Tell me about lawn maintenance.

[sa226]

We bought a house last October and now that the winter is slowly going away I'd like to start looking into how I can get my lawn into the pristine condition that it deserves to be.

Previous owners had a dog and didn't really care. There is lots of dead grass and a few diggin holes.

I kind of get the idea of aerating, fertilizing, seeding etc, but the back yard is very uneven and I would like to level it out. As well as fill in those diggin holes.

I have read that you can use a dirt/sand mix as a leveler and rake it throughout the yard, but should I aerate it before I do that? What is the order of things? Should I start aerating and fertilizing in May to get it filling in nicely and then level it later in the summer? Or should I level it right away, leaving my back yard in a bit of a mud pit?


Thanks.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by sa226

We bought a house last October and now that the winter is slowly going away I'd like to start looking into how I can get my lawn into the pristine condition that it deserves to be.

Previous owners had a dog and didn't really care. There is lots of dead grass and a few diggin holes.

I kind of get the idea of aerating, fertilizing, seeding etc, but the back yard is very uneven and I would like to level it out. As well as fill in those diggin holes.

I have read that you can use a dirt/sand mix as a leveler and rake it throughout the yard, but should I aerate it before I do that? What is the order of things? Should I start aerating and fertilizing in May to get it filling in nicely and then level it later in the summer? Or should I level it right away, leaving my back yard in a bit of a mud pit?


Thanks.

I had similar issues with my yard when we moved in. Wait until the summer for putting down soil, sand and seed. Aeration in a month or so will be good.

[Suzles]

The optimum day to apply grass seed in Calgary is July 15th - so you have plenty of time to do your prep. You may want to apply a weed preventer fertiliser in the next week or so to stop those first dandelions germinating. Then fertilise with a 30-0-3 six weeks after that.

[IGGYFORMVP]

Here is my two cents after dealing with yards like this for two decades in the business. First off aerate everything twice. Next power rake the entire yard. All dog piss spots will have to be hand raked in addition. Once that's done you will actually see what you have.

Next you might as well spray out all the weeds.

After that's done you can add your top soil mix and seed. I add the seed before I spread the black dirt AND I add more seed on top. But or rent a landscape rake, its a necessity if you want to get things really level. If you want to see how your levels are pound a bar in the middle of your yard and attach a string that will reach in to all corners of your yard. Pull string taught and use a line level to see how things look through out your yard. This will also show your how your grading is and prevent you from adding to much dirt in the wrong spot and messing up your water flows.


Spread a lot of seed and wait for rain. Success! (There is no magical time for seeding, rain is the key.)

Lastly, water the heck out of the area if your not getting constant rain every day.

[PepsiFree]

This might seem like a dumb question, but to even out a lawn, do you have to remove the grass everywhere and start over? Or just in the spot you're adding new soil?

[Suzles]

Originally Posted by IGGYFORMVP

Spread a lot of seed and wait for rain. Success! (There is no magical time for seeding, rain is the key.)

.

Temperature is key as well - soil has to be 62F for germination.

[puffnstuff]

Originally Posted by Suzles

Temperature is key as well - soil has to be 62F for germination.

Whats that in Canadian?

[Suzles]

Ha ha! 17c I believe.

[EverfresH15]

I have really lumpy yard, could i just get a sod roller and flatten it out?

[metallicat]

I follow the Lawn Care Nut on YouTube. Tons of great videos and tips. He's a maniac.

[GreenLantern]

I laid sod last fall, I trained my dog to pee in one spot so for most of the winter things were looking good, however she has a degenerative spine disease and her back legs took a real turn for the worse this winter, it was hard to get mad at her for not making it to her spot and I didn't always have time to carry her. So I've got some patchy spots surrounding her 'spot'. I'd like to get on top of them asap. Is the process the same for freshly laid sod? Or is there some other recommendations?

[Diemenz]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

I laid sod last fall, I trained my dog to pee in one spot so for most of the winter things were looking good, however she has a degenerative spine disease and her back legs took a real turn for the worse this winter, it was hard to get mad at her for not making it to her spot and I didn't always have time to carry her. So I've got some patchy spots surrounding her 'spot'. I'd like to get on top of them asap. Is the process the same for freshly laid sod? Or is there some other recommendations?

http://dogrocks.org

Seriously.

I went through 3 years of seeding, fertilizer, aeration and everything else I could think of and could not beat my Golden's piss spots. Bought dog rocks and change them out every 3 months and it is a night a day difference. I want to be clear that I absolutely did not think they would work and complained the entire time, heck it could even be that my lawn decided to man up the last two years. For the $19 bucks every 3 months it was worth a try for me even if it turned out to be sea monkeys.

All I did was power raked all the spots added seed and watered like no ones business. By the end of June my lawn looked the best it ever had in the 5 years we have had our dog.

[TheSutterDynasty]

We are putting more grass in our yard. Any suggestions for seed vs sod and when to do it?

[GreenLantern]

Originally Posted by Diemenz

http://dogrocks.org

Seriously.

I went through 3 years of seeding, fertilizer, aeration and everything else I could think of and could not beat my Golden's piss spots. Bought dog rocks and change them out every 3 months and it is a night a day difference. I want to be clear that I absolutely did not think they would work and complained the entire time, heck it could even be that my lawn decided to man up the last two years. For the $19 bucks every 3 months it was worth a try for me even if it turned out to be sea monkeys.

All I did was power raked all the spots added seed and watered like no ones business. By the end of June my lawn looked the best it ever had in the 5 years we have had our dog.

Hrmm interesting, definitely worth a shot. Did you get them in Canada or did you order them online?

[red sky]

They sell them at a lot of the local pet stores. I know Paws Pet Food carries them. I have had mixed results with using them but I think part of that is I didn't replace them often enough.

[Diemenz]

Originally Posted by red sky

They sell them at a lot of the local pet stores. I know Paws Pet Food carries them. I have had mixed results with using them but I think part of that is I didn't replace them often enough.

Yes they should be available locally. I get them at Pet Smart. I have zero clue if they actually work but my lawn burns got considerably better and have stayed that way for the last few years. Again it could be something else like my dog just getting older or my lawn getting stronger/resistant but the timing makes be think they are doing something.

[Fuzz]

I looked at their site, trying to figure out what they do. Sounds like pseudoscience to me.

https://hatepseudoscience.com/2014/0...ngless-woofle/

[Fuzz]

I have no idea what mechanism in an igneous rock would remove nitrates from urine when the water they drink isn't the source of the nitrates, it's a product of food/kidneys. Something in the rock must have to prevent the formation, or aid in the breakdown, in which case why wouldn't someone attempt to isolate this magic as it would probably be very useful in treating kidney disease. Plus then you could have it added to the food, instead of a rock in a water bowl. Sounds...fishy. Plus it comes from Australia, home of the cast off criminals.

[D as in David]

They work fantastic for us. We have a small dog; maybe that has something to do with it.

[sa226]

So as per the advice from this thread, I think ill do the whole aerate /dethatch/ fertilize /seed etc.

Looking at the price of renting an aerator as well as a power rake, they each run about 60 to 70 dollars for 4 hours. I have noticed that there are some lawn maintenance companies out there that will do a "spring package" of sorts that include the power raking and aeration for roughly the same price.

Does anyone have any recommendations? It seems there are a ton of them. Everything from a kid pushing an aerator down the street, ringing door bells to big companies.