Large lawn improvement

[WinterDeere]

My brain is spinning on this one.. Lots of great info! Thank you for the detailed response.

I'm definitely not going to be able to justify that kind of continued expense. I may have to come up with a Dollar General version taking bits and pieces from your list each year...

The biggest factor, which I guess I failed to mention because it's not really a yearly chore, is to get your pH right. Most will require lime to get their pH on-target, and the great news is that lime is the cheapest of all the lawn ammendments you'll ever need.

I even had the tech's at my turf product wholesaler once tell me, "if your pH isn't right, all the fertilizer in the world isn't going to save you." A bold and unprofitable statement for them to make, considering pH correction is cheap, and they make most of their money on fertilizer.

In 15 years on this property, I think I've only had to nudge the pH three times with lime applications, it holds pretty steady for several years. The down side is that it takes a lot of lime, I've done over 1000# per acre in a single application, but the up side is that it's so cheap you'll think they mis-charged you.

I'd start with a soil test, the cost of which is usually between free and $30. That will tell you how far off you are on pH and various nutrients. The biggest mistake I see most folks making is spending money on fertilizer they don't need. But even if you choose to not dial everything in to perfection, at least you'll know the general direction you want to nudge things. If your soil test comes back with a recommendation for lots of Nitrogen and zero potatasium, at least you'll know to be shopping 20-x-0 fertilizers, whatever you end up actually buying.

You probably already know this, but every bag of fertilizer sold in the USA has an N-P-K designation on the bag. That's Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium. Given you're working with 10 acres rather than a 1/4 acre in-town lot, making sure you're not wasting money on an ingredient you don't actually require is going to matter to you.

I buy my products from SynaTek Solutions, but in your area you have Agra Turf Inc., which I believe is a similar company. These companies are where golf courses and athletic field contractors buy their products, and they will usually partner someone like you up with one of their in-house sales experts who can help you develop a yearly plan at any budget level. Moreover, their dollar per acre rates are going to be way lower than the low-density crap you can buy at Lowes Depot, since they package at higher density rates (e.g. 200 lb/acre for most products).

If I were in your shoes, I'd pick out the "pretty" 2 - 3 acre plot around the house, and put my budget and energy there. The remaining 7 - 8 acres might only get lime and spring pre-emergent, which will cost you under $120/acre per year. This aligns with another member here who said he'd mow concentric circles around his house and see how far he got in an hour, before calling that his "lawn". 2 - 3 acres of pretty lawn is plenty for someone who has a full-time job elsewhere.

PS - People always throw out things like "soil test", assuming people know where to get them, which isn't always obvious. If you end up buying product from Agra Turf, they should give you free soil tests after the first year. Maybe they'll charge you $30 for the first one. Also, any university that has an agricultural extension can either test your soil or point you to a lab that will do it. Just collect a dozen samples from around the property at grass root depth (I use a bulb planter to pull a plug and shake a few soil crumbs into a baggie). Mix the crumbs of a dozen samples until you have a homogeneous handfull, and then drop it off at Agri Turf or any other turf products supplier. Usually takes a week or two to get results back.

 

[BackRoad]

Mr. Winterdeere, what specific product do you use for grub control?

Japanese Beetles have decimated my garden the last 2 years...

And how do you spread the lime?

 

[RayIN]

That's a pretty decent lawn now other than a few weeds!

I'm with Jimmy Joe - Dicamba to get rid of the weeds, then let it grow long - cut at 5" or so will shade and retain the moisture better too.

Then selectively slit seed in the fall as needed, and till some sand or topsoil in the bare areas and seed at the same time.

I agree with mowing high, I mow to 4", but let it get 6-8" before mowing.
This shades weeds and trash, early on and prevents it from getting healthy.
I don't subscribe to the lawn company's hype about killing everything but one or two grasses. Whatever is green grows into a great looking lawn from a distance.
I only spray nuisance weeds. Sat I sprayed some old-fashoned nettles that sprang up after the county swept the old blacktop in prep for the new layer of blacktop.
Some people don't realize clovers are a broadleaf plant that support local bee colonies while also looking good in a lawn.

 

[oldnslo]

Mr. Winterdeere, what specific product do you use for grub control?

Japanese Beetles have decimated my garden the last 2 years...

And how do you spread the lime?

I use a product called Milky Spore for Japanese beetle grub control. It requires 2 - 3 applications for two consecutive years an then can last for 8 to 10 years or more without another application. The only insect this product affects is the Japanese Beetles grub.

Not inexpensive but I like it since doesn’t bother beneficial insects like bees, butterflies, etc.

 

[WinterDeere]

Mr. Winterdeere, what specific product do you use for grub control?

Japanese Beetles have decimated my garden the last 2 years...

And how do you spread the lime?

I've toggled back and forth between Allectus and Entourage, depending on which was available in the fertilizer blend I needed that year. Or during the COVID years, which one was available, period.

I seem to have had much better results with keeping Japanese beetle populations down on the years I use Entourage, but that could have as much to do with application timing, weather, and even what my neighbors are doing each year, as my choice of product.

Target application date around here is June 15, for maximum control of Japanese beetle grubs. But it requires some rain to activate, so jump on it early if it looks like late June could be dry, or vice versa. I think recommended watering-in is about 0.5" of rain, or equivalent.

Remembering back now, Entourage might be a proprietary local brand name, so you might not see it everywhere. Allectus is definitely available nearly everywhere. Most of these products are packaged with fertilizer, most easily purchased and used at a rate of four 50 lb. bags per acre, which works well in most broadcast spreaders running in the lower third or their deposit rate range. I use a Herd M12 at setting 6.0 to 6.5 for these products, but used to use a crappy Precision brand tow-behind spreader on a garden tractor before the Herd.

 

[mikester]

10 acre lawn LOL

 

[Complete Turf Care]

My business is building and maintaining bermuda athletic fields. When I have more time, I will respond to your questions. I am in South Louisiana.

 

[D&D]

The biggest factor, which I guess I failed to mention because it's not really a yearly chore, is to get your pH right. Most will require lime to get their pH on-target, and the great news is that lime is the cheapest of all the lawn ammendments you'll ever need.

cheap ? $70/ton for lime vs $600 for 20-10-20...Makes me wonder why every time I reach for the checkbook. Last couple of years, definitely more receipts and less deposits.

 

[WinterDeere]

cheap ? $70/ton for lime vs $600 for 20-10-20...Makes me wonder why every time I reach for the checkbook. Last couple of years, definitely more receipts and less deposits.

Yep, that roughly agrees with my memory, lime is roughly 10% the cost of fertilizer. And quality seed is 5x the cost of fertilizer, at least for most of the better tall fescue blends with higher germination rates. So for the love of everything holy, get your pH and nutrients right, before blowing a dime on seed!

I see people throwing away money on re-seeding, without even bothering to do a soil test to see if their pH is way off. That's fine if you have a 1/2 acre yard, you might waste $300 on seed and starter fertilizer, but it's a more expensive mistake on 5 - 10 acres.

 

[nyone]

I have a 4 acre yard and can't stand it. Trying to get some of it to turn back into woods. I couldn't imagine maintaining a 10 acre yard!

Yup! How do plan on maintaining 10ac of lawn? Why what I see that's alreaty there just mow it how it currently sits. In a few meetings you fill find that unless you have large equipment (and you said you didnt) you wont want a 10ac lawn after a few mowing sessions.