A bit early..but a lawn question

[Streetcar]

What type of grass do you have?
Blue grass needs dethached, fescue does not
As other said daily watering is bad for grass, one watering a week is better.
For Ohio with fescue fertilize with premergent in spring, nitrogen application early and late fall

 

[MossRoad]

As others have mentioned, get your soil tested first. Add any soil amendments required. Plug aerate it in the fall and plant a seed mix that's suitable for your climate. Put down winterizer fertilizer. Water daily, maybe twice daily, until the new seed is sprouted and up through the existing grass. Very early in the spring before temps rise too far (again, based on your temps), apply lawn fertilizer with crab grass killer. You may have to hit it twice a few weeks apart, as you want to hit it BEFORE the crab grass seeds sprout, but it only sits on the soil so long, and there's no way of accurately predicting when the crab grass seeds will sprout because it's based on soil temps, air temps, moisture, light, etc.... anyhow, you get the idea. Grab grass won't respond to killer once it's sprouted, so preventer is the way to go. 6 weeks after the last fertilizer/grab grass preventer application, start using regular summer fertilizer with weed and feed every 6 weeks. Then in late summer, say September/October, put down an application of winterizer fertilizer once or twice, depending on your growing season.

Watering, as others have mentioned, should be less frequent for longer periods of time. Frequent watering makes the grass "think" it doesn't have to send roots down very far to find water. If you water deeper/longer/less-often, it stresses the grass to send roots down deeper to find the water. So, again, depending on your soil type(s), shade/sun, etc... figure out how much water you need per week and divide by 3. Water your lawn 3 times per week giving it 1/3 of the weekly required water each time. Rest on Sunday.

In the fall, bag your last few cuttings in September/October. That'll catch any crab grass seeds that may be around from surviving/wind-blown in crab grass plants. Test the soil. Add amendments. Aerate again, etc... but you shouldn't need to add seed at this point.

From then on out, it's just a matter of testing, amending, aerating and fertilizing with crab grass preventer in the early spring, regular fertilizer with weed killer during the late spring and late summer, winterizer fertilizer in the fall, and regular watering.

Easy peasy! :laughing:

 

[TheMan419]

Moss you want to come over and take care of my lawn?

 

[MossRoad]

Moss you want to come over and take care of my lawn?

NOPE! :laughing:

I was hired as a groundskeeper at Stockert's Flying Service back around 1980 and had to learn that stuff to keep the lawn up around the office and public areas. Got married in 1985 and had a nice little house over near Ford and Kentucky on the west side. All old Polish people with Polish lawns and I had to fit in, so I kept it up nice. Did the every-other-week change of angles, edged sidewalks, drives, etc.... had the largest, prettiest shrubbery on the block, too! :laughing:

Where we live now, on just over 1 acre, I only maintain about 5000 square feet of the lawn. It's just too expensive to do the rest. I tried, but it's not worth it. So, the little bit directly in front of the house, the side along the driveway, the courtyard between the garage and house, and the strip between our drive and the neigbor's drive are all that get "the treatment" :laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

I'm thinking about putting in a small sprinkler system in front next spring as well. I put one in at our Polish house and I was quite satisfied with how that went and worked. I'm tired of moving hoses when I want to mow, and the line it leaves in the lawn if you leave it laying there for a couple weeks.

 

[plowhog]

I had a residential property in Sacramento, CA. Temps in summer could exceed 100F numerous times per year. My lawn always suffered when it got hot-- then the County installed water meters and the cost for watering went up, up, up. Almost everyone's lawns turned brown or gold.

I bought a product called Hydretain (or something like that.) It alters the chemistry (or affects is) between the ground and the lawn. Basically it somehow either causes more moisture to form or causes more of it to remain even in hot conditions. I spread most of a 40lb bag on a little less than an acre of lawn. It worked fantastic. Using the same amount of water, my lawn would get brown before using Hydretain, but stay green afterward. I don't exactly know how it works but I do know it was quite effective for me.

 

[MossRoad]

Water consumption is something to consider. Here, water is unlimited and we are on a well. So all I have to be concerned with is the electric bill for the pump.

 

[Tomtint]

Our lawn is a mix of fescue,rye and bluegrass.. and a ever increasing amount of Bent grass that has hundreds of spots in my yard looking like crap. ..I知 somewhat convinced that the bent grass was brought in by the fertilizer guys cross contaminating my yard from others they do.. ..they say no .. it痴 airborne seed and inevitable that we will get it due to our proximity to several golf courses... however.. I see lawns that they do not service.. not far from me.. absent of the bent grass...

 

[plowhog]

somewhat convinced that the bent grass was brought in by the fertilizer guys cross contaminating my yard from others they do.. ..

I know that machinery such as mowers can and do cross-contaminate. How is that done by fertilization-- also by machinery?

 

[Sigarms]

I have 3/4 of an acre of "lawn". Its actually field grass that has been mowed for the 37 years I've been out here. It dies during the heat of the summer and comes back with the fall rains. I've never done anything - water, fertilizer, chemicals - to it. Its a nice, big, 'ol green lawn.

I just mow it.

Its got patches of dandelions here/there - its sometime thin in spots - the pocket gopher will play havoc in places.

Hey - this is the country and this is a country lawn.

+1

What leaves we don't use for the garden I just let sit during fall as well. Who knew nothing would happen.