On May 5, 7:17 am, ransley wrote:
On May 4, 8:54 am, wrote:
On May 4, 7:16 am, ransley wrote:
On May 3, 10:00 am, wrote:
On May 2, 6:28 pm, ransley wrote:
On May 2, 11:21 am, Tony wrote:
I have a ranch on a 1/4 acre of land. My lawn isnt huge but there is enough of it. Here's the link:
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/e...ontofhouse.jpg
Yesterday, I really decided to tackle my terrible lawn. I have multiple issues. Maybe some of you
can help. Yesterday, I rented a power rake from Home Depot and thatched the lawn. Here is what came
out of the lawn only for the front yard. It may not look like a lot but there is a lot and I already
got rid of a few pails:
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/e...783/thatch.jpg
What is the next step? Do I put lime down? Do I seed? Do I fertilize? I do not know what kind of
grass to use. I have planted Scotts seed last year and the grass is so different from the grass I
already have. Instead of thin dense grass, the Scotts grass is fat and grows way faster and higher.
I went to a local nursery yesterday and the guy insisted that the taller Scotts grass was weeds and
not grass and he had no idea what kind of grass I already have. How can I find out. When I patch the
lawn, I want it to match so that it isnt so obvious because of the differernt kinds of grass. See
he
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/e.../grasstype.jpg
One other question: How do I level the lawn? It dips down a bit in the middle. And I want the lawn
to be higher by the house and grade down as it goes to the street. Do I add soil over the grass to
level it or do I have to rip the grass out and then add the soil. Here is a pic but its hard to see
the dips:
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/e...783/slope2.jpg
I am trying to sell my house so I am not looking to pay a lot of money for a landscaper, which is
why I am doing this myself. I am on the verge of a short sale and I would be happy to sell to break
even and lose the $150,000 I paid these past 5 years rather than the kill my great credit. Do I have
any hope or do I need a professional landscaper? I cannot believe dirt and lawns are so friggin
complicated. Thanks for any help you can give.
Tony
Photo 3 is Crab Grass not lawn grass, Ortho Weed Be Gone now does Crab
Grass. Your lawn looks to short, best is cut it as tall as you can
till maybe it kinda flops, not the highest mower setting but I think
about 3 1/4". How do you fertilise and water, what are the tree types.
Thick thatch is from liqued fertiliser. You need soil tests done and
some pro advise. If it was my lawn I would spray the crab grass and
fertilise, then in a few weeks seed. The crab grass is from last years
seed fom the Crab Grass growing not Scotts seed. Is it real shady, it
looks like it is and many types of Maples have shallow roots that make
getting a good lawn near impossible.
Doesn't look like any crabgrass I've known. Also, don't know where
he's located, but it would have to be someplace warm to have mature
crabgrass at this time of year. It looks to me like an undesirable
grass, eg poa trivialis. Which is really bad news, because there is
no selective herbicide to kill it without killing the desirable grass
too.
IMO, the power raking was a waste. You only need to de-thatch if it
is exceptionally thick and preventing water from penetrating into the
soil like a thatch roof would. Normal thatch is not a problem.
As someone else pointed out, the only quick fix is to use sod.
Trying to sell it, if you want to just do a fix that will make it look
a lot better in a couple months, then I would over-seed. Mow it
short, rake up all the debris, do any leveling off with topsoil if
really necessary, then rent a slit seeder and apply a high quality
seed appropriate for the climate, sun, etc. Apply starter
fertilizer. Then keep it constantly damp, which, this time of year
in USA is going to take a lot of water. Hopefully you have inground
sprinklers, because if you don't it's a real pain to keep watering a
decent size lawn. And be prepared to deal with weeds in a couple
months when the grass has established and can tolerate herbicide.
The weed and water issues are two big reasons Fall is the best time to
seed. I'd check and adjust the PH with lime if needed.
For the really correct solution to the whole problem I would have done
the above procedure in Fall after killing off all the existing plants
with Roundup. That would get rid of the undesirable rough grasss.
Also, if the soil is particularly dense, compacted, etc, then renting
an aerator prior to re-seeding would be a good idea too.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
My crabgrass looks just like that, right now in Chicago, and that
tall. I use Ortho weed B gone as it now does crab grass.
I'd have to respectfully disagree. Whatever you are seeing in Chicago
right now isn't crabgrass. Crabgrass doesn't even germinate until
you have daytime temps consistently in the 80s, which is why one
guideline for applying pre-emergent is to put it down when the
forsythias bloom, so that protection starts then. And that is for
it to just germinate. Here in NJ, where it's warmer, you never see
actual crabgrass in lawns until July at the earliest. Also, crabgrass
spreads out low to the ground and looks like a crab, hence the name.
Whatever grass is in that pic is growing straight up.
Here's a pic of crabgrass:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardand...grass.jpg-Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
What ive found is crabgrass starts to emerge when soil is 60f , there
are at least 230 different types and it can grow 3 ft tall and look
like his photo and what I have, not all types just spread out and stay
6" high. We have had 60 f ground temp for quite awhile. It may be
something different but it has the crabgrass charicteristics of
spreading and taking controll and thriving with no water, reseeding
and being hard to control.
There are a zillion other weeds and grasses that fit that description
and weed indentification can sometimes be difficult. One
distinguishing characteristic of crabgrass is that it doesn't
germinate until you have warm temperatures and is a summer lawn
problem, not present in Spring.
Take a look at this crabgrass control document from Rutgers
University. They indicate that pre-emergent needs to go down by April
10, meaning the crabgrass has not germinated by then. That is
consistent with the advice on all the pre-emergents that are sold.
If crabgrass doesn't germinate until after April 10 in NJ, you can't
have large, mature plants in Chicago or Canada by May 5. I see
crabgrass here every year and never before July.