VN Lawn Experts

#76
#76
Cut it high. A lot of people mow their fescue lawn way too short. I keep my mower on it's highest setting during the season. The only time I lower it is for aerating and overseeding in the fall and the last cut of the season.
 
#77
#77
Right at 3 weeks.

Before.jpg


After the first mowing.

After1.jpg


After2.jpg
 
#79
#79
After reading through this thread of what to do and not do, it's a wonder that my yard isn't just a big patch of dirt. Oh wait... It pretty much is.
 
#80
#80
Coug said:
Cut it high. A lot of people mow their fescue lawn way too short. I keep my mower on it's highest setting during the season. The only time I lower it is for aerating and overseeding in the fall and the last cut of the season.
Click to expand...

100% agree. Sharp blades are a must too.
 
#83
#83
Freak said:
looks good Eric. Nice job!




I'm the worst at remembering to sharpen my mower blade. It's a pain.
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In truth I never have. The only thing I do with the blade is replace it if it gets dinged up.
 
#85
#85
vol_in_ar said:
Paging OB...

What's the best way to get rid of moles...
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Put down granules to kill insects and grubs. It wont kill them, but will push them to your neighbors place
:)

Depending on the size of your place, 20-30 bucks should take care of it. Water it down if it's not going to rain (lol) and you should be good to go.

If you or the kiddos have any pets, keep them off of it after watering it down for a couple of hours.
 
#92
#92
well I channeled my inner Bill Murray and went all Caddy Shack on the mole tunnels...

gopher gasser.jpg

probably won't work, didn't have great reviews on Amazon, but I also put down a Bayer spray product to try and kill what they are feeding on
 
#94
#94
I am going to assume you have a fescue lawn or something similar. It is completely unnecessary to de-thatch a fescue lawn unless you consistently use it to bale hay or something similar haha. De-thatching is only necessary if you have a huge thatch build up on the top layer of soil that prevents the grass from spreading, receiving moisture, or nutrients which is generally an issue for aggressively growing grasses that require very frequent mowings like Bermuda. It can be easily prevented by periodically bagging the clippings aka thatch or raking the yard every so often with a leaf rake but you should not need it on a standard Fescue lawn. Aerating, over-seeding, liming, weed control, and fertilizing on a regular basis will cure most all ills on a residential lawn; meaning every Fall for Fescue and every Spring for Bermuda. Bermuda does not need over-seeding unless you are ocd and require the lawn to look green in the cool months haha.
 
#95
#95
Unfortunately there really isn't a shade loving grass, but there are some that will "tolerate" partial shade like Centipede and Red Fescue. I would use a blend and see if any of the blended varieties tolerate it more than others.
 
#96
#96
vol_in_ar said:
well I channeled my inner Bill Murray and went all Caddy Shack on the mole tunnels...

View attachment 111094

probably won't work, didn't have great reviews on Amazon, but I also put down a Bayer spray product to try and kill what they are feeding on
Click to expand...
It does work, if you hit an active run. dangerous, but they do have propane methods that asfixiates em.
 
#97
#97
landscapingvol said:
I am going to assume you have a fescue lawn or something similar. It is completely unnecessary to de-thatch a fescue lawn unless you consistently use it to bale hay or something similar haha. De-thatching is only necessary if you have a huge thatch build up on the top layer of soil that prevents the grass from spreading, receiving moisture, or nutrients which is generally an issue for aggressively growing grasses that require very frequent mowings like Bermuda. It can be easily prevented by periodically bagging the clippings aka thatch or raking the yard every so often with a leaf rake but you should not need it on a standard Fescue lawn. Aerating, over-seeding, liming, weed control, and fertilizing on a regular basis will cure most all ills on a residential lawn; meaning every Fall for Fescue and every Spring for Bermuda. Bermuda does not need over-seeding unless you are ocd and require the lawn to look green in the cool months haha.
Click to expand...


^^^^Yes!

Fescue does not spread to form new clumps as it is not like bluegrass, bermuda, zoyzia or centipedes that are rhizomatic.

I do have fescue and I morning watered and did all the seasonal tasks you mentioned above. I also did not power rake dethatch as you say. I did seasonally handrake dethatch. I did not bag clippings much but did use a sharp mulching blade.

My thatch got quite thick. It seems I got all the local yard funguses. UT guy said the heavy thatch held a lot of moisture in itself, there at the surface so it was a perfect situation for lawn fungus. It also prevented water and oxygen from penetrating into the soil to the roots well, so there's a triple whammy on grass health from heavy thatch. Fungus on blades and lack of water & oxygen at roots.

The fix was to dethatch with a power rake, leaf rake all that up, spray yard with a turf fungicide, aereate to get oxygen to the roots, and watch that my watering did not cause pooling ... too much water at the surface was encouraging the fungus. So I watered in stages to let it soak in. Believe I had to spray fungicide twice. I did use a yard weasel to rough up bare spots and seed & straw & starter fertilize only those spots. Left general overseeding until fall.

Now I will be bagging clippings more often as you said and not let the thatch get much over 1/4 to 1/3 inch before dethatching, as you said, with hand rake. But not dethatching soon enough will suffocate the roots, I didn't know that because I was aerating.

This one thing made a huge difference in my lawns appearance and was the last key to getting the look I wanted.

Kudos for bringing it up.
 
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#98
#98
vol_in_ar said:
well I channeled my inner Bill Murray and went all Caddy Shack on the mole tunnels...

View attachment 111094

probably won't work, didn't have great reviews on Amazon, but I also put down a Bayer spray product to try and kill what they are feeding on
Click to expand...

Are you in my neck of the woods?

Thought I was behind you this morning?
 
#100
#100
Orangedogsrule said:
^^^^Yes!

Fescue does not spread to form new clumps as it is not like bluegrass, bermuda, zoyzia or centipedes that are rhizomatic.

I do have fescue and I morning watered and did all the seasonal tasks you mentioned above. I also did not power rake dethatch as you say. I did seasonally handrake dethatch. I did not bag clippings much but did use a sharp mulching blade.

My thatch got quite thick. It seems I got all the local yard funguses. UT guy said the heavy thatch held a lot of moisture in itself, there at the surface so it was a perfect situation for lawn fungus. It also prevented water and oxygen from penetrating into the soil to the roots well, so there's a triple whammy on grass health from heavy thatch. Fungus on blades and lack of water & oxygen at roots.

The fix was to dethatch with a power rake, leaf rake all that up, spray yard with a turf fungicide, aereate to get oxygen to the roots, and watch that my watering did not cause pooling ... too much water at the surface was encouraging the fungus. So I watered in stages to let it soak in. Believe I had to spray fungicide twice. I did use a yard weasel to rough up bare spots and seed & straw & starter fertilize only those spots. Left general overseeding until fall.

Now I will be bagging clippings more often as you said and not let the thatch get much over 1/4 to 1/3 inch before dethatching, as you said, with hand rake. But not dethatching soon enough will suffocate the roots, I didn't know that because I was aerating.

This one thing made a huge difference in my lawns appearance and was the last key to getting the look I wanted.

Kudos for bringing it up.
Click to expand...

I've had great results in not ever having to dethatch by following one major rule which is basically "don't create thatch". You do this by not letting your lawn get so high that when you mow it you start spitting out clumps of clippings. In the unfortunate event that your mower starts dropping clumps you better spread them out or rake it and trash it, otherwise you are good to continually mulch mow.
 
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