Lawn Care Advice Thread

Cobrabit said:
I'm currently at 2" on my last cut, going down a half inch over the last few cuts in preparation for seeding. I may keep it at 2" for my next cut versus 1 .5", but with good weather coming around for tall fescue, I actually want some of the good grass right now to be a little delayed in regrowth to allow sunlight to get to the new seed. The crowns won't be affected at 1.5 or 2, but may leave it at 2 now.
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I'm probably more concerned about the depth of the cut based on the drought conditions that we've had here in New Hampshire for the last 8 to 10 weeks, lol

I know that I cut my lawn way down about 12 weeks ago because I knew I was leaving for a long weekend down South and didn't want it to get too out of control while I was gone. As luck would have it we rolled into these drought conditions which fried my lawn. I guess the only good part of it was I didn't have to mow it for almost a month because it was just about dead. Since I've been able to get it recovered on the existing part I'm cutting it 3 and a 1/2 inches or so and letting it get nice and plush.
 
Gatorchip said:
Then you are more skilled than myself. I've had several get infections and ferment with something unintended.
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Probably 50+ batches this far without an infection. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I feel like I do a decent job with cleaning/sanitizing throughout the process which takes the most time anyway.

Need to put the first round of dry hops in my Pliny the Elder clone later, with another coming in about 10 days, before bottling two weeks from now, along with my Dragon's Milk clone that's been sitting in the secondary for about 6 weeks now.
 
Rex Racer said:
I'm probably more concerned about the depth of the cut based on the drought conditions that we've had here in New Hampshire for the last 8 to 10 weeks, lol

I know that I cut my lawn way down about 12 weeks ago because I knew I was leaving for a long weekend down South and didn't want it to get too out of control while I was gone. As luck would have it we rolled into these drought conditions which fried my lawn. I guess the only good part of it was I didn't have to mow it for almost a month because it was just about dead. Since I've been able to get it recovered on the existing part I'm cutting it 3 and a 1/2 inches or so and letting it get nice and plush.
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we had a couple dry/hot weeks a month or so back, but I leave it at 3.5-4" during the summer. We've had some flash flooding the last couple weeks, so there's been plenty of rain recently, including an inch or so today. With temps going to drop into mid-70s after Labor Day and some consistent chances of rain over the next few weeks, I'm going to reseed this week to take advantage of weather conditions. With my timers, I can keep them moist/watered if we have a dry spell.
 
Since its a lawn thread, anyone know of some cheap and effective grub killer? I know I can google it but I'm lazy. I've noticed a skunk is coming around digging up certain spots looking for grubs (I guess, or whatever the hell bugs they eat). Figure if I kill his food source, he'll leave.
 
wildturkey said:
Since its a lawn thread, anyone know of some cheap and effective grub killer? I know I can google it but I'm lazy. I've noticed a skunk is coming around digging up certain spots looking for grubs (I guess, or whatever the hell bugs they eat). Figure if I kill his food source, he'll leave.
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I've only used Scott's grub ex, so not sure how it compares in price/effectiveness to others, but you can always find it in stores.
 
wildturkey said:
Since its a lawn thread, anyone know of some cheap and effective grub killer? I know I can google it but I'm lazy. I've noticed a skunk is coming around digging up certain spots looking for grubs (I guess, or whatever the hell bugs they eat). Figure if I kill his food source, he'll leave.
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Skunks love them some grubs. I was told that they can smell them and have had those stinky bastids tear up the lawn at my old place many times. I agree with @Cobrabit, Scott's Grub X has worked for me in the past, but it works much better if you're proactive rather than trying to catch up later in the season.
 
my front lawn is just crab grass and creeper grass right now...I will have to put something down soon, but I also need to dethatch this fall and aerate. I would love for it to be just grass but so far I have been struggling to get that going
 
outofyourmind said:
Did you say that you had a sprinkler system???
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If directed to me, no, I do not have a permanent irrigation system. I'll be dragging out the hoses and impact sprinklers, but do have them hooked up to a timer "module" at each outside spigot to run 10 minutes, staggered, for each "zone"/sprinkler head. Starting around 4:30 am, they'll finish by 5:30am, then go again 6 and 12 hours later for the first week or so until seed germination. I'll then cut it back to twice a day, but add an extra 5-10 minutes each cycle, for up to another week, eventually going to longer "on" times, 1-3 sessions/week to get an inch of water per week once they're a couple inches tall to encourage deeper roots.

