Lawn care?

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by hudson, Apr 17, 2015.

  1. The Banks

    The Banks TMB's Alaskan
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    Dethatched two acres yesterday then picked up all the thatch today. Fertilizer up next and in a couple weeks I'll get to enjoy a nice green lawn for a few months.
     
  2. Bert Handsome

    Bert Handsome I'm sorry, the card says Moops
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    What is this and how do I get rid of it?

    [​IMG]
     
  3. lechnerd

    lechnerd They say Monaco is a sunny place for shady people
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  4. Bert Handsome

    Bert Handsome I'm sorry, the card says Moops
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  5. lechnerd

    lechnerd They say Monaco is a sunny place for shady people
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    I'm sure its been mentioned before but does anyone watch the lawn dominator?



    Guy is a huge troll and I love it. He goes so far as to install a guard on his spreader so no fertilizer falls on his neighbor's lawn creating a stark difference between the two lawns. Not going to lie, I'm going to do it this weekend.

    Last weekend I went to a soil specialty shop and bought a crazy compost with chicken manure, molasses and all kinds of weird shit. I'm growing bermuda now in shade, sprinkler-free areas, etc. Its beautiful.
     
  6. GrizzliesDrew

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    Neighbor's lawn looks better in the video.
     
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  7. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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    I've linked to his videos a few times in this thread. Really useful info on his youtube channel for anyone trying to learn more about lawn care
     
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  8. ramszoolander

    ramszoolander Known for Buns
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    Tell me about this bermuda in shade....and send a pic if you can. I have a heavily shaded back yard that looks great now for the two months that fescue does really well...then it will look like shit until I overseed in the fall. Would love to do bermuda back there and have no issue with its propensity to put out runners, etc.
     
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  9. lechnerd

    lechnerd They say Monaco is a sunny place for shady people
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    I'll try and remember to take a pic when I get home.

    The area is on the side of my house, originally had Zero grass, shade 90% of the day. I put down this magical compost + Bermuda seed 1-2 weeks and it looks great. I'm sure I'll never get/keep it super thick and lush but I'm encouraged just two weeks in. I have watered it every day which obviously I won't keep up with long term.

    Scott's makes a good shade tolerant seed which is nice to supplement in these areas and I'll probably throw some of that down soon to help long term.

    [​IMG]

    One last thing, don't step on the compost/soil. My six year old was playing near that area and I irrationally panicked b/c I didn't want her stepping/compacting that soil. It makes a huge difference if you keep the soil "fluffy" and non-compacted.
     
    #809 lechnerd, May 26, 2017
    Last edited: May 26, 2017
  10. lechnerd

    lechnerd They say Monaco is a sunny place for shady people
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    I'm a little rough on the exact timing but this is maybe a week later:

    [​IMG]


    And this is maybe about 2 weeks later:

    [​IMG]
     
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  11. Sub-Zero

    Sub-Zero ALL THE TOSTITOS!!!
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    I have a small yard, minimal in front but maybe 3,000 sq ft in the back or so. St Augustine. Orlando, FL.

    Got a quote from a service in the neighborhood for $95/month for full service mow, edge, blowing plus spraying my pavers and shrubs for weeds (I have a weed treatment for the lawn with a separate service). In the warmer months they come weekly and then biweekly in the dormant season.

    This sounds really reasonable right? Give or take $25 a visit.
     
  12. Shawn Hunter

    Shawn Hunter Vote Corey Matthews for Congress
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    You're going to pay someone to mow a little over 3000 square feet?

    My parents have about 20,000 square feet and for mowing, weedeating, and blowing it only costs them $45 per visit.
     
  13. Sub-Zero

    Sub-Zero ALL THE TOSTITOS!!!
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    I have no time anymore...especially with how fast this shit grows when it's warm. Maybe I could find once a month but not really.
     
  14. MORBO!

    MORBO! Hello, Tiny Man. I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!
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    This is a pretty damn good price
     
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  15. Baseballman86

    Baseballman86 Well-Known Member
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    IMG_0185.JPG
    I have a Bermuda grass lawn, can anybody tell me what these are? Are they just how Bermuda grass spreads seed or are they weeds? The whole yard sprouts these when it's time to cut, so I'm hoping it's part of the grass?
     
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  16. lechnerd

    lechnerd They say Monaco is a sunny place for shady people
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    Bermuda seed heads.

    May be secondary to stress and/or needing more frequent mowing.
     
