My wife and I bought our current home 4 years ago. There is a irrigation system in the lawn that requires yearly maintenance. 2 years ago the company that maintains it dicked us around all summer and only very late into the season got the system up and running. Only a month or so later it was time to winterize it. I was annoyed about this and last year decided to just not have them come out. The lawn looked fine for the most part and I consider watering your lawn kind of a waste. Anyways this year the lawn company sent us a letter scolding us for not utilizing them last year and this year will cost more because of it. My wife is taking them seriously and wants to have them come out to prime the system. However, I think our lawn looks fine and is a sea of Dandelions.
Can anybody tell me if Im misguided in my thinking, or if the lawn company is trying to screw us?
by Difficult-Pea9861
15 Comments
Send them a response scolding them for their unprofessionalism 2 years prior and tell them to shove off. If you want help with lawn care, find a different company that values your time and expectations
What lawn? I see a sea of weeds…
Also, google the manual, maybe servicing the irrigation system isn’t that hard.
Getting your sprinklers up and running in the spring should just be turning on the primary valve and testing each zone (leaks at the valves, issues with spray patterns, zones not initiating, etc). Sprinkler heads may need replacing if they’ve been messed up by lawn mower, etc, but that’s not too common. I generally have one or two valve diaphragms that need to be replaced each season, but that costs a couple bucks and a few minutes with a screw driver. Winterizing is a bit more involved.
Anyways, I don’t think you need a service to get things up and running (if you’re willing to do the work), but in my opinion, your yard could use some TLC. Aeration, fertilizer, and water would be good a good start. If you like the dandelions, that’s your call, but I prefer to keep them to a minimum.
For one, startup is easy in the spring and you can do it yourself. Unless something is broken upon startup it’s simple. You can pay someone just to winterize the system. That’s what we did the years we have ran ours.
The other option is to never run them and use a hose and a sprinkler to water that way. I did that last year because we ran our in ground ones so few times.
Companies are going to discount the more services you sign up for. It’s not weird. Especially because they can schedule a bunch of people in the same area on the same day usually.
Whereabouts are you located? That soil looks dry and dead, I’d look at [chipdrop.com](http://chipdrop.com) to get organic matter into it. The lawn may not look great until next year, but it’ll come back. Soil that has organic matter in it will hold water better and have more nutrients for thick grass.
Sounds like a shite company. I would change.
There are multiple views on lawns, and not everyone realizes this. If your wife is a firm believer in a “Proper Lawn” it might be best for your marriage to get a second service out and talk with them about a grass type better suited to your area.
However, I was able to sway my SO to the clover side after a year seeing the different growth rates and associated mowing times. And the clover was greener faster and longer than grass. And it self fertilizes a bit so we don’t have to weed and feed every year. And the flowers are butterfly friendly.
I just prefer clover, but if you live in town…your neighbors might hate you.
Are you happy with the condition of your lawn?
Is your wife happy with the condition of your lawn?
Like, you obviously aren’t going to win awards for the nicest lawn on the block, but is that what you want? Or do you want green stuff on the ground that prevents soil erosion?
Generally, don’t pay people money because you’re supposed to without understanding why the results matter. Ask if it’s important to you, your spouse, the value of your home, or your quality of life.
(Disclaimer: I’m not a landscaper, I’m mostly just here to talk about retaining walls)
Do your own lawn care. You don’t have to go by this company’s rules when you fire them.
Whatever you do, I would not neglect your sprinkler system – it’s important to know where you live to find out of it’s necessary.
Dandelions are cute in the spring but they change and look bad after a while. You may be setting yourself up for failure in the future
I personally hate lawn abcs plant native gardens everywhere so don’t come after me. But i have been misled by memes and people talking about thejoys of letting the lawn go natural and i promise you it will look terrible after one season and you will have to kill the grass and start over next year if you want it to look not awful. Dandelions aren’t even native in North America and they don’t help the ecosystem and no the do not aerate the lawn until they die.
Sometimes I think it is the lawn care companies and herbicide companies that peddle this natural lawn esthetic, it is never achieved. It’s going to look bad if you want to gel the environment plant a tree or 3 and you’ll do 1000 times more for the environment than just neglecting the lawn and growing invasive weeds to spread to your neighbors who will then use herbicide to control the weeds.
1. Turning on a sprinkler system in the spring is a very simple task that any homeowner can learn to do.
2. You do not have a lawn, you have a weed patch.
A good company doesn’t threaten their customers.
If they fucked you once, go somewhere else or learn to do it yourself it’s not a hard thing to do.
Firstly nice start on r/nolawn
Secondly just get a different irrigation company idk why this is even a question.
My two cents: quit watering the invasive, unbeneficial species (turf grasses) in the US that uses the most amount of water every year, more than any crop.
Unless you actively and frequently use a well manicured lawn, which I completely understand if that’s the case (like for kids or your pets or you just love sunbathing), then consider not watering it and see what happens. Or plant native lawn alternatives that don’t need nearly as much water. Even if you do use it frequently then ask yourself if you need all of the lawn you have or if you can cut back.
The reason lawns exist is because of British and French aristocracy. It’s a status symbol. Now it’s expected for some reason.