Yard freaks

[bosstones]

Originally Posted by nyalpine90

been watching a lot of youtube videos...
i wont have a chance to do anything to the lawn when i move in maybe Nov/Dec.
definitely will start next year when spring arrives.
i do need to level certain spots, some trees were removed.
mixture of soil and sand to level bad areas.
not sure what homedepot has for seeding and fertilizers
these youtubers all have favorite brand, seems to live in warmer climate area.

You'll go through more sand than you think you will. I tried to deal with a few small areas along my driveway and the sand I got barely made a dent.

As for grass seed, it is quite a rabbit hole if you choose to start looking at cultivars within the traditional types. If you don't want what you can get at big box stores, you can try some landscaping stores/garden centers/plant nurseries. Some sell bags of seed mixes that they blend themselves (or have blended for them). They'll look like fairly generic sacks with a tag stating content ($ percentages). The better blends have 0.00% weed content. You can also try online. Seed Super Store is one but they sell some good but pricey stuff. I ordered some seed from Deer Creek Seed Company as they had 2 types if KBG that I was interested (Concerto and Appalachian) in at a reasonable price.

Oh...and don't rake in the seed in the dark....it might come out uneven. That's [recent] experience talking from when I overseeded (repair) along the street and driveway the last week of September. lol Most of what will germinate did. Some new stuff is still coming up but I'll hit the bare spots again in the spring. I'll aerate and overseed then, too. Hopefully the new grass is strong enough to survive winter.

[Yapakanichi]

I gave up on self lawn care. trugreen is now taking care of chemical treatments. It's looking good.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by Yapakanichi

I gave up on self lawn care. trugreen is now taking care of chemical treatments. It's looking good.

I don't mind doing yard work, and in most cases actually enjoy it, but keeping it perfectly healthy has been a bear to stay on top of lately. Especially once I got a fungus that destroyed the majority of my yard while I was away for work. Months and months of renovating the yard since we purchased it has now gone to hell in a matter of a couple weeks. Desire and motivation have gone out the window now that I've been trying to bring it back for a couple months it seems.

What are the details of your plan? What do they do/not do? How often are they doing something to your yard? What about cost and your yard coverage?

If I can get someone else to do all the treatment and I just cut it and keep it looking trim, I think I could get behind this.

[//Melon]

Yard work thread?

Oh I'm so in.
I have an EGO Self-propelled mower, I usually bag, because it comes out cleaners.
I have a nice Ryboi power head with multiple attachments.

No pics right now, but I'll take some.

[Yapakanichi]

I have everything but aeration being done. They come out like every 6 weeks. So far after one treatment I can already tell a difference. I cut and trim the yard myself.

[ramman434]

What does Trugreen run? I've got tons of weeds/clover built into my Saint Augustine grass(which I really don't like). I've been planning to do a treatment since I moved in in May, but it's low on the priorities list.

I also hate the Saint Augustine. Since it grows on a root/runner, I'm constantly pulling it out of flower beds, off of sidewalks from trimming, etc. I wish I had a better alternative, but that's S. FL for you (yrd is 7500 sq ft)

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by ramman434

What does Trugreen run? I've got tons of weeds/clover built into my Saint Augustine grass(which I really don't like). I've been planning to do a treatment since I moved in in May, but it's low on the priorities list.

I also hate the Saint Augustine. Since it grows on a root/runner, I'm constantly pulling it out of flower beds, off of sidewalks from trimming, etc. I wish I had a better alternative, but that's S. FL for you (yrd is 7500 sq ft)

Centipede? Still grows out, but slower and least maintenance

[ramman434]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Centipede? Still grows out, but slower and least maintenance

Yeah basically. Looks like this(below), and I think it looks like shit overall. Obviously not going to pay to have my entire yard resodded..

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by ramman434

Yeah basically. Looks like this(below), and I think it looks like shit overall. Obviously not going to pay to have my entire yard resodded..

Yeah fat leaves St Augustine. I was saying you could try centipede since it’s very low maintenance, works well in Florida, and grows slow. Still going horizontal, but it’s easy to keep out of beds. It’s what I have.

[lsturbointeg]

yard is done for the year. just did the last mow. looking forward to next year!

[bosstones]

Grass has finally slowed its growth where I am. Planning to put down a final fungicide application today and spot spray some fall weeds. Tomorrow I'll mow a little lower (3"). It's warm up here right now so my final mow might not be for a couple of weeks. I get to look forward to next spring when I get to dig out all the clumping fescue that has come up late summer l and fall and overseeding.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by Yapakanichi

I have everything but aeration being done. They come out like every 6 weeks. So far after one treatment I can already tell a difference. I cut and trim the yard myself.

