As noted, just bough a house, and house is in good condition, but my lawn. I keep hearing that you are supposed to start getting the lawn cleaned up in the fall, but just starting this week. I have to make a run to Home Depot this week to get gardening tools, hoses, etc. I have no garden tools or even a lawn mower yet so I figure I get the basics first.
Looking for some advise on where to start. It looks like most of the lawn is clover and that wierd quack grass.
by Unclebiscuits79
31 Comments
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Your lawn really doesn’t look bad at all. I would look into a weed and feed soon, otherwise just mow it for the season and see how it looks in the fall. The fall is just when you would do any major aerating, seeding, etc. You can certainly do things here and there, but start light. You have a great slate.
It’s not that bad at all. Lay down some step 2 fertilizer and that will be a good start.
Not bad at all. I would start with a crabgrass and weed treatment. Then apply fertilizer a couple weeks later.
Have you seen pictures on this sub of lawns?
Your lawn is not trash
Work to be done sure
But it’s in decent shape right now
Trash it is not
I’m in NE Illinois. This is what most lawns look like right now. Aerate, ferilize, water, and crab grass preventer would be a great start then start working on those weeds.
If you stay on top of your water and fertilizer this summer you may find many areas partially filled in by fall.
To help reduce winter damage keep watering through the drier fall periods until things freeze. I did and my lawn looks much better than my neighbors coming out of winter.
Definitely not trash lol. You have a good starting point. Mow regularly, apply fertilizer, and take care of weeds, and overseed in the fall. It’ll look way better this fall and even better next spring.
Pre emergent is still in time I think. Then weed and feed it this summer. Soil test and pre emergent in fall with maybe some spot seeding then using mesotrione as the pre emergent treatment where I seed. I’m about to go spray prodiame on the back of the property in a few minutes. Did a bunch already but had to fix the sprayer.
You got a lot to work with. Take good care of it and it’s mint next year. Get some prodiamine down ASAP to proactively knock out the crabgrass.
A lawn is never “cooked” in April. This is a great time of year to start revitalizing it.
Water it mow it, as for weed control maybe try T Zone.
If you call her “trash” she will *never* be good to you. Learn to appreciate her and she will flourish.
This is very salvageable. Just seed it and treat it.
Trash? This would be the second best lawn on my block.
I’m in the same area and seed with weed spray (after seeding) will get you looking good by end of May,
I agree with other folks here. The lawn looks fine and seems to have the foundations of a nice lawn once you’re able to work on it. All the other recommendations on the thread are good ones; For the bare spots, you could throw down annual rye grass to fill them out until the fall (assuming you want to plant or lay a cool-season grass).
In most of the world, those photos would depict a beautiful lawn.
If you’re looking for something resembling a golf course then you simply need to overseed and put something down to kill/prevent weeds.
You are absolutely NOT cooked for the season. It really depends on what you want the outcome to be and how much you want to spend doing it.
Since you are starting at square one, all of the options are ahead of you.
How big is your yard and how much $$$ do you have to spend on lawn stuff this year?
Clover may indicate a nitrogen deficiency; start by using nitrogen fertilizer. A battery-powered mower is a great starting point, then add an edge trimmer that is compatible with the same battery system. A blower and vacuum will ensure you’re well-equipped. You may want to add a chainsaw, as well as a mulcher, wood chipper.
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Your lawn already looks decent.
Looks like a pretty good lawn to me! Cut it, then spread Scott’s Weed and Feed. FOLLOW the INSTRUCTIONS to the letter. And so it ASAP!!! Good luck!
Illinois is forgiving water wise, Julyish the lawn will cook. Just start taking care of it and start to water when it looks a little dry.
Your lawn is not trash, it just has “personality”
I bought a home last year. The previous owner threw down the weed blocking fabric and gravel so his dogs could run around the back yard. They ran around in a circle around a bush so now the grass is very uneven. He also threw down pavers in a few random spots. There are weeds all throughout. My lawn is trash.
You have a bald spot and 5 dandelions.
Measure your lawn and figure out how much square feet you have first.
Get a sprayer and some concentrated weed killer to spray weeds, and do that ASAP
Get some pre-emergent, hopefully without much fertilizer attached to it. Put that down ASAP. Consider investing in a jug of prodiamine granules for next year when you know more about how to care for the lawn.
Fertilize in about a month with something that talks about having some slow release fertilizer in it.
Your not in terrible shape. You can take all summer after that to learn about watering, feetilzing, and seeding. You can also learn about your grass type, which you will want to know for when you overseed in the fall.
You are far from cooked and you at least have a fair amount of grass to work with.
Your lawn is in pretty good shape, helped a long by the good rains we had in IL the past few weeks. The purple blooms are creeping Charlie – hit it 2x with an herbicide like Speedzone or even Ortho CCO two weeks apart. Creeping Charlie spreads quickly but now when it’s blooming is a great time to spray it – when it’s blooming it’ll be more susceptible to chems.
Plan on fertilizing as well before summer, and with a little overseeding in the fall and proper watering and cutting you’ll be in even better shape next season. It’s a slow process but you have a great starting point and much better than lots of others who post here.
For this season, yes. To late for new grass seed for the big weed/ dead patch. But for sure can take steps to get it ready to blossom in fall and come back stronger than ever. Start with some pre emergent to help stop the spred of weeds. Spray what weeds you can and pull others. Add fertilizer and maybe get a soil sample done to find out what the yard is lacking.
You need to add some weed and feed for your type of grass and location. Give it a couple of weeks then come back and show us pics. I bet it will be a hundred times better. If there are bald spots add some grass seed to match your grass. This doesn’t have to be overwhelming you can do this!! 🤗
You plant grass seed in the spring it should be fine to plant on those bald spots. Is that bald spots are just clover?
That’s a nice lawn. You could make it nicer for sure, but you should seek perspective.
Plenty of time. One of the best “I just moved in, my lawn sucks” lawns I’ve seen on this sub.