Mr lawndude, I've seen some posts here from you recently. I think if you had posted a few responses first, people would have been more generous toward you. Since you registered just to post praise for the new forum, it looked a lot like a troll. I think that was probably exacerbated by killerv's starting two threads 20 minutes apart to promote the new site. There are pluses and minuses to being able to edit posts. The obvious advantage is the ability to correct embarrassing misspellings, typos, etc. The disadvantage is that if I say something ludicrous and somebody objects to it, if I edit my post, his objection now looks ludicrous. As much as I hate to look ludicrous, if I posted something ludicrous, I should have to live with it. As I said before, I think the freeforums site will appeal to some, but I think it will appeal mostly to the disgruntled Sotts forum (former?) members. I'm with Mallory. I prefer seeing one forum for lawn questions rather than Care of Northern Lawns, New Northern Lawns, Fertilizing, weeds, and on and on. I know I've learned a lot from some of the southern lawn people here. I'm not saying that the freeforums site is awful. I'm just saying I prefer GW.

Sounds like you are watching too many commercials to help you with your gardening. Here are the basics of lawn care: Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an hour in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds. Mulch mow at the highest setting on your mower (special exception for KBG - mow at 3 inches). Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. Bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses are the most dense when mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. Dense grass shades out weeds and uses less water when tall. Dense grass feeds the deep roots you're developing in 1 above. Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 4 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less important than numbers 1 and 2 above. When to aerate? Never needed if you follow 1,2 and 3 above. When to overseed? Not needed with KGB. Overseeding is a fescue problem. 20-0-0 is only appropriate if you have bermuda. Any other grass would require a soil test to determine a specific mix of fertilizer. Chances are whatever is on the shelf currently is okay to use. But don't apply after Memorial Day. If you do you are getting into the summer heat. Heat and chemical fertilizer are not good for the grass. The sprayer approach to fertilizing is not a good way to go. Grass needs fertilizer at a rate of pounds per 1,000 square feet. The sprayer can deliver micro-ounces per 1,000 square feet. You'll need a drop spreader or a broadcast spreader and large bags of fertilizer. Trimec is one of any number of 2,4-d type herbicides. Don't mix it with anything else, especially fertilizer. Herbicides work best when they are spot-sprayed on each weed. If you are doing the 1-2-3 above, you likely will never need herbicide. If you apply it, though, you should see the weed die in less than a week. If you don't see that, then it could be the herbicide was not designed for that particular weed. Trimec types of herbicides are used on weeds like dandelions and clover; not crabgrass and other grassy weeds. Relax. It is not hard to do this.

not sure if you read the other boards here.... SO, I'll copy and paiste my question here.... If, your still in.... Ok, here is a follow-up. I purchased the Gator blade mentioned above in an earlier post, for my SR4 20056. Clearance is fine for the kickers. I had to modify the holes just a tiny bit because they were set just a tad too narrow. NOW, on to the review! I'm not very happy so far! My regular toro recycler blade MULCHED better. It seems the GATOR is either a bit to efficient or the Kickers are causing a counter affect! Let me explain a bit more and maybe somebody can help me... It seems the GATOR kicks the blades of grass up too fast and ends up just blowing it out underneath. It is leaving way to large of a blade and a HUGE trail as I mow. One thing I noticed is that this happend the most in the thicker areas of my lawn. I have my heighth set at E (3-1/4). IS this too high or too low? Does the GARTOR just not work well with a SUPER-recycler (with the side kickers)? So, am I going back to the regular TORO (OEM) blade? Anyone have a take on this? Thanks!

trevor, My method of weeding is rather strenous but I'm afraid there's no other way around it. Weed killers can kill off a portion of the dandelions but any remaining bits will grow back. So instead I took my handy garden fork, sunk it into the ground and loosened things up so I can remove the entire plant by hand. I did this in small jobs so eventually all the dandelions were removed from my lawn. Lots of work but it did the job. Alternately of course, you can use weedkillers. I'm just wary of them given that they do linger on and there are those things about cancers and such. And weedkillers can kill off grass too so you won't be able to grow grass there for some time. As for the rest of your lawn care -- do a bit of detaching using your rake, It's also great to aerate it. There are services that remove plugs of earth. Usually I would then top dress the yard with fresh new topsoil, with manure, some brick sand. (techniques I've learned from golf course maintenance) Then I sprinkle the seeds. After 2 more weeks, I would sprinkle another set of seeds. I continue doing this until the end of spring. by summer, expect your grass to go into a form of hibernation.. This is why it's important to use a seed mix rather than have one kind of seed. Some grass thrive in spring and then there the summer ones. hope these all helps.