Lawn Care

[BigFatMeanie]

My lawn is a dandilion garden. Which is lovely for a little while when the flowers are all yellow - but turns ugly when they go to seed. I've got some clover, some crab grass, and some other kind of broad-leafed thing growing in a couple of patches as well.

My lawn is old enough that you can see sections where there are different kinds of grass. Someone told me once that this just means it is old, and used some word like homogonized. I don't know what they're talking about.

There is a spot in my lawn that has bugs or fungus or some kind of deal that makes it come out in chunks. Reminded me of the LES field right after the new grass was planted. You don't have to pull it out, you can just grab chunks and it comes readily.

And the part that I like least about my lawn - it is full of bumps. Everywhere. I think it is the nightcrawlers. I suppose it might be nice that for the past few years I've just gone out the night before a fishing trip with the kids and caught my own, but the lawn is crap.

On top of that, the sprinkler system has had issues since we moved into the place. And I haven't had the energy or desire to figure it out enough to fix anything - I tried at one point. Too frustrating to continue.

In many ways I've thought it would just be easier to tear the whole thing out and start over.

My wife likes a nice yard - which begins with a pretty, green, weed free lawn. Due to not knowing where to begin, I've taken the approach of being apathetic. So to celebrate our upcoming anniversary of 20 years of nuptual bliss, I figured I could start caring about something that she cares about. Like the lawn.

So - where to start?

Do I need to kill the worms somehow? Is there something else that would help with the bumps?
How do I discover if the place where the grass pulls out is due to some kind of bug or some kind of fungus/algae/bacteria?
How do I get rid of the bumps?

I've got what I consider to be the beginnings of a plan. Please tell me why or why not to do any of the following:

I was going to start with a power raking. Pull out dead grass, knock the tops off of some worm mounds, etc. I suppose this might be a bad idea in the area where grass pulls out easily.

Next I was going to aerate - and rake up the little poops that come from it (to keep them from becoming the next set of bumps)

And then follow up by renting one of those big rollers that you can fill with water for weight, watering the crap out of the lawn, and then rolling it flat as best I can.

I figured that during the process I would use some weed and feed stuff. I've used the broadleaf weed killer in a spray before, and can suppliment the weed & feed efforts with extra weed poison.

And finally - overseeding with more/new grass seed to help thicken it up some. I figure at this point I have to be careful with the weed killer and fertilizer I'm using to not kill off the lawn seed. Maybe I'll work on the rest and to the overseeding in the fall.

Anyway - I feel like this might give me a start. But I've been apathetic about the grass long enough that I'd love some input as to any steps I'm missing, any better ideas, and certainly info that would tell me my plan isn't going to work.

If you can pull the lawn out easily, it is most likely grubs (not the same thing as earthworms) eating the roots. I didn't look to see where you live but if you live in Utah the odds of it being algae/fungus are slim. You definitely need to kill grubs as they will migrate each season and destroy your whole lawn. You can buy an anti-grub treatment that you can spread with a drop spreader or hand spreader. The problem is the timing. Check the directions on the product but it's usually applied best in the early spring. Can't hurt to apply it this year but you might also need to apply it next year.

On to the crabgrass. Make sure it is really crabgrass and not quackgrass. Crabgrass is easy to take care of - just get fertilizer with crabgrass preventer. Again, the only time to apply it is in the early spring because it's a pre-emergent herbicide. Applying crabgrass preventer in the summer is useless. Given that you said your lawn has a bunch of different types of grasses in it, it's likely you have quackgrass. If this is the case, it's actually hard to get rid of. I generally take roundup to the patches of quackgrass, which of course also kills the good lawn. Then when it's dead, dig it out and reseed or sod patch it.

Dandelions are easy as well. You can either buy a fertilzer with weed control built in or you can just spray with a broadleaf weed killer. If you've already applied various fertilizers (i.e. a fertilizer with crabgrass preventer) then just go with the broadleaf weedkiller spray because you don't want to overfertilize. Just buy one of those hose-end sprayers at the local home store.

If you have an indoor dog that pees on your lawn in the mornings, the strength of their urine can also kill the grass.

Grubs are the most damaging, dogs next, quackgrass next just because it's so hard to get rid of but it doesn't actually kill your lawn - just makes it look uneven and patchy, then crabgrass, then dandelions (they probably look the ugliest but they're the easiest to kill and they don't leave as bad of spots as crabgrass does).

Also, in Utah it is common to have field bindweed, aka "morning glory". This is very hard to get rid of. It usually takes multiple years worth of broadleaf weed killer. I would rank it below quackgrass because a broadleaf weed killer will work over the long run, but worse than crabgrass because you can't eradicate it in one season.

A power-raking isn't a bad idea. In the areas where you have lawn that pulls out easily it's going to be toast anyway so don't worry about it. If your lawn is in poor shape (thin, damaged) then aeration won't do much for it yet. Aeration is for a healthy lawn with thick roots. I would solve the other problems first and then worry about the bumps in a season or two. You're not going to be able to get everything perfect in the first season.

[BigFatMeanie]

Why not rent a sod cutter and get rid of all the old lawn and start new? With no grass to deal with, you can level/smooth the lawn area to your liking, fix your sprinklers and plant a nice new lawn with one type of grass.

That too. If you have the money, the time to devote an entire weekend instead of just 20 minutes spreading fertilizer, and the physical energy to lay sod, this is the quickest and best way to get a nice lawn.

[falafel]

aeration could be helpful if soil is compacted. The roots are having a difficult time growing deep because its harder to get through the clay.

[Moliere]

Before you do any leveling, seeding or rolling you need to fix the sprinklers. If the system is really old then consider just replacing the whole thing. Better to do it right than to fix it every month.

[Eddie]

I went and checked the area where the grass seems to just pull out by the handful - and it is attached and strong right now. It seems like it always starts this way, but then starts coming out by the end of summer.

I was thinking the aerating would help alleviate some of the worm mounds by giving the worm poo somewhere to go. I was also thinking that thining things out would help with the overseeding. Maybe I'm wrong?

I agree that the sprinkler system is probably the first major step. It's also the one I know the least about. But I might as well dig in and get started somewhere. I am tempted to replace a bunch of parts and do the next best thing to starting over.

In the meantime - new sod is out due to cost and other expenses I would pay first. So I can work on the fertilizing and weed killing while getting the sprinklers sorted - and save the aerating/power-raking/rolling until fall.

FYI - I do have a dog, but had the sense to train him to do his business in the same area each time. So that helps quite a bit not only when it comes to dead grass, but also avoiding landmines when in the yard.

[Jeff Lebowski]

If you have an indoor dog that pees on your lawn in the mornings, the strength of their urine can also kill the grass.

Our friends had a big black lab with especially potent urine. They always had lots of dead spots all over the back lawn. I called him "Roundup".

[BigFatMeanie]

Our friends had a big black lab with especially potent urine. They always had lots of dead spots all over the back lawn. I called him "Roundup".

We have a big yellow lab and suffer from the same problem. The best way to solve it is to water the spot where he pees immediately after peeing, but I'm never the one that gets up at 6:00 a.m. to let him out and the kids can never remember to water his pee spots. Thus, we give him pills that make his pee not so potent. They help but aren't 100% effective.

[falafel]

Eddie, you should give this forum a look: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/lawns/

There is a guy over there that goes by the name of "bpgreen." He lives in the Salt Lake Valley somewhere and is incredibly knowledgeable about lawns in general, and particularly Utah lawns. He seems very willing to help diagnose problems. Lots of other good posters over there too.

[HaroldAhn947]

Yeah Scott's lawn care program is very good.