# I give up



## Miller_Low_Life (Apr 12, 2017)

I strive for a perfect yard. I follow all of the best practices. I water deeply and infrequently. I mow tall. I mow often. I keep my blades sharp. I put down fungicides at the right time. 
None of my friends or family care that I have a nice yard and think I waste too much money on it.
I'm starting to agree because, while I don't have weeds, the yard has already turned brown due to heat stress and some fungus. No matter what I do I can't avoid it.

Starting to wonder if it's all worth it.


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## airgas1998 (May 1, 2019)

I hear ya...my yard looks great in may and once the heat comes or lack of rain it turns south real quick. now I'll admit my yard is on decades old cultivars, but I just can't talk myself into a complete reno. to much time and money, at least my neighbors don't have any thing better to look/compete at.


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## SpiveyJr (Jun 7, 2018)

Welcome to summer! Everyone's lawn isn't going to look great during these months, except maybe for a few people on here, but the point is don't get discouraged with how it looks during July and focus on how you can make it look next month and the months after that!


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## troksd (Jul 27, 2018)

Do you have the correct grass type for your region - sub-region? What's in the midwest mix?



Miller_Low_Life said:


> I strive for a perfect yard. I follow all of the best practices. I water deeply and infrequently. I mow tall. I mow often. I keep my blades sharp. I put down fungicides at the right time.
> None of my friends or family care that I have a nice yard and think I waste too much money on it.
> I'm starting to agree because, while I don't have weeds, the yard has already turned brown due to heat stress and some fungus. No matter what I do I can't avoid it.
> 
> Starting to wonder if it's all worth it.


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## Miller_Low_Life (Apr 12, 2017)

troksd said:


> Do you have the correct grass type for your region - sub-region? What's in the midwest mix?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It's an older yard that has been overseeded the last 5 years with TTTF.
The yard prior to me has some old wide blade tall fescue and rye grass.


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## ericgautier (Apr 22, 2017)

@Miller_Low_Life do you have a journal? I'm curious to see what input(s) you have done and when. Also, do you have a soil test? Can you post a picture of the lawn currently? Is the whole lawn brown or just certain spots?


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## Belgianbillie (Apr 3, 2018)




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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Belgianbillie said:


>


This, and I think Eric's questions are a good measure. There's no harm in getting feedback on what you are running.

Also, Dude, when you green back up and you make a few passes on that fescue with your mower, you are going to instantly know it is worth it. Nothing is better than the green glisten of freshly cut grass waving to you in the sunlight. Miller_Low_Life, you've got this.

Go read the lawn meme thread

Read the lawn-obsession thread

Watch old LCN videos, Ryan Knorr, Prof Pete or whoever you like most (so many good options...Grassfactor, Connor Ward, Lawn Tips and his PRG). If you learn something great; but this is really about entertainment, getting you around like-minded folks, and getting through the rough spots of summer

Make more posts with your fellow lawn nuts. We get it.

Post info on your program, and think about how you might change things up.


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Need to reno I say.

New varieties are more resistant to heat stress.

Also, a swtich to kbg could be good if you dont want to reseed every time damage occurs.

Are you in Nevada?
Find the thread on hybrid bluegrass, sounds like what you need.


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## CPA Nerd (May 8, 2018)

The point of all of this isn't to have a perfect lawn. It's to have a hobby that you enjoy. If you aren't enjoying it, there's no point. Something needs to change if you're not enjoying it.

There's always room for improvement, so striving for a perfect lawn is futile. I've considered everything: fungicides, weed killers, soil amendments, all the various pre-emergent strategies, overseeding vs. pre-emergent applications, the N-Ext products, watering methods, and so on.

You can drive yourself crazy. So I decided that my lawn having brown from fungus is okay. I have never applied a fungicide in my life.

Not spraying and controlling every last weed or bit of clover is okay. It got to the point that every time I mowed, I'd have to come back and spray a few weeds. Now, I'll go out there once in a while and spray the weeds that I see at the time. If they die, great. If they don't, oh well, maybe I'll get them next time, maybe I won't. I'm not going to worry about schedules, spray this, now spray this, do this two weeks later, use this on clover but use this on dandelions, etc. It's a lucky day for whatever my basic Weed B Gon doesn't kill, because that's all I use.

I couldn't be bothered to use liquid prodiamine because I have no confidence that I'll use the right amount and I don't care to calibrate a sprayer, so I use basic fertilizer + crabgrass preventer. Yes, I know I shouldn't put nitrogen down early in spring, but I do because it's in my crabgrass preventer. Oh well. I did a knock-off Milorganite around Memorial Day, and now I don't plan on putting down any fertilizer until around Labor Day. Maybe then again on Halloween. Then around Thanksgiving, probably a synthetic winterizer with some potassium, since the only potassium my lawn has gotten so far this year is with the pre-emergent.

