^ I have a manual edger and a powered one.

I hate the manual edger with a passion since my bahaia grass has extremely thick rhizomes that are nearly impossible to cut with the hand edger.

4/19/2009 8:54:09 PM

bumped

9/17/2009 10:49:03 PM

OK so evidently I started looking into this way to late to do a soil sample and get the report back before planting grass this weekend. So I'm thinking about foregoing the soil sample and plant anyway. My front lawn is weak and a portion of my front yard is a natural area that i want to plant grass in. it's currently covered in leaves. My lawn also has lots of trees so a good shady grass in needed. This is my plan.

1. Remove small shrubs from natural area
2. Apply lime to natural area (due to acidity in the leaves)
3. Apply fertilizer to entire front yard
4. Till entire yard including natural area. I"m not removing the leaves but instead tilling them under. My thinking is that this will be a good source of compost/natural fertilizer
5. Spread seed. 90% Tall Fescue/5% Fine Fescue/5% Kentucky Blue Grass
6. Cover with straw
7. Water regularly
8. Cross fingers!!

Is this a good idea? How hard can it be to grow some stupid grass?

10/14/2009 12:18:16 PM

what kind of shrubs are they, i need some to hide a corner in the backyard

10/14/2009 12:23:38 PM

not sure...i suck at this kind of stuff, but i'm planning on relocating most of them. I can take pictures of them though. maybe you can tell me.

10/14/2009 12:34:01 PM

I don't recommend the straw. it has seed in it, and you'll have it growing all over your yard next summer.

I usually save up grass clippings for a while before seeding, and then spread the clippings over the seed. You don't really have to put anything over the seed, but it does help keep moisture in. I don't think that'll be a problem this year given how rapidly the weather has cooled compared with typical years.

10/14/2009 12:38:52 PM

thanks for the tip bobby

10/14/2009 1:13:35 PM

I have a few different kinds of grass growing in my lawn. How do I get rid of the less pleasant looking kinds?

7/30/2010 12:16:17 PM

Kinda depends, some grass will outcompete other kinds and naturally take over, and some won't. What do you have and what do you want to keep?

7/30/2010 12:27:17 PM

Any idea what kind? Is this depending on shade throughout the day? Most grasses depend highly on how much sunlight they get and water. We had to basically terraform/re-sod my parents backyard with a grass that was very hardy to eliminate all other grass/weeds and still do great in the shade. Its called Crab grass. Doesn't spread fast, but its extremely tough and if I remember correctly, take over other grasses. We tried seeds a lot, but they just never took hold.

*Depending on the shade as in, ground with lots of shade as X grass, ground with no shade has Y grass. If you're patient, you can take a day and draw a shadow map of the lawn throughout the day, tracing how the shadows move on your ground as the sun travels back to Arizona.

Obvious solution in my mind is to just eliminate the grass you don't want by tearing it all up or otherwise "taking care of it." Then cultivate the grass you want and eventually it spreads...or more practically, you get sod same as the grass you want, 'roughen' the dirt, and put the sod in place.

[Edited on July 30, 2010 at 12:29 PM. Reason : lkj]

7/30/2010 12:27:39 PM

yeah, my lawn is currently being invaded by bermuda.

I'm going to let the bermuda win because it needs a hell of a lot less water.

I also have nutgrass, and that shit looks like ass and is hard to get rid of. Chemical warfare to occur this afternoon.

7/30/2010 12:31:24 PM

my patio is surrounded by about 5 feet of bermuda

and i've got bunches of that tall fescue stuff all throughout my lawn

7/30/2010 12:32:54 PM

i'mma fence in my whole yard and just get some goats

fuck grass

7/30/2010 1:07:33 PM

Quote :

"I also have nutgrass, and that shit looks like ass and is hard to get rid of."

Me too...I have a ton of yellow nutsedge and a ton of morning glory...both impossible to kill completely.

I have had good results with Image Nutsedge killer available at Lowe's. It takes awhile to kill it (Like 1 month) and some of it will come back, however, each time I spray less and less returns.

No idea what to do with the morning glory

7/30/2010 1:09:27 PM

Quote :

"my patio is surrounded by about 5 feet of bermuda and i've got bunches of that tall fescue stuff all throughout my lawn "

You better kill the bermuda if you want to keep fescue. Bermuda is the king of encroachment and very very hard to kill permanently. Multiple Round-Up applications will be required to kill the root.

Any spreading grass (Centipede, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Bermuda, Bahia) will eventually kill off fescue. Bermuda is probably the most aggressive and hardest to kill.

