Lawn Care

SilverLexus said:
Grass has high levels of Nitrogen which help green up the lawn as it is digested.
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In addition to nitrogen, grass clippings reportedly contain somewhere between 70-85% water. For those who worry with the "numbers" some sources assess a 4-2-1 to the nutrient content of clippings.



As mentioned in an earlier post, when returning the clippings to the turf, it is important to mow with a frequency which allows for only the top third of the leaf to be removed. It is not a hard rule, but rather a general one.
 
Pats300zx said:
Any tips on how to do this???
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Both edging and striping can be done in a coupel diffferent ways.



A common form of edging it to turn your weed whipper so that you are cutting stright up and down, then walk down the driveway ro sidewalk cutting the grass at a perfect 90 degree angle.

The second way, adn the way my customers prefer it, is to turn the weed whipper so it is at a 45 degree angle, angling back into the lawn. It sounds very simple, but it can be tricky. To make it look great you need to cut the angle very smoothly with no up and down waviness which is naturally induced when walking.

I'll see if I can find some pictures to post for ya.



Striping is best done with a special blade for your mower. You can use a regular mower and just follow the same path time after time and you'll get a decent effect also. Best though to use a larger 36" or 48" commercial walk behind with high lift blades.

There is some serious technique to striping though. Every object in the yard that you have to go around needs to be thought of. Some people walk a circle around a tree, others stripe so it looks like the mower went right through the tree.



Just like detailing there are many tricks to a good lawn and a lot of them have been brought up here...



Here's a link to my company... ScapeMakers LLC

We just uploaded the site and we have'nt completed our content, so it's not the greatest yet. I'm in the process of getting some articles written, and also some links to government soil research sites. Keep in mind we do water features and putting greens far more than lawns. :D
 
So, I've had the mower on the highest height setting so far this mowing season, not bagging the clippings and watering when needed. I'm still having a problem with dollar weed and some other weeds though, and some areas of the lawn that don't want to fill in like the rest of it. Except for those areas my yard has greened up and kind of filled out a little this Spring. I think I may lay down some more fertilizer soon to knock these weeds out. It's been about two months since I applied Bonus S to the grass.
 
Gonna resurrect this thread a little.



We had pre-emergent sprayed the first week of March, put down some organic fertilizer the first week of April, and have been watering approx. 1 inch per week. The grass is slowly coming up, but I really expected more by now (more grass and greener). I'm pretty frustrated...maybe I'm just being too impatient?
 
Thanks for the ressurrection! Does anyone know how to eliminate NUT GRASS? Looked all over the web and can't find anything conclusive!
 
Isn't organic fertilizer generally slower acting? I think you may have to be patient on your results with organic stuff. I throw Scott's down and it greens up in a couple of days. I would like to know more about this organic side though to feed the dirt instead of the grass. End result being the same though.
 
ZaneO said:
Gonna resurrect this thread a little.



We had pre-emergent sprayed the first week of March, put down some organic fertilizer the first week of April, and have been watering approx. 1 inch per week. The grass is slowly coming up, but I really expected more by now (more grass and greener). I'm pretty frustrated...maybe I'm just being too impatient?
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Go to the hardware store and get yourself a home soil test kit. Use it to determine a baseline for your soil. I'm always amazed at the knowledge one fo those will give you. I just did one yesterday where the guys soild was very acidic. No wonder he couldn't get the grass to grow.

There are some really simple kits out there for ~$10. Without one it's hard to tell what could be wrong.



What were the stats on the fertilizer you put down. X-X-X?

1" is ok for loam, but if it's sandy you may want more, clay would be less. Whats your soil type?
 
Off the top of my head, I think it was 8-4-2. I'm honestly not sure about the soil, but I would say very slightly sandy. I'll try to pick up one of those test kits to find out for sure what I have going on.



I would put money on it needing to be aerated, but my uncle (who owns a lawn business) is coming into town tomorrow, and he's going to take a look and give me some advice and pointers.



Thanks for your help!! I'll report back soon.
 
So I finally, after a YEAR of trying, have eliminated my uninvited lawn guest. Here is his mugshot.



Mole1.JPG




Next to the trap for size comparison.



DSCF2549.JPG




This guy had been driving me nuts for about a year. I would walk out almost every single morning to tunnels and mounds of dirt in the yard. I tried gas bombs, wintergreen gum, cat hair, dog hair, human hair, flooding, poison bait, you name it. All my research led me to believe that the only real way you can get them is by trapping. It finally worked. Here's hoping he was working alone.
 
Subscribed.....



I am going to pick up the soil test kit and see what the condition of the soil is in the area. I also like the tip about adding iron to the lawn.
 
ZaneO, I have been using organic products for my landscape maintenance for better than two decades. One thing you will notice is that your grass will not be as green as that which has been fed the synthetic based fertilizer products. It is not a bad thing, in fact it actually looks quite a bit more natural. As Tasty mentioned, organic methods and products feed the soil and allows the plants to feed on the soil which will provide a healthier lawn. Deep infrequent watering will help you lawn to develop deep roots which will help it weather drought conditions. Using a mulching mower and leaving the clippings on the lawn saves your local landfill and provides moisture and nutrients.



One thing, if you are going to go the organic route, you should drop the pre-emergent spray program as you are working against yourself by spraying poisons. Instead try corn gluten meal which works naturally to keep weed seed from germinating. It can be applied twice per year. However, this is one organic product which can only be applied withing a small window to do that job. Otherwise it is a potent natural fertilizer, yes even for those unwanted weeds.



Diesel1 Nut grass is a tough one even for those practicing organics. What I do is physically remove (yes by hand) the nutgrass in my flower beds. I then apply a thick (3-4") layer of mulch (I prefer cedar mulch). When the nut grass does re-appear, it seems to try to sprout up in the mulch and then it is easily plucked out including the nutlet. Using this method I have very little problem. For that in the lawn, I mow it. It's green and once mowed blends in just fine in my lawn which is a mixture of several grasses including St. Augustine, Bermuda, and Fescue.



Tasty You must have sandy soil where you live? That mole is one nasty looking little fella. I can't say I've never seen a picture of one before. So, how does that trap work? Does it kill the mole, or is that left up to the trapper?
 
As for adding Iron...



If you lawn is iron deficient, then you should address the problem directly rather than adding a supplement.



I'm going organic this year (soy bean meal) and thus far, things are great.



I disagree with it is going monoculture.



You need a variety of grasses as each type has it's benefits and draw backs. If you have only one type, you are at a high risk to disease/drought/shade wiping out your entire lawn.



Paco
 
Mr Clean I guess our soil is somewhat sandy. I think moles can really live in just about any type, except for really nasty clay soil. The trap is set by placing it directly over a tunnel, depressing a small portion of said tunnel, and then waiting for the mole to dig under that trigger. When they do their bodies are long enough that the spikes will get them on one side or the other. I basically pulled a dead mole out of his tunnel last Saturday morning. Effective, not gory. There was actually no trace of blood on the mole, but he was definitely punctured.
 
I got him with a trap. When I saw it was tripped I probed the tunnel a bit with my finger. After hitting some fur and becoming overwhelmed with joy, I grabbed some needlenose pliers and hauled him out by his tail.
 
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