2018 lawn maintenance thread

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
This year is a big experiment of how my lawns fairs. Going to see what mulching alone does. I’ve only watered where I’ve seeded. My lawn was looking pitiful in April, and thankfully has bounced back.

I just found it interesting how the podcast pointed out the misguided resources Americans (myself included) waste on lawns.

My lawn in April :( View attachment 69858
My lawn now :) View attachment 69859
looks good, what have you done so far?
I tend to ignore my back except for mowing to keep the ticks away. Front is where it gets attention.
 

Jmann

Never gonna let you down.
looks good, what have you done so far?
I tend to ignore my back except for mowing to keep the ticks away. Front is where it gets attention.
The bare spots got seed, straw and fertilizer. The thin areas got overseeded. All of which should have been done in fall. Had to keep on top of it as a few heavy rainstorms washed the seed away. My front is easier as it’s smaller and doesn’t get any foot traffic. The foot traffic is my biggest concern. In April I was worried I would have a dust bowl come July.
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
i mulch the lawn exclusively throughout most of the year, i only bag the clippings when there are leaves mixed in. saves me time on cutting and money on fertilizer!

i still part of the 'if its green its good' crew with the grass, cant be bothered to spend time or money on it unless its a dust bowl
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Crazy mowing schedule has started, every 3-4 days. Can someone give me a herbicide recommendation for this little strawberries?
IMG_20180612_195154.jpg

Also silt grass at full force this year. Zap them with Trimec this weekend or you'll have them all summer
IMG_20180612_191807.jpg
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
I was looking at those little strawberries on sunday. just short enough that the mower misses. in a "it don't matter" area, so nbd.
 

capedoc

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
or pay attention so you dont hit the roots, iv never hit a root or rock and bent the blade . . .

I was away for 9 days. I got home and the lawn was a meadow. Those roots were hidden pretty good. I also have a large area to mow. I’m still memorizing where every root and stump is.

Every year new roots seem to appear out of nowhere in areas they weren’t exposed before. And despite paying utmost attention, driving slowly, I’ve still hit them with the mower.

My next door neighbor says the previous owner had the same problem.
 
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qclabrat

Well-Known Member
I was away for 9 days. I got home and the lawn was a meadow. Those roots were hidden pretty good. I also have a large area to mow. I’m still memorizing where every root and stump is.

Every year new roots seem to appear out of nowhere in areas they weren’t exposed before. And despite paying utmost attention, driving slowly, I’ve still hit them with the mower.

My next door neighbor says the previous owner had the same problem.
Maybe mowing too low, I followed Iggy's advice and now I'm mowing two clicks higher than previous. Do need to mow more frequently, but the grass is doing a good job choking out the weeds. Also by the abundance of plantains you need to adopt a summer post emergent...
 

capedoc

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Maybe mowing too low, I followed Iggy's advice and now I'm mowing two clicks higher than previous. Do need to mow more frequently, but the grass is doing a good job choking out the weeds. Also by the abundance of plantains you need to adopt a summer post emergent...

Unfortunately not possible to mow any higher. I always mow in the highest possible setting. My lawn is just very undulating and there are roots everywhere from all the pine trees. There are times when the blades hit dirt from sudden bumps and random holes in the ground. Iv'e actually bent my blades on straight up dirt before. The odd thing is that those bumps are somehow virtually invisible from above. You can be extremely careful and still hit shit on my property. It's just how it is and also infuriating.

Lawn services have quoted me around $90-$110 per mow. Hahahahaha yeah - no fuckin' way.
 

capedoc

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
or pay attention so you dont hit the roots, iv never hit a root or rock and bent the blade . . .
Are you using a tractor? Or a push mower?
I suppose a push mower would be easier to avoid obstacles but that would take me 8 hours lol!
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Unfortunately not possible to mow any higher. I always mow in the highest possible setting. My lawn is just very undulating and there are roots everywhere from all the pine trees. There are times when the blades hit dirt from sudden bumps and random holes in the ground. Iv'e actually bent my blades on straight up dirt before. The odd thing is that those bumps are somehow virtually invisible from above. You can be extremely careful and still hit shit on my property. It's just how it is and also infuriating.

Lawn services have quoted me around $90-$110 per mow. Hahahahaha yeah - no fuckin' way.

those blades look light duty - perhaps an upgraded version is available? There is a stump that i hit every so often. i think the deck bent rather than the blade!
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Are you using a tractor? Or a push mower?
I suppose a push mower would be easier to avoid obstacles but that would take me 8 hours lol!


my lawn is small so i use a push mower, but i grew up cutting my dads lawn with a 38inch cut lawn tractor, even cutting the brush in the woods just for bug control (kept ticks ect down) we never managed to bend blades, we would wear them out in a couple years, but never actually damaged one. (that lawn took almost 2 hours just to CUT with the mower, not including trimming/edging/blowing the shit off the driveway)
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Unfortunately not possible to mow any higher. I always mow in the highest possible setting. My lawn is just very undulating and there are roots everywhere from all the pine trees. There are times when the blades hit dirt from sudden bumps and random holes in the ground. Iv'e actually bent my blades on straight up dirt before. The odd thing is that those bumps are somehow virtually invisible from above. You can be extremely careful and still hit shit on my property. It's just how it is and also infuriating.

Lawn services have quoted me around $90-$110 per mow. Hahahahaha yeah - no fuckin' way.
Sounds like you could use one of them tow behind Toro Groundmasters. I actually like to mow. I'd cut my neighbors yard for fun if he'd let me. Actually finally got the clutch replaced on the ztr. Been push mowing since last year and this will save me over an hour each cut. The culprit I found was a Harbor Freight torque wrench with was way off. install manual said to torque to 55lbs. Crappy wrench was maybe 20 lbs, shredded the last clutch once I engaged the blades. With the new engine and clutch. This mower should out live my time at the house.
IMG_20180704_162902.jpg
 

pooriggy

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
My lawn is just very undulating and there are roots everywhere from all the pine trees. There are times when the blades hit dirt from sudden bumps and random holes in the ground.

If you want to cut down on amount of time it takes to mow and avoid blade destroying roots, you could establish no-mow zones. These areas would be cut once or 2x a year, usually in late fall, to keep tree saplings from growing. These would become naturalized areas which are good for wild life. You could link these no mow areas in a flowing pattern and at the same time maintain a manicured lawn.

Areas with random holes should be filled in to avoid damaging the mower, or twisting an ankle when walking in yard. Fox holes are a hassle, because critters will keep digging.

Before considering heavy duty blades check your tractors owners manual with regards to blade spec. They may not recommend the use of heavy gauge blades, better that the blade bends then yo crankshaft.

And let Walter mow your lawn, he volunteered:)

cropped_grass.png
 

Magic

Formerly 1sh0t1b33r
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Plant wildflowers everywhere and never mow.
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