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jbiscuit
06-09-2012, 09:40 PM
Good discussion before bout lawn care so figured it was a good time to start another one now that we are in a heck of a drought. Discuss what you are doing with your lawn

Applied third application of milorgonite last week
Been watering nightly on the timer. Started at 1hr front, both side yards and backyard. I have two outside spiggots with a timer and each with a Y on them to run 4 hose runs in total: 400ft of hose (8 50ft sections, 8 spike sprinklers)
Upped it to 1.5hr Thurs night to try and saturate the soil some as I was starting to get some cracking
Grass is starting to green back up now

Any of you guys watering? Describe what you are doing. Have you put down any sort of fertilizers? My neighbor JUST got a Chem Lawn treatment Thursday and his lawn is starting to turn really brown. Burning the grass for sure so I would really be careful if any of you are thinking about putting down any turf builder or Weed n Feed type products...tho I wouldn't even bother with those as I havent seen a dandelion in weeks

Korndogg
06-09-2012, 09:43 PM
I'm going to go pick up a couple sprinklers tomorrow. My grass is starting to get pretty brown. Everything I ever saw about watering grass says to water in the early morning and not at night because if you water at night, it can cause fungus growth. And you need to have enough time for the water to dry off the grass before the afternoon sun because the droplets act as a magnifier and burn the grass. I was told water at the latest 7am-9am

JC70SS
06-09-2012, 10:43 PM
no fertilizer this time of year. Burn out. Lawn is way to big for watering pray for severe thunderstorms!

wikked
06-10-2012, 12:42 AM
Everything I ever saw about watering grass says to water in the early morning and not at night because if you water at night, it can cause fungus growth.

ding ding ding

nismodave
06-10-2012, 07:28 AM
Doing nothing.....I live in a condo.

badass88gt
06-10-2012, 01:04 PM
No watering here anymore, I have city water so it will rack up a bill fast. I just last night went to Menard's and bought everything to drive a point in the back yard and use the well for watering.

I'm hoping to overseed during the week of July 4, our plant is shut down so its a vacation week. My backyard has had no water so it's brown, Ive been watering during the week but not alot because of the cost, it's fairly green but it's not very good grass. I put down Milorganite about 3 weeks ago I think but the lack of water seems to prevent me from seeing much for results. Its a work in progress...

Reverend Cooper
06-10-2012, 03:06 PM
doing nothing have lawn care maintenance technicians

jbiscuit
06-10-2012, 03:08 PM
Fungal growth is only a concern when the ground STAYS moist for a period of time. Its been so hot/dry that watering morning or night will be beneficial

michelle
06-10-2012, 05:56 PM
Anything "lawn" related to help rid my yard of those stupid ground wasps? They are freakin' aggressive little guys!

Korndogg
06-10-2012, 08:09 PM
Here is my fantastic grass as of today. (Don't mind the big patch of nothing in the middle. The old owners had something there and I'm putting a fire pit there.)

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a201/korndogg03/c5d677f4.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a201/korndogg03/2a74ad24.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a201/korndogg03/04a93d6a.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a201/korndogg03/4ce7e89c.jpg

UnderPSI
06-10-2012, 08:26 PM
I let my back yard grow. Then neighbor came to cut it for hay. They are going to bail it tomorrow lol

jbiscuit
06-10-2012, 08:51 PM
Mark you need to use some weed control product on the lawn but not right now. WAY too dry to apply anything aggressive on it. Your lawn will green up, the weeds will disappear and will look great! Start using Milorgonite on the lawn also if u really want a nice yard!

Korndogg
06-10-2012, 08:58 PM
Yeah I'll get to it at some point. I was going to go this week and pick some stuff up. I've been busy doing other stuff to the house and the yard is kind of on the back burner until I get some stuff done. I did get my garden planted though.

What do you use for weed control and how much milorganite do you put down?

Remember I have two dogs also so I need the stuff to be somewhat safe.

michelle
06-10-2012, 09:07 PM
This is my "backyard" grass cutter. The 72" deck makes it go by much faster now.

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/404574_797906024968_28656266_n.jpg

jbiscuit
06-11-2012, 07:35 AM
Yeah I'll get to it at some point. I was going to go this week and pick some stuff up. I've been busy doing other stuff to the house and the yard is kind of on the back burner until I get some stuff done. I did get my garden planted though.

What do you use for weed control and how much milorganite do you put down?

Remember I have two dogs also so I need the stuff to be somewhat safe.

For weed control, I use the Scotts Turf Builder +2 Weed Control...but that stuff will burn like crazy right now. And I would think this could be an issue with the dogs as well. You would have to read the back of the bag to see what they say about it. You can also do your lawn in phases: Put the Weed Control down on the front and let the dogs use the back yard. Then after a week or two and some rain/watering, put the product down in the back and let your dogs use the front yard etc. Weed control products is the only thing that will stop or eliminate the weeds. You might want to read up on the Milorgonite also to make sure the dogs won't try to eat it. As far as Milorgonite quantity, you have a city lot so I would think you could start with two bags as a rough estimate as to what you'll use (1 bag front 1 bag backyard). You might not even go through than much but its cheap ($5.99-7.99/bag). Use the setting recommendation on the back of the bag for sure....if not put it down a bit heavier than that. On the golf course I used to work at, around the greens and in the fairways we would put it down so heavy followed by a three day mega soak watering. I would think this would work great to green up your lawn also. Mega soak: 2hr morning watering followed by late afternoon (after 6-7pm) 2 hr soaking.

wrath
06-11-2012, 07:52 AM
Maybe you guys are cutting your grass too short for the species? Or cutting it with dull blades? When it's dry, depending on the type of grass, it should start to brown then go dormant. It's at this point that the grass is sensitive to foot or vehicle traffic. If you drive on it like this, the grass will die. If the grass is torn instead of cut it doesn't recover as well either.

Anybody ever use paenibacillus popilliae (aka milky spore) this late in the year? I've had a population explosion of moles.

badass88gt
06-11-2012, 08:12 AM
Just FYI, the Milorganite covers approx. 2500 sq. ft. with a 36# bag. Just to help figure it out...

badass88gt
06-11-2012, 08:15 AM
How often are you guys using Milorganite? I just did it a few days before Memorial Weekend, I'm hoping to overseed in about 3 weeks. Should I wait until after seeding to apply Milorganite again or do it before?

Keep in mind, I think the biggest thing hurting me at this point is lack of water.

animal
06-11-2012, 08:19 AM
Quick one... my grass is brown, crunchy, and shitty now because its summer. if I want it to be nice and green for a party, how many days in advance should I turn the sprinklers on daily so as to have it nice, soft, and green, but not waste water for x days? I just don't know how long it takes to bounce back...

badass88gt
06-11-2012, 08:29 AM
Not sure if there's really a decent answer for that. In general you want an inch of water every week, but you don't want to overdo it either. At this point, if it's like mine, I would do 2 hours every morning a week before, if you don't get rain. Then again I may be way off. Sprinkler design will vary also, affecting the amount of water output.

