Bermuda— Measure your lawn’s square footage. In June fertilize with 33-0-0 and four to six weeks afterwards apply 16-4-8 fertilizer from Farmers Supply. When Bermuda is growing, the lawn needs 1 to 2 inches of water each week. A bluish-gray appearance or wilted, folded, or curled leaves may indicate that it is time to water. Apply Post-Emergent herbicide from Farmers Supply as needed for control of summer annual and perennial broadleaf weeds like white clover, knotweed, spurge, and lespedeza. Two or three applications 7 to 10 days apart are required to control crabgrass and goosegrass. Do not apply herbicides during a drought or when grass and weeds are not actively growing. If thatch is thicker than 1⁄2 inch, remove it using a vertical mower—thatch can be removed monthly if the lawn has sufficient time to recover.  Check for and control any white grubs with an appropriate insecticide from Farmers Supply.

Carpetgrass— Measure your lawn’s square footage. Make sure your lawn gets 1 to 2 inches of water each week. Mow grass to 11⁄2 inches with a rotary mower every 10 to 14 days. Unless your soil sample suggests otherwise, do not make a broadcast application of herbicide. By mid-June, fertilize with 5-10-10 from Farmers Supply. A second application in mid-August may enhance your lawn if you live along the coast. Manage weeds by hand pulling and mowing. Check for white grubs, mole crickets, armyworms, sod webworms, and control with an appropriate insecticide from Farmers Supply. If brown patch disease shows up (circular patches of brown grass up to several feet in diameter), come see us to remedy.

Centipede— Measure your lawn’s square footage. Your lawn needs 1-2 inches of water every week. If grass has a yellow appearance, spray iron (ferrous) sulfate (2 ounces in water per 1,000 square feet) or a chelated iron source as needed. By mid-June, fertilize with a high potassium fertilizer from Farmers Supply, such as 5-0-15. At the coast, a second fertilization in August may help. Yellow appearance may indicate an iron deficiency. At the coast, a second fertilization in August can be helpful. Control any white grubs with an appropriate insecticide from Farmers Supply.   

St Augustine— Measure your lawn’s square footage. If you didn’t do so in May, apply a fertilizer with a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ratio (like 16-4-8) from Farmers Supply. Spray iron sulfate or a chelated iron source to enhance color as needed. Actively growing St. Augustine requires about 1 inch of water per week, all at once if possible. Sandy soils often require more frequent watering (1⁄2 inch every third day). Control broadleaf weeds as necessary with Post-Emergent herbicide following label directions and with caution. Control any white grubs with an appropriate insecticide from Farmers Supply. If drought symptoms or yellow spots occur in a sunny location, check for chinch bug activity. Push a coffee can (with both top and bottom removed) into the ground and fill it with water. Any chinch bugs present will float. Treat for chinch bugs if you have 20 or more chinch bugs per 1,000 square feet. Check for gray leaf spot and brown (large) patch disease.

Zoysia— Measure your yard’s square footage. Apply fertilizer with a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ratio (like 16-4-8) and repeat in mid-August. Zoysia needs 1 to 11⁄4 inches of water a week. Apply Post-Emergent herbicide as needed to control summer annual and perennial broadleaf weeds. Apply postemergence herbicides as needed to control summer annual and perennial broadleaf weeds. Do not apply postemergence herbicides unless weeds are present, grass is actively growing, and the lawn is not suffering from drought. Crabgrass species, goosegrass, dallisgrass, purple and yellow nutsedge, annual sedges, and sandbur can be controlled with two to three applications of a Post-Emergent herbicide from Farmers Supply. Zoysia is sensitive to these compounds, so please follow the directions of our staff carefully when they help you in the store. 

