It feels like spring, Thinking about the yard

flatheadlake · Mar 7, 2005

So, the weather here in NW Montana is now approaching 60 degrees. The lawn still looks like heck. Now I am thinking about which attachments I should get to have a lawn that makes the nieghborhood jealous. Any suggestions on how to get the best bang for your buck? Thinking aerator, dethatcher, overseeder?????? Probably be willing to spend a few thousand. Any suggestions. Thanks /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

bczoom · Mar 8, 2005

( So, the weather here in NW Montana is now approaching 60 degrees. The lawn still looks like heck.)

Flatheadlake,

Can you elaborate on what's making your yard look like heck?
Is it new and has bare spots where grass hasn't taken yet?
Old and filled with weeds?
Rough surface and needs rolling?
...

Brian

hazmat · Mar 8, 2005

Should we address you as Mr. Mayor? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Here's my favorite site for lawn care info. Cornell University Lawn Care Go Big Red 

For ongoing lawn care - you'll want an aerator & a spreader. For cool season grasses, you shouldn't need to overseed on a regular basis. I'd save the $$$ and rent that as needed. You shouldn't ever have to de-thatch. Thatch is caused by over-fertilizing your lawn.

Here is some info on aerating Kansas State Aerating your lawn (pdf)

Think green.

flatheadlake · Mar 8, 2005

The Mr. Mayor is certainly not necessary. It appears that a good aerator will run well over $1,000. I was thinking this would be a good place to start. I am currently lacking in the attachment area. Any suggestions on brands? Thanks for the replies.

bczoom · Mar 8, 2005

( It appears that a good aerator will run well over $1,000. I was thinking this would be a good place to start.)

A $1000 aerator would make your neighbors jealous but that seems like too much to me. How big is this thing? You need to tell us more about your yard (and I'll add size to the list of questions).

BTW - It was almost 60 here yesterday as well. Today it's in the teens with high winds and a covering of snow. Wind chill is right around zero. I've since postponed my thoughts of yard work

hazmat · Mar 8, 2005

A couple of tbn advertisers carry "midwest" brand aerators. I paid $600 for a 60" two years ago.

midwest aerator

flatheadlake · Mar 9, 2005

Right now I am maintaining about 1/2 acre of lawn. Soon to be building a new house, will have much more lawn then (I think). I don't think that the current lawn is that bad, but with a new tractor ones expectations should increase dramatically (shouldn't it?). I have visions of golf course fairway for some reason. So I guess the real question is what are the best tools for ongoing/annual maintenance? And which attachments are the easiest to convince your wife that you REALLY need /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

ctc1111 · Mar 27, 2005

I was also considering a de-thatcher. I was just looking at them in home depot but they were tow behind and i don't like tow behind stuff cuase then you gotta worry about it when you back up. So i was wondering if there was any for the three pt hitch on my 2210. I was also thinking back to when i was 5 years old and i remembered that my father had a front end mower with a de-thatcher on the front. So i was thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to go buy a cheap tow behind dethatcher from home depot and do some metal fab so i can hook it up to my quick hitch that gos to the 54 plow. This way the de-thatcher would pull up the thatch then i could mow it. (i'm no lawn care expert so for all i know this could be a bad idea for the lawn)

johan3400 · Mar 27, 2005

And which attachments are the easiest to convince your wife that you REALLY need /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

A push mower and a hand rake! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Dethatcher and Arifier. A mower with a roller on the back of the deck or reel type mower will give you the true striped effect seen on good fairways.

2nstonge · Mar 28, 2005

ctc1111,

I bought a JD front mount de-thatcher for my x585 last year. I paid, I think, about $250 for it and it's a solid piece of work. A real nice rig, it had a hand control so you could lever it up off the ground while in motion. With the MMM and vac/cart I was able to thatch and suck everything up in one swoop. I could see my lawn breath a sigh of relief after the mounds of dry, dead stuff was plucked out of it. Unbelievable the amount of grass clippings that were matted in.

I traded the 585 for a 4110 this winter and kept the thatcher, there isn't a factory kit to mount it to the 4110 but a custom bracket looks like it should be easy for a local shop to fabricate.

-Norm