Landscaping: Lawn care help!

Replies: 10 Views: 121

Author	Comment
Rjp20 Oklahoma City, OK June 9, 2008 11:50 PM	With the recent success of the flower garden in front of my yard, i am now inspired to tidy up and make things start looking good! My new problem is the front yard. I have problems with the front yard and the back yard, but i want to address the front yard first. The yard is not very green, and I believe that there is a couple of types of grass growing. I wanted to know what you guys think i should do to make it look good? What kind of weed killer, fertilizer, and or grass seed should I get. As usual im completely lost, so i need a little help! Attached are a couple of pictures, the first is a closeup of the yard, and the second is a shot of a portion of the yard, its not the complete front yard though... fyi... Thanks! Thanks in advance! ~Rjp20 View Larger
Rjp20 Oklahoma City, OK June 9, 2008 11:50 PM	Heres the 2nd pic... View Larger
ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) June 10, 2008 12:06 AM	Can you share some info on how you've been caring for it so far (water, fertilizer, etc)? And do you know what sort of soil is under there--sandy, clay, etc? It'll be easier for people to make suggestions with a little more background.
Rjp20 Oklahoma City, OK June 10, 2008 7:38 PM	Uhhhhh.... The rain has been watering it for me! HAHAHAH I dont think ive watered or fertilized it in about 2 years... atleast... The yard however does have a built in sprinkler system that covers the whole yard... what do you guys think??? Is it possible for me to have one of the beautiful lush yards? View Larger
ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) June 10, 2008 7:48 PM	I'm no lawn expert since I don't have one, but I suspect yours would probably look better if you watered it and fertilized it. If you're having a lot of rain it doesn't necessarily always need supplemental watering, but I'm sure you have some drier weather some times of the year and the lawn would certainly be happier if you ran those sprinklers every so often during those dry spells (or did you mean that you don't water it by hand but do use the sprinklers? If so sprinklers count as watering, how often do you run them?) Here's a reference from the OK cooperative extension on caring for lawns, you may find it useful [HYPERLINK@mastergardener.okstate.edu] And another one from Oklahoma State [HYPERLINK@pods.dasnr.okstate.edu]
Rjp20 Oklahoma City, OK June 11, 2008 10:31 PM	I never run the sprinklers but im going to start. I dont know much about lawns though... Can anyone suggest a seed or fertilizer to use??? Also what about the weeds??? Thanks!
ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) June 11, 2008 10:39 PM	Did you read the links I posted? They should give you some basics of lawn care and I'm sure they include info on all of those things.
Rjp20 Oklahoma City, OK June 11, 2008 11:13 PM	Yes I read the links you posted. The problem is is that I dont know what kind of grass I have or what type of grass i should be trying to achieve. The article list steps for about 5 different types of grass. I understand the basics, but i wanted to know about grass seeds, fertilizer to use, and things like that... please keep it coming!
ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) June 11, 2008 11:25 PM	You can always take some of your grass to your extension office and they can probably tell you what it is (and they can probably give you specific info on how to take care of it too). Otherwise, there are tons of people out there who have no idea what sort of grass they have but are able to have nice lawns anyway--I'd look at what they're telling you about fertilizer and pick something that looks like it would be reasonable for all grass types...even if it turns out you have a type of grass that would do better with slightly more nitrogen than you give it, you're still going to be better off than you are now and end up with a nicer looking lawn. You could also go to your local garden center and pick up a pkg of lawn fertilizer and just apply it according to the package directions, I think that's probably what most people do.
doccat5 Fredericksburg, VA (Zone 7b) June 12, 2008 9:38 PM	Do go to your local extension office and get a soil test kit before you add anything else. The cost is minimal, they will be able to not only give you the kit, but provide information on how to properly take samples. It goes to your state lab, once you get the results you will know exactly what you need to add in the way of amendments to get the lawn you want.
tcinmb Myrtle Beach, SC (Zone 8b) June 12, 2008 10:52 PM	It looks like you may have bermuda grass there. I am trying to eradicate it here. Is your area included in the sun belt??