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Lawn care

rh71

rh71

No Lifer
For those who do your own, how much do you spend keeping it neat and green? I found the 5 step Scotts process annually but dont know how much of that really is necessary. Winterizer? Even the feed is $25 a bag, $10 for bottles of weed b gone. This stuff adds up for just wanting 4 months of nice green grass - not really sure how often to use. Just put sod down after construction so want to do the upkeep, but am i looking at a few hundred a year
 
I'm definitely no expert. If you have a good size lawn(.5-1.0 acres to keep up), depending on your soil(fertilizer, how much needed), problems (moles, crabgrass, etc...), I'd say $200-$300 is a good estimate yearly.

I spent ~$100 this year, I have a tiny lawn on a hill. I bought some seed to fill in gaps, grub-ex, and a bag of stage 1 fertilizer.

Don't forget to factor in mowing cost, and time spent overall. It's like a part-time job, but a fun one 🙂. I don't get too crazy on it, this is my first year giving a shit.
 
How big is your lawn? Personally, I'd recommend hiring a pro to do treatments the first year or two you live there in order to get it established.
 
rh71 said:
For those who do your own, how much do you spend keeping it neat and green? I found the 5 step Scotts process annually but dont know how much of that really is necessary. Winterizer? Even the feed is $25 a bag, $10 for bottles of weed b gone. This stuff adds up for just wanting 4 months of nice green grass - not really sure how often to use. Just put sod down after construction so want to do the upkeep, but am i looking at a few hundred a year
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http://www.greentouchirrigation.com/Fertigator/Fertigator_Products.html

http://www.robolawn.ca/lawnbott-lb3550-robot-lawn-mower.cfm?cfid=5807044&cftoken=52299141

http://www.kwikkerb.org/ (mower's edge shape)
 
Well I'm only caring for the front at this point and that's about 60'x40' of actual grass. The backyard is almost the same.

Say I'm getting some crabgrass, I treat it with weed-b-gone lawn spray that is supposed to be used on the entire lawn... those disappear in a few days... when do I put it down again? Proactive or reactive?
 
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You finished your house not too long ago, right? This is why I plan to live in a condo for a long long time. Too much maintenance for a house, and I would single handily make the property values plummet.
 
I do fertilize in the spring and fall. That probably runs me around $100. Other than that I leave it be.
I do try to keep weeds away (I just pull them whenever I notice them) but have absolutely no issues with clover. I had quite a large amount of clover at the beginning of this year but that simply had to do with areas that lacked nitrogen. Once the clover helped fix the nitrogen issues my st. augustine grass simply outcompeted the clover. I don't think there has been a weed in my lawn since early spring.
 
rh71 said:
Well I'm only caring for the front at this point and that's about 60'x40' of actual grass. The backyard is almost the same.

Say I'm getting some crabgrass, I treat it with weed-b-gone lawn spray that is supposed to be used on the entire lawn... those disappear in a few days... when do I put it down again? Proactive or reactive?
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For regular weeds, I'd treat the lawn with something like Scott's Turfbuilder every 6 weeks to 2 months and in between, spot treat any that sprout with chemicals. For fence rows, I'd just spray Roundup along the inside and outside when you noticed weeds taking hold there.

I've never found a chemical that will actually kill crabgrass, despite numerous claims. Crabgrass is an entirely different animal and the only way to really treat it (outside of maybe some homebrew methods) is to pull it and make sure you overseed in the fall and put preventative down EARLY in the spring. Crabgrass dies in the winter and you need to have the preventative down early in the spring before the seeds germinate to stop it from getting a foothold.
 
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After living in my house for ~7 years I finally hired the Scotts people to take can of my front and side yard. It's only 35 for 7 treatments a year. I do have a small yard though.
Well worth it to me.
I have bermuda sod but there was a small 4 ft. diameter circle of some other type grass (centipede??) in the front yard and over the years it has spread to about 20 ft diameter. Looked horrible. In 3 - 4 treatments they have killed off about 70% of it and the bermuda is growing through it nicely.
 
I buy gas for the lawnmower. Yards are a waste of time. As long as something green comes up to prevent erosion, I don't care what the green is.
 
monk3y said:
I do fertilize in the spring and fall. That probably runs me around $100. Other than that I leave it be.
I do try to keep weeds away (I just pull them whenever I notice them) but have absolutely no issues with clover. I had quite a large amount of clover at the beginning of this year but that simply had to do with areas that lacked nitrogen. Once the clover helped fix the nitrogen issues my st. augustine grass simply outcompeted the clover. I don't think there has been a weed in my lawn since early spring.
Click to expand...

ditto. I do the same. Not using chemicals to kill the weeds as I can pull their roots out right away. It does take some time, but does not cost a penny..
 
I just apply the Scott's stuff on schedule and water the grass enough in the summer to keep it from going dormant/brown.

- Sharp mower blade
- Don't cut too much off at one time (traumatizes the grass and leaves too much dead grass on the lawn if you're not bagging it)
- Cut longer in the summer, shorter in sprint/fall
- Cut often (helps keep weeds under control, too)
- Fertilize

When you water in the summer, it's best to water it deep and less frequently than shallow and frequently. Watering it deep and less frequently forces the grass to root deeper in the soil, making it more resilient.
 
from what i understand winterizing fertilizer is even more important than in the spring.

I use a weed and feed maybe 2x in the summer.. but I must use a crabgrass preventer early in the year - before the seeds germinate. I learned this lesson the hard way the first few years we lived here.

the texas drought has done in our most of our front yard and about 1/5 of the back. I have been able to save the most used portions of the back - right around the patio and where the kids play.
 
My lawn wasn't too bad in the spring but the weeds have come back like crazy. 1/2 the lawn is crabgrass now. I'm a little embarrassed to go outside. Probably time to start putting down some weed killer on a regular basis. I'd really prefer to not use any chemicals.
 
CalvinHobbes said:
My lawn wasn't too bad in the spring but the weeds have come back like crazy. 1/2 the lawn is crabgrass now. I'm a little embarrassed to go outside. Probably time to start putting down some weed killer on a regular basis. I'd really prefer to not use any chemicals.
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Unfortunately, I've yet to find a commercial chemical which will actually kill crabgrass without killing your grass. Many companies market these crabgrass "killers" but the best result I've seen is that they seem to stunt/halt the growth of it without actually killing it.
 
I just try to avoid falling into mine..

IMAG0061.jpg
 
IndyColtsFan said:
Unfortunately, I've yet to find a commercial chemical which will actually kill crabgrass without killing your grass. Many companies market these crabgrass "killers" but the best result I've seen is that they seem to stunt/halt the growth of it without actually killing it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think I really need to start seeding in the spring/fall and get a more established grass system. I tried a organic pre-emergent this year which doesn't seem to have done any good.
 
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