# Percent lawn crazy?



## Overtaxed (May 9, 2021)

You know, like any subgroup one participates in, it's sometimes helpful to wonder "how common" your particular interests are. I don't know any IRL who's as "lawn crazy" as I am, and I'm basically a poser compared to many posters on here. Yes, I reno'ed my lawn, and yes, I spray it. Yes, I have a spreadsheet of chemicals and dates/notes. But if you go on Youtube, you'll see guys dumping 200 tons of sand on the lawn with a shovel and working it in to get perfectly level. .25in cuts with a hydraulic reel mower. If the lawn crazy scale goes 1-10, I'm probably a 3; I have an inkling of the difference between Poa Annua and ryegrass, but that's about it.

My question is this, in your area, what percent of the houses you drive by are "lawn crazy"? If I put myself into that group, I know of 3 around me; and the 2 other ones are way beyond me; reel mowing and cutting at .75 or so. Very pretty, for sure! But there have to be 100's of other homes I drive by on a regular basis, and of those 100's, mine lawn if firmly at position 3 (with my reel mowing neighbors taking 1-2). And it's not even close, my lawn isn't a little better, it's in a whole different zip code.

So, in your area, what percent of your neighbors are "lawn crazy"? Are you number 1, or down the list for nuttiest homeowner lawns? Do you want to be number 1 (I kind of do, but not because I mow low, I want to have acres of "perfect" lawn)? Put another way, how rare is this "hobby" in your location? If you say "Dimension" do your friends think "some post control on crabgrass" or do they think "Like 2D vs 3D?".

There's a lot to this hobby, which is probably what attracted me to it, a lot of physical work coupled with a lot of thinking work to end up with a first class result. I just wonder how rare the interest is?


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## amartin003 (Apr 30, 2021)

I totally know what you mean! I know a little (a lot more since I joined this forum) but not nearly as much as a lot of the people on here or that I watch on YouTube, and I'm considered "lawn crazy" but my friends and family. In my area there are a lot of decent lawns, but not many that I would consider top tier. I would think it would be the same pretty much anywhere - a lot of middle of the range lawns (basic lawn care) but not many that make you slow down as you drive by. I don't think most people are THAT into their lawns.

I personally have one, maybe two friends that would know "dimension" has anything to do with herbicide.

Mine is still a work in progress from when I moved in last fall. But I hope to be a top tier lawn within the next season or two!


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## Old Hickory (Aug 19, 2019)

In my neighborhood mentioning Dimension would be the 70s soul group the 5th Dimension or the introduction of The Twilight Zone. Hello Boomer!


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## Sinclair (Jul 25, 2017)

I'm the only true "crazy" in my town.

There are a few nice lawns where you can tell the homeowner is putting in an above average effort, and knows how to feed, mow, and water, but average effort is a pretty low bar up here in Canada! :lol:


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## amartin003 (Apr 30, 2021)

Sinclair said:


> I'm the only true "crazy" in my town.
> 
> There are a few nice lawns where you can tell the homeowner is putting in an above average effort, and knows how to feed, mow, and water, but average effort is a pretty low bar up here in Canada! :lol:


Because most of us in Canada (myself included up till recently) would buy our version of "weed killer" from Home Depot and give up when it doesn't actually kill any weeds! :lol:


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## Sinclair (Jul 25, 2017)

amartin003 said:


> Because most of us in Canada (myself included up till recently) would buy our version of "weed killer" from Home Depot and give up when it doesn't actually kill any weeds! :lol:


Ya, iron chelate...kills the dandelions, but I swear the other weeds like it! :lol:


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## Overtaxed (May 9, 2021)

amartin003 said:


> Because most of us in Canada (myself included up till recently) would buy our version of "weed killer" from Home Depot and give up when it doesn't actually kill any weeds! :lol:


Yeah, that's a problem. It's kind of silly, and I do wonder why the manufacturers haven't stepped in, but a lot of what, at least in my case, kept me from going lawn crazy is that the big box stores sell ineffective stuff and also crazy expensive per sq/ft. I have about 15K that I'm working with, and if you start to do the math on that using "big box" supplies, the numbers get nutty fast. If you go pro/ag, then the numbers get a lot more workable. But rather than learn the chemical names and search them out online, I think a lot of people just say "too expensive, no thanks".



> a lot of middle of the range lawns (basic lawn care) but not many that make you slow down as you drive by. I don't think most people are THAT into their lawns.


