Tenacity Mixed With SpeedZone

In this episode, I talk about how I mixed Tenacity and SpeedZone into 1 single application and show the results. This worked out pretty well, but I think I want to go a little heavier in the Tenacity next time. I show the results in the beginning after 3 days, and then at the end I switch between before application to a week after application. Jump points are as follows:
00:00 Three Days After Application
01:04 Planning the Application
02:15 The Products
03:16 Rates and Application Data
08:05 Premix into a Gallon Jug
10:23 Notes after Spraying
10:56 Know Your Sprayer Or...
12:03 Little Test Area
13:42 Took out the Established Weeds
14:55 Before and 1 Week After
16:50 Thanks for your time
48 minutes of footage
2.5 hours of editing
This was a long one
Plenty of lessons learned, like triple check your math if you write stuff down in a video.

[@jakecolp503]

Lawn care nut would be proud! Nice job dude!

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm definitely never spraying just Tenacity by itself ever again. This worked out really well and now I'm kicking myself for not having used it on the rest of my yard.

[@user-wz1fi2ih5r]

I use a 20 oz jar. Fill 1/3 with water, put in the tenacity, surfactant, and Speedzone. I don’t use the dye because it gets everywhere. I fill 1/2 my sprayer with water, I shake the jar vigorously for 30 seconds and pour it in the sprayer. I then fill the sprayer with the remaining water.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

LOL, ya I used the box trick to mixing it after the garage floor looked like I murdered a smurf and I was also a little blue handed the first time using the dye. I bet the 20 oz jar method is really handy, especially if it has a good tight sealing lid. Thanks for the comment and your real life experience.

[@stevenle1760]

Pro tip for backpack sprayer mixing. Get a paint mixer blade that attaches to a drill. Super easy. No having to shake a 4 gallon backpack.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

That's a cool idea.

[@kevinjones786]

Like an auger bit?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

@@kevinjones786 I'm more familiar with a mixer looking like 2 squares or paddles on a shaft. They may make some that look like auger bits but I'd be worried about splashing if it was too auger looking.

[@blaiseducdaumont1280]

Not necessary

[@mikelagarratesta8089]

More less pro tip. Use a stick to mix it like kool aid

[@peupeuguy310]

My grass area is around 600 sq feet , so we still apply the while 1000 sw feet rate ? ( I have a small ryobi one gallon battery sprayer )

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

I would still follow the recommended rate on the instructions. Just remember that depending on the type of grass you have, you may want to use a little less or a little more when it comes to Tenacity. You would just scale the amounts down to 60%, so setting the rate up .6 of a gallon as opposed to a full gallon. Just be conscious of how much your sprayer leaves in it's tank, you'll be using very little product on that size and an under application of the product will not give you the results you are looking for and an over application can really do damage. So when you mix it up, write down your measurements and make any notes like if you sprayed one area heavier than another, and also note the temperature when you applied it as that makes a big difference too. Hopefully everything works out for you.

[@philmypkts5732]

You showed, For mixing 4350 sqft you should use 3 tsp not 2 tsp, how did you come up with using 3tsp not 2 tsp when the syringe shows 2 tsp for 4 gallons? Can I use more then what it recommends?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

You can use more than I used, but you want to pay attention to the amount of product per sqft as tenacity has a max per year amount and I would not recommend exceeding their instructions. So for Tenacity, the instructions show using 4-8fl oz per acre with at least 30 gallons of water and it calls out 5 fl oz per acre for other specific instances. So the minimum teaspoons for an acre is 24 tsp and a max of 48 tsp with the specific instances being 30 tsp. Then with an acre at 43,560 sqft, divide that by 10 for a more manageable spray area and you get 4356 sqft that can get a minimum of 2.4 tsp and a maximum of 4.8 tsp with a specific instances of 3 tsp for that area. The area that I was going to spray was 4100 sqft which would be 4 gallons of water to spread the SpeedZone, so I leaned on the light side of Tenacity tsp per sqft without going a little "hot" on the mix seeing as the water is carrying both products. Now with the good results from this video and from the 3 months later video kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3LckJuqn9GkidE and from comments from others, the next time I do it, I'm going to run something like 1.1 fl oz of SpeedZone to 1000 sq ft, probably go the 2.5 tsp to 4350 sq ft of Tenacity, and definitely more blue dye as it was a touch to light.

