Hey there Lawn Care Nut!

I’ve got several spring tips on board today and before we get started, let me encourage you to forward this email to a friend who has a lawn in need.

If you (or your friend) are looking to win the battle with crabgrass, weeds and other lawn problems this season, let these tips serve as the foundation for the success to come.

First off, I updated the pre-emergent guide for the 2020 season, please download a fresh copy here.

Not much has changed, the strategy is sound, and now pretty much everyone all over the internet uses this framework, but it’s always a good idea to review.

I’ve been teaching DIYers online for 10 years now and worked for TruGreen-ChemLawn for 15 years before that, but I still pick up new ideas and information every spring. It’s always good to review the basics.

Here is a detailed video about 2020 Spring Lawn Care Tips that walks you through the strategy and solidifies everything taught inside the Pre-Emergent Guide.

If you need prodiamine pre-emergent, our warehouses are fully stocked and you can pick up a bag here - 

https://thelawncarenut.com/collections/granular-fertilizer/products/prodiamine

Remember, 3 lbs/1,000 sq ft as soil temps are approaching 55F and a second app about 45 days later as soil temps approach 70F.

That is the “split app” and will carry you until the late summer when the threat of crabgrass is over for the year.

Related questions from the community this week:

“Allyn, we have had record amounts of rain here in Georgia, our soil temps are already passing 55F, and I have not been able to apply my pre-emergent. The ground is saturated, should I still throw down?”

Many of you are literally in this boat. The rain across the southern half of the country has been heavy and constant and the soil can hold nothing more: no more water, and definitely, it won’t hold your pre-emergent.

So the short answer is “No, you should not apply until the soil is no longer saturated.”

There are probably areas of your lawn with standing water. In other places, you can see the water draining out of your yard, across the sidewalk, into the park strip and out into the streets to the storm drains.

If you apply your pre-emergent now, it will end up down those same storm drains. For sure, it won’t get into the top layer of soil where we want it. If the soil can’t hold any more water, it certainly won’t hold prodiamine.

When people ask me this question about applying to saturated soil, they already know the answer. It’s logical.

But what they really want to know is, “Am I going to be in trouble with crabgrass this season since the weather is pushing me late?”

While there is no clear answer to this question because every lawn is different, what I can tell you is that you are going to be just fine.

Sure, you may be a little late with your pre-emergent, but as I often say, “No matter how much product you throw down, when you throw it down, how you throw it down or where you throw it down - we are 100% at the mercy of the weather, always.”

The weather always wins.

This is just how things go in the life of a Lawn Care Nut turf farmer. And you’re not alone - the professional lawn companies have been delayed too.

All this tells us is that you will want to be vigilant about your post-emergent weed control applications as the spring levels out heading into March and April.

So be patient, wait out the weather, stay the course, trust the process and hope for the best - that’s what I recommend.

Next season there will be a different lawn challenge and you’ll get through that one too - just like with any relationship, strength and wisdom are gained through adversity.

Want even more lawn tips by specific grass type?
Check out these videos loaded with early spring tips:

Bermuda and Zoysia:
https://youtu.be/wxQWKCNWR1I

St Augustine and Centipede:
https://youtu.be/PlHQHEk57bY

Kentucky Blue, Fescue, Ryegrass:
https://youtu.be/y41oANaokhs

Carbon Earth Fertilizers In Stock

We have all the Carbon Earth fertilizers in stock now. We changed up the package a little to make it more DIY friendly and the label now has spreader settings for all the Scotts spreaders and Earthway too.

We also have a new product that I’m gearing up to produce content about on my project lawn.

It’s called XSoil DIY and it’s a biochar soil amendment that melts into rich, black soil when it comes in contact with water.

I have been playing with it in the garage - check out these pics:

These photos are 24 hours apart, but you can see the product breaking down into soil within an hour.

This is the same thing it will do on a lawn once you water it in.

Imagine this goodness incorporating itself into your soil - biochar, chicken compost and peptides for root production.

It’s a one-time-per-year application (I prefer spring) - 10 lbs/1,000 sq ft is enough to improve soil structure while exciting the microbes in the soil to do their work.

Another neat finding: when you first open the bag, there is a definite “smell of success” (it’s actually quite stanky!) but it’s gone within minutes… just disappears and the nuggets just smell like charred Grapenuts from there.

Pretty cool for sure, but the key point is that smell lets you know there is good stuff in the bag.

Here is the founder of Carbon Earth - Matt Martin:

"XSoil DIY will quickly improve soil structure and supply organic material, safely. XSoil will send your soil into "overdrive" with a huge dose of organic material, biochar and a low rate of peptides.

The motto “CRRP - Carbon Release, Root Promoting” is 3 parts: soil, roots, shoots.

The organic matter and biochar directly benefit the roots.
The biostimulant (peptide) directly benefits the roots.
And the organic chicken compost directly benefits the shoots.
We specifically formulated this product to have a very low rate of peptides because it's designed to be used in conjunction with the rest of the lineup.

Speaking of the rest of the lineup, all Carbon Earth products contain biochar infused with CRRP technology and no other entity has it.

Not even the billion-dollar fertilizer companies have this technology and it’s super cool that Matt and his team make it available to us DIYers.

It’s awesome to support a small business startup, especially when they support us! I’ll see you in the lawn!

AL