This the D part of SOD

The final lawn clean up of the year was completed today and and the final maintenance of the fall was also completed. The fertilizer wasn't what I would like to have used but it's all that was available. There's something to be learned here. In the future, buy supplies earlier in the fall.


I used two 5000 sq ft bags with the spreader set on 4.

Mid December

Here we are, it's the middle of December, most of the leaves have fallen and I've cleaned up the yard. The problem is that we have neighbors who don't maintain their property. The result is that when the wind blows, the leaves move from the neighbors yards to my yard. So, since when is life fair?

My solution: automation. With the new mower and the Cyclone rake I manage to turn an almost impossible job into one that's doable.


The cyclone rake is a marvel. Not only does it vacuum the lawn it grinds the leaves reducing the volume by about 80%. My amortized cost is now down to aboout $150 per year. I can accompolish in one hour what would otherwise take at least 8 hours. In a nutshell, if you have leaves but don't have a Cyclone Rake, you need one.

We're comming down to the finish line for this year. There may be one more cleanup to get rid of the neighbors leaves and of course there's still one more fertilization doe the D part of sod.

S O D....... This is the O entry

Remember what the new area of the lawn looked like in early September? If not look at the photo's below. The new grass is filling in pretty well following two seedings and of course water and fertilizer. I applied lime a couple of days ago to the area that was previously "au natural" among the trees and this morning I applied the October fall feeding which also includes weed control.
My hope is that the weed control part of the equation will do it's job and the fertilizer will help the grass to establish a good root system for the hot weather that's sure to come next summer.

I've also been working on the lawn at the end of our driveway. Relocated a sprinkler head, repaired the hose connection to the irrigation meter, planted some landscaping bushes and mulched. I think the end result is a good improvement.

There are still some bare spots in yard so if a little seed is good, some more must be better. I planted most of this bag today using the trusty Scotts speedee green spreader. Some of it I planted by hand in the bare spots.



The sum of this planting and the last is probably the most seed I've ever planted in a single season. I'll add some photo's after it germinates.

Fall Grass Seed and Fertilizer

Today was a busy day of hard work. Mowed the lawn real short, lightly tilled bare spots and a few areas that had weeds, sewed grass seed and put down fertilizer. Here are photo's of packaging:

Speedy Green setting were 6.5 for the seed and 3.5 for the fertilizer. Using these settings, this size bag just barely covers the lawn.

Yard expansion

I decided that the yard would be simpler to care for if I expanded the grass area behind the house so that I can mow all the way around the back yard. Presently, the back yard is divided by a deck which effectively divide the lawn into two sections. I also decided that gardening is a lost cause in this area because of the deer so I removed the landscape timbers that surrounded my small vegetable gardens, removed some of the dirt, leveled out the remainder, and then seeded. It'll be interesting to see how the grass seed germinates. I hoe it does so I won't have another battle to fight trying to get the lawn in shape. I've inserted a couple of B4 pictures.

I'll add some afters in a few weeks. Wonder if all this dirt will be green by then? Note that concrete in the corner of the first picture. It's the beginning of a foundation for the garden shed that I haven't built yet. More on that later when some progress is made.

Late Summer Fertilizer

Applied Scotts Turf Builder (15k Bag) for late summer fertilization. Revised Extension Service recommendations call for fertilization in August, September, October and December. This is the first application for the fall season.

Lawn Care Equipment

I mentioned on Supreme Central that Daughter Lara and here family are relocating from Richmond to Houston, TX. We hate to see them move but if they must, then I'm grateful for some much improved lawn care equipment which they indicate is too much trouble to move and not needed for the new house. Included are a great Husqvarna lawn tractor with a 46" cut, a blower which should make fall leaf removal a simpler task and a small trailer which I'm sure will be put to good use. I'm including pictures to show off these beauties! I'm so pleased to be using such nice equipment and I'm hopeful

that it'll lead to a better lawn. The trailer is a real nice heavy duty unit that's big enough to transport the mower if we need to or a more likely scenario, transport the antique motor cycle when it needs repairs that I'm unable to do.

Late Spring Weed and Feed

After mowing yesterday, I got up early today to catch the grass while its still wet from dew and irrigation. I applied Lesco Weed and Feed 18-2-26. There aren't that many weeds but if we can eliminate the few that we have and at the same time help the grass thicken and grow a stronger root system, the lawn will be better prepared for the hot and very likely dry summer to come.

I think we now have one of the best if not the best lawn in the neighborhood. Not a bad recovery from last years drought!

Spring Fertilizer and pre-emergent

The more I look at the lawn, the better I like the results. Today, I mowed again just to freshen things up and put down a Lesco product that's a combination pre-emergent and fertilizer. I also started up the irrigation system and set it to run early AM every other day. This should be enough given that we've had a pretty wet winter so far.

Spring Cleanup

We just got back from a nice winter trip in warmer climates. Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico are nice places to visit during our winter months but they sure don't have any grass. I guess that's good in one sense, no mowing etc.

I can hardly believe the mess our lawn is in after the winter. It looks like we've had some winter storms while we were gone and the squirrels have been working overtime. Sticks, twigs and limbs are everywhere. I spent the whole day getting them up. I also got the yard mowed. What a difference! All the work in the fall is paying dividends. The grass is abundant and thick for the most part.