Stripes 2001

[Eric ELM]

Now that a lot of you members have digital cameras, have you taken any pictures this season? This is one of a lawn I cut about 4 weeks ago, it was the second cut and the first cut at the direction the stripes are in this picture. Last fall this customer had all that landscaping in the back right done and they tore this lawn all up, but I got it back in shape fairly good now.
http://elmlawnsite.com/images/downs.jpg

[Administrator]

You should send that into the Scott's picture perfect lawn contest. :p

[jeffyr]

3rd stripe from the left......... at the back end.......I see a bit of a curve..............just kidding eric.

looks great.

jeffyr:eek:

[HOMER]

Eric..................you make me sick!

I have the same mowers but totally different grass. You won't see any stripes in mine like that, heck, you couldn't get our grass to grow that tall.

I'm looking forward to fall already so I can put out some more rye!

[cos]

Oh yeah eric,
I think jeffyr is right. Look really close and you could probably notice.


















LOL

[Toroguy]

If you look real close...there is a man peeking around the side of a bush near the back. He is very tall.

The stripes look great. I have trouble keeping mine straight on hilly sections as the mower tends to fall in from the gravity.

[Lawnshark]

On the stripe that is right next to the flower bed it is green instead of white. This means that the grass would be thrown into the bed, right? Is the chute on the choppers on the left? If not, how does the amazing Eric ELM do it? It may be some digital trick photography-lol. As usual that is the only thing questionable in the lawn and I will probably be made a fool of by your answer. Thanks.:confused:

[Fantasy Lawns]

We can't stripe our St. Augustine :'--
http://home.cfl.rr.com/theleven/Footman_1.jpg

[Eric ELM]

You are correct on the colors, dark green is coming back and would throw the clippings in the flower beds, but since OCDC's are standard on the higher end Choppers, you can continue your stripes in odd places that you normally couldn't. The discharge is on the right like most mowers.

[Jr.]

Okay, guys, here's a couple of the lawns I mow. The first two pictures are striped with an eXmark Lazer Z and the last two (same yard) are done with a Scag Turf Tiger. Of course if we had some rain they'd look even better...

Jr.

http://members.aol.com/michelnman/hstripe.jpg http://members.aol.com/michelnman/pstripe.jpg http://members.aol.com/michelnman/wstripe1.jpg http://members.aol.com/michelnman/wstripe2.jpg

[Eric ELM]

Very nice Jr. I see you mow straight, which to me is important and the hardest thing to do. Keep up the good work. :D

Ok, we are on a roll now, lets see some more pictures members.

[awm]

okay foot in mouth time.i think lighter less defined but blended in
stripes look better.passed a church this morning with stipes that
looked like a bad paint job.it just didnt look good.this is not meant to knock anybodies work. i just know i want my lawn to look as neat and peaseful green as possible.just mine and good luck.
ps dont get me wrong a nice light stipe adds to a lawns looks.

[jeffyr]

Okay----I'm not the sharpest spoon in the drawer, but hitting the "IMG" bitton and pasting in the address at photopoint is not working and I'm getting "X". I'll post the links here--can someone email me and tell me why I can't figure this out ?


jeffyr

[jeffyr]

looks good to me !!! lol




:laugh:

[CLARKE]

The last lawn looked FAKE.

[Fantasy Lawns]

that's cool .... NOW even I can stripe !! ;->

[baldbeefman]

My mower is making stripes alright, but only from the weight of the tires making grooves on the ground.:mad: What do you do about this? I've only mowed this property 3 times and I've made these grooves. I changed direction last time I mowed and I thought my mower was going to lose all of its bolts from bouncing over these grooves. Not to mention my backache. I just leaned forward on the seat and bounced over them as fast as I could.:angry: Ouch!From what I've read, striping comes from "training" the grass to lay over from being mowed repeatedly in the same direction, right? So what do I do? And this ground is very dry, not wet.

[Eric ELM]

If the ground is dry, your mower isn't putting groves in the ground. They had to be there before. A mower will ride rougher in dry times, since there is now give in the turf.

[jeffyr]

Clarke,


You got me--I put the stripes in on Theleven's photo.

:p jeffyr

[Mike (MLC)]

Well what do ya know, one minute that yard was one solid color the next minute it was striped. That's the power of a computer.

[Skookum]

Eric,

Your stripes look great, as always. We have had this discussion before in other posts as to so many factors, from grass type to height of cut, etc, on the effects of the stripes. Theleven's post shows this very plainly. Our taller varieties we have up north here are made for stripes.

But, I was curious if you have ever had times that you lay off the stripping kit you made so that the grass will not sunburn? I use no sort of striping kit and when first starting out years ago, I learned the hard way that laying that grass down, as in striping, at the wrong time of year will burn those stripes in for a undesired brown then green alternating stripe color scheme.

Do you lift those chains when we have severe sun days in the forecast?

[Eric ELM]

Skookum, I have never used this kit when it was dry, but it will come off easy. I just got it last June and it hasn't been dry since. A lot of my pictures are without the kit on. Choppers will stripe good without them, but the kit does help some.

When it gets dry out here, I normally start putting in stripes in several directions, instead of just 3 or 4 directions, so the others can start standing back up.

[leeslawncare]

here is a couple that i stripe with my 36"J.D. with a chain kit i made .I hope this pixs shows

[George777]

I was wondering how long after a lawn is stripped will you be able to still see the pattern.My partner and I cut bermuda and zoysia. We are begining to see some nice stripes but in a few days the stripes are gone. We maintain bermuda and Zoysia about 2". We are planning on building a stripping kit for our 48" w/b. I know the turf up North stripes better but We cut some turf today that was pretty awesome. I will take some pic's and post them.

[Stonewall]

Hey, Eric!

Let's see some 21" stripes! ;)

[oneEXMARKfan]

Kool Kirby !!! (can I live in the guard shack?..it's got to be bigger than what I live in now)

[JMcGuire]

I see all of these stripped lawns and here is my questions, I have a 17/52 Toro Timecutter, I like it alot, I am actually an Lazer fan but I didn't have the extra funds. What type of kit could I get to fit my 52inch deck. What are you guys using to strip these lawns.

[Eric ELM]

JMcGuire, since you live in Kentucky, home of Kentucky Blue Grass, you should not need a kit to stripe lawns. If you look at my lawn pictures on my website, a lot of those pictures were taken before I ever got a striping kit. A striping kit will enhance the stripes a little bit, but they are not necessary.

http://elmlawnsite.com/images/kwasak.jpg

[JMcGuire]

So how exactly where you able to get these type of strips, I have primarly Fescue (Kentucky 31) in my yard, there are some bare spots but there is no way I can get these type strips from a picture, what is your technique. Does it have much to do with using my Toro timecutter. I noticed from your site that the strip kit looks like many chain linked together, connected to the back of your mowing deck, what is better the chains or a roller?