While I don't have the timers that will automatically postpone should I get rainfall, if there's rain in the forecast, I can delay the timers from hours to up to a week.
 
ill said:
my front lawn is just crab grass and creeper grass right now...I will have to put something down soon, but I also need to dethatch this fall and aerate. I would love for it to be just grass but so far I have been struggling to get that going
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Sounds similar to my back yard that I'm hoping to invert the weed/grass ratio. My front definitely has some summer weeds, but not nearly as much as the back. With some very thin/bare areas on both the front and back yards, I decided to add some seed this spring that was left over from last year and not put down pre-emergent. It filled in nicely, but I did know that much would likely die off over the summer, with crabgrass encroaching, but figured it would be a net positive.

Hopefully, I shouldn't feel the need to seed in the spring and can put down some pre-emergent to help with crabgrass. Eventually, I'd like to get the lawn to a condition that I won't have to reseed in the fall for a couple years so I can put down pre-emergent to prevent the poa anna that affects my front yard the most.
 
Rex Racer said:
Skunks love them some grubs. I was told that they can smell them and have had those stinky bastids tear up the lawn at my old place many times. I agree with @Cobrabit, Scott's Grub X has worked for me in the past, but it works much better if you're proactive rather than trying to catch up later in the season.
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Well I didn't know I had an issue until a week or so ago when I noticed a patch dug up and happened to see the skunk the next night. If its too hard to catch up now, I may just wait it out. Only a couple months left in the season anyway.
 
Cobrabit said:
I'm essentially a year into bringing back our lawn that was neglected prior to our moving in 4 years ago and spending the first three years working on other land/hardscape projects where the yard was getting tore up in between. I've had some minimal progress this past year, but any progress is good.

My plan for this coming week on my 1/4 acre lawn that is mostly a 30 degree slope for 2/3rds of that plot:

- Mow to 1.5 inches using the walk behind (21" ) to get most of the grass in the "dips" versus the 48" riding mower JD
- Bag clippings with the John Deere
- Dethatch using the tow behind AgriFab 40" detacher with the JD to bring up any old clippings/ etc
- Bag any debris with the JD
- Aerate using the tow behind AgriFab 48" plug aerator with the JD
- Add some top soil to the major low spots to help level the "dips"
- Overseed with Black Beauty Ultra ( Jonathan Green brand)
- Add Scott's starter fertilizer
- Lay out some straw in heavily sloped or bare areas
- Set several zoned sprinklers to add water for 10 minutes, 3 times a day for the first week or so
- Mow with walk behind for first few cuts at least 3 weeks after seeding. May take a weed eater to any crab grass in between as needed.


Eventually want to get to mostly organic fertilizers (Milo), but I have a current stockpile of Scott's to get through that will hopefully also help in getting the yard into a condition without as much chemicals for weeds.I


Edit: I hate autocorrect on my kindle!
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Where are you? Makes a big difference.

With the new lawn you are aiming at, it is better to bag clippings.
Rake after thatching.
Aerate after raking.
calibrate your spreader before fetilizing.
Don't use straw unless you are planting tobacco. I recommend Penn Mulch.
What type and brand of sprinklers do you have? That may be too much water for seeding.
EDIT: I saw your later post on your "sprinklers"
 
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What part of the country are you located?
 
Southie said:
Where are you? Makes a big difference.

With the new lawn you are aiming at, it is better to bag clippings.
Rake after thatching.
Aerate after raking.
calibrate your spreader before fetilizing.
Don't use straw unless you are planting tobacco. I recommend Penn Mulch.
What type and brand of sprinklers do you have? That may be too much water for seeding.
EDIT: I saw your later post on your "sprinklers"
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Location is southern Virginia and pretty much my plan is what you have listed other than adding any mulch or straw. The sprinklers i have won't put down too much and the timing i have listed for the germination timeframe should just keep them moist and not soaked.
 
Cobrabit said:
Southern Virginia
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should be warm enough for bermuda, unless you have lots of shade. That shit will take over your yard like a weed.
 
RoyMunson said:
should be warm enough for bermuda, unless you have lots of shade. That shit will take over your yard like a weed.
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Several oak trees surrounding the house I'll have elevated after the first frost to help with light, circulation, and mainly leaves. With over 2/3rds of the yard sloped at 30 degrees and not really smooth, Bermuda wouldn't be a good option for me, even though there are others in my neighborhood that do have bermuda.
 
Cobrabit said:
Several oak trees surrounding the house I'll have elevated after the first frost to help with light, circulation, and mainly leaves. With over 2/3rds of the yard sloped at 30 degrees and not really smooth, Bermuda wouldn't be a good option for me, even though there are others in my neighborhood that do have bermuda.
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I'm one of the first to put bermuda in my yard and it has taken over all my neighbors.

A couple years ago a guy down the street killed all his bermuda, installed sprinklers and planted fescue. His entire yard is bermuda again from either not properly killing it or it spreading back in from other neighbors.

Once one person close to you has bermuda, resistance is futile
 
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