SSDude
06-11-2012, 09:28 AM
It'll probably take a couple weeks of daily watering to bring it back. Of course if you let it get totally browned out it could take more. I'd start with weekly waterings up until two weeks before your party and judge it from there

jbiscuit
06-11-2012, 12:20 PM
^ This. Grass does funny things when it is this dry. What I mean is you can get "instant green" by watering it for 2 hours one time. The grass will suck up the water as fast as you are watering, the grass will green up and look better than it did the day before. So you stop watering. It goes back to brown just as quick. But the grass is still fragile and easy to damage because it is still very dry. Animal you need to start 2 weeks out. Water the front yard or anywhere where people wont be on it for an 1-1.5hr a day. Can be morning or late in the day, doesn't matter at this point as your soil is super dry. Water the backyard 1.5 or a bit more than that if thats where you plan to have your cookout. Keep a close eye on how the grass responds. After 2-3 days you should see it start to green up and "look" healthy like it did a month-6weeks ago. I would suggest staying right on your watering schedule right up till your event. Don't be affraid to soak your lawn pretty good too. I can almost guarantee you can't OVER water right now, tho if you do notice your lawn getting REALLY soft a few days before your cookout, back off the watering to 1 hour on the backyard or a bit less so not to make it too soft for traffic

jbiscuit
06-11-2012, 12:24 PM
How often are you guys using Milorganite? I just did it a few days before Memorial Weekend, I'm hoping to overseed in about 3 weeks. Should I wait until after seeding to apply Milorganite again or do it before?

Keep in mind, I think the biggest thing hurting me at this point is lack of water.

The Milorgonite won't hurt fresh seed. No need to put more product down until end of June (4 weeks). You can put it down as often as you like but our current drought won't show you much benefit right now. I would suggest a 4-week application schedule. Wrath recommends a 3 week schedule with his lawn cocktail of rat turds, chicken droppings and owl vomit :rolf

Korndogg
06-11-2012, 01:07 PM
My thing is, I need to figure out a schedule for the whole year spring-fall and then I'll be good. I just don't know enough about any of this stuff to know what I'm doing. And I really don't want to kill my lawn lol.

I just need to know when to put down fertilizer, overseed, milorganite, etc....

jbiscuit
06-11-2012, 01:25 PM
A lot depends on the weather. We had our spring REALLY early this year. IE March. Here is a basic schedule that I have been using:

Early spring (March/Early April): Scotts Turf Builder with Halts Crabgrass preventer; wait about 2 week and apply milorgonite per bag recommendation

Late April: overseed if you want. You want to get the seed down at this point so it makes good contact with the soil. It will take the full 21 days to germinate but natural spring rains will water it in nicely for you.

Spring (May or prior to first dandelion in your yard. Watch your neighbors. If they have even one in their yard now is the time to put this down): Scotts Plus 2 with Weed Control (yellow bag); wait about 2 weeks after this app and do a HEAVY milorgonite

Summer: 4 weeks after last milorgonite app put this down at the recommended app on the bag; if grass is real dry start watering usually in July (this year started early June since we are WAY off our normal rain accumulations).

Scotts fall/winterizer (some people swear by this, I haven't done it for a few years at my other house and didn't see ANY ill effects from skipping this step).

I am right on target with this ^ plan posted above. Remember, the milorgonite won't prevent weeds BUT a hearty lawn with combat weeds. So its like a wingman to the Scotts products. You fertilize with Scotts, to get rid of the weeds and then the milorgonite just helps thicken the lawn and make it healthy to choke out the weeds and so on. Since I already have the three apps of milorgonite down already, I will be picking up 5-6 more bags in hopes we do get some rains later this month. Then depending on the weather I will probably hold off on more milorgonite app until Sept/October

Korndogg
06-11-2012, 01:45 PM
Thanks for that. I think when we get some decent rain, I'm going to throw down some of the turf builder and some Milorganite. Is there a reason you wait two weeks for the Milorganite? It says on their webpage that you can use it with fertilizers. Or are you just doing it to be safe?

jbiscuit
06-11-2012, 02:07 PM
The lawn doesn't really need that much fertilization all at once. Spreading out the applications will give you a more consistent and longer lasting green, thick lawn. And the two week wait time between Scotts and Milorgonite doesn't have to be exact, just ball park. If you wait 3 weeks, no big deal. Set a calendar reminder on your phone so it lets you know when its time.

animal
06-11-2012, 02:35 PM
Animal you need to start 2 weeks out. Water the front yard or anywhere where people wont be on it for an 1-1.5hr a day. Can be morning or late in the day, doesn't matter at this point as your soil is super dry. Water the backyard 1.5 or a bit more than that if thats where you plan to have your cookout. Keep a close eye on how the grass responds. After 2-3 days you should see it start to green up and "look" healthy like it did a month-6weeks ago. I would suggest staying right on your watering schedule right up till your event. Don't be affraid to soak your lawn pretty good too. I can almost guarantee you can't OVER water right now, tho if you do notice your lawn getting REALLY soft a few days before your cookout, back off the watering to 1 hour on the backyard or a bit less so not to make it too soft for traffic

Thanks man, thats what I was lookin for.

Korndogg
06-11-2012, 03:25 PM
Should I wait for a certain amount of rain before I put down the scotts? I don't mind watering also if I have to.

badass88gt
06-11-2012, 04:01 PM
It depends which Scott's product you will use, for example Plus 2 should be applied to a wet lawn, but with the latest weather that stuff will be too much stress on the grass. Turfbuilder can be applied to wet or dry, but if you have consistent hot days you will want to water.

Milorganite, which is not a Scotts product, says it doesn't need to be watered in but I do it anyway.

WickedSix
06-11-2012, 04:21 PM
do you guys use milorganite not knowing where it comes from or do you know and it just doesn't bother you?

badass88gt
06-11-2012, 04:35 PM
Why would it?

Korndogg
06-11-2012, 04:48 PM
Doesn't bother me a bit. Also I know it says to be put on a wet lawn but that's why I was asking about how much rain. I didn't know if I should wait until we get a couple days good rain so the soil/grass gets better and put it down and continue to water after for a week or two or if I should just water for a week or two and then do it.

badass88gt
06-11-2012, 05:02 PM
Nah, no need to wait. It will stay in the soil until it gets water, if you want to water it in go for it, otherwise you can just leave it until the next rain. Obviously watering i it in will start the nitrogen release sooner, which is a good thing.

pOrk
06-11-2012, 05:50 PM
I thought cars were an expensive hobby and you guys are spending a grand to keep your grass green, lols

jbiscuit
06-11-2012, 06:12 PM
a grand? :rolf I'm nowhere near close to spending a grand to make my lawn nice. All my neighbors pay to have their lawns taken care of by a lawn service company. My lawn looks better than any of theirs and I have spent a grand total of $168 to date on lawn care product. Helps to buy on sale

badass88gt
06-11-2012, 06:27 PM
No kidding. I won't spend a grand in 5 years and that includes equipment rental such as slit seeder, aerater, dethatcher, etc.

Those lawn care places like Spring Green and Chemlawn are a joke. Wayyyy overpriced. It doesn't happen overnight but it's easy to do with minimal effort. Knowledge is key.

