Aerator/Seeding/roller use and procedure?

[oldballs]

Sounds like to me that Old Red is giving good advice. I can only add that I cover 3 acres walking behind an Earthway Even Spread rotary spreader. It seemed like the cheapest, overall easiest way to spread fertilizer and weed killer/preventers. But I am retired and a pretty healthy old gizzer. It holds about 100 lbs if full and you are man enough to push it uphill.

Converting an old pasture to a decent lawn will probably take a couple seasons and then it gets easier to spot spray invaders. But it is costly as opposed to just mowing whatever grows.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Old Red]

Sounds like to me that Old Red is giving good advice. I can only add that I cover 3 acres walking behind an Earthway Even Spread rotary spreader. It seemed like the cheapest, overall easiest way to spread fertilizer and weed killer/preventers. But I am retired and a pretty healthy old gizzer. It holds about 100 lbs if full and you are man enough to push it uphill.

Converting an old pasture to a decent lawn will probably take a couple seasons and then it gets easier to spot spray invaders. But it is costly as opposed to just mowing whatever grows.

Cheers,
Mike

Thanks....and you just gave some amazing advice yourself. Everyone want to use their tractors to spread fertilizer....but I spread 200 lbs of fertilizer in this spreader Sunday over an acre in 20 minutes from start to finish....that included cutting open bags pouring in etc. etc. This thing is a fantastic spreader.....and I mean fantastic....it has had 1,000s of pounds of fertilizer and pelletized lime and tall fescue grass seed run through it. Can't say enough good about this earth way spreader. The only place where I differ is that I like he 50 lb capacity hopper....however.....I could fill up the 100 lb spreader only half full and I would have the same thing I reckon.

That is not me pushing it....I am much healthier than that feller. I bought mine April 4, 2012 from Amazon.

 

[Streetcar]

Rock crawler
Have your soil tested. In Cincinnati I apply balance fertilizer 17-17-17 in spring with pre- emergent in it, in fall apply 24-3-3 near Labor Day and Halloween. Seed in September.
Moles eat all types of insects, only apply grub killer if they are heavy in your yard. Otherwise you are wasting money.
I get fertilizer and seed from landscape supply company.
This is for sports fields
I roll only the areas that the teams tear up.
As others have said lawn care is not cheap, but least expensive way is to do it right the first time

 

[oldballs]

As to Moles, I've become good as a mole trapper with the old Victor plunger spike traps. One Mole to a newbie can look like a whole army. It takes some experience to set the traps and get a kill right away.

 

[Rock Crawler]

I'd say half of my 2.5 is extremely tunneled. My dog hunts them and kills them, but she's no match to the numbers.

 

[sixdogs]

For the projects I do, I spray 2,4-D amine in the fall when it's cold and the leaves are gone. The product is less volatile then and you kill broadleaf weeds with less collateral damage of bedding plants. It works great and make sure to do before a hard freeze. I use a 20 ft wide boom spryer but you can buy a 10 ft wide version from the farm stores that works great.

Spraying fertilizer sounds great but does not work in confined areas like edges and corners where a sprayer can't reach. I use a Vicon, now Kubota 1000 lb dry spreader and it takes just a few minutes do a beautiful job. The Earthway model posted earlier is also an excellent idea, does a good job and is perfect cardio exercise. It just takes a while. I would not be afraid of the Earthway model and use one occasionally.

For fertilizer, the best idea is to do a simple soil test and do what they say. Likely it will be a 21-2-10 or similar. You don't need the middle number--phosphorus--because most of it runs off and it's a severe pollutant in waterways. Best time for fertilizer is early summer and late fall. If you going to do it only once, go for mid November and something like 31-6-10 @ 250 lbs to the acre or whatever the soil test says.

Spring fertilizer invites disease so if you want to do it, put it on after the flush of spring is gone, say late May or early June and any fertilizer is done immediately before a soaking rain. If the ground is dry you could "burn" the grass. On gophers, moles, etc, you need plan to get rid of the grubs that are their food. A few cats does a good job too, just don't poison the cats.

 

[Streetcar]

Ohio State extension service did study that was online for turf maintenance. The Fall feedings are the most important for good turf growth. Summer is worst time to feed

 

[Old Red]

Yes, I only do fall feedings except in the case of a pre-emergent in late winter....February is a good time. Then I will usually switch to spray. You can also get granular pre-emergent without any nitrogen in it.