What do you consider "middle of the road"? In my area, the most common thing, by far, is "mowed". As in, they mow the lawn. It's obvious there's no PreM down, the weeds are as common as the grass. It's nothing "nice" as far as cultivar, it's K31 or whatever happened to grow there. But whatever it is, they mow it (usually far too short) and call it a day. And honestly, it's looks OK, it's not an eyesore or anything, it's green.

That's what "middle of the range" looks like around here. High end is the guys with the putting greens for lawn, and low end would be "what's a mower for??".


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## davegravy (Jul 25, 2019)

Here in Canada having a "looker" of a lawn means you don't have any weeds and it's relatively green and frequently mowed. I'd never seen a reel mowed lawn that wasn't a golf course until I joined TLF, and nobody uses any lawn products other than whatever Scotts seed / fertilizer /topsoil gets put on display in spring and fall at home depot.


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## amartin003 (Apr 30, 2021)

Overtaxed said:


> amartin003 said:
> 
> 
> > Because most of us in Canada (myself included up till recently) would buy our version of "weed killer" from Home Depot and give up when it doesn't actually kill any weeds! :lol:
> ...


Yes, most people couldn't be bothered to research different options. And I get it, we all have our hobbies. Lawn care just isn't a priority for most. That's fine, makes our lawns stand out more 

As for middle of the range, my area sounds like yours and probably most others. It's a lawn that is cut regularly, a couple applications of fertilizer throughout the season, maybe have someone aerate the lawn in the Spring. Looks fine, average lawn. Still plenty of weeds, definitely no herbicide (especially in Canada where everything is banned). Soil test would be considered OCD.


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## cavince79 (Jun 18, 2019)

In my neighborhood, 7%. That was the question, right? 3 out of 41 homes maintain to a very high quality. I think I'm the only one reel mowing. Mine still has some work, so I'm not at the TLF LOTM state yet. My front lawn is 1 year old now, so I'm adding sand and working on level.
By the same token, maybe 7-14% (3-6) do a poor job, and for the most part, the rest just mow and it's fine.


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## Overtaxed (May 9, 2021)

What's with Canada and the chemicals? You guys can't get anything up there? I'm kind of shocked, you have big farms and lots of forestry land; sounds like I should sneak some Roundup across the border and sell it!


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## Deltahedge (Apr 1, 2020)

In my area, all the houses have 1.5-3 acre lots, and almost all of them hire their yards mowed with a company that comes out with a zero turn. The houses that take care of their own lawn also use a riding mower. The section of my yard that I mow with the reel is the best looking turf in the entire neighborhood. So I would rank that section #1 out of about 200 homes. But, that is only if I single out that half acre reel-mowed section of my nearly 3 acre lawn.

There's really nothing differentiating about the rest of my lawn verses any other lawn in the neighborhood. No one is irrigating their entire lot, no one is fertilizing the entire lot. No one has sodded the entire area of their lot. We all just mow the natural grass that existed before any of the houses were built.

My friends and neighbors think my lawn is very nice, but that is relative to their lawns. I would consider my lawn to be in the bottom 25% of lawns I see on this site. But what else would I expect on a global internet forum dedicated to lawn care?


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## amartin003 (Apr 30, 2021)

Overtaxed said:


> What's with Canada and the chemicals? You guys can't get anything up there? I'm kind of shocked, you have big farms and lots of forestry land; sounds like I should sneak some Roundup across the border and sell it!


To be fair, certain provinces allow SOME herbicides, but where I am (Ontario) pretty much any standard herbicide readily available at any Home Depot in the USA is banned. I think they want to promote being green and not having chemicals out in the open or washing down sewers, etc. Even Milorgranite is not available in Canada, as they don't allow sewage byproducts. I think there are some exemptions for commercial farms and forestry being allowed to use the good stuff, but not residential folks.

You'd make a good buck smuggling some Roundup or Tenacity over the border and selling it!


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## thebmrust (Jun 29, 2020)

I'm not even in the realm of having a green lawn. Lots of mistakes and limitations based upon available funds to do it right.
That being said, our metropolitan area is appx 350,000 and I don't know of a single lawn that is cut with a reel. I'm sure they exist, I just haven't seen one yet.
I'm working on being one of the nut jobs who mows every other day... gimme a few years, I'll earn that badge of honor.


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## thebmrust (Jun 29, 2020)

I did a drive by Google map check and didn't see any stripes on lawns. Granted that's not an accurate check, but I was curious.

I also have to correct myself, I do have mostly green grass. The poa is dying off w warmer spring weather and I am cutting pretty short to try and bag up the poa seed heads. Yes I could drop herbicide, and in some cases I do. We have roughly 60,000sqft of grass and some apps are just too cost prohibitive at this part of the journey.