73MACH
06-11-2012, 07:31 PM
a lot depends on the weather. We had our spring really early this year. Ie march. Here is a basic schedule that i have been using:

Early spring (march/early april): Scotts turf builder with halts crabgrass preventer; wait about 2 week and apply milorgonite per bag recommendation

late april: Overseed if you want. You want to get the seed down at this point so it makes good contact with the soil. It will take the full 21 days to germinate but natural spring rains will water it in nicely for you.

Spring (may or prior to first dandelion in your yard. Watch your neighbors. If they have even one in their yard now is the time to put this down): Scotts plus 2 with weed control (yellow bag); wait about 2 weeks after this app and do a heavy milorgonite

summer: 4 weeks after last milorgonite app put this down at the recommended app on the bag; if grass is real dry start watering usually in july (this year started early june since we are way off our normal rain accumulations).

Scotts fall/winterizer (some people swear by this, i haven't done it for a few years at my other house and didn't see any ill effects from skipping this step).

I am right on target with this ^ plan posted above. Remember, the milorgonite won't prevent weeds but a hearty lawn with combat weeds. So its like a wingman to the scotts products. You fertilize with scotts, to get rid of the weeds and then the milorgonite just helps thicken the lawn and make it healthy to choke out the weeds and so on. Since i already have the three apps of milorgonite down already, i will be picking up 5-6 more bags in hopes we do get some rains later this month. Then depending on the weather i will probably hold off on more milorgonite app until sept/october


this.....

77thor
06-12-2012, 08:18 AM
I prefer to only fertilizer twice a year (Memorial Day & Labor Day) and only apply weed control on an as-needed basis.
Generally, I do not water my lawn. I like to leave it longer in summer so that it doesn't dry out as much.

jbiscuit
08-17-2012, 07:48 AM
Time to bump this back up since everyone's lawns should be greening back up. I put down 6 bags of Milorgonite on my lawn Sunday afternoon and also hand spread a bit of Scotts Plus 2 on some areas that were patched when they installed my patio. The grass is growing in nicely but the weeds are still showing up after cutting. I have put away my sprinklers for now but have been hand watering with the hose my patched areas. Cut my lawn last night prior to the Scotts and MAN does it look good! I'll snap a pic and post later. Perfectly striped lawn. Now I just need to invest in a tractor or a mower with variable speed self-propelled power so I can get my cut times down to under an hour

animal
08-17-2012, 08:58 AM
After having to mow every 3 days now, how can we return our lawn to the low maintenance burned look? lol

Korndogg
08-17-2012, 11:29 AM
My yard is still fucked since I pulled out the bushes but I went back to work and I've been working 4 10's in Madison so I get up at 330 every morning and don't get home till around 6. No energy to get my yard ready to put the fence in. I still need to get 3-4 yards of dirt back there to level out the yard. I'm thinking about possibly having a landscaper do it for me since I don't have much time anymore. I just don't want to pay a crazy amount just to level it out.

badass88gt
08-17-2012, 04:15 PM
I have the greenest weeds on my block. I have been watering and Milorganiting, it's nice and green but it's not good grass, alot of weeds. Never did overseed, don't know the best time to overseed now, do I wait until spring or do it now since weeds should be starting their dormancy soon?

smokin'red35th
08-17-2012, 06:57 PM
Jbiscuit, I'd really like to see pics of your lawn. I'm down here in Missouri and its still dry as fuck right now. Everything is dead, but being that I just bought my first house, once it starts raining again (if ever) I'd really like to spend some time on my lawn. I know nothing about it but this thread really helps.

jbiscuit
08-17-2012, 08:04 PM
Here is my backyard from about 5 minutes ago. Applied 6 bags of Milorgonite about 2 weeks ago. Its thick as hell! Remember this lawn isn't even a year old yet. There are a couple random weeds that are hanging on after the drought of May-late July but not a big deal. My neighbors have some crabgrass and clover shit. I have neither of that. I cut the lawn last night and from the looks of it today it will need to be cut again in a few days. Jackson is having a great time running around on it.

http://i47.tinypic.com/2h5mk47.jpg

Korndogg
08-17-2012, 10:27 PM
Nice. My neighbor has creeping charlie and its taking over my garden. It's pissing me off. I'm going to redo the garden anyway though and make it smaller but the guy is a VP of a landscaping company FFS, you would think he would like a nice yard.

Oh and tomorrow my dad and I are going to go get fill and level out the yard. I'll post pics of the progress.

smokin'red35th
08-18-2012, 10:24 PM
Looks nice. I was at Lowes yesterday and they have milorganite so as soon as this draught is over I'll pick some up. My priority right now is getting rid of the poison ivy that's surrounding my entire property. I spent all morning with a sprayer, trying to get as much of it as I could, but its so think I might have to do this in phases. my property is surrounded by a shitload of it. Last thing I need is my dogs running around in that stuff

Gregor
08-19-2012, 08:13 AM
doing nothing have lawn care maintenance technicians


Yes how are the illegals doing? Your lawn always seems in good shape.

Gregor
08-19-2012, 08:16 AM
http://i47.tinypic.com/2h5mk47.jpg

Nice lawn, ours is next year project after we replace out driveway, regrade, level out or side yard, rip out all the railroad ties.

Korndogg
08-19-2012, 09:35 AM
Here are a couple pics from yesterday.


Took two 1 yard hauls from Sievert in Oak Creek to my house in milwaukee. It was riding on the bump stops the whole way, rofl.

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/s720x720/417176_568447167288_418660302_n.jpg


Backed her right up into the yard. This is why I just didnt get a dump truck to drop it off. It was easier this way.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/390831_568448085448_182696580_n.jpg

Two yards and a bunch more to go to get it somewhat flat.

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/260509_568472157208_1022039085_n.jpg

They were only open till noon yesterday so I couldn't get more loads. I'll continue working on it on Friday.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/533119_568472456608_1392707416_n.jpg



Here is a couple before pictures for reference.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a201/korndogg03/c5d677f4.jpg

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/s720x720/484567_564686728238_330919774_n.jpg

michelle
08-19-2012, 10:25 AM
Our grass is starting to come back to life. Patchy in areas where weeds definitely took over. The backyard hasn't been touched, but hoping to get it back to looking like this again. This was from last year around this time. No chemicals have been put on it. I like to keep it cut, but it still takes a long time. All I have done this year is a path around the perimeter for walking the dogs and a path for the neighbors to come over in their golf carts and gators.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/335461_732788316378_5323836_o.jpg

michelle
08-19-2012, 05:21 PM
Was almost done cutting the back when I got the second dose of rain. But look at the pretty rainbow(s)!

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/216130_10101427292348688_1166500481_n.jpg

WilliamZ
08-19-2012, 09:00 PM
I have the greenest weeds on my block. I have been watering and Milorganiting, it's nice and green but it's not good grass, alot of weeds. Never did overseed, don't know the best time to overseed now, do I wait until spring or do it now since weeds should be starting their dormancy soon?

I would aerate and overseed late Sept, early October..

badass88gt
08-19-2012, 09:26 PM
I have a lot of thatch, should I dethatch first? If I wait until late September to seed that means I could fertilize now as well?

