The official "get off my lawn" thread

Who else enjoys having a nice lawn, working in the yard, mowing, pulling weeds, ect.

Share your tips tricks, ask questions, and general lawn maint. B.S.

Pics are welcome.


I started having perm o green spray my yard 2 years ago and whatever mix that they use works very well in my yard
I do have a Nut grass problem though. I cant get rid of that junk!

 

i like keeping my yard maintained, but not to the extent that you do lol

 

any tips to making my lawn more green? neighbor uses lime on his then waters it in with the hose. it's bermuda grass and the soil here seems to have a lot of clay.

 

Not to sure. I know you can get a soil test done to determine if you need to add anything to it.
http://lawncare.about.com/od/plantnutrition/a/lime.htm

The link has good info about adding lime. It also talks about lawn color.
I'd say go ahead and do it!
I uploaded a pic to my gallery erlier but since I'm on my phone I cant copy and paste.

 

I just get my dog to look after the yard work.....pees on the weeds and they die....along with the rest of the grass that he hasn't worn down to the dirt....

 

I had a german shepherd that desroyed my back yard. she wore everything down to dirt...haha
She has a new family now and my back yard is looking much better

 

I just use scott's turf builder, the seasonal shit. I have a tiny lawn, and I don't like the idea of putting it in my backyard where my dog is, so about 4 bags a year keeps it real green and weed free (for the most part)

dead spots I just use a little hand tiller and I throw some grass seen under the dirt. Usually after spring it fills in, or it at least looks better than it did..

 

this is my usual method for getting rid of stubborn weeds

 

Walt Kowalski ftw

 

x2

 

I'll chime in here. I have a small part time landscaping maintenance company I own. This business stemmed from my love of all things landscaping and outdoors.

You guys using Scotts are throwing your money away. Fertilizer is fertilizer. You're just paying for the name when you buy Scott's. It's kinda like buying Bose speakers. It's a good product...just WAYY overpriced for what you get.

Get a soil test done. Usually $20 from your local county extension office. They'll tell you what you need.

Read this to understand what the numbers on a bag of fert mean
http://www.learn2grow.com/gardeningguides/fertilizer/basics/understandingfertilizernumbers.aspx

My lawn is all bermuda (Tif-419). I use all Lesco products on my lawn. I have an account with John Deere Landscapes where I buy all my Lesco products. Around here, Bermuda is green from about April til mid October when it goes dormant (usually after the first frost/freeze)

We'll start from January:

While the grass is completely dormant, I spot spray winter weeds with round up or pull them. I apply different products once the grass comes out of dormancy as not to damage the desired turf.

February - Apply Pre-emergent (Lesco Dimension 0-0-7) For those who don't know what pre-emergent is...It creates a chemical "barrier" and prevents weed seeds from germinating.

Mid April - Apply Pre-emergent w/ fert (Lesco 19-3-6) This adds more of a weed prevention barrier for spring weeds and gives the lawn nitrogen for spring green up.

1st of June - Lesco 24-2-11 with 6% Fe(Iron). The iron helps with absorbtion of the nitrogen and helps give it a darker green color.

Mid July - Lesco 24-2-11 w/ 6% Fe

End August - Lesco 24-2-11 w/ 6% Fe

End of September - Lesco Stonewall with Potassium/Potash 0-0-? (Can't remember the # off the top of my head right now) It contains a higher number of potash/potassium so the roots have some food storage for the winter. Stonewall is a pre-emergent to help with winter weeds.

For post-emergence (After the weeds have germinated) I use various products. Depends on the type of weed. I use Lesco 3-way which is a 2-4-D ester that controls most of the broadleaf weeds. Image works well on grassy weeds like various Sedges, poa annua, chickweed, and young crabgrass).

The most important piece of advice is READ THE LABEL!!!!

As for mowing:
I mow weekly for the most part and I mow twice a week during the heavy growth periods. You shouldn't cut off more than 1/3 the length of the grass per cut. It's bad for the grass and can create excessive thatch (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH MULCHING!). The more bermuda is mowed it creates horizontal growth and prevents the brown scalped look.

I mow mine at 1.5" tall at the beginning of the season and raise it up to 2" at the summer progresses and the temps get higher and rainfall slows.

I always mulch my grass when mowing with the exception of the leaves in the fall I will run once over with the mulching blades then come back over and bag. Mulching cuts the grass into very fine clipping that break down quickly and provide nutrients back into the soil.

Mow your lawn taller during periods of heat and drought. It promotes deeper root growth and drought tolerance.

As for watering. Water infrequent and HEAVY. Short frequent watering creates turf that is weak to periods of drought and promotes disease.

Here's a pic of mine from yesterday. The bermuda is starting to green up. The bare spot you see is just some sand/topsoil mix I added to a low spot. It will fill in in the next few weeks.


This is from last August-ish. It was a little stressed due to lack of rain.

 

Here's a shot of my backyard about mid-june last year fully greened up and mowing it twice a week.

 

Nut grass usually grows in poorly drained soil. Does that area of the yard drain slowly after it rains? Are you watering too frequently?

Irrigation should be in-frequent and deep (more water)

Also ...a general comment for everyone. A thick lush lawn also helps battle weeds as it chokes them out and prevents the seeds from germinating.

 

I heard a older fellow say, "the only way to get rid of nut grass, was to move". I've got Zoyisa it's awesome, thick as shit, I am battling some crabgrass in spots, (where I had a driveway poured to my shop). Pre Emerge crap from Lowes don't do jack, prolly gonna get one of the companies to start spraying it for me.

 

One of my least favorite living organisms on earth.

 

I've pretty much eradicated it from my yard. Regular applications of pre-emergent and post-emergent spraying with Image before it goes to seed heads will get rid of it. It will take about 2 years but it's manageable. My next door neighbor has it bad but my lawn has almost none. He hired me this year to take care of his lawn so by next season I should have most of it gone.

 

Very nice yard!

yea the backyard has the most nut grass and I guess it does drain kinda slow. there are also some bare spots but the bermuda is slowly creeping and starting to fill in. Do you know any tips to help it and spread quicker?

 

here is my front yard. there is a brown looking spot in the bottom left but it isnt as bad in person and has greened up a bit.

 

That's Mr. Kowalski...

 

Thanks!

Make sure the soil isn't super compacted in those spots...which if it's bare, it probably is. Aerating helps. On a bermuda lawn May-June is usually a good time to Aerate. Top dress those bare spots with a 50/50 sand top soil mixture. Mowing the bermuda more frequently will cause it spread the stolons horizontally and spread over the bare spots.