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## A3M0N (Mar 17, 2021)

I've only lived in my neighborhood for about five months, and so far it looks I'm one of the few neighbors who even edge the yard. I'm pretty sure I'm "that guy" already, but I'm ok with that. It's not pretty yet, and it will never be a golf green, but I just can't stand to let my lawn be unkept.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

I'm more than likely in the top 5% or more for yards in my neighborhood. I know maybe 3 people that reel. All of them have stopped by my house or bought a mower from me. I know of maybe 2 other people whos yards I can tell are reel cut but that's it.

Most people here get a spray and pray PreM, a weekly mow, edge, blow and call it done. Occasional fertilizer, no irrigation other than rain.

Fair bit of people do more than average and I thankfully live near some that do, and it does boost the curb appeal. I also live next to someone who does nothing in terms of applications and has a budget outfit now every 10 days or so. Makes me look even better honestly.

I have people stop anytime I am outside to ask about my lawn, and compliments abound, By their standards it is top tier "golf course" like, to our views here - I'm not even near middle of the pack on this site.


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## cleohioturf (Jul 20, 2020)

my neighbors, and family and friends all think I am crazy. That said, lots in my area pay top dollar for crews and have pristine lawns. There are also a lot that dont care at all, and others who try to care but I almost feel bad because they are doing everything at the wrong time, they would be better just laying dollar bills out in the lawn.


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## frekwentflier (Oct 27, 2020)

There are 2 lawns in my neighborhood (at least the part where I walk my dog) that are slightly better than mine. Many people use Trugreen, including 2 of my neighbors. I blow them away.  But of course I'm probably spending more $ and definitely more time than they are.

A couple of people who live nearby have approached me and asked for advice. I give them the basics and refer them to this site and Youtube, but until they're willing to commit to irrigation, I'm not sure how much good it will do them.


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## Bean4Me (May 13, 2020)

I'm just a poser, wanna be lawn care nut. I'm the only one who mows low in my whole neighborhood and is constantly spraying, spreading, throwing down. There used to be a guy who kept a small putting green in his front yard but the new owner of that house hasn't kept it up so he just has a different grass variety in his front lawn mowed the same height as everything else.

All the houses in my HOA have irrigation. Majority of the houses here just do the weekly mow. Some go as far as mow, trim, blow. And some hire crews to perform the mow, trim, blow on a weekly basis. Almost no one edges their property which is surprising to me considering how much of an impact it makes to the final product. I haven't seen anyone with a reel mower but I hope to own one someday.


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## Retromower (Jan 28, 2021)

Id say its a percent of a percent. Most people cut their lawn every couple of weeks and put just enough work in it so that their neibors dont complain about how it looks.
Id say that the people on this site and vastly in the minority.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

Retromower said:


> Id say its a percent of a percent. Most people cut their lawn every couple of weeks and put just enough work in it so that their neibors dont complain about how it looks.
> Id say that the people on this site and vastly in the minority.


I agree. Very few normals are willing to mow twice a week.


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## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

I am the only one in my neighborhood. Aside from someone one street over, I am the only person who does way more than the bare minimum.

I see a lot of lawns that are full of fungus, weeds and cut so low there's almost no green. Some neighbors cut 1-3 times all summer and most do not care to get rid of weeds. I can count on one hand how many people I see water their lawn a minimum of one time per year as well.

I started my journey in 2018, cutting grass for the first time in almost 20 years and have not looked back. Some neighbors compliment me and others talk trash (presumably out of jealousy).


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## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

I see a lot of homes that use a lawn service and for whatever reason, they get the ones that mow too low or cut wet grass and side discharge it. TruGreen around here has a bad reputation.


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## M1SF1T (Jun 1, 2021)

I'm a newb, second season on this lawn, but really only starting to put things together recently, and it's nothing special, lots of problems still.. But there is only one house in my neighborhood that has a better lawn and they have a live-in full time groundskeeper.

Everyone else just mows at the most, no edging, no irrigation, full of weeds (Canada).

My neighbours to either side both have weekly lawn services and even they have weed filled, un-edged lawns... what does edging just 40' of sidewalk take? 1 minute? Seems it should be a required part of even your basic package from any pro service, even if the homeowner is cheap, it looks bad on them too.


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## Retromower (Jan 28, 2021)

ionicatoms said:


> Retromower said:
> 
> 
> > Id say its a percent of a percent. Most people cut their lawn every couple of weeks and put just enough work in it so that their neibors dont complain about how it looks.
> ...


Amen. Just the other day my neibor commented on how I mow 3 times for every 1 time that he mows. LOL


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