Lawn freaks

[Northbound]

We always talk about habitat, plots, mast bearing trees and cover. How many of you guys are lawn freaks too? Kinda relates other than many plotters dispise grass. I used to be pretty bad about it. I'd only mow in the cover of darkness since it was better for the grass. I'd be spreading or spraying something each week. Even ran water spigots throughout the 3 acre lawn for ease of setting up sprinklers. I may have even hauled in lawn fertilizer from out of state due to a phosphorus ban. Of course had weighted suspended pipe behind mower for stripping that couldn't go unnoticed.

A few years ago I got a picture text from a neighbor as I had 2 dandelions in my lawn and he found it humorous. I ran home between two appointments later that day to spray tremic (lawn weed killer). Was on a call with a customer while I filled the sprayer and mixed in chemical. continued our conversation until I finished spraying. Drive up to the house to rinse out the tank and as soon as I opened tank I smelled gly! Sprinted to the garage and sure enough the front jug was gly not tremic! I might of cried. I knew what was soon to come, overseed in July, about worst time of year around here. Was a pretty embarrassing remainder of summer. Anyways that experience changed me. In fact I've never cut the lawn since then. The gf took over that task and if she fell behind I'd hit it with brush mower on skidsteer.

My 7 month old daughter was crawling in the lawn for first time ever and every picture has a dandelion in it, kinda stung deep down like I was failing at this American dream thing. Therefore im considering becoming a lawn freak again. What are your regimens? I was big into Milorganite for the deep greening iron, along with the scotts system. Anyone use liquid iron or liquid nitrogen? I never tried either but I imagine it gives instant visual results. Do you just use the same fertilizers as your food plots or buy into the lawn specific stuff (which is expensive and lacks phosphorus in this area). I've also got a new lawn I just planted at a different property and that is another part of why im considering being a lawn addict again.

 

[Bill]

I’ve accepted the clover and dandelions.

I’ve said this before but I never heard anyones dying words be that they wish they had a nicer lawn.

 

[H20fwler]

Guilty!

I admit it....I've got lawn ADHD. I live in town and my yard isn't that big, I can mow it in thirty minutes. I even take soil samples up to the local Landmark every year to see if I am lacking anything, usually it's lime from over fertilizing.

I do the Scotts 4-step and hit the lawn early spring and fall with gypsum. The property lines between my neighbors and I can be seen clearly by the dark green of our grass. I am stupid over the landscaping too. I also hunt down dandelions and kill them like it's my job...I get maybe a half dozen dandelions trying to start a year. I've been known to edge when I really don't need to.

 

[Barndog56]

Really? Guess I fall at the opposite end of the spectrum as I'm one of those that despises grasses. I couldn't come close to counting the number of dandelions in my lawn. The bees use them so I won't spray a one. I would rather spray the whole lawn with cleth and grow clovers and wildflowers. But my wife thinks I'm crazy enough as it is. Lol

 

[Apple Junkie]

I mow really healthy weeds once a week, so the "lawn" looks great for about 8 hours.

 

[homerj]

Grass seed used to come with a percentage of white dutch clover seed. Somewhere along the line, the lawn chemical folks convinced Americans that clover and all weeds were evil.

 

[The Fishman]

I still cannot figure out why you food plot guys have so much trouble growing clover. I have been trying to kill it for years and each year it spreads. I have lived in my current house for 10 years. The previous owner had a lawn service come out four times a year. I continued the service a couple of times and soon realized that it wasn't worth the money ($150 per application). The amount of chemicals that were being sprayed into the environment also weighed into my decision. My lawn used to be weed free. I now have weeds and it doesn't really bother me. I pull weeds more than I spray them.

If you really want a challenge, I can send you some torpedo grass and Virginia buttonweed. They will make you forget all about dandelions.

 

[OakSeeds]

I think lawn "freak" is an appropriate title for those who wish to claim it. Now, if we were discussing conversion of an old 40 acre pasture into a woodlot with a wide assortment of oak trees, fruit trees, chestnut trees, some conifers, and an abundance of shrubs for browse, that would be a landscape worth considerable effort. Remember, ragweed is 16+ percent protein. Carry on my friends!

 

[DJN]

I live in town but it’s an acre that butts into a wood strip that is loaded with deer, so not a normal city lot. My viewpoint (and thankfully my wife shares it) is a turf yard is unnecessary maintenance and doing no good, so why not plant stuff for the local wildlife/critters/insects to make use of. Two years ago I started frost seeding Dutch white clover into the backyard. Last year I did an eighth of an acre of Wilder grain sorghum as a “garden”. Thankfully my neighbors don’t mind (discussed with both prior to carrying out) and they love watching the deer come into the yard. This year I’ve stepped it up to a full blown clover plot with the back half in a Ladino/Red/Alsike blend and front half still in just the Dutch White as well as spraying Cleth and 2,4-DB. My mowing time has been cut by 50%, but I usually end up mowing the neighbors’ yards too. Front yard is respectable but definitely not sprayed for weeds. Don’t think many on our stretch of road do so.

