my front yard faces SSW and gets pummeled by the sun all summer long and
growing grass is a real pain in the butt, every year it's a struggle to keep
it green thru the months of July and August even w/ watering. i've used the
Scotts 4 step every year but i can't keep it green and it makes the house
look like snot. i've weighed the options that i can think of and i'm
leaning toward using stone fro the front. my pros and cons are too long to
list so if anyone has any thoughts or ideas, their own experiences would be
helpful and i'd appreciate it.


mike.........

JerseyMike wrote:
my front yard faces SSW and gets pummeled by the sun all summer long and
growing grass is a real pain in the butt, every year it's a struggle to keep
it green thru the months of July and August even w/ watering. i've used the
Scotts 4 step every year but i can't keep it green and it makes the house
look like snot. i've weighed the options that i can think of and i'm
leaning toward using stone fro the front. my pros and cons are too long to
list so if anyone has any thoughts or ideas, their own experiences would be
helpful and i'd appreciate it.

Personally, I think Scotts 4 step is over kill. You are fertilizing in
months where heat may drive lawn into some dormancy and additional
fertilizer could drive to futher browning.
I fertilize spring and fall only and use good stuff that only costs
about half as much as Scotts. Lawn may not look like a golf green but
requires much less maintenance.
If you live in NJ, as post suggests, you get plenty of rain and "stone
lawn" would look out of place.

Frank

JerseyMike said:

my front yard faces SSW and gets pummeled by the sun all summer long and
growing grass is a real pain in the butt, every year it's a struggle to keep
it green thru the months of July and August even w/ watering. i've used the
Scotts 4 step every year but i can't keep it green and it makes the house
look like snot. i've weighed the options that i can think of and i'm
leaning toward using stone fro the front. my pros and cons are too long to
list so if anyone has any thoughts or ideas, their own experiences would be
helpful and i'd appreciate it.


What kind of grass?

--

Eggs

Could crop circles be the work of a cereal killer?

JerseyMike wrote:
my front yard faces SSW and gets pummeled by the sun all summer long and
growing grass is a real pain in the butt, every year it's a struggle to keep
it green thru the months of July and August even w/ watering. i've used the
Scotts 4 step every year but i can't keep it green and it makes the house
look like snot. i've weighed the options that i can think of and i'm
leaning toward using stone fro the front. my pros and cons are too long to
list so if anyone has any thoughts or ideas, their own experiences would be
helpful and i'd appreciate it.


mike.........

Before you drag in the stone, cut back on the fertilizer try more
water, your sandy soil in south jersey sucks up the water. Once you
bring in the stone, it's a bitch to get rid of.

"Eggs Zachtly" wrote in message
...
JerseyMike said:

my front yard faces SSW and gets pummeled by the sun all summer long and
growing grass is a real pain in the butt, every year it's a struggle to
keep
it green thru the months of July and August even w/ watering. i've used
the
Scotts 4 step every year but i can't keep it green and it makes the
house
look like snot. i've weighed the options that i can think of and i'm
leaning toward using stone fro the front. my pros and cons are too long
to
list so if anyone has any thoughts or ideas, their own experiences would
be
helpful and i'd appreciate it.


What kind of grass?

--

Eggs

Could crop circles be the work of a cereal killer?


What kind of grass?

it's a wide variety. i never said it was a good lawn, it has it's share of
weeds that i can't ever seem to get rid of, but i'd like to keep it green at
least. it has been a struggle for 13 years and i'm getting tired of it
always working out the same way. that's why i was looking for other
people's experience w/ stone and their thoughts.


mike...........

JerseyMike said:

"Eggs Zachtly" wrote in message
...
JerseyMike said:

my front yard faces SSW and gets pummeled by the sun all summer long and
growing grass is a real pain in the butt, every year it's a struggle to
keep
it green thru the months of July and August even w/ watering. i've used
the
Scotts 4 step every year but i can't keep it green and it makes the
house
look like snot. i've weighed the options that i can think of and i'm
leaning toward using stone fro the front. my pros and cons are too long
to
list so if anyone has any thoughts or ideas, their own experiences would
be
helpful and i'd appreciate it.


What kind of grass?

--

Eggs

Could crop circles be the work of a cereal killer?

What kind of grass?

it's a wide variety. i never said it was a good lawn, it has it's share of
weeds that i can't ever seem to get rid of, but i'd like to keep it green at
least. it has been a struggle for 13 years and i'm getting tired of it
always working out the same way. that's why i was looking for other
people's experience w/ stone and their thoughts.


The reason that I asked was: Perhaps you have an abundance of cool season
grass(es), which would definately give results as you have experienced,
during hot weather. Perhaps going with a more warm-season grass would do
the trick.

G/L
--

Eggs

Can you be a closet claustrophobic?

wrote:
JerseyMike said:
What kind of grass?

it's a wide variety. i never said it was a good lawn, it has it's
share of weeds that i can't ever seem to get rid of, but i'd like to
keep it green at least. it has been a struggle for 13 years and i'm
getting tired of it always working out the same way. that's why i was
looking for other people's experience w/ stone and their thoughts.


The reason that I asked was: Perhaps you have an abundance of cool season
grass(es), which would definately give results as you have experienced,
during hot weather. Perhaps going with a more warm-season grass would do
the trick.


If it's a sunny area I'd consider killing the whole thing with roundup and
planting a blend with improved turf type tall fescue. How many square feet
is it, and is it fairly level?

