# The negatives of joining a lawn care forum



## jtuber (Sep 15, 2020)

At my previous and first house, I mowed and fertilized and didnt think much about my lawn. I didnt have any irrigation system so I didnt water my lawn. My grass greened up in spring, browned in summer, and greened up again in fall. I didn't mind what shade of green it was.

At my current second house, knowing how thick and dark of a green a lawn can be after seeing such a lawn somewhere, I am becoming more obsessed about how my lawn looks. This is the first year I aerated, topdressed and overseeded. I signed up for this forum and read and read. I am constantly thinking about what else I could do for my lawn. I seeded and impatiently checked for germination many times a day. I stood staring out of my window at my lawn wanting it to be thick and dark green constantly. My wife is threatening to divorce me because I neglect the house and always spend tine outside weeding and checking the grass. I think this forum (and those YouTube lawn vids) have planted seeds in my head of visions of a dark green perfect lawn. Why cant I just accept a normal green lawn? Why does it have to be a dark green lawn? Why why why?


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## BBLOCK (Jun 8, 2020)

if you're a mediocre kind of person you can have a mediocre kind of lawn. no judgment


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## Zcape35 (Sep 17, 2019)

Haha once your single you'll have even more free time. Best lawn in town!


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## jimmythegreek (Aug 7, 2020)

I installed inground sprinklers to stop my madness. It's a game changer. Yes you pay for water but my time is more valuable elsewhere making money. Tier 2 is easily achieved with a little work and patience. Tier 3 you must be retired lol


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## NYBandit33 (Sep 6, 2020)

I recently joined this forum and im in the same boat. I had crabgrass and weeds but mowed weekly and kept it tidy. I made some upgrades to the house this year and I've become obsessed. Im aiming for tier 2, not looking to win any awards but want it to look better then the neighbors. I overseeded around labor day, watering daily, fertilizing and its really filling in nicely. I need inground sprinkler now... my plan is to use the info on this forum to really turn it around next year


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## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

NYBandit33 I'm right there with you. I use a fertilizing company at the moment. The results are so good, that a few women on my block wanted to know why my yard was weed free and their husbands were having less luck. Since last spring I've done a full reno on both the front and the back with sod. Next year I'm having inground sprinklers put in. I began writing down how much water the lawn was getting and when to cut (+ height). It seems I'm never satisfied and keep spending time out there. Here is a picture from Memorial Day. The boulevard area between the trees thins out and irritates me to end.


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

I mean honestly you can do without a lot of the crap that most people push.

I'd say 2 apps of prodiamine a year > one in spring one in fall
2 apps of fert > one is spring one after the heat wave in august 
then mow weekly

Then strongly consider a reno if you're not happy with the look based off consistency or color of green a Ryegrass/bluegrass is typically the best cause the ryegrass makes it look like a lawn for the slow KBG to germinate.

Some people would say water, but I let mine go dormant in the summer heat.

That's really all there is too it, I've messed around with PGR Iron and other products and having a genetically darker grass is better than constantly applying something... it's like putting on make up


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## NYBandit33 (Sep 6, 2020)

What would you recommend as a prodiamine replacement for those of us in NY? I did all the research on it and got all excited and then found out I couldnt buy it. I see tenacity is popular but it also looks like it needs to be applied pretty often. I was going to get lesco granular pre emergent with dimension


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

this one doesnt say its restricted for NY https://www.domyown.com/crabgrass-control-plus-with-037-prodiamine-herbicide-p-18791.html


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## NYBandit33 (Sep 6, 2020)

Thanks. Sorry if Im hijacking the thread but you like this over the lesco with dimension with some nitrogen? I see some articles saying no nitrogen in the spring is better so the grass focuses on the roots but I see some saying its just fine to use.


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## nycbob (Aug 7, 2020)

NYBandit33 said:


> What would you recommend as a prodiamine replacement for those of us in NY? I did all the research on it and got all excited and then found out I couldnt buy it. I see tenacity is popular but it also looks like it needs to be applied pretty often. I was going to get lesco granular pre emergent with dimension


I used prodiomine in long island.


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## always_creative (Aug 28, 2020)

@NYBandit33 You can use dithiopyr in New York State if you're having trouble getting prodiamine, however there is a lower annual application limit.

