Poor Grass, I need help
Messages posted to thread:
Subject: Poor Grass, I need help
From: michael
Zone: 7a
Date: 27-May-05 04:36 PM EST
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Hi I have just moved into a new house and the grass it a mess it wasn't cut for hte previous two months. I had to use a weed-eater to get down and then mow it. The soil has a lot clay in it, and there is a little bit of a thatch build up. Should I aerate, and thatch and then fertilize? or any other tips on how I could get a nice green lawn. I have been watering for 2 hour periods, will this help. Thanks for all the help. Mike
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What you should do depends largely on how large your lawn is. If this is a small lawn, then I would say: "Start all over" - But if this is a big lawn,for instance, half an acre like we have, then you should maybe try to repair rather than replace. Aerate, de-thatch, fertilize and over-seed, too. Keep cutting it down - don't let it go to seed. Pay attention too to how much shade you have - how much direct sunlight. Shade is not great for grass. In shade, better to get rid of the grass and replace it with beds of hosta and daylily.
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Subject: RE: Poor Grass, I need help
From: tom dawson
Zone: 3
Date: 28-May-05 10:17 AM EST
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like you we moved into our current house and to call the stuff in the front yard grass would have been a real insult to any form of grass - it was mostly dandelions, clover, and spotty bits of what looked like blades of grass.... we began a regiment of pulling weeds, adding good grass seed covered by top dressing with good soil/compost. in addition we chose to go with a more organic, low number fertilizer, applied often (we now use the 3 step myke product or something like gaia green. we watered deeply when we did water and we also ensured we had a very sharp mower blade, set at a higher than normal setting.
the change to a nice patch of green lawn didn't happen overnight - the only way for that to occur is to rip and replace - we couldn't do that easily because of all the large trees with feeder roots in the grass.
i agree with patricia, the world doesn't need large tracks of grass in our yards, and perennials are a great option - we have a section of both - and the section of grass is getting smaller every year.. i admit, i still like the small postage stamp of grass in the front -
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