[Eric ELM]

From what the experts say, the roller is by far the best. I haven't seen many pictures to verify this, but I'm sure some of these guys that have gotten them, will post some soon.

It does make sense that the roller would be better. I did see pictures of a lawn done with a Stiener that has rollers and it did look mighty fine. I think a roller will be my next project to put on a Chopper to try out. :)

I forgot to mention, the above pictures were taken this spring and a striping kit was used. The top picture is a first cut at that angle and the second picture has been cut 2 times at each angle this season.

[George777]

Wow Eric that looks awesome. If I could do that down here It would be amazing. My partner and I are working on a few lawns that stripe pretty good. We just need the home owners to water the lawn more so that it will get nice and green.
The home made kit for our walk behind is working pretty good. Where I live most lco's use walkers so striping is out of the question for them. That 3rd wheel in the back makes it look like it was cut with a 21" Not saying that they look bad. I know Walkers are a good machine but I don't think I would like to own one.
Thanx Eric for your web site.

[GreenQuest Lawn]

well I had all intentions of taking some great pics today but then it started to rain and the sun was not out so the lines do not stand out much. I have a striping kit and this pic does not do it justice. (The light conditions were terrible). I will have to try your way Eric I cut a different way every week for 4 weeks then back over again. I will try 2 directions and alter weeks on just them and see how that works.

[Eric ELM]

Looks good greenquestlawn. :)

Sometimes the cloudy days are good for getting multiple stripe directions to show up good.

[GreenQuest Lawn]

This one turned out better. sun and the grass was soaked.
(and I know the line on the far right has a little sway to it I was sliping and sliding cause of all the rain recently)

[kutnkru]

Yeah - Yeah - Yeah ....

I had a hole in my glove,
The sun was in my eyes,
I got a cold chill and it jerked the wheel,

Dont Make Excuses Son!!!

BE PROUD!!!!!!!

There is no such thing as a perfect stripe, HEAL! Even them computer enhanced stripes arent geometrically perfect -LOL!

Be proud of what you have accomplished, and the patterns that you are able to attain! Some will stripe better than others, but we should all stand proud for we are out there doing it and doing it with pride!

Theres no desk jockeys here enjoying the cool AC, we all sweat in the sun and freeze in the cold to keep our properties meticulously manicured - Keep your head HIGH!!!

My hats off to you all.

Kris

[awm]

you guys got it down to an art ,no doubt. looks good,later

[Eric ELM]

That looks great greenquestlawn. It looks like you have this striping down and I agree with what Kris said above. :)

Just another lawn picture from this spring below.
http://elmlawnsite.com/images/chapman.jpg

[Davis TLC]

Here is one of my lawns here in the sunny mid south :cool:. I know some of them are not too straight, lots of dips and rolls on this one. It had been almost a month since any decent rainfall when this pic was taken. Lawn is cut at 4 inches.

[Davis TLC]

Here is another view of lawn.

[GreenQuest Lawn]

keep them coming guys I want to see more!!

[joshua]

kutnkru i think you just said it best, be proud of the work you do, their is not perfect striped lawn, 1 line out of 10 might have a flaw, nothing against eric, but i bet when he 1st started out his strips weren't the best it takes time and patience to get where eric's at, just keep telling yourselfs that you can do it, and you will.

[David Gretzmier]

some of these stripes look so good I'd swear you guys were rolling this stuff. great work guys. Dave g

[Eric ELM]

We had a big storm (picture below) today that got the grass all wet and the sun came out and we mowed wet grass for a few lawns. This storm picture is taken with my competitor's lawn in the picture. I have known him for 16 years now and he still uses the same old w/b mowers he had then and still drives the same truck, 1977 Ford half ton. BTW, the weatherman said he saw the Sears Tower get hit 2 times while driving to work today. :)
http://elmlawnsite.com/images/010524-006.jpg

This is the first lawn we mowed after the rain so you can see our rainy wet lawn work. BTW, the grass is growing big time here. We have had some rain each day since Sunday night into Monday and every day since and this is supposed to keep it up until this next Sunday. We haven't had a lot of rain, but it keeps the grass wet. :(
http://elmlawnsite.com/images/010524-002.jpg

[leeslawncare]

Well eric ..thats why we refer to you as the stripe god.......even he lets you get your work done first an better than the comp....(nice job by the way)

[GreenQuest Lawn]

well, I will post another pic. Mowed on Thurs. See anything different? and what do you think?

[jeffyr]

That's neat---is that 2 in 1 direction and 1 in the oppossite ?
Looks good.

jeffyr

[Holloway Lawns]

Can anyone get a 21" to stripe if so please let us in on how? I have with mine but not too great I thought about puting some chain behind it short enough not to step on it. :eek:

[BerksLawn]

Does anyone have pics of striping in a circle i just mowed next door like that it sort of looks like a half moon i dont have a digital camera though to take a pic

[GreenQuest Lawn]

jeffyr,

yea your right. Its just something I have been trying out.

[David Gretzmier]

I have a thick fescue yard I used to do quarter moons across the yard. the curves really break up the checkerboard effect. ERIC- Awesome stripes. is this on a 72" turbo diesel chopper? will our new slicker look this good w/ double blades? did you just go over this lawn once? Dave g

[Eric ELM]

David, mine is a 60" with the 26 hp Yanmar.

The 72" will stripe just as nice.

This lawn looked OK after one cut, but since it is seeding now and there are so many stems, I did go over this lawn in the last picture at 2 directions just to chop up the stems more. BTW, the lawns are growing close to an inch a day here right now plus seeding, plus they have been wet, so it was a rough week cutting since we got some rain every day this week and will until Tuesday now they say it will stop.

[1MajorTom]

Ok, here is our first attempt at taking some pics of our accounts.
Everything is SO green around here, but in all the pics everything looks dark and brownish. And by looking at the picture below you can see I am just not getting any sharpness.

I guess that might have something to do with the cheapie disposable fuji camera I used for $3.97 ;)

http://elmlawnsite.com/images/jodi.jpg


This account is a little over an acre front and back.

[Eric ELM]

That looks good Jodi and Matt. You do nice work also. :)

[Lockeman]

Hi Everyone

Thought you might be interested in this one. Not a client, this is just my own lawn. My runs are not as straight as I'd like them to be, but I'm working at it. Eric is inspiring me. The most interesting aspect of this shot is the machine that did it. It's an old 1961 Locke Standard. They stripe rather well, but by modern standards are not competitively productive.(Anyone old enough to remember these machines?)


Dave

http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/77a4b976/bc/Yahoo!+Photo+Album/P0000815.jpg?bc0O2Y7ANEEiVuqW

[Eric ELM]

Good job Dave, keep up the good work. I'm not familiar with that machine, but it does stripe nice. :)

[swn]

Dave, for some reason I cannot open your picture. It is pretty neat that you are using such a machine. I have never heard of it either.