"Steveo" wrote in message
...
wrote:
JerseyMike said:
What kind of grass?

it's a wide variety. i never said it was a good lawn, it has it's
share of weeds that i can't ever seem to get rid of, but i'd like to
keep it green at least. it has been a struggle for 13 years and i'm
getting tired of it always working out the same way. that's why i
was
looking for other people's experience w/ stone and their thoughts.


The reason that I asked was: Perhaps you have an abundance of cool
season
grass(es), which would definately give results as you have experienced,
during hot weather. Perhaps going with a more warm-season grass would do
the trick.


If it's a sunny area I'd consider killing the whole thing with roundup and
planting a blend with improved turf type tall fescue. How many square feet
is it, and is it fairly level?

it's about 2300sqft appx.58x40 and has between 2.5' - 3' of pitch from the
house to the street. iv'e never measured the slope but from my best
estimate, it's no more than that.

mike..........

"JerseyMike" wrote:
"Steveo" wrote in message
...
wrote:
JerseyMike said:
What kind of grass?

it's a wide variety. i never said it was a good lawn, it has it's
share of weeds that i can't ever seem to get rid of, but i'd like
to keep it green at least. it has been a struggle for 13 years
and i'm getting tired of it always working out the same way.
that's why i
was
looking for other people's experience w/ stone and their thoughts.


The reason that I asked was: Perhaps you have an abundance of cool
season
grass(es), which would definately give results as you have
experienced, during hot weather. Perhaps going with a more
warm-season grass would do the trick.


If it's a sunny area I'd consider killing the whole thing with roundup
and planting a blend with improved turf type tall fescue. How many
square feet is it, and is it fairly level?

it's about 2300sqft appx.58x40 and has between 2.5' - 3' of pitch from
the house to the street. iv'e never measured the slope but from my best
estimate, it's no more than that.

mike..........

That's manageable. I'd kill it like I said above and then slice seed it
with about 30 pounds of a tall fescue blend. Buy a 50 pounder and that will
leave you with 20 to spot seed with. The drawback is you'll be doing it in
the spring when all the weeds are going to germinate with it, but it can be
done.

Tall fescue has a very deep root system compared to rye or blue, and with
the endorphytes it is somewhat insect resistant too. It is a little bit
prone to one disease in particular, but it more than makes up for that with
its performance.

"Steveo" wrote in message
...
"JerseyMike" wrote:
"Steveo" wrote in message
...
wrote:
JerseyMike said:
What kind of grass?

it's a wide variety. i never said it was a good lawn, it has it's
share of weeds that i can't ever seem to get rid of, but i'd like
to keep it green at least. it has been a struggle for 13 years
and i'm getting tired of it always working out the same way.
that's why i
was
looking for other people's experience w/ stone and their thoughts.


The reason that I asked was: Perhaps you have an abundance of cool
season
grass(es), which would definately give results as you have
experienced, during hot weather. Perhaps going with a more
warm-season grass would do the trick.


If it's a sunny area I'd consider killing the whole thing with roundup
and planting a blend with improved turf type tall fescue. How many
square feet is it, and is it fairly level?

it's about 2300sqft appx.58x40 and has between 2.5' - 3' of pitch from
the house to the street. iv'e never measured the slope but from my best
estimate, it's no more than that.

mike..........

That's manageable. I'd kill it like I said above and then slice seed it
with about 30 pounds of a tall fescue blend. Buy a 50 pounder and that
will
leave you with 20 to spot seed with. The drawback is you'll be doing it in
the spring when all the weeds are going to germinate with it, but it can
be
done.

Tall fescue has a very deep root system compared to rye or blue, and with
the endorphytes it is somewhat insect resistant too. It is a little bit
prone to one disease in particular, but it more than makes up for that
with
its performance.

what is slice seeding?

thanks for the tips,

mike............

"JerseyMike" wrote:
"Steveo" wrote in message
...
"JerseyMike" wrote:
"Steveo" wrote in message
...
wrote:
JerseyMike said:
What kind of grass?

it's a wide variety. i never said it was a good lawn, it has
it's share of weeds that i can't ever seem to get rid of, but
i'd like to keep it green at least. it has been a struggle
for 13 years and i'm getting tired of it always working out the
same way. that's why i
was
looking for other people's experience w/ stone and their
thoughts.


The reason that I asked was: Perhaps you have an abundance of
cool
season
grass(es), which would definately give results as you have
experienced, during hot weather. Perhaps going with a more
warm-season grass would do the trick.


If it's a sunny area I'd consider killing the whole thing with
roundup and planting a blend with improved turf type tall fescue.
How many square feet is it, and is it fairly level?

it's about 2300sqft appx.58x40 and has between 2.5' - 3' of pitch
from the house to the street. iv'e never measured the slope but from
my best estimate, it's no more than that.

mike..........

That's manageable. I'd kill it like I said above and then slice seed it
with about 30 pounds of a tall fescue blend. Buy a 50 pounder and that
will
leave you with 20 to spot seed with. The drawback is you'll be doing it
in the spring when all the weeds are going to germinate with it, but it
can
be
done.

Tall fescue has a very deep root system compared to rye or blue, and
with the endorphytes it is somewhat insect resistant too. It is a
little bit prone to one disease in particular, but it more than makes
up for that
with
its performance.

what is slice seeding?

thanks for the tips,

mike............

It's a machine that slices right through your old dead lawn and sows your
brand spanking new tall fescue lawn in one pass. (well not actually because
you should criss cross it so it doesn't look corn row when it germinates.

It has to be fairly level for best results but no muss, no fuss. You don't
have to sod strip or till first either. Big thatch can be a problem, but
that's usually seen in fine fesue planted in full sun, like a fish outta'
water.