Lava Rock

So we got our soil test results back from our awesome back yard. Results look good to me. Plenty of organic matter which makes sense since last Fall's total rework included loam/compost then hydroseed. Yet, after all that and good soil results, it still looks like shit. The rest of the lawn areas tested (not pictured) were decent, but lower in some nutrients. I'm attributing the dead grass in those areas to chinchbug and/or grub damage.

Had a landscaper come by last night to discuss options (more cha-ching) for the lawn. She proposed removing the dirt/lawn in front of the oak and exposing the granite below, then creating small islands of mulched bed areas with various shrubs (creeping juniper) and some perennials. She advised next Spring, we rototill the rest of the lawn nearest the driveway and reseed. The oak tree is really the culprit in a lot of this as it just sucks all avail moisture from the grass. We thought of cutting it down a couple years ago, but opted not to.

Well I'd say last year's hydroseeding was nearly a complete failure. Seems we're right back to where we started, less money. I've sent some soils samples out for testing including other areas of the property which also didn't grow well. I think the rock garden idea suggested for this pic is probably the best option and we'll tackle that in Spring.

Up in Rangeley for the weekend. Not much color yet.

Wife and I were talking about the issue with trying to get the grass to grow well in front of the oak tree mostly due to the oak itself and steep slope. One alternative option would be to do a retaining wall with backfill, mulch, then plant shrubs, blueberry bushes, etc. We had a landscaper come out last summer to discuss. Other than the high cost ($4k+) the challenge in doing it is setting the first layer of rocks or masonry blocks in the ground. The granite is only ~4" below the grass surface so not sure this is enough to create a strong foundation. The other issue is the amount of backfill required to essentially create a level ground from about the oak tree to the driveway. I've not measured the height difference, but it's got to be at least 4'. My least expensive option is to buy more metal edging and create a barrier from the oak tree down around and back up. Then kill the grass, dig out and replace with topsoil, mulch then the bushes. However, the slope will remain and my concern will be runoff and possibly poor shrub growth due to little water retention. Any other thoughts on this? Thanks.

Found it. It's prostrate spurge

What's this flat weed that grows close to ground?

Glad I bailed out on my ride because of the supposed rain. [emoji849]

I've got a big bike ride tomorrow morning starting at 6am from Portland and doing a loop down to Kennebunkport and back. Would be on the bike till ~2pm. I can't seem to get a decent frcst on when the rain is going to start/end. NWS calling for showers, ending by late morning, but local news saying 1"+ RN in the area we're riding. Big difference between showers here and there and steady rn. I know there will be some winds (~20kts). If it's gonna be steady rn most of the morning, I'm not going to ride. Gotta make a decision by tonight.

It's not hard to believe actually. The areas prone to damage are where the insects are most active are those that are sun exposed and have the highest soil temps. The randomness of how the brown/dead spots start in July, then proceeds like a tidal wave across the lawn is pretty good evidence. Plus the fact watering has no effect, as evidenced by recent rains. I can see the bugs in the thatch, so I'm confident that's what it is. I have read that diatomaceous earth has some effect on killing the bugs, so I'll look into that as well. If anyone has other organic options, let me know.

why so the bugs can some back again? I've dealt with this multiple summers now, thinking all along it was drought and/or poor soil. Not to mention we've spent a fortune on new lawns, reseeding efforts. I'm not a big fan of chems, but in this case, I need to stop the infestation asap.

I'm going to spread some Sevin granules on the lawn. I have little doubt after seeing some bugs in the grass that all this damage is due to chinch bugs. Can't believe i didn't think if this sooner.

To add to this, I've seen some insects in the soil. Starting to think they might be chinch bugs. Need to look more carefully and confirm identification.

We're cursed on Radon Hill. There are some green shoots coming through in some areas, so it seems like little water is the reason, but IDK, this stuff just pulls right out. There are also some bugs in the soil too, but they're not grubs. Meanwhile, on the other side of the house (below) where the crabgrass has taken over, it's just a mess. Heck, you can still see the outline of the erosion mat they laid down almost one year ago.

mostly time constraint. the area I want to seed is ~600sqft. I'll need ~24 bags of compost. I know I can get it delivered in bulk is cheaper, but I don't want to shovel it. Just dump the bag and spread it out, then seed. I just have this feeling I'm wasting my time though. I've tried seeding in Fall and Spring and rarely have any luck. I swear it's got something to do with the granite beneath.

yeah, they seeded last Oct. I thought about doing it in the next 2 wks or so. Maybe we'll get an indian summer.

Not good. I've got a 125mi bike ride, starting 7am at SMCC on Saturday. It's the Lighthouse Ride, which goes all along the coast. I figure if it's not wet, it'll be breezy/gusty which adds to the pain.

lol, that's not crabgrass, just "regular" grass. We essentially have three different areas of grass around the property that over the years either represent the "original" lawn when we built the house, new lawn/hydroseed (backyard) which is 2yrs old and last year's topsoil/hydroseed (front yard). I'm going to do a soil analysis on all three and see how the organic matter compares, among other things. I kind of know what to expect on the original lawn as we've had it tested before, but I want to see how the two more recent lawn projects compare. My guess is they will all look similar and have low levels of matter and nitrate. As an experiment, I am going to overseed a small area with compost in the next couple weeks and see how that does. Didn't I say I wasn't going to spend more time and money on this stupid lawn????

As I'm pulling some of our dead and dormant grass away with my hand I see a lot of little pieces of what look like sawdust

Brutal. Where do you even start to clean up.

But should u fertilize dead and/or dormant grass? I dropped one round in April and one in June. I have two more bags, bit stopped cause the lawn looked terrible and figured it would do nothing or stress it more FYI, here's the last soil report

Just remembered we did this a few years ago and it did nothing. Although don't recall if the landscaper aerated first. He dropped some compost and sees and that was it

Was reading our last soil report from 2016 and our pH of soil is 5.7, which is slightly low. It's recommended to apply 30lbs lime per 1000sqrt. But, the real problem is low organic matter. From the report: "Your soil pH is only slightly low. The real problem is very low organic mater content, which greatly limits nutrient and water holding capacity. This is a common problem with purchased soil – perhaps also with the new soil you are bringing in. Almost any sandy soil needs some organic matter mixed in before seeding. Tilling in 1 – 2 inches compost and/or peat moss are common materials to use, either in your existing soil or soil brought in." Sounds like a huge project to till-in a bunch of compost or peat moss. I was going to buy a bunch of lime but that doesn't seem to be the problem.

Topsoil seems decent. Maybe 3-4". I checked for grubs and see none. It's just odd. Other houses around here on the hills have decent green lawn and theirs are exposed as much as ours. Maybe all the granite underneath has some effect, IDK. It's just ridiculous and an eye sore

I'll be doing what your doing soon...