The Secret To A Lush, Green Lawn..........

[cartod]

The best lawns have sprinkler systems.

[Bird]

The best lawns have sprinkler systems.

Yep, in this area at least, that's the crux of the matter; enough water. I sure can't say I have a great lawn, but each year I've been fertilizing in the Spring, with Scott's Turf Builder being the best I've found. However . . . this year I've used no fertilizer, weed killer, or insecticide except for 17.5 pounds of Tide laundry detergent and the yard looks better than it ever has.

[rsewill]

The best lawns have sprinkler systems.

And a lawn service. I was gone all the time and it seemed to rain when I wanted to fertilize. A lawn care service took care of the fertilizing, etc. Now I just mow.

[CompactTractorFan]

Yep, in this area at least, that's the crux of the matter; enough water. I sure can't say I have a great lawn, but each year I've been fertilizing in the Spring, with Scott's Turf Builder being the best I've found. However . . . this year I've used no fertilizer, weed killer, or insecticide except for 17.5 pounds of Tide laundry detergent and the yard looks better than it ever has.

What is your reasoning for using the Tide? I have never heard of this before...

[joemd11]

What is your reasoning for using the Tide? I have never heard of this before...

X2! What does Tide do for a lawn?

[aczlan]

What is your reasoning for using the Tide? I have never heard of this before...

X2! What does Tide do for a lawn?

Per: How to Use Tide Detergent on My Lawn | eHow.com it adds phosphates.

Aaron Z

[Bird]

What is your reasoning for using the Tide? I have never heard of this before...

Many years ago a neighbor told me he used to have friend who had the prettiest lawn in Dallas and the guy said he used no fertilizer except Tide laundry detergent (the powder form). And this year, another TBN member (jinman) said he uses it on his lawn to kill grubs.

I've intended to try it for a long and finally did this year. The yard probably looks better than it ever has. My only lawn problem is areas that get no sun.

[Scotty Dive]

I have resurrected quite a few lawns in my time and they all become absolutely beautiful. And here is my secret recipe.

As previously mentioned go to your local ag station and drop off a few samples of soil the test is free and it will provide you the most important part of the test the soil ph and will tell you how much lime you will need to get it to a more neutral range. If you have lots of oaks on the property they make the soil very acidic. If the Ph is not right the lawn can't see the fertilizer. When it can't see the fertilizer, it can't absorb it and you are wasting money and time. This is the first step. Now if you need a lot of lime there are different types and some are more labor but cheaper but we can talk about that later.

The next thing I do is measure out sections of my lawn and figure out the square footage. Just pace it off and do the math . Now that you have your square footage you know how many bags and how much to put down. Now, I use Lesco fertilizers- you can buy it at HD or better yet at John Deer landscapes. These guys supply all of the materials for golf course and all of the landscapers in your area. When you walk in there to buy a bag of fertilizer, they will adjust what they are selling you based on feedback from what the landscapers are experiencing out in the field this year. That's important and if you have a problem area, like a disease they can help you with a solution HD cannot.

Step 2: Fertilize. For the first application I use a pre-emergent right when the forsythia start to bloom usually around the beginning of April in Connecticut. That indicates that the soil is warm enough for weed seed to start to germinate. By this time, you should have cleared all of the left over leaves and stick and whatever left over from winter and mowed the lawn mow it short. This allows the sun to get the roots or rhizomes to help it to start growing fast. Here is one of my secrets. About a week after I do my first fertilizer I fertilize again with a 5-5-5- or a 10-10-10 garden fertilizer. It's cheap and gives an extra boost of phosphorus and potassium. The grass will turn emerald green and trust me neighbors will ask what YOUR secret is! These nutrients help in root growth - very important to have deep roots so the lawn can handle the upcoming summer drought especially important if you do not have an irrigation system.

Step 3: I fertilize at the holidays - easy to remember - so the next one is Memorial Day. You should have raised your mower height by now. If your lawn has lots of existing weeds then use a weed and feed- remember a weed and feed will not kill everything and really struggles on clover. You will need to spray and or pull any weed that the weed and feed didn't get. It can be a daunting task...but on one of my old lawns, I came home every night and pulled a section of weeds for about a half hour. After a week, I was done. Now if you don't have a lot of weeds, like a good established lawn, my second application is pre emergent instead of weed and feed. This will protect you into late July/August crab grass attack. And then either spot spray or pull any weeds you see.

Step 4: July 4th Raise the mower deck again. Better to mow twice a week and keeping the lawn tall which helps catch dew, shades out any weeds that might want to grow and actually stimulates the roots to grow deep instead of always putting up top growth. Cutting a lot off of the grass height stresses the plant! The secret is deep roots. Fertilize with an insect control.

Step 5: Labor Day. Fertilizer with iron or whatever Lesco recommends. Once the leaves are about to start falling, I start bring the mowing height down it helps the leaves to blow around. I blow my leaves off the lawn and do not mulch them in?ome do..I do not. The last cutting of the season is short again?which you keep the settings for your first couple of cuttings in the spring. I always put the cuttings back onto the lawn and I do not mow the same direction every time?and if you have a dog that makes spots, teach them to go in the woods its easy to do...and fix any bare spots with a good seed with no noxious weeds in the mix.....check the label

Winterizer I do not do a winterizer remember that 10-10-10 I had put on earlier that carries my lawn through the winter just fine. Be patient a crappy looking lawn can take a few years to become beautiful again.

[joemd11]

Interesting, I might have to try Tide on my lawn. I have a book by Jerry Baker who has several recipes for hose end sprayers that are supposed to help the lawn. Tried a few of them but didn't see much improvement. Many of his recipes call for dish washing soap plus things like beer, tobacco juice, and ammonia.

[nap61]

Bird,
You posted that you used 17.5 lbs of Tide but the link by Aczlan said to use 1tsp per gal of water then use an end of hose sprayer which would dilute it even more. Either you have a huge lawn or you are using a much stronger mix. How did you mix your solution? How did you apply it?

Norm