Treat your yard yourself? Or hire it out?

I have been doing my own yard treatments (All Scotts, Pre-Emergents, Weed-N-Feed, Fertilizers) for as long as I can remember. And my yard is nearly the worst looking on the block.

Turns out, most of my neighbors are having services do theirs and aren't spending much more than they did when they bought the supplies themselves.

Doing the yard myself, I focus on the front yard. But, we actually spend more time oin the back yard with the kids and it makes more sense for that one to be plush and green.

What do you do?

If you hire out, do you have both yards (where applicable) serviced and, does it balance out costwise (as opposed to buying the materials)?

If you do it all yourself, what do you use?

Great question and I'm looking forward to responses since I'm in a similar situation. Mine is certainly not the worst in the community, actually my front lawn looks pretty good, but when I live next door to two neighbors: Soddy McSprinkles and Lawn Boy, it's hard to compete. Barnyard Grass is really chappin' my ass!

My yard is Bermuda in the front and sides and mostly Centipede with Fescue in the back. I do mine myself, but have realized that saving money by buying the cheap stuff is a waste of money. I used Penningtons Weed & Feed this year and am having great results.

This will be an interesting thread. I've never payed for the services, but do them myself. If I had problematic areas, I suppose their analysis could help. What I do know is that proper maintenance and watering goes a long way. If your letting it go, then all of a sudden trying hard for a month trying to make it look good, you've got a long road ahead of you.

I have a lot of neighbors that ask me how I keep my grass looking green and lush. Well I just water , weed and feed. Keep the weeds at bay and keep the grass from dying. They will water for like 2 weeks straight, then give up and the rest of the year it is just neglect. Its a tiresome commitment. I've got no sprinkler system, so it manual watering. Most of it is common sense. There have been some years where certain areas have gotten neglected. THose areas have recovered, but it took months.

I decided my lawn was evil and recently killed it.

Southern California is basically a desert. A lawn here just sucks up time resources. It wanted water 5 days a week to stay green and healthy. I am in the process of doing a xeriscape. Probably have it done by mid-summer. (My neighbors hate me right now)

But to answer the question, when I did have a lawn, I did all of the maintenace myself.

I've always done the yardwork myself. Still do, but the 'yard' is two acres of gopher-infested slope, so I just keep it cut. Fortunately, the grass season is only a month or so. The weather goes from too damp and cold to too hot and dry rather quickly.

Considering my closest neighbor is 75 acres of clear-cut, mine looks good.

For a high-traffic lawn, your best approach is to over-seed every year, but use a different grass type. Doesn't look as good as a single variety, but much easier to maintain.

Just me, and just shy of 4 acres.

And it is not an opinion to say that I have the best looking yard on the street.

Ahh, a yardwork thread. Yardwork is another one of my hobbies, as I pride myself in keeping a great looking yard, most of the time. I would say that planning ahead is probably the most important aspect of keeping a lawn -- ie. laying down preemergents to keep many weeds from germenating; setting the right amount of water on the sprinkler system (too much water is bad also), etc.

Here's a pic of my front yard - notice the perfect lush green on the left side, and eyesore on the right. The grass is starting to come back where I killed the creeping woodsorrel (finally - I thought I'd never get rid of it) - I just lived with it for 2 years and then decided to get rid of it once and for all. It'll look great in a few more weeks.



One of the best weed preventers is a lush lawn, so if you can get your grass to grow thick, it will suffocate most weeds out.

Henry Hill said:

Just me, and just shy of 4 acres.

And it is not an opinion to say that I have the best looking yard on the street.

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I am guessing you have a private road too?

I just moved to a new property last fall and don't know where to begin. 5 acres of uneven, broadleaf infested, dandelion covered, thatched grass that the previous owners let go to crap. I used to use 2-4-D at the old farm and it worked wonders, just don't know if I want to with a newborn now.

DryHopHead said:

One of the best weed preventers is a lush lawn, so if you can get your grass to grow thick, it will suffocate most weeds out.

