My parents used to do all the yard work. My father has Alzheimer's Disease which is in its advanced stages. Last year I wanted to help him rake the yard. We have a 1-acre wooded lot with a large lawn which is mostly weeds and moss. He told me that the leaves were His job and that he intended on using his blower to get them up. He blew the leaves into piles on the lawn and left them there. In spite of his protests I went out this summer and used a string trimmer to cut the tall weeds and I'm in the process of raking up the matted leaves. Needless to say the leaves killed the grass. My father won't let me use his gas powered rotary lawn mower so I'm using an old fashioned reel mower. He left his tools out in the yard and they're all rusty. I called around and asked people if they'd contribute to a compost bin I'm putting together. I want to get the lawn into satisfactory condition and get the woods certified as a Wildlife Sanctuary by the National Wildlife Federation. Can anyone tell me what steps I should take this Fall to whip the lawn into shape? Help!

First of all, welcome!

Do you have pictures of the yard you can post? Grass seed this fall might help with the bare areas.

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Not-Lawns-Neighborhood-Community/dp/193339207X

Newbie1955, I'm very sorry to hear about your Dad. I know that, in his own way and somewhere within him, he's very grateful for what you're doing even if he can't express it as he'd like.

You've made a great start by clearing away as much of the debris as you could. It'd be great if you were able to get a proper soil test done so that you could know exactly what - and if - your soil may need to support a healthy lawn. But if time is of the essence right now, then the single best thing you can add to your lawn (or what there is of it) would be: compost. Since you don't have any or probably enough even if you did have it, then there's three possibilities:
(1) Many municipalities maintain a town(ship)or county composting facility. If you can find one near you, you're golden till you can make your own; Or
(2) If you can't get municipal compost, you might consider purchasing some bags of really good, top quality genuine compost or compost-based fertilizer. (I've purchased something called C@ckadoodle Doo in the past. It's composted poultry manure and litter.) If you have to do this, then combine it w/some top-quality top soil and some peat moss. Go light on the peatmoss. It's really just for "filler" and adds no nutritional value. Plus it's a son of a gun to get wet and even worse to rewet; Or
(3) If you can't do either, then since you're using a hand rake, I'm assuming you're letting the clippings lie on the lawn. That's good because you're adding nitrogen back to the soil. Then, before the leaves start to fall, aerate in some way, (some folks walk around w/spiked or golf shoes ), over, over seed. Tamp down and water as I'll explain later. Hopefully, you'll see some germination before the leaves fall. When they do, make sure to rake very gently. Save those leaves and set them aside in a shallow pile to break down over the winter. If you can't shred them, it'll take longer.

If you use solely compost, broadcast it over your lawn till you can't see whatever grass or weeds are beneath. The more you can spread, the better. But before doing that, you might want to consider renting an aerator to "punch" holes in the ground so it can accept seed and enable better penetration of water & air especially since the existing "lawn" is in such a poor and neglected state. After aeration and spreading the compost, then over-seed the lawn. Ask either at a local hardware store or country extension agency which grass seed will grow best in your area and what kind of sun/shade conditions you have. We actually have a specific seed that is named for our township which we get at our local Ace hardware store.

Tamp it down w/the back end of a rake. Don't worry about walking on it, you have no other choice. Some people will just leave it bare at this point and begin watering. While some will spread some weed-free hay; still others will broadcast a very thin layer of peat moss to protect the seed from birds or from washing away. Do what you think/feel is best.

Just remember the most important step: Water, water, water. Don't flood it. How long you water and how often depends a lot upon your soil type (sandy, loamy, clay). We had sandy soil and even w/the compost amendment, still had to go by the underlying soil to determine how often we watered. 30 minutes every day was what we did (barring rainfall) till germination and continued on that schedule for about another week or so. Then we ratcheted it down to watering every other day, but deeper and longer, which is how an established lawn should be watered: deeper, longer and less frequently. But we stopped watering our lawn altogether years ago anyway. Waste of water. Let Ma Nature take care of it. It just goes dormant, doesn't "die" and rebounds once rains pick up and temps dip.

Far as NWF certification, you can go to their website for Backyard Habitat and fill out their online form and see if you meet their criteria for certification. If you do, then I think the fee is still $15 to receive an official certificate.

That's my 2¢. Hope some of it helps and Welcome to the forums.

BTW: allenwrench, I think posting a link to a book isn't exactly what Newbie1955 means by "help" and, IMO, just a not-so-subtle opportunity to brandish another one of your unsolicited, political advertisements.

Newbie1955 - first off, please disregard Allenwrench. He appears to be the resident lunatic around here.

As far as your dad's lawn, I agree with leaving the clippings in place. We've done this for years & have never had to fertilize. Not only do the clippings break down & feed the grass, but they also help to keep the soil & roots cool & moist during our brutally hot & humid summers.

