Biggest lawn care regrets?
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- Posts: 10
- Joined: October 14th, 2017, 5:09 pm
- Location: North Texas, Dallas Area
- Grass Type: Bermuda and unknown
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Biggest lawn care regrets?
Just curious, what is(are) your biggest lawn care regret(s)?
I figure as a new guy there’s too much I don’t know I don’t know to ask specific questions about what to avoid...
...My current biggest regret is buying a house from a guy who NEVER did ANYTHING to his lawn. I spent all spring summer and the first part of fall trying to rehab/reno it.
I figure as a new guy there’s too much I don’t know I don’t know to ask specific questions about what to avoid...
...My current biggest regret is buying a house from a guy who NEVER did ANYTHING to his lawn. I spent all spring summer and the first part of fall trying to rehab/reno it.
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- Posts: 188
- Joined: August 18th, 2017, 2:38 pm
- Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
- Grass Type: KBG Mix
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
Not mowing tall enough...letting someone else cut it, they also cut it too low and I think their dirty mower brought plenty of disease and weed issues in. Not mulching when I could've.
Basically mowing wrong. Regret that.
Basically mowing wrong. Regret that.
- HoosierLawnGnome
- Posts: 9591
- Joined: May 22nd, 2013, 5:59 pm
- Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
- Grass Type: Blueberry KBG
- Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
- Level: Advanced
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
I regret not learning the proper way to renovate and wasting time and money on failed strategies.
- andy10917
- Posts: 29744
- Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
- Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
- Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
- Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
- Level: Advanced
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
I regret taking 25 years to learn just how important a component water and proper watering is.
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- Posts: 6838
- Joined: September 14th, 2012, 10:53 pm
- Location: CT (Zone 6B)
- Grass Type: KBG, TTTF, TTPR, and FF (various mixtures)
- Lawn Size: 10000-20000
- Level: Experienced
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
Not treating disease right away, even though I knew what it was and what it was capable of.
- HoosierLawnGnome
- Posts: 9591
- Joined: May 22nd, 2013, 5:59 pm
- Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
- Grass Type: Blueberry KBG
- Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
- Level: Advanced
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
I really saw that this year on my lawn and learned it too in the real world lol. The places on my turf with good even coverage looked good all summer. The thin spots struggled!!
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- Posts: 3874
- Joined: January 3rd, 2009, 2:28 am
- Location: Utah (Wasatch Front)
- Grass Type: Western, Streambank, Crested wheatgrass in front (with blue grama added in the heckstrips), sheep fescue in back; strawberry clovetr in both
- Lawn Size: 3000-5000
- Level: Experienced
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
Many years ago, I started trying to slowly transition my lawn from a traditional northern mix to a mostly native lawn. I wish I would have killed the existing lawn and just made the switch to all native grasses.
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- Posts: 40
- Joined: June 7th, 2017, 10:18 am
- Location: Northern New Jersey
- Grass Type: KBG ( Award , Everglade , Bewitched )
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
I regret NOT finding this site years ago !
- Dchall_San_Antonio
- Posts: 3343
- Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
- Location: San Antonio, Texas
- Grass Type: St Augustine
- Lawn Size: 5000-10000
- Level: Advanced
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
Many of mine have been mentioned, so consider this an additional vote for those regrets. All of these have been corrected from this and other forums. To explain some of these, I had 25 years of lawn care under my belt before Internet forums were invented. I'm just lucky to not have had any catastrophes like I read about.
- treating all lawns the same regardless of grass type
- listening to the teachers at my university who were simply stating their opinions
- watering daily
- watering with a Rainbird type sprinkler (uneven coverage every time)
- not believing in organic fertilizer
- aerating (waste of time, money, and a hassle)
- top dressing
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- Posts: 579
- Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
- Location: Columbus, OH
- Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
- Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
- Level: Some Experience
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
One I wish I would've found this site years ago. Second; when we moved in I kept throwing different types of grass seed on the lawn. I truly feel like I introduced grassy weeds by using poor seed.
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- Posts: 385
- Joined: August 30th, 2016, 2:01 pm
- Location: St. Louis, Mo
- Grass Type: TTTF
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
I wish I would have found this hobby years ago. Other than that, I wish I would have included kbg when I reno'd the front with tttf.
