Do you spend much time on the lawn, if you even have one? Do you fervently follow a lawn care schedule or content yourself to mow what comes up? Occasionally throw down some fertilizer or seed when the thought strikes? Ignore it until fined by the County for harboring a health hazard?
A couple of years ago when because of health issues I despaired of ever pushing a lawn mower or fertilizer spreader again I hired a guy to mow and Trugreen fertilizing service. I've already begun mowing myself again and recently I sent a soil sample to the state extension service for analysis. Phosphorus was way too high and potassium less so but still high. That's a bit troublesome because there's a creek right behind our house that of course drains into the Potomac River which in turn drains into the Chesapeake Bay. I myself haven't fertilized here for at least ten years so that kind of points to Trugreen overfertilizing. We'll have a conversation about that Monday.
Nitrogen was a bit low but that’s highly variable so that’s more like a “snapshot” of conditions in a brief period of time. So I may fire Trugreen and start doing it myself. And save half the cost or more doing anyway. Looking online, I found that any number of fertilizer companies offer reasonably-priced subscription service and they'll send you the fertilizer at the right time. Beats schlepping to the big box store and hauling home a dusty torn-open bag that spills half the contents on the bed of my truck or finding they don't have what I need anyway.
BTW, the soil analysis is free or very cheap. Search on "[your state] extension service" to find it. In my case the results were very different from the $10 soil test kit I got at Lowes. Not a big surprise.
Growing up we lived in a SFH that had a front and back yard but I would not call it a lawn. Dad was content to mow whatever came up and if it was green so much the better. He mowed when the grass length became a health hazard and the instant I was old enough to handle a hand-powered reel mower that task was dumped on me. I really, really, hated that reel mower. I still remember one brutally hot day spent mowing the back yard and being drenched with sweat, and we didn’t have A/C. Dad bought a 20” rotary mower from Montgomery Ward with a wonderful Briggs and Stratton engine when I was 15 and that was pure luxury!
[FONT="]Currently I’m planning on overseeding late next month, and I’ll probably try dormant seeding this winter just to see how that works out. Opinions seem to be all over the map on dormant seeding although one guy I worked with had very good results, or maybe just luck, with it. Anyway, the idea is to put the grass seed down when it’s too late to germinate, and preferably before a snowfall so that when the snow melts it will work the seeds into the soil nooks and crannies where it will hopefully germinate in the spring. That’s the theory anyway, and as Sylvester The Cat says “That sounds logical!” It works for Mother Nature anyway.
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A couple of years ago when because of health issues I despaired of ever pushing a lawn mower or fertilizer spreader again I hired a guy to mow and Trugreen fertilizing service. I've already begun mowing myself again and recently I sent a soil sample to the state extension service for analysis. Phosphorus was way too high and potassium less so but still high. That's a bit troublesome because there's a creek right behind our house that of course drains into the Potomac River which in turn drains into the Chesapeake Bay. I myself haven't fertilized here for at least ten years so that kind of points to Trugreen overfertilizing. We'll have a conversation about that Monday.
Nitrogen was a bit low but that’s highly variable so that’s more like a “snapshot” of conditions in a brief period of time. So I may fire Trugreen and start doing it myself. And save half the cost or more doing anyway. Looking online, I found that any number of fertilizer companies offer reasonably-priced subscription service and they'll send you the fertilizer at the right time. Beats schlepping to the big box store and hauling home a dusty torn-open bag that spills half the contents on the bed of my truck or finding they don't have what I need anyway.
BTW, the soil analysis is free or very cheap. Search on "[your state] extension service" to find it. In my case the results were very different from the $10 soil test kit I got at Lowes. Not a big surprise.
Growing up we lived in a SFH that had a front and back yard but I would not call it a lawn. Dad was content to mow whatever came up and if it was green so much the better. He mowed when the grass length became a health hazard and the instant I was old enough to handle a hand-powered reel mower that task was dumped on me. I really, really, hated that reel mower. I still remember one brutally hot day spent mowing the back yard and being drenched with sweat, and we didn’t have A/C. Dad bought a 20” rotary mower from Montgomery Ward with a wonderful Briggs and Stratton engine when I was 15 and that was pure luxury!
[FONT="]Currently I’m planning on overseeding late next month, and I’ll probably try dormant seeding this winter just to see how that works out. Opinions seem to be all over the map on dormant seeding although one guy I worked with had very good results, or maybe just luck, with it. Anyway, the idea is to put the grass seed down when it’s too late to germinate, and preferably before a snowfall so that when the snow melts it will work the seeds into the soil nooks and crannies where it will hopefully germinate in the spring. That’s the theory anyway, and as Sylvester The Cat says “That sounds logical!” It works for Mother Nature anyway.
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