Right. You’ll notice the few sprays I recommended in this thread had either or in them.
Yard Care for Dummies
- Thread starter wxman1
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Right. You’ll notice the few sprays I recommended in this thread had either or in them.
Easy thing to check for would be insects. But it could be a number of things. Pretty much anything that could kill grass could cause that; fungus, insects, dogs or animals continually pissing there.
Moles randomly popping up in the wrong places. (should have been a new thread title). Mole
solutions. Traps hit and miss, castor oil is many, many repeated applications, killing the grubs just lessens the damage because the moles just travel through, but still leave a wake. They seem to avoid the little plastic toy windmills that are mounted on a straw, they stay out of my vegetables now, must be the vibration? Any permanent solutions out there?
solutions. Traps hit and miss, castor oil is many, many repeated applications, killing the grubs just lessens the damage because the moles just travel through, but still leave a wake. They seem to avoid the little plastic toy windmills that are mounted on a straw, they stay out of my vegetables now, must be the vibration? Any permanent solutions out there?
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I see termites eating an old planter in my yard. Should I proceed with extreme malice or should I ask them to leave nicely?
I have the same issue almost every spring. Unfortunately I have not found a permanent solution, I have to use the traps to kill 1-2 every year, then they seem to go away.
Nothing works better than the old-fashioned spike-through-the-head trap, in my experience.
Killed a mole last night!!!
I am having better luck with “brush killer” which has 2-4D and triclopyr. Bomgaars stocks a couple brands and it looks like you can find it in the big box stores as well.
The kind I got allowed me to mix it a little hot and spot apply. Even with the rain, it went to work quick and I am already seeing the results.
2-4D works too, but having used both, I will tell you the stuff with the triclopyr is better.
Clover can be tough and a couple of applications may be needed.
Is it by the drive or road? If snow was scooped or blown there, the salt from the vehicles or road will drive the pH so high that it will make a dead zone.
Thanks for the tips as I noticed this weekend I have more than I thought so I want to hit it. Also noticed creeping charlie that is coming in from neighbor yards.
I posted this earlier in the thread but I'll repost it.
For those looking for something for creeping charlie, this is what I recommend to my family and friends and it works fantastic. Will also work on most other lawn weeds. Can buy it at bomgaars and fleet farm. DO NOT OVER MIX or use near trees, bushes or brush that you don't want killed! It is very potent, if you overmix it, you can yellow your grass for a few weeks. Its $15 for a quart, so $1/gallon mixed.
Start with 2oz/gallon for creeping charlie and other lawn weeds, then adjust from there. Add a few drops of dish soap to help but don't get it sudsy.
https://www.gordonsusa.com/products/lawn-garden/brush-no-more-brush-killer-concentrate/
OK, I may get buried alive for this, but I have to ask, and maybe someone here has some experience with it.
The gf is not a fan of manicured lawns- having grown up on a farm, she likes the wildness. So she has a mess of a yard: clover, creeping charlie, violets. And she wants it that way - prefers that to a golf course look. Plus it is good for the bees.
In fairness, it would be hard to make it perfect anyway, with two huge shade trees that dominate both front and back yard, and neighbors on all sides with crappy overrun lawns too. She has some bare spots too, at the moment, from heavy rains.
So my question: is there a process or system to manage this kind of lawn? I'd like to have some healthy grass to coexist with the other stuff, and be more green and lush, even if there is a lot of the other "weeds" in it. And healthy grass will just out-compete some of that too, which is fine and dandy. Are there specific types of grass that would work better?
I was pretty good with what, when, and how on my old lawn to make it look traditionally nice. But this is a different deal...
The gf is not a fan of manicured lawns- having grown up on a farm, she likes the wildness. So she has a mess of a yard: clover, creeping charlie, violets. And she wants it that way - prefers that to a golf course look. Plus it is good for the bees.
In fairness, it would be hard to make it perfect anyway, with two huge shade trees that dominate both front and back yard, and neighbors on all sides with crappy overrun lawns too. She has some bare spots too, at the moment, from heavy rains.
So my question: is there a process or system to manage this kind of lawn? I'd like to have some healthy grass to coexist with the other stuff, and be more green and lush, even if there is a lot of the other "weeds" in it. And healthy grass will just out-compete some of that too, which is fine and dandy. Are there specific types of grass that would work better?
I was pretty good with what, when, and how on my old lawn to make it look traditionally nice. But this is a different deal...
May not be completely helpful but can try to point in the right direction. Find a grass that will take extreme shade and hopefully a slower grower so it stays shorter for a longer period of time. Mowing your grass higher will help to establish the grass, so that allows you to make her happy by having a look or more unkept. Unless you are using a push mower then you will be cursing this style.
Use that grass seed to fill in the areas by the trees and then keep moving killing off and reseeding areas on the outside perimeter of what you have established, keep going until she finally puts her foot down and see how far you get.
I live on the edge of a forest so my property is a mullet when it comes to the yard. Wild in the back, business up front.
I was thinking the same thing - seed the lawn with a shade grass. Maybe one of the fine fescues? Creeping red or chewing fescue come to mind. I guess tall fescues would work in shade as well, but those might look too "golf course"-ish.
Yeah, maybe pop some rye grass in there as well. It may look a little coarse, but the stuff we had, died off after about 7-10 years (longer than we wanted but we also fertilizer heavy so we may have been our own worst enemy). Those will fill it in and not give a golf course look, plus it they establish fast and will help choke off the other weeds.
A few grubs are not an issue. Best time to put preventative grub treatment is middle of June or so. If you use a preventative, you won't need a curative treatment. Some spring grubs are normal and just a few won't be enough to cause substantial injury to your turf.
Hard to say. I'd get something like 6-12" of soil on top and throw some seed down.
