Burnt lawn - Can I repair by this fall?

[Jags]

Trying to grow trees, not corn. I am already surrounded by corn.

 

[MasterMech]

Much bigger than this, and I wouldn't be able to maneuver. I have a couple hundred trees as it is.​

Jags, you need more efficient equipment, not necessarily bigger. (Good ZTR will run circles around that old Case.)

However, we're going to try to sell our house next spring​

Spring is when your lawn will look it's best. For fall pictures, I would start watering 2-3 days a week, and an initial app of just fertilizer. adding Iron will help green it up quicker/better. Do a broadleaf herbicide in early Sept, and re-seed as soon as you can after that. (Check the label) Fertilize again the 1st/2nd week of November to put it to bed for the winter and that will make a big difference in how well/fast it greens up in the spring.

 

[Jags]

Jags, you need more efficient equipment, not necessarily bigger. (Good ZTR will run circles around that old Case.)

I am fully aware of that, I have been looking. But DANG....how many thousands...to mow grass???
And I do have a couple of pretty open areas that the zero turns wont gain much ground, but all in all, I am sure one would make a vast improvement.

 

[MasterMech]

I am fully aware of that, I have been looking. But DANG....how many thousands...to mow grass???
And I do have a couple of pretty open areas that the zero turns wont gain much ground, but all in all, I am sure one would make a vast improvement.

Your thinking about it wrong. It's how many thousands to get your life back!

Those open areas just might see more benefit from the Z. How fast can that Case mow? Every commercial ZTR I know of is easily capable of mowing at 10MPH+.


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[Jags]

Those open areas just might see more benefit from the Z. How fast can that Case mow? Every commercial ZTR I know of is easily capable of mowing at 10MPH+.

You wouldn't be able to strap yourself in hard enough to stay on a zero turn at 10 mph in my yard. With a space age seat and huge tires I rock and roll at 4.2 mph.

 

[btuser]

At one point I was mowing almost 2 acre/week (between 4 houses) and had just had it. I bought a used 48" walk behind mower that I could get in/out of the bed of my truck using ramps so I wouldn't need a trailer. I cut down my routine from 12-16 hrs to 4-6. Now I've only got one house and about 1/2 acre to mow but the mower has needed nothing but gas + oil changes for almost 12 years (couple inner tubes). It's way way way overkill for my yard but it turns 2hrs into 30 minutes. I vote for get your life back.

As far as growing grass I agree with the advice recommending watering.

 

[MasterMech]

You wouldn't be able to strap yourself in hard enough to stay on a zero turn at 10 mph in my yard. With a space age seat and huge tires I rock and roll at 4.2 mph.

Good seat (think you have that covered) and 26" tires and those ZTR's are surprisingly smooth at speed unless your mowing over furrows sideways! Jags, you would be an ideal customer to drop a big ZTR off for a demo.

 

[HDRock]

Normally I don't care much if my grass browns in July/August due to drought, which has happened again this year.

However, we're going to try to sell our house next spring, and I didn't even think about trying to take photos of the outside before the lawn looked crappy.

I know that fall is the best time to grow grass... any recommendations for a plan to get the lawn back into shape so I can snap some photos in October?

As it stands now, the only green areas on my lawn are some patches of crabgrass and other weeds. Should I spray some weed killer, let the lawn sit for a few weeks, then plant grass seed and water continuously? Am I better off just using roundup and starting from scratch?

Thanks!

Just stack more wood on it and don't worry about it
Oh wait, Just stack more Pellets on it and don't worry about it

 

[lukem]

Jags, come to the dark side. Old iron is not where it's at when it comes to busting out acres of yard.

 

[Jags]

Jags, you would be an ideal customer to drop a big ZTR off for a demo.

What are you waiting for.... Bring it.

(by the way - my FRONT tires are 24")

 

[Ashful]

If I had that much land that would be exactly my plan. Reduce the lawn to a manageable size and plant low maintenance plants, future firewood in the rest. Maybe adding some small veggie garden in one corner. I rather enjoy my time than spend hours on my lawnmower every weekend.

