Growing grass

[casts_by_fly]

15 hours ago, 12poundbass said:

A little update. A fellow member sent me a PM talking about lawns so I figured I’d give a bit of an update. In typical 12poundbass fashion I had my hopes set a tad too high. This isn’t the greatest year to start a lawn and since we didn’t move until mid May I was off to a late start.
 

The grass is growing but so are the weeds. The typical crabgrass is growing and two other unknown intruders. I did spray a weed killer concentrate in June sometime and that seemed to help a bit but it seems what died was quickly replaced. I’ve watered pretty heavily until about two weeks ago and I slowed down because we started getting rain. I haven’t done a fertilizer yet, so my question to you grass experts what are these two weeds I’m frequently seeing, do I fertilize, and what do you use to eradicate these weeds? 
 

I do plan to seed again in the fall. 
 

Weed 1:

 

Weed 2:

 

 

Not sure how I missed this thread the first time around.  I'm doing a major takeover on my yard this year (we delegated it to our lawn guys who haven't done well enough).  We had tons of weeks of many different types since our yard was left alone for 4 years before us and then 2 years of us here doing minimal work on it.  We live up against the woods so lots of wild things come in.  The list so far this year:

 

- Crabgrass, POA annua, corn speedwell, japanese stiltweed, spotted spurge, nutsedge, clover, and a few others that are more minor.  

 

Parts of the yard are/were >50% stiltweed which I've just hit with a specialist this past weekend.  The nutsedge got a first bit of sedgehammer 2 weeks ago and is due for some more this weekend coming.  The other weeds are easier to control with basic stuff and I'm less worried about them.  My yard was also very bare in a lot of spots so we did grass seed this spring instead of pre-emergent figuring I could spray the weeds once some grass was growing up.  That was a good choice in two areas, but a less good choice in others.

 

12lbbass,

 

I think the first one is catchweed.  is it kinda vine like and the leaves a little sticky like velcro?  Tough to tell from the picture but I think I see clusters of the leaves (usually 8 around a center point on the vine) and the distinctive shape (long and skinny like the blade of a ceiling fan).

 

 

 

The second is tough to tell from the picture.  I see a bunch of crabgrass in the top left of the picture, but that's not what you're asking about.  The cluster in the middle looks like Poa, though its later in the year than I'd expect it.  I think its more of a late spring and early summer weed.  Yours does look pretty mature though.  Here's one for reference.

 

[casts_by_fly]

On 8/2/2022 at 6:14 PM, 12poundbass said:

A little update. A fellow member sent me a PM talking about lawns so I figured I’d give a bit of an update. In typical 12poundbass fashion I had my hopes set a tad too high. This isn’t the greatest year to start a lawn and since we didn’t move until mid May I was off to a late start.
 

The grass is growing but so are the weeds. The typical crabgrass is growing and two other unknown intruders. I did spray a weed killer concentrate in June sometime and that seemed to help a bit but it seems what died was quickly replaced. I’ve watered pretty heavily until about two weeks ago and I slowed down because we started getting rain. I haven’t done a fertilizer yet, so my question to you grass experts what are these two weeds I’m frequently seeing, do I fertilize, and what do you use to eradicate these weeds? 
 

I do plan to seed again in the fall. 
 

Weed 1:

 

Weed 2:

 

 

how many different weeds can you find in this picture?!?

this is our dog yard and it’s going to be torn up when we get our back patio redone this month. I’ve not done a whole lot to maintain it this year. For the eagle eyed observers you’ll see crabgrass, clover, Japanese stiltweed, nutsedge, creeping Charlie, and spurge. There might be some Poa hanging around too, it was there earlier this year. This bit of yard is still ten times better than the rest of the yard was last year. And I still have a bunch of stiltweed that I’m trying to sort out. The good news is that the acclaim I sprayed it with last Saturday looks to be taking a toll. The stiltweed is browning everywhere that was sprayed and it should be dry and crispy in another week. That’s just in time to get it cleared and broken away for seeding in a month or so.
 

 

[TnRiver46]

6 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

how many different weeds can you find in this picture?!?

this is our dog yard and it’s going to be torn up when we get our back patio redone this month. I’ve not done a whole lot to maintain it this year. For the eagle eyed observers you’ll see crabgrass, clover, Japanese stiltweed, nutsedge, creeping Charlie, and spurge. There might be some Poa hanging around too, it was there earlier this year. This bit of yard is still ten times better than the rest of the yard was last year. And I still have a bunch of stiltweed that I’m trying to sort out. The good news is that the acclaim I sprayed it with last Saturday looks to be taking a toll. The stiltweed is browning everywhere that was sprayed and it should be dry and crispy in another week. That’s just in time to get it cleared and broken away for seeding in a month or so.
 

