Lawn Advice

[Alaska Darin]

On 4/1/2018 at 2:12 PM, Johnny Hammersticks said:

I spent a bunch of money last summer having the lawn re-done in my backyard.  The previous owners had 3 huge dogs that dug giant holes all over the place, and there was a 6’x6’ hole where a shed used to be.

 

Anyway, I successfully grew a nice lawn back there last summer after it was excavated.  I’ve never taken much care of my lawn before, but I’d like to put more effort in this spring/summer.   

 

What do you “lawn guys” do to your grass in the spring?  I’ve heard of weed and feed.  What else do you use?  I have a bunch of weeds in my front lawn that I’d like to be rid of.  Any recommendations for products?  Weed killer...fertilizer?  Should I re-seed the entire lawn?  Anything else that would make my lawn look better?  Also, when do you all start this process?   Is it too early now?  Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

There are a lot of different things to recommend but it depends on where you live.

 

Go to a local garden center, not the big box store kind.  Every single one of them has "the guy" who knows your area and the best products/scheduling.  They will generally have better products that will help the long term health of your lawn.  It will likely cost a bit more but in the long run it's worth it.  Be prepared to have your soil analyzed - that's another thing that will actually save you money.

Keep in mind that you can't seed and "weed and feed" at the same time.  So you have to make that choice.  You can kill individual weeds with various things, including soapy water, so it depends on how bad it really is and how much work you want to put in.

 

 

[dhg]

Devil's lawn clippings?

[Alaska Darin]

12 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

 

I gave up seeding cuz every practically every time I do I get a heavy rain and it washes the seed away.   In the spring, I let the grass get tall enough to seed then I mow.  

Slit seeding is your friend, especially in the spring.

 

[Greybeard]

          So what is the best cure for moss?  There are area's in my back yard that are 20% moss.   In my front yard, where I have multiple 18 to 24 inch diam oaks, it is even worse.    I have noticed that the first 4 feet from the road seems to be ok, although I believe it is the road salt might be helping it.

23 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

Slit seeding is your friend, especially in the spring.

 

      Does this require a machine?

[TheElectricCompany]

Rip it out and xeriscape / garden instead. 

[mead107]

Have your neighbor do it 

[jr1]

get FieldTurf for your yard

[whatdrought]

On 4/1/2018 at 8:57 PM, Chandemonium said:

Mow once a week and it gets water when it rains. When mowing make sure you take a beer break every half hour, every 20 minutes if temperature is 90 or higher. This is assuming a push mower. If you have a rider equipped with a cupholder you may choose to have a riding around beer instead of the beer break if desired.

 

Suggested ratio of beer:acre?

[mead107]

I use Wine in a 1 gallon jug with  a straw 

[Steptide]

1 hour ago, Greybeard said:

          So what is the best cure for moss?  There are area's in my back yard that are 20% moss.   In my front yard, where I have multiple 18 to 24 inch diam oaks, it is even worse.    I have noticed that the first 4 feet from the road seems to be ok, although I believe it is the road salt might be helping it.

      Does this require a machine?

Unless you get rid of the shade in those areas and get more sun light, you'll never get rid of the moss. Moss is caused from too much moisture and shade in a particular area. I tell customers this all the time. There really is nothing you can do minus taking out the trees 

On 4/2/2018 at 9:25 AM, Buffalo_Gal said:

The Ag coop extension for someone who has never taken care of a lawn and/or garden is excellent advice.

For our lawn, I rake it now (usually for snow mold but we didn't have any this year), to get all the garbage an accumulation off of it. As soon as I can walk on it, that will happen (rained a lot the last few weeks - better than snow though).

Hubby weeds and feeds. We have tried nearly every local spray company, and none seemed to do the job (it is CLOVER for $#*& sake - easiest stuff to kill). He decided to try the Scotts brand two years ago, killed that darned clover that had been hanging around for years, and our lawn looks wonderful.

After that, we turn it over to the lawn-guys.  I swear no one on our street owns a lawnmower. This year it is time to aerate the lawn again.  We do have a sprinkler system that runs three times per week. 

Good luck!

