Thread: The Perfect Lawn

Soil test and correction is first. Site condition the right grass for conditions although less than 6 hours of sunlight will be hard to have great grass. Core aeration 2 x a year(spring and fall) and topdress with compost adds organic matter and beneficial bacteria and funguses to the soil. Mycchorizia fungus presence is a vital part of plant health. These spores attach themselves to the roots of plants and the plants provide sugar while the fungus increases root volume.

I wish my yard was a s small and as straight forward as yours. I think the perfect law would be concrete painted green! I have to work around garden beds, a pool, kids swings, sandpit and trees. The mowing isn't too bad during winter, but the summer we season is a pain. Edging the yard takes the most time working around all the beds, paths, toys and tree's. And summer wet season the grass grows fast and think, but the dry weekends to mow are fewer so when it can be mowed it's hard work.
I sometimes spot weed with roundup, but the weeds I have would take a lifetime of consistent poisoning to clear up, and birds would just drop more seed anyway.


Mick

Lawn quality is like shaving YMMV. You are the sole judge of what you are looking for. Maybe meadow grass is fine, or maybe you need that stadium quality sod. My front lawn is relatively weed free and full but my back yard is thin ( I have 2 dogs and infrequently water as the wet paws etc). My dogs are worth more to me than the lawn.

Originally Posted by bombay

have you put any potassium and phosphorous down? id be more concerned about the roots than how green it is for November

Potassium is not needed in my soil this year.

Phosphorus was topped up every other month throughout this last growing season, as per soil test results.

The Iron typically will prolong the green even after growth has stopped.

We'll see how it looks in a day or two.

Originally Posted by bill3152

Soil test and correction is first. Site condition the right grass for conditions although less than 6 hours of sunlight will be hard to have great grass. Core aeration 2 x a year(spring and fall) and topdress with compost adds organic matter and beneficial bacteria and funguses to the soil. Mycchorizia fungus presence is a vital part of plant health. These spores attach themselves to the roots of plants and the plants provide sugar while the fungus increases root volume.

Indeed, Soil Test every spring to determine the year's amendments and schedule.

I will never aerate though. I use soil conditioner instead to aerate the soil and not have the issues with weed seeds brought to the surface by core aeration. I won't topdress this year because of the 1200 liters of peatmoss used in the lawn renovation, but next year will get it. I'm not sure the bacteria in the organic matter applied in the fall will contribute much to the microherd as temps dip, the bad bacteria/molds are no longer an issue. Maybe for rust but that is all I can think of. I have already stopped the Actinovate and similar bio-fungus applications, my last one was three weeks ago.

I will be early in my nitrites and bio-fungus applications come the spring though, I don't want pythium blight or the like to rear its head on the young lawn.

Originally Posted by MickR

I wish my yard was a s small and as straight forward as yours. I think the perfect law would be concrete painted green! I have to work around garden beds, a pool, kids swings, sandpit and trees. The mowing isn't too bad during winter, but the summer we season is a pain. Edging the yard takes the most time working around all the beds, paths, toys and tree's. And summer wet season the grass grows fast and think, but the dry weekends to mow are fewer so when it can be mowed it's hard work.
I sometimes spot weed with roundup, but the weeds I have would take a lifetime of consistent poisoning to clear up, and birds would just drop more seed anyway.


Mick

Mick you might want to consider a growth inhibitor on the edging areas. One that comes to mind is PrimoMax from Syngenta. It will slow the growth around the edges or the whole lawn if you can afford that, so that you don't have to spend so much time edging. I would look into it if I were you.

BTW: What kind of grass do you have down-under?

A perfect lawn where I live; and how I am prepared to tend it is just a dream. I live in a rural area and have 12 acres of farm land with cows and sheep on it joining my block. The weed seeds of course migrate and I'm not prepared to use any chemicals to get rid of them. Also, with droughts occuring every few years, and then the water restrictions (you are not allowed to water your lawn in such times) it's impossible to keep it alive, so it dies right back to bare earth every now and again.

In times of drought i save the water for my apple trees, cherry tree and other more important things.

In summer the temperature often hits 40c+ for stretches at a time.

At the moment it's nice and green, but a mix of couch and various weeds

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

A perfect lawn where I live; and how I am prepared to tend it is just a dream. I live in a rural area and have 12 acres of farm land with cows and sheep on it joining my block. The weed seeds of course migrate and I'm not prepared to use any chemicals to get rid of them. Also, with droughts occuring every few years, and then the water restrictions (you are not allowed to water your lawn in such times) it's impossible to keep it alive, so it dies right back to bare earth every now and again.

In times of drought i save the water for my apple trees, cherry tree and other more important things.

In summer the temperature often hits 40c+ for stretches at a time.

At the moment it's nice and green, but a mix of couch and various weeds

Like home brew beer!


Mick

Originally Posted by MickR

Like home brew beer!


Mick

I did used to brew my own, but it was always too yeasty, plus it's a hassle. Might have to give it another go soon...

Nice work Seth! The lawn looks as nice as some of the beautiful Japanese western style razors you favor the classifieds with.