Green thumb anyone?

[Mazdaspeedgirl]

Okay, I know there are people here who own houses and I have a lot to learn about caring for a lawn since we just bought our first house (yay) .

Ours is just beginning to come out of dormancy and I bought a book about lawn, but there must be some other kind of tips I could use.

 

[changedman]

hit up home depot and buy green spray paint

 

[omgwtfbbq]

pour gas on it and light it on fire. dont worry about it spreading to your house or the rest of your neighborhood... as long as you are standing there, its a 'controlled' burn, so its all cool.

 

[sidpro5]

Congrats on the house, MSPG. We also purchased our first in October, so this is my first "lawn season" as well. What condition is the lawn in? is it full? Patchy, etc.? One thing a local landscape guy told me to do, before the end of April, is to get a small spreader and some limestone powder. You want to do this before the rain slows/stops for the summer. The water will help the soil absorb it better, and the grass root will take hold better. Also, at HD, you can buy seasonal weed-n-feed, fertilizer, etc. Best bet is to find out the square footage of the lawn surface and talk to someone at the store or even a local landscaper, to see exactly what you need for what you're looking to do.
Good luck.

 

[miss_steele_msp]

congrats on the house. I dont know what type of grass yall have in texas but over here in Ga we have crab grass. This is also my first lawn we just put down somw weed and feed water it every nite and our grass is nice thick and green. good luck with the house and yard

 

[MinnowGT]

yeah you should find out what type of grass you have as that can determine the type of fertilizer you need.

if you want an easy guide you can goto the scotts home page and get the info.
but you need to know the type of grass to get their best recommendation.
http://www.scotts.com/index.cfm/eve...E54E-65BF-F00C-05A0-2A925355728A/tkn/17603558

basically fertilize after the 1st mowing. then every 6-8 weeks.

enjoy the new house and all the lawn and gardening choirs that go along with it.

 

[DE31]

heres project "backyard" we remodeled the house a few months ago and they killed our lawn with their tools so we're....fixing it. (some of the pictures werent able to resize when i uploaded them.

*edit* tip:if you have saint augustine grass (which look great, the ones pictured used to be saint augustine so there is a few left) be sure to take good care of them. they are very sensitive. i was out a weekend and didnt water them and when i got back they already showed some yellow. but if you can take care of them they are some of the best looking grass out there.

^my 12 year old doggy. 12 years old but still acts like a little puppy. yes hes fat.

 

[NeverSober]

when i saw greenthumb I thought you were talking about growin buds hahahaha


Chris

 

[kcbhiw]

hit up home depot and buy green spray paint

I should invest in that idea! My postage stamp lawn is "cared" for by the local HOA's choice of landscapers. So through the spring and summer months, it's cut 1/2" from the soil to maintain that nice brown color - identical to that of fall and winter. I guess they're looking for consistancy (shrug).



Congrats on the house MSG. What kind of grass is it? My only advice for now is to keep it watered.

 

[Mazdaspeedgirl]

Thanks for the tips guys.

I have done some research and found that I have bermuda grass (great in my semi-arid climate).

It has also been suggested that I aerate the soil soon (we have sandy/clay compacted soil in our region) and at most twice per season thereafter.

I have HUGE goosegrass/broadleaf weed problems right now, which I think I will deal with first (I am almost done pulling all of it in the front yard--it was EVERYwhere).
My plan of attack for weeding:
Pull all weeds
Spray remaining roots with Ortho's Weed-B-Gone
Drop-spread Scott's weed and feed product
Seed with Scott's Bermuda Grass mix to fill in the bare spots
After the newly germinated grass is able to be cut for the 1st time, drop-spread
Scott's fertilizer/fire ant killer

I think that should take care of the front yard.

I am wanting to start all over with the back lawn because the grass is tall fescue, which looks weedy to me and is kinda sparse. But that will be done later after we have the patio and rear drive poured (probably in a year after I get out of school).

DE31, do you have some updated pics of your backyard?

and btw, I will never make fun of people who spend all weekend on their yards (not that I ever did). This is tough work. I spent over 13 hours weeding my front lawn over the past 3 days!

Big lawns are over-rated.

 

[changedman]

yeah our lawn got aerated just a couple days ago

spring and fall.

 

[Mazdaspeedgirl]

Did you do it yourself by renting a machine or did you have a lawn service do it? I am wonder what the cost efficiency of both options is.

 

[changedman]

lawn service. also, if you have a sprinkler system mark the sprinkler heads if you have someone do it... because they will get eaten.

 

[Mazdaspeedgirl]

lawn service. also, if you have a sprinkler system mark the sprinkler heads if you have someone do it... because they will get eaten.

I don't have a sprinkler system.

How much was it for them to do the service?

__________________
The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of cheap price is forgotten.

That's a great line!

 

[changedman]

The average price in Southern California, for example is about $45.00 per 1,000

mine is a contract, so i dont know exactly what one service costs.

 

[D323]

Pre emergents in the early spring are a very good idea to stop crab grass and other unwanted grasses that can come up.

Water late in the evening during the hot summer so it has all night to soak in, and wont get too hot to quick and evaporate off.

Dried molasses and the lime you suggested are good for the soil and will help.

Typical bermuda likes to be kept short and well watered. Your conventional push mowers usually wont get close enough.... ideally one of the mowers with the blades that rotate forward are best.

 

[Mazdaspeedgirl]

Pre emergents in the early spring are a very good idea to stop crab grass and other unwanted grasses that can come up.

Unfortunately I was too late for this as we just moved in the house. The sellers moved out in Feb, so the poor lawn was all on its lonesome...

Water late in the evening during the hot summer so it has all night to soak in, and wont get too hot to quick and evaporate off.

See that makes more sense to me, but there are those houses whose sprinkler systems I see come on about 7am.

Typical bermuda likes to be kept short and well watered. Your conventional push mowers usually wont get close enough.... ideally one of the mowers with the blades that rotate forward are best.

I was actually wanting one of these manual mowers.

 

[D323]

Those forward reel mowers can cost quite a pretty penny new.

 

[Mazdaspeedgirl]

Yah, I was looking at them at Sears and they cost as much as a base gas mower! (eek)

 

[P5LawnMan]

Do a soil sample , there should be a county extention service that will test it free and they will tell you what your soil needs . Water for long durations , that will promote the roots to go deep and your grass will be more drought tolerant , let the lawn dry out between waterings this will also help the lawn . Avoid the urge to just water a little. Water early 3am-4am this will allow time for water to soak in but also let the sun dry up excess water which can lead to fugus if left on blades to long. Feed the lawn every 60 days , follow the label directions more is not better , the correct amoumt of fertilizer is what is needed. Use combo fertilizer products when you can , like weed and feed or fertilizer with pesticide , this will save time and effort. Mow at the correct height for the type of grass you have and use a mulching deck mower this puts the nutrients back in the ground , and promotes a build up of microscopic creatures , these are a little guys that make your fertilizer work . Good Luck