# Do you remember what got you into lawns?



## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

What turned you into a lawn nut?

I remember researching how to repair salt damage to the front edge of my lawn. I came across gypsum and when I applied it, it worked miracles! I was hooked...

From there, I remember researching fertilizers and learning about the three numbers on the bag. I was just amazed at how little I knew. I can clearly remember how difficult it was for me to figure out the math for covering my square footage which, I learned, was a critical measurement.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Mowing weeds was a waste of my time. Mowing grass not so much


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> Mowing weeds was a waste of my time. Mowing grass not so much


Weed control. Do you remember the first steps you took to get a handle on it?

I was at the Big Orange hardware store today picking up a bottle of Weed-B-Gon OCC. They didn't have it. Just that crummy hose-end stuff. Anyway, there was a lady looking at weed killer. I asked her what she was trying to kill. Weeds. Just weeds she said. And she was looking at the glyphosate.

I was happy to at least be able to steer her away from that section of the aisle. 

The point is that I was really just looking for some triclopyr for Oriental Bittersweet growing in my lawn.

I'm just amazed at how a journey can grow from some simple gypsum to knowing all about the chemicals in the stuff I find on the shelf.

You have a journey that is something like that?


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

BXMurphy said:


> pennstater2005 said:
> 
> 
> > Mowing weeds was a waste of my time. Mowing grass not so much
> ...


I started off doing the "Triangle Approach". Getting all the broadleaf weeds with WBG (or anything that has 2,4D with dicamba or the like) to tackle the broadleaf weeds. I did that twice two weeks apart. Then I went to the next level to get the creeping charlie, ivy, violet, etc. and used triclopyr (WBG CCO) and sprayed that twice as well about two weeks apart.

Once I did that I had a lot of bare areas that actually did fill in somewhat after pushing it with nitrogen and getting down a pre m the following year. The top of the triangle was the weedy grasses that I wasn't sure I cared to try and tackle. But after my partial renovation last year and the huge difference between it and the rest of the yard I'll continue on doing the renovations until the backyard is complete (10K total).

Once I bought Tenacity and prodiamine I knew I wasn't doing just basic lawn maintenance anymore.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

I know what you are talking about, BXM. I think of it as a major change, where you go from knowing almost nothing to developing real mastery. That's what I love about education and getting hooked by something.

I think about my progression in terms of three points. One, I mowed lawns in the neighborhood as a kid. I didn't know what I was doing, but I took great care to ensure that every blade of grass was cut.

Two, I moved to a neighborhood full of manicured lawns, but sections of my lawn were so poor that even crabgrass and bermuda wouldn't grow. At first, I thought that growing grass couldn't be very complicated. I thought that with some hard work, I would be able to get a really nice lawn. And then I began reading and watching videos. I began to take it more and more seriously. Once I began using liquid herbicides, I knew that I was taking it to another level. At that point, buying an ECHO PAS seemed like an obvious necessity. Then, using Ornamec regularly over the course of a summer taught me about attention to detail, control over plants, and the commitment required to do something extraordinary with the lawn. The harder I worked, the deeper my interest would grow.

Third, The LCN. I'm pretty sure that I've watched all of his videos. And I've rewatched many of them. I have taken a lot of information from those videos, but at some point I realized that the LCN isn't just providing information: He is offering a lifestyle. I bought into that, and am happy with my purchase.


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## Guest (May 31, 2018)

as a young man in florida walking on the golf course greens with my father. Beautiful bermuda grass. we had st.augustine in the yard.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

My kids wanting to play outside and me remembering pokey dead grass as a kid. Said no way you gonna have a good comfy grass to play on ;-)


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> Once I bought Tenacity and prodiamine I knew I wasn't doing just basic lawn maintenance anymore.


Perfect! That's the kind of journey that I'm very interested in hearing about.

You started out wanting to kill some weeds and you read about the Triangle Approach. After you got rid of all the stuff that looks like salad and liked what you saw, you moved on to some serious chemistry and never looked back.

Isn't that amazing?


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

social port said:


> I moved to a neighborhood full of manicured lawns, but sections of my lawn were so poor that even crabgrass and bermuda wouldn't grow. At first, I thought that growing grass couldn't be very complicated.


Excellent! You saw that the grass was really greener on the other side but you also knew that you were no dummy.

You read, you watched videos, you learned. You became a master of the techniques that caused others to turn their heads in amazement.

Isn't it fun to be the go-to guy for those who really want to step up to the plate and take their lawn to the next level?


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

Nixnix42 said:


> as a young man in florida walking on the golf course greens with my father. Beautiful bermuda grass. we had st.augustine in the yard.


I am not familiar with the grasses that you mention (as far as I know in my Northern Mix/Mess of a lawn ). Still, I can just see in my own mind what you must have seen as you looked over that that golf course and compared it to what you had in your own lawn.

The grass was greener on the other side and you just had to have that. Nothing, but nothing would stand in your way.

What was step #1? I mean, what did you actually do to get that lawn that you were dreaming of?


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

GrassDaddy said:


> My kids wanting to play outside and me remembering pokey dead grass as a kid. Said no way you gonna have a good comfy grass to play on ;-)


Somebody dared you. There was a goal that you had and somebody told you that you could not reach that goal.

You took baby steps. What was that first step towards lawn greatness?


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Probably the most romantic story in this thread so far...

As a kid, I had a few neighbors who were lawn nuts. Didn't know them well, but it started getting into my subconscious at a young age. Then much more recently, one of the universities I went to had immaculate KBG lawns. I decided I wanted grass that was as nice, despite them having a whole grounds crew plus an outside fertilizer service. I said, of course I can do it all myself...I'll just learn what I need to in order to do it.

In reality, I didn't do it all myself...the great people on these sites helped a lot, as well as some in real life.


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

Green said:


> Probably the most romantic story in this thread so far...
> 
> In reality, I didn't do it all myself...the great people on these sites helped a lot, as well as some in real life.


That's a nice story! It shows, again, that just ordinary people can have a great lawn if they take the time to learn about it and put in the effort. Thank you, Green.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

BXMurphy said:


> That's a nice story! It shows, again, that just ordinary people can have a great lawn if they take the time to learn about it and put in the effort. Thank you, Green.


I just remembered another thing that happened. Around 2011, which was when I was at that University with the great lawns, our yard was destroyed by tree removal vehicles, and we had to start over and reseed. Then in 2012, the same thing happened on half the yard due to construction. I researched topsoil/compost, and grass types. It sat and fallowed for months, even though I didn't do it purposely. I would go around and spray Roundup. Then a hardscape project was done, with yet more digging and regarding in 2013. I decided on TTTF/KBG during all this, and joined a forum. That's how the back reno happened. Then, there were other utility projects that ruined small parts of the yard. I did tons of mini renos and overseeds to fix things up.

So, part of it was by necessity. I wanted it to look good, and kept having disruptive opportunities to redo sections. I have probably used several thousand dollars worth of seed since 2011...and probably several hundred pounds of it, easily. The lawn work I've put in since then would have probably cost $100,000 at least, if pro had been hired to do it all. Who has that kind of money? I had and occasionally still have nightmares that a contractor shows up and starts digging up the yard.


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