Simplfying lawn care destroyed from plowing.
Erica
2 years ago
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Lawn destroyed by dogs
Comments (20)Sounds like we had a similar background - no other boys but my father was argumentative. My assertive writing style has offended people for years, too, so now we've finally found each other ;-) As much as I can I will try to recall the reasons for my opinions as I believe them. When I joined this forum I was in transition from chemicals to organic. In college my wife to be was studying ornamental horticulture so I took some classes with her. Back then they were 100% chemical and I lived by the Sunset Lawn and Garden book (our lawn textbook at school). Things did not work perfectly for me using that book. It is very California oriented, so when I moved to Dayton and then to San Antonio the Sunset plan didn't work. Reading these forums and others helped me relearn gardening. Now probably 90% of what I used to believe has changed. I still have the Sunset books on the shelf just to refer to so I can do the opposite of what they say. You are much more in the Sunset camp and have found ways to make it work for you. Anyway just so I can say something about the topic, our dog parks here in San Antonio are thick with mulch. We're getting one in my neighborhood in a few months. I think they will leave it natural, but it is in a green-belt area so the floor is already deep mulch there....See More100 foot Slip N Slide - Lawn care?
Comments (16)So I did a test run this weekend with the slide. It has been 3 days and so far the lawn has recovered nicely. The only noticeable damage is in the center part of the slide where all the grass has laid down sideways. I jumped on this right after taking down the slide by gently raking the grass upright and watering well (odd as it sounds). The soil under the slide was still bone dry after we finished up. I figured a good soaking would help the stressed grass recover better. I will add: prior to testing the slide, we hadn't had rain in 11 days. My sandy soil had been dried out for well over a week. Add to it high daily temps in the high 80's, and pushing 90 several days. Needless to say the lawn was already stressed badly before setting up the slide. So my pre-slide lawn prep will be as follows: - Starting 2 weeks before the event I will stop cutting the grass. (I want it to be very tall on the day of) - Starting now I will be adding a round of Milorganite fertilizer. (Been wanting to do this anyways to improve the soil) - Starting 2-3 weeks before the event I will begin watering the grass to ensure it is all healthy and actively growing. (I don't water at all right now) - About 4-5 days before the event I plan to cut the grass adjacent to the slide where people will be walking back up to the top. I am not going to setup the slide early. It only took me about 20 minutes to prep the slide this time around, and during the event I will have plenty of eager helpers. The morning of the event I am going to get out early and water the area under the slide before putting the slide down. This should soften the soil a bit and make the ride a bit smoother (Something I should have done during the test run...ouch) The landing "pool" will be a separate sheet of poly that is black to keep the water warmer. This "pool" will be constructed with pool noodles underneath to form the bowl shape, prevent injury, and make setup and tear down a breeze. I took pictures, but will have to post them separately. I will keep you posted!...See MoreThinking about giving up on organic lawn care
Comments (27)We have been trying to keep an organic lawn in our back and front yards as well for about 3 years. Our first step was to really reduce the size of the lawn by adding a lot of planting beds all around our house. But we have a child and do play outside a lot so I want to keep a lawn area. Our back lack lawn was in horrible shape so we actually solarized with black plastic to kill all the existing weeds and lawn for a full summer, then reseeded with a mix of fine fescue grass. It has been a few years and now there is clover growing all over which I don't mind. This spring we overseeded with the same fescue mix but also added "Mini clover" from Outside Pride to even the existing clover out a bit, topped with a top layer of filtered compost. It is growing lush and thick as of now. Not many weeds (I don't consider clover a weed). We hand pull the dandelions when they come. Mow high; leave the grass clippings; and water deeply. Our front yard was in much better shape, but covered with dandelions. Like you, we are surrounded by neighbors with perfect chemically treated lawns so we do get embarrassed if ours has a lot of dandelions. For this front lawn, over the years we have added layers of filtered compost, about once a year in the spring. We have also used corn meal off and on, but I find it very expensive and am not sure if it has really done anything. We also sometimes spray the lawn with compost tea (once a year.) Then my husband took on the back breaking job of hand digging out the dandelions. After digging each one out he puts a bit of horticultural grade vinegar (that I buy off Amazon) into the hole with a turkey baister. This works really well! Each spring he does have to spend a few hours doing it again, but not nearly as much as that first year. Then the rest of the summer it looks great. We plan to aerate and lightly reseed the front lawn this fall, possibly adding the Mini Clover as well. Not sure yet, as it is looking really well at the moment without the addition. Anyhoo, my recommendation to you would be to aerate again in the early fall, overseed witht he appropriate grass mix, and top with compost. I agree with another poster that your lawn may be helped just with some overseeding. You may as well try it and give it at least another year or two. Outside Pride has a lot of good info on grass seed types and mixes, and if you are so inclined, read about their Mini Clover. You can use it as a stand alone lawn or mixed in with your grass to make it more lush. Their Combat Extreme grass mixtures might work for you too. They have different mixes depending on your zone. That is what we are going to use when we overseed our front yard this fall....See MoreHi! New to lawn care, big lawn...
Comments (57)@danielj_2009 and others around the stove, I got to thinking about what you said about speed of lime and particle size. Besides any physical leaching due particle size, I wondered if particle size and speed and amount of change might be the biggest influence on quantity of lime that gets recommended. The quotes you gave above refer to 25lbs for some limes but warn against exceeding bag rate for the "new fast acting" limes. Is the grind that big of a factor? I had my doubts. So I did a search to find the chemical analysis of lime products. To my disappointment, most products don't provide one. Most just say "derived from limestone." That could include a lot of different components. Finally, I found this: http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/41/417ecb06-d1a5-40cb-975a-78de1d1028f2.pdf PENNINGTON ® FAST ACTING™ LIME Plus AST ® GUARANTEED ANALYSIS Calcium (Ca)............................................................................................. 24% Magnesium (Mg) ...................................................................................... 6% Calcium Oxide (CaO) ............................................................................... 30% Magnesium Oxide (MgO)......................................................................... 15% Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) ................................................................ 55% Magnesium Carbonate (MgCO3) ...........................................................30% Moisture (maximum) ................................................................................ 1% Calcium Carbonate Equivalence (CCE) .................................................... 90%* Neutralizing Value 90% Calcium Carbonate Equivalence (CCE) Derived from dolomitic limestone F525In Florida, this product requires 2000 pounds to be equal to one ton of standard liming material. That is a fair amount of calcium oxide (quick lime) and magnesium oxide. Both are extremely caustic, meaning among other things, they destroy living tissue. I know from personal experience that quick or "hot" lime will burn the heck out of your skin. I think the oxide content of the Pennington fast acting lime might help explain some of the difference in lime amount recommendations (from 6 up to 100lbs) and why the manufacture of this product advises 6-10lbs. Makes me question what the other fast acting (or other) lime products contain when the say "derived from limestone." Just another brick for the wall even if it doesn't clear things up. Update: http://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/LightningLimeFactSheet1.pdf http://encap.net/lawn-mineral-nutrients/fast-acting-lime/#tab-id-3 http://www.solu-cal.com/media/pdf/msds-sheets/11010%20Solu-Cal%20Calcitic%20Lime%20SDS%202015.pdf http://www.acgmaterials.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Product-Data-Sheet-MINI-PRILLED-LIMESTONE-112116.pdf http://www.jonathangreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/magicallabel.pdf http://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Documents/limestones.pdf...See MoreErica
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoErica
2 years ago
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