You need to do some edging.

I have ~1.5 acres and currently mow w/a JD E140 (48"). Several years ago, the riding mower I had at the time wasn't running, so I mowed with a self propelled mower...that was a work out!

Weedwhack every time. Just got a Worx GT last year (wanted to try it), but have a gas Toro too for the woods and edging.

Spot spray weeds maybe every two weeks or so with a 2 gal pump sprayer. I do keep a little hand squirt sprayer bottle handy if I occasionally spot a weed or two.

Ditto above, but for the 'kill everything' stuff.

I also add the blue dye to the liquids too, that really helps to see what you sprayed and what you missed.

I have a 15 gal tow sprayer, but don't use that very often (can't have any wind).

Anal retentive about drainage too.

Very nice

A lot better than it was 5 years ago. Thin area is getting thicker. Now if only the same tricks worked with the hair on my head

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Way too dry to cut for the time being.

I was told to keep an eye on that dam but nothing happened. You are right that water level has dramatically fell.

Issue in a lot of places. I live in SE Michigan. The wetland/pond directly behind me is down several feet in level the last 2.5 years. It's dropped 6 inches in the last 2 months alone. May used to be rain literally every day with some torrential rains. We got two days of good solid rains last month and a few of brief showers.

This is my back back lawn, and the next time the pressure washer's out,
she needs a little rinsing, but dollar for dollar, I'll tell Ya.

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If you're tired of replanting K31 and watching it die every year, as I used to, you might want to try Centipede. You won't see much of anything for the first year but eventually it chokes out everything as it is a runner type grass. Shown is a runner heading for the woods, a 2yr old lawn with Centipede edging out what's there, and a 5yr old lawn. It must be 70 to 80 degrees to germinate and don't expect anything much the first year.

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I'll take a Kentucky Blue/fescue mix all day. Great barefoot grass, nice dark green color and the mix works in all but the densest of shades. As with any lawn, light dethatching in the Spring, coring and overseeding will keep it thick, luscious and the envy of your neighbors.

Small but perfectly formed With two young kids, a low maintenance garden they can ride their bikes round safely is needed.

Unfortunately we don't have the same amount of space as our American cousins.

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That's about the size of a typical, American, suburban, garden/tool shed.

Joking aside, I love the aesthetic of the place, very Philip Johnson-esque.

Looks like the perfect space to hold a nice party on a sunny day.

Man... you lawn guys are going to hate me.... I've been ripping mine up and replacing it with clover

I also have a 1/4 of an acer section of my lawn I stopped mowing and have just started to let nature take it's course.

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So is that your house?

I hate St. Augustine but it can look nice when it's not suffering from Drought, Chinch bugs, Brown patch, dollar leaf spot, grubs, overwatering, and weeds

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Juat saw this post and snapped a quick shot out the back window. Look close....

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Wow, beautiful place!

Love your pool setup. Was it a kit or drop in shell by chance that you could send me some info on or was it a local company that built it by hand? We are getting ready to put one in and yours is basicly what we are looking to do.

I see deer,

It was a gunite shot rebar pool then pebble sheen applied over gunite, local company here in Texas

Not to detract from thread but since it destroyed any lawn I had, thought it was appropriate to show the damage a pool install can do...Literally becomes a warzone for 8 months until I could get regraded, sprinklers and drainage installed, (Necessity in Texas with the clay) and properly resodded.

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Ill do most the work myself like digging the hole, running electric, any concrete work, and if its a kit ill assemble it myself but just havent taken the step to buy anything yet. I have heard theres long waiting lists on getting pools done now but I just really need to make a decision on what type of pool we should get. Wife wants it to have a room that opens around it so thats got to be factored in also so we can use the pool year round. Got to keep the wife happy you know how it is.

To stay on topic Ill post pictures of my fleet of mowers I use to cut my 3 acres tomorrow when I mow.

I wish my neighbors did the same...I love cutting my own at the proper height...they both believe in astroturf looking lawns....and it shows

Thanks for info man, pool looks GREAT!!!

Sure thing and thank you.

What do you guys use for weeds? This is my fourth summer in this house. Year one I used Roundup, which is effective, but also stays a long time in the ground and over time works its way out further than you sprayed it and kills the grass next to the beds.

Year two I used Weed B Gon, which is also a chemical treatment but supposedly less hazardous to both grass and people/pets, and the results were decent, not great. However, it's main ingredient, 2,4-D, has recently been put on a WHO advisory list, but plenty of agencies say it's safe. One of our dogs got cancer and sadly died from it last year. Are either of these chemicals responsible? Impossible to say, of course, but I'd rather not roll the dice again having three dogs currently, two of them puppies.

