I have Bermuda, combination of Tif II (419) and Tif-Grand at the bottom of the slope under the pine. I cut every third day during the peak growing periods. I'm going to try a growth inhibitor this year to see how that affects my mowing. I backlap the reel monthly. Haven't had to get the reel ground yet. That's usually $100 to get it done, unless your friendly with the local greens keeper. I have quite a slope too as you can see from the picture. It is hard work using the powered reel mower on the slope. The Trimmer (brand) is by far the best becuase it is very heavy so it climbs easily. The previous Mclane and Tru Cut had to be pushed some up the hill. I need to slow the Trimmer down (change gears) so I'm not chasing it down the hill. The speed is variable, just not enough. You can tell the difference because the turf begins to grow horizontally and gets incredibly dense. I have a power rake that I use monthly during the growing season, to thin the canopy a bit. I also use straight N2 every 30 days and alfalfa annually. My neighbors think I'm nuts. One guy stopped his car and asked me what kind of lawn mower I was using, Ha! Keeping Bermuda at this level is quite a hobby!

I'd cut my losses and get rid of the 17" McLane. Even in good condition it's not a very good mower. Yours is almost 30 years old, which means it has the old "points & condenser" ignition if it is original Briggs & Stratton. Besides $375 to service is outrageous. Suggest you look for a 20" McLane or go a little further upmarket for a 20" Trimmer or 21" Tru-Cut. All are widely available in the LA Basin thru the Recylcer or Craigslist. The Mclane 20" is a much better design than the 17" and should provide years or service if properly maintained. It was basically a less expensive redesign of the original Trimmer Mower, using belt drive, stampings instead of castings, and self-threading fasteners. The Trimmer and Tru-Cut come in both Homeowners and Professional models. The home versions will use bushings instead of ball bearings, and cut a few corners. The home models are a step up from McLane, and the pro models are just that. Any power reel mower is going to need full sharpening every four to five years, and should be back-lapped annually or every other year to get best cutting performance. A sharpening with a relief grind should be about $100 to $125. A spin grind should be cheaper, but if the mechanic doesn't have relief equipment (Foley, Near, or Fate-Root-Heath) he'll try to tell you that spin grind is just as good. Backlapping will cost about $50, but this is something you can do yourself, if you are patient. You should be able to find an older, but serviceable 20" McLane for $100 and up. Later model will set you back $300 to $500. Trimmers and Tru-Cuts start at about $200 and you can go north of $600 for a good one. Be careful looking at high mileage Trimmers and Tru-Cuts. Many have been used commercially, and rode hard and put away wet. Good luck.

You have to choose either the seed or the weed control since corn gluten is a preemergent and will keep the grass seed from growing as well as the weed seeds. Corn gluten won't get rid of weeds that are already there. In general, fall is a good time to reseed lawns in this part of the country, since the soil is still warm and the grass has more time to really get good roots going before encountering hot, dry summer days. However, much depends on how soon you want the improvements and how much work you want to do. How steep is the slope? Will the amendments and seed stay on the slope without some type of light mulch through the spring rains and watering? Is there grass there now, so that if you hand weed, fertilize, lime, water and spread corn gluten the grass that is there will have a chance to try growing? You will probably need to spread the corn gluten several times over the summer, since its effect won't last the whole season. If there isn't much grass, I'd do the grass seed instead of the corn gluten and plan on hand weeding until the grass is thick enough to discourage the weeds. If there's almost no grass, I know you can get mats that are impregnated with grass seed that you spread onto the slope and peg down. Alternatively, if the slope is too steep to support a good lawn and be easy to mow, you can plant groundcover plants and mulch them and keep them weeded until they get large enough to shade out most weeds.

Hey Greg, I have been meaning to send you an email..but things here are so crazy..havent been posting much, but hope to get some pics of the yard for you all to see... Hopefully i'll get some time to do this soon.. As far as this June or July ...getting free time is going to be limited...My daughter is going to have Open Heart Surgery in two weeks..so im quite nervous and busy getting thing ready for the event... I wasnt going to post..but she has already posted it all over face book.... I guess things are not the way we used to handle these delicate matters...She is only 25 yrs oldd and needs to have her Aortic Valve replaced. Needless to say all of my time will be devoted to her in the next few weeks... I hope everyone is enjoying there summer... As far as the neighbor...he is so worried about trying to get his grass started...he mows it when its wet..then it burns up..then the whole process starts over again..lol So ill just continue to spray and keep the ivy back on his side..he will never do anything about it.. Take care.. Laura in VB