# $300/year lawn maintenance?



## CrazyDogPerson (Aug 8, 2018)

Hello!

I'm so glad this forum exists. I'm renting a single family home and will be responsible for lawn care for the very first time.

The lawn is in good condition now. I can't identify grass by sight but I assume its a classic Minnesotan mix of Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, and some fescue. It's about 2000 sq ft.

I'm hoping to keep it in good condition but I've got two 60 lb slobbery animals who are determined to run crazy circles until they pass out.

I asked a local lawn care company what they would recommend and this was their response.



> Mow to 3" every two weeks
> Water only when it doesn't rain and 1" of water per week is good. That is often less than most folks water.
> Create a dog elimination area for potty breaks.
> Limit crazy dog circles after rainfall.
> ...


This looks great! But I've got an optimization problem and must figure out how to support my lawn with a budget of $300/year.

What would you choose to do with $300? My goal is a healthy, thick, and deep rooted lawn capable of handling the rough play of two dogs.

I'm thinking I can DIY the 4 aerobic compost tea applications for around $50 and then DIY one application of compost, seed and fertilizer in the fall.

Thank you for your advice!


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## ForsheeMS (May 21, 2018)

The very first thing they told you completely discredited anything else they have to say. Mow when it needs mowing. A good part of the growing season this will be twice a week. If you decide to keep it at 3" cut it whenever it reaches 4" and you'll be fine.

For the dogs, I have 6 and my fenced in back yard isn't anywhere near as nice as my front lawn because of them. It's something you have to deal with and I wouldn't have it any other way. Compost is a good thing. I spread it once a year in the fall. Any organic material will help with the pee spots. Mulching fall leaves in is also a good free source of organics. I've found keeping the pH a little high is good too. I shoot for somewhere around 7.0. For this you will need to have a soil test done and adjust accordingly. No matter what you do pee spots will still be a problem in the hottest part of the summer. If possible, keep a watering can nearby and immediately water where they go. Technically it's just free fertilizer but needs to be diluted so it doesn't burn the lawn.

The compost tea thing is a total waste. Once you've added the compost you're adding the microbes you need anyway. From there feeding them organically (rabbit feed, chicken crumbles or soybean meal) will keep the microbe population healthy and happy. A couple organic feedings per year is all you really need. Late spring and late summer are ideal. Maybe even an early spring if it makes you feel better.

In the fall, urea apps will help the KBG spread and fill in bare areas. Also a good winterizer app of urea will help get it through the winter. For a 2k lawn even going to extremes you should easily come out under $300 if you don't mind putting in a little work yourself.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

+ 1. If you have the time and inclination to do it yourself, you will save yourself money and wasted steps.

Mowing every 2 weeks? That made me laugh a little (not at you!).

They also didn't mention anything about weed control. From the pictures you posted, there looks to be a fair bit. If it were me and I was on a.l budget, I would try to identify what weeds I have and buy the appropriate post emergent herbicides. Tackle those weeds.

Other than that, fertilize once maybe in the late spring then focus most of your applications in the fall.

Water in the absence of rain 1" all at once once a week.

Keep your mower blade sharp and mow more often than once every two weeks.

Get the basics down first and get comfortable with your lawn before getting too crazy.

Also, you don't own this house. So how much time do you really want to invest? Do the basics and your lawn will look better than most on your street.


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## Lawn_newbie (Jun 19, 2018)

Compost tea for $100.. that is a rip off.

If you are wanting to go organic this is the solution I went with...
$40. I bought one gallon of Holganix Bio 800+
$32 32 gallon Rubbermaid garbage can
$70 air pump
$25 1" pvc piping and 45% elbows.

I went with Holganix because it already contains protozoa and nematodes. I only use two tablespoons of the mixture when I make mine.

You can go with compost or vermicompost to brew this as well. I can give you instructions to setup a worm bin if you are interested. I feed mine with used coffee grounds, free from Starbucks, shredded cardboard boxes, and whatever fruit and vegetable scraps I have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCK_pjcQOTo

The plans for the compost tea brewer: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/documents/1/25gallonrubbermaidbrewerplans2.pdf


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## zeus201 (Aug 30, 2017)

Harts said:


> Also, you don't own this house. So how much time do you really want to invest? Do the basics and your lawn will look better than most on your street.


^ This. If you want to do it, use some of the $300, go DIY and keep it basic as it is a rental.

Start with some basic stuff: 
Broadcast spreader, I use a basic Earthway 2030 and does the job. Craiglist might have better deals. 
1 or 2 gallon Pump Sprayer from HD, Lowes and etc. 
Ortho Weed-B-Gone or Ortho CCO concetrates to handle most of the common broadleaf weeds. 
Granular pre-emergent with either Dimension or Prodiamine as the active ingredient. A single bag will last you at least two seasons. Search for local Site-One or turf stores and ask for 0-0-7 pre-emergent. The 7 is potash which is basically a carrier.

I fertilize mainly with soybean meal, alfalfa and milorganite. A 50lb bag of grain is ~$14 at my local feed store and milo is ~$7at Mills Fleet Farm. Shoot for application rate of 10-20 lbs/k of SBM and Alfalfa. Milo app will be above bag rate, but you could divide into split app. Going above is not the end of the world, just may have to mow more. All three will have a distinctive "odor" which will settle after a couple days. I'd skip the grains and just use Milo in this situation.

