Questions tagged [lawn]
Low durable plants of consistent height that are grown to fill an area aesthetically, to be walked on, or as a base for sports and recreation.
689
questions
60
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Tips on lawn maintenance and weed control
I have a lawn that is growing more and more weeds as the days go by. What is the best method of tackling this problem and returning my lawn to its former lush and green self?
- 923
51
votes
12
answers
137k
views
How often should you mow a growing lawn?
During the warm months when my grass is growing, is there a mowing schedule I can use to encourage the lawn to be green and healthy? Mine often seems "unhappy" when it's been cut (goes pale, some ...
- 3,294
47
votes
3
answers
27k
views
What's an organic way to discourage crabgrass from a large "lawn"?
I have a large area that's infested with crabgrass. I'd like to use organic methods to encourage the grass mix over the crabgrass.
The fact that it's a large area means I can't afford to apply (nor ...
- 41.8k
42
votes
5
answers
29k
views
How do I encourage lawn seeds to germinate successfully?
I'm trying to repair some patches in my lawn with grass seeds, but I can't seem to get the seeds to germinate. Is there anything that can be done to encourage germination?
In addition, the weather ...
- 3,294
40
votes
4
answers
3k
views
How do I know when and how much to aerate my lawn?
I have a section of my lawn which seems prone to standing water, grass that doesn't grow very quickly, and seems very hard-packed. I think it's probably in desperate need of aeration.
What is the ...
- 1,973
36
votes
7
answers
2k
views
What is a good grass replacement plant?
I don't like mowing my lawn. Is there a grass replacement plant which:
looks like grass,
one can step on it,
does not need mowing?
- 1,598
35
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Making a yard that's settled more level?
My yard was installed when the prior owners built our house a dozen years ago. They did a decent job with the landscaping and yard. The problem is that some areas of the yard have settled and I'd like ...
- 923
32
votes
1
answer
24k
views
Can my lawn be saved or is it time to dig it up and re-sod?
The majority of the grass in my backyard has turned brown and/or died after what we believe was a chinch bug onslaught that went untreated for way too long. It is St. Augustine grass in South Florida....
- 655
31
votes
6
answers
41k
views
How can I control thistle in a lawn?
Our back fence (an iron bar fence) borders a golf course, and between us and the fairway is about 50 feet of "native" landscaping. This mostly means long, native grass (some type of crab grass?).
...
- 1,410
30
votes
9
answers
123k
views
How do I remove dandelions without damaging my lawn?
My lawn is infested with dandelions. Although they're benign, the flowers are fun to play with and the plant has several useful properties, it sure is an eyesore and I'd like to get rid of it. How can ...
- 11.2k
26
votes
6
answers
155k
views
Why do many landscapers put gravel around the base of buildings?
Where I live, I've noticed many buildings have a stone/gravel barrier between the building foundation and the lawn or flower bed. Why is this? Does it prevent insect or pest infiltration of the ...
- 369
24
votes
3
answers
7k
views
How often should I fertilize my lawn?
How often should I fertilize my lawn? Should I follow a certain schedule? I have heard of people fertilizing on around holidays [US: Easter (sometime in April), Memorial day (last week of May), fourth ...
- 365
23
votes
3
answers
18k
views
How can I tell if my lawn needs to be dethatched?
I understand that a lawn may need to be dethatched periodically so the roots of the grass can reach into the soil (instead of into the thatch layer). How do I tell if my thatch layer is getting too ...
- 1,973
23
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How do I go about planning the layout of a sprinkler network for my lawn?
There are several great questions and helpful guides on lawns and lawn-repair on this site. Since it's the lawn laying season now, I've started thinking about laying a sprinkler network prior to ...
- 11.2k
22
votes
3
answers
67k
views
How is a lumpy lawn flattened out?
My lawn has both peaks and troughs. I guess that I can just fill the troughs with lawn soil or compost, right?
But how do I flatten the peaks?
I’ve read that a water filled roller does nothing.
Has ...
- 2,914
22
votes
6
answers
11k
views
Is there any way to prevent vole lawn-destruction during snow-cover?
The open area behind our back fence is home to hundreds of voles. The hills look like this:
During the summer, I can successfully restrict their intrusion into my yard by putting poison into the ...
- 1,410
21
votes
10
answers
33k
views
Are there benefits to changing the direction you mow a lawn?
