Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: knorB on September 07, 2022, 09:10:00 AM
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I’ve got this section of lawn that Is just a dead spot. I’ve seeded and watered but it just won’t take.
Any suggestions on growing grass?
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What kind of grass and where in the world?
I ask as I have Saint Augustine so when I did some dirt work, I just let runners grow and cut them. Moved them over to the dirt area pushed them in. Sprinkled some triple 13 over the area and water regular. The whole area filled in rather quickly.
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TN. I’m not sure what’s there now as I am no expert.
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Ohh east TN if it needs to be more specific.
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It's very difficult to have a decent yard in my area. I would go so far as to say it is unnatural. In fact, lawn maint in my area borders on a vulgar display of wealth. The time and money required is ridiculous. Then there's the affect to ecology... The lakefronters Vs the backlotters... (backlotters are the people who actually live here, lakefronters are the rich weekenders). Excess nitrogen runoff in the lake causes lake killing algae blooms, but... "i gotta have my nice lawn!" TruGreen comes on Weds, the lawn maint guy now has to come on Mon AND Fri ("I don't want no filthy backlotter cutting my lawn while I'm here on the weekend!") just to keep up. It all equates to... "LOOK AT ME THROWING MONEY TO THE WIND! IT MEANS NOTHING TO ME!!"
But... I did do it for ONE year... Too much of a hassle. My current trick is to neglect it JUST ENOUGH so it doesn't die, but only has to be cut once a week (or so).
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeriscaping (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeriscaping)
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeriscaping (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeriscaping)
a
Yea water isn't a problem here. so no cacti needed,
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I’m in a very rural area. The spot giving me trouble is on the back side of the house where it’s wooded. I’m wondering if I got critters using this particular spot?
Think I should set up a game cam to keep an eye on that patch of grass?
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How about trying to make it a natural meadow instead of a lawn? Cut it down a few times a year so that it doesn't grow bush, do that after the flowers have dropped their seeds. You may end up having some nice rare butterflies right in your backyard.
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I’m in a very rural area. The spot giving me trouble is on the back side of the house where it’s wooded. I’m wondering if I got critters using this particular spot?
Think I should set up a game cam to keep an eye on that patch of grass?
You can do what Shuffler has done or buy enough sod to lay down and maintain it, but if it is a wooded area, you will have a harder time keeping it going using natural resources alone....it will keep dieing out.....not enough water/ or too much water and not enough sunlight 😉
Hope this helps
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Guess I should elaborate more. I’m sitting on 35 acres. I have hay fields and wooded areas. The lawn in front goes up to a fence and the other side is hay field. Out back it goes right to a wood line. I’m not going to have meadow up to the house. Besides what’s to say that dead spot won’t remain? I’ve watched this grass all season so far and nothing. Rest of the lawn is healthy. It just gets cut every week or so, no special care.
Perplexing.
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Do a soil analysis on the dead spot. It might be the place the previous owner dumped his used oil when he changed oil in the tractor. Just a thought. Gotta be a reason why you've got a bare spot surrounded by grass.
Maybe dig into it 6 inches or so and see if there's rock underneath that spot. Something is preventing the grass from taking root.
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Maybe dig into it 6 inches or so and see if there's rock underneath that spot. Something is preventing the grass from taking root.
Probably want to have the utilities people come out and check before digging.
You never know what you might find when digging.
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Could even need aeration. Big trees close by pull a lot of water. Do you have a saline water softening unit nearby? Many things may cause grass not to grow in an area.
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Agreed. If you have saltines in your yard, the surrounding areas will be negatively affected.
Coogan
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For me it's the pine trees that constantly drip sap and kill everything.
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A little help.
You could try to find a really good Psychologist.
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You could try to find a really good Psychologist.
:confused: Why?
Coogan
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No shortage of psychology majors, that's for sure. A cousin told me long ago that 40% of engineering majors switch to psychology. That was after he switched from engineering to psychology. :D
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knorB, you might try plugging a creeping grass around the bare spot in hopes it will spread over it.
Bermuda grows pretty well in eastern TN apparently. Surround that bare spot with 2 inch plugs spaced about 6" apart and see if it will spread. You'll need to wait until it starts warming up next year though. It'll go dormant in the cold months.
I'm doing a Bermuda implant where I'm at this year. It chokes out the weeds very well and is low maintenance. My acres are not a lawn, I call it a pasture. A mixture of bluegrass, fescue, lots of crabgrass and other weeds.
I have a very nice patch of Bermuda a former owner put it. That part looks great, so I'm plugging out of it into the other areas. Looking good so far.
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knorB, you might try plugging a creeping grass around the bare spot in hopes it will spread over it.
Bermuda grows pretty well in eastern TN apparently. Surround that bare spot with 2 inch plugs spaced about 6" apart and see if it will spread. You'll need to wait until it starts warming up next year though. It'll go dormant in the cold months.
I'm doing a Bermuda implant where I'm at this year. It chokes out the weeds very well and is low maintenance. My acres are not a lawn, I call it a pasture. A mixture of bluegrass, fescue, lots of crabgrass and other weeds.
I have a very nice patch of Bermuda a former owner put it. That part looks great, so I'm plugging out of it into the other areas. Looking good so far.
I'll give that a whirl. It's just odd, it's been a wet summer, so plenty of water. We live on top of a hill, so drainage is fine.
I've had bad patches before. Spread some seed, water and watch the grass grow.
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watch the grass grow.
...and if you find it boring, you could always wander off somewhere less boring.
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Dig up the dirt and put some fresh topsoil in its place. Reseed with seed patch mix and fertilizer, and presto!
