My lawn looks terrible

[burnin_vernon]

I bought a house in the winter that was being rented for a long time so I assume zero maintenance has ever been done. I don't know much about lawn care and I don't even know where to start.

The front looks like a desert; it's very dry with crabgrass everywhere. There's barely anything to mow. The back does not get very much sun so there's moss and crabgrass everywhere. It's really rainy here too.

Back

Front

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by burnin_vernon

There's barely anything to mow.

Sounds perfect to me.

[Fuzz]

You're right, it does look terrible.

[Hockeyguy15]

My lawn also looks like crap. It's covered in this white stuff that doesn't seem to be going away.

I also assume the neighbours voles had a great time this winter.

[undercoverbrother]

My lawn is covered in snow.

[dobbles]

Last year I finally broke down and started paying to get my yard treated. I had held out for the longest as I didn't feel the need to pay to make my grass grow so I would have to mow it more! And figured less chemicals in my yard would be best. But living in a decently nice suburban neighborhood, I started feeling guilty about how terrible my yard looked. Where I am from in Illinois, without treating your grass it still would usually look decent, but down here the weeds are gross and just destroy all grass.

[MoneyGuy]

Mine looked terrible, too. I resodded and now have one of the best lawns around. It's expensive.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Mine looked terrible, too. I resodded and now have one of the best lawns around. It's expensive.

Did you put new loam down as well? How deep? I'm thinking of redoing my front yard.

[Peanut]

Meh. If it was me I’d just leave it. Or if it really bothers you, landscape it to something low maintenance instead of shelling out for new sod. The time, money and water wasted on “nice lawns” is just seems irrational to me.

[zamler]

Looks like you have an ant problem.

[burnin_vernon]

Originally Posted by dobbles

Last year I finally broke down and started paying to get my yard treated. I had held out for the longest as I didn't feel the need to pay to make my grass grow so I would have to mow it more! And figured less chemicals in my yard would be best. But living in a decently nice suburban neighborhood, I started feeling guilty about how terrible my yard looked. Where I am from in Illinois, without treating your grass it still would usually look decent, but down here the weeds are gross and just destroy all grass.

That's pretty much where I am. Mine is the cheapest on the block, surrounded by very expensive homes. It's a corner lot too so it's extra visible.

[nfotiu]

It seems grass is really tough to maintain in that climate. My dad lives on the island, and puts tonnes of effort and expense into his and still isn't great. It seems all sorts of weeds and invasive grasses are constantly trying to take over and summers can get very dry, and often come with water restrictions.

Probably best to start at a small local landscaping place. See when the best time to seed and aerate is, and what the best local grass is. I think, if I remember right, this is about the best time to plant for that area. If so, aerate, seed and fertilize now. Don't put any weed control on until the grass seeds are fully mature. It will probably take a couple years of reseeding/fertilizing/weed control cycles to get it looking decent.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Peanut

Meh. If it was me I’d just leave it. Or if it really bothers you, landscape it to something low maintenance instead of shelling out for new sod. The time, money and water wasted on “nice lawns” is just seems irrational to me.

Leaving it in that condition is pretty negligent, particularly if you live in a neigbourhood where others put the effort into maintaining their properties. Landscaping into something low maintenance will undoubtedly be more expensive than new sod, but would be a time saver in the long run.

Is vacuuming, mopping your floors, painting your siding, cleaning your gutters, washing your car, washing your windows, shaving, wiping your counters, etc. an irrational use of time? Owning property comes with the responsibility to maintain it and not allow it to fall into a state of disrepair. If you don't want to spend time on upkeep for your property, time to move to a condo.

[mikephoen]

Is this thread just a troll job? Those of us here in Calgary might never see our yards snow free again.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Did you put new loam down as well? How deep? I'm thinking of redoing my front yard.

No loam. We removed about four or five inches. I had a guy with the tractor and loader who removed it all then resodded everything. My yard is huge so it was a big job. I had two fairy rings so we had to be very careful.

[dobbles]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

Is this thread just a troll job? Those of us here in Calgary might never see our yards snow free again.

Quite the sneaky #humblebrag it sounds like!

I would love to brag, but things aren't exactly great down south as we just had ice this morning.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Landscaping into something low maintenance will undoubtedly be more expensive than new sod, but would be a time saver in the long run.

And will eventually look like crap. I assume you mean one of those gravel pits I see people putting in these days after removing the grass? They look half decent for maybe the first year and then, inevitably, the weeds start to grow through and wind blows in other crap making it look terrible.

Completely agree though, if you're not willing to put the time and effort into maintaining your yard, buy a condo.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

And will eventually look like crap. I assume you mean one of those rock quarries I see people putting in these days? They look half decent for maybe the first year and the, inevitably, the weeds start to grow through and wind blows in other crap making it look terrible.

Completely agree though, if you're not willing to put the time and effort into maintaining your yard, buy a condo.

Yeah, it doesn't take long being a landscaper to realize there's no such thing as maintenance-free anything. And if you're a slacker-type (e.g. can't see the value in maintaining a property), it's definitely the wrong way to go.

Probably the closest I've seen to maintenance free is artificial grass. I did my backyard maybe six or seven years ago and it still looks great, but it was fataing expensive and a big job as there's 6" of road crush under the turf.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

And will eventually look like crap. I assume you mean one of those gravel pits I see people putting in these days after removing the grass? They look half decent for maybe the first year and then, inevitably, the weeds start to grow through and wind blows in other crap making it look terrible.

Completely agree though, if you're not willing to put the time and effort into maintaining your yard, buy a condo.

The worst has to be mulch, though. That looks good (and smells awesome) for a year and then gets grey and sad looking forever more.

[GGG]

Mulch is pretty maintenance free. You top up with a few bags and round up the weeds and you are all set for the year.

$30 and two hours worth of work every spring. This assumes you did a good job of selecting the right plants for Calgary soil and weather.