[@hopoutside]

Has anyone used Tenacity, Speedzone, surfactant & Ammonium Sulfate combo?

[@melissakolarich6892]

Great video! Could this be applied to a newly established tall fescue lawn? How long would I need to wait after germination to apply this? I have so many broadleaf weeds popping up

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

I would wait a little over a month or until the new lawn has been mowed about 4 times. For Tenacity it's technically 30 days or after 2 mowings, for SpeedZone it's more like after 3 mowings. If you are experienced with spraying, then you can go for the shorter period, but if you are relatively new to it, waiting until the grass is a little more set up will help ensure that any overlap errors or over-application won't punish you as severely. You still need to heed the directions about the temperatures of the day when you spray though, because that can make a big difference too. Thanks for the comment and good luck with the lawn.

[@kurtwiredd]

I thought tenacity’s safe to use with seeding?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

@@kurtwiredd The Instructions make it sound like its safe for use when seeding. But for fine fescue, you don't want to apply it to young grass. Which once the seed germinates, you can consider it as baby grass. So for me, I would rather err on the side of caution and not apply to any young grass in case I overlap and overapply and possibly kill a stripe of grass.

[@kurtwiredd]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom oh I see thanks for the input

[@kurtwiredd]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom Does speedzone and tenacity kill different weeds? What are the benefits of mixing them? I’m purchasing tenacity and am still deciding whether or not to get speedzone as well. Thanks in advance.

[@desmoface]

I just put down Tenacity for crabgrass. I was going to add tzone, but Tenacity’s label said to add a surfactant while tzone and speedzone specifically says not to use with a surfactant. I played it safe and Just applied Tenacity with a surfactant.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

What kind of SpeedZone do you have that says not to use surfactant? The old kind like what I have does require surfactant, but I know they came out with 2 newer versions that are more specialized. I haven't had the chance to read the label on them. Good luck with the crabgrass, it can be a war, but winning a battle like what you're doing helps tip the odds in your favor.

[@desmoface]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom Hi Mike, this is the label from Speedzone, TZone reads similar: Environmental conditions and certain spray tank additives (adjuvants, wetting agents, surfactants), liquid fertilizers, and tank mixtures containing emulsifiable concentrates may reduce the selectivity on the turf grass.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

I just checked my bottle of SpeedZone and it doesn't have that on it. I bought a smallish bottle of SpeedZone, so maybe they didn't want to add one more folded page of info to save a little money. To me it sounds like it's a disclaimer, kind of like the carpet cleaner that I have says not to be used on pets or not stopping your chainsaw with various parts of your anatomy that you know someone had to have tried for it to be a warning. I think it's just saying environmental conditions (probably too high or too low temperature and the inherent state of your grass as in too dry or recovering from something) and other chemicals you expose this to can reduce the ability of the Zone to not kill your turf grass because you've made it angry, and you wouldn't like it when it's angry. Thanks for posting that warning though, it's interesting when you think about it, who killed what and probably sued to cause them to say that.

[@desmoface]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom Just an update, I sprayed 2 days ago and I mixed TZone in with Tenacity and a surfactant. I’m only seeing a couple of brown spots in the lawn, but that may be attributable to my dog. This is the second/follow-up spray of Tenacity and the crabgrass is looking pretty much dead, but crabgrass is tough and it usually bounces back, we’ll see. The wild violet is showing the effects of the tzone, it’s starting to dry up. Wild violet is another tough weed and TZone, in my limited experience is the only thing that has worked . I guess Triclopyr is the ticket here. I haven’t tried Speedzone, but based on your experience, I may have to. I think TZone is basically Speedzone with the addition of Triclopyr. Anyway, just thought I’d send an update in case anyone else is facing the same weeds.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

That's good that it's working. I haven't picked up any TZone to give it a shot. But that may be a cool experiment for my weedy back yard, do a section with SpeedZone and one with TZone and maybe one with something from Walmart. Thanks for the update and the idea.

