Lawn care?

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

  1. Det. Frank Bullitt

    Det. Frank Bullitt God Bless Texas
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    I believe we are in the same metro (DFW)

    Those who water tend to overwater. just FYI.

    A infrequent deep watering is good enough. To put framework on that. 1x a week or 10 days. Exact amount will vary depending on soil.

    https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/...A lawn that is watered,the best time to water.
     
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  2. The Hebrew Husker

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    I have mine set to run Sunday, Wednesday Friday. 15mins for three zones, 10 minutes on the fourth zone because its an area that isn’t very visible (side of my house + corner of back yard) and is shaded. Obviously adjust this depending on forecasts.

    My lawn is surprisingly green considering it’s been 90-100 most of June and last I saw we were about 3-4 inches below the normal YTD rain number. One section of my back yard is sloped and bakes in the sun, but other than that it’s not bad.
     
  3. The Hebrew Husker

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    Actually had a guy come out to my house today to check on adding an additional line/head to my system. Ended up getting away with just replacing a head with a rotary type.

    He told me I could probably bump my run time up from 15mins to 20-25min, but not sure I’m trying to see that water bill lol
     
  4. Lucky24Seven

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    How is the water pressure in that zone? You could swap out nozzles in the sprinklers to allow more gallons per minute and not bump the run time up.
     
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  5. The Hebrew Husker

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    Seems to be pretty good pressure wise. I think the issue is this specific zone is “maxed” on how many heads are installed. So not sure how much wiggle room I have
     
  6. Lucky24Seven

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    The only other thing I could think of would be running another head that is on the same irrigation line as the one in that zone. You wouldn’t have wire anything to the control system. It would just come up with the other heads. You would have to trench it out, cut out the previous head in the line, glue a T Coupling where the cut out head is, reconnect there, and continue the new irrigation pipe to where the new head would be. You would use an elbow coupler that would end the line at the new head.
     
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  7. Russellin4885

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    .5 inch every 3 days. Looks like we are about to have a heat wave next week of 95+ so I’ll check for dry signs and if I see any I’ll bump it to .5 every 2 days.

    to expound on the less frequent advice. You want to water deep and not too often. That will push root growth down. That’ll make a healthier grass cause it’ll have more access to moisture at a deeper root growth. Short, frequent watering doesn’t push root Growth deep enough, so more likely to have dry issues.
     
  8. The Hebrew Husker

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    I am thinking/hoping now that I swapped out the one head for a rotary style sprayer I should have some pretty good coverage.

    Honestly I think the only reason he mentioned bumping the run time is the fact part of this zone, the lawn is sloped a little bit which has it baking in the sun all day with no shade, which has caused a little bit of browning. As I said in a previous post we’re not getting much help through actual rainfall so far this summer either.
     
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  9. infected donkey

    infected donkey Arkansas Razorbacks
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    So does anyone have a reel mower? I'm looking into buying one and was wondering what recommendations any of you guys would have.
     
  10. Lucky24Seven

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    I've only used Toro and Jacobsen in the golf industry. Nothing residential
     
  11. THE REAL GUBBERJK

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    I am adding new players and local people to the new facebook page - Jon Kebler .
    you are welcome .
    its is the new format under the new microsoft .
    its a deal for families or a room for you .
    welcome at any rate .
     
  12. Aaron Nevilles Pet Tick

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    I have tiftuf bermuda in the back and zenith zoysia in the front. In the back it's only about 1500 sq. ft., so I had the same question as you. I decided to buy a push reel mower at Lowe's when it went on sale. It's a 16" Earthwise, 5 blade I believe. I would honestly suggest that as a start if you're serious. It's about 100 bucks and you'll see how flat your yard is and if it can handle a reel mower. If you went straight to a swardman or allett, you might be disappointed and have a lot of leveling to do in the future. I know I have a few ruts and low spots that will definitely need some attention before I go big time with an expensive reel.

    All that said, if you happen to have the good fortune to find a used greenskeeper style reel for a good price, i'd jump on it if that's your eventual goal.
     
  13. THF

    THF BITE THE NUTS, THUMB IN THE ASS!
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    So I use a Rachio which sets the schedule based on the month.

    I have rotor sprinklers in the front and it suggests 42 mins, every five days this month.

    On my side yard it has the sprayers and it is suggesting 25 mins every five days.

    That’s for July btw

    I do think it’s rotating them though, so say 21 mins on the front, and then switch to side for say 12 and then back to the front for another 21 mins. This lets the water soak into the soil before running off.

