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how long does it take, to get a lawn in shape?

4K views 35 replies 22 participants last post by  all ferris 
#1 ·
you take over a lawn that someone else has massacred. you take over in fall. the lawn is infested with crabgrass, broadleafs, and unhealthy grass. you start the process this fall, how long will it take, before that lawn is " a beautiful lawn", holds its color, and fights off weeds and disease, and holds up well during drought/heat conditions. how long do you think, taking into consideration weather, and customer stupidity (not watering, watering too much, etc). how long do you tell them? one year, 2 yrs?
 
#4 ·
If you really want to have it looking good and you stay on top of your fert/pesticides plus make sure the customer waters as specified, then I say in one growing season you should be able to turn around a lawn.
I had one customer that I picked up and they had bugs and weeds galore, basically needed re-sodding. But instead I started applications and kept them up on watering within one year it completely turned around. If you work hard it wont take that long.
 
#5 ·
It depends....completely.
Let's say they had zoysia. It'd take at least 4 years, due to the slow growth.

Bermuda...probably a lot less due to the fast growth. Weeds are a prob. though.

It also all depends on the Ph. Here in Texas, 6.0 is perfect to grow everything.
Depends on what they've put on in the past. Did anything hurt the lawn?

I'd say with St. Augustine, if you had a sprinkler system and watered religiously, you would be able to turn the lawn around in 2 years. I'm doing it at my house :)
~Brian
 
#10 ·
The 2-3 is the safest thing to say. Assuming you're gonna work with what they've got and not kill everything off. 2 yrs. though is probably what it would take. I'd tell them it's gonna get worse before it gets better, but they should then see steady improvement. Plant some winter rye too. Keep em looking good for a long, long time over the cold months.
 
#16 ·
You can make a BIG difference by starting with a treatment in the next month, such as an all-around weed-killer right now followed by core aeration / lime / fert / seed in 30 days and it will show by spring but to get it A+, yes I think 2-3 years has been my experience as well.
In addition, I've done many lawns full of weeds and all I did is the aeration / etc without the weed-killer and the customer was tickled pink, didn't care there were still SOME weeds because I will say this: *ALL* lawns have SOME weeds.
 
#17 ·
We had and old guy who was a member of the grind it down to prevent weeds and then douse it with chemicals school of thought. We refused to mow too short even though he got downright hostile about and we would probably have lost the lawn if he could of found some other service to do it at the time. We continued to mow it properly, he applied his own weed killer
and the lawn was looking good for a few years. Then, of course the older couple sold the place and the people who bought it started the grind it down program so the lawn was dead and weedy within a season. :cry: Not our worry after that I guess but it still rankles.
 
#18 ·
If it takes some of you guys three years to turn a lawn around then you're in the wrong business with all due respect.

Of course it depends on what the client is willing to do, but from the description of the lawn in the first post with some good slit seeding, and proper control of weeds and crabgrass etc, mowing high, aeration this lawn would look 100% better by May first.

Now is the time to slit seed by the way, or at least by labor day.

Even an aeration and serious overseed with perennial rye would help this lawn tremendously.

Hells bells guys even if the lawn isnt loaded with bare spots or grub damage or whatever just proper feedings, proper mowings, and good controls would make this deal look a ton better.

I dont know where you get the three year deal at all.
 
#20 ·
I'm a little shocked at 3 years as well... All things considered, as long as the grass is there and halfway decent already, though has crabrass and broadleafs infesting it, you should be able to have it looking great by the next spring. (since you got it in the fall) I have done many that way. Crabgrass and weed infested and I take them on in late summer. The next spring I do the usual app or barricade + fert, then spray for broadleafs then another app of barricade + fert. Providing that the grass is there to begin with it will usually look 100% better without the weeds.

If the turf is too thin to recover then it's a whole different ballgame, but that wasn't the question.

Honestly it's amazing the effect that weekly scheduled good quality mowing has on a lawn. I have seen many that look like hell with the homeowners mowing and all I do is cut it once a week and it improves 150% in a short time.
 
