Comments on: Lawn Care Tips

By: Early Retirement Extreme

Early Retirement Extreme — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:57:36 +0000

If having a lawn is expected, maybe its size could be gradually decreased until it’s the size of … a stamp

In terms of watering, unfortunately some geographic regions have a lot of water and others have far less. Like oil. Distribution is not equitable because people do not adjust their population growth only to those two resources.

Anyway, the worst kind of watering is the 10 minutes on and off every day. Instead, soak it once a week — put out an empty tuna^H^H^H^Hdolphin canor something similarly deep. Once the can is full, stop watering.

And use a reel mower, like this
http://earlyretirementextreme.com/2009/05/using-evil-lawns-for-crosstraining.html

By: Money Beagle

Money Beagle — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:19:12 +0000

A good fertilizing rule of thumb is to fertilize four times a year, around your holidays: Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day. The first one adds stuff to keep down the crabgrass. The second should focus on weed control and fertilizing (weed & feed). The third can as well, but can include some insect control to keep the grubs away. The fourth will get the lawn ready to go dormant and will put stuff down to keep dandelions and spring weeds down the following year.

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:25:59 +0000

I don’t think of lawns as frugal– I like the new trend of replacing lawns with edible gardens . . .

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:46:49 +0000

I agree with Kate and Sean. When I was growing up, we had green grass all the time. It was just the grass that was there. My dad NEVER watered, fertilized, or anything. It managed to stay green even when others were going around and watering their yards. That is mostly because most of the grass people plant aren’t suited to their environment. We had a lot of Bermuda grass, among other and it did just fine.

Another BIG problem I have with watering the lawn (besides the waste in money) is that it is a HUGE waste of potable water. There are people around this world that have to walk 10 miles to get their clean drinking water and we live in such EXCESS that we sprinkle it on the ground. It’s disgusting in my opinion that we can be so careless with our limited resources and think we “deserve” to have a green lawn. It doesn’t mean anything to have a green lawn, honestly.

By: Holly

Holly — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:25:13 +0000

I read an interesting article a couple of months ago that theorized early morning watering is one of the causes of depletion of bees. Early morning watering reduces the pollen available for bees. The writer moved his watering to midmorning and the bees seemed much more abundant.

By: tammy

tammy — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:20:23 +0000

My garden is producing a plethora of devil grass, wire grass, etc. I’m moving that indestructable grass to the bare spots in my lawn.
Killing the grass is impossible but MOVING it might work.
Fingers crossed!

By: Frugal Dad

Frugal Dad — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:14:17 +0000

@Kate and Sean: If I lived in the country, I would have little use for a lawn, but stuck in the middle of a neighborhood means that we are expected, to some extent, to “keep up with the Joneses.”

Let’s face it; a green lawn adds value to a home, and there is some evidence that thick grass helps keep surface temperatures low which reduces cooling costs (I personally think that’s a bit of a stretch, but I thought I’d mention it).

I appreciate your concerns about the environmental impact of fertilizers, weed killers and the like. I’m probably not as “green” as I should be, but I do only use lawn products once or twice a year to get the lawn started and to knock down weeds in late spring. After that, I let whatever happens happen.

Now, most of my neighbors on the other hand, walk the yard several times a week pumping out Roundup, weed killer, etc. taking aim at individual weeds that pop through – I’m definitely not up for that.

By: Tabitha Blue

Tabitha Blue — Sat, 16 May 2009 14:05:57 +0000

I’m ready for our lawn to bust out nice and full!! We didn’t put anything on it before, and now we really need some weed and feed. Good tips though, thanks.

~Tabitha~

freshmommyblog.com

By: Sean

Sean — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:47:38 +0000

Ditto to what Kate said. Why pay $$ to put fertilizer (often recycled industrial waste)on your lawn? It’s neither frugal, nor prudent given the deleterious effects on the environment and, potentially, anyone who spreads such chemicals around.

By: Kate@LivingTheFrugalLife

Kate@LivingTheFrugalLife — Sat, 16 May 2009 10:52:21 +0000

“How Often Should I Water My Lawn?”
-How about never? Is never good for you?

Sorry to be the curmudgeon so early in the morning. But really, if you live in an area where a lawn doesn’t want to grow naturally, why spend money to have one? If you really feel the need to devote money, time, and energy to growing something where it can’t maintain itself without serious intervention from you, why not grow things you can eat? That would at least make the best (and most frugal) of a bad situation. Turn your lawn into a garden.

A green monoculture lawn maintained with toxic chemicals (and if you really study it, even chemical fertilizers have serious detrimental effects) is really an idea whose time should long have passed. It’s a form of keeping up with the Joneses, and buying into society’s expectations that often don’t make any sense, in my opinion.