Lawn and Landscape

70 bails of pine needles fit in a short bed pickup. I did not drive home from the store like this. I buy them from Zapata's, but his truck and trailer are too big to come down my driveway and turn around so we load my truck in the court. $4 per bail delivered!

image.jpg
 
I like pine needles but there's way to many snakes 'round here lol. I don't do well with snakes... If I know they aren't poisonous I let them live but still don't care for Em too much...
 
RobMcBee said:
way to many snakes 'round here
Click to expand...

Two dead copperheads here in the last four days between us and the next door neighbor. That makes eight total this year.
 
shawn said:
Two dead copperheads here in the last four days between us and the next door neighbor. That makes eight total this year.
Click to expand...
That's exactly what I mean lol!! I've heard/been told that they like the pine needles.
 
Got all the rest of my lawn done over the past two days. I have a question for the experts posting in this thread. The weather forecast is calling for a low of 35 deg Sunday and 34 deg on Monday. Any worries about damage to the seed? Should I avoid watering for those days?
 
Good question! I have 1" sprouts coming up all over the place, I also spread ore seed over the whole lawn since I had some leftover after doing the back.
 
That old seed that I had left over from last year and put down about 2 weeks ago has come up just fine.

Luckily, the vast majority of the seed that I put down 2 weeks ago did not get washed away during all the rain. I only had one area get washed out, and I reseeded it Monday.
 
drkelly said:
Got all the rest of my lawn done over the past two days. I have a question for the experts posting in this thread. The weather forecast is calling for a low of 35 deg Sunday and 34 deg on Monday. Any worries about damage to the seed? Should I avoid watering for those days?
Click to expand...

Josh Guffey told me this about watering and cold weather.
Keep watering it until Christmas then you can quit, watering before a hard freeze is actually beneficial to young grass it helps to keep it moist without freezing the tiny cell walls of the individual grass blades
In easy terms, keep watering it and keep fertilizing, spring time you are going to shine
 
ncsutj said:
Josh Guffey told me this about watering and cold weather.
Keep watering it until Christmas then you can quit, watering before a hard freeze is actually beneficial to young grass it helps to keep it moist without freezing the tiny cell walls of the individual grass blades
In easy terms, keep watering it and keep fertilizing, spring time you are going to shine
Click to expand...
This is exactly right. The grass plants drying out is their worst enemy. They have natural sugars that work as antifreeze, so to speak, but the can't work if they're dry. A good winter fertilizer that has iron and a slow release nitrogen will help get it trough the winter.
 
Considering it was just dead thatch and dirt 2 weeks ago, my lawn is looking pretty good!
Grass is still very immature and skinny but is coming in great.

This old phone I am using til my new one arrives has a sucky camera....

ai7.photobucket.com_albums_y252_ponykilr_20151017_073401.jpg

ai7.photobucket.com_albums_y252_ponykilr_20151017_073409.jpg

ai7.photobucket.com_albums_y252_ponykilr_20151017_073322.jpg
 
I suppose I need to read up on this thread. My new house comes with a little over an acre, but only a third of that is yard (rest is wooded). I've got a handful of very large pine trees in the yard. How do you generally deal with loads of pine needles on the roof? I was just thinking every week or so to throw up a ladder and hit it with a leaf blower or something to knock them down. I foresee lots of gutter cleaning.

I've also got a fair amount of fruit trees. Crab apple, golden delicious apple, Asian pear, peach, some kiwi vines, and grape vines. Any particulars when it comes to taking care of them? It's also got a chicken coop, although I have no idea if I'll use it.
 
The best plan, if you can keep it up is to blow the roof and gutters clear weekly. Cleaning nasty rotted crap out of gutters once per year SUCKS. Keeping them clean is WAY easier than replacing rotted trim and rafter ends.

If you have a lot of pines, you need lime in the soil.
You can have it tested but it would be very safe to put out 100lbs per 1000 sq ft (unless you have centipede, it loves acidic soil) every spring and fall.

Fruit trees can suffer from many pests. I like Bayer Tree and Shrub (has Imidicloprid) because it is absorbed into the tree and kills bugs that munch the foliage.
Read up on it, You have a cut off time for last treatment before fruit comes off to allow the active ingredient to degrade.
If you have deer galore, wrap some fence around the fruit trees or they will decimate it.

Fungus on fruit trees is a problem too. Immunox is an inexpensive chem to spray leaves when weather is wet and hot. It is also THE secret to good looking Hosta plants.

Grape vines are a science unto themselves and have very specific care needs to perform their best. They need to be trimmed late Jan/early Feb and only certain parts should be clipped.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've got a lot of sprouts in my front yard but the back is still questionable. Had to let it dry out.
 
RobMcBee said:
I've got a lot of sprouts in my front yard but the back is still questionable. Had to let it dry out.
Click to expand...

I am in the same boat. Everything i seeded before all the rain looks great and i mowed it for the first time yesterday. Everywhere i seeded a week ago is still just laying there despite all the watering that i have been doing.
 
I just resumed the schedule on my irrigation system today. I had been doing the zones individually as needed so the wet spots could dry out. Hopefully it will all even out now...
 
image.jpeg
RobMcBee said:
I've got a lot of sprouts in my front yard but the back is still questionable. Had to let it dry out.
Click to expand...

Cool night temps actually make it drier out, bump your times on your irrigation controller

I usually say start your seeding September 1 for best results especially if you have irrigation

Don't be afraid to feed it also, slow release fertilizers three applications over the winter, one now, one 6 weeks later, then one around the first of the year, build roots so it will stay like this through the summer
 
Last edited:
Just helped my FIL do a grade and seed job today. 5 tandems of topsoil to fill and top dress a lil over 10k sf. Couldn't have asked for a better day to play on a skid steer all day.....
 
Back
Top