Lawn care?

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

  1. Where Eagles Dare

    Where Eagles Dare The Specialist Show On Earth
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    They list their brand (never seen it in lowes/HD) , but if I jsut get some Tall Fescue, which is what they put down, I should be fine... Right?
     
  2. Det. Frank Bullitt

    Det. Frank Bullitt God Bless Texas
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    I don't know my cool season grasses, so I cant speak to fescue. But yeah you should be fine.

    I have patches of bermuda in my yard that are different because someone overseeded without matching. Not a problem per se, but if you are like me - it will be something you'll never unsee.
     
  3. steamengine

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    Any innovative leaf collection solutions in here?
     
  4. Boo MFer!

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    Blow them into your neighbor’s yard. :twocents:
     
  5. steamengine

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    With what though?
     
  6. Russellin4885

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    if you're dealing with a lot of leaves then a walk behind blower sure makes the job a lot easier and faster.
     
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  7. Boo MFer!

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    What else do you blow with? Your mouth, silly.
     
  8. Det. Frank Bullitt

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    Walk under the canopy with your mower & bag (or mulch plug)...way faster than raking or trying to blow into some specific area, unless you just have tons of trees.
     
  9. Fusiontegra

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    Got one of those leaf vacuums that works pretty well...as long as the leaves are dry.
     
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  10. bigred77

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    Team mow the leaves
     
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  11. steamengine

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    If you aren’t going to take this seriously then I’m gonna ask the latest purchase thread.
     
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  12. The Hebrew Husker

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    Two weeks ago it was -20 degrees here, now they are forecasting temps in the mid 60s for the next week. We had so much snow on the ground, I guess the ground barely got below 30 degrees too.

    Assuming it doesn’t hold up, but this could make planning pre-emergent application rough since were probably like 4-5 weeks out.
     
  13. HuskerInMiami

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    My side yard looks like shit because i play frisbee with my dog there. Is there any way to keep it nice without completely avoiding playing frisbee there?
     
  14. The Hebrew Husker

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    A generic answer that might not work due to climate/weather but I know the grass store up here sells a couple different types of grass seed that is recommended for “high traffic areas”.

    But again, probably depends on multiple variables on how well it holds up.
     
  15. HuskerInMiami

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    Ya, our dirt is basically 95% sand. It's tough to get grass to grow as it is. Contemplating just putting in astroturf, but we have a few large palms that littler debris and I imagine it would be a pain to keep astroturf clean.
     
  16. Det. Frank Bullitt

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    We are oscillating back and forth above 55 degree soil temps here in DFW.

    Also, picked up Scotts p-e (combo) in a pinch in the fall. Never using their stuff again.
     
  17. Russellin4885

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    Was actually just checking soil temps this morning as North Carolina has warmed up a bit. Reminder that once you get to 55 degrees for a few days it's time to get your first pre emergent application down.
     
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  18. The Hebrew Husker

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    You mean soil temps of 55 correct?
     
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  19. AbeFroman

    AbeFroman You touch me, I yell RAT!

    If you put down a pre emergent can you still plant grass seed later to fill in bare spots?
     
  20. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    Not for a while I think
    The label on whatever you use should tell you
     
  21. Det. Frank Bullitt

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    Rule of thumb is ~60 days, but factors like active ingredient and grass variety can likely shrink that window.

    Read your labels
     
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  22. The Hebrew Husker

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    Probably not an easy answer but how quick do air temps impact the ground temp?

    As I said above our soil is probably low 30s right now, but the next 10 days highs will be in the 60s but lows still mid-40s or high-30s.

    I ran into a similar issue last year where I probably put my PE down a week or so early, it worked great but I needed a 2nd app that I couldn’t make because by that time temps were in the 100s.
     
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  23. GRG

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    I just put my one down in dfw, a little early. We had rain and I didn’t want to water it in, and I think it’s best to always error on the side of early. I’ll do another one in about 6 weeks.
     
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  24. Russellin4885

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    yea, soil temps.
    I've tracked them from time to time and I want to say in general what ever your average temperature is between lows and highs then your ground temps will get there after a few days. So a high of 60 and low of 40 for an average of 50, soil temps will get to the 50 degree mark after a couple days or so.
     
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  25. The Hebrew Husker

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    That’s kind of how I operated last year, things warmed up real quick and I put mine down like a month before anyone else, even the lawn care services. Like you said I’d rather have it down with time to spare than put it down too late and waste it.

    And yeah this early in the spring I have to time it around rain too since my sprinklers aren’t turned back on yet.
     
  26. The Hebrew Husker

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    Does anyone know, would there be an issue if I put some P-E down let’s say in a week or so (assuming soil temps get into the 50s), and then temps dropped down below freezing over night at times by the end of March?
     
