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CommonShore posted:Took out the riding mower (JD e160) for the first time ever today. Was reasonably slick and easy, though I was surprised to see that the front wheels could tear up the grass a bit on tight turns. Try upping the tire pressure in the front. If it's currently low that gives the tires more "bite" on turf, so airing them up might help. Then you'll probably want to air them back down (as well as the backs if you don't have chains/cables) for snow plowing.
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Sep 5, 2020 19:38
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Not sure if this is the right thread...but I am looking to source 2x a specific tree. Looking to get umbrella catalpas, but no one in my area sells them so far as I can tell. There are online places, but never ordered trees online. Anyone ever done it? Safe? Bad?
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Sep 6, 2020 03:17
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Posted this on a home thread but was told to come here. So I was away all summer and the guy I hired to care for my lawn did nothing. I came back to a wasteland of crab grass. I've developed the following plan to deal with it. Keep in mind my lawn is small (less than 2500sqft) and I'm in New Jersey.
Does that make sense? So far I've been thatching and pulling up crab grass every morning for an hour, and I've done maybe 1/3 of the yard. Once I finish this weekend I'll start with the seeding. EDIT to include recommendation for Miloranite and Potash. Also I'll water the dickens out of it once I seed. Super-NintendoUser fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Sep 9, 2020 |
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Sep 9, 2020 01:44
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Jerk McJerkface posted:Posted this on a home thread but was told to come here. Sounds like a solid plan, with the modification that I'd just use a dedicated Starter Fertilizer for seeding this fall. Milorganites macros are all locked up in organics and don't disperse as quickly or as well in cold weather, and they aren't balanced for seedlings. I really like the Scotts Turf-Builder Starter Fertilizer w/ Pre-Emergent because it has a grass/seed-safe pre-emergent built into it so you aren't inviting winter weed growth by scalping it before seeding. Apply at the recommended rate , then again in the spring if you have any left over. Spring seeding is kind of a gamble. You'll get crabgrass sprouting all through the summer heat, the seeds don't pop all at once. If you really have a problem right now I'd say better bet on doing two pre-emergent applications (Prodiamine and Dithiopyr about 2-3 months apart). Note that the pre-emergents work by building a "seed-proof layer" in the soil, and can be defeated if the soil is disturbed. So if you just need to spot seed, you can just vigorously rake the small areas you need to fix and overseed then.
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Sep 9, 2020 06:44
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[quote="Hubis" post="507923550"] Scotts Turf-Builder Starter Fertilizer w/ Pre-Emergent Ok, I'll look into it. Here's my revised plan, switched out the Potash and the milorganite for the fertilizer you recommended.
Does that make sense? So far I've been thatching and pulling up crab grass every morning for an hour, and I've done maybe 1/3 of the yard. Once I finish this weekend I'll start with the seeding. EDIT to include recommendation for Miloranite and Potash. Also I'll water the dickens out of it once I seed.
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Sep 9, 2020 12:17
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Lawn chat, new homeowner, I think I missed my window for overseeding here in 4b before frost become a threat up here. I'm having the yards aerated sometime in the last two weeks of this month, would have done it earlier but my buddy waffled on splitting a rental with me and the price is the same to have these guys do it, which I would have followed up with overseeding. What can I do to invigorate my existing grass before winter? It's not in too bad of shape, but it's got some areas of sparse green I think from poor watering on compacted soil I'm hoping the aeration will help. Haven't fertilized at all in the two months we've been here, doesn't sound like the previous owner paid any attention to the lawns. Can I drop some instant release fert on it now and get some of that green luciousness before it gets too cold? Will it help the grass when it thaws next year? What about pre-emergent, should I do it now or in the Spring? Smugworth fucked around with this message at 21:28 on Sep 11, 2020 |
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Sep 11, 2020 21:19
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Good pesticides for creeping charlie?
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Sep 11, 2020 21:22
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PCjr sidecar posted:Good pesticides for creeping charlie?
