully the lawn resume some balance.

On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 14:31:38 GMT, Norminn
wrote:

dgk wrote:
I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.

Your cats will likely encounter worse than Roundup if allowed to run -
attacks by other animals, disease, automobiles, etc.

Yes, I know. That's why I fenced in the yard so they can't get out.
Best of both worlds.


Clover is easy to eliminate with broadleaf weed killer - can apply with
hose end sprayer. Apply when growing actively and not when lawn grass
is stressed.

Crabgrass is a lot more difficult - digging out, as tough as that is, is
one good way. Pre-emergents work on crabgrass, but timing (PREemergent)
is critical. It also requires care in appl, as it is not enviro-friendly.

I do pull out the crabgrass and it isn't a large yard so that is
possible. Except that it's getting a bit out of hand.

"dgk" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 14:31:38 GMT, Norminn
wrote:

dgk wrote:
I have a lot of clover and crabgrass in my lawn but hesitate to use
nasty chemicals because I let my two cats into my backyard and don't
want them to get hurt. I'm going away for a week, so the cats won't be
going out. Is there anything I can apply before I go that will do in
the bad plants and be gone by the time I let the cats out again?

I read about RoundUp in the Poison Ivy thread and that seems perfect
except for it killing the grass that I'd prefer to keep. I don't want
to come back to a brown dirt garden.

Perhaps next spring I'll spray the whole lawn with RoundUp and plant
grass a few days later? My lawn really is being overtaken by clover.
I've tried lime; the ground has a lot of clay.

Suggestions are welcome.

Your cats will likely encounter worse than Roundup if allowed to run -
attacks by other animals, disease, automobiles, etc.

Yes, I know. That's why I fenced in the yard so they can't get out.
Best of both worlds.


You have a lid on the back yard, prison exercise yard style? I haven't met a
non-elderly cat yet, that can't climb a fence when motivated. Not trying to
start an argument, just curious.

aem sends....