Let’s see your front lawn skills

*my back yard"
Guy next to me is selling his lot. I saw in the pics they posted our yard and noticed that when I zoomed in I could see some stripes i laid lol.
Mine is the yard with the round pond and pool in the back

 

My current backyard - can't wait to return from vacation. Glad it happened before overseeding.

 

I run EGO stuff and start to mow at 6 in the morning because of the hotness.

 

I've been enjoying cutting at night. I've got about 2.5 acres and thr ZTR came with lights. Wasn't planning on cutting at night, but dang it's a lot better than middle of the day or ruining my weekends all the time. I typically cut on weekdays around 7:30-9. Much better.

 

the only way to mow at times... mowing at night is cool(literally)

 

Honda doing a nice job.

 

To damn hot lately to worry about the striping. Lol

 

When the locals come by to check out your skills…. Lol

 

Delivering a baby?

 

That’s a hard NO for our house…. lol

 

Not the best considering how dry it's been between the quick floods...but we still enjoy it
Back yard:

Front yard:

 

Of course that's your first thought

 

Decided to add a baseball diamond for my daughter(s) in the backyard. Going from 4" down to 2 was a hit in the sack. Hoping to establish it well so I can cut it lower around 1.25-1.5". Daughter plays 3rd base, so I figured this would help develop her a bit more

 

Now you just have to add the white lines.

 

Grab a couple simple bases too. Not sure if I'm willing to actually chalk though lol

 

Lake Charles?

 

East of Lake Charles in Iowa....but basically yea.

 

After a few weeks all the yard work is finished. Now this means a lot of mowing starting in a couple weeks! Every year I can I burn our yard it helps with the weeds and the grass always comes back thick and green!
The second picture is a week to the day I burned it. Then three weeks or so later.
I put fertilizer on three days ago.

 

Looks good and like it was beneficial

I've considered doing this....but maybe just the front. Trying to control burn 2.5 acres would be tough and also a lot of fertilizer.

 

That's crazy,what kind of grass is that?

 

St. Augustine
I have been doing this for over 20 years and it still freaks everyone out. When people see it for the first time you should hear what they say and what they call me. It is very funny to hear them tell me I have ruined our yard and why would I do such a thing. There are a handful that stop and will ask questions before and after. Some folks are just nosey others truly want to know and I have three couples that have a few years on my wife and I wanting to know when I will start to come burn their lawns. Usually they stop after because the folks are amazed. There are a few that always stop and tell us are yard looks amazing all the time. The best one was when a supervisor from Chem Lawn/ True Green stops and tells me I have ruined my lawn and they can fix it, two months later he stops when I am mowing and he can't believe how our yard looks. Now there are a few of the Chem Lawn techs that burn their yards now, they always stop and talk when they are in the neighborhood doing others yards. I get all sorts of comments from the bottom to the top! HA!!!!

I would not burn it if it was Blue Grass but the St. Augustine tolerates it very well and it comes back with a bang. St.Augustine has runners and I have read a few articles in general about burning to help things grow better. So one year I burnt a whole section on the side of our house and was amazed at how it came back in. Since then I burn every year our grass is brown enough to burn. Our grass is very very very thick and to get it cleaned up it would take a huge amount of labor and time to get it cleaned up every Spring, it comes back but not like it does when I burn it. My wife and I live in a little four block sub division and there are two others that burn their yard now. I have to pay ten dollars for a burn permit and I have to call the cop shop to let them know when I burn so if they get calls (and people still call) they can tell them they are aware, and I can not burn with any wind over 15mph I think it is. I burn when it is dry, and when the wind is out of the South, I light both ends so it burns back on itself. I light it with a lighter and folks can not believe that and I have a water hose in my hand. It goes quickly. We have a grass type of weed down here that is hard to control, burning helps keep this weed/grass vine thing down.

It is a big thing still for our neighbors and others to see a yard all black, they stop and stare and when I am outside people stop me and say some of the weirdest things but I stay polite and let them know things will be fine!


Also like stated below we mow in a different direction everytime we mow. Now we have to mow every three to four days because it is growing so fast. Then it will idle back to once a week for the year.

 

first mow April 12, 2025 - this will be the 2nd year we have done our own lawncare/fertilizer.
After 5 years or more of $400 plus service, i said no more.

Two years ago in the fall we aerated and last fall i did my first ever de-thatch. Man was that fun !!!!

All done with a toro recycler 22 and a checkmate
Lawn gets mowed every 4 days and each mow is in a different direction.

 

We have st Aug as well and I've seen a few things on people burning them. I have a large yard, but would like to try it on my front lawn one year. The back does well, but anywhere dirt was disturbed when we built has a bunch of weeds and we struggle to have the st aug come through. We cut in a diff direction each time as well.
I'd have to spray a barrier to prevent it from spreading to my neighbors house. We're pretty open too, so wind would def be a factor to watch and plan for.
I'd love to have grass as green as yours!
Looks good man. Keep it up

 

Absolutely nuts,I was going to ask how you set it a blaze and figured it'd be a hand held propane flamethrower, lol but wow just a lighter does it.
It makes 100% sense to burn it for weed control and the aftermath carbon has great rejuvenating properties.
Here in the North East that principle would smoke our lawns,no pun intended

 

Do your best to keep the weeds out of where you want grass to grow. Water a bunch around said area so the grass around the area will grow quicker and so the shoots will travel. When mowing stay away from any dirt spot by a good five foot and do not mow that until it goes to seed.
St. Augustine likes to be mowed high so raise you mower to 4 which should be about 3 1/2 inches. That is a good height for St. Augustine. To control weeds I use WeedBGone with the spray wand and spot spray the whole year and use it sparingly. In the Spring when we fertilize I use a fertilizer with weed control in it.
Mow high stay away from the areas you want grass to grow and try to keep the weeds back as much as possible, and to help with the new grass do not use a spray for weeds, it is a PITA but pull the weeds or hoe them out until you get the grass growing good in there.

This kind of shows what I am talking about. I had a perfect example of an area that had all sorts of runners in it but last night we hoed it all because I read an article about Elephants's Ear. I ordered two packs of seed because it is supposed to be a terrific HummingBird attractant because it has lots of nectar and comes back each year provided it does not have a duper hard freeze.
Also in the area you want new grass to grow sprinkle a good amount of potting soil in there and/or use peat moss from Home Depot. I use both until I see it starting, after I just use potting soil.

 

What seed are you using for st aug? Didn't think there was a seed for it.
I typically do like to cut high. I'd start around 3" and go up to 4 or even 4.5"(deck raised and not set down at all).
Wife likes the shorter grass, but I prefer the longer. My grass would typically be green for about a month longer than others when it dries out or end of season.
I may look into a controlled burn next year. Maybe that'll help with stickers too.

 

No seed to be had for St. Augustine, that is one of the main reason I use potting soil. It helps speed up things without burning it like regular fertilizer would, and it lasts a good bit releasing nutrients for a longer period.

Sod is the only thing we can do, I have killed small sections, taking it down to dirt put potting soil down keep it clear for awhile then put sod in there. In small places potting soil and water surrounding area keeping the grass extra long around there and letting it grow shooting out the travelers.