Anyone Else Just Stopping With Their Grass?

[Shack]

With this very dry year so far, even having a sprinkler system, it has been a bear keeping dry spots from popping up My watering regimen was almost triple what I had last year at this time and I still can not keep up (I live on a sand box pretty much). I also live on a cul-de-sac and I am pretty much the only one who has not fell to foreclosure and is still living down this sleepy little stretch. Every other lawn is knee high . I am not planning on selling any time soon either.

About two weeks ago I gave up Stopped mowing and watering. My yard is going dormant but still looks better than the other three houses I do not have any plans for the next couple months for anyone coming over as far as family get together (actually non this year).

I am just taking this summer off until we get some rain Just let it go . No one comes down here any ways and no one but me cares. 7 years of constant manicuring to have a golf course lawn I figure I will ride it out and suffer the consequences when we get some good rain.

[ranger20]

i gave up last week to much work with no results is it ever going to rain?????

[Pickelfarmer]

here,here. Finaly someone who speaks my language . I thaught it was just me that was ready to throw in the towel. My Sister in law will be visiting from New Mexico this coming week and I have been fighting and watering and I'm not ashamed to say pleading a little for a nice showing of MN. NO LUCK!!!!!!!!! It's just a bad year for grass I guess.I hate to say it but I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with this mind set. Good luck to you and hopfully you will get some Neighbors back to put a foot in your butt on the lawn

[LwnmwnMan2]

You guys are all on the right track.

Grass wants to naturally go dormant when it's dry.

Either triple or quadruple your irrigation times right now, or let it go dormant.

[Ryan_V]

I just picked up a nice bottle of gin with the money I'm saving on gas in the lawn mower and trimmer!!

[jerkbait]

You guys are all on the right track.

Grass wants to naturally go dormant when it's dry.

Either triple or quadruple your irrigation times right now, or let it go dormant.

Thay all said that in 1988 also and the next year we heard the big OOPS, we were wrong. My step dad put in a sprinkler system the year an kept watering, my grandpa on the other hand listened to everyone saying the grass would go dormat and he had to reseed his whole yard the next year and put in a srinkler system. He wasn't going to make that mistake agian he said.

[BoxMN]

Its funny, but I have been watering, just using a sprinkler and moving it around my yard, during the open watering hours (not 9-5) and never on weekends... and my yard is about as green as it has ever been. Minus the dog spots and right next to the street from the winter salt.

Granted, my yard is not that big at about 100x175, but it has been pretty easy for me. And I only have been watering for about 1-1.5 weeks in evenings. Maybe my idea of a "good" lawn is different than most though, ha! As I don't care as much about weeds, as long as they are green

[nofishfisherman]

I've kept watering but my hard is very small so I barely notice a difference in my bill. I water 3 days a week or so usually sometime between 8-10pm sometimes a little later.

It means I have to keep mowing but I can do my entire yard in 15 mintues. 1 tank of gas in my mower lasts me all season pretty much.

[fishersofmen]

A few things....I'm on city water and after the last couple summers I know better than to even begin watering, plus without a system it is just a pain. So I am right with you guys on this one. I did loose some grass last year but that is the chance you take.

Ryan, I am totally with you on the bottle of Gin (preferably Beefeater)

For the couple of guys watering in the evening or at night just to let you know if you end up with a fungus or disease that is why. Water early morning if you can. The majority of calls we get for a fungus or disease problem is a result of watering at night!!

[nofishfisherman]

Fisherofmen, I really have to question you on your last post.

How can you prefer Beefeater over Tanqueray or Bombay Sapphire? Life's too short to drink that stuff.

[fishersofmen]

You had me for a minute there nofish. I was getting ready to fire back.

Hard to argue with Bombay Sapphire as well....and I thought I was one of the few left that enjoys drinking pine needles!!

P.S In your first post you said your hard is very small...whoops!!

[Quetico]

I know a few people who did the no-mow conversions this spring. They have the greenest lawns I've ever seen. No water, no fertilizer and no mowing. That's the way to go, watering bans will be tightening with this drought.

