The BCM Lawn Thread

[SSDude]

It'll probably take a couple weeks of daily watering to bring it back. Of course if you let it get totally browned out it could take more. I'd start with weekly waterings up until two weeks before your party and judge it from there

[jbiscuit]

^ This. Grass does funny things when it is this dry. What I mean is you can get "instant green" by watering it for 2 hours one time. The grass will suck up the water as fast as you are watering, the grass will green up and look better than it did the day before. So you stop watering. It goes back to brown just as quick. But the grass is still fragile and easy to damage because it is still very dry. Animal you need to start 2 weeks out. Water the front yard or anywhere where people wont be on it for an 1-1.5hr a day. Can be morning or late in the day, doesn't matter at this point as your soil is super dry. Water the backyard 1.5 or a bit more than that if thats where you plan to have your cookout. Keep a close eye on how the grass responds. After 2-3 days you should see it start to green up and "look" healthy like it did a month-6weeks ago. I would suggest staying right on your watering schedule right up till your event. Don't be affraid to soak your lawn pretty good too. I can almost guarantee you can't OVER water right now, tho if you do notice your lawn getting REALLY soft a few days before your cookout, back off the watering to 1 hour on the backyard or a bit less so not to make it too soft for traffic

[jbiscuit]

How often are you guys using Milorganite? I just did it a few days before Memorial Weekend, I'm hoping to overseed in about 3 weeks. Should I wait until after seeding to apply Milorganite again or do it before?

Keep in mind, I think the biggest thing hurting me at this point is lack of water.

The Milorgonite won't hurt fresh seed. No need to put more product down until end of June (4 weeks). You can put it down as often as you like but our current drought won't show you much benefit right now. I would suggest a 4-week application schedule. Wrath recommends a 3 week schedule with his lawn cocktail of rat turds, chicken droppings and owl vomit

[Korndogg]

My thing is, I need to figure out a schedule for the whole year spring-fall and then I'll be good. I just don't know enough about any of this stuff to know what I'm doing. And I really don't want to kill my lawn lol.

I just need to know when to put down fertilizer, overseed, milorganite, etc....

[jbiscuit]

A lot depends on the weather. We had our spring REALLY early this year. IE March. Here is a basic schedule that I have been using:

Early spring (March/Early April): Scotts Turf Builder with Halts Crabgrass preventer; wait about 2 week and apply milorgonite per bag recommendation

Late April: overseed if you want. You want to get the seed down at this point so it makes good contact with the soil. It will take the full 21 days to germinate but natural spring rains will water it in nicely for you.

Spring (May or prior to first dandelion in your yard. Watch your neighbors. If they have even one in their yard now is the time to put this down): Scotts Plus 2 with Weed Control (yellow bag); wait about 2 weeks after this app and do a HEAVY milorgonite

Summer: 4 weeks after last milorgonite app put this down at the recommended app on the bag; if grass is real dry start watering usually in July (this year started early June since we are WAY off our normal rain accumulations).

Scotts fall/winterizer (some people swear by this, I haven't done it for a few years at my other house and didn't see ANY ill effects from skipping this step).

I am right on target with this ^ plan posted above. Remember, the milorgonite won't prevent weeds BUT a hearty lawn with combat weeds. So its like a wingman to the Scotts products. You fertilize with Scotts, to get rid of the weeds and then the milorgonite just helps thicken the lawn and make it healthy to choke out the weeds and so on. Since I already have the three apps of milorgonite down already, I will be picking up 5-6 more bags in hopes we do get some rains later this month. Then depending on the weather I will probably hold off on more milorgonite app until Sept/October

[Korndogg]

Thanks for that. I think when we get some decent rain, I'm going to throw down some of the turf builder and some Milorganite. Is there a reason you wait two weeks for the Milorganite? It says on their webpage that you can use it with fertilizers. Or are you just doing it to be safe?

[jbiscuit]

The lawn doesn't really need that much fertilization all at once. Spreading out the applications will give you a more consistent and longer lasting green, thick lawn. And the two week wait time between Scotts and Milorgonite doesn't have to be exact, just ball park. If you wait 3 weeks, no big deal. Set a calendar reminder on your phone so it lets you know when its time.

