# Ever wonder why we bother?



## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Every year those of us who have KBG go through the same cycle. At least I do. Wait for the snow to melt and the KBG to wake up. It always wakes up unevenly and starts growing patchy. Cut low to remove the brown blades and warm up the soil. Mid-May, it's finally woken, filled in any small bare spots, and growing evenly. Raise HOC and it's looking sweet. Without fail, a week or two later, here come the seed heads and stalks. That'll last until Early summer when the heat and drought kicks in and the turf wants to go into some state of Summer dormancy. So, about 2 weeks of beautiful lawn until Fall. Is it just me?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

A little different here in the south, but we have our own crosses to bear. I _try_ to convince myself it's not the destination, but the journey that I enjoy. :mrgreen:


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

haha but the color is worth it to me =P


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

I suppose in that respect we're lucky in the transition zone that bluegrass seems to grow through winter, so we get a October - May window of good looking grass. But during winter it gets dark at 5 and I get home from work at 5:30, so I only get to enjoy it on the weekend.
FWIW, seed heads can be successfully suppressed by 3 applications of a mix of 0.35oz trinexapac-ethyl and 0.6oz Florel(ethephon) per thousand every two weeks , beginning two weeks before seed head season.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Let's have pictures before it all goes to pot. Here's my front yard.


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## Topcat (Mar 21, 2017)

I call this sort of behavior "therapy". I cut about three to four time a week. My wife is convinced I am nuts. "Anthony" she says; "you just cut the lawn two days ago". .


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

It's pouring rain right now and it's already gone to pot, but I'll try to get a pic this week.
This is about 5-6 years ago. Cut by my tractor evidencing wide stripe pattern.

This is about 2-3 years ago. Stripping courtesy of Honda HRX

Stopped raining. Here is the current mess.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I do it for the challenge of trying to have a great lawn and get it as close to perfection as I can. I like the fact that I can see the fruit of my labor (or the failure) and learn from it and use what I did the previous years to help me for the upcoming years. I like to be challenged as it makes you think and I also just like being in the yard. I also like to play golf which is something else that is hard to master but can be very rewarding when everything works out.


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## ales_gantar (Apr 13, 2017)

I see it as a sort of meditation.
To everyone else the grass always looks nice, but I obsess about spots of stuff etcetera.
It's like sculpting with water.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

j4c11 said:


> I suppose in that respect we're lucky in the transition zone that bluegrass seems to grow through winter, so we get a October - May window of good looking grass. But during winter it gets dark at 5 and I get home from work at 5:30, so I only get to enjoy it on the weekend.
> FWIW, seed heads can be successfully suppressed by 3 applications of a mix of 0.35oz trinexapac-ethyl and 0.6oz Florel(ethephon) per thousand every two weeks , beginning two weeks before seed head season.


I'm by no means an "organic" person, but I'm not a big fan of messing with natural processes. There are already enough variables to contend with and I prefer not to add another (PGR). I also don't apply FAS, as that seems like painting the lawn to me.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Topcat said:


> I call this sort of behavior "therapy". I cut about three to four time a week. My wife is convinced I am nuts. "Anthony" she says; "you just cut the lawn two days ago". .


I get the therapy angle. It's almost like meditation time. An excuse for some "me" time.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Mightyquinn said:


> I do it for the challenge of trying to have a great lawn and get it as close to perfection as I can. I like the fact that I can see the fruit of my labor (or the failure) and learn from it and use what I did the previous years to help me for the upcoming years. I like to be challenged as it makes you think and I also just like being in the yard. I also like to play golf which is something else that is hard to master but can be very rewarding when everything works out.


That too, and very true for me also.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

I'd mow daily if I could. right now only twice a week. its growing so slow hahaha


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

Ridgerunner said:


> I'm by no means an "organic" person, but I'm not a big fan of messing with natural processes. There are already enough variables to contend with and I prefer not to add another (PGR).


I'm surprised, I would think you of all people would be all over it being it cuts your mowing in half . But you know, it's a tool, some people forge with a hydraulic press, others with a hammer - nothing wrong with either approach.

I think the biggest killer of passion for a hobby is when you put in a lot of heart, soul, labor and money into it, and time after time the results do not match the input. I've been through it - time after time my lawn that I worked so hard for has been wiped out during summer. If you can attack the problem from both ends - decrease labor while increasing results - it really helps bring back the joy of it all.


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## AdamC (Feb 10, 2017)

Ridgerunner said:


> Every year those of us who have KBG go through the same cycle. At least I do. Wait for the snow to melt and the KBG to wake up. It always wakes up unevenly and starts growing patchy. Cut low to remove the brown blades and warm up the soil. Mid-May, it's finally woken, filled in any small bare spots, and growing evenly. Raise HOC and it's looking sweet. Without fail, a week or two later, here come the seed heads and stalks. That'll last until Early summer when the heat and drought kicks in and the turf wants to go into some state of Summer dormancy. So, about 2 weeks of beautiful lawn until Fall. Is it just me?


I often look at the people here where I live that have St Augustine grass (we call it buffalo grass in Aus) or even the dreaded Kikuyu grass and think "is it all worth it?" Both are warm season grasses that never really go dormant here due to our mild winters. They mow it once a week in summer and once a month in winter and they're happy, their lawn requires almost no maintenance or care and it looks the same all year round. The thing that gets me back on track though, is that they're happy with mediocrity - I can't be! They reason you go through all that effort, year on year is because like the rest of us, you appreciate premium lawn, and would never be happy to settle for anything less. You would feel like you're cheating yourself. And what else is better to do in your spare time than play in your own 'patch of thatch'?

It's the same reason why when people look at us funny because we're mowing for the third time that week we just smile and give them a little wave. there's no point explaining it to them, they wouldn't get it anyway. Keep doing what you're doing, and enjoy it!


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Yes, we may not be "right" in the head, but it's funny how contagious it is. Since I started my obsession, two of my immediate neighbors have come down with it. :/


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## AdamC (Feb 10, 2017)

it's highly contagious


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

This does not explain why we started doing this but can be a justification: we are doing our part to leave a bit of earth in better condition for whoever will live here in the future. Despite what the anti-lawn proponents say, turfgrass has many benefits. Think of all the cooling it does, the erosion it prevents, etc. Other ground covers (like weeds) would do that too, so to use that justification (our efforts now make things better for the future), we also need to make sure we're working to make the soil as healthy as possible. And while we're thinking about this, let us also be grateful that we live where we do and have grass at all. And that we have resources to be able to treat grass as a hobby. We are lucky in so many ways.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

_"Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."_


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

Well, I planted two trees so I'm good!


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