Last year I used one of those long blow torches that hook up to a propane tank, which is fun of course, but it takes *forever* as you have to hold the torch over every weed for about 30 seconds to make sure it's dead at the root. If you have 10-20 weeds, it's great. If you have hundreds, it's not an option. It's also not very fun to use in the hot summer, obviously.

This year I'm using a rototiller attachment to my Ryobi 40v multitool, and that has mixed results as well. Works great if all you have is soil and weeds to work with, but the beds I'm trying to weed have lots of trees and bushes, which means tons of roots. This thing is tough enough on the back after a while, but getting caught on roots, which then sharply jerks the machine forward, is murder on the back after an hour.

The best solution is one day laying down mesh over these beds then putting stone on top, but I'm not ready for that project this year. Hand picking isn't really an option considering there's four large beds plus an entire paver block patio where weeds come through the gaps.

A couple of things I do for weeds:

1) 2, 4-D: It's my 'go to' weed killer, but I just spot spray, so I don't mind using it. Occasionally, I might use a hose-end sprayer or a 15 gal tank to hit areas that gets out of control by the woods (haven't done it for years). Plus I don't like putting weed killer down in areas that don't have weeds (don't want to burden the bluegrass unnecessarily).

2) I mentioned Tenacity earlier in the thread (post #165) which kills weeds by stopping photosynthesis (weed turns white and dies). It can take care of some weeds 2,4-D doesn't attack (like Johnson grass - i.e. what I would call 'barnyard' grass). Catch is it takes WEEKS to work in some cases, likely needs a second coat 2 weeks later, and is expensive (but not really in the long run since you barely use any for a gallon of water). Very impressive stuff and you can even seed in the same area at the same time. It's just not a 'spray and forget' like 2,4-D. I've had my bottle going on 3 years now and it still works.

A side note - get some cheap blue dye at a farm/garden store - really helps to see what you sprayed and what you missed. Blue disappears in a day or so, doesn't stain. And a couple of drops of Dawn helps too - acts as a wetting agent.

I should also add I don't do Weed 'n Feed fertilizer. Kind of a waste since the active ingredient has to land on the weed, and ideally the weed needs to be wet.

I mow at 4"! Weeds are just part of living in the country...

I appreciate the info @cdnpinbacon, but I was talking about plain old weeds (and errant grass from overseeding this year) in a bed/island/whatever you might call it, not mixed in with the lawn. I took some photos just now. I have a lot of islands like this around the property with roots running through most of them, which is what's stopping me with the tiller:

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You can see where I went through with the tiller a few days ago and where I didn't. I also didn't get all the weeds/grass because as it churns dirt, it covers up weeds and you end up missing them. A cool tool, but not great for my weeding needs. Should come in very handy next spring though when seeding and if I ever do a vegetable garden.

Also this paver block patio:

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Notice in the background a set of concrete steps nearly disintegrated by 70+ pinballs thunking up and down them.

mbwalker I like your suggestions. Would you use 2,4-D in my situation or Tenacity?

On that paver patio …mix glyphosate and prodiamine and spray the entire area and you shouldn’t see anymore weeds this year.

If you're just trying to kill everything, then something w/Glyphosate in it (which is in most 'kills grass and everything else' stuff). But stay a distance away from the grass since it might (will) leach into the lawn. Same as what eagle18 said. You were worried about the dogs: Perhaps on the patio put the Glyphosate down, maybe give it a couple of days to get to the roots, then weed whack it so the dog can't eat any grass.

Just ordinary weeds - then 2, 4-D since it's cheap and usually works great on a LOT of different weeds.

The Tenacity stuff: I bought that specifically for the Johnson grass since 2,4-D doesn't kill it. There might be other things it kills better than 2,4-D, but I think in your case the 2,4-D and Glyphosate has you covered.

By the tree: You always could use Glyphosate for most of the areas, then maybe 2,4-D closer to the edge of the lawn so you don't hurt the grass.

Tenacity in action (pretty neat stuff):

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A sidebar: cdnpin is right - One of the best ways not to have weeds is to mow high and have a healthy lawn.

This ^^^

Healthy thick high lawn chokes out the weeds.

By the way, your space for the pool looks amazing

Thanks. That's out-out back. Can't see it from the back lawn..
You wouldn't believe what it looked like when I first bought the property..

I’ll play…. Yard was Hydroseeded in 2014 it’s come a long way. Amazing how starting fresh, keeping weeds out and regularly watering really helps.

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I bought one those from CL a year ago and absolutely love it. I was moving sprinklers four time to cover the area. No more, just set the path for the tractor and it covers the whole back yard. I don't rely on the stop though. Setting a timer and keeping an eye on her from time to time to make sure didn't jump ship is required. The great thing is the tractor moves so slow the dogs leave it alone.

Ha-ha, no that is the pin shed!

Roughly 4.5m x 7.0m (15ft x 23ft)