My lawn is a battlefield and....ITS WAR!!! I need a lawn mentor

[Headhunter]

Who has the best lawn? Are you the envy of the block? I want to talk with you!

We bought our house on 1/2 acre three and a half years ago. 1/2 of the property had x-mas trees on it and was basically wild (most of the trees have since been removed but more on that later). The other 1/2 of the yard was lawn/landscaping (this part is my battlefield where I wage war).

Our lawn has never looked "really good" but then again I haven't done much to help it out. This year I decided to "wage war" and make it look nice. I could use a mentor to talk with from time to time to help me get it back in shape. Lots of issues like weeds, moss, dead spots and such. I put mossout on it this weekend and then put some lime down...BUT....I think I put too much lime down

[Jaws]

Hire a lawn service......Go fishing!

[Cornbread]

Originally Posted by Jaws

Hire a lawn service......Go fishing!

That is exactly what I have always done with every place I have ever lived that required lawn care. Given what I think my time is worth compared to what I have to pay them I have always felt I am getting the good end of the deal.

[Geemo]

The guys at Wilco's told me you can't put too much lime on to damage the lawn. Putting too much on only lightens your wallet.

Get the weeds and moss in check. That is an on-going event all year at my house.

Mow the lawn at a short height and re-seed the bare spots.

Add a light application of fertilizer. I use Wilco's 16*16*16 or 18*18*18.

If Crane Fly is an issue, March is the time to but stuff on the lawn to take care of them.

[driven2fish]

Originally Posted by Jaws

Hire a lawn service......Go fishing!

Now there is some good advice. My dog did work on my back yard and at some point along the way I threw in the towel. I'm just not a lawn care indvidual I wish you the best of luck with yours though.

[Doc Savage]

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/new...toryType=garde

[EvilD]

You are going to HAVE to aerate, you will have to get air into the soil. Moss grows in moist, anaerobic soil, this condition is probably causing the dead spots as well. Removing organic matter and replacing it with fast draining substance like sand is going to be the first task. Proper drainage is the key to moss removal, chemicals can be used but they don't eliminate the cause. After aerification, spread a good grass seed (designed for your climate) and let them germinate. Fighting weeds and trying to get new grass to grow is difficult to do at the same but if you maintain a consistent height of cut it should help with weeds. After the new grass seeds have become established and have been mowed a few times then go ahead with a weed and feed this should get rid of most of the broad leaf weeds (clover, dandelion...).
If the lawn is in really bad shape it might behoove you to hire a lawn company for the first part of the spring and watch them closely, they should be able to give you tricks and tips for your specific climate and soil conditions.
PM me if you'd like my telephone, I grow grass (golf course) for a living and can give some pointers.


Dan

[Lefty]

Originally Posted by EvilD

You are going to HAVE to aerate, you will have to get air into the soil. Moss grows in moist, anaerobic soil, this condition is probably causing the dead spots as well. Removing organic matter and replacing it with fast draining substance like sand is going to be the first task. Proper drainage is the key to moss removal, chemicals can be used but they don't eliminate the cause. After aerification, spread a good grass seed (designed for your climate) and let them germinate. Fighting weeds and trying to get new grass to grow is difficult to do at the same but if you maintain a consistent height of cut it should help with weeds. After the new grass seeds have become established and have been mowed a few times then go ahead with a weed and feed this should get rid of most of the broad leaf weeds (clover, dandelion...).
If the lawn is in really bad shape it might behoove you to hire a lawn company for the first part of the spring and watch them closely, they should be able to give you tricks and tips for your specific climate and soil conditions.
PM me if you'd like my telephone, I grow grass (golf course) for a living and can give some pointers.


Dan

What he said! Thatch and aerate then re-seed with a high quality seed early Spring. If all else fails, kill it off and start a new one!

[Headhunter]

Two years ago I hired a firm to de-moss and dethatch the lawn. They did a good job. They also used a slitter and reseeded. So I don't think the issue is thatch. The lawn just needs some attention, food, replanting a few spots. Perhaps add some seed that is better in shade or more water.

I think the ph got out of whack. Moss grows in areas that have too much water, too much shade, or too high ph. I am thinking that by using mossout I can kill the moss, rake it out and the lime will lower the ph. I do need to aerate and then reseed. Also get some fertalizer and weed killer in there too.

My first step was mossout & lime. DONE

In two weeks I was going to fertalize with a weedNfeed type product and spot herbacide on the tough spots.

in a month I was planning to eaerate and overseed. I also need to adjust a few sprinkler heads for better water coverage.

