To all the crazy lawn experts...

[Devil Wears Prado]

I'm not a lawn expert or anything like that so forgive me if I ask something stupid. I barely even mow the lawn, but I'm taking up this 'special' interest in renovating the lawn in my front and back yard and I'm just asking for some advice. I'm doing these for my parents because my brother who usually has to mow the lawn is working more often now and he's probably going to move out soon. So I'm just looking to help my parents out and do a better job at it than my brother was. It's not a competition... it's just that when I do something, I want to do it my way and the way I want to go with here is to make the lawn looking like the best in the neighborhood. lol

So anyways, I don't know where to start... I just need tips and tricks and if you guys have any methods or products that you think I should use please tell me about it. I have one of those lawn mowers that you have to push, not one of those cool ones that you can ride. The lawn in my front yard isn't bad, but I noticed when I mowed the lawn yesterday that the land was uneven and there were often mounds of dirt in random places so it was kinda hard to mow that part lol. My dog ****s in the front yard, is that good or bad? I always thought his poop was good for the grass as a fertilizer, but like I said... I'm not too good with this kind of stuff.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[BigWorm]

First things first Matt. What type of grass is in the front yard? Bermuda? Fescue? There are different methods depending on the type of grass.

[Devil Wears Prado]

I wish I could tell... I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to these things. I was thinking of starting from scratch though... however that may be. Maybe lay out my own type of grass on the front yard / back yard and take it from there? I don't know how I could possibly do that though. I can drive myself to Home Depot and buy whatever I need, but first I have to figure out what I need. :P

Another question comes to mind for me... with Fall coming up, would it be better for the well-being of the grass to rake the leaves or does it really not matter?

Right now, I just want to even out the lawn and the yard because there are a lot of very small hills and mounds. Someone else told me to use a garden rake to even it out, but when I tried it, it only seemed like I was just pulling the grass out of the ground and not evening anything out like I wanted. I may be doing it wrong though.

[Hillbilly]

Another question comes to mind for me... with Fall coming up, would it be better for the well-being of the grass to rake the leaves or does it really not matter?


I always wait to rake after ALL of the leaves have fallen. I don't know what that does for the well-being of the grass, but I know what it does for the well-being of myself. I'd hate to have to rake my yard twice in one fall. I generally just mulch it all up with the mower anyway.

[Hobbes]

It's best to try and keep the leaves from sitting on the grass for extended periods. I know it's a tedious process, but the grass is usually still growing when the leaves are falling, and it's detrimental to the health of the grass to deprive it of sunlight by leaving a layer of leaves on top. If you really want to avoid removing the leaves, at least get an inexpensive leaf blower and blow them into piles off to the side somewhere.

BTW Hillbilly, I'm lucky if I can get away with leaf removal only 3 times per season. Up here in the Northeast I'm surrounded by mature hardwoods that dump huge sums of leaves on my yard. No way could I wait to do it once, even if I was unconcerned about the grass.

Also Libid, you should purchase/borrow a good book on lawn care. Scott's puts out a very good book on total lawn care simply called "Lawns" (it's not biased towards their products). I've used it to improve my lawn greatly. There are other good books as well. You might check out your local library to see what they have.

[Hillbilly]

It's best to try and keep the leaves from sitting on the grass for extended periods. I know it's a tedious process, but the grass is usually still growing when the leaves are falling, and it's detrimental to the health of the grass to deprive it of sunlight by leaving a layer of leaves on top. If you really want to avoid removing the leaves, at least get an inexpensive leaf blower and blow them into piles off to the side somewhere.

BTW Hillbilly, I'm lucky if I can get away with leaf removal only 3 times per season. Up here in the Northeast I'm surrounded by mature hardwoods that dump huge sums of leaves on my yard. No way could I wait to do it once, even if I was unconcerned about the grass.


In that case, I could see where it would be a bad idea to wait. I don't have a that many leaves. There are enough to cover the ground thoroughly, but I'm generally mowing grass up through late October/ early November so I keep them mulched up pretty regularly. Then all it takes is one good leaf-blowing and I'm good for the winter.

[Middle Man]

Yeah, you can't leave the leaves, especially if you're growing new grass, which sounds like might be your situation. A layer of leaves might actually help with the seed germination, but once the seeds germinate, you have to get sun to the new grass.

What part of the country do you live in? In Virginia, pretty much everyone grows fescue.

In addition to Hobbes' good suggestions, you can go directly to websites like lowes or home depot and get a good introduction to the different types of grass and how to grow it. lowe's grass (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=LawnGarden/SeedLawn.html#1)