Hello,
Kicking this off for 2021. 16 days until Spring, which means absolutely nothing in MN. The first mow in 2020 was on 03/30, we will see how this year compares.
I am shooting for more consistency this year, less roller coaster of decision making, and more stroll in the park consistency. The more consistency approach is driven by me constantly doing stupid stuff throughout the year, i.e. when my lawn is thriving at .3 or .4, I am going to do my best not to make the jump down to .25 to "see how it will do".
I am moving away from a pre-emergent this year as I applied it last year and I did not like how handcuffed I felt regarding not being able to overseed. I will spot spray as needed.
Pics from last year of what I am working with:
Most of the items on my to-do/planning list are in the backyard and I have listed those below.
Mowers:
Hope everyone has a great year!!
Kicking this off for 2021. 16 days until Spring, which means absolutely nothing in MN. The first mow in 2020 was on 03/30, we will see how this year compares.
I am shooting for more consistency this year, less roller coaster of decision making, and more stroll in the park consistency. The more consistency approach is driven by me constantly doing stupid stuff throughout the year, i.e. when my lawn is thriving at .3 or .4, I am going to do my best not to make the jump down to .25 to "see how it will do".
I am moving away from a pre-emergent this year as I applied it last year and I did not like how handcuffed I felt regarding not being able to overseed. I will spot spray as needed.
Pics from last year of what I am working with:
Most of the items on my to-do/planning list are in the backyard and I have listed those below.
Mowers:
- Jacobsen Eclipse2: Sticking with the Eclipse for this year again. The new reel for it came in yesterday and I will be changing it out. I dinged up the left side last year and had to file it down.
- Jake 426: Replace the reel and get it going this year.
- Dethatch, light top dress, overseed as I will probably have to deal with snow mold damage again
- These two wreak havoc on the lawn back there but that is fine, I do not spend as much time tending to it.
- Drainage: Put in a drainage system that gets to the pond. This is at the top of the list of items to complete for the backyard. I plan to rent a sod cutter, then trench it out and lay corrugated french drain piping to the pond. I may just do the prefabricated piping to avoid having to mess with laying gravel in the trench.
- Trees: We are putting in 16, 7-gallon Techny Arborvitae on each side to get some privacy back there. My "plan" is to shape them into a shrub and maintain them at ~5' tall.
- Pond: Our pond in the back is getting overrun with cattails. I have talked to all the neighbors on the pond and I plan to get it under control this year before it is taken over by them.
- Fountain: Run electric down to the pond and install a 1HP fountain. Pic below is a mockup.
- Spray Catt Plex Herbicide
- UltraClear Farm Blue Dry Packs
- Floating duck house: I am sick of seeing random duck heads in my backyard that are left by the coyotes/foxes. Our 10-year-old and I are starting this weekend on building a floating duck house like the pic below. Hopefully, it will get used.
- I have been scouring marketplace for a reasonably priced 16-24' roll in dock to throw in down there. Also looking for a cheap pedal boat to float around in. It might only get used for me working on the pond but it would be fun to have back there.
Hope everyone has a great year!!