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Post by bklmt2000 on Feb 27, 2021 14:49:59 GMT -6
My lawn is a 1/2 acre lot, and over the last 9 years I've lived here, I've had a service do the weekly cutting/trimming, and I've tackled the other stuff myself (weed-n-feed, pest control, etc.). But over the last few years, the weeds and lawn diseases have worsened to where I finally got fed up and hired out a local outfit to handle this year's lawn weed/disease/pest control.
Pretty discouraging to spend time researching what pro-grade chemicals to buy to solve XYZ problem, buy them (and they're not cheap, either), deploy them as mfg directs, only to see the problem not only not go away, but get worse.
Last summer, I ended up filling 12 lawn-leaf bags with crabgrass and spurge, that I pulled out of the ground by hand, that survived treatment; still didn't get all of it out of the lawn before I finally gave up.
So, I did some more research to see what my lawn needed done and priced it out to buy all of the stuff I'd need. Compared to what the local pro outfit will charge, I'm actually coming out about $200 ahead, in terms of what I'd have to spend just to buy the stuff to treat my lawn, nevermind the 10-12 hours over the season to deploy all that stuff after work or on Saturday mornings.
Lots of folks in my neighborhood use this same place, and 2 neighbors on my street use them (and their lawns look great, BTW), so I'm taking the plunge this year. If i'm not happy after this season, I can ditch them, but I'm willing to give them a shot and see if they can make my lawn (worst-looking on the street) look better.
I'll still be on the hook to deploy this year's mulch order to all garden beds (easy enough; I wouldn't hire that out) and to keep the beds weed-free during the season (also something I don't have to hire out).
Here's hoping.
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Post by Ken on Feb 28, 2021 9:14:52 GMT -6
Keep us posted. The only things I hand out to people are a "spring cleanup" along with a power rake and core aeration. I have a landscape guy do those things along with some other things that I can't do (trim large shrubs or trees, plant something, etc. and he's very knowledgeable if I need advice). Otherwise I do everything myself. I had some stuff come in last year that I mentioned. I believe it was called Signalgrass and I had a blob in the front, another on the side and a blob in the back. I don't think it survives the winter. So my approach this year is to watch to see how things look in April and May and hit any bare or thin spots with Scotts EZ-Seed and once everything looks good, use a fertilizer with a preemergent every time I fertilize. This should keep all uninvited guests out, theoretically. Or at least under control. I'm sure I mentioned this but I was looking at some pictures of my kids and they were sitting in the lawn and my lawn looked AWESOME. Here's a hot from that same time... probably 2003 or so: My lawn does not look like that anymore despite my best efforts. It's thinner, patchier, not as green, etc. Over time the ground compacts, tree roots move in, etc. I assume you lose nutrients but I fertilize regularly. My landscape guy said that core aeration is the best answer because when nutrients and water can't get down into the roots then the roots come up shallow in search for water and food and shallow roots eventually burn up in the summer. Let's compare notes as we move into "lawn season".
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Post by bklmt2000 on Feb 28, 2021 9:48:23 GMT -6
My new lawn-care place will make 6 scheduled stops to my house this season (2 spring, 2 summer, 2 fall), and follow-up service calls are included if a problem comes up.
Pre-emergent, fertilizer, and grub control goes down in the spring; fertilizing and disease control (plus weed control and grub control as needed) in the summer, then whatever end-of-season treatment in the fall.
This fall, they'll be doing a double-pass core aeration, heavy overseed, and apply starter fertilizer, as my lawn is thinner than when we moved here, and they recommended an aeration and overseed.
Right after the aeration/overseed happens, I'll be top-dressing a bunch of my yard w/ topsoil, to even out low spots and help the new grass seed stay put until it germinates.
Looking forward to looking out at my lawn and not hating what i see.
