# What do you tell neighbors who ask?



## Phids (Sep 24, 2020)

I imagine that on occasion, most of us here get neighbors casually stopping on their walks while we're mowing or doing something else on our lawns, and saying to us, "How in the world do you get your lawn so GREEN/THICK/LUSH/etc.?"

It's always nice to get a comment like that, but how do you respond to such a question in a mere sentence or two? I seriously want to know what others say.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I usually just smile and tell them it's a full time job. If they have specific follow-up questions I take the time to answer them, but I would say more often than not they're just making conversation.


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## HoosierDaddy (Sep 5, 2017)

Neighbor: *with wrinkled nose* What are you spraying? 
Me: *spraying iron* The blood of my enemies...

That usually stops any questions...


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I am just as vague as can be when anyone asks, as I know 99.9% of them are going to do NOTHING. I just tell them that I water, mow and fertilize and the mower I have allows me to cut it short. And I tell them I have bermuda and that's about it.

Some people have stopped by and want to know EXACTLY what kind of fertilizer I a using like it's some unicorn pee that will magically transform their lawn. SMH!!!!!


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

One word. Urea.


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## massgrass (Aug 17, 2017)

I just say getting the nutrients right along with good cutting & watering practices. Most people don't want to know the nuts and bolts anyway.


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## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

I used to tell them fertilizer and mow often. Now I just tell them "time" for reasons many have stated above.


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## iBird (Apr 21, 2021)

I tell them:

It is easy, because I love doing it!


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## DuncanMcDonuts (May 5, 2019)

I tell them a lot of work and time. That pretty much scares them from knowing more.


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

That I have an understanding wife


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

"Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and you lose a perfect business opportunity."


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## Retromower (Jan 28, 2021)

Phids said:


> I imagine that on occasion, most of us here get neighbors casually stopping on their walks while we're mowing or doing something else on our lawns, and saying to us, "How in the world do you get your lawn so GREEN/THICK/LUSH/etc.?"
> 
> It's always nice to get a comment like that, but how do you respond to such a question in a mere sentence or two? I seriously want to know what others say.


I usually just tell them it takes a little grass seed, a little fert, a little water and a lot of love. I recently completely rejuvinated the yard at the house that my wife and I bought last year and my neibors have comments at how quickly the grass has come in, how thick it is, how good it looks and how I did it.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

I do tend to get a lot of "how do you get the lawn so good comments" but I laughed at this one. I was selling a rotary mower on FB marketplace and put the mower on the lawn to take the listing picture. I got this message.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> One word. Urea.


I say this to people too and it's usually enough for them. They just want you to give them some form of hope that there is a magical fertilizer that will solve all there lawn problems.


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## PodScot (Mar 18, 2021)

I put out a little flag


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## Phids (Sep 24, 2020)

SNOWBOB11 said:


> I do tend to get a lot of "how do you get the lawn so good comments" but I laughed at this one. I was selling a rotary mower on FB marketplace and put the mower on the lawn to take the listing picture. I got this message.


 :lol: 


PodScot said:


> I put out a little flag


That is awesome. I need to get one of those signs.


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## NoslracNevok (Jun 12, 2018)

"To bake an apple pie, you must first invent the universe." So far none have got it.


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## Sbcgenii (May 13, 2018)

I tell them i have a special fertilizer that's better than all other fertilizers and they can only get it from me. If that doesn't work for them I sell them another " proprietary" product.


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## Butter (Nov 14, 2017)

"Spend the entire month of August killing your yard, seed it on Labor Day, water until Halloween."
By the time I get to kill they have lost interest.


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## MGC (Jun 4, 2017)

..........just had a neighbor ask this week , ( bermuda lawn ) I kept it simple, mow low , water , fertilize , the neighbor actually asked several good questions encouraged neighbor to read and follow the bermuda bible and assured neighbor anyone who wants to can have a nice lawn thats about as detailed as it went for the 1st counseling session .... cheers TLF


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## daniel3507 (Jul 31, 2018)

Humanure.

Had my neighbor ask how I killed the poa. He said he would wait for the heat to kill it once he learned how much it costs.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

"I want my grass to look jut like yours!" (1/2" reel-mowed Bermuda on PGR and spoon-fed fertilizer)

I lose them as soon as I mention that it isn't happening with their bi-weekly lawn service.

