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The Third Annual New England Lawn and Garden Thread


Damage In Tolland

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after i posted, i thought maybe there is crabgrass this early (even though old growth goes dormant in the fall) with the mild winter and lack of a deep frost here by the water, weeds and some of my annuals never died off. walking my dogs yesterday i noticed that crab grass was actively growing next to the pavement. suspect the added warmth from the pavement has something to do with that.only solution i have found is pre emergent and pulling by hand whatever grows

i should add i also use weed b gon , once or twice a year, love it, but i like to pull the crabgrass to remove the seeds

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Two questions for the lawn geniuses here.

1. What's the protocal for mowing after overseeding?

2. Any advice on how to rid yourself of Japanese knotweed? I'm beginning to think I'm going to have to put down a landscape cover and then get a ton of loam to cover it and start a whole new lawn. I suppose the other option is to just clear the whole area, get a ton of loam and start from scratch. Plan B has its benefits as that would also clear out a ton of smallish and several larger stumps left over from some of clearing expeditions. But I expect that could costs some bucks I'm reluctant to fork over.

Bump.

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Just cut down all the trees, flame throw the affected areas and then pave it.

Lol.

MPM, is the Japanese knotweek the weed that gets to be like 6' high with nasty thorns, a reddish stalk and grows like crazy?

We have that and it is unstoppable... I spend half the summer cutting it...I hate it so much

No. Not sure what your stuff is. The knotweed is a bamboo-type grass (?). It has similar coloring to rhubarb. It does grow to like 6' if you don't keep it in check. But if you leave an area unchecked, you could litterally have an area that has you thinking your walking through a cornfield in late summer.

Also, this stuff can probably grow 3-6" a day in the right conditions. It has me mowing that one area constantly. Awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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MPM, is the Japanese knotweek the weed that gets to be like 6' high with nasty thorns, a reddish stalk and grows like crazy?

We have that and it is unstoppable... I spend half the summer cutting it...I hate it so much

Are you asking about raspberry bushes again? LOL.

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after i posted, i thought maybe there is crabgrass this early (even though old growth goes dormant in the fall) with the mild winter and lack of a deep frost here by the water, weeds and some of my annuals never died off. walking my dogs yesterday i noticed that crab grass was actively growing next to the pavement. suspect the added warmth from the pavement has something to do with that.only solution i have found is pre emergent and pulling by hand whatever grows

I'll shoot some photos Sunday. I'll tell you this...this stuff is super resistant to chemicals. Maybe it isn't crabgrass...but it's a nightmare.

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Are you asking about raspberry bushes again? LOL.

LOL. My wife actually planted some raspberry and blackberries. I asked her why she's planted weeds (especially when they're growing wild at the edge of the woods out back. To make matters worse, she's' put them right near my station, too, so as they grow I'm going to need to find a new siting lest my observations get corrupted.

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I thought last year it might be raspberry, but I compared it to some raspberry bushes we have (wild ones). Similar, but slightly different leaves and stalks are pretty different.

Good memory though. Maybe I can take a pic

Okay, if you ruled out the most likely suspect, then I don't know what it could be. My memory is pretty random and useless, nothing like Will's. Remember him?

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Two questions for the lawn geniuses here.

1. What's the protocal for mowing after overseeding?

2. Any advice on how to rid yourself of Japanese knotweed? I'm beginning to think I'm going to have to put down a landscape cover and then get a ton of loam to cover it and start a whole new lawn. I suppose the other option is to just clear the whole area, get a ton of loam and start from scratch. Plan B has its benefits as that would also clear out a ton of smallish and several larger stumps left over from some of clearing expeditions. But I expect that could costs some bucks I'm reluctant to fork over.

Good luck!

http://www.noknotweed.org/treat-knotweed.html

It's terrible around here.

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Question for all you lawn experts.

Our yard is a lot of little gardens, bushes and fruit trees etc amongst a sort of crab grass/weed lawn. My wife would like a nice section of grass near the house. I'm thinking of starting with maybe like 1/3 of an acre. Since it's all weeds and packed soil right now I will need to roto-till and top dress etc. Although this is probably an ideal week to seed due to the rain, I would not be able to get all the prep work done until at least the end of the week.

Is mid-May too late to start a lawn? Would I be better off waiting until fall? Best mix of seed?

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Question for all you lawn experts.

Our yard is a lot of little gardens, bushes and fruit trees etc amongst a sort of crab grass/weed lawn. My wife would like a nice section of grass near the house. I'm thinking of starting with maybe like 1/3 of an acre. Since it's all weeds and packed soil right now I will need to roto-till and top dress etc. Although this is probably an ideal week to seed due to the rain, I would not be able to get all the prep work done until at least the end of the week.

Is mid-May too late to start a lawn? Would I be better off waiting until fall? Best mix of seed?

I'm getting to the point where I think it may be too late to do much more to my lawn. As long as daytime temps are not to warm and it is receiving enough moisture you may be ok. It may be better to wait. As far as grass variety, I prefer a seed that will require less maintenace as far as water and is resistant to heat/drought condtions. For this reason, I am avoiding any bluegrass and am sticking with a TTTF. I just completed my whole front lawn and am waiting for the seed to germinate. I dropped about 2-3 yards of topsoil/compost ans ~30# of seed on it over the past week.

