Sunday, April 26th, 2009
It appears they are both.
If you haven’t noticed, lawn weeds are starting to hit hard. It’s been hot for the past few days and this is prime season for all those ugly critters to take hold in your lawn. I actually just went out yesterday to get a few bottles of Ortho Weed-B-Gone, along with the hand sprayer that hooks up to a garden hose. I sprayed the front yard today and am going to wait to see what that looks like. I’ll let you know.
Since I had the guys at Scotts Lawn Service put down some pre-emergent herbicide, I am sitting here wondering why the lawn is starting to have weeds grow in it. There are some spots with crabgrass, but other weeds are growing as well. The whole thing got me thinking about which lawn weeds are annuals and which ones are perennials.
I found a nice description of the most common lawn weeds over at this website. I’ll put the weeds in a list for you:
Perennial Lawn Weeds
- Dandelion
- Ground ivy
- Clover
- Plantain
- Nutsedge
Annual Lawn Weeds
- Crabgrass
- Annual bluegrass
- Knotweed
I think we pretty much have all of these weeds, so my work is cut out for me.
I know that a lot hinges on how nice and full lawn grass grows. We have a few bare spots that need reseeding, but I can’t do that until Autumn. I am getting a little impatient, but seeding now (with the pre-emergent still active) is a waste of time. Also, seeding in the Summer doesn’t really work out too well. Come September, I am going to de-thatch and aerate the heck out of this place and reseed the whole thing.
Little by little. That’s what they say about lawns and lawn care…little by little and you’ll win the battle.
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Sunday, September 23rd, 2007
I just finished up with the latest mulching. I think it looks pretty damn good. I had some extra mulch, so I used it in the front yard where the dirt is like concrete. I covered that area right up. I put a bunch around the trees, so they are good. Now all I need is some water. I already watered a new bush and the new crabapple trees in the back, but the rest of the property needs some of the wet stuff.
This is the side of the front yard that I covered. This is along the property line.
This is a picture of all the white pines and blue spruces that I planted last year. I mulched all around them. The picture is on the side of the house facing down in the back yard.
Here I am, walking a little further towards the back yard.
This is looking up from the back yard. This area is the whole reason why I got the mulch in the first place.
Man, I am a little sore. I always forget how much ten yards actually is.
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Thursday, August 9th, 2007
Paul keeps on telling me not to use GrubEx to control Japanese Beetles, but to use Milky Spore instead. Apparently, he has been hit by the Japanese Beetle onslaught this year along with the rest of us.
Paul likes the idea of using Milky Spore because it isn’t an insecticide. It is a naturally occurring host specific bacterium (Bacillus popillae-Dutky). It is harmless to anything other than Japanese Beetle Grubs. This is good if you like to walk on your lawn or have pets and kids. It does need to be watered in, just like an insecticide thought.
The way you apply Milky Spore is different than you would apply an insecticide. Instead of spreading it with a lawn spreader, you pile it in small spots in a grid like pattern on your lawn. Over time, the milky spore is eaten by newly laid white grubs and they become infected by the bacterium. It takes a few years for the milky spore to completely kick in, but the stuff lasts for 15-20 years. That’s pretty damn good.
If this GrubEx that I already put down in the beginning of July doesn’t take care of the grub problem, I will put down milky spore next Autumn. That’s when grubs are at their hungriest and they are the most likely to eat the milky spore.
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Thursday, August 9th, 2007
This is just a little update post to my previous “Spreading the Mulch” post.
I was a little worried that a good hard rain was going to cause all of my newly spread mulch to slide down the backyard. Well, I have some good news. There was a heavy rain storm the other night and I woke up to see my mulch in exactly the same spot as I put it. That is good news indeed. I even found an article online that backs up my plan to stop topsoil erosion by using mulch. Pretty cool, huh?
I think I am going to order five more yards to finish up the back yard.
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Saturday, August 4th, 2007
If you know me, if you know who I really am at the core, you would know that I love mulch. I think I may have described my love for mulch in a few past posts, but let’s say it again…I love mulch.
Ok, now that the tender intro is out of the way, I will tell you a little story. When we moved in, I noticed a little problem with the back yard. It seems as though there has been a bit of erosion over the years. Every time there is a hard rain, more and more of the dirt, or topsoil, if that’s what you want to call it, finds its way down to the bottom of the hill that makes up the yard. I think the poor schlub who lived here before us tried to spread a bunch of topsoil out over the area and plant grass seed, but before he knew it, that rolled down the hill as well. It’s not really that big of a slope, it’s just that the soil around here doesn’t have much organic content in it. If there isn’t grass growing on it, it turns in to dust and is gone with the wind. What’s left is a nice layer of crappy dirt and rocks. This isn’t much to look at and really causes problems when I try to mow the lawn. If there is grass growing, it tends to be thick and green. Strange, I know. The trick is to get the grass to grow.
Since I didn’t want to end up like the last guy, I decided to travel a tried and true route. I had ten yards of mulch delivered just this morning. Two things – First, I think I got a small ten yards. Either that, or I got a big five yards last time. Second, I thought it would be a real blast to get out there and shovel the mulch in to the wheelbarrow and wheel it to the back of the house for spreading. Well, it is 2:52PM and I am inside feeling a little heat on my neck. Sunburn. Not bad, but enough to make being outside annoying. I think I’ll wait until about 6PM before I pick up where I left off. I am just glad I have a project. I am not fun to be around when I am bored, just ask Laura.