Clover is actually somewhat difficult to control. It all depends on what you're using to control it and how you're applying the weed control. My guess is the clover will come back at some point and you'll have to treat it again (not uncommon). 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

10 hours ago, Steptide said:

Clover is actually somewhat difficult to control. It all depends on what you're using to control it and how you're applying the weed control. My guess is the clover will come back at some point and you'll have to treat it again (not uncommon).

Clover always comes back for me.  You just have to keep at it with chems.   though I may let a small patch grow for the family rabbits I see daily.  

[BuffaloBud]

And I will tend to avoid mowing clover until the flowers die off cause the bees love it.

Edited April 4, 2018 by BuffaloBud

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBud said:

And I will tend to avoid mowing clover until the flowers die off cause the bees love it.

Rabbits and bees

[Royale with Cheese]

I use organic fertilizer and it’s better than any regular fertilizer I’ve used.  It’s much cheaper too and it won’t burn your lawn if you over apply.

 

https://www.milorganite.com/

 

I have a summer grass in the south in Georgia.  It’s called zoysia and when you get it thick, it chokes out all weeds.

It goes dormant in the winter so I’ll get weeds then but once it wakes back up in the spring, it kills the weeds.

Edited April 4, 2018 by Royale with Cheese

[Alaska Darin]

On 4/3/2018 at 6:06 PM, Greybeard said:

          So what is the best cure for moss?  There are area's in my back yard that are 20% moss.   In my front yard, where I have multiple 18 to 24 inch diam oaks, it is even worse.    I have noticed that the first 4 feet from the road seems to be ok, although I believe it is the road salt might be helping it.

      Does this require a machine?

 

https://www.pennington.com/all-products/grass-seed/resources/get-rid-of-moss-for-good

 

1 hour ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I use organic fertilizer and it’s better than any regular fertilizer I’ve used.  It’s much cheaper too and it won’t burn your lawn if you over apply.

 

https://www.milorganite.com/

 

I have a summer grass in the south in Georgia.  It’s called zoysia and when you get it thick, it chokes out all weeds.

It goes dormant in the winter so I’ll get weeds then but once it wakes back up in the spring, it kills the weeds.

Milorganite is awesome.  I use it on my trees.

[Royale with Cheese]

30 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

 

https://www.pennington.com/all-products/grass-seed/resources/get-rid-of-moss-for-good

 

Milorganite is awesome.  I use it on my trees.

 

It really is.  I use it every 6 weeks and I’ve got the greenest grass in my neighborhood.

 

The only downside is it makes your grass grow very quickly where I mow once a week.  Once a week is generally normal but with zoysia....it’s usually once a month.  It’s a grass that spreads horizontally but slow vertically in growth.  Not with milorganite....it makes the blades shoot up.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

13 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I use organic fertilizer and it’s better than any regular fertilizer I’ve used.  It’s much cheaper too and it won’t burn your lawn if you over apply.

 

https://www.milorganite.com/

 

I have a summer grass in the south in Georgia.  It’s called zoysia and when you get it thick, it chokes out all weeds.

It goes dormant in the winter so I’ll get weeds then but once it wakes back up in the spring, it kills the weeds.

cow manure .... nothing more organic.  your neighbors might not be so pleased with the smell.  

[Royale with Cheese]

10 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

cow manure .... nothing more organic.  your neighbors might not be so pleased with the smell.  

 

I don’t think it’s manure but it could be.  Doesn’t smell like it.

I use another organic fertilizer if I have something dying called Revive.  It’s mostly chicken manure.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

8 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

I don’t think it’s manure but it could be.  Doesn’t smell like it.

I use another organic fertilizer if I have something dying called Revive.  It’s mostly chicken manure.

sorry, I wasn't saying what you posted was manure   

 

my gramps had a garden that we turned over every spring with pitchforks and we folded in manure from my cousins farm,   some leftovers went onto the lawn is bad spots 

 

[Royale with Cheese]

34 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

sorry, I wasn't saying what you posted was manure   

 

my gramps had a garden that we turned over every spring with pitchforks and we folded in manure from my cousins farm,   some leftovers went onto the lawn is bad spots 

 

 

I knew what you're saying.  Manure is excellent fertilizer.  When I do spray Revive on my dying spots, you absolutely smell it.