If you have mostly weeds now you may want to treat that before you get into anything else for it.

On a side note, my lawn has responded nicely to the Alfalfa with the rains over the past week or so. It's slow to break down and work its way into the soil. I'm a believer in the stuff. 20# / 1,000sf of lawn.

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I'm getting to the point where I think it may be too late to do much more to my lawn. As long as daytime temps are not to warm and it is receiving enough moisture you may be ok. It may be better to wait. As far as grass variety, I prefer a seed that will require less maintenace as far as water and is resistant to heat/drought condtions. For this reason, I am avoiding any bluegrass and am sticking with a TTTF. I just completed my whole front lawn and am waiting for the seed to germinate. I dropped about 2-3 yards of topsoil/compost ans ~30# of seed on it over the past week.

If you have mostly weeds now you may want to treat that before you get into anything else for it.

On a side note, my lawn has responded nicely to the Alfalfa with the rains over the past week or so. It's slow to break down and work its way into the soil. I'm a believer in the stuff. 20# / 1,000sf of lawn.

Pics?

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Question for all you lawn experts.

Our yard is a lot of little gardens, bushes and fruit trees etc amongst a sort of crab grass/weed lawn. My wife would like a nice section of grass near the house. I'm thinking of starting with maybe like 1/3 of an acre. Since it's all weeds and packed soil right now I will need to roto-till and top dress etc. Although this is probably an ideal week to seed due to the rain, I would not be able to get all the prep work done until at least the end of the week.

Is mid-May too late to start a lawn? Would I be better off waiting until fall? Best mix of seed?

May is a bit late to start yes..If you had started May 1 it wouldn't have been, but realistically it sounds like mid May before you'll be able to get to it. You can still do it then, but the risk of weeds, and drought are in the mix..and with the sun as strong as it is now and getting stronger it will be a PITA to keep the soil moist as we head back into a very dry pattern next week and beyond.

If it's shady you could do it now..and not worry as much, but weeds are a concern.

The single best time to reseed or start a new lawn is September when the summer heat has cooled and sun angle lessens.

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How long is the grass?

If'it's over 3 inches you can mow it. Just make sure blade is sharp and you keep grass height high to prevent weeds and burning in the summer

Thanks!

Question for all you lawn experts.

Our yard is a lot of little gardens, bushes and fruit trees etc amongst a sort of crab grass/weed lawn. My wife would like a nice section of grass near the house. I'm thinking of starting with maybe like 1/3 of an acre. Since it's all weeds and packed soil right now I will need to roto-till and top dress etc. Although this is probably an ideal week to seed due to the rain, I would not be able to get all the prep work done until at least the end of the week.

Is mid-May too late to start a lawn? Would I be better off waiting until fall? Best mix of seed?

Chris--we completed a deck last July. To put it in, they had some machinerary digging up the whole place in order to get the footers in. Long and short of it, once it was completed, we had a strip of 8 x 25 that was bare dirt. We put down some fresh loam (had it delivered from the such and such farm in Bernardston) and some Scott's sun/shade mix. Watered daily and it took in mid-July. It's the best grass on the whole lawn today. Don't recommend that timing, but it worked for us.

Of course, with the exception of July 22, that month featured highs mostly in the 70's low 80's, so not much issue in the heat area.

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I'm getting to the point where I think it may be too late to do much more to my lawn. As long as daytime temps are not to warm and it is receiving enough moisture you may be ok. It may be better to wait. As far as grass variety, I prefer a seed that will require less maintenace as far as water and is resistant to heat/drought condtions. For this reason, I am avoiding any bluegrass and am sticking with a TTTF. I just completed my whole front lawn and am waiting for the seed to germinate. I dropped about 2-3 yards of topsoil/compost ans ~30# of seed on it over the past week.

If you have mostly weeds now you may want to treat that before you get into anything else for it.

On a side note, my lawn has responded nicely to the Alfalfa with the rains over the past week or so. It's slow to break down and work its way into the soil. I'm a believer in the stuff. 20# / 1,000sf of lawn.

Thanks Bob! I need to research grass varieties

May is a bit late to start yes..If you had started May 1 it wouldn't have been, but realistically it sounds like mid May before you'll be able to get to it. You can still do it then, but the risk of weeds, and drought are in the mix..and with the sun as strong as it is now and getting stronger it will be a PITA to keep the soil moist as we head back into a very dry pattern next week and beyond.

If it's shady you could do it now..and not worry as much, but weeds are a concern.

The single best time to reseed or start a new lawn is September when the summer heat has cooled and sun angle lessens.

Thanks Kevin! I may take my chances with the weather and at least get some seede down in the next week.

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Thanks!

Chris--we completed a deck last July. To put it in, they had some machinerary digging up the whole place in order to get the footers in. Long and short of it, once it was completed, we had a strip of 8 x 25 that was bare dirt. We put down some fresh loam (had it delivered from the such and such farm in Bernardston) and some Scott's sun/shade mix. Watered daily and it took in mid-July. It's the best grass on the whole lawn today. Don't recommend that timing, but it worked for us.

Of course, with the exception of July 22, that month featured highs mostly in the 70's low 80's, so not much issue in the heat area.

Thanks Mike.

Yeah, the issue for me will be keeping it moist due to hours of direct sun. I'd rather not deal with putting down hay to cover it.

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