Lawn Experts

Lyzelle

Active Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
2,826
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Colorado
#1
So I'm pretty inept when it comes to lawn stuff. DH was in charge of that, and well, it hasn't gone so well.

On my way out, I just happened to check our little mailbox thingy and pick up the newspaper from our front door. And, yeah, our housing has given us 2 warnings about the backyard. Mostly weeds/overgrowth. Each was two days for fixing it, and the last was issued today. BLAH. But I'm glad I decided to check the front door! I'm quite annoyed they didn't bother ringing the doorbell or anything.

So I need a fairly cheap, easy way to take care of the yard. It's fairly small and burnt to a crisp, so the grass itself isn't a huge problem, just dead. There are horrible weeds, though, with spines and fluffy things. Also some build-up along the edges of the fence on one side.

So what do you think? Cheap gloves, weed wacker, and clippers? I have an Ace and a Home Deopt. Not a whole lot of money to work with. And two days to make it look decent.

HALP.
 

stardogs

Behavior Nerd
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
4,925
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
NC
#2
Heavy gloves, eye protection, and a weed whip/wacker if all you have is weeds along fencing and stuff. In a pinch it can also be used to trim tall grass but won't be a smooth looking as a mower. For heavier brush, hand held tree pruners would probably help.
 

Taqroy

Active Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2009
Messages
5,566
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Colorado
#3
Depending on the amount of weeds, I'd probably just pull them. Or, I'd go with a post on Craigslist looking for a weed whacker cause they're kind of expensive new.
 

Lyzelle

Active Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
2,826
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Colorado
#4
I do have a cheap weed wacker. Kind that needs to be plugged in, though, so I need a long extension cord. I don't suppose those would be very expensive.

So,

Eye protection
Extension cord
Hand held scissoring prune thingys. I know what they look like.
Oh, and gloves.
 

Beanie

Clicker Cult Coordinator
Joined
May 17, 2006
Messages
14,012
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
39
Location
Illinois
#5
What are the details of the warning? Are you sure dead grass is really a non-issue?
 

Lyzelle

Active Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
2,826
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Colorado
#6
What are the details of the warning? Are you sure dead grass is really a non-issue?
No, they have a checkbox for "Grass not watered regularly", but that isn't checked.
Just the "Flowerbeds not maintained (weeds pulled, flowers trimmmed, etc)" and "Backyard not maintained (grass not cut, weeds, pet damage, etc)" boxes.

Which is odd, because we don't have flower beds. But I guess both are applicable.
 

Lyzelle

Active Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
2,826
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Colorado
#8
We get those warnings all the time. We just ignore them xD
Yeah, well, too many warnings and DH's Commander is notified. And he gets in more trouble than he's already in, on top of us possibly getting kicked off base.

Today has just really sucked so far. Should have known something else would go wrong as soon as I put a post in the Venting Thread. :eek:
 

HayleyMarie

Like a bat outa' hell
Joined
May 12, 2009
Messages
7,058
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Beautiful British Columbia!!
#9
I would try and pull most of the weeds you can. Weed Whack and put the stuff in large bags so your lawn looks neater. Maybe spray the weeds you can't pull with vinegar and water.
 

Beanie

Clicker Cult Coordinator
Joined
May 17, 2006
Messages
14,012
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
39
Location
Illinois
#10
No, they have a checkbox for "Grass not watered regularly", but that isn't checked.
Just the "Flowerbeds not maintained (weeds pulled, flowers trimmmed, etc)" and "Backyard not maintained (grass not cut, weeds, pet damage, etc)" boxes.

Which is odd, because we don't have flower beds. But I guess both are applicable.
Hmmm, m'kay... I'm wondering if they think the grass is brown because of pet damage. Is there an office you can call to make sure? I'm just afraid if you only address the weeds but you still have a yard of brown dead grass you won't really be fixing the problem and you'll still get in trouble... =/
Is the grass really dead, or is it just dormant? Most of our grass went brown and dormant this summer, but with recent rains nearly all of it has come back and greened up. Only a small portion of it is really dead. You could try to water it for the next couple of days and see if it starts to perk back up. Otherwise you will have to tear it all up and either re-seed or put sod down. I'm guessing you'll have to sod, I know one of the neighbourhoods I was looking at moving into didn't allow you to seed, you HAD to sod. Ugh. On the up side, if you can re-seed, now is the perfect time to do it.
If the grass IS just dormant and perks back up after watering, buy some Scotts TurfBuilder with Weed Control and put that all over the yard. Either do it on a day you know it's going to rain or water it in yourself. It will help control the weeds, plus thicken the grass, which also helps control weeds.
 