Here are some photos of what I am talking about…
This is the pile of mulch before I tackled it with the shovel.
I put some mulch around the arborvitae and holly that I planted. I didn’t go crazy under the porch, because that will hopefully be covered up by the bushes soon.
You can see how I am spreading the mulch over the bad areas. I would say the layer is a few inches thick. I did this same technique on another area of the lawn last summer and the grass is nice and thick there now. All I ask for is a few nice rains to get the mulch packed down to stay. If we get a torrential downpour, I think I may have ten yards of mulch at the bottom of the hill. After one season, the mulch should be broken down enough to plant some grass seed. It is also good at holding the dirt and rocks bad from eroding even more. An additional bonus is that this mulch was recycled from a bunch of old stumps right down the road from me. I watched the guy do it last year, it’s really cool.
Unfortunately, I though ten yards would be enough, but I think I may need twenty to get where I want to be. Mmmmmm, that’s going to be fun.
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Thursday, June 14th, 2007
So Laura and I have decided that it would be a good idea to cut down even more on our garbage output. We thought that composting would be a great thing to do…and it is.
I started looking up different things online about composting, such as various composters, what I can compost and different composting blogs. The “How to Make Compost” link has a great table down towards the middle of the page that includes what to and what not to compost.
So far, we are just separating our garbage. Right now, we actually have more garbage to recycle than regular trash, so that’s good. The only thing is that we won’t really have much to compost and that’s a little disappointing. Oh well…
I thought that I might offer a few links about composting and gardening as a whole…I just took the list from the blog I mentioned above. I am fairly sure that the site owners won’t mind a few extra links to them.
Clean Air Gardening
Compost Guide Home
Composter Store
Practical Environmentalist
Dirt: Amy Stewart organic gardening blog
Compost Bin Blog
Onion Gardening
Garden Plant Care
Garden Tool Guide
Texas Gardening Tips
Urban Farmer
Veggie Gardening Tips
Calendula & Concrete
North Country Maturing Gardener
skippy’s vegetable garden
The Inadvertent Gardener
In My Kitchen Garden
Can You Dig It
Vegetables for Breakfast
Outdoor Furniture Guide
Clean Air Gardening blog
Italian Cooking Supply blog
I want to get one of those really cool tumbler type composters in the future, but I think it would be a good idea to wait until we actually have something to put in it. I don’t bag or rake up our grass clippings, because that would be taking all the Nitrogen right off the lawn…the very thing I want to keep in there.
If I pick up a composter in the future, you can count on some nice photos right here.
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Saturday, June 9th, 2007
Remember when I told you about how I was having a problem with my lawnmower? If I remember correctly, I told you that I would let you know how it goes when I received the replacement lawn mower parts.
So, here I am. I received all the parts last week and put the lawnmower back together last evening. Again, this is the list of parts that I ordered, along with part number…
- Lawnmower Carburetor (697415)
- Foam Air Filter Cleaner (698369)
- Spark Plug (Champion RJ19LM)
If you wanted to just order the diaphragm and manifold seal o-ring, here is what you would need…
- Carburetor Diaphrarm (495770)
- Manifold Seal O Ring (270344S)
Of course, this is all for a Briggs & Stratton engine Model Series 10G900. I put the whole thing back together last night and started the mower up. It runs perfectly. I can’t believe that I fixed it. In addition to the new parts, I changed the oil and asked Paul to sharpen the blade, which he did. Here are some photos of the reassembly below…
This is a photo of the top of the carburetor.
This is a photo of the underside of the carburetor. The longer tube sticking out is the primerpump tube and the shorter one is the fuel suction tube.
This is just a picture of the air filter element in the housing.
This is a photo of the extra parts the carburetor kit came with…the diaphragm, the carburetor/gas tank gasket, the fuel screen, the manifold seal o-ring and the diaphragm spring.
I put the spring in its spot and added the gasket as well as the diaphragm just for fit. After this, I actually took them off (except for the spring) and placed them on the proper spot on the gas tank. It is easier to screw the carburetor on that way. I also placed on the fuel screen.
Here is the new carburetor mounted on the old gas tank…
…and this is the gas tank mounted on the lawnmower engine.
This is a photo of the final reassembled lawn mower right after I mowed a little grass. Back together in a snap, but the only problem is…I have two lawnmowers now!!!
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Tuesday, June 5th, 2007
I have always known that we have a little grub problem in our lawn. Grubs are such ugly, disgusting little creatures.
Remember when I told you about planting our two new trees over the weekend? Well, when I was digging the hole for the Plum, I came across three grubs in the dirt. That’s a pretty high concentration for such a small area.
Grubs are bad for lawns because the eat the roots of grass and leave nice big brown areas. Last year, I spread out some insect control and fertilizer which seemed to help. This year, they are back. It seems like every time I dig a hole, I come across these ugly little things.
A while ago, I purchased some Spectracide® Triazicide® Once & Done!â„¢ Insect Killer Granules. The price was right and the bag made a lot of promises. I don’t have a spreader, so it has taken me some time to pin down my neighbor Tim to let me borrow his.
Last night, before Laura and I went to the track, I decided to spread some of the Spectracide out over the back yard. I wanted to test it out back there, just in case it kills everything. I don’t know why it would kill the grass, but I am just being careful. I also had a small window because you need to spread the stuff either right before it rains or you need to water it in. So, it was drizzling last night. The time was right.
If nothing goes wrong in the backyard, I will spread it across the front yard and closer to the house. I’ll let you know what happens.
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