When Ike blew through last September, he tossed our back porch roof over the house, pulling the metal roof up as it went and draping it over into the front yard, where it sat for a couple of months. Then the contractors disassemble it and stacked the sheets in another part of the yard, where it stayed for too long. As a result, we have patches in our yard where the StAugustine grass has been killed and now there are weeds. I considered applying corn gluten meal early in the spring, but it didn't happen. The free-range hens have enjoyed the chick-weed, but I would rather have my grass back. It is a large yard, so I don't water, and it usually grows thick enough to keep us mowing and composting all summer. A "deep watering" is when I do all the laundry in one day and the aerobic septic tank fills up and waters it thoroughly. I am hoping that the rising temperatures will kill off the chickweed, and the San Augustine will grow in faster than the dollar weed and other summer undesirables. I have to battle to keep the St Augustine out of my planting beds, so I am hoping it will be equally aggresive in the yard, although it is a fairly large area so I may have to put in some plugs for it to spread from. I spread some organic fertilizer and greensand that I had on hand, but have to time my granular applications (especially dry molasses) carefully or the chickens feast on it. I have thought about a hose-end sprayer for liquid applications, but last time I tried that I had trouble with the math. Any comments/suggestions?
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