Lawn Maintenance

As I mentioned back in the spring I don't understand why people build nice houses and then let the yards go to crap. Ryan Homes put in a really nice sodded lawn in the front yards of our neighborhood and a number of them are completely overrun with weeds at this point due to neglect. A little lawn maintenance can go a long way to making the grass thrive and look nice. Last week I had a landscaper that cuts my neighbor's yard come out and core aerate my yard front and back. On Saturday morning I made visits Tractor Supply Company and Lowe's to pick up everything seen in the photo below.

Six 40 pound bags of lime, a 50 pound bag of tall fescue, two bags of fertilizer, and a 5 pound bag of rye grass.

While I didn't do a soil test like I probably should have the landscaper told me the lime would help with the weeds. The tall fescue and fertilizer are self explanatory. I bought the rye grass to spread on a few thinned out spots in various parts of the yard. It's fast growing so it should help to get a decent cover before winter arrives.

One thing I'm kicking myself for at the moment is not turning our irrigation system on this year. We got so much rain in the spring and beginning of summer I never got around to calling the irrigation company to come out. By the time we stopped receiving rain a regular basis it was mid-summer and I couldn't see spending the money on it for only a couple months of use. I probably could have turned it on myself too but I just never around to bothering with it. I picked up a cheap sprinker from Lowe's but it's a bit of a pain to go outside every fifteen minutes or so and move it. (And stay dry in the process.)

It's worth noting again too how much of a difference fertilizer makes. Come late December/early January I'll put down another round of it to keep the grass looking green. Several of my neighbors are spending considerable money on TruGreen, Scotts, etc. and I've managed to accomplish much the same result for a lot less by simply following the schedule in the homeowners manual regarding lawn care.