With autumn on our heels, now would also be a good time to lay down a "light" layer of compost (you don't want to smother) & perhaps reseed those areas where the matted leaves killed things off.

I have to admit that I'm not much of a "Lawn Nazi", as we call some of our more chemically-inclined neighbors - lol - so I can't help you much beyond leaving clippings, "light" compost, & reseeding, but I do have to say thay you're definitely doing your dad proud.

(Go away Allenwrench - there must be plenty of political forums around you can take your spoutings to!!!)

What kind of grass, do you know?
Last month most of my st augustine looked dead/dormant due to drought....now due to rain last couple of weeks, its all green and growing!


Robin

quote:

Originally posted by BreezyGardener:
Newbie1955 - first off, please disregard Allenwrench. He appears to be the resident lunatic around here.

As far as your dad's lawn, I agree with leaving the clippings in place. We've done this for years & have never had to fertilize. Not only do the clippings break down & feed the grass, but they also help to keep the soil & roots cool & moist during our brutally hot & humid summers.

With autumn on our heels, now would also be a good time to lay down a "light" layer of compost (you don't want to smother) & perhaps reseed those areas where the matted leaves killed things off.

I have to admit that I'm not much of a "Lawn Nazi", as we call some of our more chemically-inclined neighbors - lol - so I can't help you much beyond leaving clippings, "light" compost, & reseeding, but I do have to say thay you're definitely doing your dad proud.

(Go away Allenwrench - there must be plenty of political forums around you can take your spoutings to!!!)

It must being tough being you.

You operate by hatred and prejudice instead of compassion and humanity.

Although the heart is a blood pump, throughout the ages people have been defined by what sort of heart they have. In your case, you are just haggard shell of a human heart, withering away in self riches deceit in putrid, delusional stew you call a life. No one can force you to leave this cesspool other than you.

Whatever I submit must be torn down by you and disagreed with as to do otherwise would destroy your sense of ego. As such you become a perennial fiend of shame and hostility and are just another coward behind a keyboard.

Since you cannot tear down what I write about as false, you work to tear down me. But that will not work since my self worth is not based on what you or anyone thinks of me as my self worth is based on truth. When destructive emotions take over our lives, we can practice compassion as a measure to counter these emotions.

Hate and compassion cannot coexist. So if the choice is to foster hatred for another and in turn rot my insides as well as hurt another person. Or develop compassion for another and promote peace within them as well as peace within myself.

I make the choice to promote well being and peace instead of destruction and hate.

Maybe something useful in your reviewing "The Affirmations of Humanism: A Statement of Principles"


• We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems.

• We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for salvation.

• We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life.

• We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities.

• We are committed to the principle of the separation of church and state.

• We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual understanding.

• We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance.

• We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves.

• We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity.

• We want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other species.

• We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their fullest.

• We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence.

• We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed health-care, and to die with dignity.

• We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences.

• We are deeply concerned with the moral education of our children. We want to nourish reason and compassion.

• We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences.

• We are citizens of the universe and are excited by discoveries still to be made in the cosmos.

• We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge, and we are open to novel ideas and seek new departures in our thinking.

• We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service to others.

• We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality.

• We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as human beings.

Council for Secular Humanism


As James Allen wrote in As a man Thinketh:

"To think well of all, to be cheerful with all, to patiently learn to find the good in all - such unselfish thoughts are the very portals of heaven; and to dwell day by day in thoughts of peace toward every creature will bring abounding peace to their possessor."

There are 3 components necessary to live a happy life: CONTENTMENT, LOVE or COMPASSION and GRATITUDE. When we realize that happiness is there for the taking and it is independent from our circumstances it someday may sink in that there is nothing stopping us from being content and happy RIGHT NOW! The choice is your if you have had enough pain.

Examine which of these components is missing in your life.

So, I ask you are you at peace with your life my friend? If so, continue. And if not, change directions. But do it for you and not for me...then it will be authentic.

The formula for success is: Authentic Nature + Right Actions = Peace

The formula for failure is: Authentic Nature + Wrong Actions = Destruction


"A mans mind may be likened to a garden which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must and will bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless 'weed seeds' will fall therein and will continue to produce their kind." ~ James Allen

Can you say "delusional"?

And this has to do with helping Newbie1955 & her dad's lawn exactly how?

allenwrench, Out of respect for someone, who has more problems in their life than attempting to rehabilitate a lawn for his/her parents and who came here to ask for help, could you please get over yourself?

Could you please not use each and every opportunity to prosthelitize and preach your agenda? Which is what in my opinion was not-so-subtly hidden in your veiled attempt to 'offer help' by redirecting Newbie1955 to a book. How about offering some of your own expertise or experience or some information you might take the time to research and cull from the web. You certainly don't seem Google illiterate or Internet-research challenged. Sometimes, to the person who needs it, that kind of help can be just as valuable and welcomed as another's personal experience. You seem to have a good deal of information, philosophies and some intellect swirling inside you. But it all doesn't have to be purged at once or in every direction. There's a time and a place. Pick your 'battles' more carefully. Wage your words where they're more appropriate.