- ken-n-nancy
- Posts: 2571
- Joined: July 17th, 2014, 3:58 pm
- Location: Bedford, NH
- Grass Type: Front: KBG (Bewitched+Prosperity); Side: Bewitched KBG; Back: Fine Fescue Blend + Prosperity
- Lawn Size: 10000-20000
- Level: Experienced
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
For this year in specific, noticing some small (salad-plate sized) patches of poa trivialis during springtime and opting not to do anything about it for the time being. Then, finding that they grew to welcome-mat sized patches by fall.
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- Posts: 771
- Joined: May 29th, 2014, 5:42 pm
- Location: Piscataway NJ
- Grass Type: Northern Mix
- Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
- Level: Some Experience
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
About 8 or 10 years ago I used cheap landscaper seed that had weed and other crop seed in it. Never again. For all the time and effort we put in, trying to save a few bucks on seed just isn't worth it. Sod quality, zero weed and zero other crop is all I'll ever use again.
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- Posts: 346
- Joined: August 15th, 2013, 5:07 pm
- Location: Fishers, IN
- Grass Type: Front: Bewitched/Prosperity/Midnight/Blueberry; Back: Midnight/Prosperity/Blueberry
- Lawn Size: 3000-5000
- Level: Some Experience
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
I have a specific regret this year in not checking germination of the seed I bought until it was nearly too late. Buy early, and check the germination with a towel test or pots.
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
10 years ago I let my yard be over run by Bermuda grass. Huge mistake. Getting rid of it once it takes hold is next to impossible without overhauling the lawn. I had to go rent a rototiller, overhaul the lawn and plant new seed.
- turf_toes
- Posts: 6045
- Joined: December 17th, 2008, 8:46 pm
- Location: Central NJ
- Grass Type: 77% Blueberry/23% Midnight Star KBG in front. Bewitched KBG monostand in back.
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
You likely just created tiny new Bermuda grass plugs that will come back.
Rototilling is almost never the proper way to go.
Rototilling is almost never the proper way to go.
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- Posts: 234
- Joined: August 16th, 2016, 4:25 pm
- Location: Central CT
- Grass Type: Northern mix
- Lawn Size: 10000-20000
- Level: Novice
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
I regret not being proactive with fungal issues. I misidentified the issue thinking it was just heat stress but seeing that it occurred in the exact same areas as the years since we've lived here I had to reevaluate my diagnosis. I hope to fix this next year.
- HoosierLawnGnome
- Posts: 9591
- Joined: May 22nd, 2013, 5:59 pm
- Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
- Grass Type: Blueberry KBG
- Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
- Level: Advanced
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
Yeah, a lot of warm season guys will verticut their turf in the spring to stimulate growth. Rototilling would be similar.
- kevreh
- Posts: 914
- Joined: March 12th, 2012, 11:24 am
- Location: Northern Virginia
- Grass Type: Front Yard: 2013 TTTF reno (faith, cochise, turbo, ls1200), Back: 2013 KBG reno (bewitched, midnight, prosperity)
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
Regrets;
Not understanding which products to use for weeds for pre-emergence, and post-emergence control. I use one pre-m and about three post sprays. Took me a while to get here.
Stick with a hodge podge lawn the first few year in my house, before killing it and starting fresh.
And last, not so much a regret but recognizing what I didn't know, but getting clarity around the main challenges of my lawn (weeds, disease, and summer heat/drought stress) and the methods and products to address those things. Phew!
Not understanding which products to use for weeds for pre-emergence, and post-emergence control. I use one pre-m and about three post sprays. Took me a while to get here.
Stick with a hodge podge lawn the first few year in my house, before killing it and starting fresh.
And last, not so much a regret but recognizing what I didn't know, but getting clarity around the main challenges of my lawn (weeds, disease, and summer heat/drought stress) and the methods and products to address those things. Phew!
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- Posts: 43
- Joined: May 23rd, 2017, 12:46 am
- Location: Hendersonville, TN
- Grass Type: Zoysia Aspirations
- Lawn Size: Not Specified
- Level: Not Specified
Re: Biggest lawn care regrets?
Not starting my plugging project a year earlier... lost a year of growth.
Listening to my father in law. Now we have three to four variants of grass due to bad suggested seed mixes.
Listening to my father in law. Now we have three to four variants of grass due to bad suggested seed mixes.
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