    In looking at the history it looks even more complicated as it switches a bunch between zones.

    That might help as a start though.
     
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  14. infected donkey

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    My back yard is sloped to drain but it doesn't drain that well so I've got french drains there but the front is flat as can be.
     
  15. infected donkey

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    And by doesn't drain that well is because all the other yards come into mine.
     
  16. The Hebrew Husker

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    This is a dumb question but when the directions for a granular application (insect/grub prevention) says put it down when the yard is dry, how literal is that? I’d like to do it in the morning before my sprinklers run but there’s obviously dew on my grass at that point most days in the summer.
     
  17. GRG

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    New to the thread because I love my yard but I would put it down the night before your system runs so that it waters it in the next morning. The idea is to not let it stick to the blades of grass and for it to get to the soil. Then to be watered in. I always have to time mine with the rain, no sprinkler systems here.
     
  18. The Hebrew Husker

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    That makes sense. Always just get a little nervous about that because my dog insists on going outside at like 3am. Small dog, but my luck he’d start rolling in/eating the grass.
     
  19. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    I have a rachio as well
    Problem is, rachio doesn't account for the fact I am watering the lawn from a well that my whole lawn is basically a recharge zone for

    So the past 3 or 4 years since I installed my rachio, I've felt like my st augustine had thinned out and was suffering. It certainly wasn't spreading like it used to.
    And my sod sure always felt 'harder
    Like before walking barefoot you could feel just a little sink at your heel

    Now there are a couple of different things I had tried and changed over the years that could have been contributing to it as well, but I decided this year was going to be my reset year
    I set the rachio up in February to water my old schedule I used to keep the manual timer on, and set it to make seasonal adjustments
    I also went back to the cheap generic fertilizer I used when I first bought this house
    And went back to mowing taller like I used to have to do with my old smaller lawn tractor

    Lawn is almost back to its glory days, and i have gotten a few comments on it the past couple of weeks

    So I am sticking with the more frequent, maybe over watering
     
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  20. The Hebrew Husker

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    I’ve never thought about rotating the zones until that post above. I wonder if it’s better to do two cycles of 7-8 minutes, rather than one cycle of 15ish. Probably not a huge difference but maybe it’d make sense.
     
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  21. GRG

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    My pooch is the same way, he’s a big German Shepherd, but he usually starts sniffing around when I put it down before it rains.
     
  22. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    A course I managed in Tahoe had shitty draining greens. When I would run a normal cycle I’d have puddles of water on some of the greens in the AM. Cut the run time in half and staged the zones so they would run twice and the greens took in more water at a better rate.
     
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  23. The Hebrew Husker

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    Put down some grub/insect stuff on my yard this morning, ran the sprinklers...looked out and noticed they were on again, so I’m now wondering if what I put down is now just washed out. Classic.

    Was trying to program mine to run twice at half the time, but the way my controller is set up I’d have to do it at 7am, then cycle two at 8am so I figured forget it for now. Wondering if I didn’t delete that second cycle or something (even though it’s not programmed in there).
     
  24. The Hebrew Husker

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    Spectracide Triazicide is what I put down. Assuming it did wash out due to my sprinkler mishap, how long can I wait to add another application? Didn’t really say on the label.
     
  25. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    What insect are you targeting? Soil or leaf insects?
     
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  26. The Hebrew Husker

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    So I bought it with the thought of preventing grubs, but I also do have an annoying amount of baby crickets in my yard lately so I figured that might take care of it too. But that was more of a “bonus”.

    Once I saw it could also help with crickets, ants, etc. I figured it doesn’t hurt anything to just throw it down get ahead of any grubs + get rid of other insects that are out there and just get annoying in the summer.
     
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  27. The Hebrew Husker

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    To follow up, my sprinklers probably ran for 15 minutes on all four zones. Then 15 mins on zones 1 and 2 a second time before I realized they went off a second cycle.
     
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  28. Lucky24Seven

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    For grub control you are probably fine. It’s definitely watered into the soil profile. For leaf insects it’s been watered past the leaves. If you want to get the leaf insects with another application, I’d wait 21 days, then get the leaf blades wet with irrigation then apply. Wait 24 hours before watering again.
     
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  29. The Hebrew Husker

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    Sounds good, maybe I can figure out how to program this POS in the next 21 days lol
     
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  30. infected donkey

    infected donkey Arkansas Razorbacks
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    Just bought a new lawnmower to hopefully speed up the back yard mowing. Toro Timemaster 30” deck and 10hp motor so hopefully shouldn’t bog down like my other mower did with this Bermuda I got.
     
