your welcome
 

even though i am not a big fan of Seals

the thought of a newly born pure white seal
1 minute old.......
laying on the ice in the artic where every thing seems so clean
and abundant

already has pesticides in its system....

that has changed my thinking in a major way...

the Earth and it's inhabitants have reached the saturation level
for toxins and pollutants... so it's everyones responsibility

to figure just how they can personally make a difference

besides recycling newspaper or soda cans or plastic

it's about doing things the old fashioned way before
companies like Monsanto came about and made us addicts
that have to use their crap...just to grow grass...

when DDT was outlawed in America the company just sold it
to South America and south America sells produce to America

:hs:

that may be true Karl
 

and i understand the fishermans hatred of the animal
and it's perfectly justified

i'd go seal clubbing and splatter seal blood all over the ice any day
and leave them for the polar bears and artic fox to eat...

the point i was trying to make was about individual responsibility
when it comes to the obsession we americans have over the perfect lawn.

I used to watch this one idiot...walk out to his lawn every time a leaf
fell off his tree and pick that solitary leaf up over and over and over.

that's absolutely INSANE

not that i care really, but one of the reasons the Arabs hate us
is because of our insanity over growing grass..
and i can understand why......
i hate the stuff actually except for the fact it cools things down
and makes good compost.,& .mulch .........golf courses Suck!

i'd rather have IVY or clover or vegetables on my lawn instead.

but the fact remains using herbicides, insecticides, and other chemicals
is getting into everything even the nations children the same as anti depressents
are finding their way back into the drinking water in minute quantities
from flushing them down the magic toilet....bye bye pills...yeah right..
.like Arnold Swarzenager they are laughing at us saying "I'll be Back"

Now they are in the fish downstream ... too....

Arab's are jealous.
You make some very good points but its a little unrealistic. Some of the stuff you do is unconventional to say the least....cutting grass only before rain or wood ashes on grass etc. Don't get me wrong, just yesterday I spread ashes based on your advice only because I have it. I believe organic fertilizer cost 3 times more then the regular. There are lots of things people can do and should do to make this place better. IMO. Useing less would be fine, rather then going cold turkey.
I knooow I knooow ....you need every inch of your property to grow food because of the rising food costs.
How do you cut your grass...with a sickle?:D

with a sickle LOL
 

No kids or Dogs, I have had second thoughts but I am going thru with it for this season anyways

making compost isn't so hard
 

you might think it is... :hs: nope

but they charge you an arm and leg for it
when all the materials are essentially free

you take one part ground up leaves
run them over with the lawn mower
(just dont use oak leaves)
one part grass clippings
one part soil to introduce soil bacteria
(you can buy activator in a can too)
and one part manure of choice
Horse manure is always free !!!


you start the pile on top of some sticks to
allow air into the pile

then you make a 6 inch layer of each material
in the same order over and over until you
have a pile thats about 4 feet square by four feet high

you keep it watered so it's damp
like a squeezed out sponge
you can also insert a short length of perforated
drainage pipe in the center to add extra O2
and this makes the pile heat up quick

within 2 to 3 days it should be steaming
after four - six days if you shoved your hand
into the center of the pile you'd get burned
it gets THAT hot ok 160 -180 degrees

in about ten days to 12 days
the pile will reduce in size due to decomposition
by about 1/3 .... and then start to cool off

this is where you pitch fork the pile into
a second pile next to it trying to put the
outside to the middle so it'll heat up a 2nd time


water lightly (squeezed out sponge remember)
then you watch for steam again
and at the end of two- three weeks the pile
should be about half the size now
(it might take a full month )

this is where you can sift out the finer stuff
through a 1/4 inch mesh screen and save the
the coarse materials for the next pile
if done right it should smell kinda sweet

you spread this on the lawn before a rain
or set up the sprinkler.....and then watch out
because your lawn will grow like magic beans

end of lesson :wavey:

We get our compost free from our sewage treatment plant in town

Back to Lawn Care -


I have a newly seeded lawn from late last season. I currently have A LOT of Holidays in my lawn...ie: bald spots.

What's the best way to get it to FILL back in?

Re-seed those areas?

Roll out those areas?

I imagine I'll have to drop some more Loom too....

any thoughts ?

What 'I' would do is have someone go there and check it out.
Ooor. If those spots have been washed out hit them with loam, plenty seed and starter fertilizer...don't forget to roll it. You don't need a spreader, throw the seed so it falls through your fingers while throwing, same with starter. Then keep moist. Home depot also sells easier products that are used to fill in spots,, just water. I have seen good results but never used it.

you have to scratch up those areas re seed and the roll it out again

another trick is to borrrow sod from the edges - you cut six inch strips with a very sharp edger and lay them across the bare spots
depending on how big they are of course , until they are filled in

and where you borrowed the grass it will fill itself back in fairly quick
if you keep that edge watered

but you always borrow from the areas where the grass seems to grow the easiest and lay it down where the grass seems difficult to grow.

That was my plan for the larger spots, I have areas that I'll be mulching, and from those areas is where I'll pull my carpet from to fill in the big spots....but with the mini-bald spots ALL OVER the place, I guess I'm sprinkling loom and seed.

The steps I ass/ume I'll be taking.