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Sep 12, 2020 00:14
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Smugworth posted:Lawn chat, new homeowner, I think I missed my window for overseeding here in 4b before frost become a threat up here. I'm having the yards aerated sometime in the last two weeks of this month, would have done it earlier but my buddy waffled on splitting a rental with me and the price is the same to have these guys do it, which I would have followed up with overseeding. Sounds like you are thinking in the right direction. You need a minimum of 3 weeks before frost to seed, and deal soil temps are like 60-70'F. Probably late in the season to seed, but not impossible. Yeah, you can throw up to 3 Lbs actual N onto cool season grass in the fall (no more than 0.75-1.0 Lb / month though). N and K going into winter is good. Fall will be your main fertilization season, really. It will absolutely help the grass harden off and bank energy for better spring recovery. Pre-emergents are a 2-3 month span, so usually you would put them down in the late summer for weedy grass (poa annua) and winter weeds, then again in March/April (your time) for spring weeds and crabgrass. I'd skip the pre-emergent this season, and decide if you want to seed next spring or fall, PCjr sidecar posted:Good pesticides for creeping charlie? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQcqr0pi-yc
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Sep 12, 2020 00:33
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:What kind of grass do you have? It's not that hard to kill, but for me with St. Augustine (pretty sensitive to herbicides) I had a tough time for a while. 2, 4 D killed it and didn't quite kill the St. Augustine, but definitely knocked it back. The thing that finally worked was weed and feed fertilizer in the spring with atrazine. I think you can get it as a liquid to spray too? Standard northern US, poorly maintained bluegrass / rye.
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Sep 12, 2020 00:35
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Just bought a place in Big Bear Ca, 7k feet up in the mountains. Raised and lived apartments my entire life so just starting to goof around with our yard, 6k foot corner lot. Spent few hours hauling rocks and holy poo poo I’m not used to the altitude. Good thing is I have a poo poo load of rocks 
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Sep 12, 2020 06:30
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Got my big tractor ready for some grade work. Had the third remote installed and picked up this giant bush hog blade. No problem regrading my gravel drive even though it was too dry for my smaller tractor and box blade. There were a lot of old buildings torn down on my new place and a lot of waterways/trails that need fixed. The big blade will definitely do the trick but final grade will still require the small tractor, or maybe a gauge wheel on this. 
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Sep 12, 2020 14:59
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Oh sweet, that looks like a really nice blade. I'm jealous. What's with the 3rd remote? I'm seeing tilt and turn on that and probably missing another function due to the angle.
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Sep 12, 2020 15:05
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a sexual elk posted:Just bought a place in Big Bear Ca, 7k feet up in the mountains. Raised and lived apartments my entire life so just starting to goof around with our yard, 6k foot corner lot. Spent few hours hauling rocks and holy poo poo I’m not used to the altitude. Very nice. Jealous. rdb posted:Got my big tractor ready for some grade work. Had the third remote installed and picked up this giant bush hog blade. No problem regrading my gravel drive even though it was too dry for my smaller tractor and box blade. There were a lot of old buildings torn down on my new place and a lot of waterways/trails that need fixed. The big blade will definitely do the trick but final grade will still require the small tractor, or maybe a gauge wheel on this. Also very nice. You would probably get some utility (at a very budget price compared to your other equipment) from something like a chain harrow or drag mat to put a nice smooth finish on it. Motronic posted:Oh sweet, that looks like a really nice blade. I'm jealous. I think you can turn the whole pivot arm that the blade is mounted to. Very trick.
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Sep 12, 2020 16:02
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It does an offset, tilt and angle.  
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Sep 12, 2020 17:49
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I usually hang out in the horticulture thread, where it was suggested I come here with my mystery-hole problem. We have a small patch of dirt, maybe 24" × 8", wedged between a path and a fence that had been home to a stack of old plastic pots. It now has a huge mound of clayey soil surrounding a 4"-diameter hole. All out of nowhere! My husband poked around gently in there and saw some movement that was more like something trying to back in and away from us. We came back a little later and the dirt had been cleared to reveal a much more defined hole. This is in surburban SE Michigan. Our area is home to squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, voles, skunks, opossum, the occasional mouse, and groundhogs, one of which was checking out our bird feeder earlier in the week. I know some of these are too big and some are too small; we've seen all but voles and skunks in our actual yard before. Have some photos: https://imgur.com/a/tyVM79y The hole is at the bottom of that narrow wooden stave. Can you help me figure out Who Lives Here? Thanks in advance.