[@johnnelwhite]

Speedzone is the truth I spot sprayed last week 1.2oz with 1gal of water with a little bit of surfactant I had weeds starting to die with in 1 hour.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

I was super impressed by it. The Tenacity takes a bit to see results, so it was awesome to have something that gives such a fast visual impact.

[@majestic1096]

What brand surfactant did you use?

[@johnnelwhite]

@@majestic1096 southern ag

[@mIdNyTe820]

So when using speed zone & tenacity should you add surfactant or not 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Yes, I would say add surfactant. My results were pretty good using the surfactant at the rate I showed in the video. If you don't use surfactant with Tenacity, it may not work as well for existing weeds and will drip off the plant. The Tenacity that drips off will hit the soil and act as a pre-emergent, so you aren't wasting it but it's working in a different way.

[@richscott2952]

I’m new I bought a z spray 30 gallon tank book says 1/3 gallon tips how speed zone and tenacity for full 30 gallon mix ?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

How large is the area that you are looking to treat? What kind of grass do you have? SpeedZone is 1.0 fl.oz. to 1 gallon for 1000 sq feet. So if you fill the entire 30 gallon tank, you can treat 30,000 sq feet and would need to use 30 fl.oz. of SpeedZone. Now, you'll need to read the Tenacity label to determine your grass type mix rate, which is anywhere between 4-8 fl.oz. for an acre which is 43,560 sqft. So if you wanted to run at a 5 fl.oz. rate, you would need to take the 30,000 sq ft area divided by an acre at 43,560 sqft and you get 68.8%. So to treat the 30,000 sq ft area at a 5 fl.oz rate, multiply 5 fl.oz. by 68.8% and you get 3.44 fl.oz. of Tenacity to put in the full 30 gallon tank to treat 30,000 sqft. I don't know how hard it would be to get a good mix on the 30 gallon tank, so I would mix smaller sizes like maybe 5 gallon buckets and hit a lot of bumps on the way to spray to keep it mixed up.

[@libertyandcheesesteaks8928]

how is it holding up now? still weed free or did they come back?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

It's doing awesome. The property line is clearly defined by my side not having clover and those violets were wiped out too, and the neighbor's side with clover and violets poised to invade. It'll be interesting to see when they start working their way back in.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Here's my how it looks now video, kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3LckJuqn9GkidE with the beginning showing the sprayed sections and the latter half looking at the areas I didn't do and talking about tips.

[@majestic1096]

How soon after spray is it safe to seed?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

It depends on which chemicals you use as there are new versions of SpeedZone out. For the same SpeedZone as what I used, you should wait 2 weeks. This will also keep you safe for Tenacity if you seed fine fescue. Any other grass is good to go right away for Tenacity as it can be used as a preemergent as well. So check your chemical labels and run with the longest wait period, but if you used the same as mine, then 2 weeks before seeding.

[@tyray88]

Did you spot spray or sprayed everything?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

I sprayed everything. I was looking to do one big blanket application to rid as many weeds as possible due to the sheer amount of weeds. If I were to go the spot spray method, I would not have mixed the two to use less total product but would definitely use more dye so as to better mark any treated areas. The amount of dye for the blanket application was alright, but a couple times I was wondering how much I was overlapping. Hope this helps.

[@pgreenx]

What does the tenacity do that the speed zone does not do?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

The short answer is everything as they are polar opposites for what weeds they target. Tenacity is really good for fighting a bunch of grassy weeds while SpeedZone targets the broadleaf weeds. Poisons can damage weeds but not kill them when they are used on the "wrong" weeds. In mixing these 2 poisons together, you get a much better result in killing a lot of varieties of weeds with a single application, as long as you work the math correctly. You'll want to have an idea as to what type of grass you have and follow the instructions so that you don't wind up hurting your grass with the Tenacity as well. Most herbicides also list the weeds that they will target in the instructions as well which you can normally view online prior to purchasing. That way, if all you are looking to control is the broadleaf weeds, you don't need the Tenacity and vice versa for grassy weeds. Hope this helps and good luck with the lawn.

