Quote:
Originally Posted by vision33r
Right now is the best time to patch and kill pests. It's too late to grow flowers unless you just pot them. I'm also looking to make my lawn eco friendly. The lawn eats so much resources.
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What do you mean that it's too late to grow flowers? Do you mean by seed?
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainNJ
i have a fertilizer company and a mowing company. ive learned my lesson when it comes to seeding in the spring, mostly weeds come up. ill wait until fall for seeding.
all this stuff is easy enough for a DIYer.
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We had a lawn service for a little while but couldn't see throwing out $40 every 10 days. It adds up quick. My hub bought a John Deer riding mower for payments of $35 a month. At least we have something to show for that $35 going out every month.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DefiantNJ
I just applied crab grass preventer. I had terrible results with planting more grass in the spring and now it is too late anyway. I hate grass...
I will be planting Zinnias, a very pretty, semi wild flower on a section of the lawn. It is very pretty and once established, the flowers bloom until the first frost:
https://www.almanac.com/plant/zinnias |
I love zinnias. I don't see anyone planting them around me
Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyHobkins
Quote:
Originally Posted by HudsonCoNJ
What exactly should I be doing? I'm completely clueless
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Seeding/overseeding, peat moss, putting down lime (if applicable), fertilizing, laying down disease and grub killer and watering. |
Hudson, if you already have grass, you should be doing the weed and feed granules. As Danny said, grub killer is another you'd want to do. I have a few links for you. If you lime, you may want to find a quick acting one since it's later in the season to be doing it. I google searched
Pennington Fast Acting Lime which was mentioned in an article. Sam's club has it, Lowes also has a fast acting lime.
Home Depot sells Pennington products. Looking at Google, they seem cheaper then buying Scott's. I've never used Pennington so can't give you feedback on their products.
We have TruGreen doing our lawn, for some reason they don't do the grub treatment, I've done it a few times. TruGreen used to use Scott's but stopped about a year ago. There is a difference in our lawn and everyone in my development that also uses TruGreen where we have more weeds since they stopped using Scott's. I run a Facebook group for my development, I know most are unhappy with their lawn.
A few weeks ago, we had all sorts of weeds coming up along the perimeter and spotty through the grass. My hub looked at our TruGreen account, they had not done a weed treatment yet. They're supposedly behind. I guess they're only doing it for customers that call to complain if you can get through early in the morning, anything after 8:15AM is a 2 hour wait. They do a treatment that has a pre-emergent in it which I assume is for weeds.
We had a post in the Facebook group asking who does their lawn service and how are the weeds. Seems everyone has weeds pretty bad this year. I started looking for a new company to do our lawn. Other people in my development using a different company are also looking to switch. Since
Scotts products worked well when TruGreen used them, I wanted to switch to them, found that they do not have a lawn service any more that comes out. They have a new service where you answer questions about your lawn, they will send you their products at the right application time. -
Scotts Subscription Lawn Program, they have an app. They do a pay per shipment or save 10% by signing up for a one-time payment.
I just did the Scotts subscription questions. They show you different grasses to see if you know which you have. My gripe was that there's no back button to click I don't know my type. I have sod, apparently Kentucky Blue Grass is used. They're suggesting 4 different bags of turf builder. It starts with late spring. You may want to take the quiz, it will give you an idea of how much product you have to buy. It asks the square footage of your lawn which I don't know. They have a help guide that tells you how large a basketball court and various acreage sizes are which then gives square footage. Surprisingly it didn't give me any products to get rid of grubs.
Late spring - Scotts® Turf Builder® Weed & Feed in a yellow bag which says it kills dandelions. Apply when weeds are actively growing and daytime temperatures are 60°F to 90°F. In the northern US, weeds are most active Apr-Sept. $61.49
Early summer is Scotts® Turf Builder® Summerguard® Lawn Food with Insect Control, in an orange bag. Apply in Summer: June - August. $71.99
Early fall - Scotts® Turf Builder® WinterGuard® Fall Weed & Feed. Orange bag. September to October. $64.99
Early Spring - Scotts® Turf Builder® Halts Crabgrass Preventer with Lawn Food blue bag. Apply in early spring: February - April. $67.99
how to properly fertilize your lawn
When should I apply lime to my lawn? - Fall and spring are generally the best times to lime lawns. Fall has an added advantage, as rain, snow and cycles of freezing and thawing help lime break down and begin to work.
Why, When and How to Apply Lime to Your Lawn - In many parts of the country, adding lime to your lawn is as essential as mowing it. Without lime, lawn grasses may be unable to benefit from the nutrients in your soil, including those you add through fertilizers. By understanding how lime helps lawns and why you may need lime, you can help your lawn reach its full potential. The following questions and answers can help guide you through that process, so you can lime your lawn confidently
2. Why apply lime?
Lawns need lime when low soil pH starts inhibiting the availability of nutrients. Soil pH preferences vary between regional lawn grasses, but most grasses prefer soil pH between 5.8 and 7.2. Warm-season grasses tolerate slightly lower pH, while cool-season grasses prefer pH slightly higher.1,2 When within preferred pH ranges, the nutrients lawn grasses need most — including added nitrogen from lawn fertilizers — stay available for grass to use. When pH strays too far in either direction, even plentiful nutrients are restricted. Lime restores balance in overly acidic soil to bring pH back to optimal growing levels.
3. How do I know when my lawn needs lime?
When soil becomes too acidic, lawn grasses struggle and plants that flourish in acidic soil take their place. For example, the presence of
lawn moss signals your soil pH has become too low for strong, healthy grass growth. Other warning signs include increases in
common lawn weeds, diseases and insect pests. Many weeds prefer acidic soil, and low soil pH can inhibit the effectiveness of some herbicides and insecticides.2 When soil is overly acidic, you'll also notice that grasses don't respond to quality lawn fertilizers with the healthy, lush growth you normally expect.
6. What's the best time to apply lime?
Fall and spring are generally the best times to lime lawns. Fall has an added advantage, as rain, snow and cycles of freezing and thawing help lime break down and begin to work. Traditional lime can take many months to change soil pH significantly, but
Pennington Fast Acting Lime contains finely ground particles that are bound together in an easy-to-use, pellet-like form, and begin correcting soil pH immediately. With the added benefit of Advanced Soil Technology, this high-quality, fast-acting lime maximizes nutrient availability to benefit your lawn whatever the season.
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