Do you have your lawn professionally taken care of?

[ilovedolphins]

Either mowed or sprayed?  I am considering professional spraying.

[Deleted]

"Professional" is a loose term for us.  We have a lawn service that comes every other week.  He mows, edges, and blow off the deck, etc.  He usually notices when shrubs need a little trimming although we pay for a through trimming at the end of the season.    I noticed he went under the deck with the weedeater to get rid of some stuff.  Everything other than the mows, edging, and blowing off the deck is basically a little extra he is doing to make sure we are satisfied.

Last year we didn't get any of these extras.  While we weren't really expecting them, we weren't really satisfied.  The yard just didn't look that good when he finished.  We felt that the yard look more like it was mashed down rather than cut.  But we didn't complain after the first visit.  We just decided that we would wait until the next season.  When he called for this year, we told him our concerns.  He has really risen to the occasion.

But I still wouldn't use the word "professional" here.  He's one of a zillion lawn services that basically cut grass and maybe a little more. 

[zibazinski]

Always have, always will.

[Lizard Queen]

This year we do for weed/mole control + fertilizer. I still mow the lawn. DH was beyond frustrated by the moles, general state of the yard. and his physical problems that are the reason I started to mow the lawn.

[wvugurl26]

No the guys in the house always do that. If I lived alone I would hire a service due to my grass and pollen allergies.

[obelisk]

no, not worth it by looking at the neighbors lawns whom are serviced.

[Deleted]

I mow my own but have someone else do the chemicals. It's a heck of a cardio workout since we're on a hill but I get exercise and save money. Win-win.

[ilovedolphins]

I would still mow my lawn but the chemical part may help.  I don't get the time to spray as often as I should and every August I get just a whole lawn of matted weeds so I thought I might try it one year just to see if there is a difference.

[ners]

I have always mowed.  I used to have a service for the chemicals.  When I lost my job in 2010 it was one of the things I cut.  

[tallguy]

No, I mow my own weeds.  

[msventoux]

I've let my yard go wild and basically turned it into a wildflower patch.  I keep the weeds and saplings at bay.  A nice grass lawn is impossible without hauling in dirt and doing a ton of work.  Not my idea of a good time, so I've let it go wild until it annoys me enough to become a priority.  Houses in this neighborhood are somewhat secluded, so it's not like it's bothering anyone else in the neighborhood.  Honestly, not that I'd really care.  There's no HOA here. 

If I was in a neighborhood where everyone had to have the same type of yard, I'd probably hire a service to care for it.  Unless it was a yard the size of a postage stamp, then I'd probably just do it.  Yards here tend to be substantially larger though. 

[lund]

No service - too expensive. No spraying in this part of the world.
No HOA. (If a lot is not cared for, it is possible to complain to the city, though this rarely happens unless somebody collects car wrecks or trash.)

DH mows, I fertilize, and if absolutely needed we water it (three times this year, I think). The lot is middle-sized for a city lot.

[Blonde Granny]

Part of my HOA dues goes for lawn care (cutting & trimming only). I pay extra to have the lawn people mow mine with the small mowers rather than the big commercial one.  I take care of my own fertilizer, weeds and lawn pests.  My lawn is postage stamp size and it's bermuda grass so it takes very little to maintain it.  My side yard and back yard is all rocks.

[Deleted]

Aug 6, 2016 5:19:01 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

I pay extra to have the lawn people mow mine with the small mowers rather than the big commercial one.  

We've got automatic sprinklers and I found those mega-machines tended to ruin sprinkler heads when they ran over them.

What's really hard to find is people who will actually keep the weeds down. Our HOA hired the lowest bidder (big mistake) to maintain the flower beds in the common areas, including a planting on either side of the entry road. It's been a disaster. We're not sure they put on pre-emergence killer and their solution when the dandelions started springing up was to throw on more mulch- for an extra cost, of course. That lasts about a week before the weeds poke through again. We ditched them and are getting bids again. The companies that specify "hand-weeding" are pretty expensive.

[ArchietheDragon]

As a middle aged suburban cowboy what else would I do with my free time? But I don't put chemicals down. Fertilizer only.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Aug 6, 2016 8:13:32 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

As a middle aged suburban cowboy what else would I do with my free time? But I don't put chemicals down. Fertilizer only.

My DH is right there with you.  He mows, and bags the clippings as he mows.  It's a 3 hour job easy not including the trip to the to get rid of the clippings.  He's no lawn jockey, but he does like his patterns.  Since we don't use chemicals (no doubt to the enormous chagrin of our neighbors), DH mostly just mows assorted weeds.  I'm okay with it.  Several neighbors have absolutely perfect lawns that require God knows what chemicals and obscene amounts of watering despite a town watering ban (no consequences).  Their kids don't even play on them!  Go for it.  Not my thing.  Yet, I suffer in great silence while their chemicals waft over to my yard to expose my family and dog and the shared town water supply gets filtered through those chemically-treated lawns.   

I won't use a professional service until a court orders me to do so, LOL.  It's not in my budget, and too many of them are hacks.  

I'd love to spread a ton of wildflower seeds on my front lawn and call it a day.  It might just happen sooner rather than later given DH's back issues.  

[Deleted]

I absolutely LOVE mowing the lawn.  I have a hard enough time "allowing" DS to do it for free occasionally, let alone pay someone!   I don't use any chemicals or fertilizer.  I just mow.  Mow. Mow. Mow.  LOL  In May it's a field of lovely yellow dandelions, but they go away come June.  Today I'm mowing the pasture.  It's gotten a little overrun with Queen Anne's Lace.  (which smells awesome when you mow it!)