WilliamZ
08-21-2012, 08:39 PM
Yes I would remove thatch 1st.

jbiscuit
09-01-2012, 02:13 PM
Good time to start overseeding! I put down 8 more bags of Milorgonite this afternoon. Will start watering again here soon as my lawn has dried up quite a bit this past week

Korndogg
09-14-2012, 04:44 PM
What do you guys use to cover your seeds with. Straw or the mat? I went to 4 stores looking for the matting and none of them had it. But don't worry! They all had plenty of halloween and christmas stuff out!

If you get straw, where is a good place to get it around the southeast milwaukee area?

I bought a couple bags of Milorganite and some seed. I'm going to get the new seed in the spots that I leveled and then I'm going to overseed right away.

jbiscuit
09-15-2012, 08:28 AM
Any farm down this way Mark should be able to help. Straw will work just fine if you can't find the mat

03CVLX
09-17-2012, 12:18 PM
Ok, I am trying to help my parents get their front lawn into shape. Have a couple issues at play, and I am not sure what is best.

1. WE Energies did a gas line project and ripped up half the lawn.First time they seeded and none of it grew at all. After making them come back and redo the lawn again its finally actually growing. Well half of it anyway. One half grows super fast and thick and the other half is spotty and half dead.

2. The yard has a ton of trees for its size. Including a super thirsty Birch Tree and an City Tree (Elm,I believe) with a ton of big roots. The part that is growing well is mostly shady. The part that is spotty is in alot more sunlight consistantly


We just had the lawn aerated last week, They have had Weedman coming out all year long. But I can't get the existing lawn and bad areas of the new lawn to grow anywhere close to the same rate as the new lawn in the shady areas. Since my parents prepaid for the years worth of service from Weedman, what can I do to get this lawn growing again without going overboard with Weedmans treatments. I believe they are still going to do a fall fertlizer application yet. They just did the fall weedkiller application last week and say we need to wait two more weeks before doing anything to the lawn. I have also been watering the hell out the lawn as much as I get an opportunity too. It isn't really helping much

Any suggestions? Where should I start?

jbiscuit
09-17-2012, 12:53 PM
You have a challenge on your hands because seed WILL NOT grow when sprayed with chemical treatments. Weedman doesn't care that you are trying to grow grass, they just want to get paid for putting chemical down. Weed prevention applications are especially harsh on the new seed. How is the soil condition now that you have been watering without much growth? If there is grass growing it should be fine. I would suggest you lightly rake the area to loosen the soil, throw down some NEW seed and toss a light covering of straw over the top of it to help with moisture retention. Regardless, it still might not grow if Weedman comes back in a few weeks to treat the lawn again. If you started like TODAY you might be able to get some new seed to germinate before they come back. Mid-Sept is PRIME TIME to grow grass! Good luck!

Haulin' Oates
09-17-2012, 01:03 PM
This heat absolutely ruined my front lawn, I need to take a picture and see what you guys think. I have never been so convinced my lawn was partially dead.

Yooformula
09-17-2012, 01:36 PM
are there any ways to prevent moles from fucking up my lawn? I've found 2 this month so far and those pests made some big holes!

Irish
09-17-2012, 01:46 PM
are there any ways to prevent moles from fucking up my lawn? I've found 2 this month so far and those pests made some big holes!

Set baited traps?

wikked
09-17-2012, 10:57 PM
http://www.scotts.com/smg/solve/solution/solutionArticle.jsp?detailId=11200026

about all you can do really.

badass88gt
09-18-2012, 11:34 AM
This heat absolutely ruined my front lawn, I need to take a picture and see what you guys think. I have never been so convinced my lawn was partially dead.

You would be surprised at what some high quality H2O can do for a "dead" lawn.

jbiscuit
09-18-2012, 01:58 PM
It very well could be burned out but I have a hunch you can get it to come back. Try some Scotts Turf Builder with Iron or Steins Lawn Food. The Steins Lawn Food is formulated with Milorganite which many here are preachers for the product and rightfully so. Put the application down just a but heavier than recommended. For instance, if they recommend a rotary spreader setting of 4 try setting it at a 5. Put the product down right before we are scheduled to get some rain. Or plan to water it in. Our lawns were basically shocked by the heat/drought from the summer so you need to feed it to get it to come back. Now granted I haven't seen a photo of your lawn but grass in our climate is pretty tough. Try what I suggested and post back in a week.

Haulin' Oates
09-18-2012, 02:29 PM
Thanks guys, I need to get a photo and get this project rolling.

badass88gt
09-18-2012, 10:20 PM
I rented the slit seeder and overseeded the yard Sunday, got some water on it, I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

jbiscuit
09-19-2012, 07:15 AM
Should work well! Now we just need the temps back in the upper 60s, low 70s. Perfect weather from growing grass!

jbiscuit
04-09-2013, 08:12 AM
Bumping this thread.

Our grass is just now starting to come out of dormancy. Great time to apply your crabgrass preventer! My grass just in the last few days has started to change from brown to green-ish.

I will be going with the Steins 4-step program this season with Milorganite apps throughout the season as well. Looking forward to country club grass again this year!

If anyone finds/sees deals on lawn care products post that up so others can take advantage.

Yooformula
04-09-2013, 08:18 AM
J, do you have any advice for grass burned up by dog waste? Our dogs wrecked the lawn this past winter!

animal
04-09-2013, 08:22 AM
My dog turned a huge patch from green grass to brown grass last fall, and to mud over the winter. I was thinking I am going to chicken wire off that section so he can't hurt it more, and plant some new seed in that area and leave it untouched and watered for like 2 months.

jbiscuit
04-09-2013, 09:24 AM
In my experience, the Scotts Grass Patch that comes in a bag with seed, paper pulb and fertilizer works fantastic for this. The lawn at my old house was all spotty from the previous owners' two big dogs. I used the grass patch with great success. Just rake the area to loosen up the dead grass, cover the spot with the grass patch and water. Keep it watered daily for about 2 weeks and the grass will grow back quickly and fill in the spots. A lot depends on the outside temps however. We need temps consistently in the 50s-60s before grass will germinate.

Animal's idea to fence off an area is good. This isolate the dead spots to just one area. Much better than trying to tackle your entire lawn

animal
04-09-2013, 10:22 AM
In my experience, the Scotts Grass Patch that comes in a bag with seed, paper pulb and fertilizer works fantastic for this. The lawn at my old house was all spotty from the previous owners' two big dogs. I used the grass patch with great success. Just rake the area to loosen up the dead grass, cover the spot with the grass patch and water. Keep it watered daily for about 2 weeks and the grass will grow back quickly and fill in the spots. A lot depends on the outside temps however. We need temps consistently in the 50s-60s before grass will germinate.

Animal's idea to fence off an area is good. This isolate the dead spots to just one area. Much better than trying to tackle your entire lawn

Shouldn't you also be roughing up that area under the dead grass before applying the patch?

michelle
04-09-2013, 10:26 AM
I will also be fencing off areas in the dog area in hopes it will recover (with some fresh seed and water) from the 4 dogs running around like it was a Nascar track back there.

