Lawn care for a first timer

[Cheesemoo]

A mix of lye and salt can be used as a cheap replacement fertilizer.

Can I use just regular table salt or does it need to be like rock salt or something? What about iodine?

 

[lupi]

Plan on cutting this weekend and then putting down the anti-crab grass fertilizer. Have been putting down a bunch of fescue seed last couple of years. Read that without occasional reseeds it doesn't spread by itself very well unless it's highly watered/feed. Still have some spots of bermuda/rye that I'm trying to push out but don't want to kill the entire lawn.

 

[Exterous]

We just bought a house last year (October), and I want a nice lawn dammit!

It was new construction, so they put sod in the front and side yards, and seed in the back yard. I watered and mowed several times at the end of the season last year. The grass now is just barely starting to get a little green, so I figure now is the time to get started for this season, but I'm hoping to get a little help.

I'm a complete noob. I've never done this before. I figure I need to put fertilizer down (for the nitrogen), but I don't know if certain brands are better than others. The seed in the backyard kinda grew, but it is still pretty bare. Do I need to put down new seed or will the seed grow now and it was just too cold last year when they put it down?

I plan to keep my grass at around 3 1/2" (the highest setting on my lawn mower). I read that this will help fight off weeds, and I think longer grass looks nicer.

Do you know when they seeded? If it was in September you should have seen some pretty significant growth in the fall. If its still pretty bare you may need to seed again as they may have waited till too late. That could make it a bit tough as you really can't seed and then use crabgrass\weed killer for 6-9 weeks. (There is one type of crabgrass killer you can put down that is safe for new seeds but its not nearly as effective as the others despite being more expensive)

The next thing to determine is if you need to worry about crabgrass. If you or your neighbors have crabgrass you will want to put something down with crab grass preventer. You should not do this until the ground temperature approaches 60 degrees (Or another common indicator is when forsythia start to bloom). If this conflicts with your seeding in the back yard you may have to just do spot treating in the backyard your first year or spend a bit more for the new seed friendly weed killers\pre-emergents

It would be worth your while to do a soil test to determine what your soil lacks in terms of nutrients. Your local city or township will likely have a place you can send it to to have it tested for a small fee. Well worth it so you don't spend money on adding nutrients your lawn doesn't need.

I would not use Scotts with Halts to prevent crab grass. Generally prodiamine (Barricade) is considered to be more effective and you can find fertilizers that have a higher concentration of slow release nitrogen than Scotts that also contain prodiamine usually for much less the big box stores sell Scotts for.

As a general rule I would recommend reading the label on the fertilizer you buy as there are a lot of fertlizers that load up on fast release nitrogen. You get a fast burst of green but the nitrogen doesn't last so it fades quickly. Unless you need a fast burst of green and growth look for fertilizers with a high % of slow release (or water INsoluble) nitrogen. This also helps prevent your lawn from burning or all your nutrients getting washed away by rain. I generally try to buy the highest % of slow release possible that has the ratio of nutrients I need. You can find this information on the back of the bag and usually near the bottom. I've found that, generally, the harder the information is to find the worse the fertilizer

I am not a fan of Scotts as they tend to be expensive for what you get but it does work. I have had good luck with Lesco and lebanon fertlizers. I think Home Depot is now finally starting to sell Lesco but John Deer Landscapes has a large network of distributors and is open to the public. I've found them to be cheaper per pound and have much better fertilzier (think slow release nitrogen content) but they don't carry the smaller bag sizes. (I think 15,000 sq ft is the smallest). That said, as long as you keep it dry you can use the remaining fertilizer over the next couple of years. I haven't needed to buy any for a while due to the size but if IIRC I got the 15,000 sq ft bag of Lesco 19-0-9 with Dimension for $5 more than the 5,000 sq ft Scotts with Halts bag so it definitely saved me money over the last 3 years.