You can read the state's logic for the lower limit here if you're curious:
http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/herb-growthreg/dalapon-ethephon/dithiopyr/dithiopyr_let_999.html

Personally, I found the research interesting and I tend to care about not letting the things I do on my property create adverse impacts off my property. To each their own though, there's no pre-emergent police going around busting people for exceeding the label rate.


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## dman (Nov 5, 2019)

LOL! A thread about being obsessed with the lawn and folks start talking about Pre-M......gotta love the irony!


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## NYBandit33 (Sep 6, 2020)

nycbob said:


> NYBandit33 said:
> 
> 
> > What would you recommend as a prodiamine replacement for those of us in NY? I did all the research on it and got all excited and then found out I couldnt buy it. I see tenacity is popular but it also looks like it needs to be applied pretty often. I was going to get lesco granular pre emergent with dimension
> ...


The liquid version? All the ones I see say no shipping to New York. If you have the hookup get me some and ill pick it up lol


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## always_creative (Aug 28, 2020)

@NYBandit33 Here are all the prodiamine-containing products that will ship to New York:
https://www.domyown.com/new-york?keywords=prodiamine

It includes both liquids and granular.


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## Old Hickory (Aug 19, 2019)

dman said:


> LOL! A thread about being obsessed with the lawn and folks start talking about Pre-M......gotta love the irony!


I never thought about pre-M before February but now, this forum, it's a year-around discussion. "-)


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Old Hickory said:


> dman said:
> 
> 
> > LOL! A thread about being obsessed with the lawn and folks start talking about Pre-M......gotta love the irony!
> ...


For real, it's really the only way to combat Poa A, I started caring for my parents lawn and we all know that the fert. companies don't come until April and she has always had Poa A. I put down a 6 month rate at the beginning of Sept. Will follow up in Feb. !!!!!!!


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

dman said:


> LOL! A thread about being obsessed with the lawn and folks start talking about Pre-M......gotta love the irony!


😂😂


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

jtuber said:


> I signed up for this forum and read and read. I am constantly thinking about what else I could do for my lawn. I seeded and impatiently checked for germination many times a day. I stood staring out of my window at my lawn wanting it to be thick and dark green constantly. My wife is threatening to divorce me because I neglect the house and always spend tine outside weeding and checking the grass. I think this forum (and those YouTube lawn vids) have planted seeds in my head of visions of a dark green perfect lawn. Why cant I just accept a normal green lawn? Why does it have to be a dark green lawn? Why why why?


I would argue that perfection is a myth and dark green lawns are unnatural. Nothing wrong with pushing in that direction, but If you wife has seriously dropped the "D" word, your marriage _and_ your lawn may be at risk. Your lawn does not need to be dark green and rumination is a habit that can be managed.

First, recognize that unrealistic expectations would frustrate anybody. Your land is always going to be in some process of change and its current state is just a reflection of that ongoing change. It's always exactly as green as it should be. There are physical limitations and factors beyond your control that practical efforts won't overcome. Sometimes, doing nothing is the best course of action. Success in management is making the best of your circumstances, not achieving the impossible.

Second, recognize that rumination is search for understanding without adequate inputs. It's a process that can't be completed. Our brains are highly intuitive, and sometimes we are seeking an answer that just isn't there. It's a mistake to presume there's some set of actions that, if taken, would be "the magic bullet" solution. When a computer ruminates, the inevitable result is a stack overflow. Ruminators need, but don't have, a reliable stack overflow. Rumination will cease to be a problem when it is regularly interrupted with something else. I suggest making a prioritized list of things you want or need to be doing in addition to lawn care; it's best if these activities require moderate to high attention to detail. Consult your list often enough and you may find your symptoms decrease in frequency/severity.

Hope you find this helpful.


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## jtuber (Sep 15, 2020)

dman said:


> LOL! A thread about being obsessed with the lawn and folks start talking about Pre-M......gotta love the irony!


You people are way beyond redemption.

Its raining here and I must resist the urge to go inspect my lawn.


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## jtuber (Sep 15, 2020)

@ionicatoms I hear ya but the neighbor's lawn is better and greener than mine.


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## Ngilbe36 (Jul 23, 2020)

Different passion, but it reminded me of this article from a while ago.
Don't be like this guy. Its a hobby, make it enjoyable and if it affects your life in a negative aspect whether that is socially or financially, make a change.
https://jalopnik.com/the-bmw-addiction-that-completely-destroyed-this-man-s-1794882542


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## Mmcgrouty (Sep 21, 2020)

The first thing I do every morning is go outside and stare at the grass. I know the neighbors think I'm insane.


