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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Landscaping: Call your county extension service. No really, do it.
 
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe
I have moved into a property which has grass. This is the first time i've had to take care of grass really ever, however my grass is largely yellow and poo poo. it is in full sun, and the previous owner really didn't take care of the lawn at all. While I am not looking to have golf course grass, changing the color to green would be beneficial to me.

We've had a very dry late summer in the midwest, and i understand this will probably be a longer term project to bring this grass back, however does anyone have a guide, or a "here is a way to get started actually taking care of a lawn" something. I know we're moving into fall so this, from my research, would be a good time for aeration, overseed, fertilizer (maybe?) however i'd like to prep for spring and actually take care of this correctly.

* # ¿ Sep 3, 2020 19:05
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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 04:24
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe

Daric posted:

The first thing I would do is figure out what kind of grass you have. Grasses like fescue spread from seeds, grasses like Bermuda, Zoysia, and St. Augustine spread via stolons (like long tendrils that grow and sprout grass out of them as they stretch). If you see stolons in your yard, it's probably one of those three.

The next thing I would suggest is watch Lawn Care Nut's youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSjF378bQhLKO-ISsrHE7ng
You can basically just search Lawn Care Nut + whatever grass you have and he'll probably have several videos of advice for you.

Now, it's probably too late in the midwest to worry about getting green grass. I believe y'all are almost to the topdress and overseed portion of the year. When you DO have grass though, using fertilizer to fill in the nutrients that your soil is lacking will help your grass stay green. You can also throw down something called Ironite or Milorganite which will inject iron into the lawn and that also gives you the dark green color.

But start with the grass type and Lawn Care Nut. He's very easy to understand and follow along.

thank you so much for this, ill get started!

* # ¿ Sep 4, 2020 02:14
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe

Hubis posted:

:thumbsup:

He's in the midwest, so it's probably going to be some mix of kentucky bluegrass and perrenial rye (and/or maybe fescue). And weeds, obviously.

Actually, now is the very end of summer dormancy hell for Northern grass where heat and drought will cause it to brown and dieback. Fall is peak time for cool season grass, and if you want to rehab a lawn now is the ideal time to start.

It's probably brown from some combination of drought stress, heat, and nutrient deficiency. Thin/bare patches may be light, traffic, or compaction problems.

Easy rehab instructions:

1) Measure your lawn. Divide it into convenient 1000sqft ish sections.
2) Go buy yourself a few bags of Milorganite, and apply it at the recommended rate. One 36lb bag should cover roughly 2500 sqft, but you're not going to burn anything if you go a little bit heavy.
3) Order some Sulfate of Potash and spread it at about 1lb / 1000sqft.
4) Water Water Water. Between rain and irrigation you want 0.5-0.75" every 3-4 days.
5) Mow Mow Mow. You're going to be applying a goodly amount of nitrogen, which will revitalize any healthy turf. Keeping it mowed will encourage it to thicken and spread.

6) Do all this again in October. You're looking to apply roughly 1lb of Actual Nitrogen every 4 weeks ("the Fall Nitro Push").

7) Do one more application of Milo in November. The grass will start to go dormant from the cold, but the roots are warmer and they are still hardening off, and storing energy for spring regrowth. This feeding will help it do that better.

Milorganite (and other organic Nitrogen sources) aren't really ideal in cold weather, but the combination of slow-release, micronutrients (Iron and Sulfer especially), and soil-improving qualities will all make it a great first step to fixing everything up. There's a lot more nuance you could go into, but this is pretty straightforward and you should hopefully see results this season. Once you see how well it responds you can get an idea for where to go from there (probably spring pre-emergent and overseeding next fall).

This is super key, I did see about milogranite in some of the youtube videos which we're linked in the other comment. Thank you for this! Should I just get any ol' spreader? or is there a good type to buy? I've seen scotts spreaders in HD, but not sure if they're fine or i will even understand the difference.

* # ¿ Sep 5, 2020 03:52
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe

Hubis posted:

How big of a lawn? The larger spreaders are nice if you have a larger area to cover and can throw things down with fewer trips (andctheycar generally more durable in general) but the Scott's EdgeGuard spreaders are fine for home use. I've got an EdgeGuard mini that works just fine. The eponymous "edge guard" is really nice for keeping your fert and seed off the sidewalk/flower beds.

I got the same scott's edgeguard today, after doing lawn measurements im at 4000~ SQ ft which isnt too bad, however its not continuous so the smaller spreader should work great.

* # ¿ Sep 5, 2020 18:42
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe
With warm wether around the corner for my zone. Is there a preferred weed treatment I can spread to inhibit weed growth this year? Should I mix with milagranite as well for an early April application?

* # ¿ Mar 13, 2021 17:37
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe

Motronic posted:

For what? Turf?

Sorry about that I was phone posting and should have provided more details. It is just normal grass, and im in zone 6.

* # ¿ Mar 13, 2021 18:56
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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 04:24
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Twlight
Feb 18, 2005

I brag about getting free drinks from my boss to make myself feel superior
Fun Shoe

Motronic posted:

A pretty "standard" selective herbicide mix for turf is Surge (https://www.domyown.com/surge-broadleaf-herbicide-for-turf-p-2296.html)

You should get a soil test done rather than doing spray-and-pray fertilizer. You likely need nitrogen, you probably need potassium. How much? Who knows until you get test results.

understood thank you for the advice!

* # ¿ Mar 13, 2021 20:38
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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Landscaping: Call your county extension service. No really, do it.