hello! new to the sub, recently moved into a rental home in los angeles with a yard. the owner/landlord has no real guidance for me on the yard maintenance, and it's on me to diagnose
and remedy.
we have sprinklers set up, but i'm pretty sure they are not working considering the grass is dying?
pics from when we toured jan 5, then jan 11 our move in and now. we are about 5 miles from the fires, ash was coming down for about the entire time we've lived here. so i am not sure if that is impacting the grass at all. any tips or guidance would be appreciated – i don’t know where to begin!
by elledoubleyouu
6 Comments
A couple questions:
Is this Landlord a friend, family member etc?
How long are you planning on living there?
Do you pay for utilities including water?
I ask because, there’s of course wanting to be a good renter, but you don’t want to cross a line by pouring money into something that is ultimately not yours. A lot of people in this group will likely tell you to make sure the landlord takes care of this. There’s general lawn maintenance, ensuring you keep in alive so to say, but you want to avoid crossing into renovation, unless the landlord is cutting you a deal on rent or taking money off for what your putting in, etc.
Edit: I get wanting to be proud of something, or perhaps want to take it on as a hobby, etc. but the reality is a lawn really shouldn’t one of those things unless you’re a homeowner, this isn’t to put you down by any means! Just trying to save you money over what shouldn’t be your responsibility to a degree.
Ground looks hard af.
I would test the soil Ph first. Results will determine what the soil needs.
Then aerate the lawn, fertiliser, soil wetting agent, and water in with trace elements.
I get wanting your yard to look better, but lawn renos are not cheap, nor are regular treatments.
Let the landlord take care of his own shit and don’t dump money down a hole when the hole isn’t even yours.
Huh? It’s going dormant like it supposed to do during this time of year. No reason to start watering until March
It’ll be fine. You just have to ask yourself this – do I want a lawn that looks good and the kids can run around on or do i want a show piece?
Since it’s a rental, I would suggest it’s the former.
Just keep up a decent watering schedule (give it a bit more right about now given the issues around you) and mow it every two weeks. Pull any prickly weeds that affect the kids and maaybe chuck some fertiliser on it in spring.
That’ll keep it looking nice and usable for your family. Anything else is not really required unless it’s something you want to do.
And let’s be honest, if you were a fanatic about your lawn you wouldn’t be needing to ask us these questions would you? 😆
Looks like dormancy due to weather. If so nothing you can really do at the moment.