ELI5 how to fix my yard

RatLabGuy

RatLabGuy

You look like a monkey and smell like one too
Joined
May 18, 2005
Location
Churchville, MD
I'll admit I hate yardwork and I rarely do any kind of maintenance. Last couple years have been slack and did nothing except move. Adding a fenced pen area for Chief really was the final nail.

What is the course of action here? Just tear it all up? Spray... what?
20210326_185155.jpg
 
Not throwing him under the bus, but You need @RQ's "how to grow grass"... did it a couple years in W-S and was only a couple notches from the the "Yard of the Month" neighbors!
Of course, that's only because my implementation lacked commitment, not his instructions...
 
McCracken said:
A soil test would really benefit you. If you don't like doing that then just lime the piss out of it come Fall and lay down some triple 13 right now and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Why not just spray grass and weed killer and kill off everything and then start over
 
RatLabGuy said:
Why not just spray grass and weed killer and kill off everything and then start over
Click to expand...

If you do a cool season grass now, it'll all die in June or July due to lack of established roots. Gotta wait until September.
 
RatLabGuy said:
I'll admit I hate yardwork and I rarely do any kind of maintenance. Last couple years have been slack and did nothing except move. Adding a fenced pen area for Chief really was the final nail.

What is the course of action here? Just tear it all up? Spray... what?
View attachment 341724
Click to expand...
You're in MD? AND a dog lives in here? Fert the hell out of it and hope for the best. Seriously, are you in MD? Let's go from there.
 
R Q said:
You're in MD? AND a dog lives in here? Fert the hell out of it and hope for the best. Seriously, are you in MD? Let's go from there.
Click to expand...
Yes, in MD, near PA and DE.
Yes, this is where doggy runs around and provides his own fertilizer.

I don't really care if it dosn't look fantastic. Would like for it to not be completely terrible. There are some places where there are patches that grow really well and really thick. but thats only like 20% of the total surfacce area.
 
Then you're a bit out of my area of expertise. Y'all most likely use bluegrass and probably do aerate , seed, and fert in the spring. I do see some weed but it can be sprayed out after the seeding occurs and once you've mowed 2-3 times. So just follow guidelines for the above and water it good once done and that should be your best bet.
A doggy area is tough because they trample and poop and pee, all bad for the lawn. I would lime it asap if it's not been done lately. I wouldnt kill it all and start over though, since you're not worried about perfection, just add some green and growth to what you've got.
 
Last edited:
shawn said:
His weather is pretty much the same as Greensboro, NC. There's going to be a hot, dry spell in July/Aug with highs in the 90s and low 100s possible. The "summer" is probably about 4-6 weeks shorter than in Raleigh, but should be similar to G'boro/WS.
Click to expand...
Yep. The weather here is pretty similar as when I lived in Winstron. Summers are hot and humid, starting my mid June and miserable in early August. Winters are cold but not constantly freezing
And the dryness of summer is always up for grabs. We get random summer dumpings too. They just don't last a long time.
 
So then thats just aerate the piss out of it, seed, and fertilize? In that order? Then spray weed killer?
 
It looks like a small area in the fence? l'd aerate the piss out of it, spread lime, and starter fertlizer. Wait a week or 2, or 2 good rains and spread plenty of seed, maybe 2 kinds/brands/mixes. When the grass dies from the heat you'll still have the weeds. You might want to fence off the septic field so you can have the dog spread his stuff around both areas and help you have decent grass in both "pastures".
 
mommucked said:
You might want to fence off the septic field so you can have the dog spread his stuff around both areas and help you have decent grass in both "pastures".
Click to expand...
Yeah this is only a small part of the whole back yard. When we got the dog there were trees in a lot of inconvenient places and we had no idea where the property lines were. Now all that is resolved, and I may just take down the fence and try an underground fence.
 
Back
Top