Lawn Thatch

Alumni Guy

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Proud to say, I just purchased a sweet home.

Unfortunately, the previous owner ignored all lawn care. The yard is full of weeds and other funk.

I’m far from an expert in lawn care, but it looks like I have a thatch overgrowth problem. Lawn is mushy, and trees look like they are dying from lack of H2O.

I looked up how to fix it, and it’s a major pain. They recommend vertical mowing, which is basically shredding your lawn to remove undergrowth. Once done fertilize and maybe reseed to restore healthy grass.

Even though my lawn is a hot mess, I don’t want to shred it, unless I have to.

Anyone got knowledge on this, or a good lawn restoration expert in Palm Beach/Martin Co.

my boy is only 15 months, and I want to give him a good lawn to really play on in a year or so.

Go Gators!
 

Concrete Helmet

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What kind of grass?
Do you do your own lawn maintenance?
Do you have numerous trees?
Is it more shady than sunny?
Do you have time to work on it yourself?
Do you plan on having it treated regularly?
Do you have an irrigation system?
Are you willing to spend time and or money to install one?

I'm not technically an expert but I did one year as a Lawn an ornamental tech years ago and I do a ton of work on my own lawn even though I have people who maintain and treat it regularly and usually solve any problems with it before they can.....
 
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Detroitgator

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What kind of grass?
Do you do your own lawn maintenance?
Do you have numerous trees?
Is it more shady than sunny?
Do you have time to work on it yourself?
Do you plan on having it treated regularly?
Do you have an irrigation system?
Are you willing to spend time and or money to install one?

I'm not technically an expert but I did one year as a Lawn an ornamental tech years ago and I do a ton of work on my own lawn even though I have people who maintain and treat it regularly and usually solve any problems with it before they can.....
I'd say... water the fuk out of it, then cut! ;)
 

Concrete Helmet

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I'd say... water the fuk out of it, then cut! ;)
You've got a ranch, right?
Goat_Eating_Grass.jpg
 

Alumni Guy

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Honestly, the lawn is so funky, it’s a mish mash of weeds and grass.

I just bit the bullet and hired tru green. They only come out 8 times a year on their schedule. But, I can have them come out an unlimited times per year to spot treat.

I am going to abuse the heck out of that!

They might as well set up a satellite office in my yard.

however, I’m going to do the routine maintenance (mowing, edging, trimming, landscaping myself). I’m kind of “old man” excited to do it too.
 

crosscreekcooter

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Well when you get done with yours please feel free to come mow mine
 

bradgator2

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So I have a nice fire pit. Sometimes during big fires, the grass around it will catch fire. It always comes back greener and fuller than anything else. My theory was the thatch was burned off. So one day, I set a huge section of my yard on fire which yielded the same result.

Probably shouldn’t do that if you live in a neighborhood though. :lol:
 

Alumni Guy

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I’d love to tear the lawn up and start anew. But, the cost of resodding 1/3 of an acre is an expense I want to avoid.

The lawn is pure sand once you dig past the thatch and weeds. It might require a resod.

but, tru green owes me unlimited follow up appointments, if I ask for it. I’m gonna abuse the hell out of that
 

Concrete Helmet

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I’d love to tear the lawn up and start anew. But, the cost of resodding 1/3 of an acre is an expense I want to avoid.
Realistically you need an irrigation system if you want St. Augustine but you can do smaller sections a little at a time....You should water new sod in 2-3 times day a day for 10-15 minutes for the first 10 days or so and then once a day for about 30 minutes for another week or so then go to normal 2x a week watering.

It's not that difficult. I have nearly an acre and when I moved in a lot of it was weeds and crab grass. I would take one section at a time, kill the sections over run with crab grass and weeds then scrape the top off, turn up the soil with a garden rake, level with the back of the rake then order a couple pallets of sod....

The first thing you might want to consider is getting rid of Trugreen…..Hire a smaller local company that lets their tech mix his own tank....you'll get a lot better service than a Monkey who just shows up and goes through the motions.....
 

Alumni Guy

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Fortunately, I have an irrigation system, unfortunately, the bum who I purchased it from completely neglected it. I got a guy coming in for that. Since lawn was dry as a bone, once you get past the thatch, it’s sand.

Literally sand.

When I moved in, tried to find a lawn care/restoration guy. All I could find was lawn mower service. I went with tru green in a bit of a panic, and I’m about to dump them. (After my free treatment)

Lawn care/landscaping is such a guy thing. My wife and her friends don’t get it. My buddies agree it’s a code red, defcon 1, all hands on deck situation.

I’m trimming the hedges, watering the flowers. Wife couldn’t care less.
 

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