Worst Things You Can Do To A Lawn In Summer
Рет қаралды 45,817
2 жыл бұрынThere's a few things that many people try to do to their lawns in the summer that are simply bad ideas. Of them these are the most basic (Worst) things you can do to your lawn in the summer heat no matter where you live.
► See my full Summer Lawn Care Mistakes Video Here: • 9 Summer Lawn Care Mis...
Here are some deep dives into a few of main topics of this video.
► Mower Blade Sharpening Is More Important Than You Realize
• How To Sharpen A Mower...
► Height Of Cut Explained
• Short Grass vs Tall Gr...
► Improve Your Summer Mowing Practices
• Deep Summer Lawn Care ...
► My Biggest Fertilizer Mistake of 2021
• My Biggest Lawn Fertil...
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@TurfMechanic 11 ай бұрын
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@wally7856 2 жыл бұрын
You've convinced me to the benefits of mowing taller during the summer months. Just raised the HOC from 1/2" to 33/64th's. That should do the trick.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Hahaha! You're killing me, I'm dieing here. Took me a whole 20 seconds to comprehend your HOC adjustment! Lol 🤣
@alceja3522 2 жыл бұрын
😂
@douglascain6404 2 ай бұрын
I understand that applying potassium to your lawn in summer helps the grass overcome the stress of heat.
@p007lee 2 жыл бұрын
Good pets! They are beautiful. Brian, thanks for sharing these tips. I myself made all those mistakes and still in the process of a recovery. I lawned too short this spring and now there are brown spots everywhere.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks P, they're cool dudes. Big guy is so strong and heavy but he's so lovable. Anyway, good luck with the recovery. Some of my early vids on this channel showed a lot of my lawn most of that year (2020) stressed from deep thatch and scalped grass after taking the grass down from around 3" to 1.5". Last year 2021 I cut most of the year around 1.35"-1.5" and it finally started looking like it was getting used to the new height while the thatch layer shrunk a bit. This year I'm around 1.75" and I couldn't be happier. Yours will improve over time too. I always say lawn care is a long play, a hobby, sprints and quick results aren't normal for average lawnowners. Thanks for your comments P!
@robertlevy4613 2 жыл бұрын
Great video thank you!
@djratino 2 жыл бұрын
I found out why my riding mower was scalping the lawn sometimes on "5". I tried leveling my deck. The blades are not bent and well balanced. My chute side brake keeps wearing out. Belt's not too loose. Found the problem. The bearings in the spindle are worn out! Hit a bump or get into higher grass was cocking the blade. I don't think that you can add a thin washer. I've taken slack out of wheels with that method. The mower is like 6 years old. It might be that time to replace the deck or rebuild the spindles. At least I figured my problem out. 🐀🐾
@bbtank3000 2 жыл бұрын
Great tips as always!
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for saying so bbtank!
@eezymoney3135 2 жыл бұрын
Definitely need be smart when cutting short. I mow my front lawn short and twice a week, my back lawn taller once a week. But I’m one of those fanatics.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
yep, shorter you go the trickier everything becomes even if you don't go down to ultrashort reel mower heights. Glad to see you in the comments eezy! :D
@Alyosha-nm4io 2 жыл бұрын
Your co host's are awsome!
@davidgonzales-ec8bo 2 жыл бұрын
I just put down 10 lbs of sulfur of potash. Ty for all your great advice.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
ooo, that's 4.8 lbs of potassium; I'm guessing maybe 5k-7.5k of lawn? I can't remember if you've told me before.
@jeremyfox4186 2 жыл бұрын
Question: I've read that cutting too much off (more than ⅓ of the blade of grass) is bad for the grass. How do I balance this with not cutting too often? Does one take precedence?
@pandarush. 2 жыл бұрын
What should I mix with Creeping Red Fescue on my front lawn in the sun? Also, which should I buy...strong creeping red or slender creeping red??
@darshanaalles6780 2 жыл бұрын
thanks
@surfwake69 2 ай бұрын
Great content as always! This question is bit off-topic, but you showed a clip of your 25” dual blade Greenworks - it looks to be providing a nice cut on your well-maintained lawn. Would you mind sharing your impressions on that mower for someone that mows 2-3 times per week?
