Do you think surfactants really work for lawns?

BlazNT

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I use dawn dishwashing liquid and it works great.
 

cpurvis

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My sprayer is 25 gallons. I give it a couple squirts of Dawn during mixing the chemical when the last few gallons of water are going in. It gets mixed well from the jostleing and bypass circulation in the tank. If you put it in too early, you get a lot of suds.
 

Teds

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Use a hose end sprayer. The proportion is not too critical. Dawn is a little thick, sometimes it won't dispense very well depending on your particular sprayer. Get some sudsy mix spraying and just eyeball it. I cut it 50/50 with household Ammonia. Figure a pint (or 16 fl. oz) of detergent and another pint of Ammonia for a smaller typical suburban front yard. It should then be watered in, though I doubt it would hurt anything if you didn't. I wait for the radar to show a good line of thunderboomers and apply right before a rain or just water it in lightly off the turf blades.

A long time suburban lawn will benefit from this. What it does is reduce the "surface tension" of the soil so that rainfall or irrigation is better absorbed and retained, versus just running off. Just try it and see what you think, you should notice the lawn holds its green for a longer time after a rain. Best time is probably right before Summer begins in earnest, and the typical drier climate of July and August. Moderate fertilization in the fall with proper nutrients as well is what sets up the turf fir success to cruise through a dry hot summer a whole lot better.
 

cpurvis

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I was responding to the use of a surfactant while applying a chemical, such as 2,4-D, to a lawn.

In this use, a surfactant reduces the surface tension of the water used to carry the chemical. Reducing the surface tension of the water ensures more complete wetting of the plant by the chemical/water mixture.

I've never heard of applying a surfactant by itself.
 

Teds

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Yes, most people are familiar with the use of surfactants to enhance herbicide concentrate effectiveness in tank sprayers. The OP refers to a different product, the video link should explain it.
 

MowerMark

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Use a hose end sprayer. The proportion is not too critical. Dawn is a little thick, sometimes it won't dispense very well depending on your particular sprayer. Get some sudsy mix spraying and just eyeball it. I cut it 50/50 with household Ammonia. Figure a pint (or 16 fl. oz) of detergent and another pint of Ammonia for a smaller typical suburban front yard. It should then be watered in, though I doubt it would hurt anything if you didn't. I wait for the radar to show a good line of thunderboomers and apply right before a rain or just water it in lightly off the turf blades.

A long time suburban lawn will benefit from this. What it does is reduce the "surface tension" of the soil so that rainfall or irrigation is better absorbed and retained, versus just running off. Just try it and see what you think, you should notice the lawn holds its green for a longer time after a rain. Best time is probably right before Summer begins in earnest, and the typical drier climate of July and August. Moderate fertilization in the fall with proper nutrients as well is what sets up the turf fir success to cruise through a dry hot summer a whole lot better.



Thank you. Supreme reply. Good info.
 
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