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Usually, I practice this too. Gradually rasing the mower deck every 3rd cut until the it's ~2 Inches. I started doing this on my first home which had a lawn of mostly fescue (creeping red, IIRC). It was plush, deep green, and soft on the foot.

But, this lawn is Bermuda and I don't yet have an automatic irrigation system. Comparing similar lawns, I find the shorter bermuda lawns seem look better longer only, at what cost to watering I don't know. the other thing I have noticed is the proliferation of runners that bermuda has and I think that maybe those are why the shorter lawns tend to look better. Less risk of pulling up the runners when at play.

Anyone aerate? regularly?

De-thatch?

I am also considering doing an aeration that this year. I have clay soil and a thick layer of thatch. I don't mind the thatch but, I am thinking taht the yards need to be aerated to loosen the clay up some. Th aerators are cheap to rent but, my roblem here is that none of the rental places (home depot) have the common sense to pair them with a trailer and I'd kill myself before I'd get one into the bed of my 3/4 ton.

we had our yard treated professionally for two years......It looked fooking great!!!

Then times got harder, we realised that we never even looked at the front yard, we spent all our time at the back. Why spend the cash for passers by?

We do it ourselves now, but it will never look as good as it did when we splashed the cash on professionals.......Screw them though, we have become less shallow until them frickin dandelions take hold again!

My "lawn" is nothing but weeds, no for real, but I don't care as few people in my "neighborhood" have much else and they are far enough away not to care anyway. I take pride in keeping my weeds cut and trimmed though.

I don't want a nice lawn really but I love gardening so most of what we do is vegetables, flowers, berries, fruit trees, grape vines, etc. I decided a long time ago I don't want to live where I need to worry about how my "lawn" looks and decided the only way to be fair to those that do is stay away. I cut what I do have with a tractor and bush hog which often leaves huge divits which I just go back and kick some dirt back over it.

So, since I do like gardening I would probably care for the lawn myself but I am too busy with other things to care for a lawn as well. How much would lawn care for say 1 acre cost anyway?

I always do it myself and my yard looks "good". Not great. I am convinced at this point in time a normal person who works 45+ hours a week, a normal social life and no sprinkler system cannot get a great looking yard. However, I would say that on my street my yard is definitely top 3, and could even be the nicest looking, so you can definitely get a good looking yard doing it yourself.

Here is mine:





I do it myself. I use Scotts. I use the STEP program, as well as an additional shot of WEED and FEED in the early summer, plus some Grub Control

My neighbors have weed farms, I had THREE weeds that I went out and pulled up by the roots, by hand, this past week.

I mean, I spend about $300 to fertilize and prevent weeds in my yard on a yearly basis.

We DO water in the summer when it gets hot... because as the grass wilts, weeds like to move in, and they have much deeper roots. Mow it HIGH, water it a couple times a week REALLY deeply... etc etc.

I do my own. Our lot is just a bit more than an acre, so allowing for the house, toolshed, driveway, garage and patio I figure there is about 1/2 acre of lawn. Part of the back yard doesn't really have lawn grass, just trees and thick leaves with some bulb type flowers that come up there so I don't do much maintenance with it - it doesn't need to be mowed, just pick up the sticks and tree limbs.

As far as costs, I use 3 large bags of Scotts Weed and Feed in the spring, costs maybe $70-80 at Wal-Mart or Home Depot and thats it. I used to do a second feeding in the summer, but I think I've decided thats not really necessary. Also I have a spot in the front yard thats under a tree, so its both shady and dry in the summer - its kind of challenging. I put a bag of triple-13 on it the first year we lived here and it did really well - grew in nice and thick, so I will probably do that again this year.

Other than that, I use a big bag of fire-ant killer and about a hundred bucks worth of annuals for the flower beds.

The only other expense is gas for the mowers, and I make the kids do the mowing. Cut twice a week, and then sort of rotate with the other stuff like trimming the shurbs, weed eating the edges, and edging the drive way.

