Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again!

Apr 27, 18 7:32

Post #1 of 18 (1407 views)

OK, to be fair I've been at my current home in southern Ontario for 8 years and my lawn has never been great. Patchy spots with dandelions, clover and crabgrass (the good weed killer is outlawed in Ontario).

The sun has finally risen in Canada and its time to tackle my outdoor space. I've done the research but am overwhelmed with contradictions - do not seed until XX days after fertilizer vs overseed together with fertilizer as an example.

Can anyone give me a tried and true schedule of what to do this Spring and throughout the Summer and when to do it?

The only step I've taken so far is to have the entire lawn aerated a week ago and am looking to start the process this weekend... that is unless I should wait.

Soil in our area is pretty crap with high clay content. I tried top dressing last year but didn't seem to make a damn bit of difference.

There are quite a few bald patches in the backyard, the largest about 20 sq ft, that I'm considering just digging out and starting fresh with sod. Aside from daily irrigation for the first week or so, what can I do to ensure that the sod takes hold?

Getting the lawn to actually grow is the first step and then tackling the weeds is next. A road trip to Buffalo may be in my near future.

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 7:38

Post #2 of 18 (1402 views)

Have you tried moving to Indiana? It seems that every yard there has beautiful grass. I spent a lot of time there and it amazed me at how pretty the grass was when it seemed that most people didn't even have sprinkler systems.

I live in Florida and have sandy soil. We can get an inch of rain and 30 minutes later there won't be any puddles because it has drained away. So, I won't be able to offer any advice.

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 7:46

Post #3 of 18 (1389 views)

I'll be watching this thread. We moved in 2 years ago, previous owner was 95 and coukdnt take care of the property. Our lawn is 80% dandelion. Good weed killers are banned here (I also have a dog and baby, so, am not too keen on going full on chemical warefare if I can avoid it).

I'm wondering if its worth trying to overseed, fertilize, mulch with clippings, etc, or if the lawn is just too far gone at this point.

Long Chile was a silly place.

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 7:50

Post #4 of 18 (1384 views)

I've got nothing. I have a huge spruce tree on my lawn. It has screwed up the grass horribly.

I have completely given up on the lawn.

How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [BCtriguy1] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 7:53

Post #5 of 18 (1380 views)

BCtriguy1 wrote:

... if the lawn is just too far gone at this point.

That has been my attitude. The first year after we moved in I decided I was going to tackle the weeds and spent at least an hour every night for over a week pulling dandelions. Within a month they were all back. It seems that unless you use the good stuff, you're fighting a losing cause. We don't have a dog and my kids are older now, so I'm tempted to give the "illegal" stuff a try... you know, just a little bit until the weeds are all under control and then stop cold turkey.

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 7:57

Post #6 of 18 (1370 views)

Yeah. If there is even an inch of root left, they will come back. And the roots are really brittle. I think pulling works for maintenance, if you have a few pop up now and then.

I've heard pouring boiling water in the hole after pulling kills the root. Patch with some sort and seed and should be good to go. Thats just a shit ton of work with the condition my place is in right now.

Long Chile was a silly place.

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 7:58

Post #7 of 18 (1368 views)

You can't even get something like Scotts Turfbuilder Weed + Feed?

I have used this or something similar in the past and it's been effective against dandelions.

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [efernand] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 8:07

Post #8 of 18 (1355 views)

efernand wrote:

You can't even get something like Scotts Turfbuilder Weed + Feed?

I have used this or something similar in the past and it's been effective against dandelions.

It looks like it contains a herbicide and so would likely be included in the ban. We are allowed to use the high iron liquid stuff that costs a fortune, but I've had mixed results with it.

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 8:13

Post #9 of 18 (1348 views)

OK, you are screwed. When you said the good pesticides were banned I figured you were talking DDT style. Nope. It isn't jst the good ones, it is all of them.

For those in the US, https://www.ontario.ca/page/class-9-pesticides

2,4-d
glyphosate

captan and mancozeb? Man, your roses must look like shit :)

I was going to tell you to use TriMec. Of course all three components of it are on the banned list.

