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Lawn Care Thread

USAF Retired said:
First year in this new Bermuda grass

Trying to scalp it and lay some pre-emergent to get things started

Wife read a reel mower is best, so I'll be stronger or dead soon 💪🏼😳View attachment 9244771View attachment 9244773
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Sad only because she talked you into using a non-powered reel mower.

Looking forward to seeing how your lawn turns out. Oh, and the calf development too. 😉
 
LeftHander said:
Thank you. I am researching pre emergent. Thinking about having a pro come out but its not cheap on a lot this size. What is a good time to fertilize? After the last freeze?
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Do both at the same time. Home depots up here sell Lesco fert plus Dimension pre-emergent. I like to treat around the time that the magnolias and forsythias start blooming.
 
DufferToo said:
Sad only because she talked you into using a non-powered reel mower.

Looking forward to seeing how your lawn turns out. Oh, and the calf development too. 😉
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Brings up and interesting point…for smaller properties, sometimes (powered) golf green, tee, and surround mowers can be found on the used market for cheap. Not a bad option for grasses you want to keep short. ⛳️
 
When is it too early to water the lawn? Put the sprinkler on today for the daughter as its warm, no wind and I thought hmm, should I start watering to get ahead of the stupid Colorado summers?
 
Never too early to water. Even if the grass isn’t greening up just yet, the roots will love it.
 
kiwichris said:
When is it too early to water the lawn? Put the sprinkler on today for the daughter as its warm, no wind and I thought hmm, should I start watering to get ahead of the stupid Colorado summers?
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Regardless of where you live there are two things to look at relative to watering.
1. The temperature of the soil (not the air).
2. The moisture content in the soil.

Most grasses don't start their growing season until the soil temperature gets into the 50s F. Until then the moisture requirements of lawn grasses are very minimal. It takes several days with the air temperatures exceeding this temperature before the soil temperature is going to get into the 50s. How many days varies depending on the daily lows, daily highs, sunlight and amount of moisture in the soil (moisture is a conductor).

Outside the growing season, the amount of water used by grass is minimal. So, adding water to already moist soil isn't going to help. Conversely, early in the growing season, you want moist soil consistently to get that lush green lawn you want.

Lawns only need a few things to thrive: water, sun, nutrient-rich soil, weed abatement, and frequent mowing are the big 5. Where most fail is not being CONSISTENT in providing these during the growing season.
 
Best way to prepare for a hot summer is to encourage deep roots. It you water too often, roots stay shallow if they don't have to grow deep to reach moisture. Infrequent, longer and deeper watering helps develop deep roots better than short, frequent watering. I wouldn't water unless your lawn needs it. Spring is the time to encourage those roots to reach down deep to get to water.
 
A couple of times I got caught where I put down fescue seed in my perimeter areas under trees (here in Oklahoma, Bermuda grass won't grow in shaded tree areas) and our lawn care guys came the next day and sprayed pre-emergent. Nice going guys, you had to be blind not to see the grass seed laying around.

OK, so I call them to see when they are coming.... how long after they apply pre-emergent should I wait to put down fescue seed (if I don't get out ahead of them to grow my grass seed)?
 
Just sprayed down the entire yard with some weed killer. Have seen some clovers and a few others begin popping up and getting worse. This treatment should get us going with Spring on the horizon
 
My wife spent last fall working on her wedge game in the backyard. The squares of missing grass have filled in nicely, no harm no foul. However, as she walked back and forth she would setup and strike any dandilions that she saw. :eek: As penance, she has to walk the yard ALL around the house plucking dandilions.

I will be applying weed & feed to our lawn this week. I would have preferred to do it last early month before the dandilions started blooming but the weather wasn't cooperating.
 
The lawn is greening up nicely, but the zoysia is being really slow

Saturday I gave it a mow then applied Humic and root growth stimulator, and I'll apply greening fertilizer in a week or two
1000005787.jpg

I really have to fix the lumpiness this fall
 
Purchased this house 4/6/2023 and the first picture is the front yard exactly one year ago. The second is what it looks like today. Good progress. Still have a few bare spots that I'm now working to fill in. I prepped those spots with soil, seed, and starter fertilizer 2 weeks ago. The grass is just starting to grow again. This week I'll put down weed and feed for the rest of the yard and next weekend bring in fresh mulch.

Front Yard - Before.jpeg

240331 Front Yard.jpg
 
I mowed again today, second time for the year, took the back down as low as I could get it. Need to punch & put down spring fertilizer as well as tear up the sunburned area and try to either overseed or re-sod for this year.

Front is too heavy for the same height, also has areas that need heavy turn over and new sod.
 
