Lawn Experts i need some advice, please.

[shimsham]

yes, i am well aware of where i am. but im sure some of you have to go outside sometime, and some of you may even enjoy cultivating a nice lawn, so i figured id ask.

im finally getting around to trying to get my lawn looking somewhat nice. can anyone recommend a weed and feed that works? im not really interested in having the carpet looking lawn like on the commercials, unless it just happens like that when i spread the bag. just something to help kill the weeds, and help the grass come in fuller. im clueless to this kind of stuff, so id rather hear some first hand advice, than have to trust the sales person at home depot, or wherever.

also, can anyone recommend what to do about a bare spot? my dog has dug some holes in the corner of my yard and i put the dirt back, but it looks terrible just having a big spot of dirt there. any recommendations? like maybe a fertilizer/seed combo? or should i just lay some sod? its 2 areas, about 10'x10'.

TIA:beer:

 

[PanzerIV]

Hey Shimsham you're not alone so fear not. As a new homeowner your questions are pertinent to me too so maybe we will get an answer or two.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

I like the Scotts fertilizer, just go to a store and ask which o ne to use

As for the bare spots, put seed and then fertilizer. There are small packs for things like what you're needing it for that have both, a box of seed and a box of fertilizer

 

[shimsham]

we bought our house 1y 3mos ago, and last summer was pretty easy. i think the previous owner took good care of the lawn, but the house was vacant from april till december before we bought it. i didnt do anything but rake and mow last summer, so it was easy. this year i have some work to do. i raked and mowed today (thought my neighbor was going to stroke out when he saw me out there ), and its not too bad. i just dont want it to get too far gone to where i cant fix it without shelling out lots of cash.

hopefully we can get some good advice:beer:

 

[slewfoot]

Your best bet for the bare spots is to sod with the type grass you have now, probably Centipede or St. Augustine.

I have found that Scott's Bonus S Weed&Feed works good on our sandy soils. I live in Mobile, so our climate, rainfall and soils are the same.

 

[bunker]

1. Where do you live?
2. What kind of grass is it?
3. Has it been aerated anytime recently?
4. How much thatch is there?
5. How often do you mow it and what height?

If all you're asking for is a brand name, I don't use anything but Scott's.

When applying the weed and feed, make sure it won't rain for a couple days, also make sure the grass is damp or the weed killer won't stick to the weeds and it won't do any good. Follow the directions on how much to put down. If you put too much down you could end up chemically burning the lawn and you'll have nothing!

Also, see if your local college or county has an extension office. They'll usually help you out with info like this for free as well as testing your soil (you bring them a sample) to tell you what kind and how much fertilizer to use.

 

[StageLeft]

Throw a bag of whatever the guy at home depot tells you to, drop some water on it, and it will look better than most people on your street. That's all we do, and it's not great, but it is better than our neighbors'

 

[jjp]

I've had better luck with laying sod as well. Make sure you lay down some lime first. I had dog problems too. My first lab to love burying bones. Funny though....if he thought I was watching he would go somewhere else and bury.

 

[dman]

Different ones for different grass's / times of year / types of problems.

SCOTTS is good, works well. There was some knockoff brand I got at home depot that worked well for our St. Augustine grass. Was basically same specs as Scotts for slightly less $$$. Costco's and clubs may have good deals (not great) on spreaders if you need that.

FYI, "IRONITE" is good to make it green, at least for me, but, doesn't do anything for weeds.

 

[TechnoKid]

Scotts. I have had nothing but good results with it. I use a scotts drop spreader too, the accudrop 1000; its about $20 at homedepot. For the weed and feed, the Scotts Plus2 is good. They also make a bag of patching stuff; comes with seed, a moisture holding material and fertalizer.

A month ago I put on some scotts fertilizer plus halts crabgrass preventer and the grass is really nice and thick and green.

Mow your lawn frequently, about once a week or when it has grown about 1 inch since you last mowed it; mowing it when it gets too high will shock the grass because of how low you may cut it. Try not to mow more than 1/3 of the height of the grass off.

Scotts website also has a good section on lawn care.

 

[shimsham]

thanks for all the replies fellas:beer:

ill pick up some scotts and a spreader tomorrow and some sod later this week. i have roughly .25 acres, so how many bags of scotts should i get? 4?

edit: i didnt even think about checking out scotts website. thanks for the tip technokid.

 

[CubicZirconia]

Here's something to keep in mind. Every bag of fertilizer will have three numbers on the bottom of the bag (30-4-10 for example). Those numbers represent the fertilizer's percentages, by weight, of nitrogren, phosphorous, and potassium, respectively. Nitrogen is for greening, phosphorous is for strengthening roots, and potassium is for disease resistance. Different fertilizer's will have different percentages, so it's nice to have some idea of what the numbers mean.

i have roughly .25 acres, so how many bags of scotts should i get? 4?

Fertilizer bags typically come in 3 sizes: 5,000 square feet, 10,000 square feet, and 15,000 square feet. If you've got ~.25 acres, you're looking at about 10,000 square feet. One bag should be fine.


edit: looks like you might have found that info on the scott's website, oh well.

 

[shimsham]

Originally posted by: CubicZirconia
Here's something to keep in mind. Every bag of fertilizer will have three numbers on the bottom of the bag (30-4-10 for example). Those numbers represent the fertilizer's percentages, by weight, of nitrogren, phosphorous, and potassium, respectively. Nitrogen is for greening, phosphorous is for strengthening roots, and potassium is for disease resistance. Different fertilizer's will have different percentages, so it's nice to have some idea of what the numbers mean.

i have roughly .25 acres, so how many bags of scotts should i get? 4?

Fertilizer bags typically come in 3 sizes: 5,000 square feet, 10,000 square feet, and 15,000 square feet. If you've got ~.25 acres, you're looking at about 10,000 square feet. One bag should be fine.


edit: looks like you might have found that info on the scott's website, oh well.

i checked out scotts site, but i didnt see that. didnt really know to look. thanks for the tips:beer:

 

[CubicZirconia]

Originally posted by: shimsham

Originally posted by: CubicZirconia
Here's something to keep in mind. Every bag of fertilizer will have three numbers on the bottom of the bag (30-4-10 for example). Those numbers represent the fertilizer's percentages, by weight, of nitrogren, phosphorous, and potassium, respectively. Nitrogen is for greening, phosphorous is for strengthening roots, and potassium is for disease resistance. Different fertilizer's will have different percentages, so it's nice to have some idea of what the numbers mean.

i have roughly .25 acres, so how many bags of scotts should i get? 4?

Fertilizer bags typically come in 3 sizes: 5,000 square feet, 10,000 square feet, and 15,000 square feet. If you've got ~.25 acres, you're looking at about 10,000 square feet. One bag should be fine.


edit: looks like you might have found that info on the scott's website, oh well.

i checked out scotts site, but i didnt see that. didnt really know to look. thanks for the tips:beer:

Another tip: If you're going to use a weed and feed, either hose down your lawn before you apply it or wait until after it rains. Typically weed and feeds only work if the fertilizer actually sticks to the weeds. Consequently, you don't want it to rain after you've applied it either. If that happens the weed and feed won't do anything. And when in doubt, read the back of the bag. It will probably tell you everything you want to know.