@Ware is right on. It's a full-time job, especially for reel-low lawns. You must find time to manage your weed control, fertility, and mowing programs in addition to actually doing the work.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

My neighbor is a single guy who has nothing but time on his hands and he "tries" to take care of his lawn but just haphazardly throws things down and hopes for the best. I can't count how many times I have given him advice on what to do and not to do but it's like it goes in one ear and out the other. I have no idea where he gets his ideas from but they are certainly not from me . I will say that his lawn looks way better then it ever has since he bought the house last year as it was always renters in there and they always did the bare minimum(which I don't blame them). But it goes to show you that just doing something is better than nothing when it comes to lawn care.


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## lbb091919 (Apr 26, 2020)

Mightyquinn said:


> My neighbor is a single guy who has nothing but time on his hands and he "tries" to take care of his lawn but just haphazardly throws things down and hopes for the best. I can't count how many times I have given him advice on what to do and not to do but it's like it goes in one ear and out the other. I have no idea where he gets his ideas from but they are certainly not from me . I will say that his lawn looks way better then it ever has since he bought the house last year as it was always renters in there and they always did the bare minimum(which I don't blame them). But it goes to show you that just doing something is better than nothing when it comes to lawn care.


My neighbor is the same way but has never asked me about my practices. Throws down gobs of Milorganite and waters twice a day (~1/8" each time...I measured). He keeps it at 4" and mulches religiously no matter how tall or how wet the grass is. Somehow it still looks decent but I can see lots of triv and it's gradually losing its color. This will be the second summer of our new neighborhood so I am very curious to see what happens in the next few months.

When people do ask I just say lots of planning and different types of products. I try to keep it vague since they usually think I've lost my marbles after I tell them I put down a product that prevents the grass from growing :lol:


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## Slim 1938 (Aug 24, 2019)

I'm in a small town so I know everyone. People always complement me on my lawn and honestly it feels good. I look at my wife and tell her you see people do notice. She just rolls her eyes at me. The ones that are serious I tell them water, mow and don't skip on preemergent and you'll have a nice lawn.


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## Phids (Sep 24, 2020)

Slim 1938 said:


> I'm in a small town so I know everyone. People always complement me on my lawn and honestly it feels good. I look at my wife and tell her you see people do notice. She just rolls her eyes at me. The ones that are serious I tell them water, mow and don't skip on preemergent and you'll have a nice lawn.


I used to tell my wife after neighbors would stop and compliment the lawn while I was outside, and she'd basically roll her eyes and claim these were imaginary people. Eventually, one day she and I were both out in the front yard when someone stopped and marveled at our level of green, so now she really has no excuse not to believe that people do like our lawn.


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## PhxHeat (Oct 18, 2019)

I get more comments than asking as at least 1/2 pay a weekly service and the others mostly cut and water "when it needs it".

sample commentary as people walk by:
•"Oh there you go, showing off again".
•"How do I get a tee time?".
•"When you going to add a cup & flag?".
•"Do you work at a golf course?"
•"What kind of mower is that?"
•"How much to do mine?"
•"Your water bill must be outrageous." (turned out ours is almost 1/2 of theirs for nearly the same specs ... ha-ha).

There are a couple people in the neighborhood who mow at 1"-ish with their rotary and have very nicely kept yards. They fert and pre-em. So they get it better than the others.

I get the most satisfaction from some of the landscaping crews. A couple have commented and are very nice. I think they find it refreshing and appreciate seeing someone doing their own who has even a little understanding.

I do get a kick out of seeing a random crew do a slooowww drive by checking out the grass. It is kind of funny and makes me feel good.


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## thebmrust (Jun 29, 2020)

When we bought our place, we learned that it had not seen water in about 5 years. I had to use Google maps to find the approx locations of old sprinklers. Took me 6 months to get water to all corners of the place (1.6 acres).

When we were out working, we got neighbors stopping by. Since it's been green-ish, we don't have many stop.

Pasture before:





Pasture after:


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## Slim 1938 (Aug 24, 2019)

I agree with what @PhxHeat said about watering less than the neighbors do. My next door neighbor waters his entire lawn every day for 1 hr per zone every single day. Its crazy. He has it set to start in the front yard @3am and finally finishes at 5:30 pm. The 30 minutes is his shrubs. Thats over 14 hours. His yard always looks like crap and grows super fast and on top of that he mows about every 8 days. He's always over a month late on his scalp and spraying. Some people just don't get it.


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## Canuck Mike (Jul 23, 2018)

I tell them its an obsession. Best thing most people could do for there lawn is to mow more often. Instead of asking "does it need mowed yet"? Ask "can I mow it yet"? I love catching people bending down to feel if its real.