[animal]

Animal you need to start 2 weeks out. Water the front yard or anywhere where people wont be on it for an 1-1.5hr a day. Can be morning or late in the day, doesn't matter at this point as your soil is super dry. Water the backyard 1.5 or a bit more than that if thats where you plan to have your cookout. Keep a close eye on how the grass responds. After 2-3 days you should see it start to green up and "look" healthy like it did a month-6weeks ago. I would suggest staying right on your watering schedule right up till your event. Don't be affraid to soak your lawn pretty good too. I can almost guarantee you can't OVER water right now, tho if you do notice your lawn getting REALLY soft a few days before your cookout, back off the watering to 1 hour on the backyard or a bit less so not to make it too soft for traffic

Thanks man, thats what I was lookin for.

[Korndogg]

Should I wait for a certain amount of rain before I put down the scotts? I don't mind watering also if I have to.

[badass88gt]

It depends which Scott's product you will use, for example Plus 2 should be applied to a wet lawn, but with the latest weather that stuff will be too much stress on the grass. Turfbuilder can be applied to wet or dry, but if you have consistent hot days you will want to water.

Milorganite, which is not a Scotts product, says it doesn't need to be watered in but I do it anyway.

[WickedSix]

do you guys use milorganite not knowing where it comes from or do you know and it just doesn't bother you?

[badass88gt]

Why would it?

[Korndogg]

Doesn't bother me a bit. Also I know it says to be put on a wet lawn but that's why I was asking about how much rain. I didn't know if I should wait until we get a couple days good rain so the soil/grass gets better and put it down and continue to water after for a week or two or if I should just water for a week or two and then do it.

[badass88gt]

Nah, no need to wait. It will stay in the soil until it gets water, if you want to water it in go for it, otherwise you can just leave it until the next rain. Obviously watering i it in will start the nitrogen release sooner, which is a good thing.

[pOrk]

I thought cars were an expensive hobby and you guys are spending a grand to keep your grass green, lols

[jbiscuit]

a grand? I'm nowhere near close to spending a grand to make my lawn nice. All my neighbors pay to have their lawns taken care of by a lawn service company. My lawn looks better than any of theirs and I have spent a grand total of $168 to date on lawn care product. Helps to buy on sale

[badass88gt]

No kidding. I won't spend a grand in 5 years and that includes equipment rental such as slit seeder, aerater, dethatcher, etc.

Those lawn care places like Spring Green and Chemlawn are a joke. Wayyyy overpriced. It doesn't happen overnight but it's easy to do with minimal effort. Knowledge is key.

[73MACH]

a lot depends on the weather. We had our spring really early this year. Ie march. Here is a basic schedule that i have been using:

Early spring (march/early april): Scotts turf builder with halts crabgrass preventer; wait about 2 week and apply milorgonite per bag recommendation

late april: Overseed if you want. You want to get the seed down at this point so it makes good contact with the soil. It will take the full 21 days to germinate but natural spring rains will water it in nicely for you.

Spring (may or prior to first dandelion in your yard. Watch your neighbors. If they have even one in their yard now is the time to put this down): Scotts plus 2 with weed control (yellow bag); wait about 2 weeks after this app and do a heavy milorgonite

summer: 4 weeks after last milorgonite app put this down at the recommended app on the bag; if grass is real dry start watering usually in july (this year started early june since we are way off our normal rain accumulations).

Scotts fall/winterizer (some people swear by this, i haven't done it for a few years at my other house and didn't see any ill effects from skipping this step).

I am right on target with this ^ plan posted above. Remember, the milorgonite won't prevent weeds but a hearty lawn with combat weeds. So its like a wingman to the scotts products. You fertilize with scotts, to get rid of the weeds and then the milorgonite just helps thicken the lawn and make it healthy to choke out the weeds and so on. Since i already have the three apps of milorgonite down already, i will be picking up 5-6 more bags in hopes we do get some rains later this month. Then depending on the weather i will probably hold off on more milorgonite app until sept/october

this.....

[77thor]

I prefer to only fertilizer twice a year (Memorial Day & Labor Day) and only apply weed control on an as-needed basis.
Generally, I do not water my lawn. I like to leave it longer in summer so that it doesn't dry out as much.

[jbiscuit]

Time to bump this back up since everyone's lawns should be greening back up. I put down 6 bags of Milorgonite on my lawn Sunday afternoon and also hand spread a bit of Scotts Plus 2 on some areas that were patched when they installed my patio. The grass is growing in nicely but the weeds are still showing up after cutting. I have put away my sprinklers for now but have been hand watering with the hose my patched areas. Cut my lawn last night prior to the Scotts and MAN does it look good! I'll snap a pic and post later. Perfectly striped lawn. Now I just need to invest in a tractor or a mower with variable speed self-propelled power so I can get my cut times down to under an hour