Lawn Care Advice Thread

I'll send in a few soil test kits around summer to prep for the fall with 3 different zones. Want to let soil temps rise to see how last year's efforts paid off, but looking better thus far. Still in the high 50s to low 60s, when another 10-15 degrees should be prime growth.

Had my John Deere E140 break the mower deck belt yesterday after mowing my front and the edge of my back yard. Got the walk behind to finish the job and will be picking up a new belt shortly. Didn't run over or scalp anything that I can recall to provide a jerk load, but maybe I missed it being a few beers in Friday afternoon. Still surprised it snapped like that with barely a year of service, being kevlar ribbed.
 
outofyourmind said:
Perhaps a slight alignment issue???
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Possibly, or a thick twig, or just hadn't been cleaned well in a while. Oh well, I grabbed a belt from Lowe's and put it on today. I'll be sure to clean it a little more often, since the plastic belt protectors seem to accumulate clipping build up.
 
I may do a soil test a little sooner than I was planning. Got to thinking about the struggling areas and they're really where I mulched most of the leaves from the oak trees. While I would make a pass to mulch them, I would then go back over with the bagger to pick up most of them to cut down on the number of bags. With as many leaves I had, I'm sure these areas are over saturated with shredded leaves, even though they settled under the grass blades.

While oak leaves are pretty acidic, they will typically decay and not cause that much of a pH difference in the soil. However, I had over seeded before labor day and I'm wondering if the new seedlings were affected by the initial acidity and they take a little longer to break down. Those areas are doing better over this last week or so, and when weather warms even more, I'm sure they get even better, but considering they were delayed compared to the rest of the yard that didn't get many leaves, I'm going to adjust my plans.

I'll get a soil test sent in to see if my suspicion is correct being a little more acidic than the other parts of the lawn and add some lime while we should still have some spring rains to help it work in to the soil. Get another test in the fall to see how well that worked and add more as necessary for over the winter. I do plan to over seed this fall again, and may try to bag a little more of the leaves. Trimming the oaks already should help with the number of leaves dropping, but I hate oaks. They drop their leaves over a couple months and much later than other trees, so it's an ongoing struggle to get them up.
 
Cobrabit said:
I may do a soil test a little sooner than I was planning. Got to thinking about the struggling areas and they're really where I mulched most of the leaves from the oak trees. While I would make a pass to mulch them, I would then go back over with the bagger to pick up most of them to cut down on the number of bags. With as many leaves I had, I'm sure these areas are over saturated with shredded leaves, even though they settled under the grass blades.

While oak leaves are pretty acidic, they will typically decay and not cause that much of a pH difference in the soil. However, I had over seeded before labor day and I'm wondering if the new seedlings were affected by the initial acidity and they take a little longer to break down. Those areas are doing better over this last week or so, and when weather warms even more, I'm sure they get even better, but considering they were delayed compared to the rest of the yard that didn't get many leaves, I'm going to adjust my plans.

I'll get a soil test sent in to see if my suspicion is correct being a little more acidic than the other parts of the lawn and add some lime while we should still have some spring rains to help it work in to the soil. Get another test in the fall to see how well that worked and add more as necessary for over the winter. I do plan to over seed this fall again, and may try to bag a little more of the leaves. Trimming the oaks already should help with the number of leaves dropping, but I hate oaks. They drop their leaves over a couple months and much later than other trees, so it's an ongoing struggle to get them up.
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If you are looking just for pH in a small regional area and not really about macro/micro nutrients, I'd get a simple pH kit or an inexpensive pH probe from the box store. I have areas around my trees that I've needed to check and having one of those makes it pretty easy. Even if they aren't as accurate, just testing an area near the leaves and away from it can give you a ballpark idea of any impact they may be having.
 
Wizardhawk said:
If you are looking just for pH in a small regional area and not really about macro/micro nutrients, I'd get a simple pH kit or an inexpensive pH probe from the box store. I have areas around my trees that I've needed to check and having one of those makes it pretty easy. Even if they aren't as accurate, just testing an area near the leaves and away from it can give you a ballpark idea of any impact they may be having.
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I do have a test kit for pH, N, K, and P, I can try to see the ballpark, but need to get some distilled water next time I'm out. It has been several months, so the pH may not be that bad now, but it was just a thought I had that the leaves could have stunted the growth of the seedlings compared to other areas. They got a lot more shredded leaves than the other spots, so just grasping until I get a test done.

Watching the grass grow can be boring and tough to maintain patience when there is no magic cure, just gradual improvements over time. I am pleased thus far though, but always looking for the next step.
 
Cobrabit said:
I do have a test kit for pH, N, K, and P, I can try to see the ballpark, but need to get some distilled water next time I'm out. It has been several months, so the pH may not be that bad now, but it was just a thought I had that the leaves could have stunted the growth of the seedlings compared to other areas. They got a lot more shredded leaves than the other spots, so just grasping until I get a test done.