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Sep 12, 2020 17:59
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I know Skunks like to dig next to/under foundations so that would be my initial guess.
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Sep 12, 2020 18:14
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rdb posted:It does an offset, tilt and angle. What are the outriggers for?
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Sep 12, 2020 20:49
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angryrobots posted:What are the outriggers for? The skid shoes? Plowing snow without removing gravel. The wings on the end just make it easier to move large amounts of material. I may take them off to do some lighter work. Overall, the blade is overkill. Bush Hog lists its weight at 1100lbs, but I think the hydraulics added quite a bit. I ordered it 5 months ago, along with the third remote. The remote just came in last week. The dealer had a smaller series blade on the lot, but when I read the brochure the one he suggested wasn’t rated for the power my tractor puts out. So I picked that one, paid for it, and just now got to use it. The driveway at my old place has never been smoother. It feels like it will tear up just about anything. I think it cut through and turned over about 5” of packed material on the first pass. That would have taken me 10 passes with the scarifiers down on my 5’ box blade. I used it to redo the slope and cut a small ditch on the side. It should rain this afternoon so we will see how it did.
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Sep 12, 2020 21:25
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rdb posted:It does an offset, tilt and angle. Oh yeah, that's nice. Never have to get out of that air conditioned cab, the way it should be.
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Sep 12, 2020 21:33
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rdb posted:The skid shoes? Yeah those things, I don't know anything about plowing snow! Edit- and for that matter, it seems like those would cut grooves in your driveway? Why not like, solid rubber tires? angryrobots fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Sep 12, 2020 |
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Sep 12, 2020 21:58
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angryrobots posted:Yeah those things, I don't know anything about plowing snow! Yeah, they're super handy. I have them on my plow blade too so I can get the gravel path back to the barn without making a mound of gravel at the end of it. I've considered a back blade like that (obviously much smaller - and I'm two remotes short lol) but I'm doing too much driveway work. My little box blade works well enough to maintain the little bit of gravel I have, and it make a great compliment to the front mounted snow plow when you really need to teach a pile who's boss and get it the hell out of the way (you do NOT want to do this with the blade on a tractor......too much potential for side loading and bending your loader).
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Sep 12, 2020 22:51
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angryrobots posted:Yeah those things, I don't know anything about plowing snow! I haven’t tried them yet. I think they spin somehow, and grooves are better than piles of gravel in the grass come spring.
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Sep 13, 2020 00:08
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I had a thought too, most people reading this thread probably don’t own tractors. So I want to clarify a point. Most tractors don’t have hydraulic down force on the 3 point hitch at the back. Only belarus (mtz to the rest of the world) that I can think of and those are uncommon in the US. This means the amount of ground engagement is limited by the amount of downforce the implement generates on its own. If you look at a 3 point plow, its shaped to pull itself into the dirt for that very reason. So for grading, a tractor has a disadvantage compared to a dozer or the blade on an excavator. The tractor can’t push down, so a heavy implement and proper soil conditions are required to really do any work. Once a blade starts gathering material, the weight of the material is usually enough for smaller stuff to work, but getting things started can be difficult when conditions are dry.  This is the section of driveway that I hate the most. Don’t cut into a hill like that. It collects water, and as the water goes downhill, it picks up speed, more water, and gravel. It always washes my driveway into the field, and creates 10-12” deep washouts down at the bottom. Today I graded it towards the fence and made a small ditch at the bottom. That will at least keep it out of the field. It really needs geo-grid to keep from losing gravel but that can be the next owners problem.
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Sep 13, 2020 04:04
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Could you put in a waterbar or three across the road? That’s commonly done here on forest roads where they have go straight down hill. Shoots the water off into a ditch so it’s not the all the water racing down the hill top to bottom. Maybe a pain to drive over very day though?
Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Sep 13, 2020 |
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Sep 13, 2020 04:41
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Could you put in a waterbar or three across the road? That’s commonly done here on forest roads where they have go straight down hill. Shoots the water off into a ditch so it’s not the all the water racing down the hill top to bottom. Maybe a pain to drive over very day though? That’s exactly what I was thinking. Or even if you don’t want something on the surface, carve out a discharge ditch to the side, and bury some perforated drain pipe every so often for water to collect and drain out to the side. How is winter with a gravel road and that sort of incline?
