Anyone have experience with eco-lawns or meadow mixes?

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@OM617YOTA you sound like my dad. I was living in an apartment when I worked for the lawn company and we were aloud to treat our own lawn for free. I asked my boss if I could treat my dads lawn since I didn’t have one. He said yes so I started his treatments, mean while I had grass growing in pots on my apartment balcony I was cutting with scissors haha. Anyway after 2 treatments at my pops place, I stopped by on a Saturday morning. I had sprayed the yard on Thursday. My pops didn’t know I was doing it… all the dandelions were bent over and brown Saturday morning. I said pops what’s up with the yard? The weeds are dying, it looks more green and thick. He said idk but I’m mowing it twice a week now and I’ve never done that in the previous 25 years here. I was laughing hard, he said what’s so funny? I said I’ve been treating it…

He told me to stop immediately, if he could pour concrete over the whole lawn and paint it green he would have.

He hated outside work, probably why I’m the opposite.I couldn’t be happier with my nice lawn, the zero turn to mow it, the spreader, etc… On the sports note, it’s masters week, that grass is perfect down yonder in Georgia and looks amazing on the 85” lol. You won’t/don’t get it and that’s ok, much like I don’t get your view or my pops. He’d lose his mind if he knew what I’ve spent on my lawn. 7 20 tons loads of topsoil to start, a couple hundred pounds of tall fescue seed every year, heck I probably don’t want to total what I’ve spent plus all the time but I love it and don’t care.
He couldn't have minded too much if he was mowing 2x/week.
Why did he tell you to stop the treatments? Because of the expense, or something else?

I don't want to scare you, but you need to do some research on groundskeepers and cancer. :(
 
IMG_3971.jpegThis how the copper ended up in my garage last year or 2 years ago. Sucker was under that open step and tried to bite me coming in one afternoon. Fatal mistake for him, Didn’t have a gun on me at the time. Even if I did this wasn’t a good spot to shoot. I grabbed my daughter’s lacrosse stick, pinned him down and promptly removed his head with my edc knife.
 
View attachment 1169434This how the copper ended up in my garage last year or 2 years ago. Sucker was under that open step and tried to bite me coming in one afternoon. Fatal mistake for him, Didn’t have a gun on me at the time. Even if I did this wasn’t a good spot to shoot. I grabbed my daughter’s lacrosse stick, pinned him down and promptly removed his head with my edc knife.
I'm not a fan of snakes either, but as long as it's not poisonous, and not in my space, I try to live and let live.
@lonewolf helped me see the error of my ways. ;)
 
He couldn't have minded too much if he was mowing 2x/week.
Why did he tell you to stop the treatments? Because of the expense, or something else?

I don't want to scare you, but you need to do some research on groundskeepers and cancer. :(
He minded, he hated it because of how thick and how quickly it was growing.

Nothing you post scares me, I don’t take anything you post seriously. You remind me of my tree huggin neighbor that lost every battle she’s started with me lol. That tree loving gypsy thought she had the right to tell me what I could remove. After the last rukus she started with the county, That I won easily, I’d spend anything I needed to just to prove her old nosy self wrong again. When I had my property surveyed, she “lost” 50’ of what she thought was her property. She was mad about a few trees… every single one of them is gone now. First thing to go was my most hated weed/bush/tree. That was a crape myrtle that she planted 30’ inside my property line. I enjoyed the heck out of removing that!
 
@OM617YOTA you sound like my dad. I was living in an apartment when I worked for the lawn company and we were aloud to treat our own lawn for free. I asked my boss if I could treat my dads lawn since I didn’t have one. He said yes so I started his treatments, mean while I had grass growing in pots on my apartment balcony I was cutting with scissors haha. Anyway after 2 treatments at my pops place, I stopped by on a Saturday morning. I had sprayed the yard on Thursday. My pops didn’t know I was doing it… all the dandelions were bent over and brown Saturday morning. I said pops what’s up with the yard? The weeds are dying, it looks more green and thick. He said idk but I’m mowing it twice a week now and I’ve never done that in the previous 25 years here. I was laughing hard, he said what’s so funny? I said I’ve been treating it…

He told me to stop immediately, if he could pour concrete over the whole lawn and paint it green he would have.