Milorganite is another good fertilizer. I would not use it just by itself but the 5-2-0 is a nice nutrient addition and, since its organic, it can be added at any time and as often as you want with no risk of burning. I have found it is a great way to perk up the grass during the hot summer months when a chemical fertilizer would damage\kill the grass. It also has 4% iron which will help with greening. HD now carries that too but I was buying it for less at a local hardware store ($7 a bag vs $13 at HD). Sadly the local place closed last year so I don't know what I am going to do about that this year

Some other tips:
-Don't bag your clippings. That grass you just cut is likely full of nutrients that can be used by your lawn. Despite the common misconception that piles of grass will kill the grass below it both MSU and the UofWI have found that cut grass almost always breaks down fast enough that you don't need to worry. 'Thatch' is almost universally related to root\stem growth problems and not grass clippings
-Seed in the fall, not the spring if possible
-If you do seed try and do it via a slit seeder rather than a broadcast spreader. Your results will be MUCH better. (I was able to rent one locally and we shared it among yards to spread out the cost. $45 for the rental divided by 6 houses)
-when seeding look at the contents of the seed. Many cheap seeds will mix in a bunch of crappy grass that will grown fast but only grow shallow root systems (will brown and die more easily) or have a high content of non-grass material (weeds (!) or inorganics)
-Water infrequently but for long periods of time. This encourages deep root growth and will result in a more durable lawn. Frequent short waterings will encourage shallow root growth which is highly susceptible to drought, thatch problems and tougher on your water bill

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Can I use just regular table salt or does it need to be like rock salt or something? What about iodine?

You need to use kosher. Many a warlord has made this mistake and killed their grass.

 

[Krazy4Real]

snip

Thanks for that.

I have reached out to my local extension. Hopefully they get back to me. I plan to ask them about soil testing.

I'll look into Lesco fertilizer.

 

[BergeLSU]

Can I hijack your thread?

Bought my house in October, too. However, to say I had a lawn is a bit of a stretch. It was almost all weeds. It still is, but it is at least mowed weeds now.

The neighbor has St. Augustine, so some of it is spreading to my lot. But it is so shady on my property I don't think it will thrive. I'd say 70-80% or more of my yard is clover weeds with almost no grass mixed in. I think the only thing I can do is to kill it all and start fresh?

 

[MadScientist]

READ

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/lawntalk/index.cfm

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/lawntalk/other/common_lawn_care_mistakes.cfm

 

[NutBucket]

It's probably your best course of action. Might as well do it right and roto-till the whole thing and mix in some compost/manure. But it is probably the wrong time of the year?

 

[KlokWyze]

I think people only look down on crab grass because of its name really. If it was called like elf grass everyone would be raving for it.

:biggrin:

Plan on cutting this weekend and then putting down the anti-crab grass fertilizer. Have been putting down a bunch of fescue seed last couple of years. Read that without occasional reseeds it doesn't spread by itself very well unless it's highly watered/feed. Still have some spots of bermuda/rye that I'm trying to push out but don't want to kill the entire lawn.

From my limited knowledge, it will NEVER spread, unless you have some mutant breed that somehow creates seeds without growing 3'+.

 

[Mixolydian]

I'm Mexican though. I'm supposed to know how to do lawns. I fail at life.

No kidding.

Seriously, just get some Scott's fertilizer and use it a couple times a year. The package will tell you when you should put it down (i.e. early spring through june). They make the instructions pretty idiot-proof, cause, well, they have to. Other than fertilizing a couple times a year and mowing regularly, there's nothing else that you really need to do. Let nature take care of the rest.

I just got a new spreader today and plan to fertilize this week, weather permitting.

tl;dr - a lot of people make lawn care seem way more complicated than it really is.

 

[Gunslinger08]

I'll throw my question in here: My back yard is extremely rocky and the grass is patchy. It probably covers a total of 40-50% of the yard, with the rest being bare dirt/rocks. Which option is going to be the easiest way to get a nice looking lawn in a moderate climate?

1. Sod. Have the existing grass taken up and re-sodded. I know this will involve quite a bit of watering. I don't have any worthwhile dirt for the sod to grow into, so I assume I'd also need to have a couple of inches of good dirt put down.

2. Overseed. I tried overseeding a small section last year and basically none of it grew.

3. Till up the whole yard, mix in some dirt/compost, and re-seed the entire thing.

My back yard is around 6500-7000 square feet. Any idea of the costs for these options if I hire someone?

 

[FallenHero]

No kidding.

Seriously, just get some Scott's fertilizer and use it a couple times a year. The package will tell you when you should put it down (i.e. early spring through june). They make the instructions pretty idiot-proof, cause, well, they have to. Other than fertilizing a couple times a year and mowing regularly, there's nothing else that you really need to do. Let nature take care of the rest.