Watching the grass grow can be boring and tough to maintain patience when there is no magic cure, just gradual improvements over time. I am pleased thus far though, but always looking for the next step.
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I know nothing about Oak, but my japanese maple and japanese snowbell are both acidic and love our acidic soil. They tend to lower the pH even more than nature does over the rest of the yard. They make a real challenge for me on so many levels. I really can't machine aerate anywhere near them because of the shallow tree roots, they shade out a section to the point where I have to plant a dense shade mix nearly yearly to keep it lush, and it throws off the pH as well as sucks up more macro/micro leaving less for the grass. It's like having two different lawns, the one near the tree line and everything else outside that line.

I went out today while it was 80 degrees and got some overseeding and topdressing done. I did see a couple more small patches of Poa in the front area, but both were easy to hand pluck before over seeding. Going to get some Mag-i-cal and 10-0-6 down before mid week and then the rains return here. Time to put the feet up and wait for it all do fill in and green up.

The worst of this two season effort is basically over. Won't have a lot more to do the rest of this year until fall. Bag of milo in June, maybe a love your soil in July, and possibly something for bugs/grubs in the summer. Should be good to do pre emergent in the fall and go back to a normal effort going forward.
 
Got 0.75 inches of rain yesterday after a cool week (50s) with freezes Wednesday and Thursday night. Should start warming up into the upper 70s and 80s this week, but it's coming along.


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I broke my trowel on my back yard getting soil samples and switched over to my two pronged core aerator for the front and middle yards. It penitrates around 5 inches down, so should be good for the root zone, even if it takes a couple times stepping on it to have the cores exit to the top.

A couple days after rain, but it certainly is clay soil. I broke the cores down and waiting for them to air dry before packaging them up and sending them in to Virginia Tech to test. Took at least 10 samples on a zig- zag pattern along each zone I plan to test.

I know I'll need lime and have a bag of Jonathon Green Mag-I-cal already here (and love your soil) to put down this week to help now, but plan to add plenty of 50 lb bags of lime this fall after seeding to break down over this winter and test again next spring.

When the soil tests come back, I'll also know what else I'm lacking and can adjust fertilizers to optimize. I'll keep the thread updated with the results, because I'm sure many have never done a soil test before. Will likely only do the routine tests at all 3 zones.



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soil is pretty acidic so I put a bag of lime down yesterday to help it out some.

will likely put down some more seed at some point this spring, but not quite yet. Still letting the crabgrass weed and feed do its thing for a few more weeks.

I need to find a good bush to plant between my cyprus trees and a cherry blossom tree to add a little more privacy between me and me neighbors.
 
ill said:
soil is pretty acidic so I put a bag of lime down yesterday to help it out some.

will likely put down some more seed at some point this spring, but not quite yet. Still letting the crabgrass weed and feed do its thing for a few more weeks.

I need to find a good bush to plant between my cyprus trees and a cherry blossom tree to add a little more privacy between me and me neighbors.
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Where are you located? North, south, or transition?

You said you're looking to seed, but also put out a crabgrass weed and feed recently. If it was a pre-emergent, then you shouldn't seed for months to come or else it'll die as well. If it was a post-emergent, then are you sure it's crabgrass you're seeing? If so, you're likely in a very warm southern zone with early crabgrass poking through, but likely at the limits to sow warm season grasses if so.
 
my lawn is like 8o different weed varieties at this point. i just want to nuke it.
 
Cobrabit said:
Where are you located? North, south, or transition?

You said you're looking to seed, but also put out a crabgrass weed and feed recently. If it was a pre-emergent, then you shouldn't seed for months to come or else it'll die as well. If it was a post-emergent, then are you sure it's crabgrass you're seeing? If so, you're likely in a very warm southern zone with early crabgrass poking through, but likely at the limits to sow warm season grasses if so.
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I put the crabgrass killer a couple months ago. I won't seed until I know it will actually grow.

I'm in mid Atlantic.
 
ill said:
I put the crabgrass killer a couple months ago. I won't seed until I know it will actually grow.

I'm in mid Atlantic.
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Gotcha. Didn't want you to waste seed.
 
Bender said:
my lawn is like 8o different weed varieties at this point. i just want to nuke it.
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Can be an option, but if you've got a third or more actual grass, you may be better served working with what you've got.
 
Last edited:
Here's the best advice.

Call TruGreen. Set up their full year treatment. Mow and water. Voila!
 
beardown07 said:
Here's the best advice.

Call TruGreen. Set up their full year treatment. Mow and water. Voila!
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Wrong forum.

This is the: I did care if it takes longer or costs more, I can brag about it to the guys over a case of beer forum.
 
beardown07 said:
You don't place a high enough value on your time.
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Oh, I do. Especially when it's a break from fighting kids for an hour and can't say it's wasting beer time, since that's why my John Deere has a cup holder.
 
Cobrabit said:
Oh, I do. Especially when it's a break from fighting kids for an hour and can't say it's wasting beer time, since that's why my John Deere has a cup holder.
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I have plenty enough to do outside, and not near enough time to do it all.

It's money well spent for me.

I honestly think it evens out. Time is money.
 
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