[GreenQuest Lawn]

well dang it all, I had some good pics, was getting ready to load them off my camera, I ran the end of the communications cable for the camera over with the chair and broke the end off. Looks like i wont be loading any pics for a while, till I get a new cable. I think all the pics look great. :p

[Davis TLC]

Pics of a new customer I just picked up.

[Davis TLC]

Here is a shot of the backyard.

[Davis TLC]

Here is pic of my lawn. Yes I know the lines are not as straight as Eric's but I'm working on them.

[HOMER]

Hey Rich,
If those peoples last name is Seal you better look out. He might be kin to the man I almost took to the DA, he wouldn't pay up!

[swn]

Rich, your lawns look great. Yours home lawn looks really good. I thought the stripes were awesome. You should be proud of the nice looking lawns you have. Good work.

[trimmer]

Eric, what kind of camera are you using? Those are nice pictures. Do any of your lawns have brown spots in them?

[Eric ELM]

trimmer, I use a Hewlett Packard 1 megapixel camera. It is now 2 years old and I paid $250 after $100 off and a $50 rebate. It has 3 settings for picture quality, I take my pictures on the medium resolution, approximately 250 KB and then I reduce them down to between 20 and 30 KB for the internet so they load faster. A lot of you already know all this, but for new to the digital camera world members, this info is for you. ;)

At the moment, there are no brown spots on any of my lawns. I do have some that have to much shade under trees and are getting pretty thin. :(

[steveair]

Ok,

No where near Eric's stripes, but hey, I'm using a John Deere 970 tractor with calcium filled tires with a 90 inch landpride pull behind deck and this is not a 'fine groomed' area. (Oh ya, and he doensn't have to worry about bangin the ROP bar against a 30 million dollar aircraft!)

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1437001&a=10774324&p=49466334

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1437001&a=10774324&p=49466335

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1437001&a=10774324&p=49469507

Some of the 'hazards' to mow around on the airfield........always a fun chore mowing this section.....and believe me, these people won't move if you ask them too like cars in a parking lot. And if the planes aren't enough, theres always the friendly fuel trucks to send a few hunks of debri bouncing off of...........makes a pretty neat sound though.

Also, it helps that my 'critics' are usually at 3000ft and still climbing:)

steveair

[swn]

Looks Good! It would be neat to have someone take a picture while flying over. Just not the driver.

[Guido]

I'm Glad the Anti Stripers haven't terroized this post yet!

STEVEAIR Looks damn good for an airfield, I'll take some pics of our swampy midfields someday after they cut them.

Do you have to keep your up at 7" also?? Its a new Environmental deal as to not disturb the wildlife(that will eventually FOD out a plane when we give it somewhere to live in our "jungle" like grass areas!!)


ERIC As If I'm not way off the subject of striping as it is, what photo editing program do you use to downsize your pics? Thats the problem I always have when e-mailing them or putting them on the net is that they're too big.

[Eric ELM]

Dave, I use HP Photo Smart Photo Finishing Software, this is what came with the camera. It is neat software.

Steveair, looks good. I would love working at an airport like that. :)

[trimmer]

Hey Eric. If you ever come down this way bring one of those choppers with you I got some yards I would like to see what the end product would be with a pro at the seat. I have been seeing more and more of them around here.;)

[steveair]

Eric,

the only problem with you working at the airport would be when you call the tower to get permission to proceed onto the airfield:

You would say this is 'dixie chopper 1', and they would give you permission to take off instead of go cut the grass.

It would be mass confusion:)


Guido, thanks, and no, we have no environmental issues yet. And by the way, don't go thinking that our whole airfield looks like this....This area is in front of the main ramp, so I try to keep it nice as a little 'welcome' mat to say. The rest of our airfield I'd imagine looks just like yours.

steveair

[toroboy]

YOU GUYS SURE KNOW HOW TO CUT THOSE LAWNS ARE SOME OF THE BETS LAWNS I HAVE EVER SEEN !!!!!!!!KEEP UP THE VERY GOOD WORK!!!!!!!!! :D

[gorrell]

12 acre tract mowed at full speed with a Suburb'n Turb'n.......Lynn

[Premo Services]

gorrell 12 acre tract mowed at full speed with a Suburb'n Turb'n

Nice job!!! just courious, what is full speed on suburb`n Turb`n.
How long did it take you to cut the 12 acres?

[gorrell]

Mow Money, I've got both engines running at 3800rpm's, so I'm guessing the top speed at 15mph. It takes me approximately 1 hour and twenty minutes to mow that particular tract...........Lynn

[jeffyr]

That blows my doors off.
I am so very....very.....very impressed.

So do you guys get payed extra to triple and quadrouple cut like that ? or do you do it for a photo op and go back to single cutting next time ?

Have you ever cut crop circles in a lawn....or symbols ?
that would be good.

jeffyr:)

[Lockeman]

Those are three separate cuts on three seprate occaisions, but at the time it was taken, the grass was growing like crazy and I was cutting about every three to four days. If you are careful to consistently run in your previous tracks in the same directions as before (like Eric recommends), your definition will last much longer, and will appear more as though you did it all at the same time.


Dave

[George777]

This is bermuda grass cut with a 48" w/b.

[swn]

WOW! George and Lockeman those pictures are great. Good work

[grassyfras]

Jeffr,
Your lawn looks great. I love it.

[powerreel]

I wish I could mow as tall as you guys! Even this lady mows shorter!

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1472735&a=12583216&p=46527756


LOL!!!

[jeffyr]

I love that photo.

Looks good powerreel.

[Mid Rivers]

http://home3.photoisland.com/photosharing/albumindex.html?&oldpict=5369918&newpict=5369918

Sorry, This is the best I could do as far as getting the pictures on here. I'll keep trying

[BOBCAT36]

You are doing a great job. I need to try striping some bermuda here in ATL,GA. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!!!!

[Eric ELM]

I added this one and a couple others to my website today. I mowed this one yesterday and took the picture today.
http://elmlawnsite.com/images/010609-001.jpg

[oneEXMARKfan]

Looking good as always Eric!

[Mid Rivers]

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1721899&a=13237697&p=50208911&Sequence=0

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1721899&a=13237697&p=50208922&Sequence=0

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1721899&a=13237697&p=50208931&Sequence=0

[jeffyr]

Looks good mid river. I looked at the others too--I like the front of the white house.

jeffyr

[Eric ELM]

Looks good Mid Rivers. ;)

Grassyfras, you need to reduce the picture size when posting pictures so you don't have to scroll all over to see it. I use my camera software to do that.