I just got a new spreader today and plan to fertilize this week, weather permitting.

tl;dr - a lot of people make lawn care seem way more complicated than it really is.

yeah don't overthink it. Fertilize right before it rains 4 times a year, maybe 5 if its a really harsh summer. I fill in bare spots with seed because of my dog ruining grass but as mentioned before, you don't need to. Thin spots have already filled in my yard after 2 years of decent maintenance since the previous owner was a moron. A well maintained lawn wont allow weeds to grow. If they do start, weed killer right away in that spot and pull it up through the roots. Really, I spend maybe 4 hours total a year doing stuff like that. Keep the grass cut and you are golden.

 

[Fern]

I just hope that my weeds are a green color so when I mow 'em they look like grass.

Fern

 

[alkemyst]

1) Make friends with your neighbors.

2) Ask those with the nicest yards, what do they do?

3) Profit!

 

[LegendKiller]

I am facing the same situation. Had a nice sod laid down last year during the height of a heat spell. Spent $200 in water so it didn't burn up. Now I have a big mess after the winterization crew applied the fertilizer too late and it caused a growth burst just before snow fell, so my grass was ~5" going into winter. That's on top of gaps in my sod.

Now I have snow mold, thatch, and vole damage.

Let me know what you think of this...

1. Rake the thatch once I start seeing some green (unfrozen ground), probably 3-4 weeks from now

2. Fill in gaps with potting soil (haven't found loam yet)

3. Apply Kentucky Blue grass seed a few days later

4. Put down Milorganite or a corn gluten that day or a few days later

Wait, spot treat weeds around the yard with roundup, then do #4 again in a month or so.

The place by us highly recommended the corn gluten fertilizer, it also had a crabgrass killer in it. They also had another one that had more fast-release with ~10% slow-release. Might try that one also.

It's tough since a lot of the guys around me don't do shit to their yards, they usually hire crews who cut it too low. The guy in back of me has more weeds than grass and his yard is the vole nest. Pisses me off to no end. I don't live in a cheap neighborhood and people's yards look like shit because they don't make a little effort.

I am trying to keep mine as synthetic-free as reasonable, we'll see how that goes.

 

[alkemyst]

I am facing the same situation. Had a nice sod laid down last year during the height of a heat spell. Spent $200 in water so it didn't burn up. Now I have a big mess after the winterization crew applied the fertilizer too late and it caused a growth burst just before snow fell, so my grass was ~5" going into winter. That's on top of gaps in my sod.

Now I have snow mold, thatch, and vole damage.

Let me know what you think of this...

1. Rake the thatch once I start seeing some green (unfrozen ground), probably 3-4 weeks from now

2. Fill in gaps with potting soil (haven't found loam yet)

3. Apply Kentucky Blue grass seed a few days later

4. Put down Milorganite or a corn gluten that day or a few days later

Wait, spot treat weeds around the yard with roundup, then do #4 again in a month or so.

The place by us highly recommended the corn gluten fertilizer, it also had a crabgrass killer in it. They also had another one that had more fast-release with ~10% slow-release. Might try that one also.

It's tough since a lot of the guys around me don't do shit to their yards, they usually hire crews who cut it too low. The guy in back of me has more weeds than grass and his yard is the vole nest. Pisses me off to no end. I don't live in a cheap neighborhood and people's yards look like shit because they don't make a little effort.

I am trying to keep mine as synthetic-free as reasonable, we'll see how that goes.

You clearly failed at your lawn.

You may not live in a cheap neighborhood, but you live in a neighborhood with people that are cheap.

 

[LegendKiller]

You clearly failed at your lawn.

You may not live in a cheap neighborhood, but you live in a neighborhood with people that are cheap.

Nothing I can't fix. I helped my dad create 2 acres of golf course like grass, manicured to perfection.

No, I live in a neighborhood with people who do not seem to have the same priorities. I live in an interesting neighborhood that is very culturally diverse, some cultures seem to not value working outside and keeping a proper lawn. It's unfortunate but nothing I can do about them.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It pays to buy good seed like Scotts. Keep it wet all the time, at this time it's not so bad since the snow melting and night frost will keep it wet, you actually can throw seeds over the snow and they'll eventually make their way to the ground. I don't bother, I wait till the snow is gone in June and seed where needed. They say overseeding also helps prevent weeds. I can't really say whether or not it really does help since I get lot of weeds, but I try to stay on top of it and remove em all by hand or with tools. Not a fan of using chemicals.

It can take several weeks for it to actually germinate, just keep watering it, don't fertilize till you have some visible growth. I find it helps to pack the soil a bit, you don't want it too loose.

When I got my weeping tiles redone I reseeded a good chunk of my yard.