Due to all the changes brought by Hurricane Florence, we are recommending soil testing for all Cape Fear lawns. Click Here for instructions and the form to take to your local Cooperative Extension office, and when the report is emailed to you bring it to Farmers Supply for analysis. For ALL the grasses below, a Pre-Emergent herbicide can still be applied in early May. Always follow any product’s application instructions as optimal temperature and water conditions vary. And note, fertilizers are labeled according to content of Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potash (Potassium)… so 14-0-14 would be high Nitrogen, zero Phosphorous, and high Potassium.                                                                           
Bermuda— Measure your lawn’s square footage. 3 weeks after the lawn fully turns green, apply 16-4-8 fertilizer. When Bermuda is growing, the lawn needs 1 to 2 inches of water each week. A bluish-gray appearance or wilted, folded, or curled leaves may indicate that it is time to water. Apply Post-Emergent herbicide in May as needed to control summer annual and perennial broadleaf weeds. Products containing two or three different broadleaf weed herbicides usually control weeds more effectively. Check for and control any white grubs with an appropriate insecticide from Farmers Supply. In late May, start replanting bare or worn areas.                                                                                
Carpetgrass— Measure your lawn’s square footage. Make sure your lawn gets 1 to 2 inches of water each week. Unless your soil sample suggests otherwise, do not make a broadcast application of herbicide. Carpetgrass is sensitive to most herbicides, and most herbicides are not labeled for use on Carpetgrass. Manage weeds by hand pulling and mowing. Check for white grubs, mole crickets, armyworms, sod webworms, and control with an appropriate insecticide from Farmers Supply.                                                                    
Centipede— Measure your lawn’s square footage. Your lawn needs 1-2 inches of water every week. Yellow appearance may indicate an iron deficiency. Spray iron (ferrous) sulfate (2 ounces in water per 1,000 square feet) or a chelated iron source as needed. Grass will green up within 24 hours. No sooner than 3 weeks after green-up, apply Post-Emergent herbicide in May if you need to control summer annual and perennial broadleaf weeds. Centipede is sensitive to certain herbicides (like 2,4-D), so follow label directions. By mid-May when the grass has greened-up, apply a high potassium fertilizer: 5-0-15 or 8-8-24. At the coast, a second fertilization in August without phosphorus (like 8-0-24) can be helpful if soil testing reveals that you already have moderate-to-high levels of phosphorus. Control any white grubs with an appropriate insecticide from Farmers Supply.                                                                                                                                                           
St Augustine— Measure your lawn’s square footage. In May, apply a fertilizer with a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ratio (like 16-4-8). Yellow appearance may indicate an iron deficiency. Spray iron (ferrous) sulfate (2 ounces in water per 1,000 square feet) or a chelated iron source to enhance color as needed. Actively growing St. Augustine requires about 1 inch of water per week, all at once if possible. Sandy soils often require more frequent watering (1⁄2 inch every third day). Control broadleaf weeds as necessary with Post-Emergent herbicide. St. Augustine is sensitive to certain herbicides (2,4-D and MSMA), so follow label directions and use caution. Control any white grubs with an appropriate insecticide from Farmers Supply.                                                                                                                                    
Zoysia— Apply 16-4-8 fertilizer from Farmers Supply. Zoysia needs 1 to 11⁄4 inches of water a week. Apply Post-Emergent herbicide in May as needed to control summer annual and perennial broadleaf weeds. Wait 3 weeks after the grass has turned green, and then use it only if weeds are present.

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Good Morning! Here is a link (click here) to a handy calculator to find the square footage of your lawn! Walk your lawn, enter the number of yards you walk the length and width, and it will convert to square feet.
 

At Farmers, we are proud to carry not only some of the cleanest, brightest Longleaf pine straw around... but to carry machine-baled rather than box-baled straw. At the big chain Home Improvement stores, you will find box-baled straw that only covers up to 45 square feet per bale. Farmers' pine straw is packed much tighter by machine, covering up to 60 square feet per bale. So come get 33% more coverage per bale at Wilmington's Lawn & Garden leader! 
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With temperatures beginning to reach the 60s and 70s, now is the time to start preparing your lawn for Spring! If you haven't tested your soil's pH in the past few years, come by the shop and we'll help you get squared-away. It is a public service of NC State ($4 or $0 fee depending on the time of year) and we recommend taking advantage of it! You can download the form/instructions here:              https://www.ncagr.gov/agronomi/documents/FormAD-15_corrected_logo.pdf 

Links below to NC State's recommended grass care schedules.... but also feel free to just drop by Farmers and we can walk you through what to put out and when.... remember to get a rough measure of your lawn(s) first by walking their length and width (always best to write that down). 

Zoysia grass guide:
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/zoysiagrass-lawn-maintenance-calendar

Bermuda grass guide:
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/bermudagrass-lawn-maintenance-calendar

Centipede grass guide:
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/centipedegrass-lawn-maintenance-calendar

St. Augustine grass guide:
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/st-augustinegrass-lawn-maintenance-calendar

Happy planting!     #thankafarmer

We are in the process of building our brand new website. Check back soon for updates on the care schedule for our area's grasses and plants, and news on special events at the shop!      #thankafarmer