Grass Question.

[wolf_chatter]

After the obligatory "hey aren't you Mexican comments" I need some help.

I have aerated, thatched and fertalized the crud out of my front yard and it is still brown. I water it plenty and it greens up for about 5 minutes.

Any suggestions? I took a couple samples to the *** extension a while back and they say the soil is ok and no fungus but I can't keep it alive.

Northern Nevada is a tough place to grow anything, even grass but last year it was looking good..this year.. not so much.

any suggestions?

My grass is 35+ years old...:confused:

[PACKFAN22]

What kind of fertilizer are you using? Have you tried a 21-7-14 type, something real high in nitrogen (the first number in the sequence tells the nitrogen ratio)? It will make it turn green, but it could flush through rather quickly. How is the drainage of your soil? The other thing I found helps is to leave it a bit longer and I water early in the morning (5:30 AM) and late in the evening (around 7:30 PM) for short intervals.

The only other thing I can think of is maybe put a layer of peat moss down. After 30 years I can only imagine the nutrients in the soil are fairly well depleted.

[wolf_chatter]

I tried the mixture you suggested and it was green for a day or tow then bleh...I might have to try peat moss.

[BustNChops]

Aren’t your people smuggling enough of grass across the border?!!? :eek:

Or - Your parents are probably ashamed of you. I imagine you don't talk about this at the dinner table. Take care of this before they disown you. :D

That said, it might be time to start over. Rip it out and replace with sod or seed. You can rent a machine at Ahern Rentals that makes the process pretty easy. Then simply rotto-till and start again. I would call this Plan B.

First, I would try reseeding. If you've done all the other work, then just re-seed. You might be able to mix in some nutrients for the soil, I just can't remember what the local soil is missing. The *** Co-op didn't give you any list? If not, ask the guys at the shop below.

For $85 you can buy a huge bag of grass seed. Just spread it on your entire lawn every two weeks until gone. Turn up the frequency of the watering to keep it moist and give it a try. Worst case it doesn't' work, but it is cheap to try. My brother just did this and he has the best looking lawn I have seen this summer. He just did this 2 months ago. Hit it this weekend and you could possibly see results in the next 3-weeks. This is the game plan that I will be implementing in about 6-weeks.

There is a place on Capital Blvd or in the court off Rock called something like CSS or CRC. They are open M- T 9 - 4. Go in there and get some seed. You can bring some in for a sample (just make sure it has some roots). Otherwise, they will give you some seed called Fairway T and it is a great mix - very limited weeds like you are going to get at Home Depot.

Edit: I'm no landscape expert. Part of the reason for doing the above is for thin grass. I don't know if this would fix the issue for you or not. Maybe just ask those guys at CSS/CRS... Most importantly, have a nice cold beer while you do the work. Good luck.

[Nevadan]

After the obligatory "hey aren't you Mexican comments" I need some help.

I have aerated, thatched and fertalized the crud out of my front yard and it is still brown. I water it plenty and it greens up for about 5 minutes.

Any suggestions? I took a couple samples to the *** extension a while back and they say the soil is ok and no fungus but I can't keep it alive.

Northern Nevada is a tough place to grow anything, even grass but last year it was looking good..this year.. not so much.

any suggestions?

My grass is 35+ years old...:confused:

I spent several summers working in landscaping to get through school and I would recommend about 14 tons of horse manure spread evenly across every inch of lawn you have....make sure it is fresh...none of that dried out or processed stuff. Let me know how it works out.:p

[wolf_chatter]

I will try the seeding then the horse crap if that doesn't work... its friggin embarrasing how crappy my lawn looks.

[thevoice]

Get some Ironite and try it first. Spread it and then water the hell out of your lawn. Call TMWA, tell them you just dropped in some new sod and seed and you need a variance for a few weeks. Be careful not to get the Ironite on any cement/asphalt etc. It stains the crap out of a driveway. It will green up and stay that way. Buddy of mine is the guy who maintains the softball fields in Winnemucca. Ask anybody who has been there, they are world class, believe it or not. The dude knows his stuff and that's what he told me to do. I did and it worked great.

[wolf_chatter]

Get some Ironite and try it first. Spread it and then water the hell out of your lawn. Call TMWA, tell them you just dropped in some new sod and seed and you need a variance for a few weeks. Be careful not to get the Ironite on any cement/asphalt etc. It stains the crap out of a driveway. It will green up and stay that way. Buddy of mine is the guy who maintains the softball fields in Winnemucca. Ask anybody who has been there, they are world class, believe it or not. The dude knows his stuff and that's what he told me to do. I did and it worked great.

will try it.

[BustNChops]

Get some Ironite and try it first. Spread it and then water the hell out of your lawn. Call TMWA, tell them you just dropped in some new sod and seed and you need a variance for a few weeks. Be careful not to get the Ironite on any cement/asphalt etc. It stains the crap out of a driveway. It will green up and stay that way. Buddy of mine is the guy who maintains the softball fields in Winnemucca. Ask anybody who has been there, they are world class, believe it or not. The dude knows his stuff and that's what he told me to do. I did and it worked great.

I'll have to give Ironite a try as well. I also like that nugget about TMWA. Good info.

[Nevadan]

I will try the seeding then the horse crap if that doesn't work... its friggin embarrasing how crappy my lawn looks.

You know I'm joking, right? Really the manure will probably help, but I'm sure you don't need 14 tons...maybe just 12.

[wolf_chatter]

You know I'm joking, right? Really the manure will probably help, but I'm sure you don't need 14 tons...maybe just 12.

I knew the 14 tons was a bit high. Probably use 4 yards at most.

[PackNation]

Get some Ironite and try it first. Spread it and then water the hell out of your lawn. Call TMWA, tell them you just dropped in some new sod and seed and you need a variance for a few weeks. Be careful not to get the Ironite on any cement/asphalt etc. It stains the crap out of a driveway. It will green up and stay that way. Buddy of mine is the guy who maintains the softball fields in Winnemucca. Ask anybody who has been there, they are world class, believe it or not. The dude knows his stuff and that's what he told me to do. I did and it worked great.


The fields are nice in mucca. Is Frank the friend you have out there or does someone else take care of the fields?

[thevoice]

It is the very same blond headed idiot that you speak of!

[PackNation]

It is the very same blond headed idiot that you speak of!


That description certainly confirms we know the same guy. :p