Submitted by AppointmentNo3240 t3_122w4kd in Maine
Hey all -
When do you get started on spring yard care activities (dethatch, fertilize, crabgrass, bugs)? I'm getting antsy as the snow melts away and you can spend more than 15 minutes outside, and I feel like I always start too late...
Located south of Portland.
Looking for your tips and tricks. Thanks!
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> dethatch, fertilize, crabgrass, bugs
The who the what now? You do realize this shit just grows itself, right?
That's what I was thinking:
Step 1: mow
Step 2: Beers and Burgers
>Step 1: mow
>Step 21: Beers and Burgers
Not if you grow native grasses. Lol. Never understood why people torture themselves over growing plants that are not appropriate for the climate.
Exactly what I was thinking, this Maine dont bring that suburban BS up here!
I'm a fan of No Mow May.
I always let my yard go to seed before I mow the first time. I’m not talking about 2 feet of grass by any means, but when the shorter local grasses have their seed stalks up and they have seeded it’s usually time. In my neck of the woods it’s usually around no more than a foot. But then again what do I know I only went to school for horticulture. The “No Mow May” is great on so many levels for the environment and wildlife. Kudos to you! Also not raking is awesome too! Not only do not have to rake leaves, you also can leave it for the critters that use them for shelter over the winter! Plus it breaks down into a nice natural fertilizer for your lawn and yard on that first mowing!
Please forgive me I'm new here. I would prefer to hold off mowing as long as possible for economic and ecological reasons, but what about ticks?
Someone told me that leaf litter and tall grass would increase ticks.
depends on your lawn I would imagine. Lawns generally don't get that tall during May to be tick infested, and I mow over any leaf litter to mulch. My backyard is surrounded by woods, so I'm going to have ticks around regardless. Lawns in more suburban/urban areas are less likely to have a problem.
but yes the taller the grass the more ticks it will attract.
Thank you! I'm mostly concerned with keeping ticks of my 7 month old. I want to spend as much time outside as possible. But I also worry that finding ticks on my baby will break my poor sleep deprived mind.
Our backyard is also surrounded by woods...
Understandable. Generally ticks like to hang out on shrubs and tall grasses (where they can jump onto people/animals that walk by). I've only encountered ticks on my property when dealing with the tall weeds that grow along the edges of the woods, never just hanging out on my lawn. They kind of like wet/shaded areas the most. So as long as long as you take precautions in areas like that you'll be fine. But it's also a good idea to get in the habit of doing a "tick check" everytime you come inside. It takes a little while for the buggers to really latch on, so routine checks are a good habit.
Thank you so much!
Honestly, that’s never a concern for me. I have just 4 chickens. They provide more than enough protection from ticks for my 2 acres of a bit of woods and almost 1.5 acres of grass. Ticks suck, before I had those lovely ladies on my side property we had a lot. However we never sprayed pesticides because it doesn’t do anything but harm your land. I’m not on the up and up on how to destroy those little demons. But they are great feed for my chickens!
Honestly, I'm so tempted, but the thought of MORE living creatures to be responsible for right now is too much. Maybe next year.
Yea, no pesticides. Need bugs for baby to catch when he's older.
Yeah, I get the MORE part. I have a household of dogs, birds and even Guinea pig or two or 3. I was sure glad to have the ladies when egg prices went up. I had to buy eggs once in the last 2 years. Just not the same.
I’ve heard that Guinea hens eat the hell out of tick populations but also know their “scream” is um.. obnoxious, and that everything startles them. Husband and I just bought my aunts house with a great coop and definitely want to get some birds in there so I’d love some info on types.
Also - ticks give me anxiety. I had late disseminated Lyme in 2018 and it took years for the symptoms to go away. Also have a toddler so spraying is out.
They sure do, my aunt used to raise them! They are entertaining as well! Also annoying most of the time. But they can out eat chickens when it comes to insects. The problem is they eat a lot of the beneficial insects as well.
Thank you! Appreciate the info. Also loving your username HA!
r/fucklawns would like a word.
