The BCM Lawn Thread

[Haulin' Oates]

This heat absolutely ruined my front lawn, I need to take a picture and see what you guys think. I have never been so convinced my lawn was partially dead.

[Yooformula]

are there any ways to prevent moles from fucking up my lawn? I've found 2 this month so far and those pests made some big holes!

[Irish]

are there any ways to prevent moles from fucking up my lawn? I've found 2 this month so far and those pests made some big holes!

Set baited traps?

[wikked]

http://www.scotts.com/smg/solve/solu...ailId=11200026

about all you can do really.

[badass88gt]

This heat absolutely ruined my front lawn, I need to take a picture and see what you guys think. I have never been so convinced my lawn was partially dead.

You would be surprised at what some high quality H2O can do for a "dead" lawn.

[jbiscuit]

It very well could be burned out but I have a hunch you can get it to come back. Try some Scotts Turf Builder with Iron or Steins Lawn Food. The Steins Lawn Food is formulated with Milorganite which many here are preachers for the product and rightfully so. Put the application down just a but heavier than recommended. For instance, if they recommend a rotary spreader setting of 4 try setting it at a 5. Put the product down right before we are scheduled to get some rain. Or plan to water it in. Our lawns were basically shocked by the heat/drought from the summer so you need to feed it to get it to come back. Now granted I haven't seen a photo of your lawn but grass in our climate is pretty tough. Try what I suggested and post back in a week.

[Haulin' Oates]

Thanks guys, I need to get a photo and get this project rolling.

[badass88gt]

I rented the slit seeder and overseeded the yard Sunday, got some water on it, I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

[jbiscuit]

Should work well! Now we just need the temps back in the upper 60s, low 70s. Perfect weather from growing grass!

[jbiscuit]

Bumping this thread.

Our grass is just now starting to come out of dormancy. Great time to apply your crabgrass preventer! My grass just in the last few days has started to change from brown to green-ish.

I will be going with the Steins 4-step program this season with Milorganite apps throughout the season as well. Looking forward to country club grass again this year!

If anyone finds/sees deals on lawn care products post that up so others can take advantage.

[Yooformula]

J, do you have any advice for grass burned up by dog waste? Our dogs wrecked the lawn this past winter!

[animal]

My dog turned a huge patch from green grass to brown grass last fall, and to mud over the winter. I was thinking I am going to chicken wire off that section so he can't hurt it more, and plant some new seed in that area and leave it untouched and watered for like 2 months.

[jbiscuit]

In my experience, the Scotts Grass Patch that comes in a bag with seed, paper pulb and fertilizer works fantastic for this. The lawn at my old house was all spotty from the previous owners' two big dogs. I used the grass patch with great success. Just rake the area to loosen up the dead grass, cover the spot with the grass patch and water. Keep it watered daily for about 2 weeks and the grass will grow back quickly and fill in the spots. A lot depends on the outside temps however. We need temps consistently in the 50s-60s before grass will germinate.

Animal's idea to fence off an area is good. This isolate the dead spots to just one area. Much better than trying to tackle your entire lawn

[animal]

In my experience, the Scotts Grass Patch that comes in a bag with seed, paper pulb and fertilizer works fantastic for this. The lawn at my old house was all spotty from the previous owners' two big dogs. I used the grass patch with great success. Just rake the area to loosen up the dead grass, cover the spot with the grass patch and water. Keep it watered daily for about 2 weeks and the grass will grow back quickly and fill in the spots. A lot depends on the outside temps however. We need temps consistently in the 50s-60s before grass will germinate.

Animal's idea to fence off an area is good. This isolate the dead spots to just one area. Much better than trying to tackle your entire lawn

Shouldn't you also be roughing up that area under the dead grass before applying the patch?

[michelle]

I will also be fencing off areas in the dog area in hopes it will recover (with some fresh seed and water) from the 4 dogs running around like it was a Nascar track back there.

We use the Steins 4-step program as well, but forgot to put the winter step on last year. We only do the front yard though. Can't justify worrying about the back since it sees trucks, tractors, atvs, and mini-bikes all summer.

[jbiscuit]

Shouldn't you also be roughing up that area under the dead grass before applying the patch?

I said to rake the area in my post. This pulls up the dead grass and also will roughen the soil a little to ensure good soil contact with the seed.

[animal]

I said to rake the area in my post. This pulls up the dead grass and also will roughen the soil a little to ensure good soil contact with the seed.

Yeah I saw that, and that prompted me to ask. I was always told you gotta rough up the first few inches when trying to plant seed, not just what raking away the dead stuff will provide. I figured you'd be able to set me straight on that.
So you're saying you don't need to rough it up all that much for the grass to take?

[jbiscuit]

You just need to rough it up enough to provide soil contact with the seed. A metal rake works well. Rake the dead grass and rough up the soil at the same time. I;ve also added just a topping of top soil to the bare spot and then seed that. Doesn't have to get fancy. Last fall I touched up a few bare spots that never took from my initial lawn installation. Raked the bare spot, tossed a 1/8" (roughly) of top soil down, a decent helping of seed and watered. A majority of the spots are gone. Wind, birds, rain wash out etc can all contribute to the grass not growing so sometimes its just patience and giving it another go. At my house wind is a huge problem. If the spots dry out quicker than I can water again, the winds blow the seed away. Timing plays a big role too. If you seed, get some rain and then the sun comes out for a few days and temps in the upper 60s, you can see germination in 11-12 days. Throw in one cold night or lack of sun for a couple days and it could take twice as long

[jbiscuit]

Steins has Milorganite 5 bags for $29.95. This is a great price for anyone looking for it. Stock up!

[michelle]

How much does that cover per bag?