My lawn is on the left. Clearly feeling self-conscious when my neighbor and I are both mowing our lawns. Base appears to have some clay in it. In some areas, there's some kind of a green mesh that has surfaced – something that was laid when the housing development was made, I presume.
I've been reading about how to get a healthier, greener scape, and the information is overwhelming. So many seed/fertilizer/weed killer combinations brands, application methods, tools, etc. I'm not entering a lawncare competition or dip into my savings. Just want it to be a littler greener and more full. Is there any sort of basic, tried-and-true lawncare protocol and set of tools that I could follow to get a decent looking yard? For example, I've read articles that say something like "cut and bag grass, bag it, aerate ground, seed, rake, water, fertilize, voila!"
Is this a good-enough procedure? How important is bagging the grass? What kind of fertilizer is recommended to use/avoid? Any other gotchas?
by Friendly-Mammoth494
28 Comments
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Start with saying hello, then talk about the lawn next door… see what works for him/her
Not a grass expert but I worked for a residential lawn care company in college.
Some things that worked for me
– don’t cut lower than 3in
– Water, water, water
– spread iron granules in a drop spreader
ask your neighbors what they do and duplicate it . .
I am a grass expert.
This question is too broad to answer simply.
The long story short is you need to figure out what kind of grass you have, then fill out grass (overseed), fertilize and water like hell, and control weeds.
The most important part is water, then fertilize. I don’t know if it’s heresy around these parts but I learned a lot using the stickied lawn care posts on thelawnforum.
Educate yourself first. It’s a broad subject but 80% success is in water and nitrogen.
The best thing to do is to go over to your neighbor and figure out the products and cycle they are using/doing if he is passionate about his lawn I’m sure they will walk you through it all, maybe even throw them some cash and have them pick up the same things for you as they do for themselves and apply as they are applying. Clearly they have figured out what’s working in that area so might as well get it from someone who know what to do there specifically
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No worries Reddit is here to help. First things first is to try to figure out what grass you have right now. It was sod when it was installed based on the green mesh. That probably means a mix of fescue and maybe bluegrass. But not 100% certain.
Next is what grass would you like to have. Rye grass, blue grass and fescue all have the positives and negatives. Where to you live roughly will also dictate what you should have as grass. The farther north the better blue grass does, the farther south the better fescue does. Rye grass doesn’t like hot summers and is a fan of the same areas as blue grass.
Also you need to get a soil test to see what your soil needs in terms of Ph and also nutrients. There are commercial soil test companies and also state university tests you can get a ag co-ops and other places. Easy to find on line.
Cool season grasses are best planted in the fall. So you have some time to decide this year what you want to do in terms of planting grass for next year.
For this year, just try to get it as healthy as you can after the soil test tells you want you need to add.
You could put down seed this spring but it’s a gamble if you live in an area which is prone to hot dry summers. You will have to water your grass a lot just to keep it alive since it has not had time to develop a good root system.
Germination time (on average)
Rye = 7 days
Fescue = 14 days
Blue Grass = 21 days (notoriously slow and takes a long time to establish)
Blue grass is the only one to have really good lateral growth. There are some new varieties of fescue that have some lateral growth but not anywhere near blue grass.
If you want to try rye grass it is quick and easy to plant. Make sure it is perennial and not annual. Annual will due in summer heat.
The best rye grass is hatrick and fireball. You can get them at twincity seed.
Good luck and if you need any other assistance don’t hesitate to reach out!
Ask your neighbor
Just ask your neighbor what he does.
If you want a simple place to start, here’s a lower effort program I use for my cool season lawn:
Spring – apply a pre-emergent plus fertilizer treatment, right around now is good
Early Sept. – apply lawn fertilizer
Late Oct. – apply lawn fertilizer
Mow. I’d recommend a good mulching mower.
Water if you don’t get rain at least once a week.
Buy a bottle of spray weed killer marked as safe for lawns and spot treat weeds as you see them during the growing season. If you really have a lot of weeds you can do a full application of weed killer on the entire lawn but once you get ahead of the weeds, I find it is no longer needed.
There’s more you can do if you want but this will get you started.
Spend a ton of money on chemicals
Spend a ton of money on chemicals
Have you tried talking to your neighbor?
Fertilize every 2 weeks and make sure you’re using something with iron in it
I would ask the neighbor what they’re doing. They’d probably love it if you followed suit and both your lawns looked the same
Reddit will do anything but talk to a neighbor.
Plant more
Oof, tough to see someone on the business end of the domination line. Brutal.
Seriously, step 1 should absolutely be going over to ask your neighbor (assuming you don’t have a horrible relationship at this point, in which case this should be seen as a sign of utter dominance and you should simply accept defeat in whatever conflict you’re currently engaged). Any advice anyone on this sub gives will be generalized; we have no clue what works best in your specific soil conditions, your local climate/weather, which grass type(s) either of you is using, etc.
Whatever your neighbor is doing seems to be working mere feet from where you’re trying to accomplish the same thing. Grab a few beverages and go see if they’re free for a chat.
Most of your grass is dead, but grass is very hardy and will come back with some care. Try the advice here from Home Depot: https://www.homedepot.com/c/ai/how-to-make-grass-greener/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90953aebdd?adobe_mc=TS%3D1744045755%7CMCMID%3D48003389708656769877081046678390716886%7CMCORGID%3DF6421253512D2C100A490D45@AdobeOrg&mboxSession=1683D1A5-155D-4861-87A3-E9C73F58AC00
Granular iron!!!
Milorganite ! 💩
But all things aside buy several bags of like 10-10-10 spread them before rain do it again in like 3-4 weeks before a rain
Consistent fert and mowing.
Spray paint
I am not a pro but turned my lawn into something lush and pretty in the past.
Here are my tips:
Aeration is the biggest thing, especially if your soil is compacted. Aerate your lawn so the grass roots can breathe and grow! You can rent a pro aerator from Home Depot for about $100-$120 a day.
Feed your grass! Fertilize your lawn.
Don’t stress your grass by cutting it too low in the summertime heat.
https://preview.redd.it/35n0jn1d9gte1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c50089b939d7948f127e275f04469163616f3b5b
Bring them some beers or a pie and go talk to them
I hope you’ll read my comment too. You need to plan. Use some turf builder, aerate, and learn how to apply weed killers in spring and fall, as well as nitrogen throughout the summer. You should research more! I live way up north, so my grass goes dormant in the winter. If you do well one year, the results will show next season. Remember that, you always have to plan ahead.