3-4’ plant really puts you into the tree category. Broad Lady Palm, Parlor Palm, looks really nice or maybe some weeping figs. A hanging basket from the ceiling with some English Ivy would look nice as well.
We've been getting zero rain, and there's none expected in the foreseeable future. My lawn had already started struggling because of this, and now my sprinkler system is acting up. Have a guy coming to look at it next Wednesday. Hopefully it doesn't get too crusty before then.
Extremely low pressure at the heads and water rising up above the ground from the valves. Not sure if it's a leak or a clog, and I have no idea how to figure it out on my own.
Most likely an issue with the valve. The reason you’re getting low pressure to the heads is most is being lost at the valve. Is it all the valves in the yard or just that one in particular?
I was only having that issue when I ran one zone until today, when it began doing the same with another zone.
Were you ever able to get a zone up with full pressure? After you discovered the problem zone, other started losing pressure, too?
Yes, the entire system worked fine all last year, then started out great this year. Then one zone had the issue, and now another has joined it.
That’s super strange. I doubt it would be a clog. Almost never see those because it would mean you got a bunch of crap in the lines after a repair in the field, or the water source you're pumping from is dirty. I’m thinking it’s most likely a leak somewhere and or some faulty valves. Keep us posted! Pretty curious.
Speaking of sprinklers I had someone out to start mine up a few weeks ago (I did this service last year and forgot to cancel it) and that night it dropped down to the high 20s so the guy drained them and told me if I can’t figure out the back flow call them they’ll come back out real quick. Next day I’m mowing I see a head didn’t get all the way into the ground, I push it down and the nozzle snaps off. I assume it froze. Went to HD they didn’t have the one I need. So I think, I’ll just call the place, play dumb about it and have him fix it when he’s here. I call the company they said it’ll be $100 just to show up then whatever for the repair. I asked them “even though you guys turned my sprinklers on when it was cold, told me you’d come out to turn them back on?”….”unfortunately that’s correct, we can get out there 6/3”.. So yeah, finally found the nozzle (I think) and will be fixing that or the entire head this weekend out of spite at the very least.
The nice thing about irrigation head repair is the ease that it can be done. Coming from the lateral water line, there will be a 90 degree elbow that has a male end adapter. Your head will have the no female end. Dig down and around the head until you can unscrew the broken head without getting soil in the waterline, screw on the new head and refill. Most time consuming part is digging down to the lateral line. If you’re putting in a 360 degree head you won’t have to worry where the nozzle is pointed and won’t have to adjust.
Got my dethatcher/verticutter yesterday. That thing is a monster for looking like a kids play toy. I've been dealing with both my zoysia and bermuda being bogged down by dead grass and a rake was not helping vs the energy I was putting in.
I did. I'm glad I did too, I took a massive amount of dead grass / thatch out of the front. Hope yours is going well.
Yeah I’ve actually done it before a few times. And it’s definitely not bad just time consuming. Only reason I was considering pawning it off was the fact I couldn’t find the correct replacement, and this head is located in my mulch and I’m sure the previous owners have about 2 layers of rock beneath it lol so I figured if I could get them out and only pay for the repair itself the 30 bucks might be worth the convenience. But I plan to mess with it tonight/tomorrow.
It’s starting to cook now. I normally use the verticutter attachment in late March just as green up begins. I’ll scalp and then Verticut. Makes a big difference. I’ve got the one that plugs in with the dethatcher and “scarifier” attachment. I believe they make a battery powered one these days. I’d probably check it out. Can’t beat it for the price.
Yeah I was wondering how strong the battery powered one is. My yard is a little too large to be dragging around an extension cord.
I did 9k feet with mine. It’s a pain in the ass, but worth it. If I didn’t have half + garage full of kids toys/bullshit, I’d own a Classen.
since then i've added: 6 Star Jasmine 3 Purple coneflower 2 Azalea 'Autumn Fire' 2 Clematis x Jackmanii 2 Clematis 'Pink Beauty' 2 Blue Cardinal Flower 2 Creeping phlox 'Drummonds Pink' 1 Southern Magnolia 'D.D. Blanchard' and round 2 of my wildflower seeds:
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/tall-fescue-lawn-maintenance-calendar Also I've been learning a lot about how to maintain cool season grass where i've been going wrong this spring is by mowing it down to less than 2", and then it begins to dry out and die. evidently i'm supposed to be in the 3.5-4" range during summertime. where i'm really struggling are the areas with afternoon sun. It's mid-May and I can already see heat and drought stress. I think big parts of my lawn are not going to survive til September, and i may eventually convert those marginal areas into flower beds or xeriscapes. Eventually they'll be shaded by all the shrubs I've planted, though. idk.
I like to mow about once a week. Will it be healthier to let it go 2 weeks before mowing in the summer in the deep south where it just gets baked all day and not a ton of rain?
Perfect. As someone who's never done it, any tips? Should I mow first? Is there any mistake I could make that would fuck up my lawn?
Also, my FIL who was just trying to be helpful decided to spray grass killer along side my mulch and sidewalk, so now I have dead bermuda about 8 inches wide all across my yard. Looks like shit.
I scalp and bag to be as low as possible and remove as much debris as possible. Then I use the Verticut/scarify attachment. Start at a higher setting and work it down as you’re comfortable. I personally use -5. I used my Honda push mower to basically vacuum up the pulled out debris. Finished by blowing. Then I’ll fertilize and hit it with micros. Bonus points if you can time before rain. If not water in fertilizer the next morning. Then just wait for warm temps and watch it take off. Just tell yourself that you beat her up because you love her. Makes it easier, especially the first time.