He hated outside work, probably why I’m the opposite.I couldn’t be happier with my nice lawn, the zero turn to mow it, the spreader, etc… On the sports note, it’s masters week, that grass is perfect down yonder in Georgia and looks amazing on the 85” lol. You won’t/don’t get it and that’s ok, much like I don’t get your view or my pops. He’d lose his mind if he knew what I’ve spent on my lawn. 7 20 tons loads of topsoil to start, a couple hundred pounds of tall fescue seed every year, heck I probably don’t want to total what I’ve spent plus all the time but I love it and don’t care.

You do what makes you happy, and enjoy life as you see fit.

Definitely agree with your pops on this one. If someone else caused me to have to do more work on my lawn, much stronger words would be spoken than "stop immediately."
 
Just saw this. For the shadier areas, I'd recommend that stuff (can't think of the name) that looks like large clover. It grows in shady areas in the lower elevations of the woods. I transplanted some at my former rainy side house and it took off. I think it is sorrel? It is also a native plant. The soil there was pumice. I was happy with the success and it didn't take many plants. I dug them up from the woods on the property and transplanted them to the north side of the house.

I'm experimenting on the dry side of the state with white clover. I just seeded it over the grass. I thought it was a failure, but it was just slow to get going and this year is spreading already. I have it growing on a south slope. It looked like it was dead when we had the 100 degree temps last summer but it perked up and is now quite healthy. I have to water it and I do mow it because the grass has not been choked out and needs mowing.

Rock/gravel yards eventually require either herbicides or hand weeding. Weeds eventually pop through whatever weedblock is used. Plus there is no lawn to keep the area cooler on hot days--the rocks retain heat. Lots of folks are doing the rock thing but I really think it's ugly unless you add some boulders to vary the rock layer.

Another way, I call it zeroscaping is to quit watering and fill the yard up with cars and trucks. That's pretty popular around here. Not pretty, but popular.

Well, I think the bleeding has stopped--I've been working on the roses in my yard and adjusting a hose in them without wearing gloves, so I can go back out and weed thornless vegetation.
 
@OM617YOTA
Thought you might like to see what's blooming in my yard this morning. :)
Not sure what some are, still investigating.

Cedar volunteer, I've spotted half a dozen so far.
cedar sprout.jpg

Lots of these little ferns popping up in the shade, wild strawberries, too.
DSC00270.JPG

Strawberries I planted last year
DSC00272.JPG

Not sure what these are, two different plants with yellow flowers. I thought maybe wild mustard, or turnip?
DSC00262.JPG

DSC00269.JPG

And these little pink and white daisy-like flowers all over.
Maybe erigeron/fleabane?
DSC00264.JPG
 
@OM617YOTA
How's your yard-meadow coming along?

I kept the "grass" mowed short around the two houses, but let everything else grow - until today. I mowed nearly everything. I've had lots of "wildflowers" blooming and the clover, violets, wild strawberries and wild ajuga got nice and thick. Nearly everything has gone to seed and the big boys, I'm guessing ironweed, was coming up. So I decided to mow.
Skeeters are wild and thick - but they are every year, no mater what I do.
This is the front yard after mowing...
DSC00059.JPG
 
Good timing, I just sat down after coming in from mowing.

The wildflowers mostly bloomed and then disappeared. The daisies are coming in and staying like I've never seen, not getting their heads chopped off every week. Clover is really taking off, spreading like never before. I've been mowing around the bigger clumps for a month+ now. Those clumps of clover seem to get ~18" tall and then just stay there, choking out the rest of the grass and staying that height. I hope my entire yard turns into that. Even the dog and cats like it better.

100% win. Absolutely worth mowing taller.
 
Found one down side.

Dang near impossible to find the anchors for my solar power trailer in the longer grass and clover. Not having a metal detector, I finally resorted to violence and broke out the string trimmer. Success.
Idk what those are, but can you use these to mark them?
flags.jpg

I have them all over the yard marking volunteer trees. I've only mowed over a couple of them in the tall grass. I think. :laughing:
 
plant mint, strawberries or even ferns. Down here the state plants wild flowers next to the highways in the crabgrass and they require regular mowing before seeding and after blooms fade. I also like the rock garden idea, you can put down tarps, fabric etc under it to prevent growth for a few years without herbicide use.
 
Or, if you need something taller you can use bamboo stakes with a ribbon tied at the top. I have those in the yard too marking the taller volunteers.

I like that. More "natural" and less industrial I guess, not that the solar power trailer is pretty. Have to make sure the stakes are tall enough to not be a danger to the dog.
 

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