Lawn recovery

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woody

woody

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well, two years on Trail Teams and not being home to care for the lawn properly has left me with little more than dandelions and thistles...

i've used some weed-n-feed stuff in the past with varied success...anyone have something that's worked particularly well for them?

WI climate...lawn is mostly sunny....temps in the 60's right now...don't care if it's a combo-mix or liquid or dry or whatever...just want to apply once and ignore it for the summer :)
 
Sod :D
 
Gravel.

-Spike (Scott's weed-n-feed works for me, but your lawn sounds worse than mine. :D)
 
spending enuf on this place now, sod isn't an option (have ~$10k in windows and shingles delivering Thursday....$10k includes install, but still....uugh)

will try Scotts...I've got all summer...the bushes have already succumb'd to the chainsaw, as have most of the trees....the lawn will obey as well :)
 
rototiller rent for 4 hrs

Bag of seed.

Go to my grandparents house and get some horsemanure that has "aged"

Water..
 
If your grass is still good you can apply the scotts weed n feed but you have to read the directions.

Some types you have to water before application and some you have to water in after application.
 
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I would skip the weed and feed and try just plain week killer for now. Once you have knocked out some of the weeds, rent a power overseeder. It will scruff up the ground and lay down more seed. Use some careful watering during the early morning and later afternoon. If an area is especially full of weeds and very little grass, kill it all, plant the same seed you're going to overseed the rest of the yard with, and hit it again when you overseed the rest of the yard.


Either that, or drink a case of coors light and then piss on all the weeds. Next, carefully apply a diluted amount of Fat Tire on the good patches of grass...

btw...thanks for the fat tire at Cruise Moab :grinpimp:

bless your heart
bk
 
Pave it and ferget it...

Seriously, Get an application of fertilizer with pre-emergent crabgrass control down NOW. Do it again second week of June. That will stop the crabgrass and other pesky critter weeds. Spray to kill weeds, reseed with an overseeder mid August and the joint will look like a million bucks... someday.

Buy enough pre-emergent for both applications now. They probably won't have it in June.

Welcome to lawn rehab 101.
 
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Artifical turf! It's going to be the rage in Kalifornia this summer when we have to stop watering our lawns!
 
Brian

I had the yard aerated and thatched a month ago buy a small crew I found on CL. $125 for both and they cleaned up all the plugs as well.

Then I fertilized well and watered like crazy.

My problem is my soil under the sod that was laid a year ago as it wont drain well into the the ground. The back yard with the dogs is as green as green gets, the front has its issues with thinning and cant get its nutrients.

Then while planting some small shrubs and general weeding along the fence Kim called me and she was telling me about all the "worms" she was finding. She described a grub and I had her take them to Depot and get an insect killer to kill them off.

So after putting down all the killer I seeded like crazy (same seed as my sod) and watered for 10 minutes every night for the past two weeks. It has gotten thicker and more lush.

I am a little OCD on weeds and pick up after our dogs.
 
fsusteve said:
yeah kill it off and resod, it'll be cheaper than chasing issues.
Click to expand...

I have a neighbor who has to work in his yard for a few hours each day and cut his edging by hand he is that anal...... He may be 40 and just a cock as neighborhood parties, fawking bar bender.

Anyway this guy rented and sod cutter and cut all his lawn out and re laid the front yard in one day. It was nice then and still nice.


http://maps.google.com/maps?q=pine+...=VbP6z3nc1uX6n3xngS-vWg&cbp=12,187.01,,0,4.72
 
First -- I am NOT a gardener - and know nothing about growing anything. Either I have too much grass and forget to cut it ... or patches with no grass. BUT both my neighbour and my sister/brother in law can grow anything/anywhere!! Right now my front lawn is thin and very patchy....my next door neighbor has a great front lawn. I try to convince myself that I don't care anymore!!

However I have watched them from behind my closed window blinds!!

One of the things they did was to get a load of sand and rake it into their front lawn. I pretended I didn't care but casually asked why?? The mr said that the missus said it was break down the clay in the soil and make the grass grow - it worked. Then they added a load of top soil and raked it in ... worked even better! Their grass is really green!! Everything they do is perfect - like my brother in law -- I am pissed! Like I said - I don't know squat about gardening ... but this sand thing seemed counter intuitive - but worked... don't really know why..............
 
This thread is worthless without pics!!!

Thistles are tough, weed and feed is basically watered down 2,4-D and won't really help much with the thistles. It will also limit the germination of any new seed that you plant.

I would suggest Roundup at about 4% solution and target the worst areas. They make a thatcher blade for a regular mower that would get most of the dead grass out and help the remaining grass as well.

Ideally you want a deep, well draining soil bed with a firm surface to plant into. A light mulch layer (straw) will help with seed establishment. Sod needs lots of water to take root and if you have poor draining soil, the sod will be a bad investment.

If you have access to the right tools, it should be easy to till, add topsoil or manure or compost, compact and seed in a day. An automatic sprinkler system would be a timely addition, would at least keep your grass growing while you were away - lawn service may be a necessity to keep the place looking decent if you replant, not really a fun annual activity.

I need to plant a backyard at my new house this summer, zerozcaping and low maintenance landscaping for the front is looking better all the time. The last thing I want to do is mess around mowing a 40'x40' patch of grass after a long day of haying 125 acres of the stuff but lawns are nice the 5% of the time you spend enjoying them compared to the 95% of time spent tending to them.

Good Luck!
 
The Scott's has worked very well for me. You can see my lawn in the attachment below. Apply Weed and Feed early in the morning when the grass is nice and WET. If you wait until it is dry, the weed killer will not work. It needs to stick to the wet weeds to be effective. It states that in the instructions, but not everyone in my neighbood reads the instructions and complains that it dosen't work. Also, after your initial weed kill, I would recommend some slit-seeding. If you get your grass thick and healthy, the weeds won't be able to grow.
lawn.jpg
 
Scott's Weed & Feed with Halt's Crabgrass preventer right away if you can. Then Scott's Turfbuilder the rest of the year works for me. The crabgrass you have to get right away or it's a bugger all year.

Don't mind the Jeep. He didn't know any better when he was 2. :flipoff2:
IMG_2646.jpg
 
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