[jeffyr]

Grassyfrass,

In addition to what eric said about the sizing of the images, it also looks like the image quality is set to the lowest it can be on the camera. All the small horizontal and vertical lines are called JPEG artifacting, and is common in a low quality jpeg. You will get more images on a card if the camera is set to a small file size (high compression), but quality is better than quantity in my book.

jeffyr

[grassyfras]

Sorry guys. I really didn't know what I was doing. I had my brother do it. He also typed the post and made an error. OH well LOL. I will try harder to get the picture right the next time. We also scanned the picture in instead of using a digitial camera. Sorry.

[jeffyr]

No problem sizing then---I size my scans at about 7-8 inches wide at 72 dpi (screen resolution). Save as a JPEG with a low compression (larger file size which will give you a better quality image with less artifacting ;) )
If you are printing then you would want a larger file and sized about 200dpi.
Good luck !

jeffyr

[Stormchaser]

Well, as a new guy I've been wondering what striping is. Now I know what it looks like, though I don't remember seeing it here locally but that's probably 'cause I haven't been looking closely until recently. The lawns in the pics do look good but I guess my next question is...is it worthwhile or just a feelgood thing? Also still vague on what exactly striping is. Is it the grass pressed down a certain way? Sorry for the kindergarden questions but lawns don't come much greener than I am.

[Eric ELM]

If you click on the flashing gif below and go to my website and then click on Striping page, it will tell you how and show you how with pictures. I hope this helps.

[Mid Rivers]

Storm
Striping is a feel good thing for me because I like to look a yard that has nice stripes. Watch any baseball game and you see the nice lines in the field. I think it's also is a good way to get new customers.

Working to get the lines as striaght as Eric's.:D

[jeffyr]

It's like a Zen garden. Repetition and meditation. keeps the sanity sometimes.

:)

[The_Outlaw]

Ok,
I've noticed in several of the pictures posted here that your lines don't seem to show any indication that you have to mow around obstacles, such as trees... It looks like you just ran the mower right through the tree and kept right on going. How do you people do it? :confused:

[Eric ELM]

Outlaw, what part of Illinois are you in? If you are in the Chicago area, it might be easier to show you how. ;)

[bubble boy]

awm: i tend to agree, sometimes lines that are too defined can have a negative visual effect

years ago worked for a company who actually mowed accross the customers line of sight so that the lines would be less noticable.

i'd probably like lines better if my lines, like baldbeefman, did'nt have wheelmarks in them. Does everyone posting photos cross cut those lawns from week to week?

Jr: how in the world did you create the lines going through the trees? Need to know that manouver!

[GreenQuest Lawn]

I usually change direction every week, there are times when I will double cut the same two directions for more than one week to help the lines stand out. Never more than two weeks though.

Around here stripes are a sign of a professional LC. I know this may be different from place to place. Its the first thing people look at around here.

here is a lawn I cut on Wed, If you look you can see the direction I cut last week (straight out from where this pic was taken) This lawn stripes very nice so I am able to change every week & have the lines look good.

[The_Outlaw]

Eric,
I live in Springfield IL, but mow in Champaign IL. (used to live there, then my wife's job transferred her) If I could find the time, I'd certainly be interested in coming up to see a demonstration.
What part of Chicago and/or the burbs?

Doug

[Eric ELM]

Ken S, I edited your post to see what you had done wrong on the picture. You have to either upload it by clicking on Attach File or to use the IMG in brackets like you used, it needs to be uploaded to a website to link it that way.

Out Law, I am on the West side, sorry I didn't see your question before now. :(

I can't believe how many views this thread has gotten. ;)

[sgreanbean]

well its definetly a thread with lots of intrest. eric i too would like a "class"! i live in the quad cities and would definetly take a jog up to chi-town!

[Eric ELM]

sgreanbean, let me know when your coming over this way. Classes start as soon as you get here. ;)

What's even harder is to line up the 3 sections of lawn like in this picture. This was taken in the early spring, this season.

http://elmlawnsite.com/images/milne.jpg

[John DiMartino]

Eric you do an excellent job of lining up the stripes,I love it.You do every pass just right,even the little ones on the far side of the mulch beds,simply awesome.I can truely appreciate how difficult that it,I always try to do the same.

[RMDoyon]

Eric,
That last photo is a lawn care post card.
Simply beautiful.

[Eric ELM]

Thanks RMDoyon. In case you haven't been to my website, I have over 40 more there if you like to look at pictures. I have a search page for Lawnsite members, 3 chat rooms and other info that you might find of some use.

[iski3d]

eric,
do you stripe the same direction and row every cut, or does your chopper leave a stripe that defined in one cut? looks awesome!

[Eric ELM]

This was the second cut of this spring and the first cut in this direction. I also have other first cut pictures of the season posted in this thread. The pictures on my striping page are first cuts without a striping kit.

I have 2 or more striping patterns on all lawns and when it gets dry out, I add even more.

This one below is a second cut, but first cut this direction this spring. You can see there are no leaves on the trees yet.

http://elmlawnsite.com/images/downs.jpg

[Garden Path]

the garden path

[doublesharp]

I'd like to pay homage to you oh great stripe god. Maybe get your autograph too. I can tell by the photos that you have the cream of the crop, high dollar accounts. Good for you. It's good to see quality work rewarded.

Doublesharp

[Eric ELM]

Doublesharp, thanks for all those nice things you said. :)

No, I won't be there this year, but I am hoping next year to make it down there. I have never been to this big event before, so next summer might be my first. :)

[Eric ELM]

Another spring picture I found today. Where are all the striping pictures you members said you were going to post? ;)

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/anitap.jpg

[TLS]

Eric,

All of my lawns are BROWN and crispy. Nice stripes, but I'm embarrassed to show the brown ones!

[AltaLawnCare]

Can we do grave yards?? ..It's a little extra work draggin' those tombstones out of the way. I gotta get a chopper with that "ghost feature". :cool:


http://community.webshots.com/photo/16311930/16881451eterPhcOiW


http://community.webshots.com/photo/16311930/16881061cVKMBaYoZH

Excuse the focus and the thin grass.:rolleyes:

[GreenQuest Lawn]

I had to go back through all the pages to see which ones I posted :). Heres another.

[crazygator]

Eric, is the above posted picture done with your striping kit? It looks good. When can I come for your striping school? LOL!

[Eric ELM]

Yes it was cut using the kit. I will be holding classes the second tuesday of next week. :)

[LAWNGODFATHER]

These were made with a Exmakr Turf Tracer 52"

NO striping kit

NO double blades

NO rollers

NO burnt in tire marks

And the lawn is not cut in the same direction every week

Just pure factory mower and mowing knowledge

Notice the neighbor's yard doesn't look so well

LGF

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Another pic

LGF:blob1:

[LAWNGODFATHER]

All 3 are the same lawn

here is a cross section pic

LGF:blob1:

[LoneStarLawn]

I might be wrong, but isn't pic #4 and #5 the same?

