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Heisman Winner [105622]
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Yard Maintenance 101
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Jun 1, 2023, 10:48 AM
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Greenr spent YEARS working on lawns. I worked summers cutting grass from about 12 years old until I went to College. This caused me to hate yardwork. Then we got a much bigger yard and it became difficult to keep up with all the yardwork so I just did the minimum.
Well fast forward to now, yard is tiny and manageable. My usual questions about yard maintenance would go to my dad who would say throw a bag of 10-10-10 on it and let it ride. He is no longer here, so I have to ask you guys and Google.
Can I fertilize my lawn in June? I need it to green-up a little and the front yard growth is really slow. This is certainly sod, but I have no clue what kind. We have an irrigation system I run every other day. If I fertilize, do I need to irrigate every day? I seem to remember there being issues with fertilizing in the late spring/early summer burning the yard up if you didn't get any rain.
Thanks, I'll wang up and glisten.
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Heisman Winner [135616]
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The easiest way to fertilize your lawn at this time of the
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Jun 1, 2023, 10:51 AM
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year would be to get a lot of farm animals and let them poop everywhere. Cattle, sheep, goats, chickens...that would be a good start for you.
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Heisman Winner [105622]
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Unfortunately, that is not true for dog poop (and pee)
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Jun 1, 2023, 10:53 AM
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I think that is killing the back yard. It is fenced in though, so the neighbors cannot see that.
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All-In [42902]
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Oculus Spirit [93673]
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With a cow you can harvest shrooms.***
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Jun 1, 2023, 11:22 AM
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All-In [42902]
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Excellent point.***
Jun 1, 2023, 11:29 AM
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Oculus Spirit [97731]
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Lot o points [163012]
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Dunno
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Jun 1, 2023, 10:55 AM
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but I have Bermuda and just hit it with some since it is just starting to come in - late to me. and I knew we had a shitload of rain coming our way last weekend.
I will report back.
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All-In [31513]
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Re: Yard Maintenance 101
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Jun 1, 2023, 10:56 AM
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Scott’s Southern Bonus S weed & Feed as soon as it stays above 65-70 at night. I’ve used it on St Augustine, Centipede, and thin blade zoysia and it works great. I’ve heard of others having luck with the water in kind (Sunday?). I usually fertilize once after spring green up, then once more late summer going into fall to build a nice healthy carpet for winter. Water it in that day, but don’t necessarily need to irrigate most grass types every day.
Got my lawn looking thicc and green AF boi
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Oculus Spirit [97731]
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Step one, determine your type of grass. That makes a yuge
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Jun 1, 2023, 11:03 AM
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difference in fertilizer. Like you can kill your yard with the wrong type. If you haven't fertilized this year, and it's centipede grass, I'd go with the Scotts® Turf Builder® Bonus® S Southern Weed & Feed. And you only need to do it once a year, although you can do a fall application of another type that helps the following spring. Mine usually is put down in May sometime, when high temps are consistently in the 80's. This fertilizer requires watering immediately after application. After that you're free to let mother nature rain, etc do it's thing. I watered mine in, but I keep the sprinklers off unless needed. With hard clay soil, it holds moisture for a good week or more. As long as we get a good rain every week or so, no need for sprinklers. One summer I only ran the sprinklers one week (2 days/week). If it's bermudagrass, don't use this, but something else. Oh, and for bermudagrass, you will need to fertilize several times a year. I've had houses with both types. Bermuda is beautiful when well maintained, BUT it's a pain in the #### because it grows faster, needs to be cut more/lower, needs more water, and fertilizer.
Really, you need to know the grass type for fertilizer. And soil type for watering.
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Heisman Winner [105622]
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Soil type is sand, lots and lots of sand
Jun 1, 2023, 11:21 AM
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I'm thinking it is St. Augustine Sod. I need to verify that.
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Oculus Spirit [97731]
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Well, no clue on St. Augustine fertilizer
Jun 1, 2023, 12:39 PM
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I think that's the grass people plant in shady yards as it tolerates shade well. Not sure about water either, but with sandy soil you will need to water more than clay. Whatever you end up doing with fertilizer, when it comes to watering I usually just keep an eye on the yard. When you get that dry/silvery look water ASAP. I usually keep my sprinklers off, and only turn them on when I notice the grass looks dry. But with sandy soil that may happen too frequently and you may just need to keep the sprinklers running on a schedule.
