Yard Care

[Pipe Line]

Yard care fucking sucks. Mowing and trimming fucking suck. The only redeeming quality is the beers you get to imbibe in afterwards. Those beers are up there with airport beers.

I'll be honest, and this may be weird, but I enjoy the shit out of it as I've gotten older.

 

[jaihawk]

recommendations for shitty soil?

I cant seem to get grass seed to grow no matter what I do. The area where I do have grass is think and beautiful but Its patches right now.
I had my soil tested by that Sunday company that suppose to cater to your lawn/soil but It doesnt seem to be working. Ive been this house for 4 years now.

This is what my result were:
11% Sand | 58% Silt | 30% Clay

 

[Frogsker30]

View attachment 36847

Ive heard about that.

I used this i believe last year:
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/lawn-care/soil-conditioners/7006014

 

[Faux Sean Callahan]

View attachment 36454

Going to put this down here this weekend…. Going to get almost 1/3rd a pound of iron (per 1k sq ). Grass gonna get DARK

So dicking around on tractor supply checking some things....

Came across this...





30% iron?!?!

Bag rate is 5lbs/1k - 50lbs bag does 10k sq feet.

Highest I have found is Milo (@alt f4) at 0.36 lbs of iron/1k sq feet of yard.

This bag is saying it would put down 1.5lbs of iron/1k sq feet.


For those wondering why I am looking at this, Iron is what makes your lawn that dark green vs the lighter green.

 

[Baron Winnebago]

I'll be honest, and this may be weird, but I enjoy the shit out of it as I've gotten older.

Being out in the lawn is a great break from my children, who I love.

 

[Baron Winnebago]

I paid a lawn company who has already done some shit twice this year and I've got more dandelions than ever.

 

[Faux Sean Callahan]

I paid a lawn company who has already done some shit twice this year and I've got more dandelions than ever.

 

[Baron Winnebago]

I'll give it a year. They seem to do a nice job on my neighbors lawns, but neighbors have had a 3-5 year head start

 

[alt f4]

So dicking around on tractor supply checking some things....

Came across this...

View attachment 36851



30% iron?!?!

Bag rate is 5lbs/1k - 50lbs bag does 10k sq feet.

Highest I have found is Milo (@alt f4) at 0.36 lbs of iron/1k sq feet of yard.

This bag is saying it would put down 1.5lbs of iron/1k sq feet.


For those wondering why I am looking at this, Iron is what makes your lawn that dark green vs the lighter green.

I read on some golf maintenance forum they go up to 2lb/1k sq ft. I know grass can withstand a lot, especially if it is granular and not liquid.

I'd be more worried about trees than the grass. I have a maple tree that has shown signs of iron poisioning when I double the Milorganite rate in an area that really needed greening up. The grass can recover pretty fast with more water, but trees can't.

 

[Toe]

recommendations for shitty soil?

I cant seem to get grass seed to grow no matter what I do. The area where I do have grass is think and beautiful but Its patches right now.
I had my soil tested by that Sunday company that suppose to cater to your lawn/soil but It doesnt seem to be working. Ive been this house for 4 years now.

This is what my result were:
11% Sand | 58% Silt | 30% Clay

Where's the goddamn humus?! If your soil is really that lacking in organic material, I'd be composting the fuck out of it. Like forget any bagged shit, look for a bulk compost supplier and a compost spreader. If your city has a leaf collection program, there's a good chance you can get leaf compost for free. The type of compost you use really doesn't matter that much (other than peat moss, don't get me started on that). A fine mulch is next best, but takes longer. Compost is just mulch that's broken down to the point you can't recognize anymore - it's closer to becoming soil.

Remember: this is how plants get fed in nature. Feeding your lawn with a synthetic N-P-K fertilizer is like feeding yourself with a gray nutrient broth with a synthetic mix of carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

And in the long-term, the organic material will improve your soil texture, too - won't need to be aerated as much.

So dicking around on tractor supply checking some things....

Came across this...

View attachment 36851



30% iron?!?!

Bag rate is 5lbs/1k - 50lbs bag does 10k sq feet.

Highest I have found is Milo (@alt f4) at 0.36 lbs of iron/1k sq feet of yard.

This bag is saying it would put down 1.5lbs of iron/1k sq feet.


For those wondering why I am looking at this, Iron is what makes your lawn that dark green vs the lighter green.

That sulfur will acidify your soil. That helps with iron uptake, but if your soil is already acidic, you could push it too far that way.

 

[Frogsker30]

Where's the goddamn humus?! If your soil is really that lacking in organic material, I'd be composting the fuck out of it. Like forget any bagged shit, look for a bulk compost supplier and a compost spreader. If your city has a leaf collection program, there's a good chance you can get leaf compost for free. The type of compost you use really doesn't matter that much (other than peat moss, don't get me started on that). A fine mulch is next best, but takes longer. Compost is just mulch that's broken down to the point you can't recognize anymore - it's closer to becoming soil.

Remember: this is how plants get fed in nature. Feeding your lawn with a synthetic N-P-K fertilizer is like feeding yourself with a gray nutrient broth with a synthetic mix of carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

And in the long-term, the organic material will improve your soil texture, too.



That sulfur will acidify your soil. That helps with iron uptake, but if your soil is already acidic, you could push it too far that way.

Black Kow any good?

My wife and I have talked about composting. Any recs for a composter, and how to properly do it lol

 

[Toe]

Black Kow any good?