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Different angle

See one strait up stripe

The other at an angle

LGF:blob1:

[LoneStarLawn]

weird..those pics were identical until now...I was posting each pic within a post and they were identical then changed. Must be a glich..sorry. Makes me look like I'm crazy. LOL

[LAWNGODFATHER]

no you not crazy
the do look a little alike

LGF:blob1:

[LoneStarLawn]

No they were actually identical...trust me, but not now

[hustlers]

STRIPING- i like striping but not to bold like paint
because it takes your eye off the quality of grass
or cut and that is most important to me. I have
seen yard striped that are dead and it looks wiers
I do stripe my yards also-

IDEA- try striping in a rainbow pattern or curved
if you can do it right it looks great in early morning
then do it opposite the next week

[wallzwallz]

I am amazed at how many Lco's don't understand striping,and wonder if a 21" mower or this mower. All mowers stripe.This said, i think it's great that so many are learning something to help set them apart from joe smoe.I stripe all my big lawns,some lawns are just too small to bother,by the time you do perimeter 2x there's just a strip here + there,= a lot of times you can't cross it either say a 20' by 150'. I am new on lawnsite but i think it's great how there's info for the rookie to the old lawn dog.As soon as i get some free time i will get a new camera and post some pics, the camera i have now came w/ computer you would be lucky to tell where grass ends + sky begins never mind seeing stripes:cool: thanks everybody have a good sunday Mike Wall

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Here is a dry one

No irr.

LGF:blob1:

[TLS]

Thats NOT even close to dry!! :rolleyes:

[Eric ELM]

I agree Tom, that still has a green tint to it. We have some very dry ones up north, sort of makes you sick to look at them. :mad:

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Here is one that will make you sick

No Irr

[LAWNGODFATHER]

I love this one

have Irr

aerate/overseed every year

on my spray/fer program

Mrs. LGF gets the plesure of mowing it every week

LGF:blob1:

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Side yard
same house

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Here one with the dogs coming to greet us

[Eric ELM]

I got the camera out today since we were doing irrigated lawns today.

I've noticed some of you think you have to have a kit on to stripe, but I mowed this without a stripping kit to show you that you do not need one to stripe. :)

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010808-008.jpg

[skipwatson]

Now that's what I call picture-perfect! ;)

[vipermanz]

Respectfully Spoken,,, Dam* Eric!!!


*n

[Eric ELM]

Thanks Skip, you made my day. :D

Here is another one I took today, no kit used. This picture was taken before I mowed the lawn across the street which is the lawn in the picture above.

We don't normally park under that tree, but it was hot today. :(

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010808-001.jpg

[skipwatson]

That is really too cool for words! I don't see how you could do any better with a striping kit. :)

[John DiMartino]

Eric,both those lawns are picture perfect,you are the man.Those both are the best lawn pics Ive ever seen.Why did you pull off the stripe kit?Did you mow those with your XWD2600?I cant believe those huge lawns have irrigation on the entire lawn,IMO the irrigation installer did an excellent job,I see no dry spots where the overlap is not correct.

[Lawn-Scapes]

Eric,

Very nice! Couple of questions...

What's the average size of your lawns? How long does it take you (with any help?) to do the average size? What height are you cutting at in those pics?

Is that a for sale sign in the last picture?

Again, excellent work!

Thanks...

[Eric ELM]

Thanks TSG,

The average size lot is 2 acres, the houses and driveways take up about a 1/2 acre, so it's about 1.5 acres to cut. It takes 3 of us, 2-60" Choppers and one trimming about 20 to 25 minutes each.

Of the last 2 pictures, the first one is cut at 3.5" and the last one is cut at 3" and yes, that is a for sale sign. It's been there for 4 years. The wife there is a real estate lady and she probably has a real high price on it since it isn't selling.

BTW, I put a few more pictures on my website if anyone is interested.

[skipwatson]

Eric,
I just checked out the new pics at your site--truly awe-inspiring! I've never seen lawns look that good.

[Lawn-Scapes]

Thanks for the response Eric.

I was also wondering... Do you handle the fert. applications for most of your accounts? What type of grass is it and how often do you overseed these lawns?

Thanks

[Eric ELM]

I get my fertilizer at Lesco and use an electric Spread 4 Mower spreader on my Chopper. I have never overseeded any of these lawns pictured, but I did do one last fall that turned out nice. I usually aerate these lawns every spring and fall, some only one or the other. Aerating helps thicken lawns a lot. My lawns are Blue grass and fescues.

[crazygator]

Eric, absolutely beautiful work!

[vipermanz]

Whew!!!!!!!!!

[Eric ELM]

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010808-003.jpg

[skipwatson]

:D It's like an optical illusion! Eric, do you sight on something at the far end of the lawn, or do you do a section at a time and then line up the next section?

[Eric ELM]

The one just above I go on across the driveway, but this one below, I have to do in sections and keep them lined up. This is the hardest lawn to do since you have to line up sections. These mulched areas go all the way across the lawn and then to the far left, I have the back lining up with the front again like it is on the right side of the house.

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/lawn_p35jpg.jpg

[vipermanz]

that makes me want to cry eric!:D

[bubble boy]

that last one is quite impressive. customers must love ya

[crazygator]

Eric, I think you must have a GPS with lazer guidance system set up on your choppers to do the stripes you get. I get goose bumps everytime I see them. You have really raised the bar for us all and I appreciate what you do. I also love to see your work.

[skipwatson]

Same here. It's like the goal to shoot for, to match those stripes.

[AltaLawnCare]

Thats definately very nice looking. The landscaping layouts look good as well on those Lawns.

[Premo Services]

:cool:
AWESOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent stripes Eric !!!!!!!!!!! :cool:
I can really appreciate the straight lines, since I am trying to make some:D I won`t even get into the seperated stripes on the last pic. Great Job!!!!!!!

[Nick]

and here

[Nick]

again

[Nick]

and last good one, keep in mind it was dark out and it is my first time taking pictures of stripes. All done with DC XW 2300

[Eric ELM]

Way to go Nick. :D

If I was your teacher, it looks like you paid attention is school. ;)

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Nice job there Jersey

Not bad stripes and pics

Now we need some Zoysia ones

LGF :blob1:

[SLS]

Did someone say Zoysia?

http://members.aol.com/hifiparty/zoy1.jpg

http://members.aol.com/hifiparty/zoy2.jpg

http://members.aol.com/hifiparty/zoy3.jpg

EricELM...you're the "Stripe King", my man! Fantastic pics of the irrigated lawns you just posted! :)

[Eric ELM]

Thanks SLS ;)

Here is one we mowed today, no kit for stripes. This one is irrigated, some of our still green ones. :)



http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010814-005.jpg

[JMcGuire]

What is the best way to get, stripes from a Toro Timecutter, I have thought about get a roller, made my a sheet metal company out of Pennsylvania, but I hate to spend $250 on a striping kit. Is there anything that I could use to develop straighter pathes like the pics above.