Good for them. People can do what they want.
Lawns are easy as shit to maintain in Maine, especially if you use a water-retaining clover mix. Maine gets plenty of natural rain and even irrigation is easily supported by the plentiful ground and surface water resources.
Go bring your boring Reddit hivemind nonsense back where you found it.
don't be that way dude.
You be you.. but not everyone like mowing. My husband has hated it for as long as I have known him... our 30 yo son hates it as well.. though tbf he has horrible grass allergies.
I am also not a fan of gas powered chores. And even less of a fan of paying to water the damned lawn. The lawn is mostly clover... never had any issues with it for decades.. until the last 2 or 3 years.
So between the weather and the lawnmower... I'll be happy as heck to turn my yard into something other than grass.
I don't much care what it looks like as long as the neighbors don't complain and I don't have to mow.
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I don't give a shit if you don't have a lawn. Everyone is free to do what they want. If your front yard is just moss and pine needles, that's awesome. Low maintenance. I get it.
What I really don't like is the people like those in /r/fucklawns who make it their mission to shame other people for doing what they want with their own property.
And like you mentioned, clover mixes don't require hardly any maintenance lol.
Yeah any subreddit that begins "fuck" is just awful. Like I agree with the tenants of that sub but i had to unsubscribe because it's just thousands of own-fart wafting and finger wagging posts.
r/fucknestle is the exception 💦
August.
Most yard care along the coast really begins mid-late April.
Some communities in greater Portland have substantial muni laws around pesticides
Bees need the leaf cover till late May, I believe.
If you're planting new, or doing a heavy overseed like op is looking at, late May is too late to guarantee conditions for seeding. The best conditions for cool seeding is almost always April.
You’ll get friendlier responses in r/lawncare
From a planting zone 5A lawncare enthusiast. Good luck with your lawn my friend
Nah, fuck lawns. Put some bee friendly seed down. You'll save on water and have beautiful flowers.
That's what I plan on doing for my backyard. Doing a trial run of clover and wildflowers around the areas I don't need to mow.
Last few years we haven’t cut the lawn and let the clover grow and bees go crazy over the clover and dandelions.
This I am interested in. I am trying to reduce my mowing as much as possible. Currently just have to mow a small backyard area and a larger but still not that big leach field area. I have been putting wildflower mixes down in areas that I have no need to walk in (some of the wildflowers get thick and TALL). If switching from very unmaintained grass (I just mow, nothing else) what is involved to go to clover? Will the clover overtake most of the existing grass or will have still have really tall grass coming up. Reason is both areas require some foot traffic and it is not fun walking through tall grass.
Even of you hold off on mowing for a bit it can help bees get some food.
oh i do, i barely mow every other week and I dont start until June. Cause I hate mowing and we do have some clover and dandelions and like I said I have a nice amount of wildflowers, butterflies and humming birds love it. I see a few bees but not much.
Oh nice! Get a lot honey and bumble bees. Funny enough get very few hummingbirds. I plant a lot of Zinnias and the butterflies and goldfinches go after them.
Clover grew insanely fast and thick for me. Best of luck
Along those lines, when’s a good time to put down clover seeds?
I've read anytime between late winter to early fall will work, early spring being a good time due to it being cool/wet and because seedlings are slow to start. I think it probably depends on the kind of clover too?
When the air temps are consistently above 50 degrees. We seeded micro clover in early September only to have it get totally washed out in a series of heavy thunderstorms. Will be trying again probably late April.
You can have both. I have a nice lawn in front of my house and lots of wilderness behind where the bees can thrive.
Nah, fuck monoculture of any form.
FUCK FOOD CROPS
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Lol, nah too busy with your dad to mow your lawn.
Well at least he’s topping you mister power bottom
I start as soon as sections of the yard is free of snow and dries. Usually begin by raking and getting rid all the junk left from over the winter. I lime and fertilize when it will readily absorb into the soil. Crabgrass treatment is a preamergant (sp?) check on the bag for the timing. On the bug treatment, use caution as that stuff will kill most every insect known to mankind, including bees and other pollinators.