@TurfMechanic 2 ай бұрын
sure thing, I bought that mower back in 2022 and only used it for about 2/3 of the season because I didn't like it all that much. The two blades are each very short so the tip speed of the blade is low making it harder for the mower to mulch and bag. You would have to be using it 2-3 times per week to have any chance of getting a good cut and a good mulch/bagging experience. Even in that clip you can see it was leaving debris on the lawn, especially near the wheel lines. I posted a video comparison of that 25" mower compared to the more traditional 21" single blade Greenworks 80v mower a couple years ago. I still like the 21" mower better and I still use it in my garden area to this day. It rarely makes appearances in videos as of late but that's just because I keep it in back where I don't film very often. If you want to see the comparison video I'll link it here, the compare was mostly about the power comparison so it's not a comprehensive comparison: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hMphdNuil9q7g6c.html
@MoparSmith1 2 жыл бұрын
I mow my grass on the highest setting on my push mower, and it definitely stands out from my neighbors yards, but I'm a lawn care nut so go figure.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
not meaning this to sound like a bad thing at all, tall cut grass imo is easier to make look good, problem is most non-lawn fanatics let their grass get too tall then cut it too short making high grass look gangly and short grass look scalped. You probably do everything right which is why it looks great. I'm growing a tall fescue on a project lawn now and looking forward to tending to tall cut grass in addition to my slightly short cut lawn here at home. It's just so fluffy! :D
@MoparSmith1 2 жыл бұрын
@@TurfMechanic I think me and you could go to a bar and talk about grass for four hours.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Lol! Yes! I think you're right ☺️
@oceano_drive241 2 жыл бұрын
I live in his neighborhood. TRUST ME his grass is not that nice
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
@@oceano_drive241 lol, I don't know if I should get involved in this dispute! 🤣
@raymondmcdonald7085 2 жыл бұрын
Hi Brian, sorta fell of the grid for a bit due to "life happens". Anyway, good reminder on the keeping it long. I made the mistake a few summers back of mowing it short because my wife liked the look just after it was cut short. It took a crazy amount of water to keep it alive. This year long cuts hold up to the heat. We've been pretty fortunate with all the late spring rains. You too I suppose. My lawn I planted two years ago (TTTF) is looking really healthy but has a tendency to be on the lighter green side. Would adding perennial rye to the TTTF this fall be beneficial for next year? Again, as always, thanks for the content. Gotta love the pooches!
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Hey Ray! So glad to see you again; I wondered what happened to you. Life definitely gets in the way sometimes, I get it. I think overseeding some PR or KBG into this mix could be helpful to give it some variety but I'd also consider adding some fine fescue into the mix as it's got lower input requirements and from my experience has some pretty deep color even in the winter. The blades are super fine so they really fill in the spaces between tall fescue blades further shading the soil and holding in moisture. It doesn't grow fast and won't outcompete the TTTF and even in full sun the TTTF will give enough shade to the fine fescue for it to thrive. Otherwise just do some research on local seed suppliers that offer different cultivars of tall fescue and choose one that has the deepest color to introduce into your lawn. Lots of ways to go on this one...and you could also just try hitting the lawn with an app of micros and iron and see if that pops the color.
@raymondmcdonald7085 2 жыл бұрын
@@TurfMechanic Awesome info! Didn't even think about a fine fescue. I like the fescue due to it's durability and drought tolerance. Not as good looking as KBG but definitely heartier at least for me. Glad you are still doing the channel. It's great to see you and get a sence of normalcy again in my life.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
@@raymondmcdonald7085 I hope all is going OK for you, I hesitate to ask but hopefully life feels good for you for a while to come. 🙂
@gary4738 2 жыл бұрын
Great info, first!
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Yay! I wanted to do something fun; glad you liked it :D
@tanktexas 2 жыл бұрын
I cut my Bermuda 1.5 inches and works great here in Texas. Is that too low
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Definitely not too low. many bermuda lawn care peeps go lower than that all summer long. lower cut can look tighter but 1.5" can give you more days between mows if you want them and it will shade that ground from evaporation especially if you have thick bermuda. Just don't let it get higher than 2" and things should be great for you all summer.