This is one of those ancient bits of "wisdom" I vaguely recall from my childhood; and now that I have a lawn which seems quite happily established, I'm looking into keeping it that way. So, I want to ...
- 659
21
votes
3
answers
29k
views
How to plant a new lawn on a hillside?
I have a hill beside my house with an approximate 25% grade. What steps can I take to get a new lawn planted on this hillside, without it being washed away with erosion? Would I need to put some ...
- 563
21
votes
7
answers
127k
views
How can we grow grass in our heavy clay yard?
My wife and I have been living in a new subdivision for the past two years and have been struggling with getting grass to fully take in our backyard. Our front yard is sod and has been doing fine, but ...
- 313
21
votes
6
answers
137k
views
Why does my grass have bright green patches?
My yard is about 6 years old (new house). When we put the yard in, the seed was equal parts Fescue, Rye, and Kentucky Bluegrass. We live in NE Ohio.
About 2-3 years ago, we started getting these ...
- 745
20
votes
7
answers
48k
views
How can I get rid of rabbits in my yard?
I have rabbits that routinely build nests in my yard. How can I get rid of the rabbits legally? I don't want some officer from the DNR knocking on my door because I improperly hunted or poisoned them.
...
- 923
20
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How is crabgrass removed from lawns?
I have some crabgrass in various patches in my lawn that I would like to remove. At the same time, I would like to fill in some patches (and the crabgrass locations) with new grass seed. I can buy ...
- 425
19
votes
4
answers
53k
views
I reseeded my lawn but the results are patchy. Do I apply further seed, or start again?
I had a tree taken down and the stump ground up. I cleared a majority of the tree mulch and laid top soil, seeded, and put some hay on top. It's been a couple of weeks and the grass is growing in ...
- 291
19
votes
4
answers
47k
views
Should I be concerned about mushrooms in my lawn?
I have an array of several different types of mushrooms popping up in my fescue. There are not enormous areas covered, the largest collection is about an 8-10 inch circle. The rest are small groups ...
- 3,509
19
votes
5
answers
364
views
What is the right watering schedule for the different areas of my front lawn?
I recently bought a house, and would like to keep my lawn looking as nice as everyone else's in my neighborhood. Right now I water every zone 5-8 minutes, every other day. This is just something I ...
- 193
19
votes
3
answers
442
views
Steps to renovating a lawn completely?
I bought a new home with a moderate size (90x40 ft) back yard. Unlike the front lawn, the back has never been planted and is pretty much home to weeds, aside from a small maple tree.
Last year I paid ...
- 1,973
18
votes
14
answers
39k
views
What did people whack weeds with before weed-whackers?
For a variety of reasons (poor outdoor storage, limited outlets, etc...) I do not want to get a gas or electric weed whacker, so I started to think of other options for maintaining the parts of my ...
- 587
18
votes
5
answers
62k
views
How do I get rid of the large cracks in my lawn due to the lack of rain?
I live in Dallas, Texas and we've been having some pretty crazy heat this year.
I try to water my lawn 3 to 4 times a week so my grass doesn't all die. My lawn is doing pretty well considering how ...
- 535
16
votes
12
answers
128k
views
Family pool on lawn all summer - what can I do to help the grass underneath recover?
Like many families with children we have a large (15 foot) inflatable paddling pool taking up part of the lawn for the entire summer period (roughly May to Oct).
When we pack away the pool, there's ...
- 9,603
16
votes
4
answers
7k
views
What is the best way to sharpen a lawn mower blade?
One of those "I really must get around to..." questions, but what is the best way to sharpen a lawn mower?
My own lawn mower is a fan blade (i.e. flat blade on a vertical axis), but for maximum ...
- 20.4k
16
votes
5
answers
19k
views
How do I remove dandelions and bull thistle from my lawn?
My backyard is completely (seriously, completely) infested with weeds -- bull thistles (or spear thistles) and dandelions (the common yellow-flower weed), to be specific.
Bull Thistle (source: ...
- 2,313
16
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Will leveling uneven lawns with extra sand kill future lawns?
I just removed my old front stoop: it was a wall of field stone, filled with a layer of pea stone and 2x8x8 cubic feet of sand, and finally covered by slate. I want to level my very uneven lawn with ...
- 489
16
votes
1
answer
783
views
What is this potential lawn replacement plant?
I found this plant invading an unirrigated school yard lawn in Everett, Washington (USDA zone 8a):
This plant is very effectively competing with the grass and might make a good lawn replacement. The ...
