Reddit reviews The Organic Lawn Care Manual: A Natural, Low-Maintenance System for a Beautiful, Safe Lawn

Either the frame to put a European license plate on my US Audi or maybe the Organic Lawn Care book, which isn't that strange until you see just how bad I am at taking care of my lawn.

..but perhaps the semi-creepy guitar mount is the strangest of all!

ok guys, this comment kinda blew up while i'm traveling and not checking here regularly, plus i'm a kinda Reddit dummy so responding to my own comment is likely the dumbest way to do this but i do want to respond to all the PMs and replies here without going bananas.

i can't claim a spot-on diagnosis of what's going on with OP's lawn but that amount of re-work year after year indicates something is going on. this is not normal. grass should be low maintenance green space, not an annual ritual of a total do-over.

at minimum, take a soil sample and get it to your local co-op extension office, where they'll examine it and make recommendations for necessary amendments to grow the plants you desire (grass, in this case).

all the comments about contractor's blend grass mix are on point. its function is a quick hit, then it's gone. you want to grow perennial grasses that are hardy for your growing zone. the co-op extension office can also help you determine this, if you like. i'm in Maine, so cool-season grasses like perennial rye and fescues (creeping, red, sheep, etc.) and Kentucky bluegrass do really well.

Scott's products suck because Scotts is a petrochemical fertilizer company, full-stop. they are like drug-dealers who want to get your lawn hooked on their product because then that's the only way it's going to "be its best". meanwhile, dumping petrochemicals and synthetics on the ground to grow grass is completely stupid because growing grass isn't that hard to do and lends itself to organic practices stupid easily.

some quick points:

• soil test with extension office
  
  
• zone appropriate perennial grasses
  
  
• amend with compost and/or organic fertilizer (there are many to choose from — read labels!!)
  
  
• mow high (within appropriate range for grass species; perennial rye is 2.5" - 4", for example)
  
  
• water infrequently (if at all) and when/if you do, do it early in the am and water deeply (1" measured within watering zone)
  
  
• 2 points above will encourage growth of deep, strong root system
  
  
• keep mower deck clean and blade sharp
  
  for more info check out The Organic Lawn Care Manual by Paul Tukey, which is a great primer on this stuff. https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Lawn-Care-Manual-Low-Maintenance/dp/1580176496
  
  a lawn should be fun, low maintenance green space, not repetitive, backbreaking labor or a dumping ground for totally unnecessary synthetic chemicals that just keep your lawn hooked on drugs and prop up big business that doesn't give a shit about you, your family, and the planet we share.

Hello! I don't know whether you're new up in the PNW or not, but this is completely normal up here in the summer. Our grasses are lovely and green all winter long but without a LOT of summer water, they turn brown and look dead in the summer.

If your yard is full of weeds and you have your heart set on a carpet of grass, then yanking it all out and seeding and babying a new lawn isn't a bad way to go.

I can recommend this book too:

http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Lawn-Care-Manual-Low-Maintenance/dp/1580176496

Lots of practical information about types of grass that grow in particular soils, and how to care for it and when to perform certain maintenance chores.

Your lawn will be FAR healthier if you eschew the weed-and-feed and chemical fertilizers and instead grow the right grass for this area and let it grow deep roots. Lawn chemicals are bad for you and especially bad for pets and small children, so if you can pull your weeds by hand or tolerate some as part of the green rug and not mind, you're doing the land and your health a favor. (The grass won't look as perfect, of course, but it comes down to what you prefer and whether we yay-natural hippies an win you over.)

Other advice that I found sound - when moving to a new house, do very little in the first year. You don't know yet where your wet spots are going to be in the winter or in a storm, or what parts of your yard will be sunny or shady in which season. We get a LOT of movement with the sun this far north. You will be able to better understand whether you plan for wet or dry, shade or sun, once you've observed a year's cycle in place. (If you can't wait, there's shade-and-sun mixes of grass seed - just plant everything and let what wants to grow grow!).

TLDR - brown yard is normal this time of year in the PNW, wait for fall to see what it REALLY looks like, read a great book about lawn care, and please consider going without the lawn care chemical section of bigbox stores.

Enjoy your new home in any case!!!!!