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Sep 13, 2020 13:38
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OSU_Matthew posted:That’s exactly what I was thinking. Or even if you don’t want something on the surface, carve out a discharge ditch to the side, and bury some perforated drain pipe every so often for water to collect and drain out to the side. It sucks rear end. As far as burying drain tile goes, the bedrock is only a couple inches down in places, so it would have to be cut. Down at the bottom is also on an easement and flood plain, although I am sure the guy that owns it wouldn’t care what I dug up. Theres fiber optic, old phone line and public water near the end, so not a DIY job. I did cut a ditch along the right side, and diverted the runoff coming from the pasture on the right by building a road on the other side of the big sycamore. The easiest and cheapest thing to do would be geogrid. I am selling this place however, so someone else’s problem. In reality, its nearly 10 acres of mowing and maintenance. Whoever buys it will need a tractor, and fixing the driveway is a 30 minute job with a box blade. The bedrock also produces another problem. When the water table is high, there is a spring. In winter, everything that comes out freezes. So its steep and icy, even if it doesn’t snow. I sold my prius and got a subaru for my wife because it just didn’t have sufficient ground clearance or traction. Heres another view of the problem. This is after 3” of rain over the course of an hour and a half. Apologies for my mouth breathing. I have sinus issues and had just gotten over something serious when I shot this in July. https://youtu.be/XcMD0asmewM It was the wrong spot and bad design when it was put in. People have lived on this site since 1890. rdb fucked around with this message at 14:41 on Sep 13, 2020 |
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Sep 13, 2020 14:16
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For people who were asking about fall fertilization, this is a really good video that discusses how you want to fertilize in the fall and how it fits into the rest of the year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfSu93uQglE a sexual elk posted:Just bought a place in Big Bear Ca, 7k feet up in the mountains. Raised and lived apartments my entire life so just starting to goof around with our yard, 6k foot corner lot. Spent few hours hauling rocks and holy poo poo I’m not used to the altitude. Plus rocks are fire proof!
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Sep 13, 2020 18:37
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Hubis posted:For people who were asking about fall fertilization, this is a really good video that discusses how you want to fertilize in the fall and how it fits into the rest of the year: That video was kinda ickey. Dude is a product shill, so it's hard to take the advice as unbiased. Edit: to expand on this, most ag schools current guidance, including the one that host my local extension, is that it's time for potassium in September and November based on soil testing. They all seem to promote ensuring there is always enough potassium in spring and fall, but not to over-apply as most turfgrasses have a "luxury consumption" problem with potassium: they'll use more than they actually need if it's there. This luxury consumption problem is also why they recommend several applications throughout the season. One/two big ones at the beginning or end of the season isn't likely to be as useful as several spread out lighter applications. Motronic fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Sep 13, 2020 |
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Sep 13, 2020 18:48
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When he started saying that the nitrogen stabilizes over winter and the grass wakes up with a full stomach in spring, I wanted him to cite his sources. But I know gently caress all about lawns, it just came off as "it melts the fat off!" mumbo jumbo sales pitch to me. 
