Speaking of lawns...

[wolf08gang]

I'm going to give you the best advise about lawn care that you will ever read.

Cut it tall. Raise your mower deck as high as it goes. If you are even slightly handy, fab it up to be even taller.

Here's pic of my lawn on the left, and my neighbors lawn on the right:
http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=144&pictureid=2865

The difference is I cut my lawn at about 5", and his is about 1". I don't water my lawn, I only fertilized once this year, I don't use herbicides or pesticides.

Guess what? Your grass hates being short. When you cut it short, the roots die back. When the roots die back, the grass can't tolerate drought. When your grass is short, weeds take over. Then you go to the store and spend ridiculous amounts of money on weed killer and fertilizer.

I'm no lawn guru, I'm just sayin'.

[Ó Flannagáin]

Nice! I got my aunt's old mower and it only has one setting which is probably around 3 or 4"

[wolf08gang]

Yeah, mine didn't go all that high on it's own, so I took some flat stock I had laying around, cut it to length drilled some holes, and BAM! Instant monster truck mower.

[No Fish]

We only mow ours low once in the spring when the growing is good.

I agree 110 percent with the cut it high plan. Also, as a result, I do not need to water like the other folks. If you water too much/often the roots have no reason to grow deep and then when the heat of summer comes, their shallow root system is no help at all.

[shrekfx]

I just learned this after cutting it short a few times. I'm still playing with my mower to get the right sett, but might just move it all the way up and call it good. Also found out that bagging is one of the worst things to do to your lawn.

[Lerxst]

IIRC the general rule is to keep it around 3" and never cut more than 1/3 of the blade height in one mowing (unless you have something like bent grass which is supposed to be cut short). Switching up your travel paths is recommended too. The taller grass develops a deeper and stronger root system that makes it more drought and stress resistant.

[wolf08gang]

I just learned this after cutting it short a few times. I'm still playing with my mower to get the right sett, but might just move it all the way up and call it good. Also found out that bagging is one of the worst things to do to your lawn.

It'll look like crap for about a month till it grows in, but that's what I did.

If you are patient, you could adjust it up a little bit every week or two till you reach the max height.

+1 on bagging being a horrible thing to inflict on your lawn. The exception being that it's not a bad idea to bag in the fall when the crabgrass has gone to seed. I've pretty much got my crabgrass under control though, so I just pull it up any time I see it. Same with dandelions and broadleaf.

The only weed I really have trouble with is clover, and I just decided to live in peace with it. It's actually beneficial as it's a nitrogen fixer, so I just leave it alone, and reseed over it in the fall after the first hard frost.

[wolf08gang]

IIRC the general rule is to keep it around 3" and never cut more than 1/3 of the blade height in one mowing (unless you have something like bent grass which is supposed to be cut short). Switching up your travel paths is recommended too. The taller grass develops a deeper and stronger root system that makes it more drought and stress resistant.

That is the general rule. The problem for me was that, in order to avoid cutting more than 1/3 in a mowing, I had to mow twice weekly. I got tired of that pretty quick.

I jacked my deck height up this spring on a whim, just to see what happened, and my grass has never looked better. I'm curious to see what happens in August, as that's when my lawn generally turns to poo.

I'll post some pics of my hillbilly, monster truck mower here at some point.

[ohiobrewtus]

Yup. I keep mine at about 4" or so. Cut it every 5 days and usually only take off 1".

[zoebisch01]

Definitely the way to roll. Until you get asshat neighbors saying shit like "Lawn's lookin a little high there". I didn't say much and when the dog days of late July early August hit and my lawn was the only green one, I didn't say anything either. So glad I don't live there anymore.

[Big_John]

There was an article in our local paper today that featured the turf manager at our ball park. He specifically stated that the optimum height for a lawn was about 2-3". Much taller than that and the grass can actually crowd itself out. I used to cut mine very short as IMO it looked better, but more recently I've been mowing it high and the results have been good. The grass out competes the weeds and the lawn retains moisture much better. One of the best things you can do for you lawn is to keep the mower blade sharp. Most seldom bother to do so and it shows. I sharpen my mower blade about every six weeks or if I notice that the grass tops are frayed after a mow. Blade sharpening is very easy to do if you have the right tools for it. Doesn't hurt to change the mower oil now and then too. I've been using compost tea on my lawn this year for the first time. It's supposed to add beneficial bacteria to the soil. It seems to have improved the lawn quality, but I can only say that from a very subjective view point. The science isn't there to support the fantastic claims made for compost tea from what I have read. My house plants sure seem to be thriving since I began dosing them with the tea. Could just be a coincidence though.