~2 weeks later: (might be more, don't recall when the first pic was taken, ex: if it was already a week after adding seeds or if it was right after)



Now the new lawn grows ridiculously fast, I have to mow practically every week when it's summer.

 

[alkemyst]

Nothing I can't fix. I helped my dad create 2 acres of golf course like grass, manicured to perfection.

No, I live in a neighborhood with people who do not seem to have the same priorities. I live in an interesting neighborhood that is very culturally diverse, some cultures seem to not value working outside and keeping a proper lawn. It's unfortunate but nothing I can do about them.

need pics.

you may be the problem.

 

[LegendKiller]

need pics.

you may be the problem.

rofl - whatever dude. Take your pathetic attempts at trolling away from the thread if you've got nothing to add.

 

[alkemyst]

pics are important.

Everyone has an awesome lawn.

 

[NoTine42]

I'll throw my question in here: My back yard is extremely rocky and the grass is patchy. It probably covers a total of 40-50% of the yard, with the rest being bare dirt/rocks. Which option is going to be the easiest way to get a nice looking lawn in a moderate climate?

1. Sod. Have the existing grass taken up and re-sodded. I know this will involve quite a bit of watering. I don't have any worthwhile dirt for the sod to grow into, so I assume I'd also need to have a couple of inches of good dirt put down.

2. Overseed. I tried overseeding a small section last year and basically none of it grew.

3. Till up the whole yard, mix in some dirt/compost, and re-seed the entire thing.

My back yard is around 6500-7000 square feet. Any idea of the costs for these options if I hire someone?

You might want to start by getting some soil sample tests of the bare areas done by your local farm/AG extension agency. They can tell you what the soil needs instead of just guessing at it.

 

[DrPizza]

All jokes aside, I just got a brochure for lawn treatments. It comes with 4 seasons of treatment for $250. Given my hatred of yardwork and desire to not want to buy the tools and materials for it, I might actually jump on it. Now all I need to find is somebody to pick all the weeds in my landscaped areas. I don't mind mowing, but I hate picking weeds.

I stopped pulling weeds out of my landscaped areas, in the sidewalk cracks, etc., last year. Got myself a backpack sprayer, and a nozzle that allows me to direct weed killer quite precisely. Picked up a huge container (multiple gallons) of concentrated glyphosate (roundup) at the farm store. I mix it up at the maximum concentration you're supposed to use. Heck, I even weeded my garden that way & it worked great (do not attempt on a windy day!) Cost was about $100 altogether, and now I go out of my way to find weeds. My neighbors have dirt/stone driveways, and I went through and completely killed all the weeds in their driveways for them.

 

[NoTine42]

I stopped pulling weeds out of my landscaped areas, in the sidewalk cracks, etc., last year. Got myself a backpack sprayer, and a nozzle that allows me to direct weed killer quite precisely. Picked up a huge container (multiple gallons) of concentrated glyphosate (roundup) at the farm store. I mix it up at the maximum concentration you're supposed to use. Heck, I even weeded my garden that way & it worked great (do not attempt on a windy day!) Cost was about $100 altogether, and now I go out of my way to find weeds. My neighbors have dirt/stone driveways, and I went through and completely killed all the weeds in their driveways for them.

It sounds like you now need a flame thrower for even more fun destroying weeds
http://www.cheapvegetablegardener.com/controlling-weeds-using-a-flamethrower/

 

[gorcorps]

I stopped pulling weeds out of my landscaped areas, in the sidewalk cracks, etc., last year. Got myself a backpack sprayer, and a nozzle that allows me to direct weed killer quite precisely. Picked up a huge container (multiple gallons) of concentrated glyphosate (roundup) at the farm store. I mix it up at the maximum concentration you're supposed to use. Heck, I even weeded my garden that way & it worked great (do not attempt on a windy day!) Cost was about $100 altogether, and now I go out of my way to find weeds. My neighbors have dirt/stone driveways, and I went through and completely killed all the weeds in their driveways for them.

I spray down weeds in the sidewalk or rocks, but I'm worried I'll kill the good stuff in the landscaped areas. I bought 2 spray bottles with concentrate last year (one just weed killer, the other was weed kill for lawns) but didn't use it much. People say when they used the lawn specific stuff it still killed their lawn anyway, and other stuff is really good at killing pretty much everything... so much so that I'm worried about hurting the plants around it. If it's just direct contact kill and doesn't get into the soil then maybe I should stop worrying about it so much.