Jason's Blog

Now that we’ve moved into our home, there are many projects to be started and (hopefully) completed. Ever since the summer of 2003 when I found employment at Sawyer Hill Lawn Care while spending the summer in Springfield, Missouri, I have been eagerly looking forward to caring for a lawn of my own. To this day, that summer job ranks as my favorite bringing back fond memories of rich houses with green lawns, beautiful stripes in the grass, and spending the days wearing shorts and no shirt in the hot Missouri sun. Our lawn was neglected by the previous owners so it will be a great restoration project. Plus I have lots of neighbors who feverishly care for their lawns. So let the games begin. It’s on.

All successful projects require the right tools… right? After being spoiled by using commercial grade mowers while working in lawn care, I decided to go all out with my mower purchase. After lots of researching I bought a 36″ Exmark Viking – the largest walk behind I could fit in our little garage while still leaving room for the cars. Yes, I vow to not be the homeowner who uses their garage for storage and parks their cars in the driveway!

I also bought a Husqvarna 128LD string trimmer. This is a high end residential trimmer with good reviews. I didn’t feel the need to get a commercial grade trimmer considering that my lawn size is under 1/4 acre and compared to a mower, a trimmer’s function and feature set is more limited in scope. I just wanted something decent and powered by gas because that is what I’m familiar with. You can also get a blower and edger attachment for this trimmer which I haven’t gotten yet. Again, both attachments won’t be commercial grade stand alone units but should be able to handle my residential use.

One day last week I found a “Free 14 Point Lawn Analysis” from TruGreen ChemLawn on my doorstep. So I have a decent amount of detail about my lawn’s starting condition (thanks TrueGreen!).

Grass Types
Fine Fescue, Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass, Tall Fescue

Color
Pale to Green

Thatch
Acceptable

Lawn Diseases
Brown Patch, Leaf Spot, Necrotic Ring Spot, Red Thread (bad!)

Broadleaf Weed Analysis
Dandelion, Chickweed, Clover, Oxalis, Spurge, Thistle

Mowing
Good (3″ minium)

Insects
White Grub (in fall), Beetles

Shade Analysis
Partial

Problem Grasses
Crabgrass (bad!)

Potential
Excellent (with us) hehe

Present Condition
Fair

So now let’s get to some pictures to monitor progress. Here are a couple shots from when we first viewed the home on 5/19/2009:

Here’s a few shots when we had our home inspection on 5/29/2009:

And now a couple shots after the second mowing on 8/4/2009:

Do It Yourself, Lawn