We use the Steins 4-step program as well, but forgot to put the winter step on last year. We only do the front yard though. Can't justify worrying about the back since it sees trucks, tractors, atvs, and mini-bikes all summer.

jbiscuit
04-09-2013, 12:34 PM
Shouldn't you also be roughing up that area under the dead grass before applying the patch?

I said to rake the area in my post. This pulls up the dead grass and also will roughen the soil a little to ensure good soil contact with the seed.

animal
04-09-2013, 12:48 PM
I said to rake the area in my post. This pulls up the dead grass and also will roughen the soil a little to ensure good soil contact with the seed.

Yeah I saw that, and that prompted me to ask. I was always told you gotta rough up the first few inches when trying to plant seed, not just what raking away the dead stuff will provide. I figured you'd be able to set me straight on that.
So you're saying you don't need to rough it up all that much for the grass to take?

jbiscuit
04-09-2013, 01:45 PM
You just need to rough it up enough to provide soil contact with the seed. A metal rake works well. Rake the dead grass and rough up the soil at the same time. I;ve also added just a topping of top soil to the bare spot and then seed that. Doesn't have to get fancy. Last fall I touched up a few bare spots that never took from my initial lawn installation. Raked the bare spot, tossed a 1/8" (roughly) of top soil down, a decent helping of seed and watered. A majority of the spots are gone. Wind, birds, rain wash out etc can all contribute to the grass not growing so sometimes its just patience and giving it another go. At my house wind is a huge problem. If the spots dry out quicker than I can water again, the winds blow the seed away. Timing plays a big role too. If you seed, get some rain and then the sun comes out for a few days and temps in the upper 60s, you can see germination in 11-12 days. Throw in one cold night or lack of sun for a couple days and it could take twice as long

jbiscuit
04-10-2013, 08:34 PM
Steins has Milorganite 5 bags for $29.95. This is a great price for anyone looking for it. Stock up!

michelle
04-10-2013, 09:25 PM
How much does that cover per bag?

95 TA - The Beast
04-10-2013, 09:59 PM
Anyone got any good references for "fixing" a rear yard that had an in-ground pool removed?

When we bought our house last summer the bank had earlier that spring had the in-ground pool removed. The company that did that were just fucking assholes, cut out a section of wrought-iron fence (real iron, not cheap thin-tube steel that looks like it) and pulled a dumptruck in back to fill in the hole. This basically totally screwed up the landscaping on the side of the house because it caused a berm between the two properties and caused almost two big ruts. The backyard was basically all mud where the pool was and a large section of the rest was totally screwed up in the process. When we moved in (late July) I had waist high weeds in all that mud. Took a day to cut that all down and now this year I have to deal with it since I am hoping it is done settling.

Basically I need about 20 yards of dirt, have the entire backyard tilled and then either seeded or sodded. I need about 2-3 yards of dirt for the side of the house and that leveled out and the same top treatment.

What really sucks is I have a parking slip built out of red-brick that got rutted as well from the dumptruck, so I need to pull a lot of bricks, relevel and then replace the bricks. The wrought iron fence I already fixed with screw-in shoes and stainless hardware as well as a slip-fit adapter to the main post so I can basically pull that section to get big vehicles in/out if needed. What sucks is that section of fence weighs in around 200lbs and the gate itself is around 100lbs if not more.

So, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

jbiscuit
04-11-2013, 07:35 AM
Michelle, Milorganite covers 2,500SF per their recommended app

If you are looking to thicken/green up your lawn, I posted this schedule earlier in this thread. I will be using this same basic schedule again this year. Just a tip but add reminders in your phone on what to apply and when. So my schedule has 3 applications of Milorganite over the course of the season. So if you want to save some money, stock up at Steins now for the whole season while its on sale. Feel free to modify this as needed. This is just what I do.

Early spring (March/Early April): Scotts Turf Builder with Halts Crabgrass preventer; wait about 2-4 weeks and apply Milorganite per bag recommendation

Late April: Overseed now. You want to get the seed down at this point so it makes good contact with the soil. It will take the full 21 days to germinate but natural spring rains will water it in nicely for you.

Spring (May 15-20 or prior to first dandelion in your yard): Watch your neighbors' lawns. If they have even one dandelion in their yard now is the time to put this down): Scotts Plus 2 with Weed Control (yellow bag); wait about 2 weeks after this app and do a HEAVY Milorganite. Apply 2-3 ticks heavier than recommended app

Summer: (Late June early Julyish) Apply lawn food or Turf Builder. 4 weeks after last Milorganite app put this down at the recommended app on the bag; if grass is real dry start watering.

Labor Day: Milorganite per bag

Scotts fall/winterizer: Ssome people swear by this, I haven't done it for a few years at my other house and didn't see ANY ill effects from skipping this step

jbiscuit
04-11-2013, 07:52 AM
Anyone got any good references for "fixing" a rear yard that had an in-ground pool removed?

When we bought our house last summer the bank had earlier that spring had the in-ground pool removed. The company that did that were just fucking assholes, cut out a section of wrought-iron fence (real iron, not cheap thin-tube steel that looks like it) and pulled a dumptruck in back to fill in the hole. This basically totally screwed up the landscaping on the side of the house because it caused a berm between the two properties and caused almost two big ruts. The backyard was basically all mud where the pool was and a large section of the rest was totally screwed up in the process. When we moved in (late July) I had waist high weeds in all that mud. Took a day to cut that all down and now this year I have to deal with it since I am hoping it is done settling.

Basically I need about 20 yards of dirt, have the entire backyard tilled and then either seeded or sodded. I need about 2-3 yards of dirt for the side of the house and that leveled out and the same top treatment.

What really sucks is I have a parking slip built out of red-brick that got rutted as well from the dumptruck, so I need to pull a lot of bricks, relevel and then replace the bricks. The wrought iron fence I already fixed with screw-in shoes and stainless hardware as well as a slip-fit adapter to the main post so I can basically pull that section to get big vehicles in/out if needed. What sucks is that section of fence weighs in around 200lbs and the gate itself is around 100lbs if not more.

So, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Dennis you will want to consult with some landscape companies to have them evaluate whats needed for the best recommendation but I can take a crack at some options.

Option 1: Get estimates for filling/grading/seeding. Have landscape companies out to evaluate best, most cost effective options but I would think they could top the low spots with pulverized top soil, match grade and then seed. I would recommend you find a contractor that can hydroseed in this case. Google the hydroseeding process. It works great and won't blow away etc. Dresen Landscaping in Franksville, WI has the hydroseeding equipment and can also handle the soil and grading. 262-886-5055 ask for Mike Dresen

Option 2: Rent a bobcat and you tackle yourself or get the yards of top soil delivered and hand do it. This is a lot of work if you choose to not rent a machine. If you can, take some pics. Regardless if you use the machine or not, you will need a large landscape rake (flat, large width) for spreading top soil, pulverized top soil, wheelbarrows, shovels, etc and then really good contractor-grade seed (buy from a nursery, landscape company etc). Seed is CRAZY expensive for good quality stuff. IE $60-85 a bag. So depending on the area we are talking, you might have 5-6 bags of seed + supplies. You might be able to get a good landscape company to fix this for you for not much more.