 

Sounds like you’ve got all kinds of invaders haha. The stiltweed is very common around here, it was used on all the old logging roads to prevent erosion and of course spread like wildfire 

[gim]

6 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

this is our dog yard and it’s going to be torn up when we get our back patio redone this month

What’s that thing in the middle of the yard lol

[TnRiver46]

2 minutes ago, gimruis said:

What’s that thing in the middle of the yard lol

I’m guessing top of a well pump 

[casts_by_fly]

Well pump. We have well and septic but gas and electric.

 

stiltweed is very common here too.  Never realized it until I figured out what it is. Now I see it everywhere. Once it’s in your yard it’s tough to get out. Glyphosate kills it the same as it kills everything. I sprayed the woods edges to contain the spread back into the yard. In the yard though it’s pretty much fenoxaprop that kills it but not grass. I’m hopeful I can get 90% of it in this last spraying since I need to start over seeding in a couple weeks. 

[TnRiver46]

On 3/28/2022 at 12:39 PM, TnRiver46 said:

I got lucky and bought a house with zoysia grass. It’s lush in summer and totally dormant from about Halloween to May. Low maintenance haha. 

Revisiting my post, I’ve also been very lucky and never had to spray any chemicals on my yard. That zoysia takes over all other grass by mid summer. I have some onions and nutsedge in the spring but I can just wait and it gets overtaken when heat arrives in may/june

[gim]

I moved in May and the property I bought was a bit of a work in progress when it comes to the yard.  After getting an in-ground sprinkler system installed in late July, and then getting ideal grass growing conditions in August (cooler with consistent rain), my grass is starting to look how I want it to.  I put some soil and seed down about 2 weeks ago in the areas they ripped up and its growing well.  Its actually tough to tell where they ripped up the lawn to install the water lines now.

[roadwarrior]

Looks great!

[12poundbass]

8 hours ago, gimruis said:

I moved in May and the property I bought was a bit of a work in progress when it comes to the yard.  After getting an in-ground sprinkler system installed in late July, and then getting ideal grass growing conditions in August (cooler with consistent rain), my grass is starting to look how I want it to.  I put some soil and seed down about 2 weeks ago in the areas they ripped up and its growing well.  Its actually tough to tell where they ripped up the lawn to install the water lines now.

Now the big question, did they cut your phone or cable line in the process of installing you sprinkler system? 

[gim]

2 hours ago, 12poundbass said:

Now the big question, did they cut your phone or cable line in the process of installing you sprinkler system? 

Lol nope! The utility companies came out and marked the electrical, cable, and natural gas lines with spray paint the day before.

[12poundbass]

25 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Lol nope! The utility companies came out and marked the electrical, cable, and natural gas lines with spray paint the day before.

That’s good! That’s the business I’m in is utility locating, so it always on my mind. Chances are pretty good the company I work for was at your house for at least one of the locates.

 

You’d be amazed how many utilities get cut even though they’re marked out. I sometimes think contractors see the paint and flags and the think ‘dig here’! ?

[casts_by_fly]

11 hours ago, gimruis said:

I moved in May and the property I bought was a bit of a work in progress when it comes to the yard.  After getting an in-ground sprinkler system installed in late July, and then getting ideal grass growing conditions in August (cooler with consistent rain), my grass is starting to look how I want it to.  I put some soil and seed down about 2 weeks ago in the areas they ripped up and its growing well.  Its actually tough to tell where they ripped up the lawn to install the water lines now.

That’s looking great for August. It’s ready to eat in prep for winter. 
 

Do you know what your varietal mix is?  It looks pretty rye from the color in spots but hard to tell. 

[gim]

12 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

That’s looking great for August. It’s ready to eat in prep for winter. 
 

Do you know what your varietal mix is?  It looks pretty rye from the color in spots but hard to tell. 

It’s Kentucky Bluegrass. I’ve gotten about 6 inches of rain over the past 3 weeks, combined with cooler temperatures, it has really filled in nice. I’m going to put a fall fertilizer/winterizer down in a month before the leaves begin to fall.

[casts_by_fly]

30 minutes ago, gimruis said:

It’s Kentucky Bluegrass. I’ve gotten about 6 inches of rain over the past 3 weeks, combined with cooler temperatures, it has really filled in nice. I’m going to put a fall fertilizer/winterizer down in a month before the leaves begin to fall.

Excellent choices. 
 

we have had about 1.5” of rain over the past 12 weeks so I’m starting to see where my irrigation is missing (and what I just fixed). However, the temps have dropped enough that I just overseesed most of the yard and fresh seeded what I leveled a week ago. If everything germinates to plan then in 4 weeks it should be looking great. 

[schplurg]

I have a feeling it will be illegal here one day to have a lawn (drought-ridden Cali).

 

It's weird for me seeing this thread. We have a hotline here where you can call and report people for wasting water. not for having a lawn though, not yet.