[Eric ELM]

I'm not familiar with the model you have, but to go straight, try using one hand to run both levers. If you hit a bump that throws you from side to side using both hands, it will jerk you from side to side. Using one hand, it keeps going straight. :)

[JMcGuire]

what are some good stipping kit, the Toro I have is very similiar to the exmark.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

I have Exmark with no striping kits, and they stripe rather well.
You will need to check out Eric Elm's site to get a details on how to stripe.

As far as your Toro, at the EXPO I did not see any thing for the Toro but this company said they will have one soon.

York Sheet Metal Inc. (www.yorksheet.com)

They have striping rollers for the Exmarks

LGF:blob1:

[JMcGuire]

I have actually spoke to a rep. from yorksheet metal, and he thought that the roller would fit my 17-52, now one more question, being that my toro timecutter has a stamped deck how will that effect stripping, and could I do to increase the strip quality?

[Eric ELM]

You don't need a stripe kit. Just adjust the pitch of the deck so it's 1/4" lower in the front than the back and use high lift blades or doubles. Here is picture of a lawn I mowed with no kit today, but it was cloudy, so it didn't turn out as nice as I wanted. :(

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010815-002.jpg

[vipermanz]

Can i BUY You ERIC!!!!

[skipwatson]

Aaaaarrrggh!!! You're making me crazy, Eric! The pictures just keep getting better and better. That one should be on the cover of Better Homes & Gardens.

[Eric ELM]

I have had a lot of members ask how to make it look like I drove through a tree or through the mulched beds like in the picture below. I realize a lot of you know how to do this already, but for the ones that do not know, I am thinking of making a video of how to do this.

I have asked Chuck about asking in advance how many would be interested in purchasing a tape if I did this. I want to see if it's worth my time to do this before actually doing this.

So my question is, would any of you be interested in this? I will have to figure out how much a tape would be and how much to send it and all that stuff. I will probably start another thread on this also in case not many look at this here.

The below picture was taken yesterday, no kit and it was very cloudy, so it didn't turn out great. :(

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010815-006.jpg

[crazygator]

Put me down for 1 Eric. I just want to see you working the chopper. Ok I do want the real striping secrets of the zen master too. Thanks Eric!

[skipwatson]

Definitely put me down, too. The sooner, the better! :D

[RMDoyon]

I would pay $20 for a (well done) 10 minute striping video by Eric.
RMD

[rdh]

eric
you could maybe get sponcers to help you. just like those home time vidios and you could mention there products.
like starting out you could be puting on a fresh set of blades and mention the dbls with gators .see theres one and i am sure there sells went up with alot of us using there blades now (because you tought us). next one could be mowese spraying that on the deck . dexie chopper and maybe ford trucks (maybe kirby would lend you his).
also have weedeating and edging blowing the works.
and everyone would bye them and they would make good training tapes for employes.
then you could retire in miami and raffle off those choppers to us.

im sure you could get alot of sponcers ever body values your help here.

[rdh]

eric do you think Norm bought all those tools for the yankee work shop . you could end up with all kinds of toys to make this film.

[crazygator]

OK Eric, here is a picture of my lawn (I know it needs work) just finished today. I set up a 21" push to stripe. Looks pretty good I think. Now I can be called baby Eric.....LOL


http://www.lighthouseimages.com/home1.jpg

[bridges]

Is it something in the chopper that gives a good stripe cause i can't get my john deere to stripe that good.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Ok Gator we can call you JUNIOR with that 21" LOL

LGF:blob1:

[LawnSmith]

no need for any videos this way, i have known the "secrets" since i started in the industry. there arent any secrets really, just common sense and trial and error.

besides, down here we have things that look better than a baseball field.

keep up the good work and stay busy!

by the way, a few of those lines arent all that straight. j/k

taking care of golf course for 2 years teaches you how to make the "perfect" lines.

[Eric ELM]

Lawnsmith, As I said above:

Originally posted by Eric ELM
I realize a lot of you know how to do this already, but for the ones that do not know, I am thinking of making a video of how to do this.

I think this would help out the new members that are just starting out. It would not benefit the experianced members since they already know it all, unless they used it for a training video for their workers like someone mentioned. The main reason I am thinking of doing this, is because several have asked if I could do this for them. I'm not trying to be a 'know it all', I'm just trying to help.

You also mentioned this: taking care of golf course for 2 years teaches you how to make the "perfect" lines.

We are always looking for better ways, so maybe you can post some pictures of your work and show us how it should be done.

bridges,

Which John Deere do you have? My old 430 JD did a fair job of stripping. Here is an old one I have scanned that was done with it. Yes that is me. ;)

<img border="0" src="http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/jdme1.jpg" width="525" height="375">

[LawnSmith]

i didnt mean to come off sounding cocky, and if i did i am very sorry. i think you are a very informative and genuinely a cool person, i didnt mean to sound insulting. anyway, that being said, i am in the process of figuring out which digicam to purchase and as soon as i do i will post some.

[vipermanz]

I would buy a tape just to see perfect stripes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Eric ELM]

Originally posted by vipermanz
I would buy a tape just to see perfect stripes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can not make perfect stripes, but I do the best I can. :D
I replaced some of the not so good pictures on my site with some better ones. There are 50 of them now. ;)

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/000629-002.jpg

[Premo Services]

[Eric ELM] The main reason I am thinking of doing this, is because several have asked if I could do this for them. I'm not trying to be a 'know it all', I'm just trying to help.

This is why this site is soo good. The time that is taken to answer these questions, by you and many others.( there are some know it alls), but that is with anything.The knowledge that is shared with people just starting in this business is awesome. When I see these pics say "When I grow up I want to do that too" !!!!!! LOL :D

[Old Guy]

Put me down for a tape, Eric. The sooner the better.

[Nick]

I'll take one of those tapes, you never know what more you can learn. Thanks Eric for telling us the tip about using one hand for straighter lines, I tried it this week and it helps a lot.

[vipermanz]

There perfect in my opinion!

[bridges]

Eric,

I have a 54" jd ztrack

[Eric ELM]

Bridges, try putting some sort of stripping kit on it if it won't stripe well. That might help you out.

[Eric ELM]

Originally posted by Nick
Thanks Eric for telling us the tip about using one hand for straighter lines, I tried it this week and it helps a lot.

I'm glad it helped Nick. I usually have both hands on the levers, but I do my major steering with my left hand. The right hand is sort of resting on the right lever and ready for major turns like at the end of the lawns. I can turn around using just one hand, but it's a bit easier with 2. :)

[Nick]

Well I take that back it was working good on flat stuff, but when It got bumpy i would zig zag. So I went back to two hands. I see what you mean by one hand dominating the steering and it is just natural to do it that way, for me anyway. The explanation of one handed steering through me off.:p So Eric have you decided if you are going to make a tape for striping. Also I noticied you have your pics up on DC web page, did you get any money for those pics; it should sure help them sell their product.