Keep in mind, as weather cools down, so do the microbes that process these fertilizers. Switching to synthetics is something to consider as fall time arrives. Also, per/lb, synthetics are more cost effective and also something else to think about.


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Compost tea is nothing more than watered down compost. Don't waste your money paying someone for it or your time making it.

Sources: 
https://puyallup.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/compost-tea-4.pdf

http://joa.isa-arbor.com/request.asp?JournalID=1&ArticleID=3337&Type=2

http://www.gardenmyths.com/compost-tea/

http://www.deeproot.com/blog/blog-entries/dont-believe-the-hype-unless-its-supported-by-science

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice/11121288/Compost-tea-does-it-really-work.html

As for the other stuff, I agree with the others...don't pay that company...it is easy enough to do some basic stuff on your own, and significantly cheaper. You've found this forum, so if you have specific questions, post away!


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

I thought the compost tea was a ripoff too. Starter fertilizer is available at Site One for like $13 a 50 lb bag. That is hard to beat And you definitely need to spray some three way broadleaf killer plus triclopyr. You can also get fertilizers with weed killers built in. If it's a rented house I would not knock myself out and do enough to keep the city and the landloard and your mrs. off of your back.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

gene_stl said:


> ... and your mrs. off of your back.


Now that I have become obsessed with my lawn, I am reminded frequently by my wife of when she used to nag me to cut the grass in years past and I would give her a hard time about it. :lol:


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

Aah, the memory of wimmens!  :shock:  :lol:


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## alpine0000 (Jul 25, 2017)

You should be seeding in late August or early Sep, IMO

Also, I question whether *any* lawn will be able to hold up to 2 large dogs running circles around the yard regularly until they are tired. Haha  I know my lawn wouldn't hold up to that.

An aerobic compost tea application? LOL wut?

My suggestion is hang out here and learn enough to DIY. You're already on the right track to that, though.


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## jurkewycmi (Jun 3, 2018)

Check out the Cool Season Lawn Guide if you haven't already.

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1595

The Tier 1 approach should get you on the right track within your budget no problems. As the other folks said, read as much, or as little, as you want around here and your lawn will be better for it. Welcome to the team!


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## PA Lawn Guy (Jul 2, 2018)

A little hard to tell from the pictures, but do you know approximately how many square feet of lawn you will be maintaining? It doesn't look too big.

One 50 pound bag of granular pre emergent in the spring when temps call for it. Dimension or Barricade/Stonewall. That will probably run $40-60 from SiteOne or similar.

Maybe Milorganite (or equivalent) - around Memorial Day. Eyeballing it, maybe 3-4 bags. $40-50 bucks.

Spray the Ortho Weed B Gon hose-end products to get rid of summer weeds. Couple different types, buy them both. $30ish total.

Then whatever synthetics you can find cheap for fall fert. Right now (where I am in PA) the Expert Gardener 29-0-4 at Wally World is $13 for the 15M (42 lb) bag. Buy three bags and throw one down each on 9/1, 10/1, and 11/1. That would be a total of $40 bucks.

That would be a total cost of about $150-180 in product cost. Even if you buy a medium-grade spreader you are still under budget.

EDIT: sorry, just saw that it's only a 2M lot. You don't even need nearly as much stuff as I typed out. Maybe $80-100 total in product.


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## CrazyDogPerson (Aug 8, 2018)

Thanks everyone! I read the cool season guide and fall nitrogen blitz articles.

Here's what I summarized from them and your replies.

To do
Purchase a spreader and sprayer. 
Spread Milorganite after the last frost and once your lawn begins to grow and green. A good rule of thumb is when daytime temperatures are consistently in the 60s which means soil temperatures are in the mid-50s. Springtime, around May
Spread a granular pre-emergent with prodiamine or dithiopyr in early Spring, ~May, around the same time as the Milorganite. 
Spray Ortho Weed-B-Gone as needed during the summer, graduate to Ortho CCO if needed, ~June/July/August
Mow to desired height whenever grass has reached 4/3rds of that height, generally. Around 3.5" in the summer and 2.5" in the fall.
Seed in the fall, early september. 
Spread cheap synthetic fertilizer when seeding and then again in a month or two before the first deep freeze

Don't bother with the compost tea.

Questions
When to fertilize: Should it be spread out over the growing season or focused on the spring and fall?
How's this schedule? Late May, early September, early October, mid November.

High traffic grass: I've seen turf-type tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass or perennial ryegrass recommended
Is high traffic grass best kept longer or shorter?


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

It's usually better to keep grass taller. The increased leaf area allows it to photosynthesize more carbs to send down to the root zone which helps it get started next year. Since you have dorgs pick a tough cultivar.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

With regards to when to fertilize....you want to get approx. 4lbs of N per 1,000 square feet over the course of the season. There are many different ways to do this. You can follow the specs that Milo gives. Or you can do 1lb N sometime late Spring then 1lbN each in Aug, Sept, Oct. Avoid applying in the dead of Summer.

I would also recommend picking up cheap synthetic fert for fast release N late in the year (like Urea).

Fall is usually the best time to fertilize. If you go heavy late Summer/Early Fall, you shouldn't need an application early in the Spring.

The point with the guides and everyone's advice is to learn the basics then apply what you learned to your situation. Everybody does it a little bit differently. Nobody is right and nobody is wrong. There are however, best practices, which you will learn over time.

@wardconnor is a great example. He does a lot of things that most wouldn't but you can't argue with his results or his rationale. Check out his  YouTube Channel and subscribe. Great videos and really great insight.


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