On May 29, 11:24 pm, "Dave" wrote:
"skunker" wrote in message

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On May 28, 9:55 pm, "Dave" wrote:
"skunker" wrote in message

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Hey everyone I wanted to report on my backyard's progress since I last
posted my message. Almost two months later, my backyard has
DRAMATICALLY improved. Now, get this, I spent 0 dollars and check out
the before and after pictures:

Before (March 31):
http://www.ogmda.com/temp/lawn/backyard1.jpg

Today (May 28):
http://www.ogmda.com/temp/lawn/by2.jpg

I must admit that Mother Nature is proabbly responsible for the
dramatic turn around. We've ben getting about 2 inches of rain per
week for the last few weeks and it has been cooler than usual. Also, I
did the following to my yard: 1.) Got a soil test done and saw that I
only needed to add nitrate. Luckily, my neighbor had some and I was
able to save money. 2.) I hand pulled all the weeds myself--and after
two weeks of doing this, I no longer needed to do this as the grass
was starting to take over and crowd them out. 3.) I never watered. The
rain did it for me. 4.) I laid mulch on the lawn's bare spots 5.) I
built a bird house for a bird that specializes in eating the kind of
bugs I had in my grass. 6.) I cut the grass with a minimum height of 2
1/2" inches for my grass type.

That's about it. As you can see, I did not need to resod. However, my
frontyard is going a little slower and I am probably gonna have to
resod some parts of it.

Thanks for all the tips.

My opinion is your area is probably Texas. Or something inline with
central
USA. All have been getting an unusual amount of rainfall. SE USA is
definitely on its way to a drought.

All my St. Augustine was in the condition in the first photo last
summer/autumn. Most of it has returned as in your second photo. Same
fix.
Mother nature's cooler temps, overcast even when not raining preventing
dryup of the upper soil surface, and regular rainfall.
Dave- Hide quoted text -

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That's exactly it. I am also located in San Antonio.

Wimberley outlying area here. I've heard much praise about rain, but that's
only half the factor. So much daily overcast, it became depressing. But,
it kept the dampness in the upper soil when it wasn't raining/drizzling.
Add that to our lower temps. Formula for all things green to grow and
spread.

Am anticipating bugs galore attacking the garden when it heats up again.
Native stuff will dry up as it always does in the summer. Those bugs gotta
eat something. I've never seen katydids out here. They're here now.
Still, no bees.
Dave- Hide quoted text -

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Had some armyworm types, but not sure what they were. They were eating
the parsley and I let them do that for a bit. Now they are gone. I
wonder if birds may have gotten them? So far not too bad on the
insects...mostly had ladybugs and wasps, but those are "good" insects,
according to this book I have. Also fire ants on the corner of the
lot, but I will deal with them later.

Been pretty quiet, but the morning doves are getting really on my
nerves. I hate their coo coos. I do enjoy seeing the bluejays flying
around and some finches (not sure) have taken residence in the trees.

Just a few minutes ago I saw a bird break its wing and I had to push
him out into the street so he doesn't get boxed into my backyard. Poor
guy. Can't believe I got so depressed over it. He was real droopy and
I think he needed water. WIsh I could do more. Two days ago I had to
knock a squirrel out after i found him lying in a coma state in the
middle of the street (stupid drivers driving too fast in my
neighborhood, probably got hit by car). I think I made it worse,
wasn't sure what to do, but couldn't decapitate it. GOsh, I'm such a
wuss. But the more I spend caring for the landscape and watching the
animals, the more they become a part of me.

-N