Not quite accurate on grub treatments. Insecticides aren't broad spectrum like Roundup. And the stuff that's on the market for commercial and residential use is safe when it's watered in properly.
A lot of stuff on the market is broad spectrum...one is best to read up before they apply any insecticide to their lawn or anywhere on their property.
They kind of are, but not in the way we consider the term. Broad spectrum or non-selective on a label means kills/has effect on everything or many of that type (insects or grasses). Most insecticides, especially residentially labeled products, are selective. Spectracide kills ants, Acelepryn (which we can't get in Maine but should be able to), kills weevils, grubs/the beetles they grow into, and cutworms/sodwebworms. Insecticides and fungicides all have specialties
Most products are also only effective in certain life cycles. If you water down a grub treatment, it's not going to work on surface feeding insects. Depending on what you can get, it also likely isn't going to kill beetles anyway. Products like Provaunt that inhibit the growth of eggs only work on egg laying periods.
Insecticides may have other things written on the table as effective, but that usually a low bar. University of Kentucky has good trials of herbicides and Penn State has been doing some good stuff with White Grub trials.
No matter what you put down to get one species, you will get collateral damage. These chemicals are not fool proof. That is why if you apply them commercially you need to be licensed and insured.
I'm sorry dude, but this is so wrong. Dealing in absolutes, you will always be wrong. There are A FEW products that do move through the food chain like that, but any new chemistry and most old ones that are still registered do not do this.
I appreciate that you're looking out for the environment, but these are half truths.
Sincerely, Golf Course Superintendent and licensed Master Applicator.
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Agree with what most people are saying. I dont do an initial mow for quite some time. I let it get shaggy and buzz it high first. Nothing special, some people go way overboard but my lawn comes in amazing and stays.
Came in hoping for some lawn work tidbits.
Left memorializing loss of social discourse.
You can (probably shouldn't yet depending on your level of frost) do any type of thatching now, but wait on your premergent weed product until May. Grub products should go out around July.
This is still early for thatching IMO, as there's still a lot of frost in the ground (at least in downeast there is). Working frozen/semi frozen turf can and will shear off your roots at the frost line when the top inch or so is soft. Then you're negating anything you do.
Any and all seeding and aeration NEED to be done before you get your premergent down, as seed won't establish in the early weeks after pre-em. Aeration creates passages for weeds to grow through the "blanket" that pre-em creates.
Be careful following what the landscapers do, as some are looking to do pre-em early so they get to come around and charge you to attempt to kill 7 tiller crabgrass with the pea shooter arsenal they have.
You can thatch and put out your spring fertilizer anytime after dormancy ends. So south of Portland, probably no later than early April this year. Just make sure it's firm enough that you don't rip up everything.
Bugs is pretty broad, and varies widely on the product you're using too. We use a lot of acelepryn for grub control and hump that out anytime between mid April and late early June depending on where in Maine we are that day. Down south, should probably be done by the end of April. Or you can make a fall app, after 8/15.
Crabgrass preemergent needs to go out by mid may, maybe sooner this year because it's been so warm.
Super helpful! By bugs I meant grubs, so your guidance is perfect. Thanks!
Im going to throw a little more at you.
First, I'm a state licensed applicator, with qualifications in turf, biting fly and tick, and outdoor ornamental, among 3 or 4 others that aren't relevant.
That all said my experience and recommendations are largely limited to the products I use. I buy product by the pallet, not by the bag from Skillins or Ace.
Some quick notes on grub control chemicals:
Acelepryn is a lot less dangerous to pollinators than neonicotinoids (Merit, a Bayer product, is the most common of those products, but there are 4 or 5 common ones.) Acelepryn is still on patent, so only Syngenta makes it, and it's more expensive, so most DIY weed and feeds are still using neonics.