 

[Buckly]

Dandelions last for what. 2-3 weeks and then they’re not noticed in the lawn. If you mow your weeds down on a regular basis the grass comes up. It’s almost like grass is the weed in a weed lawn. LOL.

 

[Mortenson]

I want soft grass in my lawn and nothing else. It's just a small lot tho. Don't mind a few weeds elsewhere. Problem with clover, dandelions, crabgrass etc is that they start out as few and then take over. A yard of dandelions is nasty looking IMO. Some neighbors have it like that. Free country and I'm sure they're just as happy with weeds as I am w/o. I like spraying them, but if I'm getting yelled at by the boss, I prefer going out and plucking them.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I use to be. Then I got bees! I am way more relaxed about lawn than I have ever been. If you live in town you might have peer pressure to look like a golf course. I will always have clover as part of my lawn now until I am gone. Probably not going to let dandelions grow in the area immediately adjacent to the house, but I certainly dont go out of my way to kill them when they are on the periphery of the mowing area now. Clover actually grows far better in part of our yard than grass does, so who am I to try to force the situation! LOL

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

The city use to give my neighbor hell about the length of his grass. It was ridiculous. They kept stating city ordinances and whatnot. He asked them if they had one for the color of the lawns in town. They replied, no. He proceeded to spray it with a heavy dose of gly and burnt it to a crisp.

I try to mow mine twice a week and keep the mower at the highest setting. I had it sprayed once last summer (buddy) and hope to have it sprayed twice this year. The plan is to thatch it early September to pull up all the dead weeds that were killed over the course of the summer and seed it down again.

We have been here 11 years. When we moved in we ripped up the yard pretty good with various projects so we had to seed it. It looked good for about 6 years. The last four it’s started to get pretty weedy. Hoping to repeat the process this fall.


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[Mortenson]

I am trying to be more in tune with the bee thing these days. Reading the posts here and got interested enough to watch some youtube videos. I'm sure I'm killing some, but also want to provide life to some as well. Working on pollination areas, with bigger plans to put a few spots in at my expense without using the pollinator programs. Had a few adult beverages on mother's day night, watched a few youtube videos about honey bees with my daughter on my lap, after they ended I asked her what she thought. Her comment was, "I want a queen bee." I lol'd.

 

[H20fwler]

Like I said at the house the lawn and landscaping are manicured and I enjoy keeping it like that. Out at the farms the plots and orchards are “dirty”. I’m all about biodiversity there and I’ve got acres of pollinator strips along with wildflowers growing almost every ware. We have bee hives/mason bee houses/bumblebee boxes at the farms, I should put a mason bee house up at home.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I've got the potential to be a lawn freak....there's something I like about a nice lush, green lawn. But I enjoy and appreciate the bees more than a nice lawn. When mowing on my riding mower I stop for every bee I see. I don't consider myself an "eccentric" kind of guy at all...but that's probably my one eccentricity. My well is also directly under my lawn, and I worry about drinking any chemicals I might spray.

 

[roymunson]

My best friend is a landscaper. So he sprays and fertilizes. I get on my toro and it takes me about 60-70 minutes to mow mine. I don't let my wife mow. She'd probably mow straighter, but this is my happy place to unhook from work. I like mowing, but part of my lawn was stripped land, so topsoil is in short supply. Think I mowed once just for cleanup last june or july.

I don't have dandelions but our lawn is on its 3rd year so its still spotty and not perfect. And that's fine with me.

 

[dogghr]

I’m picky both ways. House sits on 2 acres against 300 ac of woods. Around house I keep like a golf course and enjoy it and the other ac is a nature made lot for the deer. I don’t hunt this area so they are quite tame and my dogs and them just look at each other. In part I work my yd to aggravate my friend/ neighbor across the street who tries so hard to keep his perfect but always looks like crap. I try to educate him on lime and soil OM management but in 25 yrs he has yet to listen but always wonders why mine looks better.


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[Jordan Selsor]

I mow and manicure over 30 lawns as a side business..
I am like the plumber with leaky pipes
But I always mow an trim my fruit orchard

 

[35-acre]

No one has talked about aerating. For lawns, at least here in the NE, the soils gets compacted. I always wondered why guys aren't doing that with T&M plots like in a lawn? Aerating just pokes some holes in the soil which gives the roots a place to go along with letting the water and other nutrients get down to the roots.