[EJK2352]

Eric,
I was wondering who taught you all the tricks of the trade?? I know most of what I have learned has been from trial & error & useing common sense.:) ;) :) ED

[Nick]

One more why I am at it. Do you think a xw 2300 can handle doubles and the magic mulcher? Trying to prepare for the leaves.

[Eric ELM]

Nick:
I still haven't decided for sure on the tape thing. If enough are interested in this, I could make one.

After I started a chat room for DC owners on my website, the advertising mangager from DC joined in a few times. He asked us if we could send in a few pictures, so I told him I had some on my website he could use if I got a link to my website. None of the others ever did send any in. :(

Yes your 23 will handle it all. I have used all this on my 22 and as you know, it has a bunch of hours on it and handled it just fine. Naturally, a bigger motor would handle it better, but it will get the job done for you.


EJK2352:
I learned a lot growing up on the farm. My dad was an inventive type of person and I guess I got if from him. ;)

It just takes an open mind and common sense to figure out some things. :)

[Nick]

Last one. Do you use the double blade bracket and mulcher? Will they both fit together or do you have to run doubles without the braket?

[Eric ELM]

You must be talking about the Magic Mulcher, if you use it, you have to take off the double blade bracket. I used it on the leaves last fall along with doubles and it did a job on the leaves. Just doubles will do about the same job on the leaves, but the mulcher does help.

[GAM321]

Exmark 48" Turftracer HP Double blades. Still need more rain here things starting to green up a little.
I dont know why my pictures didnt work???

[Eric ELM]

We got some rain this morning and we didn't get started until 10:30 today. We got almost done with the last lawn it it started storming big time. It poured down so we headed home. It was so dark out at 6 pm that it was like night time. We ended up getting another 7/8" of rain, so we are in good shape now. The lawns are growing like spring time again here. :D

[Rhett]

boy just when I start feeling better about myself someone has to post pictures like thatI guess itis back to whatching the Jerry springer show

[Eric ELM]

It seems to be cloudy every time I take a picture lately. :(
But at least we are getting rain. :D

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010815-003.jpg

[crazygator]

Eric,
The servants quarters looks great! But could you show us the main house? Just kidding. Looks wonderful, and lucky you with all the rain. I gotta start that rain dance now!

[GAM321]

Here goes my picture again. 48" Exmark WB Double Blades

[kutnkru]

Thats what I love about those panoramic shots, just slide that bar thingy at the bottom and pan the view. LOL! :laugh:

Nice pic GAM.

Kris

[LakewoodLawnCare]

greenquestlawn,
eric elm,


What kind of mowers and equipment do you all use?

Thanks,

Talbott Baldwin
Lakewood Lawn Care

[Eric ELM]

LakewoodLawnCare
I guess you haven't been to my website. :)

I use Dixie Choppers with 60" decks. I have 50 pictures there of my lawns and a bunch of my equipment. ;)

[Eric ELM]

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010814-006.jpg

[wallzwallz]

I posted earlier on how i couldn't understand how so many didn't about striping, I forgot to give Eric his due praise. I've always striped ever since i started mowing but Eric your lawns are so sweet looking when you get done, you've definetly mastered the art, congrats. I use wb's, my lines are pretty straight, i just today put the doubles on one of them. My ? to Eric i notice on your web site you run different doubles at different times, right now grass is growing close to spring rate + w/ heavy dew + noon time fog quite wet. Right now i have double gator hi lifts.what would you run in these conditions? What did you say your digital camera was? i recall HP something, thanks for any and all help:D

[Eric ELM]

Thanks Michael Wall
When it's wet, I run a high lift and a regular lift blade combo on the old Chopper with a 22 hp Kohler. I run an old worn out high lift and a new high lift on the bottom on the diesel. This combo works great on wet grass to help keep the deck cleaned out underneath and spread the clippings better.

When it's dry, I run a high lift and a mulcher blade. What I call a mulcher blade has the fins twisted out, so it helps throw the clippings out more. The Gators are twisted in, which throws the clippings in to much. That is why I like Gators best for muching leaves, since it sort of throw the leaves inwards and keep chopping them. When it is wet out, the gators ball up the clippings to much. I have both types pictured in the double blade page.

My camera is a HP C30. It is over 2 years old and is just a 1 megapixel camera.

[Eric ELM]

I also have the pictures on the double blade page of all the blades that the former Dixie1 posted. Thanks Tom and I gave you credit for them. ;)

[CLARKE]

Hey Eric, I don't have any pictures but every thursday i do two lawns across the street from each other and we do try to match the strips up each week, Looks pretty good I'll tell ya where they
are and could check them out some thursday after your morning
west accounts. :D

[HOMER]

In Eric's defense:

There is no way you can compare a golf course to a residential lawn! How much time do you think was spent on any home lawn leveling it and getting it "bump" free. A golf course on the other hand is smooth for the most part, a little easier to maintain a straight line.

One hand steering is the ticket for straight lines though.

No pictures to post....................nothing is very stripeable this far south. Have to wait til rye season!

Keep up the good work and make them "strips" straight and true.

If you hit a bump and they get an inch or two off we'll forgive ya....................we ain't mowing golf courses!

[vipermanz]

rye will definetly stripe!

[JJOHN22042]

Looks Great Eric Keep up the Great work. Would hate to work in your area we know who would get the Jobs LOL.:D :D :D

[Eric ELM]

JJOHN22042 There are plenty lawns here and we could get along. ;)


When I started this thread, I never thought it would get over 10,000 views. :D

I wonder how many other threads on any forum have ever had this many views.

Well it is has greened up here big time, so I'll try to get some more pictures this week. Come on you other members, take the camera to work and take some shots of your lawns.

How about you cleancutdude, can you take some pictures of lawns in Ireland? ;)

[Eric ELM]

The sun wasn't at the right angle to get a good picture of this lawn, but the one across the street shows up good and it hadn't been cut yet. That's the stripes from last week. I'll post a picture of that one after it was cut under this one.

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010829-001.jpg

[Eric ELM]

This is the one across the street after it was cut.

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010829-012.jpg

[crazygator]

Hey Eric,
Have you and your guys ever played checkers on the checker boards above? Just wondered......:D Nice work as always. A little rain helps too.

[BrandonGT]

Just curious, any requirements for this Stripe contest post? ;)

I mow my Uncle's lawn with a 21" Craftsman, and it looks pretty straight and neat looking after I'm finished.

Is it worth taking pictures and posting here? :o

[Eric ELM]

This isn't a contest, it's just a thread I started back in the spring to post 2001 lawn pictures. All you need is a Lawn to cut, a mower to cut it with and a camera to take the picture. ;)

As long as I'm posting, I might as well put in another angle of that lawn so you can see the difference in how it looks. :)


http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010829-018.jpg

[kutnkru]

Eric I have a quick question for you???