I don't go real nuts with it, there are a lot of people that have lawns that look better than mine in other neighborhoods, but my neighbors are lazier than me when it comes to lawn work so I do just enough that my lawn looks better than anyone else's on the block and let it go at that. I could do a lot more, but I don't.

The Pol said:

Here is mine:

I do it myself. I use Scotts. I use the STEP program, as well as an additional shot of WEED and FEED in the early summer, plus some Grub Control

My neighbors have weed farms, I had THREE weeds that I went out and pulled up by the roots, by hand, this past week.

I mean, I spend about $300 to fertilize and prevent weeds in my yard on a yearly basis.

We DO water in the summer when it gets hot... because as the grass wilts, weeds like to move in, and they have much deeper roots. Mow it HIGH, water it a couple times a week REALLY deeply... etc etc.

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Ayup. Yours is, partially, what started me noticing my neighbors lawns more (that, and your pro-fessional neighborly weed grower). Honestly, I could care less what the neighbors think and I don't have any mandatory HOA/Covenant landscape requirements.

the other thing that got me thinking about this more was a comment my wife made while I was fertilizing. She asked what my neighbor is doing because his lawn is green, weed free, and you NEVER see him working on it. I sadi part of that is because he is retired and mows while we are at work, and the other part is that he uses a service for teh weed care.

But I do want a carpet like that for my children to enjoy. And I am fond of going barefoot in the yard when the grass is nice (we don't have dogs btw).

cubbies said:

I am convinced at this point in time a normal person who works 45+ hours a week, a normal social life and no sprinkler system cannot get a great looking yard.

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I know of one person who did this w/o an irrigation system... my neighbor (Lawn Boy). He's out there all the time doing something. It's seems to be a hobby for him. His lawn looks like new sod. If I liked lawncare as much as I like brewing, I'd be out there all the time too.

I'd love to get an irrigation system. I'm getting tired of jackin' around with traveling tractor sprinklers everyday. But I've got a brew shed ready to build, so I have to keep my priorities straight.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Usually, I practice this too. Gradually rasing the mower deck every 3rd cut until the it's ~2 Inches. I started doing this on my first home which had a lawn of mostly fescue (creeping red, IIRC). It was plush, deep green, and soft on the foot.

But, this lawn is Bermuda and I don't yet have an automatic irrigation system. Comparing similar lawns, I find the shorter bermuda lawns seem look better longer only, at what cost to watering I don't know. the other thing I have noticed is the proliferation of runners that bermuda has and I think that maybe those are why the shorter lawns tend to look better. Less risk of pulling up the runners when at play.

Anyone aerate? regularly?

De-thatch?

I am also considering doing an aeration that this year. I have clay soil and a thick layer of thatch. I don't mind the thatch but, I am thinking taht the yards need to be aerated to loosen the clay up some. Th aerators are cheap to rent but, my roblem here is that none of the rental places (home depot) have the common sense to pair them with a trailer and I'd kill myself before I'd get one into the bed of my 3/4 ton.

Click to expand...

I think we have pretty similar soils - clay, and most people around here have bermuda. Mine is now fescue and st augustine. I did dethatch this year b/c I had a weed problem, so I dethatched, pulled the visible weeds, and then laid seed.

Some of these lawns look great but if I may ask, how big are your lots? Or rather, how much grass are you dealing with? I've got a 10 acre parcel with about 5 acres of grass alone, the rest is pond, prairie grass, and woods. I can't imagine the cost to treat and keep up with 5 acres. It's a job just to mow the dang thing.

menschmaschine said:

I I'm getting tired of jackin' around with traveling tractor sprinklers everyday.

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I have often wondered if those thing are worth the price tag. I have to drag out a 100' hose to cover every inch of my front yard (wide and shallow, broken into two sections) and just can't imagine that thing being able to travel along and pull that.

