Lawn care advice

[badger]

NP and I have lived in a very nice home for the past two, going on three years. During most of that time, we have had two husky/shepherd dogs that have enjoyed the backyard to the point of its annual doom. Pet spots, little dirt trails to their favorite spots (aka THE BIG TREE THAT THE SQUIRREL CAMPS AT), etc.

Give me all of your advice - brand of seed, fertilizer, garden, pet spot removal, aerating tips, etc.

I have shelved all other outdoor projects in favor of the lawn, cuz everytime it rains, they track their little muddy paws inside. Also, I know that it's difficult to grow grass in the midst of heatwaves.

[yermom]

salt the earth

[badger]

salt the earth

Should I use iodized or the cheap stuff?

[yermom]

i don't know. i just want to pave mine, or get some of that recycled rubber field turf

that would be awesome if i could keep the dog crap off :D

[olevetonahill]

If ya got dogs in an Enclosed yard they are gonna wear paths , Not much ya can do about it . cept keep the dogs Off of it for awhile

[Ike]

Field turf.


If I had the $$, I'd do that to my lawn in a heartbeat.

[NormanPride]

1. Mow yard
2. Spread grass clippings where dead/doggy spots are
3. Everything's all green and happy now!

[badger]

1. Mow yard
2. Spread grass clippings where dead/doggy spots are
3. Everything's all green and happy now!

Well well, NP, if you are going to give yard advice, then I am gonna do the same for your precious kitchen:

1. Run dishwasher.
2. Spread clean dishes on top of where dirty dishes are.
3. Everything's all clean and happy now!

[GottaHavePride]

Step 1: Pay some people to come mow your lawn.

Step 2: Pay some other people to come fertilize and spray your lawn for weeds.

Step 3: Stay inside out of the hot and have a beer.

[C&CDean]

Shoot the damn dogs.

You're welcome.

[NormanPride]

Well well, NP, if you are going to give yard advice, then I am gonna do the same for your precious kitchen:

1. Run dishwasher.
2. Spread clean dishes on top of where dirty dishes are.
3. Everything's all clean and happy now!

:(



And Dean, you'd love these dogs. They catch mice and chase away wildlife and dig up gophers. They're perfect ranch dogs!

[Boarder]

Don't give in to the social pressure to keep a perfect lawn that has been implemented by the corporate lawn-care product mafia.

[GKeeper316]

ok if you're serious about trying to recondition your lawn after years of 2 big dogs running around in it here's what you need to do.

first thing is to section part of it off for the dogs. dogs dont like to be inside, so make sure they have their own spot. i put up a chain link fence in the back that runs along the back fence and comes out about 6 feet.

next you need to decide what type of grass you want. if the yard gets a long of sunlight, you'll want to go with a bermuda hybrid that will thrive in the hot oklahoma summer. if its got a lot of trees or otherwise doesnt get much sun, go with a shade grass like red fescue.

if you go with a bermuda, you can either spend a ton of money at a sod farm, or seed it yourself. seeding bermuda isnt hard, but it has to be done in a very very particular way or it wont grow. fescue you can pretty much just toss some seed down, water it, and watch it do its thing.

the most important thing to keep in mind is that as long as you allow your dogs to run freely in your yard, it will have paths worn in it ans spots where they have done their business.

let me know what grass you'll be using and ill tell you how to properly seed it.

[proud gonzo]

yeah, you're not going to have a pretty perfect lawn AND dogs.

[NormanPride]

We can get rid of the dog spots by using a watering can to dilute the widdle a little. As for the dog paths, we're trying to put down traffic tolerant turf. It's rough...

And how do you have to put down bermuda seed for it to hold?

[Breadburner]

Too late for fescue seed.....If its full sun Bermuda sod will be the way to go....

[NormanPride]

sod is spensive and doesn't tend to hold around here very well. And yes, we're done with fescue this season. The fescue she planted earlier did very well.

[badger]

yeah, you're not going to have a pretty perfect lawn AND dogs.

Believe it or not, I have a perfect lawn by the summer every year. It's a lot of work (and I don't cheat and use sod either), but it's there by July with some well-timed tricks.

Alas, every spring, it's back to square one, which is why I beg the South Oval for tips and tricks that I might not have tried... about the only one suggested thus far that I haven't tried yet is the salt trick. I will try both iodized and cheap and report back here tomorrow with the results.

[yermom]

heh. do NOT try the salt trick.

[NormanPride]

Oh my no. That was yermom being a smartass. :D Wasn't it Carthage that the Romans salted so nothing would grow there for a hundred years?

[yermom]

yeah, that's where i first heard about it

[GKeeper316]

to properly seed bermuda, the evening temp needs to be 70 consistently. as soon as its the middle of summer (which is the only time you can seed bermuda) you need to dampen the spots that are getting seeded and put the seed down. do this first thing in the morning. after a couple hours, you need to go back out and put a little more water down. dont soak it, the seed wont take. just keep it damp. keep putting water down every couple hours to keep the seed from drying out.

do this 2-3 weekends in a row.

[badger]

heh. do NOT try the salt trick.

After 17 bajillion posts I was hoping you'd detect the attempt at humor :D

[yermom]

just making sure :D

[badger]

I have found that Scotts is the best grass seed. Others just take too much effort to get growing. You gotta stand over that other type of seed with a hose 24/7, it seems. Pennington is a close second. Some birds once poked a bag open that I left outside - that stuff was so good that it grew from within its own seed on top of concrete.

Patchmaster stuff I am still undecided. I have tried using it and usually get mixed results. Plus, it's kind of weird to handle. For those of you that haven't heard of it, it's basically newspaper mixed with fertilized mixed with seed that you break up and spread, then water.

I will never plant Kentucky blue grass ever again. It gave me false hope of a green lawn last season, then without warning, it turned brown and died. Stupid bluegrass. Your music sucks too.

The best experiment I've ever succeeded at was the germination blanket. I had tried for a few years to get grass to grow in a runoff area with a lot of frustration, a lot of mud and not a lot of grass. My last attempt before plowing salt in (thanks for the tip, yermom!) was the blanket. I tilled the soil, put down seeding soil, put down grass seed then tacked the germination blanket on top last fall. It was stunning to see it actually work.

It is now spring/summer and a lot of the area once covered in an ugly blue/greenish germination blanket is now thick, tall fescue... alas, it didn't fill in completely... will I dare try Patchmaster or regular seeding things again now that some of the area is filled in?

[SoonerJack]

If you are patient you could buy about a fourth of the Bermuda sod you need, cut it into smaller squares and space it evenly when you plant it. It will spread with proper care, feeding, watering etc.

I helped plant a lawn for a restaurant this way (June I think), and by late July the place had a really nice lawn. I was very surprised.

[badger]

If you are patient you could buy about a fourth of the Bermuda sod you need, cut it into smaller squares and space it evenly when you plant it. It will spread with proper care, feeding, watering etc.

I helped plant a lawn for a restaurant this way (June I think), and by late July the place had a really nice lawn. I was very surprised.

I may raise the flag on a few trouble spots. I know everyone says to do a soil test but hell, the doggies dig up so much turf its an ever-changing environment :D