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## always_creative (Aug 28, 2020)

Mmcgrouty said:


> The first thing I do every morning is go outside and stare at the grass. I know the neighbors think I'm insane.


I did this even when my lawn was a neglected weed garden. It's just nice for the mind to contemplate some green for a few minutes.


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## jtuber (Sep 15, 2020)

Here is my lawn. What a mess.


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## behemyth (Jun 8, 2019)

@jtuber I will tell you, having a nice lawn isn't a sprint, its a marathon. It takes years of being on a program to treat problems and establish the right nutrients in the lawn. My lawn the first year I moved in looked rough, its coming up on two years and now people are stopping me when i mow, when im putting product down, edging, ect, asking me who treats my lawn because it looks "insane" - as one guy said. I just had a guy come ask me to look at his lawn and tell him what he's doing wrong.

Just do the basics year in and year out, and all the time (don't kind of put down fertilizer for example on a schedule, and skip a month or two). Consistency is really key to having a nice lawn. Also make sure your willing to mow every two days, if not daily. This is what people do that have top tier lawns. When I tell people that I mow a minimum of every two days, they look at me like I'm insane. One of my neighbors told me some of them just figured I knew something they didn't because I was mowing so often lol....


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## Pezking7p (May 23, 2020)

jtuber said:


> Here is my lawn. What a mess.


Lawn looks better if you open the door!

I'm out here trying to have the best lawn on the street, which shouldn't be hard but unfortunately my street is insane. There are no tier 3 lawns but there are for sure a lot of tier 1.5-2.0 lawns. It makes me crazy. My wife accuses me of being obsessive and paying more attention to the lawn than her, but she is constantly giving me intel on which neighbors had which service come spray their lawn, so I know she's obsessive, too ("oh, they had the trugreen truck out today. They stopped there, and there").

Maybe next year I will achieve lawn perfection...


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## jtuber (Sep 15, 2020)

Maybe you guys are right. Maybe I am too impatient. I just aerated and overseed this year and by human nature i wanted my lawn to be instantly thick and green. I forgot that it is a living organism. It needs time to grow and develop. Seeing many questions on this forum about why my grass is not green or my grass is not growing or my Reno is failing, it does raise the anxiety level in you when you see your grass also has the same symptoms.


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Mmcgrouty said:


> The first thing I do every morning is go outside and stare at the grass. I know the neighbors think I'm insane.


The Truth .


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Ya know... I took over caring for my parents lawn this summer and it bounced out of summer dormancy, I hit with fert and they've been letting it grow to 6" and chopping off to 3" and it looks like crap now.

Point is; not breaking the 1/3 rule and mowing regularly is so important and undervalued.

Probably the most important thing you can do with the least amount of input.


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## jtuber (Sep 15, 2020)

Thick n Dense said:


> Mmcgrouty said:
> 
> 
> > The first thing I do every morning is go outside and stare at the grass. I know the neighbors think I'm insane.
> ...


I dont go outside now because its chilly but I do find myself standing at and staring out a window at my lawn several times a day. I am possessed.


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## sheepfescue (Jul 29, 2019)

To the OP:

Dude, definitely back off the lawn a bit if the misses is threatening divorce; lawns can be fixed; broken marriages can't be.

But I hear what you are saying... Lawn care is a cash cow business, and lawncare suppliers are laughing all the way to the bank.

It's kinda funny... so many people try to no end to get rid of bentgrass, zoysia, and bermuda, no matter how hard they TRY to kill it off, they can't... and yet, we try so hard to keep our TTTF and Bluegrass alive, but we just can't.

See the problem here? Bentgrass at maximum length (at least the stuff I had wouldn't grow beyond a couple inches), UNLIKE GOLF PUTTING-GREEN LEGNTH, is indestructible. It doesn't care about diseases, laughs at heat and weeds, and repairs itself in four days. Lawncare companies know that if a bentgrass was bread to be even better and more suited for a residential lawn, they'd all go out of business.

