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!