As has been explained to me by various groups in the trade, this is the last year for neonics in Maine, because they are so hard on bees. But the state let them go this year, because Acelepryn is set to come off patent the end of the year, so the price should fall after this season as other manufacturers begin to produce off brand versions.
Personally, we still sell Merit, because it's cheaper its what a lot of people want, but we've swapped almost all the applications we make over to acelepryn over the last few years, because it has a better PR image, and frankly it works better, is less dangerous to us and has a larger application window making it easier to get out across a varied client base.
So my advice is for an Acelepryn based product based on an average year, because that's where I'm most versed.
With Merit, off the top of my head, anytime in late May through maybe the 3rd week in June, earlier if it's a warm spring. You want to get the stuff down a couple weeks before you start to see a lot of Japanese beetles.
Most grub control applications work better if you water them in. Most of the commercial labels I work with specify watering in. So ideally, on anunirrigated lawn, you'd make your application right before a light rain.
After mud season or mid-May, whichever comes first.
I started burning everything yesterday. Burn it all.
I have a massive overgrown yard that was neglected for years. Every year I pick away at it and beat it back more. At this point I'm so overwhelmed I'm literally going to burn everything I can and start over.
We had to redo our yard a couple years back. The issue was that there was about 2 inches of topsoil and then construction stone. Nothing could grow. I have a neighbor who is clearing and burning and it’s starting to look nice.
I tend to live with whatever is growing in the yard and only mow when it starts to look too scraggly. And I have the mower at the highest setting.
Friday was gorgeous and I was off. I cleaned up some of the yard that was bare and tended my indoor seedlings. Onions will go out in the garden soon once some more snow banks clear. In the forest, I thinned trees to select larger dominant trunks. I'm selecting maples in anticipation of tapping them in the future and prioritizing the mature oaks. Maybe timber in 40 years? I also stomped down fallen branches to get them in contact with the ground so they decompose faster. No mushrooms fruiting other than the jelly fungi on deadfall. They're edible, but mostly a culinary element for their texture.
It's way too early to mow but since people mentioned it, I don't mow till late in the season so the early flowers can do their thing and nourish pollinators. I am moving towards a no-mow lawn which actually does get mowed, but only once or twice a year. Lots of wild flowers.
Ramps! I cleared a few patches and spread seed. The established patches arent coming up yet, it's too early (although I did see some cultivated alliums popping up) .
I'm plotting where to put the fruit and nut trees that will be delivered next month. Maybe I ordered too many?
I spent a lot of time just slowly walking and observing the property. It's my second summer here, so I am still learning the land. It's only 3 acres but there is a lot going on if you stop and observe.
Can't wait to get outside more!
I don't do anything until memorial day weekend for environmental reasons. A lot of beneficial bugs make use of the grass in the sealy spring.
OH MY GOD I RAKED YESTERDAY AM I FUCKED?
I'm pursuing elimination of my lawn but it costs a lot so really that's what's holding me back. I think in the next week if it doesn't rain much I will start raking and doing some tidying up.
New home owner here…I was actually in Home Depot today looking to buy a mower and get a rake to start clean up and the woman who helped me said wait until the grass is growing and it’s somewhat longer than you want before you cut it for the first time in the spring. Also, mulch the leaves (depending on coverage) in the first cut. Otherwise you risk drying out the grass before it’s ready to grow and thrive in its own. Sounds reasonable, but I’m a noob.
That's really solid advice!
tear up the lawn and plant creeping thyme.
Started raking and clean up this past sat.
Step 1: plant clover
Step 2: clear leaves and branches mid May
Step 3: nothing. Clover doesn’t grow high enough to mow, promotes pollination with low height flowers, drinks less water and is perfect for all sports but golf short game
Get to Work.
That's Northern Mass FYI. Also, lawns are the devil.
Beat the devil out of it
With 40" boggers.
jamilynnfitz t1_jdsh5rn wrote
It's recommend to avoid clearing away last year's leaf clutter until temps are regularly above 50* because lots of beneficial insects and invertebrates over winter in those places.