You tell me...first year into it and I'm a believer; replaced the Scott's kool-aid for compost tea. Only two application of SBM so far at 20lbs/1000sqft. Grass is trying to go dormant, more so just in spots. I bought some aerify plus to help alleviate some compaction.

The neighbors lawn is one of tru green's finest but like he said 5 applications at $55 is cheaper than Scott's from HD. They just fertilized yesterday which makes perfect sense; 90 degrees and no rain for going on close to a month.

organic left, the Scott 4 - step on the right:


backyard;

that looks really awesome!!

gave20 wrote:You tell me...first year into it and I'm a believer; replaced the Scott's kool-aid for compost tea. Only two application of SBM so far at 20lbs/1000sqft. Grass is trying to go dormant, more so just in spots. I bought some aerify plus to help alleviate some compaction.

Seriously consider making your own BL Soil Conditioner, it's a lot cheaper and very easy.

You'll find that the dormancy starts to decrease year by year, both winter and summer, as the organics work deeper and modify the soil. At this point, I lose mine for about three weeks in February when temperatures dip to about ten degrees at night. Your required dormancy period will probably be a bit longer, I think.

Last summer, during that awful hot and dry period we had (with no rain for ages), I irrigated three times total. The lawn didn't look great, but only went dormant in a few spots where it gets the most sun and least water.

Compared to the neighbors, it was practically a garden spot.

The neighbors lawn is one of tru green's finest but like he said 5 applications at $55 is cheaper than Scott's from HD. They just fertilized yesterday which makes perfect sense; 90 degrees and no rain for going on close to a month.

Love it.

organic left, the Scott 4 - step on the right:

We could have told that without your explanation, no problems. Note also the richer greens and density of your lawn.

Good Googly Moogly!

I like it

Awesome! Gotta love pics like that--what a contrast! Thanks for sharing.

The scary part about that is the neighbor, if I'm reading the post right, seems to want to do something to care for his lawn by paying a tru-green service. Either he's blind or ignorant, because the evidence of his method versus yours is pretty convincing. You'd think he would at least start asking some questions about what you are doing to have such vastly superior results.

Oddly, they don't, and I'm not sure why. My back neighbor considers himself a gardener, and the lawn's OK. It can't hold a candle to mine, but he never asks.

The few that do ask rarely follow up. A soil test, correction, trip to a grain mill, and monthly feeding (or so) seems to be too much for them...

"The scary part about that is the neighbor, if I'm reading the post right, seems to want to do something to care for his lawn by paying a tru-green service."

what? your saying out sourcing doesn't work? what next, the global economy is a fraud?

it would be interesting to read some documented tests where, let's say, 3 yards are compared over a number of years. the high input organic yard. vs the low input semi organic/synthetic/(whatever) yard vs. the just mowed yard. think it would be interesting to see the hours, money, water, products used and the changes in soil tests, quality of turf.

JIMINY H. SUFFERIN' CHRISTMAS !
We have another candidate for the Showcase.

fastboat wrote:The scary part about that is the neighbor, if I'm reading the post right, seems to want to do something to care for his lawn by paying a tru-green service. Either he's blind or ignorant, because the evidence of his method versus yours is pretty convincing. You'd think he would at least start asking some questions about what you are doing to have such vastly superior results.

Oh he asks questions and I tried to tell him to stay clear of tru-green; I could see right through their scams but he opted for convenience over quality since he needs the extra time to haul his 4 kids to 10 different activities each night.

gave20 wrote:

fastboat wrote:The scary part about that is the neighbor, if I'm reading the post right, seems to want to do something to care for his lawn by paying a tru-green service. Either he's blind or ignorant, because the evidence of his method versus yours is pretty convincing. You'd think he would at least start asking some questions about what you are doing to have such vastly superior results.

Oh he asks questions and I tried to tell him to stay clear of tru-green; I could see right through their scams but he opted for convenience over quality since he needs the extra time to haul his 4 kids to 10 different activities each night.

Yeah, well, he'll end up with kids that have ADHD. You'll have a great lawn. Who won? You tell me.

The biggest issue I have with Tru-Green and other companies that offer similar services is that they do it on their terms. They don't do what is best for the turf. There is no need to try to fertilize dormant grass. Its best to wait for a good rain and then spray the growth stimulating concoction.

My parent-in-law condo association hired a new guy to do the lawn services. As soon as the snow melted he dropped fertilizer. This caused a lot of growth and by no coincidence, he gets paid every time he mows. Further further proof, its a business that is in the business of making money.

I know a guy who was a salesman for ChemLawn. He was the guy who would could come out, walk the property, tell you what problems you had, and give you an estimate. He told me the estimate was based on square footage only. He also told me he knows nothing about grass and everything he told people was memorized from the training binder he got from the class they held for new guys.

About seven or eight years ago, when I knew nothing about lines, I hired Tru-Green for one season because I knew nothing about lawns, and they were offering a deal I couldn't pass up. Maybe it was luck, but I ended up with the best looking lawn on the block. That's not saying much, but it really was quite a respectable lawn.

I think I had six treatments, and had the same "tech" come out every time. He always scolded me for mowing too short, and for always bagging when I mowed. I thought he was nuts!

So... I'm not sure exactly what sort of training this guy - this KID - had, but in retrospect he knew something. At least more than I did at the time.

Nice story, I'm betting that kid was 1 in a million. You won the lawn lottery!

MorpheusPA wrote:
Yeah, well, he'll end up with kids that have ADHD. You'll have a great lawn. Who won? You tell me.

As the parent of a kid with ADHD, I drive her to as many activities as I can rope her into, so that I can mess around in the yard in relative peace. Otherwise she drive me batty "I'm bored, what are you doing? Why do you have to do that? Can you bring me to the book store? Aren't you done yet? Can we go to get icecream? I'm BORED!"

Looking forward to a nice lawn and a kid with some balanced brain chems.

TheWags wrote:As the parent of a kid with ADHD, I drive her to as many activities as I can rope her into, so that I can mess around in the yard in relative peace. Otherwise she drive me batty "I'm bored, what are you doing? Why do you have to do that? Can you bring me to the book store? Aren't you done yet? Can we go to get icecream? I'm BORED!"

Looking forward to a nice lawn and a kid with some balanced brain chems.

If it's any consolation, we do tend to settle down a bit with age. It's not like the ADHD ever goes away, but it does tend to re-channel itself.

And half the time ADHD is misdiagnosed boredom from a really bright child. Let's face it, there's very little challenge in schools.

But let's face the facts put a kid in school with challenges and they fail. Put a kid infront of a tv with a brain teasing xbox game on and they will figure out almost any problem.

[ Post made via Android ]

simpson wrote:But let's face the facts put a kid in school with challenges and they fail. Put a kid infront of a tv with a brain teasing xbox game on and they will figure out almost any problem.

[ Post made via Android ]

I am uncertain whether to blame this on the quality of the schools or the mind-degrading effects of the XBox. Probably a combination of both; school infrastructure is poor, and the XBox is entertaining but doesn't usually teach much (there are exceptions).

Just once I want them to fund the science club and de-fund the football team somewhere. Never happens.

Excuse me, I have to go finish the current sequence in Overlord II. Must. Defeat. Queen. Fay.

No, really, I do.

Some kids, particularly neurologically interesting ones, are drawn to electronic stimulation like it's crack. So I'd say it's a mixed bag of cause and effect. For my kid, engaging her in something meaningful to her is the best bet. In our school district, keeping the bottom third afloat is the priority. Left on her own, she implodes. How do I get her engaged and interested in lawn chemistry? That would be ideal!!