I hired my yard out ONCE, at my old place. ASKED them to PLEASE not spray my raspberry bushes in the yard... well within a week they were dead, never to return.

I figured, if you are sprayinga chemical that will KILL a raspberry bush, and dont realize what you are spraying, I dont want you on my property.

I dont mess with my yard much. I fertilize it 4x between March and October. I mow it once a week or two weeks. We do have water timers set up so that the yard gets watered at the optimum time each day, whether I am home or not. Timers, 8 sprinklers... hands off watering.

Animals wreak havoc on grass... they are definately not good for it.

The BEST thing to do is feed the grass, aerate the yard and water it. FOOD, O2 and water will go a long way. LET IT GROW, dont mow just to mow. Tall grass means longer roots... so mow it 3" tall or more.

THICK grass will naturally choke out weeks... that is your best defense.

Thats good to know about letting it get taller. I will raise my deck up a setting the couple of times we cut and see how that works.

Mine's not very big and the back yard is mostly pool. If I had 5 acres, I would do it differently; not sure how. But def with a riding lawnmower

Damonic said:

Some of these lawns look great but if I may ask, how big are your lots? Or rather, how much grass are you dealing with? I've got a 10 acre parcel with about 5 acres of grass alone, the rest is pond, prairie grass, and woods. I can't imagine the cost to treat and keep up with 5 acres. It's a job just to mow the dang thing.

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I have 10 acres too but only keep about 1.5 acres for our use because if I don't farm the rest they tax me at a much higher rate. Taxes for the farm is like $125/year total but not farmed would be like $500/year an acre. Not sure what the tax laws are around your way so I'll ask; don’t your taxes kill you on the 5 acres? I have woods too but once I fulfill my 5 acre minimum farm land I can claim the woodland as supporting farmland.

Damonic said:

Some of these lawns look great but if I may ask, how big are your lots? Or rather, how much grass are you dealing with? I've got a 10 acre parcel with about 5 acres of grass alone, the rest is pond, prairie grass, and woods. I can't imagine the cost to treat and keep up with 5 acres. It's a job just to mow the dang thing.

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County listing says .3 acres which is prolly right but, I'd swear that my lot is a double compared to most of the lots in my area. I have another house taht is listed as .5 acres and this lot is bigger than that one. Honestly, I have never measured the entire lot but the main part of back lawn is 7000 square foot (.11 Acre).

GilaMinumBeer said:

I have often wondered if those thing are worth the price tag. I have to drag out a 100' hose to cover every inch of my front yard (wide and shallow, broken into two sections) and just can't imagine that thing being able to travel along and pull that.

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They're limited as to how much hose they can pull, but it's a lot. I have a John Deere one and an Ace Hardware one. The Deere is crap and not worth the price tag. The Ace is great. You can find these on Craigslist every now and then.

I don't have a large yard at all, maybe 1/2 an acre. I do all the lawn care myself as it is another hobby for me plus the bragging rights you are entitled to by doing it yourself. That being said, it is a long process to get a good looking yard. Many variables go into making your lawn green.

Watering is a must. Fertilizer is applied 4 times a year with the first application being a weed killer as well. Dethatching is done once every year or every other year and aeration is also done each fall. After I'm done aerating the yard, I also mow the lawn quite low and overseed the yard. This gives me a lush green lawn and honestly, it's not too hard to keep up. Mowing once or twice a week with a watering after is all I really do when I'm not fertilizing, aerating, etc.

menschmaschine said:

They're limited as to how much hose they can pull, but it's a lot. I have a John Deere one and an Ace Hardware one. The Deere is crap and not worth the price tag. The Ace is great. You can find these on Craigslist every now and then.

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Thanks. I use a high pressure rotary that covers most of my lawn but, I still have to water the corners and pull the hose to small bit on the other side of the drive.