@justinbailey2806 2 жыл бұрын
I've had trouble with a really healthy 100% fine fescue getting trampled easily with a riding mower and a lot of it is very thick. To let clippings lay sometimes I went over it 3 times to get it all mulched up, but there is little room for the clippings so I may start bagging them. It's in deep shade, and it gets white mold or fungus on bare soil spots. I have to drive slower with the riding mower, one time I was trying to race and get it cut before rain and while making circular trim passes around trees, the steer tires kind of skidded the grass in a circle and damaged it, I am trying to let it fill in again on the damaged areas. It seems like a hardy shade tolerant yet delicate grass.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Ohh man, most people don't realize how thick and dense a fine fescue lawn space can get; you are there lol. Many fine fescue lawns are left as nearly no mow lawns for that reason. They get very dense and lay down on themselves and just exist as fluffy ground cover. In my experience cutting fine fescue in pots and in a small patch of my extended yard I find the grass does well if you cut it often and won't have that effect of laying down under the mower. I'm also about ready to experiment with adding silica to the lawn to promote extra rigidity in the turf. It might be something that could help your FF hold up to your beast of a mower and stand taller. :) For my silica tests I'm going to be using Ryan Knorr's product but there are others that are cheaper on Amazon.
@justinbailey2806 2 жыл бұрын
@@TurfMechanic I saw AgSil 16H potassium silicate is pretty expensive, I may pull the trigger on 50 lb bag to dust on some MIlorganite to spread some time, General Hydroponics Rare Earth has silicate and fulvate/humate ore is also a powder, but cheaper than AgSil 16H but without the potassium. I've been using Azomite, that has a lot of silica. Diatomaceous Earth has even more and those are way cheaper.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Really great info in this comment, thanks Justin. I'll look into this more in the coming weeks as I pop open my bag of StrongOrr. I didn't apply Azomite to my lawn this season (yet) but I did last Spring so I may be getting a bit of help from that now but my understanding is most of the goodies in Azomite take years to really unlock. Definitely worth brushing up on that again though.
@djratino 2 жыл бұрын
You may be better off switching to gator blades. They'll mulch a little better so you don't have to do as many passes.
@joshnkatiebartholomew831 Жыл бұрын
Maybe put them inside for your next video
@Alex-ss4bk 2 жыл бұрын
hmmm I have bermuda down here in the south, its around 95 now everyday and I see my neighbors with the same type keeping it green at 1/2 inch. Mine looks like heat stress so I have started my water rotation at 5am then once again at around 4pm, 6min each zone. I will not take it up higher so what can I do to keep it green? I have dumped K on my lawn in the spring.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
I would challenge you to take the risk and do 12-15 min at each zone at 430am instead of splitting it in am and pm. Try it for a month even if you are seeing heat stress, more water at once stays in the soil longer and trains the grass to rely more on deeper moisture. Bermuda is a beast, you may not have the best looking lawn for the next month but sometimes you have to yank the bandaid off and June is a better time to make that transition than in late July. If you are up for spending money then spray hydretain on it asap and if you can aerate now then dump loads of biochar on it as well. Late summer you can apply michoriza to it to prepare for a better 2023...although I suppose you could do that now too. Good luck and remember it's not a sprint unless you want it to be. Steps taken now to improve the lawn next year are very worthwhile imo.
@Alex-ss4bk 2 жыл бұрын
@@TurfMechanic I set the bigger zones last night at 13 min each from 7min. The small area zones with only mist action I changed it from 3min to 6min. I’ll keep it for a while and running it at 4:30am everyday, water usage is not a concern for me.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
@@Alex-ss4bk how many days a week do you water?
@Alex-ss4bk 2 жыл бұрын
@@TurfMechanic last year I was doing it every other day, this year since we got a lot of rain in June and it just started getting in the high 90s and humid I am still figuring that out. With your new recommendation of 12-15min per zone what do you think I should do?
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
@@Alex-ss4bk if you are doing 12-15 per zone every day then I'd suggest doing 24-30 per zone every other day // if you are doing 12-15 per zone every two days then I'd suggest 24-30 per zone every four days. I always am an advocate for doing longer irrigation sessions less often.
@BermudaBewitched 2 жыл бұрын
Is it ok to core aerate cool season grass in the summer ?
@RichFitzwel 2 жыл бұрын
💪
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
:D
@WheresTheAnyKey1 2 жыл бұрын
I...should have watched this before summer lol..sigh
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Lol, it'll be ok. 😃
@seanhatch4425 2 жыл бұрын
Haha that is a huge dog .
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Yes he is, 140 lbs of adorable slobbery love...and paws that could kill a small animal on accident! lol
@seanhatch4425 2 жыл бұрын
@@TurfMechanic I bet! Good looking k9 for sure. Love the channel.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks a lot for saying so Sean! It's really turning into something these day's and I'm loving meeting all these new people in the comments. I'd had some people imply I should include the dogs more often in my vids so even though it's hard to film around them I'm going to give it a go every now and then.