[@pgreenx]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom very helpful. I guess that’s why tenacity never really killed my clover and now going to try Speedzone. Luckily I don’t really have any grassy weeds. Thanks again.

[@antoniobridgeforth2362]

Maybe I didn’t mix mine right. I’m using a 6 gal tank. But it was also like 81 degrees outside.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Do you think you went too heavy or too light? Filling the whole 6 gallon tank would treat 6000sqft, take 6 floz of Speedzone and then we have to do Tenacity acre math. So an acre is 43,560 sqft with Tenacity application rate of 4-8floz, 6000 divided by 43560 is 13.77% and if you were shooting for 5 floz application rate, you take 13.77% of 5 and get .6885 floz which is 4.1 tsp. I would lean to just 4 tsp if this was your first time with this. For my next application though, I'm going to lean a little heavier on the SpeedZone and put about 1.1 to 1.2 floz per gallon, and a little heavier on the Tenacity as well. I was really conservative in the video on my Tenacity mix rate, because last year I used Tenacity by itself when it was too warm and the area near the sidewalk which would be even hotter got wiped about about a half foot in all along the sidewalk. So I was building back my comfort with Tenacity and played it on the overly safe side.

[@antoniobridgeforth2362]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom I did about 6oz I believe

[@antoniobridgeforth2362]

3,049 sq ft lot

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Well, on the bright side, I bet that killed about all the weeds in the lawn. You're in a unique position to know what happens when you go that strong. Are you warm season or cool season grass? Did the grass survive and come back? It's moments like these where the school of hard knocks really engrains knowledge into you, like grabbing a freshly cut piece of metal with your bare hand and losing your fingerprints for about a month. Just to be clear, I didn't cut the metal, but when someone passes you a piece of metal and they are wearing gloves, you might want gloves too.

[@antoniobridgeforth2362]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom unfortunately I had no results

[@joesteffe6155]

What was the soil temp ?? Did test that ??

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

I did not test my soil temp. It was after I had been mowing for a few times so the grass was actively growing. I'm going to apply this in a couple weeks as it's still pretty cold here in Minnesota with last night hopefully being our last hard freeze warning. We had a warm week or two and the grass did wake up and put on some noticeable length but then slowed down with this recent cold spell. Good luck with the lawn.

[@Likearollingstone174]

If you read the Speedzone label it states not to use a surfactant. Also, how badly did the Tenacity bleach the lawn?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

No bleach to the lawn as I went a little light on the mix to be safe. For the Speedzone that warning statement that mentions surfactant reads like "do not use with other chemicals because weird stuff can happen" and acts as a C.Y.A. It's a similar statement to a chainsaw and the "do not stop chain with genitals" warning which is only there because someone probably did and sued. For me it worked fine with the surfactant, Tenacity, and the dye. Having said that my C.Y.A, is that Speedzone has branched its products, so if its the same as the one I used expect similar results, if it the newer red one or the southern specific one, your results may vary. Thanks for the comment.

[@gilbucknam1780]

Don't use surfactant when you're spraying pre emergent, you want the herbicide in the soil. You also want to water it in. Use surfactant when spraying post emergent. Do not water for at least 3 days.

[@goosecouple]

Which chemical killed the creeping charlie ?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

That's the crazy part of this mix. So Tenacity and the version of Speedzone that I used both "control" ground ivy or creeping charlie. However, when I used Tenacity alone, it definitely hurt it, but didn't wipe it out. I've also read where people have said SpeedZone alone will brown the above ground portion of the creeping charlie but not fully kill the below ground so it pops back up. I have not run SpeedZone by itself to confirm this. With both combined, the speedzone browns and hurts the ground ivy quickly, and I think it does it enough damage that the slower acting Tenacity is able to kill the rest of the plant. The combination resulted in a highly defined line of where I sprayed in my yard that was free of creeping charlie and where it was still growing happily in my neighbor's yard.

