kandyflip445

I have a sodded lawn that hasn't really done well since I moved in back in Sept. of last year. It has a LOT of weeds and it has been brown a lot. Admittedly I haven't had a good watering schedule down and weeding...well I dunno what I'm supposed to do.

So what are all of you home owners doing to keep your lawns nice? What kind of sprinkler setups, fertilizer, schedules do you use and why?

I've done one round of fertilizer in the spring before it got hot and it started to green up but I don't think I watered enough and it got so hot that it started to brown again. I have one of those impact sprinklers. I've been thinking about getting a timer for the thing so I just have to place it out the night before and just water a zone each day.

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佩恩_

sorry, don't even have one.

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Phlip

Late fall (nearing leaves turning time): cut it as short as it will go.
Fall/Winter: keep it short (dead)
Early spring: aerate and then weed/feed a wet lawn... Cut first, then water or weed/feed on a still-dewey lawn the next morning, but not if it is scheduled to rain within 24ish hours, lest you will be doing it again.
Mid/Late spring: aerate once more and then FERTILIZE, then water the lawn.
All the while after this, collect your old coffee grounds (if you drink coffee) or ask Starbucks for theirs (they'll give them, I promise) and spread them on your lawn after cutting, then water if it is not about to rain.

All should be well, just be prepared to try with all you have to cut at LEAST once weekly.



I closed on my house in October and have been working in the lawn since.
I will go even harder this coming year, I am that much a stickler for it...

If properly cared for, the watering of it will not be a huge item, as long as it is watered or rained on within a week or two... Mine was YELLOW 3 weeks ago, but much better even yesterday.

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TougeLove

i water 10 min at 4am and 8pm everday. weed and feed every month or so.

if you try everything it may be time to pull it all out and dig up the ground a bit. if you dont have a good sprinkler setup its the best time to look at the dry spots and get them covered.

LimeLite Racing

One word. Nitrogen.

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Phlip

True, and one cheap source of it is cofffee grounds.

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S14DB

It's hard to make lawn recommendations to others that don't live in the same climate and probably have different grass types.

Since you have sod you probably know the grass type you have now. Which is a great first step. Different grass likes different fertilizers and schedule.

I use Scotts guide for what to use an when. Annual Lawn Care Program - Lawn Care Plan - Scotts Miracle-Gro

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TheWolf

I was about to say the same thing... A florida lawn is an entirely different animal than a NC lawn. St. Augustine grass down here grows thick and you've got to keep on watering it or it will burn in a heartbeat. Right now in summer you've got to cut once a week or it will go to town. St. Augustine is also the best weed killer. It will choke out almost any weed so keeping your grass growing is also keeping your yard weed free. In early spring, march, I'll lay down ortho season long bug killer. It keeps chinch bugs away and grubs out.



Then I'll fertilize with a 16-8-4 Lesco. get at home depot.



after that kicks in about 3 weeks later I'll let the grass go two weeks without a mow. The blades will get really tall and then I'll hit it with the mower. About a week later the grass has filled in any areas that needed attention. Killed off most of the weeds. Come in full and thick. Then it's just watering hoping that the sun doesn't kill it off over the summer. it may not be hot at 95 but it's 85ish at 10pm. Got a long heat day that saps water from it.

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Dorifto89

Hey! Here's a wonderful solution to that nasty green lawn!

HalveBlue

K_style

My lawn is total fail... Landlord told me that I do not need to water the lawn... (just moved to OR and did not know local condition)

I have been trying to water the lawn everyday.. but they dont seem getting healthier......
Need some vitamins or something.....

I will post pic up tomorrow when sun it up..

K_style

Is that true ????

TheWolf

No

msglgnth

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driftn_silvia

wow thanks to the OP for posting this thread...My lawn fails tremendously. I need to seriously fix my lawn.