#22 ·
Killswitch said:
If it takes some of you guys three years to turn a lawn around then you're in the wrong business with all due respect.

Of course it depends on what the client is willing to do, but from the description of the lawn in the first post with some good slit seeding, and proper control of weeds and crabgrass etc, mowing high, aeration this lawn would look 100% better by May first.

Now is the time to slit seed by the way, or at least by labor day.

Even an aeration and serious overseed with perennial rye would help this lawn tremendously.

Hells bells guys even if the lawn isnt loaded with bare spots or grub damage or whatever just proper feedings, proper mowings, and good controls would make this deal look a ton better.

I dont know where you get the three year deal at all.
No, we're not in the wrong business we just define getting a lawn in shape differently.
It takes time to establish a good root system and a healthy lawn. Period.
Tell me why it takes a sod farm 18 months to produce saleable sod under very ideal conditions............There's a reason for it.
 
#23 ·
Jason Rose said:
Honestly it's amazing the effect that weekly scheduled good quality mowing has on a lawn. I have seen many that look like hell with the homeowners mowing and all I do is cut it once a week and it improves 150% in a short time.
Goes back to cultural practices. Mowing at 2.5 sharp blades, not mowing too fast, proper feeding and controls and you'd be surprised.

Not only does mowing tall make the lawn look better, and give natural weed and crabgrass control due to thickness, it also pays off when it gets hot and dry withstanding the stress better especially if unwatered turf.

Plus theres something to cut when it hasnt rained in two weeks in July as opposed to the lawns that are fried because youve been scalping it since April.

Hell just simply mowing high can turn a lot of lawns around.

:shrugs:
 
#24 ·
Killswitch said:
Goes back to cultural practices. Mowing at 2.5 sharp blades, not mowing too fast, proper feeding and controls and you'd be surprised.

Not only does mowing tall make the lawn look better, and give natural weed and crabgrass control due to thickness, it also pays off when it gets hot and dry withstanding the stress better especially if unwatered turf.

Plus theres something to cut when it hasnt rained in two weeks in July as opposed to the lawns that are fried because youve been scalping it since April.

Hell just simply mowing high can turn a lot of lawns around.

:shrugs:
i agree, i do my lawn that way, looks awsome!!!
 
#25 ·
Not to be rude but if you rounded the lawn up today, aerify the hell out of it, broadcast with perennial rye, and slit seeded(crosscut pattern) apply a starter fert by Labor day, and can be sure its irrigated and mowed properly, that lawn will be beautiful and mature by June next year.

Thats for "beautiful" For much improved which could very well be satisfactory or better to the client considering the expense and watering requirement especially if no system exists can be obtained with the basics.

How big is this lawn?

Is it irrigated?

Whats the soil like?
 
#26 ·
Varsity Lawn and Garden said:
Damn, that looks good!

What was the total materials cost and how long has that lawn been growing.

Approx size?
Direct material cost is 10lb / 1000sqft at $0.82 / lb of seed = $8.20 / 1000 sqft or estimate $10 / 1000 direct material cost. I charge any where from $60 - $150 per 1000 sqft. I charge what I think i can get the customer to pay. The trick is watering. I purchased over 100 programable irrigation timers to do the watering for 3-4 weeks which make the grass start to sprout in about 6 days in September. Timers are expensive, but the results are worth the expense in my opinion. The first fall I made no profit. Everything went to purchasing the timers. Now, I rake it in. Its basically getting paid to advertise. I go after the worst lawns, put in my yard sign and do the work. People just start calling.

The attached picture is 4 weeks after seeding. Blades are still very thin but thick turf. This summer the grass felt like you were walking on springs. I already signed neighbors on boths sides and across the street for this fall. I will probably do about 30-40 of these this fall.

Summer drought hurts the bottom line during the summer due to lack of mowing, but the fall seeding and additional new customer for next season more than pays for the lack of work during droughts.

I currently don't do irrigation systems, but plan on starting in the spring because I keep turning down work. If anyone wants to trade secretes on seeding for irrigation send me a PM. Preferable someone locally or willing to travel to teach. I would like to help install one, or have someone help me install one on my property.
 
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