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Post by Ken on Feb 28, 2021 13:46:20 GMT -6
Yes, I will be interested to hear your opinion... I know you like to take care of the lawn and that it means something to you which seems rare, IME. Many people don't really want to put any time or effort into it. I have seen people walking and they stop in front of our house and just look at it. I hope that doesn't sound like I'm bragging but my wife and I put a ton of time into the house and yard and we like how it looks when it's in order. I typically get a couple handfuls of dandelions in the spring because Dandelion McGee lives just down the block and his lawn is 90% dandelions. I'm not knocking him but he's a green hippie type... long hair, electric mower, no fertilizers or pesticides I assume. "Just let the dandelions do what they want, man!" Okay, man. For those I just hit them with Ortho Weed-B-Gon. Doesn't hurt the lawn and takes out the dandelions nicely. I don't know how much confidence I have in products with a preemergent. I have used PREEN around berms and areas where I have mulch and even though I use it as it describes, I get weeds in there. So we shall see. If I have uninvited guests I might ask my landscape guy what he thinks. Cheers B.
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Post by bklmt2000 on Feb 28, 2021 17:48:37 GMT -6
Ortho Weed-B-Gon is good stuff to spot-treat weeds like dandelions. Have used that in the past to good success.
Crabgrass and spurge, on the other hand, are weeds I'm convinced were conceived in the 7th circle of Hell. If the outfit I hired can finally rid my property of crabgrass, that will be a major win. Another issue they'll address as part of their season-long service is grubs.
We have skunks in our area, and besides the fact that they stink up the place (several neighbors have dogs, and several of them have been sprayed, more than once, after going mano y mano with said skunks), the little bastards would also tear up my lawn hunting for grubs. Used to seem them almost like clockwork in the summer, around dusk, roaming around the yard looking for dinner. Won't be sad to not have them hanging out waiting to tear up what little healthy grass my lawn has, nevermind having to close up the house on a nice summer night thanks to skunkspray. No thanks.
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Post by Ken on Feb 28, 2021 21:00:53 GMT -6
The grub thing is weird. I also see skunks (or something) starting to snout around my yard right around the start of fall. I don't know if the skunks KNOW that there are grubs there or if they just dig all over the place. Or maybe they target the nicer, greener lawns thinking that it's more likely they will find grubs. But IIRC, grubs can kill your whole lawn. I had a bud who lived near me and I went to his house one day and all of the lawn on one side of his driveway was brown. I asked him about it and he literally went and just picked up a corner of the lawn like a carpet. The grubs just ate away at the roots of the lawn. I would think that if you had them, your lawn would show it. That said, Scotts makes a Grubs application I think.
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Post by Seven on Mar 1, 2021 7:39:19 GMT -6
My $0.02...if you are interested in tackling lawn care yourself, spend the $20-30 to take soil samples and get them analyzed...it will tell you your soil ph, organic matter, nutrient profile, etc. I see a lot of people dumping hundreds of pounds of lime on their lawn but it's the wrong kind of lime. Ditto for high phosphorus ("P") and potassium ("K") fertilizers when their soil already has enough.
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Post by drez on Mar 1, 2021 8:11:48 GMT -6
My $0.02...if you are interested in tackling lawn care yourself, spend the $20-30 to take soil samples and get them analyzed...it will tell you your soil ph, organic matter, nutrient profile, etc. I see a lot of people dumping hundreds of pounds of lime on their lawn but it's the wrong kind of lime. Ditto for high phosphorus ("P") and potassium ("K") fertilizers when their soil already has enough. Every year I plan to do this and do not. In the end As long as the grass is green and growing I am good. My kids do a number to the lawn and so don't I with various things driving over it. I am on a well also so I will not water in the hot months so some years the lawn dies.
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Post by Ken on Mar 1, 2021 8:18:32 GMT -6
My $0.02...if you are interested in tackling lawn care yourself, spend the $20-30 to take soil samples and get them analyzed...it will tell you your soil ph, organic matter, nutrient profile, etc. I see a lot of people dumping hundreds of pounds of lime on their lawn but it's the wrong kind of lime. Ditto for high phosphorus ("P") and potassium ("K") fertilizers when their soil already has enough. I've heard about this but have never done it. Do you buy a kit yourself? Do you take samples to a certain place or mail them to a place for analysis like a Ward Labs kind of place? Not a bad idea.