The thing to remember with "patching" is you want to match the grass type and get the top soil applied correctly to insure long term you don't get settling etc.

badass88gt
04-14-2013, 03:13 PM
Shit, I still have a foot of snow in my yard. Not even thinking about my lawn yet...

jbiscuit
04-16-2013, 11:46 AM
Get that Crabgrass preventer down!

jbiscuit
05-06-2013, 02:58 PM
How is everyone's lawn doing? Dandelions just starting to pop up. Get your weed n feed down now

WickedSix
05-06-2013, 03:40 PM
have 18 dandelion blooms in the front yard and the rest has greened up...finally.... back half acre is a mess of dead grass from leaves and clovers

badass88gt
05-14-2013, 10:18 PM
I'm out of town this whole week, I NEED to get the Plus 2 down NOW, I know I have dandelions because I saw 1 or 2 of them the day we left for vacation. I just put down the crabgrass preventer about 3 weeks ago, I'm hoping its not too soon for the next application. I was hoping to get it down and then Milorganite Memorial weekend.

95 TA - The Beast
06-11-2013, 06:55 PM
I figured I would bring this thread out of slumber with an update...

Well, considering the scope and cost of the backyard redo, I figured I would shelve it until either late summer or next spring... Just too much going on...

So, I decided to focus on the front yard, which in and of itself was pretty well ravaged by not only last summers heat and lack of rain, but also because this place hasn't had proper groundskeeping since 2009 or so (before that it was not owner-managed, but managed by a landscaping service, so you know they went overboard on the various treatments and basically made it so when they didn't do it any longer it went to hell quickly, basically like a drug addict that can no longer get a fix)... and that was the biggest thing I got from talking to a few landscaping friends, is that you can go overboard on lawn treatments which is all fine and dandy until you stop at which point your lawn can easily thatch up and go half-dead... Your best bet is reasonable treatments on a fixed schedule and dealing with the various weed issues with either a spot treatment or a seasonal treatment. Doing the broad range weed treatments as a preventative on a schedule is actually quite bad overall. The only time you should use the weed and feed stuff off-season is if you are dealing with a bigger issue that comes up mid-season or something radical. Most services go with a broad spectrum approach that just causes an addicted lawn that will need it's fix... Great for repeat business, sucks for cost efficiency and a healthy, hearty lawn.

So, to deal with all the spottiness and such I initially tried the simple overseeding at the beginning of may... not enough, consistent rain so it did help some, but not as much as I would have hoped.

So, this last weekend I decided to go with an all-out approach. I dethatched the larger areas by hand, filled in certain low-spots with quality black topsoil, racked it all smooth, seeded with Pennington Sun & Shade, added more topsoil in a think layer to help it germinate properly, raked it a little, threw some more seed on top and have been watering for a couple hours a day for the past few days. I am hoping that within a week or so I have some decent additional growth and some solid leveling of the chunkiness of the lawn in general. I also planted a half dozen rose bushes of the tea cup hybrid variety by the fence on the side of the yard using a good mix of potting and garden soil and have already noticed some nice growth out of 4 of the 6 bushes... Hopefully the final two will have some visible growth by next week, otherwise I may have to replace them if they were bad... I know it will take a couple years for them to get decent sized, but I like the idea of growing them instead of buying a mature bush...

If this works on the main part of the front lawn and the one side yard, I will then finish off the rest of it in the same fashion as well as the other side of the driveway... That side will be more work since I need to get rid of some ruts from the dumptruck as well as resetting a paver parking slip... That will need some serious top soil and paver base material to fix properly...

wikked
06-11-2013, 10:39 PM
On a semi-topical note, my 3rd Catalpa that I grew from seed (January 2012 - and transplanted later in the summer), has come back, and is blowing up nicely :]
The first died from some critter eating everything off it (no fence on that one), and 2nd one didn't survive winter.
Third times a charm!

Should be 2-3ft tall by the end of the year, as they are medium/fast growers.

http://www.wikked.com/40d/catalpa.jpg

pOrk
06-12-2013, 04:37 AM
Grow food not lawns, hah! I have up on the perfect lawn and started a huge vegetable garden and planted a few grit trees. Growing food is kinda like printing money for us

jbiscuit
06-12-2013, 06:51 AM
Nice work on the lawn Dennis. Its amazing what a little work will do. Most of my neighbors pay for chemical treatments and lawn service and I do my own from fertilizing, seeding, shrub maintenance, lawn cutting etc and I'd like to say mine looks just as good as theirs. Nice thick green lawn. I'm actually having to cut mine a little higher than I would like to because its so thick! I do have one neighbor that has decided not to take care of his grass and it quickly turned into a weed farm. He has crazy stuff in his grass almost like mini trees. Yuck. No way I would play with my kid on that. Loose an eye if he tripped and fell.

A really nice lawn is great for playing with the kiddo. We spend hours out there every day. Lawn care is part of home ownership. Doesn't take much plus great to be outside this time of year.

95 TA - The Beast
06-13-2013, 11:04 AM
Yeah, when we moved in here last summer this place was in sad shape. Luckily I can envision things pretty well and knew with some work it would turn out nice.

There was just so much to do, both inside and out in this place I pretty much took a piecemeal approach last year and attacked as much as possible all over. The bushes were so far overgrown that I cut them all back pretty good and trimmed them up as far as I felt would be reasonable. This year they are coming back in quite strong so in fall I will cut them back to where I think they need to be as they are still a bit larger than I would like. I am amazed at how much growth there is out of all the pine-bushes around here. I thought they pretty much kept their size and shape overall with minimal growth through the years, but this year they all have grown shoots at least 6-8 inches off every branch and stub. I was also concerned about the raspberry bushes on the side of the house, as I left all the healthy stalks last fall, but man have they come in and grown like weeds, so much that this fall I will cut them all down and let them start fresh next spring.

We also have a Japanese tree in the front on the left side that I was concerned about since last year the heat did a job on it. It has also come back in with a vengence. I don't feel bad about cutting out all of the dead growth in it as it is spurring it to grow new in those areas like gangbusters.

About the only concern I have is in the backyard there is a row of tallish bushes where the pool was. Turns out the two end bushes looked like they died off last year. It was strange enough because they actually looked like they were poisoned, as the green moss on the weedbarrier at the base of one of them was brown as well. One came half-back and the other that we thought was totally dead is actually having fresh sprouts on about 1/10th to 1/8th of the top. I think I will let that one go for a while and see what comes of it. I actually think the guy behind was the one that poisoned them since he has a fence section just to the side of them and with those two gone would have a view out on that side. Turns out the guy that built this house didn't get along with a few of his neighbors. I just think you have to be a pretty big asshole to poison foliage not on your property. I don't care if a bank owns it for a while or not. In retrospect, I guess it coudl have been from pumping concentrated chlorinated water from the pool before they demo'd it, but still kinda strange that only those two took a hit.

