Foo - Lawn care?

my first yard. i don't know what to do with it. can i just spread the fertilizer around? or do i need to mow it first (after this winter's growth)?

First you wait for the snow to melt.

Then you decide just how anally obsessive you want to get with it.

First you wait for the snow to melt.

Then you decide just how anally obsessive you want to get with it.my addictive personality and general nervousness will easily take care of this part :)

How high is the grass after winter growth?

You're an American right? Pave it. Put up a hoop. :)

i thought this thread had to do with the pubic region.


im out

If, after the snow disappears, and after the lawn greens up, it's more than 3" tall, mow it down to 2". The easiest thing to do is to sprinkle something like Scott's weed & feed over the entire lawn. If you have bare spots, there are mixtures to fit the need. The best fertilizer, though, is to not bag the cuttings for the 1st month of mowing. Of course, we have a huge amount of lawn. I would suppose lawn care for a patch of grass is much pickier.

it's not tall at all. i think it's kentucky bluegrass or centipede. i'll print this out too and take it too the store. maybe they can tell me what kind it is. then i have bare spots too.

http://www.cyclingrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/_DSC3479.jpg

In early spring and fall spread pelleitized lime on the lawn and use 10-10-10 fertilizer as well. You can also overseed if the lawn is getting a little sparse in areas. I have even seen people overseed if their lawn is thick.........never understood that one.

Aireate or however you spell it as well in early spring and late fall prior to spreading lime and fertilizer.

I just spread 240 lbs. of lime on my yard and 160 lbs. of fertilizer. I could have done more but my hopper turned over and now I need a new one. I had to finish by hand! :eek:

If your real anal you could install underground watering system and put on a timer but that is overkill and unless you just drool over a lawn that looks like a golf course then why do so. Let mother nature take care of some of the needs.

I set my mower to a cut of 1.5 to 1.75" cut. Some say a 2" cut. You don't want to scalp it for that is bad.

Here is my Kubota GR2000 lawn tractor I have that is AWD..............generic pic.
http://www.kubota.com/f/products/Gallery-GR2000/Images/photo12.jpg

With optional snow plow............
http://www.kubota.com/f/products/Gallery-GR2000/Images/photo9.jpg

It's a work horse but I need it for my 1.3 acres and fact I have to mow a incline of around 20-25 degrees.

http://www.kubota.com/f/products/Gallery-GR2000/Images/photo12.jpgif i had one of these i'd bet done spreadin' in three and a half minutes!

Yeah. First you need to determine if you have a cool season grass or a warm season grass. Warm season grasses are fertilized in the warm months and cool season grasses are typically fertilized in the cool months. The first plan of action for my lawn in the spring is to put down a crabgrass preventer.

Failing to do this can leave you with a mess in a couple months. Most crabgrass preventer is sold in combination with a fertilizer, so you put them down at the same time. That time is around the first week of April here in Kansas.

Next tip is to set your mower on the highest setting in the warm months. It will shade the crown of the plant from the hot sun and the canopy will not allow weed seeds to germinate. All of my advice applies to cool season grass. I have no experience with warm season grass.

Warm season grass around here will remain dormant for a couple more months in these parts.

Do what I do, hire a grounds keeper. Lawn maintenance service is pretty cheap these days.

I miss my old lawnmowers... :(
http://www.toro.com/golf/images/cm_gr_3250_s_xl.jpg

http://www.toro.com/golf/images/cm_gm_3500_s_xl.jpg

Do what I do, hire a grounds keeper. Lawn maintenance service is pretty cheap these days. ... summer months when i'm out all day ridin' !!! :)

crabgrass preventernoted

my first yard. i don't know what to do with it. can i just spread the fertilizer around? or do i need to mow it first (after this winter's growth)?

Move to the desert. You won't need to do anything with it. :D

http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/Turf%20Tips/Spring/Default.aspx

Wait 'til the onions are high, cut the grass back by no more than a third of it's height. If you apply crabgrass preventer or weed killer you'll want to wait to put out new seed. Around here, Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue is good (I used Pennington Penkoted seed). 10-10-10 fertilizer works well with the somewhat clayish soil. Lime as necessary. I think you can actually take a soil sample to the County Ag Extension agent for testing, and get advice on lime, nitrogen, etc. :)

I've got a great lawn guy from Concord, but I doubt he'll drive out to where you live. Fairly cheap, fast, and he's really good. Even pulls out the occasional milkweed that sprouts up, or pulls away some overzealous ivy, at no extra charge, and without my having to ask. He basically tends the yard as if it were his own, even puttin' out weedkiller on the sidewalk and around my hollies and boxwoods, at no extra charge.