There. I've now officially wasted more time on this than it warranted. I hope Newbie1955 can ferret through all this and find something of value.

This is a reply from Newbie1955: Thank you to all the people who were thoughtful enough to give me advice. I'm going to send a soil sample to the UCONN laboratory. We have heavy clay soil with a lot of stones. My father has a Mantis Tiller and a Leaf Shredder. My only problem is locating the instructions. (He's a pack rat and he keeps everything.) The shredder should help me build a compost pile this fall. I got in touch with a Riding Academy and they say I can pick up some horse manure. I asked my Beautician if she could save some hair which they usually sweep up and discard. The coffee shops I contacted seemed perturbed when I inquired about coffee grounds and used filters. (Sigh!) The Town of Wallingford offers compost to their city residents but according to our Town Hall my town has no such program. To allenwrench: This year's election is going to be interesting with a Republican female Vice Presidental contender and a Black man running for the Democratic Party. Getting back to my lawn...I'm worried about planting grass seed. Our lawn in mostly shaded and is soggy in spots.
We have a stream that carries winter runoff that goes through our wooded area. It never really dries up but the water is minimal in the summer months until it rains. I want you all to know that I've been doing my own research on the internet. I'm also reading the following library books:

(1) Let It Rot! The Home Gardener's Guide to Composting by Stu Campbell.
(2) Gardening Basic for Dummies by Steven A. Frowine.
(3) The Tool Book- A compedium of over 500 tools for the well-tended garden by William Bryant Logan.
(4) The New Gardener- The Pratical Guide to Gardening Basics by Pippa Greenwood.
(5) Pruning Made Easy- A Gardener's Visual Guide to When to Prune Everything from Flowers to Trees by Lewis Hill.
(6) Organic Lawn Care Manual-A Natural, Low-Maintenance System for a Beautiful, Safe Lawn by Paul Tukey.

I read that if you take cooking oil and add it to a 5 gallon bucket of sand it will keep your tools well oiled. Martha Stewart says to use Motor Oil. Is this potentially hazardous?

Can anyone tell me what should I do to keep a gasoline rotary mower operating efficiently? How often do you change the spark plugs?..etc...

Does anybody have more luck in obtaining organic materials from potential donors, most people seem slightly annoyed?

I'm thinking about added shredded paper to my compost pile. Does anybody have experience doing this? How were the results?

What experience do you have with heavy clay soil? Does Greensand and Gypsum really help?

My father grew up on a farm in a coal mining community in Pennsylvania. He told me getting a soil test is a waste of money. We used to live in Hamden, CT and had beautiful loam where ANYTHING grew. We had roses, irises, apples, pears, raspberries, cherries, grapes and a wonderful vegetable garden. Quite frankly nothing grows on our property except weeds and moss. Would adding sand improve soil drainage?

Thanks to everyone who responded. I'll take your comments into consideration.

quote:

Originally posted by BreezyGardener:
Can you say "delusional"?

And this has to do with helping Newbie1955 & her dad's lawn exactly how?

have my post on lawns but it was attacked.

I agree - NO HELP.

So I answer attacks in the OT section from now on.

Welcome Newbie, and best wishes with your lawn project. As far as finding coffee grounds, Starbucks actually has a "grounds for your garden" program. If there's one near you, you should be able to collect a whole bunch!

In my own case, this first year of gardening we got rid of about 25% of the law. And as we add more beds in the upcoming 2 years we will have converted about 40% or more to food production. If we count the fruit trees then we use most of the grass, but I am talking about pulling the grass out and making beds. We only, have a small lot, about 2/3 acre. but do the best we can squeezing food out of it as newbies. No doubt will get better.

What worked for me to get a local coffee shop to give me their grounds was to explain to them that they can tell everyone that they recycle 100% of their grounds and filters to an organic gardener. They also don't add 80 lbs. a week to their dumpster saving them money. Win-win!

I'll field the newspaper addition question. I started one pile a couple years ago long after we'd started our annual fall pile using all the shredded leaves as a carbon base. So there wasn't any significant amount of carbon materials to add for this new, later one. Until...I started laying down a bed of 3 layers of wetted-down newspapers. No glossies. Piled some grass clippings on top. Layed down more papers and shreded up some, too. More clippings; then some new plant debris from deadheading; more shredded paper and topped of w/a "dollop" of alfalfa pellets and several shovelfuls of finished compost to encourage the worms to come on over to the 'new place'. Never added any kitchen scraps since we were saving them for the larger pile we'd started a few months back w/all the shredded leaves.

Tuned out both piles broke down sufficiently for use in the garden at just about the same time and were equally good. So, "Yes", do add the paper.