But, yeah, if the front yard comes in nice and it levels out nicely I will be quite happy. I am just sick of the lawnmower bouncing all around while trying to mow because the lawn is so damn uneven with blank spots and such. Makes it looks like I can't mow in a straight line. I even have one of those Briggs & Stratton 7hp mowers from Menards with the big rear wheels that is self-propelled and I can only imagine how bad it would be with a mower with small wheels all around.

badass88gt
06-24-2013, 01:14 PM
Just got my Milorganite down, this is my third feeding. First was Scott's Crabgrass, then Scott's Plus 2 Weed & Feed, now Milorganite. Hoping for Scotts Summerguard and Milorganite to round out my season.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

michelle
06-24-2013, 01:35 PM
Cut some of the backyard with the smaller mower. Have the Ford 8N out to cut the rest, but getting around the trees with the 72" belly mower is not my idea of fun. Backyard always looks so green and nice considering nothing is ever done to it.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1001307_10101615346217228_1400594452_n.jpg

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/1044284_10101615346331998_2092965954_n.jpg

jbiscuit
06-25-2013, 07:33 AM
Everyone's lawns should be nice and green with the amount of rain we have had this year. Looking to do my 3rd application of milorganite soon. My lawn is nicer than the carpet in my house. Thick and greeeeeeen

michelle
06-25-2013, 09:42 AM
We threw down some milorganite on the front yard the other day. Does that stuff go on sale randomly throughout the year? Can it sit in the shed for awhile if I stock up?

jbiscuit
06-25-2013, 11:33 AM
Usually only goes on sale at Steins in early May. Think thats the only sale I know of, 5 bags for $29. I think their regular price is $6-7 which still is pretty good. Yes it will store just fine. I'm looking into a pallet for next year with a neighbor.

badass88gt
06-25-2013, 03:21 PM
Menard's has it on sale for $5.99, I bought 12 bags, used half now, half in a couple months.

95 TA - The Beast
06-25-2013, 07:13 PM
Well, I can happily report that just over 2 weeks later the front lawn is looking great. A bunch of weeds flourished along with the new grass, but there is a ton of new grass growth and all the existing long-term grass is thick and lush. I do think a bunch of the seed I put down at the beginning of May also came in thick as well...

I mowed it on Sunday at the highest height my mower goes to (it is pretty high, damn mower looked like it was in 4x4 mode) and it cut down a ton of seeded grass. I figure I will mow it this coming weekend one notch down from that.

In regards to the weeds I found a herbicide that you can use while seeding that is also supposed to attack one of ugliest issues in a yard, that being quackgrass. It is supposed to affect the weeds ability to do photosynthesis so you want to fertilize with heavy nitrogen for a bit before and during treatment to keep as much of the weed in the blades. I used a 29-0-4 fertilizer when I seeded two and a half weeks ago and then did another application late last week in preparation of doing the herbicide. If it works out well I will let everyone know what I used. As it stands I have a 3ft across area in the middle of the front lawn that had the worst burn-out from last year that became overgrown with quackgrass. I did seed heavily in that are and the new turf seems to be coming in thick there, so hopefully this herbicide and some further growth of the turf and it will choke out the quackgrass effectively. Most people end up using roudup where quackgrass is and starting from scratch. I am hoping to avoid that.

Next thing for me is to get a solid plan on dealing with the backyard and sideyard with the parking slip figured out in regards to filling it in and putting in some decent topsoil and then relaying the parking slip bricks by hand once it is all back to where it needs to be. I would love to do the sideyard/rest o fthe front yard across the driveway, but I am concerned that whole area will take a beating getting the backyard back in shape.

95 TA - The Beast
06-25-2013, 07:18 PM
One other thing I forgot to mention is that one of the best things you can do is hand sharpen your mower blades... I did both of mine and from the factory they are dull compared to a decent edge... I noticed that my blades are "mulching blades" in that they have a rise and dip to chop up the cut grass into mulch and I can say that feature works amazingly well once the blades are sharpened. With a factory edge it didn't seem to mulch much... Night and day difference with a sharp mower blade.

SSDude
06-25-2013, 07:56 PM
Well, I can happily report that just over 2 weeks later the front lawn is looking great. A bunch of weeds flourished along with the new grass, but there is a ton of new grass growth and all the existing long-term grass is thick and lush. I do think a bunch of the seed I put down at the beginning of May also came in thick as well...

I mowed it on Sunday at the highest height my mower goes to (it is pretty high, damn mower looked like it was in 4x4 mode) and it cut down a ton of seeded grass. I figure I will mow it this coming weekend one notch down from that.

In regards to the weeds I found a herbicide that you can use while seeding that is also supposed to attack one of ugliest issues in a yard, that being quackgrass. It is supposed to affect the weeds ability to do photosynthesis so you want to fertilize with heavy nitrogen for a bit before and during treatment to keep as much of the weed in the blades. I used a 29-0-4 fertilizer when I seeded two and a half weeks ago and then did another application late last week in preparation of doing the herbicide. If it works out well I will let everyone know what I used. As it stands I have a 3ft across area in the middle of the front lawn that had the worst burn-out from last year that became overgrown with quackgrass. I did seed heavily in that are and the new turf seems to be coming in thick there, so hopefully this herbicide and some further growth of the turf and it will choke out the quackgrass effectively. Most people end up using roudup where quackgrass is and starting from scratch. I am hoping to avoid that.

Next thing for me is to get a solid plan on dealing with the backyard and sideyard with the parking slip figured out in regards to filling it in and putting in some decent topsoil and then relaying the parking slip bricks by hand once it is all back to where it needs to be. I would love to do the sideyard/rest o fthe front yard across the driveway, but I am concerned that whole area will take a beating getting the backyard back in shape.

Patiently waiting for the update on the quackgrass herbicide. I have a bit of an infestation to deal with and hoping to avoid the roundup treatment

jbiscuit
06-26-2013, 07:13 AM
Thanks for the heads up on Menards. I'll be stopping there today to buy another 12 bags.

95 TA - The Beast
06-26-2013, 08:21 AM
Menards = all kinds of deals awesomeness. Probably me and the wifes favorite store...

jbiscuit
06-26-2013, 11:45 AM
I like Menards I just don't shop there for lawn n garden supplies. But I am a Milorganite preacher so to find a sale mid season is rare so I will be buying some today for sure.

I'm at the Steins by my house 1-2 times per week. They have great selection and all of the plants they sell are locally grown from Union Grove/Burlington area. I buy all my seed direct from my landscape contractor also. His price is about the same as a Lowes/Home Depot and its 10x better seed. I won't buy seed from a big chain store as its the wrong blend for our climate and usually contains a TON of weeds in it.

95 TA - The Beast
06-26-2013, 04:10 PM
So, hook the rest of us up, who is the contractor and how do we contact him for seed?

