Lawn Care 2025
Weekly
- Mow at 3 1/2″
- Edge borders
- Leaf blow driveway and sidewalk
As Necessary
- Apply insecticide to yard and foundation
- Apply fungicide
Scheduled Lawn Care Days
Early Spring (Easter)
- 4/11 – Dethatched lawn
4/13 – Overseeded at 2.5lbs/1,000 sq ft- 4/13 – Fertilized
- 5/3 – Sprayed for weeds
- 5/6 – Mowed & edged
- 5/13 – Mowed & edged, sprayed for bugs
- 5/16 – Mowed & edged
Late Spring (Memorial Day)
- 5/19 – Fertilized
- 5/22 – Mowed & edged
- 5/25 – Sprayed vegetation killer into rock & mulch gardens
- 5/26 – Soil sample collected
- 5/29 – Mowed & Edged, sprayed for weeds
- 6/5 – Mowed & edged
- 6/11 – Mowed & edged, sprayed vegetation killer into driveway and sidewalk cracks. Received SOIL TEST results
- 6/13 – Sprayed fungicide
- 6/18 – Mowed & edged
- 6/24 – Mowed & edged
Independence Day (Mid Summer)
- Apply herbicide, if necessary
- Spread fertilizer at 0.50lbs Nitrogen/1,000 sq ft
Labor Day (Early Fall)
- Apply herbicide, if necessary
- Spread fertilizer at 0.50lbs Nitrogen/1,000 sq ft
- Overseed at 5lbs/1,000 sq ft – Cover with compost or topsoil
Halloween (Late Fall)
- Apply herbicide, if necessary
- Spread fertilizer at 0.50lbs Nitrogen/1,000 sq ft
Hardware List & Application Rates
All rates listed are per 1,000 sq ft. It is CRITICAL that you know how many sq ft your lawn is before applying any chemicals to it. At best, they will be ineffective. At worst, you will kill your lawn. FYI – As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*
Grass Seed & Fertilizer
- ECHO 60 lbs. Heavy-Duty Spreader
- 1lb Twin City Seed Tuff Turf Lawn Seed Mixture
- I have not used this specific product yet but plan to when my current seed* runs out.
- 2.08 lbs (0.50 lbs nitrogen) 50 lb Lesco 24-0-11 Fertilizer
- I have not used this specific product yet but plan to when my current fertilizer runs out.
Herbicide
- Spraymate Tornado 4 Gal Backpack Sprayer*
- TeeJet XR11004VS*
- 1.5 oz Ike’s Concentrate Lawn Weed Killer (1 Gal)
- 1.45 oz Drive XLR8 (64 oz)*
- 0.75 oz AlliGare Triclopyr (32 oz)*
- 1 oz (Per Gal) Southern Ag Methylated Seed Oil (MSO) Surfactant (32 oz)*
Insecticide
- Spraymate Tornado 4 Gal Backpack Sprayer*
- TeeJet XR11004VS*
- 1 oz Talak 7.9% Bifenthrin Concentrate (32 oz)*
Non-Selective Herbicide (Per Gallon)
- Chapin 20000 1 Gal Sprayer
- 1.5 oz Compare-N-Save Concentrate Glyphosate Grass & Weed Killer (32 oz)
- 1 oz Southern Ag Methylated Seed Oil (MSO) Surfactant (32 oz)*
Fungicide
- Spraymate Tornado 4 Gal Backpack Sprayer*
- TeeJet XR11004VS*
- 2 oz Propiconazole (32 oz)*
- 1 oz Southern Ag Methylated Seed Oil (MSO) Surfactant (32 oz)*
Watering (Overseed Only)
- Melnor 65167AMZ XT Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler*
- Flexzilla Garden Hose 3/4 in. x 50 ft*
- Twice daily – 10 minutes per zone
Dethatching/Scarifying
- Sun Joe Electric Lawn Dethatcher & Scarifier (13″)*
- Southwire 12/3 Outdoor Extension Cord (100 FT)*
- Some old corded leaf blower
- Sun Joe w/Scarifying blade set to -10 mm
- Scarify N to S as well as E to W
- Leaf blow into pile for compost or disposal
Lawn Care 2024
The lawn didn’t receive any real love in 2024 as we were still moving into our home and my focus was elsewhere. I mowed weekly at some longer length that I don’t recall. I also sprayed the yard very heavily with weed killer throughout the summer and fall to kill all the very well established and hardy weeds that were consuming 40% to 60% of our lawn. The grass was looking like an asthmatic after running a marathon but I was successful in dispatching all of the weeds. The grass miraculously survived.
Composting
This project came about after dethatching our new-to-us lawn for the first time in probably ever. I was left with around 4 cubic yards of thatch and yard debris to do something with. I figured I would give composting a go!
Our city has restrictions and rules on how and where compost bins may be used. Be sure to check out your local ordinances to save yourself time and money. See rules specific to city. Suffice it to say, we are within the rules.
I created 3 containers and filled them up without any real plan beyond “turning” them once a month. Turning, in the way I’m doing it, means moving the material from one container to another to re-mix the material.
This area was the catch-all for all of our yard waste. It was very clear that it needed attention. Our son and the neighborhood kids would play in it making a mess along with the concerns of ticks and rodents living in it!
April 26, 2025 – aka “Day One.” We had around 3.5 cubic yards of yard waste that we filled the containers with!
June 5, 2025 – It’s been a little over a month but we are seeing progress! The container on the right had been about 3/4 full but went down to maybe 1/4. The other two containers had also gone down about 1/3 in size. I ended up moving the middle container’s contents to the right. The left contents were moved to the middle. While moving, the inner areas of compost material were actually warm and giving off heat!
As to whether I regret welding vs using zip ties for ease of rotating the compost… Yeah. Kinda. I’ll see how next month goes and I may cut the welds.