I have a fungus too because I see mushrooms bloom. As you can see I have my hands full.

I could hire a service but I want to do this myself. I spend 30 day's in the field duck hunting, and in the off season I like to stay close to home and putter around with my wife and daughter and catch up on family time and the honey do lists. It actually calms me when I work in the soil,

So how much does it cost to have a service come buy and core aerate?

Originally Posted by Lefty

What he said! Thatch and aerate then re-seed with a high quality seed early Spring. If all else fails, kill it off and start a new one!

[huntercgr]

So how much does it cost to have a service come buy and core aerate?

Rent one and DIY. Then rent a thatcher the next weekend. Good luck.

[Smj]

Don't use weed & feed, generaly you'd want to feed first and weed second, not at the same time. Weed & feed uses pellets that must sit undisturbed on the leaves of the weed for a period of time, if it rains it washes the little pellets off the weed leaf, and many pellets don't even land and sit on the weeds leaves, they go to the ground and are wasted. Weed & feed can overshoot, if you're using a broadcast spreader, and kill desirables or go on the road and end up in the sewers/rivers. Use the fertilizer first and then when things have warmed a bit more, 60s during the day, use Weed-Be-Gone spray. It has the same chemical as weed & feed but you get better coverage and it's easier to control where it goes, just be sure to spray on a calm day. Buy an Ortho Dial-and-Spray, you set the dial to the desired mix, hook it to the hose, fill the bottle and spray. It really helps to have someone help with the mile of hose you'll be using if you have a large yard.

Smj

[RidgeRunner]

The Weed - B- Gone spray is great. I switched to it last year. Works better than the pellts. If you want to aerate your yard, check with your neighbors and rent a machine for half to full day and do all your yards. It takes no time to aerate a yard. It takes more time cleaning the darn machine up for return than the it does to aerate.

[Chrome Bumper]

All good, perenial ryegrass does well around here. Time release fertilizer is well worth the extra buck it costs.

Hose end sprayers work great getting the weeds. I use trimec, take awhile for the weeds to shrivel and rot if they are real health. Spray once the lawn is established, then the grass will keeps weeds from sprout and you will only need herbicides every few years.

Let the grass go dormant in the summer if you can stand a brownish lawn, it will reduce maintenance and chemical needs. You can then go fishing.

If you get a soil test kit you can measure how much lime and fertilizier is needed to cut down on chemicals there to.

Lime hurts moss and helps clipping decompose, dolomite lime has magnesium in it with the calcium.

Go to the feed store to save a few bucks on the larger more concentrated products.

You need to just learn to except mushrooms, if there's stuff for them to eat in the soil and moisture you will have them until the food (wood, organic matter) is gone. To remove them you can hit them with a golf club.

[crazyinoregon]

beware....if you fix it up they will come! got my brand new lawn looking great and then the moles thought that they would come enjoy it......then you have a new battle

[Headhunter]

Oh I am readdddddy for the moles!

Originally Posted by crazyinoregon

beware....if you fix it up they will come! got my brand new lawn looking great and then the moles thought that they would come enjoy it......then you have a new battle

[Headhunter]

Lots of great into here. Thank you!

Equipment I have

Broadcast spreader
backpack type sprayer
mulching mower
weedwhacker/edger
all sorts of hand tools

Right now I have tons-0-weed, moss and bare spots

For the moss, last weekend I put down moss-ex/out or the like and also added a bunch of lime 75# for 2800sq.ft (a bit too much).

This weekend or next I will rake all the dead moss out.

two years ago I hired a service to dethatch the lawn. Looking at the lawn now there is not a ton of thatch build-up so I think I am ok on the thatch front.

Now the questions


I have a decent sized yard. 1/2 acre, granted not all if it is lawn, but it is fairly large. And as I mentiond, I have tone-o-weeds. How do you put down Trimec (I have some) to cover that large of a yard? Using the backpack sprayer is't quite the undertaking at this point. What about using a product I can use the broadcast spreader to knock them down first and then go to spot weeding with the sprayer?

What are the right steps?

1. Mossout (done)
2. lime (done)
3. Aerate
4. weed killer
5. fertalizer
6. overseed and seed bare spots
7. spot week with Trimec spray

I just got a quote for $48.00 for a 1/2 day on an plug aerator and will rent one this weekend or next.

Does this seem like a sound plan?

Thanks,

Jim

[drhall99]

It's easy... Turn off built in sprinklers.. Install astro turf. Go fishing.. Lawns are for golfers..

