affordable lawn care products?

Coyotejunki

Coyotejunki

Well-known member
Spring is here and so are the dandelions and weeds. I went to the local chain hardware stores with lawn and garden areas. Good grief that stuff is expensive.

A few years ago I believe I found a few lawncare forms, but can't find them anymore.

Where can I buy weed killers and grass seed/fertilizers at a decent price.

Second, I don't know what I even need. Any recommendations for sites to look?
 
I`m not sure, but having wondered the same thing, I recall someone telling me that they used to go to a local Co-Op (farm/AG) type store for fertilizer. Said he would take his own 5gal buckets and buy bulk.
I never checked into it but should.
Paid $60 ~week ago for Scotts plus2 15,000 square foot bag.
 
I go to our local MFA coop and get a concentrated weed killer...Doesn't take much for my yard and while the concentrate is about $10 per 8oz...It goes a long way if directions are followed and works great...The stuff is called "Triplet"..

Depending on your specific wants in grass, I've found that a 'Rebel Fescue' comes in looking almost like Blue Grass but is more drought and mold resistant than most others..While it costs a little more, the quality is worth it...Again, spread it according to directions and if adequately watered, it germinates very quickly..Just don't get in too big of a hurry to cut it too early and let the roots get established...
 
Generic Roundup here is called Eraser. 2 gallon size when mixed correctly makes 125 gallons. We also use a product called Remedy that will kill tres but not most grasses. Each geographic region will have thier own generic product. If you give your local coop, feedstore or whatever it is called in your area, the information, they should be helpful answering any question you may have.

Ferterlizer can be bought in bulk at the same places. By the bucket full or the barrel.
 
If you want to go organic with the fertilizer, Check out the firarms forum on PM. Lots of BS there.
lol.gif
 

I have a small lawn business and used to hold my pesticide applicator's license until it expired. In a nutshell here is a standard program for my area which would apply in MO also.

1. Pre-emergent(granular) weed control mid-april.
2. Pre-emergent weed control + broadleaf(spray) weed control end of May early June.
3. Heavy nitrogen fertilizer mid sept-early Oct(urea works)
4. Heavy nitrogen fertilizer + broadleaf weed control end of October/early Nov. Easiest time of year to kill broadleaves.

A good type of pre-emergent contains Barricade/Prodiamine and is about $22 a bag. It has a light fertilizer included. The best type of broadleaf weed control is Triplett as suggested above. It is about $80 for a 2.5 gallon jug and will spray about 5 acres. It will last a normal homeowner several years, don't let it freeze though. You can go the cheap route on spray and get 2-4d for about $20 a gallon but it doesn't kill as many weeds.

The pre-emergent can be found everywhere. Broadleaf triplett is sold at farm stores or a John Deere Lesco store. Urea is cheap at CO-OP's.
Don't fertilize heavy in the spring, it does nothing for the health of your yard unless you want to mow 2x a week.


PS-don't spray roundup on your yard unless you're doing a renovation or want to kill everything around the perimeter of buildings or driveways.

I wanted to post some info from Purdue Pesticide Programs but it's too troublesome. If you wander their site it has very good info.
 
Catfishslayer, good information. Remedy and eraser both can be bought without having to have an applicators lic. Remedy was originally designed for use on hay fields to control all types of broadleaf weeds as well as woody stemmed plants such as sweetgum, oak, briars of different types etc.

It will also control bahia (pronounced ba-hay-uh) grass whick is extremely hard to get rid of. Fortunatly Indiana doesn't have it yet the last I heard.

2-4d is a hormone base herbicide and requires an aplicators lic. to buy it in quantities larger than a quart. It is also prone to higher possibility of run-off than remedy because it is not absorbed as fast as others. Also 2-4d when used around aquatics such as ponds and lakes you must take into account the degree of slope in the lay of the land. For aquatics it is reccommended to use 2-4d Aquatic so fish and aquatic animal kill off is less likely. 2-4d is herbicide that you better know how to use or you can really screw up.

The last time I used 2-4d it was 15 dollars a quart which does put it in the cheaper catagory but it is getting harder to find as there are better and safer products to use.

Another product that is cheap and controls broadleaf well is called Clean Pasture. It is generic Ally that was introduced in the southern US for the control of bahia grass. 35 dollars buys enough to mix 125 gallons and depending on the rate of application can treat 3 to 5 acres.

I do agree with most of your reccommendation on other times except broadleaf control is done in early spring around most of the farms here. Here in Texas, most of our weeds are already 2 foot tall as I type this. I also run and own a lawn service now for about 18 years. Iwas also in the landscaping business in St. Louis, Mo. When I moved back here and started up I found I had a slight learning curve to adjust to due to different climate and demands.
 
When buying roundup, you have to take a calculator with you to determine the actual cost per ounce of active ingredient. It can vary by a factor of 10.

Jack
 
Best remedy is in the very early spring - Apply a decent Weed & Feed!

Dandelions and other weeds would then be a thing of the past.

Also in the late spring and throughout the summer months here is a concoction I used in Indiana and it worked very well.

I usually just pour the ingredients into a bucket and the use a sprayer hooked onto my garden hose to apply.

1. Ammonia
2. Dish Soap (Liquid)
3. Coca Cola
4. Beer

I would go heavy on the soap and ammonia.

It doesn't really matter the increments you use of each, I just make a bucket of it and apply it throughout the year.

Best of luck!
 
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