 

I actually like the new front yards people have made, low water usage stuff. It looks cool. Most people don't even use their lawns for anything. Dogs and cats however love them. Last time I put in a lawn that turned out to be its main use.

 

Funny watching people through my cameras pretending not to notice their dog crapping. Hey dog owners who do this: it's obvious to the rest of us.

[gim]

10 hours ago, schplurg said:

I have a feeling it will be illegal here one day to have a lawn (drought-ridden Cali).

 

It's weird for me seeing this thread. We have a hotline here where you can call and report people for wasting water. not for having a lawn though, not yet.

 

I may have stated this in another thread a while ago, but in the western half of the country it really doesn't make a whole lotta sense anymore to have a lawn.  Grass requires a substantial amount of water and that is becoming a dire situation out west.  I believe that Las Vegas has actually now made it illegal to have grass on residential properties.

 

Two weeks ago the Dept of the Interior just announced massive water cuts for states that use water from the Colorado River basin.  Arizona took the brunt of that since they are only in "junior" water rights status.  They have so many golf courses there it wastes so much water.  We need to be focusing on using the water for other essential purposes now, like agriculture and every day urban use, not golf.

 

What I also find to be very strange is that a lot of people have moved to some of these western cities lately.  Cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas have seen their population grow.  People need to start thinking long term here.  Water is not an endless resource in the west anymore.

[TnRiver46]

4 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

I may have stated this in another thread a while ago, but in the western half of the country it really doesn't make a whole lotta sense anymore to have a lawn.  Grass requires a substantial amount of water and that is becoming a dire situation out west.  I believe that Las Vegas has actually now made it illegal to have grass on residential properties.

 

Two weeks ago the Dept of the Interior just announced massive water cuts for states that use water from the Colorado River basin.  Arizona took the brunt of that since they are only in "junior" water rights status.  They have so many golf courses there it wastes so much water.  We need to be focusing on using the water for other essential purposes now, like agriculture and every day urban use, not golf.

 

What I also find to be very strange is that a lot of people have moved to some of these western cities lately.  Cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas have seen their population grow.  People need to start thinking long term here.  Water is not an endless resource in the west anymore.

Western ag wastes a lot of water too, an almond tree requires some ungodly amount of water to produce one pound of almonds. I could eat one pound of almonds and still he hungry. People gotta make money somehow though

[gim]

9 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Western ag wastes a lot of water too, an almond tree requires some ungodly amount of water to produce one pound of almonds.

That is true.  But given the choice between golf courses and agriculture for water usage, I think it should be going to agriculture.  Having golf courses all over the Arizona desert makes very little sense.

[TnRiver46]

2 minutes ago, gimruis said:

That is true.  But given the choice between golf courses and agriculture for water usage, I think it should be going to agriculture.  Having golf courses all over the Arizona desert makes very little sense.

Tell that to my buddy in Scottsdale that plays golf several times a week haha. Or the courses that make a ton of money off him 

[roadwarrior]

15 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Western ag wastes a lot of water too, an almond tree requires some ungodly amount of water to produce one pound of almonds. 

  Yeah, and growing corn and alfalfa in the desert makes no sense either.

[TnRiver46]

2 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

  Yeah, and growing corn and alfalfa in the desert makes no sense either.

Yeah but it turns a profit (sometimes)

 

I bet the golf course makes more money

[schplurg]

5 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Western ag wastes a lot of water too, an almond tree requires some ungodly amount of water to produce one pound of almonds. I could eat one pound of almonds and still he hungry. People gotta make money somehow though

 

According to what I just read it takes 1.1 gallons of water per almond (1900 per pound). And amazingly I see new almond orchards all the time, locally and in the central valley. A lot of them. It just boggle$ the mind.

 

But then who can stop them? Is there a cap on almond orchards? Should there be? The agriculture industry uses most of the water. Lawns are a very small percentage. 

 

Look at Jackson, Mississippi. Out of water. They saw it coming for many years yet nothing was done. Too much money to be made.

[TnRiver46]

33 minutes ago, schplurg said:

 

According to what I just read it takes 1.1 gallons of water per almond (1900 per pound). And amazingly I see new almond orchards all the time, locally and in the central valley. A lot of them. It just boggle$ the mind.

 

But then who can stop them? Is there a cap on almond orchards? Should there be? The agriculture industry uses most of the water. Lawns are a very small percentage. 

 

Look at Jackson, Mississippi. Out of water. They saw it coming for many years yet nothing was done. Too much money to be made.

Always about cash money! Almonds are a super food but dang I wouldn’t mind something a little more tasty haha. Heck I think I’d rather just have all the water to drink 

[schplurg]

7 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Always about cash money! Almonds are a super food but dang I wouldn’t mind something a little more tasty haha. Heck I think I’d rather just have all the water to drink 

 

We need the water to fight the fires!