Treat your yard yourself? Or hire it out?

[abonzer]

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

 

[beergears]

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

 

[NJTomatoguy]

Zoysia Grass.

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

 

[Saccharomyces]

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.

 

[HenryHill]

I am guessing you have a private road too?

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.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

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 sh!t if your lawn is as nice as the Jones' lawn. I'd rather go fishing. Or brew some beer.

 

[butterflygirl]

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.

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

 

[JPicasso]

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.

 

[Bobby_M]

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.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

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.

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

 

[Ryan_PA]

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.

Is creeping woodsorrel the same as creeping charlie? If so what did you get to kill it? I have 2 acres that are getting crushed by charlie. We just bought the place last fall so this is my first crack at killing it. I am going to try weed-b-gon chickweek killer on a recommendation.

I mow and landscape myself. I find it relaxing and enjoyable to work my property. It makes me appreciate what we have.

 

[HenryHill]

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.

It went up as a consequence of the oil prices, but didn't go down, as metal and gas did. Funny how that works.

Last summer, the feed store actually just quit buying it, after it went up 3 times before July.

 

[Trubadour]

Is creeping woodsorrel the same as creeping charlie? If so what did you get to kill it? I have 2 acres that are getting crushed by charlie. We just bought the place last fall so this is my first crack at killing it. I am going to try weed-b-gon chickweek killer on a recommendation.

I mow and landscape myself. I find it relaxing and enjoyable to work my property. It makes me appreciate what we have.

No, this is what woodsorrell looks like. I used poison ivy killer to get rid of it. It also killed the grass where I sprayed, but that little area was mostly woodsorrell, so it was a small price to pay. The grass will come back, the woodsorrell won't. I would imagine that poison ivy killer would get your creeping charlie also. The active ingredient it triclopyr. Use sparingly, and reseed if necessary.

 

[deepsouth]

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?

i was doing mine myself and it looked like crap. i hired someone who takes care of yards for a living and now i have the best looking yard in the 'hood.

 

[Mike M]

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 sh!t if your lawn is as nice as the Jones' lawn. I'd rather go fishing. Or brew some beer.

+1


Lots o' that lawn treatment ends up in local waterways - one of the problems with the Cheasapeake Bay.

 

[CBBaron]

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 sh!t if your lawn is as nice as the Jones' lawn. I'd rather go fishing. Or brew some beer.

+1

I have been slowly growing the planting beds to take over the lawn. I have been planting things like blueberries and elderberries to make wine, so it is an extension of my brewing. The lawn gets watered when my daughter plays in the sprinkler.

Luckily our neighborhood has very few "lawnboys" and lots of anti chemical treehuggers so the lawn looks pretty normal. Ofcourse it helps that our climate and soil keeps the lawn green most of the summer even without watering.

Craig

 

[CBBaron]

No, this is what woodsorrell looks like. I used poison ivy killer to get rid of it. It also killed the grass where I sprayed, but that little area was mostly woodsorrell, so it was a small price to pay. The grass will come back, the woodsorrell won't. I would imagine that poison ivy killer would get your creeping charlie also. The active ingredient it triclopyr. Use sparingly, and reseed if necessary.

Looks a lot nicer than grass to my eye

Craig

 

[beergears]

+1

I have been slowly growing the planting beds to take over the lawn.
Craig

We hear you.
I have been encouraging ground cover (pachysandra and vinca) for 15 years now!
The semi-small front lawn has shrunk by 60% by now., heh. Bonus; it's really green and healthy-looking on its own, even in winter!
Lady from the recent McMansion two houses down actually casually complimented the yard to my wife, so it is decent and interesting-looking.

For grins; Anybody into moss, or more exactly the many different kind of mosses (and also ferns)...?

 

[arturo7]

We hear you.
I have been encouraging ground cover (pachysandra and vinca) for 15 years now!
The semi-small front lawn has shrunk by 60% by now., heh. Bonus; it's really green and healthy-looking on its own, even in winter!
Lady from the recent McMansion two houses down actually casually complimented the yard to my wife, so it is decent and interesting-looking.

For grins; Anybody into moss, or more exactly the many different kind of mosses (and also ferns)...?

pics?


67890

 

[beergears]

pics?

67890

OK.
I would have to ask permission from Mr. Neighbor first...
She is a skinny brunette.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

OK.
I would have to ask permission from Mr. Neighbor first...
She is a skinny brunette.

In that case, use a wide aperture lens at night. Let her do the flashing and leave yours off.

I keed, I keed.

But seriously, wear black and step softly.