Bought 3lbs of The Rebels tall fescue to plant during a cold and wet spring season. It is in the 40s so it is still early in Connecticut for growing grass.
I typically cut my grass to 3-1/2 inches to control crabgrass.

The late winter and early spring is a good time to pull perennial weeds with extensive roots. The freeze/thaw loosens the soil over the winter.

Sometimes I'll use a drain spade to flip the sod over and pull out weeds by the roots, then put the sod back in place!
 
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CTRosarian said:
Bought 3lbs of The Rebels tall fescue to plant during a cold and wet spring season. It is in the 40s so it is still early in Connecticut for growing grass.
I typically cut my grass to 3-1/2 inches to control crabgrass.
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3.5" is a good length for TTTF - Just make sure you don't throw down pre-emergent if you are gonna seed this spring.

I typically avoid seeding in the spring, I haven't had good results with it surviving the summer.
 
TRyan said:
I typically avoid seeding in the spring, I haven't had good results with it surviving the summer.
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Good advice for most yards, but I have excellent soil on top of a heavy clay soil that collects water from around the neighborhood!
Most of my rose bushes haven't been watered in years despite reports of draught conditions nearby.
I figure that fescues will grow root system deep enough to reach the wet clay like my rose bushes.
 
CTRosarian said:
Good advice for most yards, but I have excellent soil on top of a heavy clay soil that collects water from around the neighborhood!
Most of my rose bushes haven't been watered in years despite reports of draught conditions nearby.
I figure that fescues will grow root system deep enough to reach the wet clay like my rose bushes.
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Absolutely - Plus you are in the NE so cooler summers than we get in the transition zone where I am
 
I think this is the year I will finally upgrade my mower. Been kicking around the idea of the 30" Toro Timemaster. Anyone have experience with the Timemaster?
 
Bcape9 said:
I think this is the year I will finally upgrade my mower. Been kicking around the idea of the 30" Toro Timemaster. Anyone have experience with the Timemaster?
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Not a Timemaster, but I’ve had a 22” Toro Super Recycler for probably ten years now that I use as a trim mower, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Has never failed to start, and the finish cut is beautiful. (Toro was recommended to me by a course superintendent, as he uses it on his own lawn.) I would assume you could expect them same from the Timemaster.
 
Bcape9 said:
I think this is the year I will finally upgrade my mower. Been kicking around the idea of the 30" Toro Timemaster. Anyone have experience with the Timemaster?
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I looked hard at the TimeMaster when considering a mower for my half-acre lot. The time-saving mowing is tempting, but I found some very credible in-depth reviews online that pointed out a half dozen significant problems with the TimeMaster that steered me away. I ended up going with the Honda HRX.

Some of the issues with the TimeMaster are:

- The deck gets easily clogged with clippings requiring frequent cleaning

- There are a few parts that tend to break and require replacement frequently

- Mowing on hilly property is problematic (control and scalping)

- Has a small gas tank for the larger engine required thus you have to fill it often

Look for video reviews that provide hands-on experience, seek out and evaluate comments by other owners of the product, and do a follow-up after one year or longer of continuous use of the product.
 
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leftshot said:
I looked hard at the TimeMaster when considering a mower for my half acre lot. The time saved mowing is tempting, but I found some very credible in-depth reviews online that pointed out about a half dozen significant problems with the TimeMaster that steered me away. I ended up going with the Honda HRX.

Some of the issues with the TimeMaster are:

- The deck gets easily clogged with clipping requiring frequent cleaning

- There are a few parts that tend to break and require replacement frequently

- Mowing on hilly property is problematic (control and scalping)

- Has a small gas tank for the larger engine required thus you have to fill it often

Look for video reviews that provide hands on experience, seek out and evaluate comments by other owners of the product, and do a follow up after one year or longer of continuous use of the product.
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The Honda HRX is an incredible machine. I absolutely love mine
 
I have a Honda HRR216 purchased around 2016. I was surprised how the oil stayed clean despite years of use!
Last year I flipped it over the wrong way removing some rope that got into the blade and flooded the air filter, so I flipped the filter around so the air would avoid the soaked part of the filter.
Of course I took a while to safely block the blade from moving with some wood.
Then I found I could tilt the mower (lifting the rear, I think), to clear the gas out the system so it would run again.
I'd certainly buy another Honda mower.
 
Hired a new service for lawn care this week.
Also had all new plants done in the front.

Today I put down weed killer and some feed on the entire yard as some overs had been creeping up.

No watering today, but will hit it with the sprinkler system tomorrow for a bit.
 
I'm pondering artificial turf in the front yard near the house and on the front edge where I am responsible for maintenance. For the front of that yard, doing something that does not require grass as I don't want to mow ... ever again.
 
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