[Chrome Bumper]

I use trimec classic once every several years and do the whole lawn.
That's not a lot of lime BTW.
Hose end sprayer are really handy, you can spread 100s of gallons of mixed spray with them in a day. They are cheap and easy to store and clean. For a 15th of an acre (2800 sq ft) a backpack will work, but its harder.

You won't need to spot treat for months, it takes that long for the first broad leaf treatment to get to the core of the biennials like dandelions and kill ever last cell.

[rimrock]

Any wisdom on the evil crabgrass in this war, I'm losing the battle

[slowdawg]

At one tme I had problems with moles, some one told me to wait until a new mound of dirt then take a road flair light the flair put it in the hole and the moles go to the neighbors. I tried it and it worked. They don't like the smell.

[MsOutdrs]

Originally Posted by Headhunter

Two years ago I hired a firm to de-moss and dethatch the lawn. They did a good job. They also used a slitter and reseeded. So I don't think the issue is thatch. The lawn just needs some attention, food, replanting a few spots. Perhaps add some seed that is better in shade or more water.

I think the ph got out of whack. Moss grows in areas that have too much water, too much shade, or too high ph. I am thinking that by using mossout I can kill the moss, rake it out and the lime will lower the ph. I do need to aerate and then reseed. Also get some fertalizer and weed killer in there too.

My first step was mossout & lime. DONE

In two weeks I was going to fertalize with a weedNfeed type product and spot herbacide on the tough spots.

in a month I was planning to eaerate and overseed. I also need to adjust a few sprinkler heads for better water coverage.

I have a fungus too because I see mushrooms bloom. As you can see I have my hands full.

I could hire a service but I want to do this myself. I spend 30 day's in the field duck hunting, and in the off season I like to stay close to home and putter around with my wife and daughter and catch up on family time and the honey do lists. It actually calms me when I work in the soil,

So how much does it cost to have a service come buy and core aerate?

Are you sure you have the right lawn? Sounds exactly like mine. Has anyone used that natural micro something-or-other thatch eater? We just put in a new lawn last spring...it has moss/shrooms AND the neighbor's moles...and there are a gazliion of them. I'm thinking of cementing and painting it green...sheesh. We have trees, lots of em...about 100 tall firs on 3/4 acres. Not good. I've spent hours raking the needles out of the grass...I hadn't had a nice green lawn in 20 yrs...now I'm wondering why I did what I did...other than I hated mowing weeds and dirt!! I thought all would be easy with our new sprinkler system...and I'm retired. I can't imagine you who have 8 hr jobs...small window of time to keep the yard up. (I remember now why I wanted green grass...my little grandson. ) If you elect to do all this yourself...let me know what works and what doesn't. I've done the "moss out" thing..didn't do one bit of good. I got some iron sulphate...waiting to see if that does some good. Also waiting until moss is dead and removed to put down lime. You think its necessary to wait or just do it now?

[bighoof]

http://dreamturf.com/ then go fishing

[EvilD]

Originally Posted by rimrock

Any wisdom on the evil crabgrass in this war, I'm losing the battle

crabgrass is not susceptible to any selective herbicides (2-4-D, Mecamine, weed and feed etc...). Depending on how bad it is you can buy an empty shoe polish applicator or an empty window cleaner fluid bottle
and fill with roundup/water and dab it or spray onto the plants you want killed. You can take a shovel and cut the bunches out and replace with topsoil and reseed, spring is around the corner and the seeds will germinate soon.

D

[The Mick]

God must have meant for me to spend 3X as much time fishing as working in my yard. He created the earth 3/4 water and 1/4 land. It shows.

[greenblade]

I've replaced several lawns over the years, I don't know if it's the right way but has always worked well for me.

Rototill everything very thoroughly, rake out the clumps of dirt & grass, Rake smooth.... filling in low spots with a wide landscape rake.
Lay down about 4" of compost, roll with water roller, apply grass seed, cover with about 1/2" of peat moss & water as needed.

Sounds simple but it's allot of work, The final result will be worth it though.

If that doesn't work, hire these guys! www.golfgreensforeu.com
The local Rep & installer lives Vancouver, Wa.