Not proud since I’m very DIY, but I just signed up for the same. First treatment was yesterday.

[ramman434]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Not proud since I’m very DIY, but I just signed up for the same. First treatment was yesterday.

I'm debating doing this. With all this rain we've had, I've only been able to mow the lawn every 2-3 weeks, so it's like a damn jungle. I definitely have not been able to treat it myself, sadly.

[RickFLM4]

Weed n Feed and Palm fertilizer this weekend (weather permitting - looks like rain). Lesco 13-3-13 for palms and gonna give Scotts another try for weed n feed. Its one of the only ones I can still find with Atrazine.

[ramman434]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Weed n Feed and Palm fertilizer this weekend (weather permitting - looks like rain). Lesco 13-3-13 for palms and gonna give Scotts another try for weed n feed. Its one of the only ones I can still find with Atrazine.

I'm curious how this goes for you. I'm down in Pompano, so I'm assuming we have similar grass/soil. I'm debating on how to move forward with getting all the weeds/crap out of the Saint Augustine.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by ramman434

I'm curious how this goes for you. I'm down in Pompano, so I'm assuming we have similar grass/soil. I'm debating on how to move forward with getting all the weeds/crap out of the Saint Augustine.

It’s taken me many years to figure out what to do, and there is no way to ever remove all weeds. In fact, years back, our lawn was so bad, I had it re-sodded because if it gets bad enough, it’s throwing money and time at treatments that will never completely work. If crab grass is all over, it’s time for Round Up.

I put down pre-emergent in late September (we had a reasonable temp stretch for a week) and will do it again in December. I followed that Sept application with a light application of fertilizer the same day. In between (now) I’ll put down the weed n feed with atrazine. Similar in Feb / early May but no more weed n feed. Fertilizer instead. I’ll spot spray stuff if I notice any weeds but like I said, you never get them all. I don’t fertilize or treat for weeds in the hot period of late May - late Sept.

I also put down pest control every 2-3 months. I seem to have the best luck with Bio Advanced Complete Insect Killer. It is important the product lists sod webworms, which are difficult to eradicate. Also need to water properly and not overdo it. Lawn Care Nut on YouTube has a lot of good videos. You don’t need to go to some of his extremes, but he has some good tips.

You can have a pretty nice lawn with St. Augustine but it takes time, effort and money. Throwing down some product every once in a while is just throwing away money. I still have a lawn service to cut, but took fertilizing back from them to DIY and also fired pest control service to DIY when they almost killed my new sod years back.

Here’s a couple of quick pictures. The second shows where my yard ends and my neighbor’s begins. Believe it or not, they had that lawn re-sodded 2 or 3 years ago but just never managed fertilizer, weeds or pests. Unfortunately, that’s what a lot of St. Augustine yards look like.

[ramman434]

Yeah I definitely have pockets of crab grass and clover that I'll have to spot treat. Just gotta find the time. Been so damn busy lol

[bosstones]

I mowed the back once on Friday since it saw some decent growth over the last few weeks. Today I brought the back and front down to 3". Final mow for the year! Lawn tractor is topped off and Stabil has been added. I may do some maintenance over the winter like upgrade the transaxel. I also have an LED light bars that I've been meaning to install.

I get to look forward to digging out all tye clumping fescue that came up this fall after the lawn was fairly stressed late summer/early fall. Stoked to have the irrigation system, though.

[lsturbointeg]

love this new white tall fescue cultivar i ordered from ebay!! great thing is it's weed free, no need to water but it does tend to freakin grow everywhere...even on top of the house!

[Habs11]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

I have a lawn service and complain to them several times a year about the mowing height and blade sharpness. They sometimes humor me and get the blade sharpened but never seem to raise the mowing height. I don't think most people have an understanding of how important it is to not shred and scalp the lawn (or simply don't care about it). I have yet to find anyone who does a good job mowing and don't have the time (or inclination in the summer heat) to DIY.

I see it everywhere. People scalp the heck out of the grass. Here in the NE supposed to be about 3". I have found I can use a lot less chemicals cutting to proper height and fertilizing with 10-10-10. Then I spot treat weeds as needed.

As an aside I've dropped almost 30 dead ash trees in the past few years - ash borers decimated my area a few years back.

[TXSTYLE]

Freshly cut from our Garden. Miracle Rose.
So rewardingto have amazing blooms still this time of year.

[UncleWede]

I put something called Revive that is both minerals and supposed to help hold moisture. I crossed that with an application of Bandini 21-7-14. We are supposed to get the first rain in MONTHS tonight.

The wife lets her uncle mow my lawn now. WTF am I supposed to do all weekend??? I've taken to pulling items off the wall, hitting them with a metal brush wheel, then repainting.