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  17. Baseballman86

    Baseballman86 Well-Known Member
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    So are they good, bad or just standard? I usually mow before they're really visible but was out of town this past week
     
  18. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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    I get them in the spring with my zoysia. Just need to mow before that. Bermuda you should be mowing twice if week if it's growing properly.
     
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  19. lechnerd

    lechnerd They say Monaco is a sunny place for shady people
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    Anyone have experience with zoysia and specifically zoysia plugs?

    I was thinking about replacing my back yard with zoysia. My neighbor uphill drives me nuts with all her weeds which deposit seeds in my lawn when it rains and while the pre-emergent helps it's not completely effective. Additionally the decreased water needs of zoysia are selling me as well. Zoysia sod will likely cost me $1,000 but I think I can get it done with plugs 1/10-1/5th that cost. Anyone have experience with zoysia plugs? Any advice?
     
  20. je ne suis pas ici

    je ne suis pas ici Well-Known Member
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    i still water the shit outta my zoysia :crossedarms:

    double RL
     
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  21. ramszoolander

    ramszoolander Known for Buns
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    If these were bigger, they'd be crabgrass, right? I thought I had long bermuda and neglected care for a year, but then it turns out it's actually crabgrass. Yuck. Now I had to just spray it all and gonna have to dig it out, I guess, then new bermuda sod.
     
  22. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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    I have been converting my yard over to zoysia over the last couple years. I have done a little bit of sod (wanted to get the main section going but didn't want to drop all that money to do the whole yard), I have done plugs off my established zoysia and I have seeded. If you are planning on buying plugs then I would very much recommend going the seed route(plugs take a while to establish and then start spreading). It's going to be comparable in price and it will establish much faster. I get my seed from:
    http://www.seedland.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Seedland&Category_Code=ZOY

    I just checked and they really only have zenith zoysia right now. They have a huge 25 lb supply of compadre but I'm guessing that would be too much. I tried another company for seed and I didn't get any to germinate so I only get my seed from them now. I have compadre in my backyard and zenith in my front, TBH I prefer the compadre from an esthitic point of view but the zenith looks great as well (at least it will once I get my yard where I want it).

    Let me know if you have any more questions and I'll try to help.
     
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  23. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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    I generally will do one really good water if it's been dry for close to a week. It's been so wet here in North Carolina this year I've only had to water my yard once which is nice. Like I said in my post earlier I've been establishing seed in some spots so those areas have been getting water several times a day so my water bill is still up there.
     
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  24. lechnerd

    lechnerd They say Monaco is a sunny place for shady people
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    Thanks for this post.

    My understanding is I'd have to completely remove the current grass to plant seed. That would be very cumbersome. With the plugs I'd just have to dig holes every 12 inches.

    Am I over-simplifying?
     
  25. -Asshole-

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    Just cut my backyard real quick. It's just dried up enough that I could cut it and we're supposed to get rain all week so I wanted to get it done while I could.

    Raised the mower deck up an inch higher to try and stripe it. It worked well enough I guess. Not sure if the photos will do it justice. Baron

    Also pressure washed the back porch in case Shawn Hunter cares to comment on that again.

    Now back to trying to get rid of all the weeds.

    IMG_8651.JPG IMG_8650.JPG
     
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  26. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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    You could go that route but it will take a while for them to establish and spread enough to out compete whatever you have there now. Unless you have a really long growing season, like somewhere in Florida I bet it would take at least two growing seasons, unless you plug them very close together.

    If it was me I would spray everything with glyphosate (it's the generic version of round-up, much cheaper, can get on amazon or tons of other places). That will kill everything in about 1-2 weeks. Then you can scalp that down to dirt basically with your mower. Spread your seed then and you will get good coverage that way. It would be less work than plugging (plugging is a pain in the ass), should be very comparable pricing wise, if not cheaper, and you will get much better coverage and faster.
     
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  27. Baron

    Baron Well-Known Member
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    good work. the stripes should get better the more you cut it. just make sure you go the same direction as you did the previous time or it will look like crap, but also don't forget to alternate directions of cutting it, vertical and horizontal stripes.
     
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  28. -Asshole-

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    I'll never be able to cut in the same direction each time as the previous cut.
     
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  29. Baron

    Baron Well-Known Member
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    i'm talking like this:
    week 1
    [​IMG]
    week 2
    [​IMG]
    i.e. when you cut the week 1 pattern again, make sure you go with the grass the same direction you did the last time you did week 1.

    If the stripe is white in color, you were going away and if it's dark, it's coming towards you:
    [​IMG]
     
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  30. lechnerd

    lechnerd They say Monaco is a sunny place for shady people
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    Looks sharp
     
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  31. -Asshole-

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    Right. I guess if I can still see the stripes in a week then I can try to match the direction, I just doubt I'll be able to do that.