Okay, I'm done,

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

I do it myself, don't spend a lot and have the nicest yard on the block. However, a lot of that is due to my wife's green thumb! But, the lawn is my reesponsibility and it's pretty easy to maintain. We have tons of sun, pretty much sunny all day which helps a lot in growing grass easily. I've lived in really shady areas and it's damn near impossible if you have dogs and kids running around on it. Here's my recipe, in order of importance:

1. Watering: depends on your area, but it should be done in the early morning before the sun rises. I also do a short watering in the afternoon when it gets regularly over 100F.
   
2. Use the highest or second-highest possible setting on your mower, at least until you have a VERY thick and healthy lawn. My neighbor does everything exactly the same as me but refuses to raise his blade...and his lawn looks like someone hit it with round up.
   
3. Scott's seasonal stuff. Summer,Fall,Winter,Spring labeled bags make it easy. Add once a month except when there is snow on the ground (never happens in Chico)
   
4. Once a year aerate the lawn. You can rent one, or go buy a hand tool if you want a workout .
   
5. Overseed in the late summer/early fall when the temperature gets below 75F. Overseed again in early spring. This will ensure two new generations of grass to replace what has died over the winter.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Wehn we first bought our house I took pride in my lawn as it felt good to be a home owner. That was 3 years ago and 3 years of Home Projects/Upkeep ago. I mow my grass. We Put up a 6' Privacy fence so now I mow my front yard and side yard to keep it presentable and mow the back (blocked by privacy) every other time I mow the front. I have two big bare spots most likely from "over watering" AKA Chiller Runoff and/or starsan dumping. I'm trying to bring them back to life with the patch stuff. It worked great on Dog spots last year but I bought a cheaper brand this year and it's showing.

When you guys mow, you you rake/collect your clippings or let them fly?
I have the chute flap held up so it disperses them over a wider area.



I will raise my mower deck after reading this. I don't Strive for a beautiful lawn, but I'll do some steps that are really not difficult.
And are you guys seeding every year? I thought you only seeded grass after you tore it up to say, Build a house. And how the heck to you tell what kind of grass you have?

 

[StoutFan]

I have over 30,000 sq. ft of commercial lawn to care for, plus 50+ empty lots in our community. We have always done it ourselves, because of cost. Scotts Weed and Feed, lots of water, and then the Scotts winter mix before the snow. Works great.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

When you guys mow, you you rake/collect your clippings or let them fly?
I have the chute flap held up so it disperses them over a wider area.

I bag and compost my clippings unless the layer of thatch is really thin. If it is, then I'll use the mulch setting instead. I just don't care for the windrolls of grass clippings and I hate rakes.

I thought you only seeded grass after you tore it up to say, Build a house.

I overseeded when we bought because there were some pretty bad bare spots and I periodically hand cast re-seed spot that were weed infested and choked out the grass.

And how the heck to you tell what kind of grass you have?

Lawnboy (old man really) neighbor sez' his grass is Bermuda. Mine is the same as his so, Bermuda? (needs shrug emoticon) I overseed with Bermuda seed and it comes up the same. Before that, I only knew of 2 types of grass. Green and Dead. I have never had much luck with the green stuff but, I can maintain a dead lawn perfectly.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

I always collect the clippings. I do it mostly because I don't like to track it into the house. I seed 1-2x per year, and it definitely helps keep the grass thick and green. Keep in mind that's a very small amount of seed, almost like fertilizing.

 

[Buckhuntr]

Currently we have a 1/4 acre city lot that I maintain myself (Horticulture degree and landscaping experience.) Fertilizer is compost or other organic, only pesticide is Roundup grass killer for the bermuda that won't stay dead. Oh, and there is NO lawn grass whatsoever - we dug it all up when we bought the place and put in extensive perennial and shrub beds, with flagstone and pea gravel walkways throughout. Takes about 3 or 4 weekends a year of intensive maintenance (cutting back dead stems, pulling a few weeds, hitting the bermuda with Roundup, etc). Much better than having to mow every weekend.
And the best part is that we have something blooming at least 10 months of the year. If I could figure out how to post pictures here I'd show ya.

 

[Trubadour]

When you guys mow, you you rake/collect your clippings or let them fly?

And are you guys seeding every year? I thought you only seeded grass after you tore it up to say, Build a house. And how the heck to you tell what kind of grass you have?

I bag for the first few mows of the season, and then every few mows after that. And I seed only when necessary; ie. after killing weeds and leaving a bald spot of grass.

Take a picture of your grass and post it - I'll (or somebody) will tell you what type it is.

 

[Buckhuntr]

 

[Buckhuntr]

Here's my front yard two weeks ago. Twice as many blooms today. NO GRASS!! (except for the clump of prairie grass in the walkway).

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