[Edited on July 30, 2010 at 1:11 PM. Reason : ]

7/30/2010 1:10:52 PM

do you guys do your own maintenance or do you hire companies to do it? i've been using scotts lawnservice for the past couple years, but the guy kept trying to upsell me and i didn't trust them so i cancelled. and despite helping my dad every year as a kid with this stuff, i have no idea what i'm doing if i tried to do it myself.

do you guys generally follow the same regiment every year, or do conditions change enough from year to year that you always have to mix it up?

7/30/2010 1:12:41 PM

I used to have EPM, but they weren't doing anything that I couldn't do easily myself, so I do my own maintenance.

I fertilize in early spring, mid summer, and fall, and depending on conditions, i'll apply weed control, insect control, etc.

I have crepe myrtles, so japanese beetles like to lay eggs on my lawn as well. The grubs eat the roots of the grass and kill it, so I'm in the second year of treating it with milky spore, which becomes permanent after the 6 treatments.

7/30/2010 1:52:16 PM

^ What kind of grass do you have? (Edit: I just saw you said you were hoping to have bermuda invasion soon enough)

I mostly have centipede and Bermuda, and I'm trying to promote the centipede. Therefore, my lawn maintenance is about as low as you can get. I do all of my own yard work and I spray things like weed killer, but I don't fertilize or lime (Lime kills centipede, fertilizer helps the bermuda much more than the centipede, so I dont). I may do it once in the spring with a 15-0-15 fertilizer, but nothing hi-octane like big box stores sell.

The only maintenance I do really is declare jihad on yellow nutsedge all summer long, use pre-emergent for crabgrass in teh spring, and use pre-emergent for henbit in the fall. Every now and then I'll spray weed killer if i notice some weeds sprouting up, but I generally do nothing. I do sprig the centipede like crazy to get more growing.

I have actually never heard of Milky Spore, but I do have a slight Japanese beetle issue. Thanks for the recommendation . I also need to do a little work on spittle bugs, since I'm noticing more & more in my centipede.

I love the look of Bermuda, but I just can't deal with it growing (underground, no less) into my flower beds and everywhere else. It's also really high maintenance to look fantastic and seems to grow 35 ft. per day

[Edited on July 30, 2010 at 3:05 PM. Reason : ]

7/30/2010 2:56:48 PM

http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/

One of the best websites in regards to grasses.

7/31/2010 10:57:51 PM

so who seeded their own lawn this year? i still don't have enough confidence in my ability to not burn out my yard with seed, so i'm probably gonna get somebody to come in a aerate/fertilize/weed control my yard. what's a reasonable rate for that kinda thing?

[Edited on October 26, 2010 at 3:26 PM. Reason : and yes i know it's getting late in the year for seed]

10/26/2010 3:24:39 PM

i just did mine sunday...and yeah you wanna get on it quick like.

how would you burn your yard out? by over applying the starter fertilizer? by over applying seed?


i think it's a $120-$140 thing here (aerate, seed, fertilize), assuming you don't have a huge yard. i'd definitely paying someone to do it next year...my costs were right at $100 i think.

10/26/2010 3:36:21 PM

$180

10/26/2010 3:36:35 PM

bump

4/11/2012 7:04:38 PM

MY MAN!!!

thanks.

The property that I will eventually build a house on is neighbor to an auto shop and its an eyesore.

what type of tree grows fast, is wide and full to block the place on the edge?

Leland Cypress is about all I could think of...anyone have a better idea? Want it to look half decent and be low maintenance so no boxwoods or whatever.

4/11/2012 7:26:31 PM

leyland cypress are a dying breed in the industry. they get bag worm, blight and ice gets them easily. arborvitae are the new leyland. also i would consider a bradford pear, i know they can break branches because of bad crotch angles but they are quick to grow, wide and are the first to get leaves and the last to lose them as far as deciduous trees go. that said, cleavland pear is its little brother and have better crotch angles that rarely break...but you would need twice as many because the are half the width at maturity.

4/12/2012 9:16:50 AM

I like bradfords but they are so prone to breaking, especially this bein in eastern NC and the winds that come along with any tropical systems.

I may go with the A one you named...I will have to look into them.

What about a tree to line a drive way...like oaks.

4/15/2012 3:16:41 PM

i'm gonna have to contribute questions to this thread this week...wife and i are trying to come up with some landscaping changes/improvements

in the meantime, what are folks' thoughts on empress trees (paulownia)?