Scope out the really nice-lookin' yards in your neighborhood, then notice which ones are tended by hired lawnkeepers. The results you see in your neighbors' yards will help you decide who to hire. ;)

Most of my back yard has been taken over by a little creeper plant called Bluet. It has tiny little blue flowers, and mowing at 2" doesn't bother it at all. I wish the stuff would take over the entire lawn, but it seems to just prefer certain areas. If you can find seed, I would suggest you just plant this stuff!

Never, ever put fertilizer on your lawn...

I did that once and was cutting the damn thing twice a week and it takes me 4 hours on a rider....

Now my philosophy if its slightly green leave it alone...

Even if the green is not necessarily considered grass...

Yeah fertilizer will make a lawn grow but in the mountains at times you need to jump start your lawns from the cold and snow if you had alot. I just do it to keep it growing healthy and uniform. I am not obsessive either. I pretty much do what my earlier post stated and the rest of the year mow once per week and blow off my drive and weedeat. We put out mulch yearly and this year doing a little different by using pine needles in the front where we have a massive flower bed the size of most yards.

I really hate lawn work because I rather be riding and I do mean what I do is not that time consuming.

If your local regs permit, consider limiting or eliminating the grass. Think tree, shrub, flower, and ornamental grass plantings instead, completely or largely reducing your grass load. One coyote's opinion here, there is no more existentially empty activity than mowing grass. . .well, perhaps programming. Msheron's on the right track.

I think you can actually take a soil sample to the County Ag Extension agent for testing, and get advice on lime, nitrogen, etc.ha ha! it says to do this in the "turffiles" link too!

I love having a thick, beautiful carpet of turfgrass around my home. In fact I even enjoy mowing it.

A Green, self propelled, self fueling piece of landscaping equipment:D

http://www.tctc.com/~amfuture/images/original/Strike500a.jpg

Move to the desert. You won't need to do anything with it. :D

Or move by the beach, and have sand or rocks for a yard

A Green, self propelled, self fueling piece of landscaping equipment:D


- and tasty, too!

:-)

p.s. one word: Zoysia

- and tasty, too!

:-)

p.s. one word: Zoysia
MMMMMMM, Zoysia!;)

i have conceded to do the minimum. whew, it's not hard work, but walking sooooo sloooooow behind a spreader ...

A Green, self propelled, self fueling piece of landscaping equipment:D

My neighbor (about a 1/2 mile away) is a sheep farmer...Raises them for sheep cheese...

More than one time the sheep have wandered over into my yard...I find them munching away....

I have to call him to herd them back to their pen...

He always says 'no charge for the fertilizer'....

I often wonder how they would taste with some mint jelly...

I'm telling you man ... screw the grass! Spend that time with your kid or lady or a good book or sumpthin'. It'll make the neighbors feel all superior to you too ... good for them ... good for you ...
cut that shiit and let it alone ...:D

That would explain my neighbor's superiority complex which seemed to develop last summer. Lots of biking and tennis ... very little lawn mowing. It was a great summer :D

Go natural products. The poisons work their way down to the water table. Also the worms that keep the soil loose don't much like poison either.

Lawns suck. Pretty much all I ever do is mow it every two weeks during the growing season, March to July. I let it go brown from August to October. Despite the neglect I just can't kill it. The best thing is the '10% plan' - remove 10% of the turf every year and replace with trees, shrubs, or perennials.

Those who don't appreciate the beauty and functionality of a finely manicured tall fescue lawn, have never lived out on the plains of Kansas in the middle of July, surrounded by blowing dirt, with the scorching sun reflecting off of the baked earth.

I'm in civilization now, and it feels nice to have the cool grass under my feet when the temps are in the 100's. Also it helps to keep the local climate around my home much cooler.

Those who don't appreciate the beauty and functionality of a finely manicured tall fescue lawn, have never lived out on the plains of Kansas in the middle of July, surrounded by blowing dirt, with the scorching sun reflecting off of the baked earth.

I'm in civilization now, and it feels nice to have the cool grass under my feet when the temps are in the 100's. Also it helps to keep the local climate around my home much cooler.
This will only work until they start charging what the water you use is really worth. Check your water bill, you're probably getting three or more gallons for a penny. Talk about subsidies!

If you want cool, plant some shade trees.

:)

Go natural products. The poisons work their way down to the water table. Also the worms that keep the soil loose don't much like poison either.

+1

add clovers and other short flowers to help with spots where grass can't grow. clovers also help to add nitrogen naturally to the soil. it takes a very large amount of energy to support a monoculture like grass. Please stay away from the weed and feed. your killing more then weeds.

This will only work until they start charging what the water you use is really worth. Check your water bill, you're probably getting three or more gallons for a penny. Talk about subsidies!