I would prefer to support locals in just about everything. The big problem I have is when so many contractors are scam-artists where they will either not do what you brought them in for, or do it and create other problems to build further business for themselves. I also hate those that try to tell you that you have issues that require $xxxx to fix when they could just as well redo what you have for a fraction of the new sale. Hell, my dual water heater setup is a perfect example. Most contractors I called didn't want to redo the tank I have (which was internally in perfect condition and externally only cosmetically affected due to the previous owner putting hardline copper directly to the tank) with new anode/dip-tube/T&P valve/elements as well as add-in another higher capacity heater in series both physically and electrically, they all wanted to put in parallel new water heaters with an electrical service upgrade. Quotes were in the $4k-5k range. A single 120gal would have been viable, but for the extra cost I like the redundency of having two water heaters in case one goes out we are not without hot water, just have a lower capacity. On top of that I had a top-of-the-line glass-lined Bradford-White 65gal already in here, so I wasn't prepared to piss-away a $1600 water heater that just needed a paintjob and new mechanicals/electricals.

I ended up finding a 3 year old Bradford-White 80gal water heater someone was replacing with a 50gal heat-pump new unit (complete waste of money as it is a loss over the long term with no ROI, since those units are far from optimized/long-term models with a ton more failure points). I picked that one up for $80, it was perfect internally as well (it was a $1700+ unit new), so on both units I replaced the heaters (put in 5500w heaters into the 80gal and 4500w heaters into the 65gal), new diptubes, new anodes, new T&P valves, and even new tempering valves on both. I cleaned up the existing 65gal and painted it with the paint directly from Bradford-White. I put them in side-by-side using flex stainless hookups and doing them in series with the 80gal feeding the house and the 65gal feeding the 80gal. I put in new thermostats, setting the temp to 140degrees on all thermostats (I could and might just drop the 65gal to 120degrees) and custom wired the thermostats to feed the 65gal water heater once the 80gal in done heating (ie, 80gal top to 80gal bottom to 65gal top to 65 gal bottom), so I was able to use the existing 30amp service and even fixed the existing timer that was in place but bypassed (bad contactors) so that it stops heating water at 9pm and starts heating at 5:30am. I may eventually back those off to 7pm and 7am since there is plenty of capacity in the system.

Total cost of the water heater redo = $780. That includes wiring, conduit, all the heater parts, plenty of CLR to clean the tanks, etc. Took me about 4 horus total to clean the tanks, another hour doing cleanup and paint and maybe another hour doing the teardown and install total. Key is I know now to change the anodes every two years and to flush the tank bottoms for 10 minutes every 6 months. I was prepared to pay someone $1500-2000 to do the job I did for less than half that, but it seems contractors are more interested in the quick buck of all new products and install. On some things I can see it, but on a set of electric water heaters, especially glass-lined quality units, there is no need. I fully expect to get 20-30 years out of the pair I have as long as the anode is changed and the bottom flushed regularly. The big issue with doing parallel units is that there is no way to be sure that it is pulling from the water heater with most hot water, ie, with dual 65gal units you could theoretically only get 65gals of hot water out before you get cold water. Way different than expecting 130gals of hot water. Where a dual-parallel setup comes in is in redundency, as if one goes down you shut the valves off and then use the other (yeah I know there are tempering valves to pull from one heater or the other to get the 130gal capacity but now you have all that extra expense and another failure point, an expensive failure point at that). The way I have them in series I have to disconnect one and pipe to the other. For the extra cost of the valving and piping to be able to bypass one I just got the flexible stainless lines I can move over if I need to.

My big issue is being able to trust contractors. If you know they won't cut corners and are there to help you get done what you want done then it is a great relationship. Kinda like automotive repair places, most just flat out suck.

stealthy1ss
06-26-2013, 05:10 PM
The best place to buy grass seed is Reinders. They are located in Bristol off HWY 50, in Waukesha across from the airport right next to the Fabco Rents, and their headquarters in Sussex. You don't have to be a contractor to buy from them. Also the optimal angle to sharpen your mower blades is 30%.

jbiscuit
06-26-2013, 09:30 PM
If you are serious about wanting seed, send me a pm and I will forward you his contact info. He's not in the business of selling seed so don't want to tell 30 people to call him to buy his supply. Especially peak season.

badass88gt
07-02-2013, 11:26 AM
Scott's and Milorganite. Havent even hooked up the sprinklers yet...

jbiscuit
07-02-2013, 06:08 PM
Looks great!!!!

PureSound15
07-24-2013, 01:11 PM
So far so good - my grass is definitely the greenest on the block considering the heat and I haven't used my sprinklers -

New cub cadet mower certainly helps too -

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/25/zuresu9u.jpg

I do need some help though. I sold a riding mower and when the guy "tested" it he dropped the mower deck down to the ground and scalped my yard BAD.

Most has grown back but for one section - milorganite and some water helped the rest but do I have to re-seed this area?

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/25/6y2umeja.jpg

jbiscuit
07-24-2013, 01:51 PM
Yep reseed. It would eventually come back but rake it up to roughend the area, sprinkle a little topsoil on it, rake in some seed (a good amount) and water it daily in the morning before work. Not a problem

95 TA - The Beast
09-04-2013, 10:15 AM
Well, a followup to this last summer is in order I guess...

So, I ran the gamut of issues... I overseeded in June, watered like a fiend, looked great in July... end of July did the weedkiller... killed off a bunch of the grass... reseeded... only came in good in 1/3-1/2 of the areas I did... they all got the same treatment of topsoil, then seed, then topsoil over, then plenty of scheduled watering... no idea wtf... Then had fucking rabbits digging in a few spots because my grass was long... fuckers... reseeded those areas and a spot near the front door where I sprayed the red brick with Roundup to kill the weeds between the bricks... yeah, it ran off and killed the grass... so reseeded there... reseeded a few of those other bare spots... the weeds died off and I can tell how much damn quackgrass I have... ffffuuuucccckkkk... Just keep cutting it to make it look nice... then I notice a ton of red ants 1/3 the way up the driveway against the grass... they go away after a few days... now I have brown spots right ajacent to where they were... fffuuuuccckkkkkk!!!!

I am considering just scalping the piss out of the lawn this fall, using a dethatcher set as deep as it will go to just remove as much thatch and chop up the top soil a bit... I will then roundup ALL the quackgrass daily for a week to kill it ALL... then I will go through and fill in as many blank voids with topsoil to even it out as much as possible... then seed the hell out of it all and add more topsoil... add in some starter fertilizer... then run a 350-450lb roller over the whole lawn until I am happy with how level it is and leave it all alone until spring...

Then in spring I would do all of the proper regiments, the spring crabgrass preventer/fertilizer stuff, the insecticides, the rest of the lawn care treatments and such... and hope I have a nice looking lawn???

I mean overall the lawn, when freshly cut and for a few days after, looks pretty nice... I just know how bad it is underneath...

Worst part is I still haven't done anything with the back because I needed to wait until some decent rain to determine how stable the area the old pool is... I can say that after two months of a pool being set 1/3 on the old deck area, 2/3 over the old "deep end" it is not bad... it has settled about an inch or so on the deep end, but that was only after a decent rain... but it did not majorly shift so I feel pretty good that I can spend a decent amount on doing a stamped concrete patio where the pool was and it will be solid... As long as they bring in one of those asphalt rollers and roll it first...

I just did new garage doors and the kids just went back to school, so we have to see where the budget is on things before fall is in full swing... hmmm, maybe a HELOC isn't just a bad idea???