Generally speaking it's fine, with a caveat I'll get to in a sec. Like I said, the type of compost ultimately doesn't matter all that much. I'd still suggest looking for a bulk supplier, though. Check your city's website to see if they have a compost program first - it'll probably be the cheapest option. Just Google <city> compost and see what comes up. Can try searching Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, too. If all else fails, you can order cubic yard-sized bags (27 cu ft) from the home improvement stores and such.

The caveat with manure: a problem that's coming up sometimes these days with manure-based composts these days is that they're contaminated with herbicides. Farmers are using long-lasting weed killers in their fields. Cows eat it and then shit it out, and the herbicide is still present and active in the manure, and then the manure compost ends up killing the plants you're trying to feed. Companies like Black Kow source from producers all over the country, and in turn those producers source from a host of farmers. I'm not sure how widespread the problem really is, but it's definitely an issue.

 

[Frogsker30]

Generally speaking it's fine, with a caveat I'll get to in a sec. Like I said, the type of compost ultimately doesn't matter all that much. I'd still suggest looking for a bulk supplier, though. Check your city's website to see if they have a compost program first - it'll probably be the cheapest option. Just Google <city> compost and see what comes up. Can try searching Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, too. If all else fails, you can order cubic yard-sized bags (27 cu ft) from the home improvement stores and such.

The caveat with manure: a problem that's coming up sometimes these days with manure-based composts these days is that they're contaminated with herbicides. Farmers are using long-lasting weed killers in their fields. Cows eat it and then shit it out, and the herbicide is still present and active in the manure, and then the manure compost ends up killing the plants you're trying to feed. Companies like Black Kow source from producers all over the country, and in turn those producers source from a host of farmers. I'm not sure how widespread the problem really is, but it's definitely an issue.

this is what I found for omaha

Oma-Gro, Omaha's Premium Quality Compost

This site provides information on OmaGro, the City of Omaha's Premium Organic Compost.

www.omagro.com

 

[Toe]

My wife and I have talked about composting. Any recs for a composter, and how to properly do it lol

First of all, do you actually have enough raw material to make it worthwhile? Personally, I tried it and ended up abandoning it - I just didn't have enough stuff to compost. You can take a big bin and fill it with grass clippings, and those clippings will cook down to practically nothing.

If you've got a ton of leaves in fall, that can be good to compost with. Although if the leaves aren't completely smothering your lawn, it's easier to just go over them with your mower to break them up, and let them mulch in place.

Ideally, your compost should come from a mix of 'greens' like fresh grass clippings, which supply nitrogen, and 'browns' like dried leaves, which supply carbon.

You'll need to keep it aerated so that it doesn't turn anaerobic. You can use a compost tumbler to do the job, or turn it with a pitchfork or something. Or you can use a composter that's built with air shafts to allow oxygen to freely penetrate into the compost pile. Look up how to build a 'bio-reactor composter' if you're interested in that idea.

 

[Toe]

this is what I found for omaha

Oma-Gro, Omaha's Premium Quality Compost

This site provides information on OmaGro, the City of Omaha's Premium Organic Compost.

www.omagro.com

$25 for a pickup load? Sounds good to me! Trying to make your own typically ain't worth it when you can get a ton of it for cheap from sources like this. I'm all about stuff like that and ChipDrop for free mulch.

 

[Frogsker30]

First of all, do you actually have enough raw material to make it worthwhile? Personally, I tried it and ended up abandoning it - I just didn't have enough stuff to compost. You can take a big bin and fill it with grass clippings, and those clippings will cook down to practically nothing.

If you've got a ton of leaves in fall, that can be good to compost with. Although if the leaves aren't completely smothering your lawn, it's easier to just go over them with your mower to break them up, and let them mulch in place.

Ideally, your compost should come from a mix of 'greens' like fresh grass clippings, which supply nitrogen, and 'browns' like dried leaves, which supply carbon.

You'll need to keep it aerated so that it doesn't turn anaerobic. You can use a compost tumbler to do the job, or turn it with a pitchfork or something. Or you can use a composter that's built with air shafts to allow oxygen to freely penetrate into the compost pile. Look up how to build a 'bio-reactor composter' if you're interested in that idea.

Maybe not then. We have a relatively small yard. ~3000 sq ft. But have 4 giant trees, each year we have over ten bags of leaves in the fall.
My wife mainly would like to use the compost from her garden as well as scraps of fruits and vegetables that we throw away from cook prep. as well as egg shells etc.

 

[Toe]

Yeah, it kinda depends on just how many leaves you're dealing with. I don't have any deciduous trees on my property, so that's not an option for me. If you can keep on top of it with the mower as soon as they start to fall, you should be able to get at least some of them mulched down. But if there's too many, you'll still need to rake them away.

 

[Pipe Line]

Something I thought about over lunch, is buying a mulch kit for the z turn a viable Plan B in case grass gets real long like this week? Don't really want to bag honestly, and the mulch kit obviously doesn't let grass shoot out the discharge. Description says it's good for putting nutrients back in the grass? I don't know, probably just need to plan on twice a week going forward.

 

[HuskerDocCo]

I need to mow every 3 days right now or my backyard gets out of control. If I go 4+ days I’ll need @HuskerDocCo to come by with his bailer

damn rite sonny

 

[COYS]

How can I control clover? I get large patches every year and all the grass places do is sell me on chemicals to spray it.