I had Bermuda with sandy soil and it took over twice as much water, and twice as much cutting and fertilizing. But it looked very nice. Not worth the trouble though.
Best thing going for St. Augustine is it's the best grass to walk on barefooted IMO.
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Orange Blooded [3166]
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I'll play this game
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Jun 1, 2023, 11:13 AM
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Post a pic of the grass (wide view and up close of the grass blades) and your friendly Teh Jounge buddies can help identify it. From there, just follow the appropriate maintenance schedule below from your local football powerhouse university:
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/bermudagrass-maintenance-calendar/
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/centipedegrass-maintenance-calendar/
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/zoysiagrass-maintenance-calendar/ Zoysiagrass Yearly Maintenance Program Zoysiagrass is an important turfgrass used throughout the southern regions of the United States and into the transition zones where both cool-season and...
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/st-augustinegrass-maintenance-calendar/
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/tall-fescue-maintenance-calendar/ Tall Fescue Maintenance Calendar This calendar of suggested maintenance practices is designed to be a general guide in the care of your fescue lawn. Location, soil type, health of lawn,...
CLIFFS NOTES- yes- regardless of grass type, you're fine to fertilize prior to August 1 following the directions on the bag. If you put any down later than Aug 1-15, you're running the risk of stressing the lawn by stimulating blade growth when the lawn is trying to go dormant for fall/winter, which will cause issues the following year.
Also- you probably don't need to water every other day unless we are in an extended drought. A timely deep watering is always better than regular shallow waterings, which encourage shallow root crowding.
Proper mowing height and intervals/timing make way more of a difference than you would think as well.
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Oculus Spirit [93673]
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All I know about plants is that they thrive when they have..
Jun 1, 2023, 11:18 AM
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deep roots. I'd say the sprinkler should be on during the late evening and remain running long enough to saturate the soil deeply. If I fertilized a lawn this time of year it would be very lightly and just before a good rain or a series of long and daily sprinkling. Long enough that the fertilizer is dissolved and washed deep in the soil. I'd probably spray lightly with a diluted liquid fertilizer rather than throwing pellets the saturate the soil with water.
If my grass is waning you might want to try daily sprinkling (alone) for a few days to see if that helps.
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Lot o points [155944]
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Opposite with a sprinkler bro
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Jun 1, 2023, 11:21 AM
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Running it all night lets the water sit too long and you can get fungus and root rot. Use a sprinkler first thing in the morning so the water can dry as the day goes on.
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Heisman Winner [105622]
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Sprinklers cut on at 4:30 AM. I did research that a little
Jun 1, 2023, 11:23 AM
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before coming here.
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Hall of Famer [22392]
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If you have St. Augustine, avoid the high nitrogen
Jun 1, 2023, 12:01 PM
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fertilizers. Pre-Emergent in April to avoid crab grass and other weeds. I use Scott's Halts Crabgrass and Grassy Weed preventer. Fertilizer now, if you haven't already(once the grass greens up). I use a Lesco St. Augustine 20-0-3 with Penoxsulam. It works well.
St Augustine is susceptible to fungus that lives in the soil and is activated at cooler temperatures like we have had lately in Charleston. Do not water late in the day or overnight. You need to water in the early morning to avoid having the water sit on the blades for an extended period. If you start to see circles of brown grass, there is a fungus among us. You need to apply Scotts Disease Ex ASAP if you notice these brown patches and possibly again in a few weeks. Do not hesitate to apply if you see the spots.
Watering frequency should stress the grass slightly to cause the roots to extend down and create a more resilient lawn. Watering every day creates a short root and fragile lawn. I water every third day and soak it pretty good. Continue watering year round.
St. Augustine doesn't need a lot of nitrogen and will dominate just about everything else if you stay on top of it(except crab grass, so put your pre emergent down).
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All-In [26514]
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Put up a sign that reads "Bring your dogs here to poop".***
Jun 1, 2023, 12:50 PM
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