There's no darn winning, and all paths lead to the fact that turfgrass lawns are a no-go. Seed in spring? Nope. Seed in summer? Haha LOL! Dormant seed? Noooope! Seed in "fall"? Noooope; September is "too late." Ok, so seed in August? Nooope... it's too hot and dry!!! Oh shucks, I'll water.... for 10 minutes three times a day? OHHH NOOOO! That is "too much." Ok, so I'll water five minutes twice a day... how's that? TOO LITTLE! Ok, then what should I do?

And the answer is: Don't plant grass, because there is not "right" way to do it; there is not "good" way, there is not good "time" to plant it; there is no "good way" to care for it. It is a black hole of disposable income disposal...


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## jtuber (Sep 15, 2020)

Haha thanks for the laugh. You are right. I would have been glad to have my lawn the way it is right now but reading this forum and seeing people asking all sort of questions regarding their lawn problems, from the real (my lawn is dying with brown spots) to the imaginary (my lawn isnt green enough), it causes you to think your lawn has "problems" too. I know that I say this but tomorrow I will do the damn same thing again, and that is staring at my lawn and wondering what else my lawn is missing. Once you start to care, you become obsessed.


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## Sphero43 (Jul 23, 2020)

I found this topic amusing bc my wife said to me the other day she wishes I'd talk to her the way I talk to my grass!


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## jtuber (Sep 15, 2020)

@Sphero43 when was the last time you called her baby like you call your baby grass?


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## JP900++ (Aug 24, 2018)

My wife says this is the best forum thread...and the only one she agrees with


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

JP900++ said:


> My wife says this is the best forum thread...and the only one she agrees with


Maybe she didn't see the thread with this:
[media]https://youtu.be/H7dKO8KxAIg[/media]


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

This is the funniest thread on TLF.

Seriously though OP. I've been in serious trouble babying my Reno. I'll make up for it this winter around the house...well that's what I keep saying to her...it works on most days!


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## jtuber (Sep 15, 2020)

I have quite a few clumps of quackgrass on my lawn. I asked my kids to paint them with round up. They asked what is a quack grass. I told them that it is kind of grass that quacks at night. They said they thought it chirped. I told them no thats the crickets. I told my wife I have to go paint the grass. She asked why the grass and not the house. I said because our grass is not green enough and plus our house is not green. She rolled her eyes.


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## thebmrust (Jun 29, 2020)

In the middle of a full reno (new house 55,000+ sq ft of grassed area that has been 100% weeds for 5+ years prior). Took us 6 months to get the ground & irrigation prepped & ready. We are now 26 days after seed down. 10 days until irrigation cutoff. The pressure is real.

I was looking at lawn/water coverage the other day. My wife came up behind me and said "I wish you would look at me the same way."
I said "I should look at you and think "I need to fill in your holes with dirt, rake the bare spots and keep the sprinklers running and basically say there's a lot of work still to do""?

She hasn't said anything else since.


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Hoooooray, morning meetings are over !!!

Time to go stare at the grass !


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## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

if you're paying more attention to the lawn than your wife it's time to upgrade your wife


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

I tried to win my wife back by putting a striping kit on the vacuum cleaner... did not work.


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## halby (Jun 8, 2020)

Don't lose your family over grass. Fix the root cause, after grass you will be addicted to something else.


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## Pezking7p (May 23, 2020)

jskierko said:


> I tried to win my wife back by putting a striping kit on the vacuum cleaner... did not work.


I was vacuuming this last weekend and realized you could lay down some sick stripes with a vacuum cleaner if you just put a brush on it. I would almost do this for a laugh.


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## Tassoty (Oct 2, 2020)

dman said:


> LOL! A thread about being obsessed with the lawn and folks start talking about Pre-M......gotta love the irony!


Well.... if pre-M doesn't work there is post-M :lol: :lol: 
Funny jokes :thumbup:


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

This thread gave me a good laugh. I generally get a kick out of how crazy we lawn nuts are, but don't let your lawn obsession affect what matters most in life. My wife likes to make fun of me for my obsession with the lawn, but has been very supportive because it brings me joy. I would rather stare at dirt than lose her.

There's nothing wrong with wanting your small section of this earth to have healthy and beautiful green grass, but I think it's important to have a purpose and see the bigger picture. I find purpose in creating a beautiful space to enjoy with those I love, and also in my obligation to have the knowledge to have a positive impact on the environment. If I wasn't such a grass nerd, I would not understand how my cultural practices affect the environment.


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