Having about the same property as Jags, I can say there's nothing lower maintenance than open lawn, aside from unkept forest. A good zero turn mower can cover upwards of 2 acres per hour for under $8k.

We're talking 5 acres here, not 30, so not much room for a totally unkept forest. Keep in mind the perimeter of any woodland is usually a mess of briars and ivy.

 

[Jags]

Having about the same property as Jags, I can say there's nothing lower maintenance than open lawn, aside from unkept forest. A good zero turn mower can cover upwards of 2 acres per hour for under $8k.

I do have a buddy that converted a 500 gal propane tank into a lawn roller. That would probably make a big difference in getting rid of the lumps and bumps. Currently, I just can't imagine trying to fly across my yard. It would blur your vision.

 

[Grisu]

Having about the same property as Jags, I can say there's nothing lower maintenance than open lawn, aside from unkept forest. A good zero turn mower can cover upwards of 2 acres per hour for under $8k.

We're talking 5 acres here, not 30, so not much room for a totally unkept forest. Keep in mind the perimeter of any woodland is usually a mess of briars and ivy.

http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-a-Clover-Lawn

Btw. It takes me just 5 seconds to get rid off all the weeds in my yard.
Definition of weeds: A plant considered undesirable, unattractive, or troublesome, especially one growing where it is not wanted, as in a garden.
I just change my attitude to any plant is desired, attractive and does not trouble me. (Maybe with the exception of poison ivy and the like.)
You see, a yard without weeds but many different plants in just 5 seconds.

 

[Ashful]

I know you won't believe me until you try and see it yourself, Jags... but a ZTR is a totally different animal than your tractors. I have trouble doing 4 mph on my CUT with 36" tires, without feeling like I'm going to break myself or the tractor going over bumps and dips, but somehow I have no trouble doing 11 mph on the ZTR on the same lawn. It just rides totally different, despite the much smaller tires.

I'm not saying I never hit a dip that jars my teeth on the ZTR, but I usually run around once each spring and again each fall to fill the primary holes. Dips or roots that I can't fix... I just memorize where they are, and pull back on the controls before I hit them. The ZTR beats the crap out of me at 11 mph, but no more than my CUT does at 4 mph.

I've not yet come across the set of soil conditions in which a 800 lb. lawn roller was able to flatten soil, in which my 3000 lb. tractor did not leave ruts. I settle for core aeration, which over several years, will work the lawn pretty flat.

 

[Jags]

I am patiently waiting for MasterMech to bring me a demo unit.

And I need to apologize to the OP. I am sorry for the thread drift on this.

 

[Ashful]

Oh yeah... OP...

If that grass is dormant, no sense in replanting. Get on a watering schedule, 0.5 inches every other day. That'll bring it back right quick. After it wakes up, get some 14-0-0 fertilizer on it, and it'll look like a golf course for a few weeks.

If the grass is dead, you gotta re-seed. Trouble is, germination time. You'd do well to look at seed blends with names like "Blast Off" and "Fast Green", almost all of which are Rye blends. Don't be planting tall Fescue if you want a fast lawn.

 

[MasterMech]

Oh yeah... OP...

If that grass is dormant, no sense in replanting. Get on a watering schedule, 0.5 inches every other day. That'll bring it back right quick. After it wakes up, get some 14-0-0 fertilizer on it, and it'll look like a golf course for a few weeks.

If the grass is dead, you gotta re-seed. Trouble is, germination time. You'd do well to look at seed blends with names like "Blast Off" and "Fast Green", almost all of which are Rye blends. Don't be planting tall Fescue if you want a fast lawn.

Could always hit it with some Annual Ryegrass. Germinates in 2-3 days, looks great for a season, but then poof.... It won't be back for next year.

 

[MasterMech]

What are you waiting for.... Bring it.

(by the way - my FRONT tires are 24")

I wish I had something to give brother.

We ARE getting about to the time of the year when dealers are looking to unload their demos......