Walperstyle

my 2 cents. Too much nitrogen is a bad thing

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ManoNegra

Funny that this thread pops up since lawn care has been on my mind of late
my dad used to take care of the lawn and plants
and I never gave any of this stuff a second thought
now that it's just me and my brother in the house I'm starting to
transition onto house up keeping mode
so, long story short, my lawn has weeds and at least 4 different types of grass growing
crab grass, bermuda, st agustine and maybe some fescue
I come to find out that my dad just threw a bunch of mixed seeds back in the day
I'm not feeling the bermuda grass which is taking over
and just decided to kill everything and start from scratch
I sprayed some grass/weed killer and plan on digging out the entire lawn
sift the roots, spray more chemicals, wait a while, fertilize, and re-seed

now the problem is I don't really know what type of lawn I want
leaning towards a thin blade type of lawn, fescue maybe
I remember seeing lawns at school that were like a carpet
short, dense and soft
but no idea what that type of lawn is and what it takes to make it stick
I really like the lawn at the Ghetty Museum here in LA which is like that
anyone knows what type of grass that is?

S14DB

The St Augustine is taking over not the Bermuda. St. Augy is a bitch like that.

You till the lawn? Get it nice and flat.

I want to get some zoysia grass. nice a smooth like a golf course. Grows really slow.

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ManoNegra

the majority of my back yard is this (bermuda) but thriving, yuck



just went to town on a bunch of construction grade black trash bags
I'm going to kill the lawn by covering it with the plastic
from what I've read it should take a couple of weeks

HalveBlue

MOO, lawns are over-rated.

They require constant upkeep and maintenance (weeds, brown patches, mowing, etc.) In warm and hot climates (like SoCal, for example) the situation is even worse. In such locales lawns require large amounts of water which places a huge burden on usually already sparse water resources.

Look into xeriscaping. Or at the very least, look at the different strains on grasses and match it to your local conditions.

Anyway, just thought I'd throw some alternatives out there.

S14DB

Alternative shit is great till code enforcement shows up. A lot of places are regulated by the city or homeowners association.

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TheWolf

ManoNegra.. have you looked into centipede grass?

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HalveBlue

Good point.

Zoning codes in the US are fucked. You can quote me on that.

Phlip

I am keeping a log and chronicling each step of the setup of my lawn for this coming spring, including the fall overseeding and soil preparation.
I am taking pictures of the whole process and it will be posted to the blog, provided no one on Zilvia flies out to NC and kills me in the meantime for not agreeing with them. I have already spread Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue as of last week and will do so once more in March, once 60º days return. I have roughly one more cut of my grass left, to take place once all the leaves in my trees have fallen, I am far too lazy for raking and prefer to mulch anyway.

All will be posted to the blog once the grass is growing in April

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eberle

i dont even bother with mine seeing how i have to drive my s13 thru the yard just to get it from my driveway to the street(my driveway fails bad near the street) so i use the neighbors driveway

kandyflip445

Please link your blog as you go in this thread for the lawn stuff. I still have to cut mine one more time before it dies.

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Tom25666

haha my grass is bermuda and johnson. i never cared enough to go to all that trouble

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Phlip

I am not posting "in progress," I am going to post it all once I am done

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kandyflip445

Ah, ok. I had visions of a lawn "build thread" and thought it would suit this forum. lol

Anyone have some tips about edging your lawn? I've seen edgers at Sears but they're too damn expensive. I've thought about using a weed eater when I finally get one but I remember when I was a kid I seriously made it look bad on my parents lawn when I tried to edge with it. That, and they had an edger. So I stuck to using that.

I fertilized my lawn back in August and it's been a lot nicer since that last round. Should I go for one more after the last cut?

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Phlip

I edge with a weed eater and have no problems, just know that you will use a LOT of the string and need to learn a steady hand... Helping my brother on weekends when he worked for a landscaper helped me learn that one.

Skip sears, go to Northern tools and get a refurb for 50 bucks or a new one for 130 if that is all you will be doing with it.

I fertilized in April when I did the weed/seed and then did the coffee thing through the summer, I did regular overseeding last weekend (not the one that just ended) and I am waiting for the leaves to fall for my last cut now.

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Phlip

Delayed by the birth of my child, but here it is:
The musings of a madman...: Green Thumbin'

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