GB

[fishingls]

Originally Posted by Smj

Don't use weed & feed, generaly you'd want to feed first and weed second, not at the same time. Weed & feed uses pellets that must sit undisturbed on the leaves of the weed for a period of time, if it rains it washes the little pellets off the weed leaf, and many pellets don't even land and sit on the weeds leaves, they go to the ground and are wasted. Weed & feed can overshoot, if you're using a broadcast spreader, and kill desirables or go on the road and end up in the sewers/rivers. Use the fertilizer first and then when things have warmed a bit more, 60s during the day, use Weed-Be-Gone spray. It has the same chemical as weed & feed but you get better coverage and it's easier to control where it goes, just be sure to spray on a calm day. Buy an Ortho Dial-and-Spray, you set the dial to the desired mix, hook it to the hose, fill the bottle and spray. It really helps to have someone help with the mile of hose you'll be using if you have a large yard.

Smj

Weed and feed and weed b gone's active ingredient is 2, 4-D. In weed and feed it is in the form of a salt. Because it is lethal on non-grass plants (IE all broad leaf plants)--you need to be careful with it. When it leaches out of the salt form, it will also kill trees and some of the plants you want to keep in the yard. If you are going to use 24-D. purchase it in a concentrate and mix per directions. Apply only to the broadleaf weeds you want to kill. Weed-b-gone is a pre-mixed solution of 2, 4-D and is terribly expensive for what you buy.

[fishingls]

Originally Posted by EvilD

crabgrass is not susceptible to any selective herbicides (2-4-D, Mecamine, weed and feed etc...). Depending on how bad it is you can buy an empty shoe polish applicator or an empty window cleaner fluid bottle
and fill with roundup/water and dab it or spray onto the plants you want killed. You can take a shovel and cut the bunches out and replace with topsoil and reseed, spring is around the corner and the seeds will germinate soon.

D

Glyco Phosphate will take out crab grass and everything else. It is the active ingredient in Round-up. Glyco Phosphate is also available in labels other than Round-up (and for much less money). Just check the active ingredient listing on the package label. Make sure you buy it concentrate and mix. I am amazed at how people get duped into buying over priced diluted glyco phosphate products.

For bad weedy spots in the yard, I use glyco phosphate. Spray everything and wait a week to replant. Glyco phosphate becomes inert with soil contact so there is no residual carry over. That is why it is such a great weed control chemical.

Glyco phosphate stops the plant's photosynthesis processes and because it stays in the plant, the plants roots normally cannot come back. If you are working with problem weeds such as noxious bushes or canadian thistle where the roots hold a greater than normal food supply--follow the label directions for increasing the amount needed.

[rimrock]

Thanks EvilD and fishingls,

I figured there wasn't an easy way to rid the mence of crabgrass. Spray and dig it out, replace topsoil and reseed. Man it's gonna be fun But having a nice yard is cool too, thanks again!

[Smj]

As I understand, crabgrass is dormant now, so you treat it now with a pre-emergent. Always buy the concetrates, not the RTU (ready to use).

I got a great score last fall at Home Depot, gallon jugs of GLY-PRO (50% glyphosphate) for $11.00 per gallon, clearance...SCORE.

Smj

[Headhunter]

I lost the battle! This spring we are going to kill it off, do an overhaul on some landscaping, take out more of the overgrown X-mass trees and either sod or seed. I want to also plant a few fruit trees. Need to fix/adjust/add more sprinkler heads too. AND then hire a lawn care service.

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by Headhunter

I lost the battle! This spring we are going to kill it off, do an overhaul on some landscaping, take out more of the overgrown X-mass trees and either sod or seed. I want to also plant a few fruit trees. Need to fix/adjust/add more sprinkler heads too. AND then hire a lawn care service.

Best time to kill the grass is this Fall. Good luck!

[Old Coot]

I went with the patriotic look this year. My front lawn looks like a big patch of camo. A blotch of green here, tan there, brown over there, some more green.....

[Hell-B]

Kept the lawn lush all summer but front was getting too thick with some poa anna taking over.
Hit it with round up, then thatched. Threw down new seed. In that scared state right now.Think it will all work out.

[MsOutdrs]

Originally Posted by Headhunter

I lost the battle! This spring we are going to kill it off, do an overhaul on some landscaping, take out more of the overgrown X-mass trees and either sod or seed. I want to also plant a few fruit trees. Need to fix/adjust/add more sprinkler heads too. AND then hire a lawn care service.

If you don't have a huge lawn, I would recommend getting on the Scott's website. They will send you emails telling you exactly what needs to be done every month/season in your specific area. Piece of cake. I've followed their program and have a beautiful lawn (with a little help from you guys regarding crane flies and moles). Beats paying a lawn service and doesn't take that much time. We have about 5,000 sf of grass.