[@angelf9800]

Can this be applied in the summer

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

@@angelf9800 Yes, but only if the temperature is below 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The tenacity is the reason for the temperature limitation. However, a Google search came back that you can apply it later in the day to early evening after it's cooled back under 85 degrees if you are located in a hot summer region. I don't know how the air temp affects it, but as its in the directions, I would not apply on days that exceed the 85 degrees.

[@GeekyDrones]

Are you using preamergent?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

No, I haven't used any preemergents since the last time I used Tenacity as one to help the Scotts EZSeed last year. I just put out a 3 month later results video, and it's interesting to see the treated area to the untreated areas.

[@GeekyDrones]

You may want to try prodiamine then two weeks later do tenacity

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Thanks, it looks like the prodiamine is strong against grass-like weeds. I'll definitely keep this in mind.

[@BigWesLawns]

We feed that purple clover to our chickens in Ontario Canada. Get er outa there guilt free, you dont want t on your lawn, I had a white clover, but I got some MESO and In the spring I am gonna go at it. Surfactant is hard to find up here. I may uave to use Blue Dawn & Hit it extra times, but my soil is very healthy and should handle it.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

I was pretty lucky with the surfactant, SpeedZone and Tenacity all being on Amazon and available at the same time. However, using Dawn sounds like an interesting alternative that I may need to try as it may be a bit cheaper just more bubbly in the mixing. Thanks for the comment and the view.

[@toddwilliams254]

Dawn works fine... Maybe bubbles more than you'd like but it is a great surfactant and dirt cheap. I love the tenacity and I'm going to try, as you have, to make some speed zone with it this year. I hope you have posted or will post a follow-up video on the efficacy of the combination!

[@richscott2952]

How close can you get to trees ,shrubs ?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Tenacity says not to spray over exposed roots, so I would say it depends on the tree or shrub and how close the roots run to the surface. I would rather err on the side of safety than risk losing a tree or shrub. I sprayed about a foot from the shrubs I have, and almost right to the trunk on an already dying crabapple, but I gave my maple tree a 3 foot buffer. The crabapple is still dying, but the shrubs and maple tree are fine.

[@blaiseducdaumont1280]

Did the 'Tenacity' temporarily bleach out the desirable grass?

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

No, for me and my weird mix of northern grass there was no bleaching of the grass. I mixed the formula kind of lightly to err on the side of safety for the grass. I have seen where people have bleached the grass in other videos but who knows how stout they mixed and applied their formula and the grass species matters as well. Tenacity's instructions list rates for some species specifically, and even some species not to apply it to at all. If you are worried about it, I would recommend mixing a small batch as a "control group" and use it in a less conspicuous area of your lawn. I always forget to check the rate the sprayer pumps out, so I wind up spraying the whole area I wanted to hit, and noticing I only used about half of the sprayer. So then I have to make another pass walking a little faster or a little slower to try and get the correct amount applied. If this feels like turning your lawn into a science experiment, you are 100% correct. Your lawn species, how you mix the formula in the sprayer, the rate the sprayer and your walking lays down the product, and mother nature are all factors that can give you no bleaching and weeds that just laugh at you, or no bleaching and just dying weeds, or a little temporary bleaching and dying weeds, or oops just cleaned the slate for a new lawn. Best of luck with it, just be sure to write down what you did, so if it works you can do it again, or if it went sideways, you can adjust as needed.

[@EJ-en5xl]

You dont have to mow two days before, you just can't mow any sooner than 2 days before applying.

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

You don't need to mow 2 days before, you do want to wait 2 days after mowing otherwise you risk the Tenacity bleaching the lawn as well as the weeds.

[@EJ-en5xl]

@@bigmikebeardwisdom Yup

[@thomasansinger7220]

As

[@bigmikebeardwisdom]

Thanks for the comment and the view.