- 3,660
15
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How is short grass like those at miniature parks maintained?
How do they maintain very short grass like at Legoland? Is there a variation of grass that only grows this short?
I've tried maintaining a portion of grass myself in my garden that is part of a ...
- 745
15
votes
3
answers
11k
views
Is a dethatching rake significantly better for removing thatch than a regular rake?
My lawn is full of so much thatch that I can bend down and pull up handfuls. I used a steel rake to pull up some today but it is still full of thatch. I feel like I could continue raking for days and ...
- 398
15
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How often/long should I water my newly sodded lawn?
I have some new sod getting rolled within the next few days and have a few questions.
How many days out of the week will I need to water until the sod is established?
How many minutes per zone should ...
- 535
15
votes
4
answers
38k
views
How do I quickly remove crabgrass without too much manual labour?
My backyard is being overtaken with crabgrass again. It started later this year than last. In the early spring, I rented a de-thatcher/powerrake and cleaned up the year of a lot of dead material (to ...
- 1,093
14
votes
7
answers
27k
views
What kind of mower should I get for a ¾-acre lawn?
I need to mow a 3/4 acre lawn and some minor landscape on a weekly basis (getting someone else to do it is going to be a major cost)
Having never done this, I have started to do some research on ...
- 313
14
votes
2
answers
32k
views
How long do you water after planting grass?
I have just planted some grass seed to replace some grass lost after the dry summer. I have been watering it daily for 3-4 days. How long should I keep this up?
- 629
14
votes
2
answers
58k
views
When to lay turf in the UK?
There are many books & websites which will tell me the optimal time of year to lay turf.
However, laying turf requires all kinds of preparation, plus you've got to coordinate obtaining the stuff ...
- 9,603
13
votes
6
answers
7k
views
Is there evidence that a deeply watered lawn will develop deeper roots?
Everyone says "deep and infrequent" when describing how to water a lawn, but is there evidence to back up this suggestion?
I can expound on this several ways:
1) Why would one want deep roots if one ...
- 4,928
13
votes
2
answers
11k
views
What is this weedy grass and how can I control it?
I have a grassy weed with flowering seedheads at the top. What is it and how do I get rid of it in my yard?
- 1,262
13
votes
2
answers
215
views
What are the factors for lawn health?
Not sure how exactly to tackle this question. Our lawn (and the neighbors on either side) have sad & anemic front lawns. Both neighbors have tried numerous approaches, from sod to chemical baths - ...
- 241
13
votes
1
answer
63k
views
What is this tiny strawberry-like fruit found in a Southern Illinois lawn?
I live in southern Illinois, and earlier today I noticed this small red fruit in my yard. It looks kind of like a strawberry, but it's the size of a small raspberry (about 1/4 inches in diameter).
...
- 2,811
13
votes
3
answers
2k
views
What kind of lawn grass doesn't spread and is exceptionally shade tolerant?
This grass is a very good lawn grass, showed mowed and unmowed, and I would like to buy seeds for it. Of course, I can't do that unless I know what it is. It does not spread, it doesn't turn brown ...
- 51.9k
13
votes
2
answers
19k
views
Should turf be laid above, below or flush with existing ground level?
When patching a section of an existing lawn, should the turf be laid
a) very slightly above existing ground level (to allow for settling)
b) very slightly below existing ground level (to give it ...
- 9,603
12
votes
2
answers
11k
views
Will leaving fallen leaves on the lawn during winter damage the grass?
I have a lot of leaves on my lawn (in Oklahoma). Will it hurt the grass if I leave the leaves there over the winter?
- 629
12
votes
2
answers
556
views
What is a good strategy to fix up a lawn in winter?
I have an issue with my lawn.
There is a huge patch of dead grass just below a covered area. The area gets plenty of sun, but I guess it just does not get enough water.
What is a good strategy to ...
- 313
12
votes
1
answer
1k
views
My lawn is full of wild strawberries. What else can thrive in my soil?
My lawn seems to have more wild strawberries than grass (especially in the shady areas), which means it needs some work. But if it can support strawberries, there must be some great fruits/vegetables/...
- 1,310
12
votes
1
answer
10k
views
When is the best/acceptable time to perform a fall core aeration and seeding on a lawn?
I live in Southern NJ, USA (Mid Atlantic/Northeast region). I recently contracted with a (well known, national) lawn care company to perform some maintenance on my lawn (aeration, fertilizers, ...
- 1,093