4/15/2012 4:25:50 PM

So do you aerate *every* year or do you take the occasional year off?

4/15/2012 9:52:59 PM

^^

It's considered invasive and problematic.

http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/pato1.htm

^

if it's still thick and lush at the end of the summer (assuming fescue), you can probably skip that year, but even for well established lawns that's rare. for other grass types, I can't really speak to it.

4/16/2012 9:09:48 AM

ok i completely tore up all of the liriope and bushes in the front yard...now what?

lol...do i need to just plant seed and do the fertilizer thing and water, or do i need to add in some type of compost?

im starting from straight scratch, however, most of the area got filled in with mulch thanks to the landscapers.

i dont want mulch, i want grass.

5/9/2012 3:32:05 PM

How big of an area is it? Why not lay down sod?

5/9/2012 3:54:28 PM

its like 10x10 fairly small

5/9/2012 4:00:18 PM

the next few months are gonna be HOT. prepare to spend $texas on water.

or wait until the fall, and save a ton of money by doing it in a more weather appropriate time of year.

5/9/2012 4:00:28 PM

I would put sod down then. See if you can find someone to split some with you, because they normally make you purchase by the pallet (which is much more than 10x10). Buy some topsoil, put it down, water it, lay down the sod staggered (if they come in squares like mine did), stamp it down and water it.

Water it every day for about three weeks (except on days it rains). Then enjoy your beautiful new grass.


*** I think you can buy squares of sod from places like Lowes...so you might not have to purchase a whole pallet. I would just make sure that their sod isn't complete shit. I've been told I can use their stuff to fill in patches, but not to sod a big area. Which seems a little useless to me...I would just use seed and fertilizer to fill in patches.

[Edited on May 10, 2012 at 7:16 AM. Reason : .]

5/10/2012 7:12:19 AM

Supersod at the Farmer's Market will sell you less than a pallet of sod, last time I got some there a few years ago it was like 1$/sf, and it came in a 5'x1' roll.

5/10/2012 9:38:14 AM

BTT.

In a month or so, I'll be moving into my new house and I'll be starting my lawn. It's about 1 ac with a decent slope across the lot and two drainage ditches at the front of the lot.

Unfortunately, I'll be starting off with primarily subsoils, as the contractor is mass grading and not bringing good topsoil back in He's also putting down contractor grade KY-32 Fescue. Some neighbors' yards are doing ok so far, though some aren't (which could be related to how much they care), though most do have a good amount of weeds/invasives. He's also throwing down millet seed for initial soil stablization.

What should be my plan of action and schedule? Bringing in topsoil isn't feasible right now and I can get large quantities of KY-32 from my contractor at cost for spot treatment/future seeding. I figure I'll use the free county soil testing to see what I've got on site.

I know aerating is a must, and I will likely need some fertilizer since the good soil will be gone. While I won't (or likely won't) have much thatch in the yard, but would it be a good idea to run a dethatcher just to catch any debris/thatch/remaining straw?

Thanks.

Also, if you have recommendations on lawn equipment (mower, weed eater, dethatcher, aerator, etc.) or products (fertilizer, seed if the contractor's KY-32 isn't a good option, week killer, etc.) I'd appreciate your input.

[Edited on July 16, 2012 at 9:09 AM. Reason : .]

7/16/2012 9:08:21 AM

if you got bugs in your lawn PM me please! I will come and sample it for free, and if there is anything interesting I can get you hooked up with someone who can spray for free or at least tell you what is in your yard.


If there are chinch bugs in you r lawn, I will love you forever.

7/16/2012 9:11:45 AM

I don't know what those are.

I have ticks and gnats (I assume) thus far

7/16/2012 9:43:36 AM

Is everyone too busy taking care of lawns now?

7/18/2012 9:44:12 AM

what lawn? after this heat it looks like Afghanistan.

7/18/2012 10:52:07 AM

haha

7/18/2012 11:09:50 AM

Yay for not having to mow the weeds as often.

7/18/2012 1:21:29 PM

Anyone have a recommendation on a type of Zoysia to use? I was thinking El Toro?

7/18/2012 3:00:56 PM

I noticed that the bark on two trees in my front yard (maple maybe) was peeling and cracking a little. I peeled it back and found termites in both of them. For the most part, the trees seem healthy. wtf?

7/18/2012 4:37:24 PM

Quote :

"Anyone have a recommendation on a type of Zoysia to use? I was thinking El Toro?"

I used zenith because it was available in seed. I successfully seeded 2 acres this summer around my house.

7/18/2012 5:13:26 PM