Smugworth fucked around with this message at 00:25 on Sep 14, 2020 |
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Sep 14, 2020 00:17
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Smugworth posted:When he started saying that the nitrogen stabilizes over winter and the grass wakes up with a full stomach in spring, I wanted him to cite his sources. But I know gently caress all about lawns, it just came off as "it melts the fat off!" mumbo jumbo sales pitch to me. I mean, depending on soil conditions and weather there is an argument to be made that applying nitrogen (or anything really) late in the season is less about the turfgrss right then and more about amending the soil, which the turfgrass can then use in the spring. Not a whole lot different than various overwintering farming techniques. But yeah......I wouldn't want to take that guy's word for it. And I sure didn't like how it was presented. Motronic fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Sep 14, 2020 |
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Sep 14, 2020 00:28
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Motronic posted:That video was kinda ickey. Dude is a product shill, so it's hard to take the advice as unbiased. maybe I am just used to his presentation (or already indoctrinated  ) but that didn't jump out at me as pushy at all. Like I said though, I may have already drunk the kool-aid.That being said, though, my personal take-away was actually aligned with what you said: "based on soil testing". Basically, you need to put down N in the fall for cool season, not just for seasonal growth but to provide a healthy start in early spring (especially important as that is a big risk window for fungal disease). Beyond that K is great if you need it, but aside from an established deficiency there is no real reason to throw it down blind going into winter. All else being equal it seems like it is better applied in late spring and summer? Smugworth posted:When he started saying that the nitrogen stabilizes over winter and the grass wakes up with a full stomach in spring, I wanted him to cite his sources. But I know gently caress all about lawns, it just came off as "it melts the fat off!" mumbo jumbo sales pitch to me. Motronic posted:I mean, depending on soil conditions and weather there is an argument to be made that applying nitrogen (or anything really) late in the season is less about the turfgrss right then and more about amending the soil, which the turfgrass can then use in the spring. Not a whole lot different than various overwintering farming techniques. "Nitrogen" doesn't stabilize per-se (all N wants to become N2, ask the FOOF thread) but it's more a matter of the plant tissue taking it up and using it as a reserve of something it can use come spring.
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Sep 14, 2020 02:20
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Hubis posted:"Nitrogen" doesn't stabilize per-se (all N wants to become N2, ask the FOOF thread) but it's more a matter of the plant tissue taking it up and using it as a reserve of something it can use come spring. Yeah, I didn't really phrase that as well as the papers I've read on it......... (and if you're picking up on a theme, yes, my go-to source for a lot of gardening and turfgrass information is always ag schools. I'll listen to other sources but they don't get nearly the weight of a consensus of ag school research/papers)
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Sep 14, 2020 14:38
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Motronic posted:Yeah, I didn't really phrase that as well as the papers I've read on it......... Nothing wrong with that! Also I get John Perry being a little off-putting. I think he's a smart guy and I feel like his arguments are sound to me but I definitely get feeling like he's trying to sell you something. I mean, to an extent he is -- his whole channel is trying to evangelize his line of liquid fertilizers and treatments. But if you are coming into it already knowing about the products some and wanting to understand how they should be used it makes a lot more sense than going in blind and hearing him ramble about these things you've never heard of. In general his deal is low nutrient input/high soil fertility, centering among other things around increasing soil quality and carbon levels through Humic/Fulvic Acid applications and encouraging the turf to focus energy on root growth through the use of Kelp extract (which contains plant hormones that are absorbed by the grass). Anyways, Matt Martin is a really good watch if you're the kind of person who's comfortable reading ag research papers. Similar message, but a lot more wonky. Here's a fun* one on liquid aeration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=najcug_WXZI
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Sep 14, 2020 15:55
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Hubis posted:liquid aeration: On what now? Lololol, it's sad that this even needs to be debunked. But he did a good job on it. Yes, I would watch more of his videos. He had me with starting out in front of a white board.
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Sep 14, 2020 18:12
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Motronic posted:(and if you're picking up on a theme, yes, my go-to source for a lot of gardening and turfgrass information is always ag schools. I'll listen to other sources but they don't get nearly the weight of a consensus of ag school research/papers)  Once you find the ones that are great for your area, it opens up a ton. Everything from forest and tree management to grafting tomatoes to fight weird local conditions. For me it's LSU, Auburn, Texas A&M, Florida State and Clemson are my heroes.
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Sep 14, 2020 18:17
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I thought it was going to be about hydrojecting. I was ready to laugh at my old supers' expensive mistakes. Oh well. Is magnetizing your irrigation water still a thing? Tens of thousands were spent on a very large magnetic tube to fit over a water main.
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Sep 14, 2020 18:26
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:
Mississippi State and their extension service in Mississippi is loving awesome.
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Sep 14, 2020 18:35
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Hmm that video got me thinking. How can I test my soil to ensure it has enough collagen peptides??
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Sep 14, 2020 18:43
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Hed posted:Hmm that video got me thinking. How can I test my soil to ensure it has enough collagen peptides?? Open your wallet. Is there anything in there? If yes, you don't have enough yet.
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Sep 14, 2020 20:17
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