I haven't seen one of these started but after seeing so many FHC members with awesome looking lawns, it is certain many know the secrets. I do not! My plan to date is to continue the fertilizing schedule for what remains of my lawn, then sometime in September do some core aerating and overseeding. The overseeding will more than likely be in sections as we have an acre and dogs plus kids, so fencing I would think is a must. Massachusetts, southcoast. Where can I get a soil test? Is there any hope of resuscitating my lawn with the presence of 2 dogs? Is it safe to apply lime in June? I was just intending to lime heavily the areas where the dogs urinated during the winter. Next winter I know to plow a path to the woods (their normal encouraged restroom area.) Thanks for any advice, it is truly appreciated.
You can get a soil test kit at most garden centers for a few dollars and the outcome will let you know what the soil needs.
There are probably many on here cnice_37 with lots of lawn care knowledge. DexterDay is one of them. His lawns are like green carpets...
I used to have ChemLawn come do my yard (fertilizer and weed killing). But they stopped servicing my area and I have yet to find another company as cheap as they could do (4 of my 7 acres was just over $300 a treatment). I have been core aerating every other year and that helps a lot with drainage and also leveling ( the high spots beside the holes, fill in the holes as you roll/cut) blsnelling , lukem, and many other have very nice lawns as well. Much nicer than mine. As for dogs, I have always had two dogs. Now that my grass is not as green because of lack of fertilizer? I HAVE numerous dark green spots where Timber has a BM. I don't bother to clean them because of the size of my yard. But I have a lot of dark/fertilized spots in my backyard. The side yard and front look much better Back yard Side yard
Lots of digging but the worst is the backyard which was once my best stretch of lawn is where they constantly peed last winter. I will keep my eye out for a core aerator on CL.
For female dogs, I heard changing the food may help the urine spots. There are also supplements for it too, though I am not a fan of them.
Yeah definitely not going with the supplements. They have the whole acre to roam and are trained to do their business in the woods. Its not without flaws, but the female especially goes #1 in the yard constantly. At a minimum it is random, just not during the winter which was when the damage was done. I plan on liming the bare spot (more like bare 10'x10' square) now in anticipation of overseeding in the fall with hopes of growing something there.
how big are the dogs and how big is the yard? When I had two 60 lb dogs on my old 50x130 city lot, there was just no way the back yard was going to look good. Now that I only have one 60 lb dog and 2+ acres, you can't even tell I have a dog. What about trees? If you're having trouble with shade grass, you might want to consider a ground cover plant instead. I don't fertilize much, but I do work hard to keep the weeds down and mow in a timely fashion.
Dogs are 60 & 85 lbs but fertilize the woods. The lawn is good half acre easy with total plot just over 1.
Start with a good test done in a lab. Don't use a home kit. A good test cost 10 to 15$ Then lime accordingly. All the fert in the world won't do anything if the pH is way off so the lime needs to be down first and have time to work before fert benefits are 100%. Core Aeration spring and or fall helps mucho. Rent one...don't buy. Also rent a slit seeder. That way you get proper seed to soil contact. Mowing at 3.5 to 4in will help greatly. Your lawn is not a putting green...raise up the mower deck and leave it alone. Weeds are dealt with in the spring and fall. Clover for example, fall is a better time to spray than spring. It's a slow process....definetly not a instant gratification type job.
For the record, Dex's yard is much nicer than mine. Lots of good advice so far and I don't have much additional to offer. Farmers fertilizer places will do a good inexpensive soil test. Get your acidity right then fertilize. They will also tell how how much nitrogen to add. I would treat with some inexpensive broad leaf fertilizer this fall and then aerate and overseed...and see what things are looking like in the spring. Just keep in mind that there is a lot more time and $ involved in having a great lawn versus a "good enough" lawn...and there is nothing wrong with good enough.
I think good enough would make me happy. No plans on irrigation system so I don't know I could ever achieve great.
Yep... my lawns are "good nuff" too... I'm just grateful to keep em knocked down to almost lookin' like a lawn most of the time...
I'm just grateful we have anything at all growing to keep the mud down Mowed twice this year already....
how nice do you want it. I mow all my weeds same height once a week! I do have reasonably nice grass u mm lawn. old horse property sod roots under grass is 12 to 16 inches deep. next to impossible to dig or aerate without hydraulics. up to 6 dogs every day friends use it as dog park. test your soil... call you local university extension service I'm sure you got option in Massachusetts! ours gives out a lot of free stuff to prevent phosphorus in the lake. it's free try it! these kids have spent lots of money on education and want to impress since university costs money it's a benefit...
That right there is key! Im a firm believer of keeping your cutting height at least 3.5" especially during the summer months. No reason to cut it lower unless you have a great irrigation system and don't mind the water/electric bills. We have over 150 acres of grass at work, about 80 of that is sports fields. The coaches that listen to us and let us keep their fields a littler higher than normal, typically have beautiful fields even after the season. The others that insist on us cutting at 3" or lower are always wondering "what happened to my field?" about halfway through the season. They're the one's coming to me during a drought and begging that i increase the watering time on their fields. Sorry folks, only so many hours in a day Of course a soil test and the correct applications of lime, fert and broadleaf control will definately improve the health of your lawn. But keep it cut higher for a summer or two and you'll see the difference!
The time has almost come. After removing a few trees, and I will prune the rest; I have plenty of areas that are bare as my ... head. I will loam the bad areas. Core aerate and slice seed. And water, water, water. Unfortunately it will be a challenge to water and easy 20k ft2. Any advice that doesn't break the bank? I can't be home to water 3 times a day so a timer system would seem a must. Perhaps start the front yard on that system for a couple weeks then move to the back yard and just do a manually timed system in the front for another 2 weeks. I don't know, not trying to break the bank and just get some grass back.