Dont buy some of the bagged topsoils, they have the consistency of mulch. Bought a bag of miracle grow topsoil, it was more like miracle mulch Instead. The really cheap stuff that's like $2 a bag at lowes is essentially the stuff the street sweeper dumps out. Sometimes there's rocks in it, or dirt, or wood, or a few nails, or dried sludge.
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Shida I’m quite confused? I thought you British folks were big on gardening and the like. I’m shocked you haven’t contributed meaningfully.
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No shortage of fertilizer around here. 💩💩
Coogan.
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Shida I’m quite confused? I thought you British folks were big on gardening and the like. I’m shocked you haven’t contributed meaningfully.
You're not confused, I am no longer British and feel free to report me.
Can you fly a Brewster?
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You're not confused, I am no longer British and feel free to report me.
Can you fly a Brewster?
Why would I report you for not being British?
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I had a spot like that out front, finally got a shovel and dug up EVERYthing around 4" deep, thru a few bags of top soil from Lowes into the hole.
(AND didn't let the dog in the front yard anymore--once ONE dog pees there, that spot becomes pee central for every dog within a half mile)
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I had a spot like that out front, finally got a shovel and dug up EVERYthing around 4" deep, thru a few bags of top soil from Lowes into the hole.
(AND didn't let the dog in the front yard anymore--once ONE dog pees there, that spot becomes pee central for every dog within a half mile)
used to have a problem like that but it was cats. a few drops of bleach and they stopped coming.
semp
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Why would I report you for not being British?
Remember Bronk, oh I do apologise, I mean Knobber, it's your duty to report each and every minor rule infraction not according to your interpretation, but immediately and without thought. Don't do it for me, do it for your Alpha female as she has instructed you (presumably via pheremones) and follow your orders. Here, let me help you:
,...,you spineless, moronic, weak little beta.
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Well that wasn't very nice
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Remember Bronk, oh I do apologise, I mean Knobber, it's your duty to report each and every minor rule infraction not according to your interpretation, but immediately and without thought. Don't do it for me, do it for your Alpha female as she has instructed you (presumably via pheremones) and follow your orders. Here, let me help you:
,...,you spineless, moronic, weak little beta.
You seem to be rather bitter about something. You alright?
Coogan
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Well that wasn't very nice
When in Rome...
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Ohh east TN if it needs to be more specific.
I went to school in Knoxville.
You should definitely set up a camera and watch your grass grow. :aok
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I went to school in Knoxville.
You should definitely set up a camera and watch your grass grow. :aok
I think I have critters using the spot as a rest stop to put it politely. It is close to the wood line, I may set up a game cam.
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To this DAY, we still have no internet at the house. I played AH over dialup until 2010 or so, then we built a contraption with a 25' mast and a cell phone booster and hacked my phone to unlock the hotspot.
They're actually replacing the older short power line poles in preparation for Cox cable (rather have fiber, beggars cannot be choosers) but when we finally GET it, I'm gonna put 5meg cameras on the back side of my house, along with a couple infrared floods. There's any number of critters on my backyard every night, from black bears to coyotes. I've heard word the state is repopulating the elk population a well (I expect we're no allowed to shoot them yet, I suppose I could claim it was self defense)
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To this DAY, we still have no internet at the house. I played AH over dialup until 2010 or so, then we built a contraption with a 25' mast and a cell phone booster and hacked my phone to unlock the hotspot.
They're actually replacing the older short power line poles in preparation for Cox cable (rather have fiber, beggars cannot be choosers) but when we finally GET it, I'm gonna put 5meg cameras on the back side of my house, along with a couple infrared floods. There's any number of critters on my backyard every night, from black bears to coyotes. I've heard word the state is repopulating the elk population a well (I expect we're no allowed to shoot them yet, I suppose I could claim it was self defense)
I was on AOL dialup when I started playing. Had a ping of about 200Ms. It was playable.
I wish Starlink wasn't so expensive, or I'd jump right on that.
Coogan
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That's where the grief comes in, we have 350 gig Sim chips for our Wi-Fi hotspot, and we seem to use a little over 100 each month. It's difficult to pay for that much satellite usage
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When in Rome...
This implies you've been treated unfairly. Name names.
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I have the fixall for your grass problem......
Climb over the fence and look over at it. :aok
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I have the fixall for your grass problem......
Climb over the fence and look over at it. :aok
:rofl
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I'd rake it out so that it's bare dirt. Rake the dirt a little so it's not just hard-pack surface.
Then I'd go to Home Depot and get Tall Fescue and a push spreader. The bag will tell you what to set the spreader's dial to. (Note, this is if spot gets at least 4 hours of sun per day. If it gets less than that, then you need something more for shade, maybe Fine Fescue.)
If you get seed + fertilizer, you put that on. If you get seed, then get also the fertilizer suggested on the bag of seed.
Seed it (and put on fertilizer, if bag says so), and make sure to follow the instructions. It is very easy to cover large areas with a cheap push spreader. So don't worry about getting seed and fertilizer vs. a pre-mix of those. It's not a big deal.
Most-important thing is to follow the watering instructions. You must keep it moist and never let it dry out. Let it dry out once, and the seed will not grow thereafter. If you aren't going to commit to all that watering, don't even start the project.
It takes water every day for 3 weeks to get it going.
Good luck! :aok
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PS:
If you are ever near Nashville and want a free lunch and beer on me, just let me know.
I love meeting fellow AH'ers. :aok
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I got lucky, walmart had their bags of seed starter and patch mix clearanced out for $1 - $2 a bag. Loaded up on that and filled in a lot of bare spots
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I got lucky, walmart had their bags of seed starter and patch mix clearanced out for $1 - $2 a bag. Loaded up on that and filled in a lot of bare spots
I noticed you looked different with your hat off.
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Lol nice zinger.
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I noticed you looked different with your hat off.
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