Been considering a DIY sprinkler project but, Uggggg.

jgln said:

I have 10 acres too but only keep about 1.5 acres for our use because if I don't farm the rest they tax me at a much higher rate. Taxes for the farm is like $125/year total but not farmed would be like $500/year an acre. Not sure what the tax laws are around your way so I'll ask; don’t your taxes kill you on the 5 acres? I have woods too but once I fulfill my 5 acre minimum farm land I can claim the woodland as supporting farmland.

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Perhaps I should clarify, we're actually zoned as Estate and not Ag. We only moved in last fall and I need to look into whether we could get a tax break by actually growing something.

Gila, with all the bedroom action you are not getting you should have plenty of time to take care of your yard

Ground cover (pachysandra, vinca/myrtle, etc) anyone..?

Zoysia Grass.

It does go dormant(brown)in a drought, but looks great when it rains enough.
No fertilizers, nothing. Rain and dog poop.

Hired it out. We chose the crew that does our lawn after seeing them working at the nicest looking yard anywhere near our house. Turns out, that place is the owner's house.

I took these today. The Crape Myrtles and Mexican Mint are not yet in bloom, and the Pineapple Sage are just starting to bloom. It looks even better in July.

GilaMinumBeer said:

I am guessing you have a private road too?

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Nope. 7 houses on a 1/2 mile road. Everybody else mows dandelions and assorted ditch weeds. Mine ain't exactly perfect, but it is quite stunning compared to the rest.

Manual removal in early spring, 2-4-D in early summer, no pre-emergents, tri-ox or equivilant around trees, posts and foundations, Miracid on the evergreens, malithion or diazinon for pests, and fertilizer where needed.

I am a believer in KISS.

Treat your lawn?? Water your lawn??? No way. You do that and the grass grows. If it grows you have to cut it. You're just creating more work for yourselves. Who gives a **** if your lawn is as nice as the Jones' lawn. I'd rather go fishing. Or brew some beer.

DryHopHead said:

Ahh, a yardwork thread. Yardwork is another one of my hobbies, as I pride myself in keeping a great looking yard, most of the time. I would say that planning ahead is probably the most important aspect of keeping a lawn -- ie. laying down preemergents to keep many weeds from germenating; setting the right amount of water on the sprinkler system (too much water is bad also), etc.

Here's a pic of my front yard - notice the perfect lush green on the left side, and eyesore on the right. The grass is starting to come back where I killed the creeping woodsorrel (finally - I thought I'd never get rid of it) - I just lived with it for 2 years and then decided to get rid of it once and for all. It'll look great in a few more weeks.

One of the best weed preventers is a lush lawn, so if you can get your grass to grow thick, it will suffocate most weeds out.

Click to expand...

your yard is so beautiful.i like this kind of yard

I was doing it myself.. or rather NOT doing it myself and weeds were winning. I"m not one to pride myself on a putting green lawn, but having the only house on the block with the dandy's was kind of off-putting.

Hired it out to the tru-green people and they are doing a fantastic job. Keep in mind that each is a local company, so you experience may be different. I hear people complaining all the time about inconsiderate employees. So far I have not one bad thing to say about our local service. They even give follow-up calls and while they may recommend an extra treatment, they don't annoy me with high pressure sales.

We had another local company do aeration and lime, and I don't want that crew anywhere near my house now. No communication, mixed up schedules and kind of annoying with trying to get me to use them.

The only thing I do now is mow and grub treatment in July.

Fertilizer costs seem to be way up. Anyone else notice a 15,000 sqft bag of anything Scotts is like $50 a bag now? My plan is to fill in as much unused area with groundcover. I did one area under a Blue Spruce with Vinca and it's not only pretty looking, but it spreads really well and stays green all year.

Bobby_M said:

Fertilizer costs seem to be way up. Anyone else notice a 15,000 sqft bag of anything Scotts is like $50 a bag now? My plan is to fill in as much unused area with groundcover. I did one area under a Blue Spruce with Vinca and it's not only pretty looking, but it spreads really well and stays green all year.

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Yeah. I think I drop $48 easy per bag.