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  31. The Hebrew Husker

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    Is there a good/easy way to tell if brown areas on the lawn is more than just a result of extreme heat?

    Cool season grass and soil temps are close to 90 degrees right now so that doesn’t bode well, but figured I’d ask before I chalk it up to the heat.
     
  32. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    Id hand water the area a little extra each evening for a week and see if it helps
     
  33. bigred77

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    or do what I just did and say "alexa, ask rachio to run zone 2 for ten minutes"
     
  34. Russellin4885

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    Watering brown spots at night, in heat would be one way to find out if it’s more than just heat. If it’s some kind of fungus this would make it much worse. I’m not too familiar with cool season grass but I believe in the summer you can have fungus problems like brown spot. Might be a good idea to put out a fungicide and see if that helps.
     
  35. bigred77

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    Yea, I have no idea about cool season grass, we don't have a cool season
     
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  36. The Hebrew Husker

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    I’m thinking it’s just the fact it’s hot as crap here. Unless I want to water about five times a week, might be tough on the lawn until summer passes.

    Pretty sure I saw we’re currently at a rain deficit of over 7 inches.
     
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  37. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    Yea, I water 7 days a week right now, some zones twice a day

    It was only like 103 today
     
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  38. The Hebrew Husker

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    Wow. We haven’t touched 100 yet, but Saturday they are calling for 110 heat index.

    Maybe I will bump it up to water an extra day. I’m also trying to run two “half” cycles rather than one “full” to try to let some more water get soaked up.
     
  39. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    110 heat "index" sounds high?
    r u srs rite now

    Its currently 7:31 and the heat index is 106
     
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  40. The Hebrew Husker

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    Lol it will be about 90% humidity too. You have to remember it’ll be -15 degrees here soon enough. I stand the cold so I can bitch about the heat.
     
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  41. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    -15 would cause me to move
    Why the fuck would you live in shit like that?
     
  42. The Hebrew Husker

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    That’s a good question. I ask myself that about 6-8 months out of the year depending on the heat or cold.
     
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  43. Det. Frank Bullitt

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    The Hebrew Husker water in the AM, don't water at night, especially if your discoloring is possibly fungus related. My presumption would be that it is.

    Distinct discoloration would be more likely to be disease related than heat related which will look more distressed/destaurated.

    I wish I knew of about cool season fungi. I am learning a lot about those that could be impacting my st augustine in texas.

    I would try your university extension office or google resources from popular companies like penningtons, scotts, bonide etc.

    Also, local large lawn companies are likely to have pages about identifying.
     
  44. The Hebrew Husker

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    Thanks. I do run my sprinklers in the morning. Due to the way they have to be programmed I have it start the first cycle at 7:00am which finishes around 7:30, then the second cycle starts at 8:00am.

    When I mowed today I tried to look closer at certain areas and I think it is just the heat. Seemed like the ground was just super dry and hard. As I have posted before, one part of my back yard basically slopes towards the sun from sun up to probably 7-8pm.
     
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  45. Det. Frank Bullitt

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    Good to hear.

    Again, I don't know the grasses you might have but in reading how to identify heat distressed grass, the firmer blades that are more likely to remain dampened when stepped upon need watering. A well watered lawn (for St Augustine) should rebound and return to its natural (upright position) right away.
     
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  46. The Hebrew Husker

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    I believe it’s mostly bluegrass and to a lesser extent fescue. Definitely seemed to green up when water hits which is another reason I believed it’s mostly heat induced.

    Not only has it been hot, we’ve had so many days where you won’t see a cloud so the sun is just beating down.
     
  47. Lucky24Seven

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    Can you post a picture or two of the area?
     
  48. tmank87

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    I have a Baroness LM66 that I use to maintain ~9Kft of Palisades Zoysia.

    I'd look at Toro GM 1000 or 1600s, also if I were you.

    California Trimmers / Tru-Cut / McClane etc. are all "homeowner" style reels which are a bit easier to adjust and 'work on'.

    For similar money I would certainly err toward a traditional greensmower. Just make sure you can maintain at the height of cut that you're after.
     
  49. gopack2104

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    Any recs on battery-powered string trimmers? I have a gas Husqvarna, but I'm interested in a battery weedeater/blower combo kit.
     
  50. Lucky24Seven

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    Look into the Greenworks line. Had good success with a battery powered backpack blower only version. Not sure if they have any combo tools on the market, though.