If you want cool, plant some shade trees.

:)

Until they change the law, I don't think they can start charging me anything. My water comes from a private well on my property and I am entitled to it according to my water rights. :D

Go natural products. The poisons work their way down to the water table. Also the worms that keep the soil loose don't much like poison either.


+1

add clovers and other short flowers to help with spots where grass can't grow. clovers also help to add nitrogen naturally to the soil. it takes a very large amount of energy to support a monoculture like grass. Please stay away from the weed and feed. your killing more then weeds.

i never liked the weed and feed smell. it gets everywhere.

there are a lot of worms in the neighborhood that my dog likes to chew on while out on walks. i'm not gonna let him do that anymore seeing that these worms are probably trying to escape the lawns that are chem factories. thanks for the heads up.

i never liked the weed and feed smell. it gets everywhere.

there are a lot of worms in the neighborhood that my dog likes to chew on while out on walks. i'm not gonna let him do that anymore seeing that these worms are probably trying to escape the lawns that are chem factories. thanks for the heads up.

More "sky is falling" advice. Grab a pitch fork, plunge it in the ground a couple inches and wiggle. If there are eart worms present they will start to crawl out onto the ground in 30 seconds or so if you keep wiggling the fork.

Also they surface when it rains hard. So don't let somebody tell you that there is an earthworm exodus because of chemicals in the lawn.

If grass won't grow somewhere on the lawn i plant something else. I'm also trying to shade the crab grass since i noticed it only grows in the sunny spots.

I might fertilize a fruit tree but the grass isn't going to give anything back to me and i would rather keep the yard biodiverse.

A bunch of fescue yards are boring anyway. Landscapes by Mr Vannilla.

More "sky is falling" advice. Grab a pitch fork, plunge it in the ground a couple inches and wiggle. If there are eart worms present they will start to crawl out onto the ground in 30 seconds or so if you keep wiggling the fork.sweet! i wanna see some wormage. there's a perfect spot by the arbor for this. my dog will be happy too!

(do you like how i'm so wishy washy w. lawn care?)

If grass won't grow somewhere on the lawn i plant something else. I'm also trying to shade the crab grass since i noticed it only grows in the sunny spots.



That's actually a good approach. Crab grass is an annual that dies in the winter. It also doesn't like shade and much prefers full sun. Trouble is, the same applies to most turfgrasses as well. (they like full sun)

From what I saw in the pic you posted, that's fescue. Probably Kentucky 31 blue grass, as thats quite common for builders to use.

Maintenance is pretty easy with that stuff. You want to put out some seed to fill in the bare spots. Use a pick or shovel to break up the soil in the bare patches. Mix in a little 10-10-10 fertilizer (just a little goes a long way) and maybe some good compost too. Spread the seeds evenly in the area to fill in and cover with a little bit of straw. Water daily, just enough to moisten the area, you don't want to drawn the seeds. When the new growth gets 2 - 3 inches tall, you can mow it. Water it again after you mow it the first couple times.

After you've mowed a couple times, then you can use a weed killer to get rid of weeds and put out some haltz or other crab grass preventer. In the future, the crab grass preventer is best put out in November and February, but not if you have just overseeded. Mid. September is probably the best time to overseed for fescue.

Hope that helps.

From what I saw in the pic you posted, that's fescue. Probably Kentucky 31 blue grass, as thats quite common for builders to use.



K-31 is a tall fescue. It's either blue grass or tall fescue, it can't be both. That's sort of like saying it is a Trek 1000 mountain bike. I do think his pic looks like blue grass, not tall fescue but it is hard to tell.

K-31 is a tall fescue. It's either blue grass or tall fescue, it can't be both. That's sort of like saying it is a Trek 1000 mountain bike. I do think his pic looks like blue grass, not tall fescue but it is hard to tell.


According to American-lawns.com, K31 is a tall fescue. I understand where the confusion came in due to my prior posts. I confused Kentucky bluegrass with K31, which is what I meant to post.

http://www.american-lawns.com/grasses/fescue_tall.html

here's what we've been raking up. dead weeds growing sideways. every other day or so we'll go out and do a section of the yard.

it looks waaay better when it's all mowed up. anyways. i'm havin' a good 'ol time with it. i'm not minding. yet.

http://www.cyclingrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/20070331-4105.jpg

http://www.cyclingrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/20070331-4104.jpg

http://www.cyclingrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/20070331-4128.jpg

http://www.cyclingrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/20070331-4141.jpg

Problem solved:
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b5/genxrider/southern%20games2/front2.jpg

You're an American right? Pave it. Put up a hoop. :)
That's what the roads are for n00b