  27. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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    No problem. This is why I do 2 applications. I'll do one once soil temps start to get around 50 - 55 degrees and then again a few weeks later when they are around 70 degrees.
     
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  28. The Hebrew Husker

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    Do you do a weed and feed between apps? The grass store here has a “plan” and they recommend

    1st P-E in mid-March to mid-April then 2nd P-E application 8-10 weeks after that. Then they say you can apply their weed & feed in between, but there’s not really any guidance on when (in terms of weeks apart) in comparison to the two P-E apps.
     
  29. Russellin4885

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  30. The Hebrew Husker

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    I’ve had good results with the pre-emergent from the local place, and actually have some from last year that I never opened because it got way too hot too soon.

    I just wasn’t sure about doing a weed & feed app between, didn’t know if it’d be too much and torch the lawn or something.
     
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  31. The Hebrew Husker

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    Any recommendations for spreaders? A guy I work with actually gave me a Scott’s Edge Guard he used once before hiring a lawn company, but it seems like it puts down too much at once and isn’t the most even application.
     
  32. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    We just came out of the biggest freeze in history and our soil temps are 56 :laugh:

    This morning I noticed the crabgrass going crazy in the backyard
     
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  33. The Hebrew Husker

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    How cold did it end up getting where you are?
     
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  34. bigred77

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    Zero
     
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  35. The Hebrew Husker

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    Looking back at it now we had a stretch where the high never got above 0 from about 2/12 to 2/15...and the high was below 20 from 2/6 to 2/18...now about two weeks later and it’s somehow 63 degrees and there’s a chance we touch high 60s by the end of the 10 day forecast.

    Not sure I’ve seen a swing like that, or at least I can remember, and the weather here is always weird in terms of temp changes.
     
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  36. The Hebrew Husker

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    Actually went from -23 to touching 54 in a 7-day span lol
     
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  37. GRG

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    I only do weed and feed if I get my preemergent down late and I get a ton of weeds growing. If you just get a few weeds, just spot spray and put down preemergent again later, unless you plan on overseeing or seeding at all. I put it down twice in the spring and once in the late fall for the winter weeds.
     
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  38. bigred77

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    So recommendations for crabgrass control (post emerge) on st augustine?
     
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  39. GRG

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    I use the Home Depot brand stuff, TruStar I think, and it’s seemed to work just fine. It’s a specific crabgrass preemergent, blue bag I believe.
     
  40. The Hebrew Husker

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    Do you guys service your mower every year? I’ve heard some people say yes, others say they never do lol

    I was thinking about buying a kit to change the oil myself, but I know a couple companies here have “specials” if you go in early and they’ll change the oil, sharpen the blade, and I think change out the spark plug.
     
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  41. tmank87

    tmank87 Well-Known Member

    Yep, once you've done it once - it doesn't take long at all. Should likely be sharpening your blades more frequently than 1x/season.
     
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  42. bigred77

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    How do you go about sharpening your blades
    Do you take them off?
     
  43. The Hebrew Husker

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    That’s how I have heard a couple people say they do it. I think my dad even has two blades, he’ll have one on the mower, then the other one sharpened so he can just exchange them and get to mowing, then repeat the process lol
     
  44. tmank87

    tmank87 Well-Known Member

    Correct. Having two sets is a bonus. Sharpen them w/ an angle grinder. Watch a few YT videos and you'll be a pro in no time.
     
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  45. GRG

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    Yes, I change the oil every year. Blow the air filter out about once a month and sharpen the blade every 2 months. It’s easy to do, I have a bench top grinder I use to sharpen them. Only takes about 30 minutes per mower once you know what your doing.
     
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  46. Det. Frank Bullitt

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    I have taken my mower to the farm and ranch store around the corner and they'll sharpen for $9, while you wait. It's a few dollars less if you take the blade off yourself and reinstall yourself.

    I'll eventually take that work upon myself, but for that small of a charge, I have no qualms having them do it. It's more an issue of timing since they close at 5pm.
     
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  47. GRG

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    @HebrewHusker be careful if you are new to grinding, it takes practice, watch some YouTube tutorials on it first. You don’t want to grind uneven on either side because then your blade will wobble and mess with the shaft, the shaft nut,(that’s what she said) and make it look like you are mowing corn rows into your yard.
     
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  48. The Hebrew Husker

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    There’s a guy I like to watch on YouTube out Iowa way, and he had a video on this. Mentioned these exact things, wouldn’t have considered that so definitely will do a little research if I go this route.
     
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  49. bigred77

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    Welp, just spent $120 on an 8 oz bottle of crabgrass killer that is safe for my st augustine
    :awshucks:
     
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  50. Det. Frank Bullitt

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    What is the Active ingredient? heck sounds like you might have bought concentrate.