The best defense you will have against weeds then is as strong of grass as possible. To get stronger grass you most likely need more nitrogen. Which means the grass will grow fast. Which means you will be mowing a lot more.

So fertilize and embrace dandelions. They really are kind of pretty when they are all in a carpet.

I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 8:26

Post #10 of 18 (1338 views)

Save yourself a lot of trouble and stop caring.

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 8:50

Post #11 of 18 (1312 views)

So no Roundup, no Weed-b-Gone, yeah good luck with the weeds.

As far as getting grass to grow, don't do sod. As long as a pre-emergent (AKA crabgrass preventer) has NOT been applied, you can put down seed along with seed-starter fertilizer. The seed needs to be in direct contact with dirt, so bare spots actually are easy to seed. Cover with straw or there are paper mulch products you should be able to find. Water lightly (5 minutes using a sprinkler) twice a day until the seed germinates. You just want it kept damp not soaked.

Your local big-box store like Lowes will have one-step grass repair products that contain seed, starter fertilizer, and a mulch product. It's not the cheapest way to do it but you should get good results.

I miss YaHey

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 9:18

Post #12 of 18 (1296 views)

Download the Scott's app and follow their schedule for chemicals.

Or hire it out, you should be able to get some lawn care service like TruGreen to do it for less than buying bags of chemicals.

Water every evening and morning.

You can over seed, for thin areas and I like the grass seed packed in the shredded paper fibers for bare ground, it helps hold moisture a lot better.

Get rid of the weeds and the grass will grow. Things like clover and dandelions have large leaves that block out sunlight so grass won't grow around it. A thick healthy lawn won't grow weeds because the turf and grass crowd out the weeds.

Pactimo brand ambassador, ask me about promo codes

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Justgeorge] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 9:18

Post #13 of 18 (1294 views)

Does a crabgrass preventer also prevent wanted grass from growing?

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [rvogt] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 9:21

Post #14 of 18 (1291 views)

rvogt wrote:

Does a crabgrass preventer also prevent wanted grass from growing?

It doesn't prevent grass from growing, but it does prevent grass SEED from germinating. If a pre-emergent has already been put down then you need to wait 6-8 weeks before putting down grass seed.

I miss YaHey

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Justgeorge] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 9:25

Post #15 of 18 (1285 views)

that's what i meant, seed. i need to seed, but was planning to put down the scotts with crabgrass preventer. good to know. thanks for the info

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 13:21

Post #16 of 18 (1226 views)

An excuse to buy beer, if you need one.

http://www.wisebread.com/secret-lawn-tonic-recipe-from-golf-course-groundskeeper

if you don't trust the link:

The recipe came from Tim Heffron, a former groundskeeper at a golf course. All you need are five common household ingredients and a 10-gallon hose-end sprayer. This recipe can be modified slightly for other less dry climates, but for areas like Colorado it works wonders. And it's a heck of a lot cheaper and more effective than the store-bought mixes.
You will need:

One full can of regular pop (any kind-no diet soda)
One full can of beer (no light beer) 12oz
1/2 Cup of Liquid dishwashing soap (do NOT use anti-bacterial dishwashing liquid)
1/2 Cup of household ammonia
1/2 Cup of mouthwash (any brand)

Directions:

Pour into 10-gallon hose-end sprayer (other sizes will work too)
In high heat, apply every three weeks

"I keep hoping for you to use your superior intellect to be less insufferable. Sadly, you continue to disappoint." - gofigure

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [Apollo71] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 13:36

Post #17 of 18 (1219 views)

What did you top dress with?
I used peat moss one year with great results.

Re: Make Apollo71's Lawn Great Again! [MTBSully] [ In reply to ]

Apr 27, 18 13:37

Post #18 of 18 (1218 views)

We spent a chunk of change to have the dirt lot tilled, amended and seeded. Grass came up, but the clover did too, which is weird cuz there was no clover on our prior thatched crabgrass dirt lot/lawn. Spoke to the local nursery folks, they said pulling it out was the best way. But that takes forever and every time I walk over it I see more.

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