Most of the streets in your photos look like they have been oiled and stoned vs. repaving. do you have a problem with your decks picking up the debris because of your blade set up??? We have 7 houses to maintain on this block this fall and next week it gets the oil and stone. With the amount of leaves I will finally be adding the second blade.

Thanks
Kris

[Eric ELM]

I ususally blow the leaves in the street and in that gravel area into the lawn before I mow the lawns, then I don't have to worry about the stones. When we are just mowing, we mow up as close as we can without hitting the gravel and lower the rpm's down. We then trim the rest with a string trimmer.

[awm]

dogone eric ,what a stripe. its must be that bluegrass stripes better. you just got it bud.

[Eric ELM]

This is the same lawn as above taken from across the lake.
http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010829-016.jpg

[RMDoyon]

Eric,
Ssheesh, these stripes are getting creepy, its like Disneyworld out there...

Roger

[vipermanz]

that looks a little too good if you ask me

[lawnperfections]

This thread makes me want to move north where the bluegrass is everywhere and Flortam is a weed.

[Eric ELM]

This was taken late thursday afternoon and the colors came out strange. ;)

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010829-028.jpg

[cclllc]

Since I don't have any good lawns like Eric I'll use my own here

http://www.cclllc.homestead.com/files/lawn1.JPG

[cclllc]

another

http://www.cclllc.homestead.com/files/yard1.jpg

[cclllc]

http://www.cclllc.homestead.com/files/stripe7.JPG

[Eric ELM]

This one is taken in a back corner of one of my lawns so you can see the back corners of 3 other competitors lawns.

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010829-007.jpg

[northeast]

Eric,
I would like to ask you a few questions.
I have a customer up here in Maine that I picked up late last year,her lawn is in bad shape. It was hydroseeded two years ago,20,000 square feet.I have the ok to slice seed on the 17th.
Iwill be renting a lesco renavator to do the job,what seed do you recommend for a carpet looking lawn like yours,also do you recommend one pass or multiple passes at different angles slice seeding. Can you also tell me what your lawn maintenance
schedule would be ,such as core aerating etc. I would like this project to be a success,it is a real nice neighborhood with lots of potential customers. Thanks for any help,
Norteast

[Eric ELM]

Northeast
The lawn below is a picture of a lawn I have mowed for the past 3 seasons. It was in bad shape when I took it over and they had called us and wanted their lawn to look like their friends that we mow. I told them I could make it look like their friends lawn, but my price was going to be $15 more per cut than what they had paid. First I dethatched it with the JRCo tine rake and aerated it and put down Pre-M. When it warmed up I sprayed it with Momentum, and followed up with 2 more summer fert apps and aerated it in the fall and put down winterizer fert. I've continued this process since and I've never added 1 seed to this lawn and now it looks like this. This lawn does not have irrigation either, so they rely on Mother Nature to water it. The picture below is one I took last summer, so you can see how fast it started looking good. ;)

The Key to nice looking lawns is SHARP blades daily and aerating them spring and fall to develope good root systems and this thickens them up like crazy.

If I do overseed a lawn, I double aerate and broadcast seed them. If the lawn you are going to do is very thin, going over it both ways with the slit seeder would get it going good and put down a starter/winterizer fert. In the spring, aerate it and watch it get thick. :)

For more advice on seeding, post your question in the Landscaping Forum.

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/000705-003.jpg

[casey]

I am buying a cam & wondering why Eric's pics look so much clearer & have better definition than many other members pics. Any advice on a camera Eric?

[Eric ELM]

I have a Hewlett Packard C30 1 megapixel Camera. It is already a dinasaur since it is over 2 years old. It originally listed for $400, but I got it for $250 and I've taken a lot of pictures with this camera. You could probably get the same camera now for about $150 at the most.

I don't know if all of them have this, but if you notice, it has infanant focus. Things up close and things far away are all in focus.

[cclllc]

I made mine with one of those cheap throwaways.Maybe when I get rich I can get a real camera.

[Eric ELM]

The grass started growing like it was spring time once we finally got rain. The top one is a lawn we mowed today and the one on the bottom is across the lake and is one of our competitors lawns. You can see the excess clippings he has and I did tell him about double blades, but he still uses singles, so it's his loss. :(

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010905-007.jpg

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010905-024.jpg

[1MajorTom]

I don't know Eric, but that last picture is probably the most discouraging picture I have seen you post. ;)
Those darn leaves on that tree seem to be changing colors, and for us that means something is right around the corner that we aren't looking forward to.

Now be nice and only post pictures where the leaves are still GREEN. :D

[Davis TLC]

Stripes in Mid Tenn.

http://wsphotofews.excite.com/034/5k/n3/v6/TK34006.jpg

More stripes. Bi-weekly customer.

http://wsphotofews.excite.com/033/ON/VN/FT/Tc21974.jpg

[Davis TLC]

The stripes perpendicular to the picture are a month old. These are across a strip of Zoysia in my front yard.

http://wsphotofews.excite.com/036/D1/nw/V6/Ox33139.jpg

[Davis TLC]

An example of the competion in my area. They definitely need to improve but what can you expect from low ball bid. I know this was a low bid because I had bid on the same plant site, mine was a lot higher than the other guys.

http://wsphotofews.excite.com/001/pE/xh/Qf/1Q44753.jpg

[Eric ELM]

One of our snow customer's mower broke down again, so I got a picture of his lawn that I mowed today. I had also mowed it last week too, so this is why you see two directions of stripes.

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010910-004.jpg

[kutnkru]

Eric

I had my wb in the shop today and finally got to use a Z (eXmark 60" 25hp Kohler). I took some pics so that many could get a chuckle. After finally trying to do what you do with such precision and accuracy, I have a whole new respect for you guys on them thar Zs.

I am waiting for the film to be developed had some other photos of landscape work etc. on it so when it comes thru I will post my pivotal moment!

LMAO profusely :laugh:
Kris

[GreenQuest Lawn]

Well the grass is nice and green here after soo much rain. This one just seemed to stand out big time today.

[vipermanz]

why is it you don't even see stripes that bold on a golf course or baseball field???:confused:

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by vipermanz
why is it you don't even see stripes that bold on a golf course or baseball field???:confused:

It's called Blue Grass and not good for golf courses in the lower states. Not very heat tolerant, plus they are cut at a lot lower height. Baseball feilds you must not watch to many sports on TV but wrestling. Haven't you seen a ball game on TV, they have awsome stripes!

Nice stripes there Todd. Eat your heart out Eric hee hee lol:D

LGF:blob1:

[vipermanz]

yea , but i still think erics are better:D

and wrestling has been nice todaysee? (http://www.wwf.com)

[GreenQuest Lawn]

I will agree that Erics are better. He also has WAY better properties than me.

My only thought is he has about 28 years on me so that should give me time to challenge him.:D

(Sorry Eric had to do it):