@MoparSmith1 2 жыл бұрын
Fun fact of the day, did you know Grub control pesticide also kills lightning bugs. Sad right?
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
That is so sad if that's true. I haven't looked it up so I'm just trusting you. This is just another reason to use the least amount of chems possible and further solidifies my stance on controlling grubs with BT over chems and broad spectrum insecticides. I'll be applying BT based GrubOut in just a day or two on my lawn first of three apps 10-12 days apart. I love lightning bugs, wish we had them where I live.
@MoparSmith1 2 жыл бұрын
You have the platform but put some info in. Debunk or proof.I can help though.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Sorry Mopar, can you rephrase that; I'm not following you this morning...still sipping my coffee
@MoparSmith1 2 жыл бұрын
@@TurfMechanic I like Maxwell House myself, but I was wanting someone to debunk the theory that grub control kills lightning bugs.Maybe I can post a vid about it.
@louisscotto3495 Жыл бұрын
How often should you sharpen your blade?
@TurfMechanic Жыл бұрын
Depends on how often you mow, how big your area is, and if you are regularly hitting sticks or rocks. A good goal is to do it three times per year, start of Spring, summer, and fall but honestly just doing it once per year is far better than what most people do. If you have lots of sticks or rocks in a large yard then once a month would be great but that's usually more than most people want to do.
@louisscotto3495 Жыл бұрын
@@TurfMechanic thanks
@TurfMechanic Жыл бұрын
@@louisscotto3495 no problem 👌
@Dsaubt 2 жыл бұрын
Lol happy belated dog dad day
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
yay father's day, I'm a dad to four kids, two dogs, three cats, nine chickens and 8 fish! They all are lovable and demanding; keeps life interesting for sure! Happy belated father's day to all the dads out there! :)
@NotSoLiberal 2 жыл бұрын
This is confusing .. we’re told to mow often to make grass healthy .. now it’s bad ?
@elliottpeabody1287 2 жыл бұрын
Yup. Don't drink coffee, it's bad for you. or... Drinking two cups of coffee per day can be good for some health problems. Same with wine and some drugs.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Nothing in life is simple is it? lol - If you have no trouble keeping your cool season lawn out of heat/drought stress then mow as often as you like as low as you like. If your cool season lawn is under pressure from heat/drought conditions in mid-summer then mowing slightly less often a bit taller will help it push through the hard months when it's growing slower anyway. For warm season grasses the lawn will grow faster in the summer so mowing taller will help you keep up without having to mow every 2-3 days. If you live in a dry warm season climate then mowing taller will help retain moisture in the soil. Again, if water on the ground isn't a problem and you can keep up with warm season grass growth during summer then don't change anything. On average, a slight decrease in mowing frequency and a slightly higher height of cut helps most lawns everywhere from mid-june through late august. It doesn't apply to everyone but it's a great rule of thumb to understand why.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
truth :D lol
@NotSoLiberal 2 жыл бұрын
@@TurfMechanic thanks much for the helpful answer. Probably explains why my cool season grass is still surviving because I was keeping it long out of laziness. I have Bermuda as well and everyone is telling me (Doc for ex) that Bermuda likes being short. I’m hoping 1.5” in 105-110C weather is a good compromise
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, Bermuda likes being short for sure but anything under 2" is fine. You don't have to keep 0.5" Bermuda for it to look good. Over 2" though and it starts getting a little too leggy and thin for most people's tastes. Bermuda also has very deep roots and very high heat tolerance so it's unlikely to show signs of summer stress compared to your cool season zones. Glad to be a bit of help and clear the mud a little 😄
@eyeswideopen627 2 жыл бұрын
Wow good dogs. pets are one of our greatest gifts. Good info as usual. I go light on lawn during summer. lol you should throw away the Disney shirt. lmao that's just me no longer a fan. Stay well and thank you for all your help.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks a lot Martin; lawn care really does slow for July & August for sure. My kids are in that Disney age; I can't get away from it if I tried. LOL That's my souvenir shirt from our Disney Cruise we took for Spring break this year. Brings back all the fun memories. :D
@japanesecinema6736 2 жыл бұрын
Lets hear it, why does this guy no longer like disney? Please everyone is waiting to hear your thought provoking words.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
lol
@livemodcolorado 2 жыл бұрын
Talk about “cancel culture.”
@HGiff 2 жыл бұрын
First minute is a waste of time.
@TurfMechanic 2 жыл бұрын
Was fun though! 😁
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