    Maybe I'm just underestimating my ability. I'll keep you posted.
     
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  32. -Asshole-

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    Thank you good sir. :heythere:
     
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  33. je ne suis pas ici

    je ne suis pas ici Well-Known Member
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    how do you get rid of blue grass? i have what i think is blue grass growing in two spots of my zoysia. it looks almost like a christmas tree and its definitely got a non green hue to it.

    [​IMG]

    yeah those tops grow fast and i can spot them in my zoysia to pull. fucking annoying
     
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  34. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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    Took some pics last night to give you a better idea.
    This is an area of my backyard that I seeded last year. Almost all the way filled in and should be completely in the next month.
    [​IMG]

    This is an area that I seeded about a month ago. I've seeded different areas now 5 times and this is the worst coverage I have gotten. I really tried to get the most out of my seed and I was probably close to 1 pound per 1,000 square feet where you really want to be putting down closer to two pounds. Also, pretty bad invasion of weeds but the seedlings are finally strong enough that I sprayed those weeds last week and I'll get them under control.
    [​IMG]
     
    #834 Russellin4885, Jun 28, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2017
  35. Baron

    Baron Well-Known Member
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    One day my little grasscutter (-Asshole-)...
    IMG_3599.jpg
     
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  36. -Asshole-

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  37. arrdub

    arrdub Well-Known Member
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    I've used zoysia plugs with some success, but it's a very slow process. Had a couple of areas (300 -400 sf?) that were essentially hard clay and gravel that I dropped in only about a flat of plugs. It took a couple years but is now essentially covered, despite terrible soil conditions.

    Also set off a centipede - st Augustine - zoysia war in another shady/clay sloping part of the yard that I initiated when I had my fill of centipede's impotence. May the best grass win... as long as it's not centipede.
     
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  38. lechnerd

    lechnerd They say Monaco is a sunny place for shady people
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    Update. I think I am about 6 weeks in post-compost, watering 2-3/wk. Still getting very little shade.

    [​IMG]
     
  39. Popovio

    Popovio The poster formerly known as "MouseCop"
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    Came home to a family friend taking it upon himself to mow the lawn with the fucking blades at 1 1/2 inches. He scalped 1/3 of the lawn before I told him to stop and I legitimately want to murder him I'm so angry.
     
  40. -Asshole-

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    That sucks.
     
  41. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    what a fucking asshole
     
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  42. -Asshole-

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    IMG_8693.JPG Still working on my striping game. Baron

    Im thinking of overseeding my lawn this winter with rye grass in hopes of helping to strangle out some of the weeds.

    Is this a bad idea? Or would it even help at all?

    Plus I would get to cut stripes with a grass that stripes much better than centipede/fescue.

    Any advice is appreciated.
     
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  43. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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    It's been a tough year for my lawn. Earlier this summer front lawn was attacked by a fungus, think brown spot. I was a little late identifying it so a good bit died. Back yard has been killing it though until this week I start to notice it's starting to brown a bit in spots and slow growth. I suspect chinch bugs so I just put down a heavy dose of Seven. Hopefully that helps. Plus it's been really dry here lately, haven't had any rain in over 2 weeks. My water bill is going to suck next month.
     
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  44. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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  45. -Asshole-

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    IMG_8722.JPG Cut my grass perpendicular to last weeks stripes
     
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  46. One Two

    One Two Hot Dog Vibes
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    Not sure where else to put this.

    Planted 6 Jubilation gardenias about a month ago. All are doing well apart from two of them. This is the worst one. Started off with some chlorosis in the bottom leaves, which I kind of expected until the roots get more established. Then out of nowhere half the damn plant changed color from deep green to light green and now those leaves are slowly turning brown and dying from the bottom up.

    Help

    image.png image.png
     
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  47. Cabs

    Cabs eatin' fried okra with Oprah
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    Are those under more shade than the others?
     
  48. One Two

    One Two Hot Dog Vibes
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    No all get the same amount of partial sunlight. I'm thinking it's got root issues which is causing nutrient problems for half the plant?
     
  49. Cabs

    Cabs eatin' fried okra with Oprah
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    Yea yellow leaves usually means nitrogen deficiency. May just need to sprinkle some fertilizer on it.

    Is it a real wet area?
     
  50. One Two

    One Two Hot Dog Vibes
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    Not really. Clay soil but sloped so nothing collects. I'll up the fert in the short term, should probably also check the soil pH
     
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