[wolf08gang]

There was an article in our local paper today that featured the turf manager at our ball park. He specifically stated that the optimum height for a lawn was about 2-3". Much taller than that and the grass can actually crowd itself out. I used to cut mine very short as IMO it looked better, but more recently I've been mowing it high and the results have been good. The grass out competes the weeds and the lawn retains moisture much better. One of the best things you can do for you lawn is to keep the mower blade sharp. Most seldom bother to do so and it shows. I sharpen my mower blade about every six weeks or if I notice that the grass tops are frayed after a mow. Blade sharpening is very easy to do if you have the right tools for it. Doesn't hurt to change the mower oil now and then too. I've been using compost tea on my lawn this year for the first time. It's supposed to add beneficial bacteria to the soil. It seems to have improved the lawn quality, but I can only say that from a very subjective view point. The science isn't there to support the fantastic claims made for compost tea from what I have read. My house plants sure seem to be thriving since I began dosing them with the tea. Could just be a coincidence though.

Good call on the blade sharpening. I've gotten lazy on that recently, and it shows.

The compost tea interests me. I read up on permaculture gardening last year, and have decided to shy away from chemical use, so I'm interested in learning about alternatives.

I have some friends who keep horses, who I go to for manure for my garden. I'm kicking around the idea of spreading a thin layer of composted manure over my lawn and reseeding this fall.

I live in Clay County, and that name is a pretty adequate description of what I'm dealing with. It's worse around the house, as it's all backfill dirt with no topdressing. I'd like to start building up some organic matter in my soil. No amount of chemical fertilizer will ever fix that.

[Big_John]

You can google up lots of info on the compost tea. I had read about it somewhere awhile back and deciced to give it a try. Most of the stuff you find will be posted by sites selling equipment/kits to make the tea. You really don't need any of that shit. I use a 5 gallon bucket with a valve and an SS braid in the bottom (similar to a mash tun). I put about three quarts of finished compost in the bucket, fill with water, add about 1 oz of molasses and mix. I then use an aquarium pump attached to the bucket vavle to blow air into the bucket through the SS braid. I aerate it for about 3-4 days. The desirable bacteria are the aearobic type. Basically the same critters that eat the waste generated in an aquarium. When applying the tea, I attach a venturi type pump (think water bed draining thingy) and it sucks the tea out of the bucket and into a garden hose. This mixes the tea with the tap water and makes it easier to cover a large area. This is a time saver over tryiing to spray it with a garden pump sprayer or using a sprinkling can. I actually dilute the mix into two 5 gallon buckets to make it go even further. I carried over the SS braid idea from brewing and it works very well for both aearating the tea and distributing it over the lawn and garden. The jury is still out on whether or not its worth the trouble, but so far it seems to be improving things. Might just be wishful thinking on my part. Hard to tell.

[zoebisch01]

I have always thought of late September/early October letting it go to seed. Free reseeding anyone?

[willynilly]

Solid advise..

we built this house/yard 2 years ago

Sodded the yard, I mow it 4" high all summer long

I dont water, it doesnt burn up

My neighbors water constantly, theirs still burns

I have no crab grass, no weeds, they cannot survive, they are too shaded/crowded.

I spend 1/4 the time on my yard that they do, mine is the nicest in the neighborhood. Mow high, dont baby the grass, make it stretch its roots for water.

Mine is Kentucky Blue

[Lerxst]

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/4000/4020.html

[bo_]

my neighbor applies some various chemical in various bottles at least every 2 weeks, usually every week. their grass is dark, dark green and is like leather. looks very weird.

i don't water my lawn, spray chemicals, or do much else than mow. its a very pretty green color, light small blades of grass like in a golf course rough, and feels good to bare feet. i just cannot come to terms with spraying all those chemicals into the ground, whatever they are. so i just deal with the clover and broadleaf.

being the treehugger that i am, i figure the clover helps the bees, and they need all the help they can get.

[zoebisch01]

i just cannot come to terms with spraying all those chemicals into the ground, whatever they are.

Behind large scale Agribusiness, home lawns account for the majority of ground and water pollution in the US, not to mention the resources that are consumed. Wife told me that, she took an environmental science course last semester.

[JackHackett]

There was this yard i used to pass when I worked in south Louisiana and it just looked great all year long, so I pull over to investigate one day...fucking astroturf!!!! Gotta get creative down here.

[Diver Down]

I'd like to asphalt my yard and paint it green. Make it look like a tennis court.

[Beezy]

Yessss screw mowing the lawn. Technically tho my front yard is asphalt. Just not painted. I just have a little patch in the back I weed whack. Cant even do that sometimes. City life...