[Tennesseer]

Aug 6, 2016 9:00:44 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Aug 6, 2016 8:13:32 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

As a middle aged suburban cowboy what else would I do with my free time? But I don't put chemicals down. Fertilizer only.

My DH is right there with you.  He mows, and bags the clippings as he mows.  It's a 3 hour job easy not including the trip to the to get rid of the clippings.  He's no lawn jockey, but he does like his patterns.  Since we don't use chemicals (no doubt to the enormous chagrin of our neighbors), DH mostly just mows assorted weeds.  I'm okay with it.  Several neighbors have absolutely perfect lawns that require God knows what chemicals and obscene amounts of watering despite a town watering ban (no consequences).  Their kids don't even play on them!  Go for it.  Not my thing.  Yet, I suffer in great silence while their chemicals waft over to my yard to expose my family and dog and the shared town water supply gets filtered through those chemically-treated lawns.   

I won't use a professional service until a court orders me to do so, LOL.  It's not in my budget, and too many of them are hacks.  

I'd love to spread a ton of wildflower seeds on my front lawn and call it a day.  It might just happen sooner rather than later given DH's back issues.  

Have you thought about leaving the grass (and weed) clippings on the lawn? The clippings contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium just like the lawn fertilizer you buy at stores. Lawn clippings are free fertilizer.  

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Aug 6, 2016 9:15:09 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Aug 6, 2016 9:00:44 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

My DH is right there with you.  He mows, and bags the clippings as he mows.  It's a 3 hour job easy not including the trip to the to get rid of the clippings.  He's no lawn jockey, but he does like his patterns.  Since we don't use chemicals (no doubt to the enormous chagrin of our neighbors), DH mostly just mows assorted weeds.  I'm okay with it.  Several neighbors have absolutely perfect lawns that require God knows what chemicals and obscene amounts of watering despite a town watering ban (no consequences).  Their kids don't even play on them!  Go for it.  Not my thing.  Yet, I suffer in great silence while their chemicals waft over to my yard to expose my family and dog and the shared town water supply gets filtered through those chemically-treated lawns.   

I won't use a professional service until a court orders me to do so, LOL.  It's not in my budget, and too many of them are hacks.  

I'd love to spread a ton of wildflower seeds on my front lawn and call it a day.  It might just happen sooner rather than later given DH's back issues.  

Have you thought about leaving the grass (and weed) clippings on the lawn? The clippings contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium just like the lawn fertilizer you buy at stores. Lawn clippings are free fertilizer.  

Thought about it often.  Had numerous "discussions" with DH about it.  He thinks the clippings doesn't look "good" as they dry.  Now that the kids and I have taken over lawn duty while DH wends his way toward a spinal fusion, we mulch, not bag.     To be kind, we try to do it when DH isn't looking.  

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

minnesotapaintlady:  don't the horses eat a fair amount of grass/weeds?

[Deleted]

Aug 6, 2016 9:52:06 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

minnesotapaintlady :  don't the horses eat a fair amount of grass/weeds?

Horses are super picky.  They prefer the short succulent grass and will leave the long, coarse stuff and all the weeds.  They have certain areas they'll graze down to the dirt and others that they don't touch (typically these areas are their "bathroom" sections of the pasture).  So, even with just one horse on that two acre parcel I have to both supplement him with hay and mow every few weeks!  

Conversely, goats don't like the short stuff and prefer the weeds.  Ideally, I would pasture them together, but goats need very good fences.  They get right out of that pasture even if the wires are hot.

[wvugurl26]

Goats are so hard to fence. My cousin cleared a patch up from the house to fence the goats as they got older. Took them up there. Mama touched her nose to the fence once and jumped back. Went right on through the fence the second time and back down the hill. Pretty sure he would have killed those goats if his daughter wasn't around.

Several companies around here rent goats and bring the fence. I think they are keeping them in more with the dogs and less with fence.

My grandpa's horses were super picky about their hay. Spoiled little things but I miss them! I was sitting on them before I could walk.

[TheOtherMe]

Neighbor mows, but I hire the spraying and fertilizing done professionally.

[Deleted]

Yes, at this stage of our lives, we hire a great guy to mow, edge, mulch, trim trees, etc.  We handle the weed treatment and fertilization ourselves because I am picky about chemicals in soil I still work to plant and harvest.  But the heavy stuff is outsourced at this point.  With our average daily temps hovering around 100, I don't want DH out there and I don't have the time b/c of my HOA commitment.  

[yogiii]

DH does the lawn care quite professionally.

[MN-Investor]

We have a service which does the spraying.

My husband enjoys mowing the lawn. We have a new Honda mower and my husband said "I should show you how to start this so you'll know how to if something happens to me." I said "If something happens to you, I'm hiring a lawn service!"

[Anne_in_VA]

No, DH takes care of our weeds.  We had a really beautiful lawn last year, but this year we have almost no grass, mostly weeds.  I don't know what happened to the grass.  Since we need to get the back yard regraded, we're now thinking of getting the whole yard done and then putting sod down. 

[hoops902]

We don't hire anyone, that's why I got married, so there'd be someone to do all those chores I don't want to do.

[lexxy703]

I have a mowing service. They mow & weed eat that is it. It keeps my HOA happy. I really need to hire someone to weed the beds. I used to love gardening. Now I can't stand the heat.

[ilovedolphins]

I love working in the yard just don't seem to have the time since taking care of my mom the last few years.  

I think crabgrass is what has taken over my yard so I studied up on it and I think I will wait another year before I hire anyone to spray.  Maybe next year I will keep on top of the weeds and lawn even if I have to do it in the middle of the night.   And if not I guess at least it is green, weeds or grass.