I hate watering. It's a waste of money, I cannot stand f-ing around with sprinklers, timers, and hoses, trying to dial it in correctly, hit all the spots, etc. It makes the whole hobby not enjoyable for me. So I don't water. The lawn will survive. Lawns have survived for years on rain alone. My lawn isn't special.

Point being, do the basics right and enjoy your lawn. Mow high. Mow often. Use a spring pre-emergent. Fertilize a few times a year. If you do those things to an already decent lawn, you'll have a top 10% lawn on the block. If being in the top 5% means you are miserable, don't do it and instead be happy being in the top 10%.


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## Miller_Low_Life (Apr 12, 2017)

ericgautier said:


> @Miller_Low_Life do you have a journal? I'm curious to see what input(s) you have done and when. Also, do you have a soil test? Can you post a picture of the lawn currently? Is the whole lawn brown or just certain spots?


I did do a soil test last month. Everything was pretty good. My work stopped me from uploading pictures.
My soil was sitting at 6.1 so lime was recommended to me but I'm weary of dropping a bunch.
Any thoughts? Micro nutrients were good and Nitrogen was optimum.


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## Miller_Low_Life (Apr 12, 2017)

CPA Nerd said:


> The point of all of this isn't to have a perfect lawn. It's to have a hobby that you enjoy. If you aren't enjoying it, there's no point. Something needs to change if you're not enjoying it.
> 
> There's always room for improvement, so striving for a perfect lawn is futile. I've considered everything: fungicides, weed killers, soil amendments, all the various pre-emergent strategies, overseeding vs. pre-emergent applications, the N-Ext products, watering methods, and so on.
> 
> ...


Good point. The lawn is pretty close to perfect in the spring and fall.
Is it a bad idea to throw some organic fertilizer down and water it in and let the lawn go until aeration time?


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## CPA Nerd (May 8, 2018)

Miller_Low_Life said:


> CPA Nerd said:
> 
> 
> > The point of all of this isn't to have a perfect lawn. It's to have a hobby that you enjoy. If you aren't enjoying it, there's no point. Something needs to change if you're not enjoying it.
> ...


I don't see a problem with it. It won't hurt it. I have heard both ways.

1. It is fine to use organic fertilizer down in the summer because it breaks down with the heat.

and

2. Don't put down any fertilizer in the summer because you don't want to push growth when the lawn is stressed.

I tend to think that #1 is probably closer to accurate because organics are typically low nitrogen AND slow release. So it won't push too much growth.


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## airgas1998 (May 1, 2019)

Thick n Dense said:


> Need to reno I say.
> 
> New varieties are more resistant to heat stress.
> 
> ...


he's in Nebraska...Iowa/Nebraska border.. Missouri river cuts through the two.


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

Can you post a core sample of the thatch layer? I do this with a triangle cut and a shovel like a upside down pyramid and wash/rub the side a little to expose it. If you can reference a measuring device that would also help.

I understand your pain and so do others here. In the end of the day a lawn is not just a lawn, it surrounds much more than that, a home. And depending on what the thatch and soil test reveals can impact the home in many ways of life around it.


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## zeus201 (Aug 30, 2017)

Miller_Low_Life said:


> Good point. The lawn is pretty close to perfect in the spring and fall.
> Is it a bad idea to throw some organic fertilizer down and water it in and let the lawn go until aeration time?


I use organic fertilizers throughout the summer heat for many seasons. Use without any worries.


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## JP900++ (Aug 24, 2018)

I feel your pain. Used PGR last month thinking I dialed it back from the last (over) application then went on vacation. We alternated between 90 degrees and it raining daily while we were gone. Fungus attack. My wife took one look at the patchy yellowing and threatened to divorce me if I didn't stop spending money to f-up her lawn.


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## zenmower (Jul 22, 2018)

Ummmm....it is just grass, keep it in perspextive.

Sure, I like playing with it--not sure why really--but something to screw around with and make no mistake, it looks really good.

But it is still just grass.


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## dkggpeters (May 31, 2019)

If you do not enjoy the process then find something else to do that you enjoy. You can do the simple program of just adding fertilizer 4 times a year and still have a nice lawn in the spring and fall. Trying to get a really nice lawn can be very frustrating and sometimes you don't get the results that you want. When things work out then it is worth it.

Only you can decide whether it is worth it or not.


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