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## rhanna (Jun 7, 2017)

I try to tell people in my neighborhood to mow as high as their mower will allow. I'm the only bermuda lawn but I swear some of them mow as low as I do. Next is putting the preemergent down earlier than they normally do. They usually wait until May and that's way too late.


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## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

Light doses of Diesel. Does wonders.


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## falconsfan (Mar 25, 2019)

Credit to Lee Trevino I believe...

I'm mowing my lawn when a lady I didn't know pulls to the curb and rolls down her window. I figured she needed directions so I walked closer to her car. She says "Wow that lawn looks great, how much do you charge? " I responded " Well the lady that lives here let's me sleep with her." There were no more questions as she quickly drove away.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

LOL


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

falconsfan said:


> Credit to Lee Trevino I believe...
> 
> I'm mowing my lawn when a lady I didn't know pulls to the curb and rolls down her window. I figured she needed directions so I walked closer to her car. She says "Wow that lawn looks great, how much do you charge? " I responded " Well the lady that lives here let's me sleep with her." There were no more questions as she quickly drove away.


Priceless! I'm going to save that one for a special occasion.


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## Jersey_diy (Sep 5, 2020)

Had people over this weekend... They asked how do you get rid of the weeds, thought to myself what would they most likely attempt. I told them to mow more often. Started to explain that most people don't mow enough and I saw that was already to much work.


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## Lawn Whisperer (Feb 15, 2021)

I tell them that I got a soil test and followed the lab's recommendation. Most just continue on throwing big box store fertilizers, never taking a soil sample. The few that gets their soil tested go on to follow labs recommendations improved their lawn.


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

"Turf grass, water and a lot of fertilizer"

"Control weeds and mow often"


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

HoosierDaddy said:


> Me: *spraying iron* The blood of my enemies...


HAHAHAHA... I'm adding this line to my vocab.


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

I only have a few who ask... the most noticeable thing is the mower train that starts. The neighbors wait until I mow and it sets off a chain reaction.

On my street specifically, if people care THAT MUCH, they'll go get new sod. and if they don't they don't care that much.

The interesting part is with superior grasses, it just can't compete with anything that they currently have... makes me wonder what the average Joe thinks sod actually is ? 
Is it nice cause someone else manicured it and it's "new" OR do they realize that it's a superior grass replacing the no name mix from when the house was built?


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## Old Hickory (Aug 19, 2019)

"Thanks, I enjoy the work."


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## raymond (May 4, 2018)

"It's a work in progress… and a labor of love!"

People say I must spend a lot of time in the yard, But I like to think about it the way @wardconnor said it: you make time for the things that are important to you.


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## RentalLawn (Jan 4, 2022)

I tell them it's a "slow-moving hobby" and I'm just taking care of it the right way. Most say "That's neat" and carry on. I rarely have actual technical questions. If so, I point them to the UGA lawn calendars. Those are what initially opened my eyes to more formulaic lawncare prior to being an uneducated lawn nerd.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

Thick n Dense said:


> I only have a few who ask... the most noticeable thing is the mower train that starts. The neighbors wait until I mow and it sets off a chain reaction.
> 
> On my street specifically, if people care THAT MUCH, they'll go get new sod. and if they don't they don't care that much.
> 
> ...


I have lots of neighbors who love to cut and it's awesome to hear everyone get out on a good day in the spring or hammer it out during summer mornings. I do get kind of confused when people ask me if it's sod…. Or turf… I just like being outside.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

FATC1TY said:


> I do get kind of confused when people ask me if it's sod…. Or turf… I just like being outside.


I had a couple of the guys working on my driveway ooohing a ahhhing over my Zoysia. They kept saying, "It looks just like turf." I have no idea what they meant other than to just say, "It is turf." I just tell anyone who asks that it is one of my hobbies.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

Redtwin said:


> FATC1TY said:
> 
> 
> > I do get kind of confused when people ask me if it's sod…. Or turf… I just like being outside.
> ...


I assume people mean Astro turf, as in fake grass ?


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## RentalLawn (Jan 4, 2022)

FATC1TY said:


> Redtwin said:
> 
> 
> > FATC1TY said:
> ...


Yeah, I think so, too. I often see the usage of "turf" meaning "artificial turf" in the growing NFL natural grass versus artificial turf debate. It's cringe-worthy and/or confusing when they don't mention the word "artificial" in the write up. But, it just goes to show you how many people simply _don't_ know about grass - well, sports turf, in general. With that, I see how it can become confusing.


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