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Post by Seven on Mar 1, 2021 8:31:55 GMT -6
drez, I'm also on a well so I am at the mercy of nature like you...every year, something dies and needs to be reseeded. It's very frustrating but I'm not going to risk running dry and having to spend $5k on drilling a new well.
Ken, the place I used is called Logan Labs...I believe they are in Ohio. It's been years since I've looked but they probably have instructions on their site. Of course, you'll need to be able to interpret your results too. I took samples from probably 15 different spots on the lawn, combined them and sent them off. I was also new construction on a former wooded lot so there was never any lawn here before and backfilling topsoil after construction is inconsistent at best.
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Post by bklmt2000 on Mar 1, 2021 8:32:57 GMT -6
One critical service the new outfit will do later this year (fall) is a double-pass core aeration, with overseed and starter fertilizer treatment immediately after. We have heavy clay soil where I live, and it's been ~6 years since the last aeration was done, so it's past time.
This is a service (aeration) I will not do myself, as the cost involved to rent the machine and do the work myself is as much as hiring it out. And the east side of my lot is pretty steep, to where I would be worried about the aerator tipping due to the steep grade.
If my lot was smaller, I'd be more inclined to keep things DIY, but things have gotten bad enough that I think it's time to take a breath, call in the pros, and let them start fixing the problems before me.
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Post by Ken on Mar 1, 2021 8:56:50 GMT -6
I think I might ask my guy (his name is Heriberto and he's very good. Yes, he "cuts grass" but he is very knowledgeable about grass, shrubs, trees, etc. and he resodded a huge section of my lawn after the pool was put in around 2008... it's the best-looking part of my lawn) and see what he says about a soil sample. Maybe he'll do it for me and suggest something. I have an in-ground sprinkler which is very helpful but I've learned that it's only so good when you get those 90+ degree days, hot sun and no rain for 4-5 weeks. My lawn looks slightly better than others and rebound faster when it finally does rain but the sprinkler does not keep the lawn super green all the time... at least not the way I use it. My village also hiked their water rates recently so I need to be careful of that. I do know that my lawn used to be really, really nice-looking and now it only looks marginally close to that when all conditions are perfect (like... late spring).
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Post by drez on Mar 1, 2021 9:59:59 GMT -6
My $0.02...if you are interested in tackling lawn care yourself, spend the $20-30 to take soil samples and get them analyzed...it will tell you your soil ph, organic matter, nutrient profile, etc. I see a lot of people dumping hundreds of pounds of lime on their lawn but it's the wrong kind of lime. Ditto for high phosphorus ("P") and potassium ("K") fertilizers when their soil already has enough. I've heard about this but have never done it. Do you buy a kit yourself? Do you take samples to a certain place or mail them to a place for analysis like a Ward Labs kind of place? Not a bad idea. Here you go. web.extension.illinois.edu/soiltest/
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Post by Ken on Mar 1, 2021 10:10:30 GMT -6
I've heard about this but have never done it. Do you buy a kit yourself? Do you take samples to a certain place or mail them to a place for analysis like a Ward Labs kind of place? Not a bad idea. Here you go. web.extension.illinois.edu/soiltest/Thanks Drez. That's good stuff. I would only take action if a soil test came back as really out-of-whack. No real clue what my pH could be. I know our local water has a pH of about 7.5 but I'm sure that has little-to-no bearing on what the soil pH is. But it would be cool to find out that the soil was deficient in something and I could get a product to correct it... Now to find 50 gallons of yak urine!
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Post by brewbama on Mar 1, 2021 16:28:40 GMT -6
I live on 2 acres in the country. I trim, mow, edge the driveway. Basta. The “grass” is green.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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