[Shack]

This might give an idea of how serious I am

Images taken from almost one year ago and then just today:

From this:

To This:

From this:

To this:

From this:

To this:

Just like said above the money and time I have saved is crazy. Not only the dryness is to blame, but the wind. In my yard the sprinkler system running 24/7 can not keep up with the wind. The wind causes crazy dry spots and even hauling out a spot sprinkler is hard with the wind.

I know if we get rain next week or the week after it will be back normal. If not I saved a tone of time (wasted other wise) and will restart if needed.

Until we get some rain I am on strike

Funny thing though my wife got on me a little last night. Right after I posted this thread. I said "if you can do a better job, go right ahead". Nothing was said after that

[nofishfisherman]

You had me for a minute there nofish. I was getting ready to fire back.

Hard to argue with Bombay Sapphire as well....and I thought I was one of the few left that enjoys drinking pine needles!!

P.S In your first post you said your hard is very small...whoops!!

I noticed the typo as well after posting but decided to leave it to see if anyone would make the joke. I'm glad someone was able to.

I love a good glass of pine needles, a gin and tonic is my drink of choice, followed by a vodka gimlet.

[fishersofmen]

Shackbash that was hard to look at. It is amazing how much a well manicured lawn changes the look of the entire property. But like you said sometimes you just give up wanting to fight mother nature......

[Shack]

Well I have not looked at the weather but if it keeps raining like this my strike maybe over

fishersofmen it is shocking when you look at the last years and this years images but my yard still looks better than the other 3 foreclosed house on my block.

Even running the sprinkler system 3 times a day for 20-30 minutes a zone (8 zones with 5-7 heads each) the dryness and the wind (night and day) dries it out so quick I would get big dormant spots. If you run these dormant spots over with a lawnmower, the grass dies in the tire track areas, and reseeding is needed. If you just stay off or cut around them the grass comes back. My lot faces south so the spots where getting so big that is the major reason I just gave up. By mowing the grass (short of what LM2 said) I would be causeing myself more work down the road and cutting around the dry spots bites the big one anyways and the yard looked terrible also.

I will also say I know I have gotten a couple extra cases of cold ones this spring and the time to drink them by just not doing anything the last 2.5 weeks now If rain keeps up it will be back to normal in a week or so.

[Quetico]

I actually enjoy not mowing. One less thing to do in a busy life. Leaves me more time to work in the actual re landscaping of my entire yard.

[deerminator]

Same here.I've been trying to minimze the amount of grass and maximize the mulch/plantings. That said, we've been keeping the grass we do have nice and lush by mowing on the highest setting no more than once every 2 to 3 weeks and watering the heck out of it once a week if there's no rain. I think our neighbors think its kind of odd since they mow there'd down to the dirt which leaves it nice and crispy, but we think they're the ones that are odd really.

[ottertailguy]

I think the key is that most miss the mark on is cutting their yard to short in hot and dry times. I cut mine at 4 inches during those times and it needs a lot less water. It's the highest setting and would suggest anyone who is going to buy a new mower to get the one that cuts at the higher setting.

[hanson]

Sorry Shack... those photos ARE painful to look at!

As a new homeowner, my grass looks like your after photos and am trying to get it to look like your before photos.

My house was a foreclosure and definitely neglected by the previous few owners. I'm not even sure the lawn got regular mowing last half of the summer last year as nobody lived in the house. Its thin, its dead, its weedy... but I'm working at it. Looks much better already than it did a month ago. Now that we're getting a little rain, that will help me out as its been a struggle trying to get the lawn to improve during the 3rd driest May on record.

[Shack]

Sorry Shack... those photos ARE painful to look at!

It is just a lawn

Sorry I have not looked into this thread for awhile. I have some updates. Since the rain last week I came off with a heavy dose of watering cycles to get moisture back into the lawn and ground so I could cut the grass with out killing it in the dormant spots. I hit a mark I felt was good last Saturday and cut my grass Just having it cut looked good (wife was ready for it) but the amount of water I have dumped on it since then and the rain we are getting now (cool temps also) it is greening up much quicker than I thought. I will take some images over the next week or so and show how a lawn can be brought back from despair rather quickly.

The strike was fun while lasted Some some money and back breaking was svaed also. I have no doubt it will look even better than before in the next two weeks .