Hi,

I live in the northeast (Long Island). Put a little bit too much weed and feed down in the backyard this weekend, and now with this heat wave, I got lots of brown grass. The whole front yard is what I will call "slightly browning", but there are a couple of patches (maybe 2' x 2') where it is very brown.

My goal is to just give it lots of water each day for the next few days... anyone have any ideas as to how long it will take before it returns to the green that it was?

Also, any other suggestions regarding how to speed up the repair process?

Thanks in advance.

Sometimes once it is brown it is too late but it is possible for it to rejuvenate over a 2-3 week period. If you put some grass seed down that may help it grow out of it's current situation. I would recommend an organic top dressing amendment. Your local greenhouse may be able to assist in the best brand.

I don't think this is correct.

Some - if not all - "weed and feed" products work by preventing the seeds produced by weeds from germinating.

The product has the same effect on grass seed - that's why the bag "usually" tells you not to plant new grass in the area for a number of weeks. It won't germinate.

Your hope would be a sufficient top dressing - doesn't have to be organic, topsoil will do - and then seed on top of that. Or else use sod.

So are you both saying that the patches won't naturally rejuvanate in time, without the addition of new seed?

I was sort of hoping that good dosing of water for a few days would help, and wondered if addition of lime, or something organic (like peat moss or compost) would help neutralize the effect of the herbacide.

I don't think the patches are such that the grass is completely dead down to the roots... I guess time will tell.

If the product you used contains a germination inhibiter seeds placed in the area where the product was spread cannot germinate for a period -

Obviously a layer of soil between the new seed and the product will enable the new seed to germinate.

I am not aware of anything that will neutralize the product - but the product only keeps seeds from germinating. The existing grass may be burned but not necessarily burned out and very possibly may regrow or recover.

Hard to say without seeing the damage -

That's what I am hoping for. Thanks for your input.

Yes watering ought to work. You could try mixing pulverized limestone with the water. It just needs more water when you feed it, and if it's hot out that will cause moisture stress. I think I read somewwhere that at higher temperatures the "feed" part turns into ammonia that burns the weeds and grass so watering would dilute it. But if you have dandelions or something they would benefit too so you may be stuck reapplying later when it's cooler.

If you get a chance, please come back and let us know how it works out - I'm always happy to learn something!

OK, sure. I think I'm just going to give it a whole lotta water for the next few days and see what happens. This 95+ degree heat wave here ain't helping matters. I'll post again next week.

By the way, a similar question appeared on the website for Vigoro brand of products, in the FAQ section. Here is what they wrote:




Q: I applied too much Weed and Feed. What do I do?

A:
Flush the area with 1 to 2 inches of water daily for 3 to 4 days to minimize potential damage to your lawn. Do not make another herbicide application until next year.

If you applied too much of a product containing atrazine, such as Weed and Feed products intended for use on St. Augustine or Centipede, flush the area with 1 to 2 inches of water daily for 3 to 4 days. As an added precaution, spread 3 to 4 pounds of granular, activated charcoal or liquid activated charcoal over the affected area. Activated charcoal absorbs atrazine.

Good to know, thanks -

So its been about 4 weeks now I guess (or close to it), and my lawn looks a bit better. Mostly I just watered the heck out of it for the first week (every day, several inches), and then went back to standard regular watering.

There are definitely still some brown spots that will probably require me to reseed or use something like Patch Master, but those spots are small and just a few of them. The lawn stopped having that "OMG, what did you do???" look to it after about 2-3 weeks, again with the first week of heavy watering.

So basically the solution is really just patience, lots of water, and a sense of humor. And maybe a little topsoil and extra seed.