1. spread the loom/fertilizer
2. seed the fertilized loom
3. roll the seeded fertilized loom
4. water the seeded fertilized loom
5. shoot all birds that land on watered seeded fertilized loom


Am I even remotely close???

yes good plan BC
 

but depending on the depth of the loam your about to add.....
you could sprinkle some grass seed down first and cover it
lightly with the loam and then roll it and sprinkle a little grass seed on top too....

the main objective is to get the grass seed in firm contact with the soil
and not have the sprouting grass seed dry out

for best germination you want to replant grass seed like 7 days
before the full moon which forces the water into the grass seed
via hydroscopic pressure ( it's highest at the full moon)
to achieve the highest germination rate possible :btu:

Is it too early in the season to do it now, should I wait for the fullness of the moon or warmer temps, Or just get err' done ASAP?

Also, When should spead the Lye on the Lawn??


Thanks in advance ~

nope
 

even though the last expected spring frost is approximately
on May 15th grass is very hardy and is turning green underneath wet spring snow showers and loving it....

Notice how its raining now......the moon just passed thru Pisces..

the best time to start anything new and have it last is always when the moon is in the sign of Taurus
which will be this Sunday starting at around 9:00 PM
and it'll go til monday until 9:00 PM .

So do it this sunday right after the rain clears out...then you'll have
6 days before the full moon which is just perfect...
Note: this is to ensure germination of the grass seed and not
expecting it to be an inch tall...

i have already planted peas outside and they'll push up through a inch of snow like nothing happy with the extra watering...

grass is kinda like peas....in that, you generally can't give them to much water....

the rule of thumb when planting seeds of any kind is...

have the soil depth
no more that twice the thickness of the seed when covering it...
which is why many lawn people sprinkle it on top and hope for the best...

but then your germination rate is cut in half "sometimes"
plus the sparrows have a field day

...so you can safely go with 1/8th to 1/4 inch depth
of top soil or loam on top of seed and it'll still sprout fine...

when its rolled with a roller
there's less tendency for it to dry out before the roots get a chance to make a foot hold,

because the firm contact with the soil on top of it is making contact "tightly" and prevents that.

lime
 

they sell ph meters for like 10 bucks at most nursery outlets

you push it in and it reads the ph

determine the ph first...

Let it all die, more time for the new boat! Less care too! Saves water, no chemical applications, thats really being "green" in my book!

Flaptail is Right of course
 

do it the BIGFISH way

and............. http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...n-GUYS/KYL.jpg

bump
 

this is a great thread...thanks all.
quick question....how do I seed bald spots I'll get some loam & seed)
AND prevent crabgrass???

Scotts 202932 Step 1 - Starter Fertilizer for Seeding

step one for seeding and halts for crabgrass.
best job related seminar of my winter was with the folks from Scott/Ortho/Miraclegrow..they know green.

Loam and seed it when the grass grows you need to mow it at least 3 times before you put step 1 down. Step 1 is a pre immergent and will stop the growth of grass.

crab grass -LOL
 

you grab the friggan shovel and with your right leg dig the crab grass out and throw it on the drive way to bake it dead.

the rest you stuff it back in the hole :rotf2:

thanks Karl.....just what I was looking for....something for both

Don't put fertilizer with crabcrass preventer (Halts) down until 1st or 2nd week of May! I have done this for over 20 yrs and have no crabgrass in my lawn. Crabgrass doesn't sprout until ground temp reaches about 65dF plus the barrier only last 90 days, so if you put it too early you will have late season problems. Additionally the Halts chemical barrier should not be broken, i.e. by raking!

Put down a general fertilizer now to get lawn going and Halts in about 6 weeks. I buy 2 bags of Scotts Winterizer: one for Fall and one for Spring. Mine went down 3 weeks ago!

man this lawn chit is for the birds....I guess you can't have new seed without crabgrass????? what am I missing here...:jump1:

New seed is OK now as it will have more than enough time to germinate before crabgrass season in about 5 weeks.

thanks Phil....I know what you mean about the crabgrass, late summer and it starts.....now I'm really pissed.. it looks like the 2 rhodys I planted are dying...ugggghhhh...those weren't cheap

Fools....all fools!!! They are weeds.....let the sun burn it brown and enjoy more fishing time!!:smash:

lol....your funny :rotf2:

I don't water and grass goes brown (I hope) July/August! Comes back in September.

Use Turf Builder 4 times a year of the 4 use the weed and feed varieties twice. Use grub control in the spring. cut it every week. water it every 2 days unless it rains. dethatch and aerate it every 4 to 5 years , overseed when you aerate it. Lime it as needed , determine that by soil tests.

If you do all this you will have a lawn so beautiful and healthy you will love the look of it but hate it when it grows so well you need to cut it every 4 days instead of once a week! :)

Fertilize, lime, water, primp, fuss and then (provided you do not own a well) your grass looks great for about 4 weeks then.......WATER RESTRICTIONS!!! So whats the point???? As brown as mine will be.....and I spent no time fussing over mine! All that money and time out the window!:wall:

I live in a designated lawn war zone.

If'n ya can't eat it
ferget about it :soon:

Don't know if it grows in New England but when I lived in VA I had a Zoysia lawn, turned brown in the winter and started to green when the dogwoods bloomed. Choked out absolutly everything else and the hotter and drier it got the better it looked. A little fertiliizer once a year and presto. Grows best in sandy soil...

zoysia comes in plugs and is popular out west

Fire Belly Organic Lawn Care | Natural Lawn Fertilizers | Organic Fertilizer

but here is an organic way to fertilize your lawn

notice the jugs of corn gluten

they rid your lawn of dandelion which is an indicator
that your soil ph is too high like 7.5 instead of 6.5

I live too close to the water to put stuff down on my lawn...which sucks because my lawn looks like crap until about mid june....

rosa ragosa (rose hips) will grow there

Won't be long before needs mowing!

Rocky would be proud!!!

set your mower height at 4 inches