Doberluv

Active Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2004
Messages
22,038
Likes
2
Points
38
Location
western Wa
#11
I love a nice lawn, so what I'd do quickly...if it's still growing season in your area is, mow it/weed whack where the mower won't reach.... water it well (1-1/2 to 2 hours or so) and then when it grows out again...about 3 days or so, put down some weed and feed. Be sure to follow the directions. The leaves of the weeds need to be present to take in the weed killer. When you mow, they probably will get cut off and the weed killer won't do anything. Or you can weed and feed first, then wait about 3 days I think, then mow, then water. You need a broadcast spreader though. Maybe you can borrow one if you don't have it. It will get it greened up and weeds will die. If the weather has cooled down too much and weeds are not growing anymore.

If you don't want to use weed and feed, you can use Weed b gone. Let it dry completely, fertilize with Turf Builder and water. In about 3-4 weeks, (depending on climate) you can fertilize again with a slow release/winter fertilizer and it will come back nicer in spring. It's really not that hard to maintain a nice lawn. Depending on how big your lawn is, it might not cost as much as you think.

If you don't care about having a green, lush, weed-free lawn, just weed whack and/or mow to get the weeds cut down. But I'd hit 'em with some Weed b gone first, let it soak in, dry, then cut. Then at least those ones won't come right back. They have a funny way of growing very fast if you don't get them under control.

Grass will generally come back when it's been "dead" looking with water and food. Dog pee, unfortunately, really does a number on it. Those spots, I scratch out with a small hand rake and replant because I don't want those brown areas to create thatch build-up. When you mix dog pee and fertilizer, you're giving the grass too much nitrogen and it can burn it. I try to water the spots where the dogs pee right after they pee. But of course, I miss some.
 

Lyzelle

Active Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
2,826
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Colorado
#12
We start getting snow in October, and it's already starting to get chilly, so I suppose the growing season is probably almost over. And "spring" isn't until May or June, in which we might still get snow. But we leave in March anyway.

I picked up an extension cord, scissor pruny thingers, some gloves (in which a random dog cookie was shoved), and a water hose for the dead/dormant grass. Ran me about $70, which was well within budget. I had eye stuff here, already. Chem Lab ended up being useful for something!

I can tell which is dead and which is dormant. The majority of it is dormant. We had some dead spots before the heat got to it, and Zander's acrid pee didn't help with that, obviously. The only green spots are Onion Grass and something sorta similar...but flat blades instead of round. Crabgrass?

I'll hit the weeds with vinegar and salt around the fence line and pull the ones in the middle of the yard. Then water this evening and Jin can finish up with the weed wacker tomorrow when he gets home. Hopefully it'll all be enough.

I LIKE lawn stuff. But this summer has just sucked for time, rain, and this is our first "real" yard, so no supplies on hand. And the buggers are expensive.
 

Lyzelle

Active Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
2,826
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Colorado
#13
By the way, I found there were two types of fluffy weeds out there. One with spikey thorny stems and ones without.

The ones with the spikey thorny stems sprayed me when I went to remove them. I hope that doesn't mean they are poisonous. Because it got my face pretty good.
 

Beanie

Clicker Cult Coordinator
Joined
May 17, 2006
Messages
14,012
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
39
Location
Illinois
#14
Technically you have until the first frost to get grass seed down, and to do a good job of killing weeds too. It's prime time to spray weeds to kill them because they are sending energy down to the roots in prep to go dormant for the winter. I'm in a hurry to finish some stuff in my yard because I have a feeling we're going to get a frost later this week, argh. X_X

I have no idea what kind of weed that might be that would spray you, but gross.
 

Pops2

Active Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2008
Messages
3,072
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
UT
#15
the spikey thorny ones are most likely bull thistle but maybe sow thistle, both require a constant fight to keep down w/o mowing. need a better description or pic to know what the other one is.
 

Lyzelle

Active Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
2,826
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Colorado
#16
I'll try snapping a pic of them. There's something else out there that looks familiar too, and I can't place it.

I sort of thought it might be thistle? It seems odd for thistle, though. After a google search I found this, and it's much closer to what is out there, only waaaay larger. The blooms are just as big as my hand. Fluffier too, not as dense. The entire plant is easily 2-3 feet tall.

 

Doberluv

Active Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2004
Messages
22,038
Likes
2
Points
38
Location
western Wa
#17
Probably most effective to dig those out by the roots. They're usually really tough...those kinds of thistle things. If you get your grass healthy next year, watered, well fed, that tends to inhibit weeds. Yeah...you can plant grass seed if you need more in the fall...best time to plant it. But, if you have a lot of thick thatch, it will have a hard time being healthy. You might want to aerate it first.

Good luck!
 

Members online

No members online now.
Top