# Lawn/Landscape



## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

Anyone else as into their lawn and landscape as much as their tanks? Plant and bulbs are really starting to wake up here. Grass is nice and green already. All my hard work last year has paid off! I enjoy toying around the yard, mainly the lawn. Anyone else?


----------



## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

That's a really good question Bigstick. I have differently noticed a carry over from my aquascaping interesting into the emersed world outside.

I often try to make arrangements of trees, plants, grass as I would the fore,mid,back of the aquarium. Weathers been great in the northeast too.


----------



## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Yep! I've worked more the last two months in my yard than my tank. We had such a cold and crazy winter that I lost quite a few bushes and many perennials. Even lost 2 trees ! I still have 1 bush and several perennials sitting outside to plant tomorrow. I love everything coming up and beginning to bloom. I have a few perennials blooming already!

I landscape my tank like I do my yard.


----------



## Big_Fish (Mar 10, 2010)

OH yes.... 
thinking about a putting green in the backyard this year 
after 4 months of sub zero.... got the lawnmower fired up and the boats in the water..... FINALLY.


----------



## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

if I had my way I'd pave the front yard and paint it green...


----------



## Big_Fish (Mar 10, 2010)

TAB said:


> if I had my way I'd pave the front yard and paint it green...


I swear... my Brother tells me the same thing...

(I suspect my parents should have put more chlorine in the gene pool....  )


----------



## doubleott05 (Jul 20, 2005)

i started my garden and my petunia's buahahahaaa 


growing lots of lettuce and tomato plants


----------



## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

Was finally able to mow for the first time this year yesterday, fell into a hole, twisted my knee, then my 4yo took off like the police were chasing her and rolled it again on someones professionally edged lawn$%#$V#$%!

The deer are not here yet this spring, my tulips are in full bloom and no missing flowers.,....yet.


----------



## Franzi (Dec 7, 2009)

Do you guys have any tips to get rid of weeds growing in the yard? I don't mind the scattered crab grass, but in some areas of the lawn there are those big ass weeds that look very offensive. Two questions:

1) does one of those "weed-be-gone" sprays work or will it kill the surrounding grass as well?
2) does Scott's 4-step program really prevent the crappy weeds/grass from growing each year?


----------



## kimcadmus (Nov 23, 2008)

Love working in the yard! I like touring Texgal's too when at her house looking at her tanks. I have mostly shade in my front yard as my neighborhood is heavily wooded so I have cast irons, hostas, ferns, mondo grasses and other shade loving ground covers. My studio building 2 miles away will be all native or at least drought tolerant plants as it has full sun. Think Yucca, Agave, sedums, ocotillo, texas sage, mesquite, desert willow, red bud, oaks.

Franzi- as for big offensive weeds...pull/dig them up. My yard treatments are organic so I don't use any weed/feed fertilizers. Corn Gluten is the organic choice down here in Texas for broadleaf weeds but has to be put down early in the season as those weeds start to sprout. Healthy grass is the best way to combat weeds.


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

I thoroughly enjoy yard-work and landscaping!  I get to do it nearly year-round here in Southeast Texas, except this winter was pretty cold compared to most. Right now my oranges are blooming! 

I agree with Kim, hand-pulling weeds is the best way to be sure you've got them. Chemicals can always get where you don't want them and hurt your precious plants (overspray, drift, etc... ). Although, I do spray "round-up" on occassion in larger mulch beds where the shrubs are large enough to handle a bit of drift...just got to be very careful.


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Weeds in the lawn are of 2 types as far as weed killers go.

Grassy weeds in a grass lawn are difficult to kill, but easy to prevent. (Crabgrass, annual bluegrass and others) The products designed to kill them will stop the seeds from growing. You need to get this product on the lawn before the seeds of these weeds even sprout. This sort of weed killer is called Pre-emergent. It kills the weeds before you see them, before the leaves emerge above the ground. Some of the pre-emergents will also reduce the sprouting of broadleaf weeds. 
There are forms of this that can be used elsewhere in the garden (such as around shrubs and flowers), but there are better ways to control weeds in flower beds and other non-lawn areas. 
Talk to the local certified nursery folk, department of agriculture, master gardeners or extension service. (Whatever program is in your state). They will help you with the proper timing. 

The other group of lawn weeds are the broadleaf types. (Dandelion, Oxalis, Spurge and many more) There are weed killers that will kill broadleaf weeds with minimal damage to (most) grass lawns. In general the weeds need to be growing pretty well so they will take the weed killer into their leaves and circulate it. This is why these sorts of products are often combined with fertilizer in a 'Weed and Feed' sort of product. These weed killers can be dangerous to use. They usually contain 2-4-D and other materials. Gloves and mask, coveralls, and launder your clothing afterward. 

Combining the use of these 2 types of products through the year can indeed reduce the weeds to the point that a few minutes pulling now and then will be all the weeding a lawn needs. The timing is critical, though. Many weed seeds sprout at certain times of the year, which may vary with temperature, and you need to time the application of the pre-emergent very carefully to get maximum benefit. 

Around here there is a 3rd sort of lawn weed. Most lawns in my area are cool season grasses like Blue, Rye and Fescue. Invaders include warm season grasses like Bermuda and Bent grasses. Impossible to get rid of, once they are started in the lawn. 

And that better way to control weeds not in lawns:
Mulch. 
Cover the soil with whatever you like, and you can cut the weed growth to almost nothing. 
Organic mulches like bark and compost are really good around here, because the soils tend to lack organic matter. As the bark or compost continues to break down it is benefitting the soil in several ways. 

As for whether I still like working in the garden: No. I went the other way: I started in the garden and worked my way in to the aquariums. 
I do Landscape Design and consulting, though.


----------



## Franzi (Dec 7, 2009)

Thanks for the detailed and informative response .


----------



## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

Without knowing what the weed it may be hard to be rid of. Weed-b-gone wont kill every weed. Is it lighter green and grow faster then the rest of your grass? I have that one, took me a little while to figure out what it was. Its nutsedge, this one needs a specific herbicide to get ride of called sedgehammer.


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Of course proper ID of the weed is important to kill it. 

Talk to the local certified nursery folk, department of agriculture, master gardeners or extension service. (Whatever program is in your state).

They can help with ID, too, and then tell you what it will take to get rid of that one.


----------



## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

Franzi said:


> Do you guys have any tips to get rid of weeds growing in the yard? I don't mind the scattered crab grass, but in some areas of the lawn there are those big ass weeds that look very offensive. Two questions:
> 
> 1) does one of those "weed-be-gone" sprays work or will it kill the surrounding grass as well?
> 2) does Scott's 4-step program really prevent the crappy weeds/grass from growing each year?


I heard straight vinegar will nuke them so will H2o2 ive heard.

I usually just use my prong looking tongue fork thing to dig em out.

In a week or two I will take pics of my landscaping, close to 4k in just flora. out of work I need to find something to do other then fish tanks all day.


----------

