"I am looking to buy a self-propelled mower to cut my zoysia lawn. I want to bag the clippings." RB> There are several mowers that will do an excellent job of bagging. Look at models from Toro, Lawnboy, Snapper, John Deere. My personal favorite is the Toro Super Recycler. "Most importantly, I need the mower to be able to walk through the lawn and cut the thick zoysia lawn." RB> You will have a much better chance of finding a mower that rolls through the lawn. Most any mower from one of the major manufacturers listed above will easily cut wiry heavy grass without bogging down if you keep up with a regular mowing schedule. "Suggestions on which mower, RB> See above. approximate cost, RB> Probably looking at $550 +- for a good Toro Super Recycler. Models from the other companies listed above will have similar features and be comparably priced. "and where to buy would be greatly apprecicated." RB> Your location is shown as USA, so it's kinda hard to pick a dealer for you. Just check manufacturers websites for dealers close to you. You will get a better grade of mower and service if you buy at a local dealer.

Wow! Big difference with the photos! I agree, this forum lacks some features. Your lawn actually looks really nice, and it looks like it took the summer pretty decent other then the couple of dead spots. Those really shouldn't be a big deal to fix. Fertilizer from the seed super store is expensive. For your situation, almost anything will do. You could have the soil tested but it doesn't look worth it. To clarify on the aeration, I would recommend renting an aerator, and running it over the yard 3-4 times before overseeding, especially focusing on the dead areas. Before you do that cut the grass super short at roughly 1"-1.5" and bag it as well (this is part of the overseeding). Let me caution you that those aerators are extremely heavy and awkward. After seeing the larger pictures, don't till the dead patches up, there's enough good grass to save. If you really don't want to do the short mowing and aeration, I think you can probably skip it, and try it without. However, I think you will have best results if you do. You're right about the small lawn! That's smaller then I thought. 10lbs. would be an ample supply to you and your neighbor. :) Honestly, after seeing the larger pictures, every picture I see looks like you have fescue. It's too thick bladed for bluegrass. It is a short cut for fescue. Having it cut taller may help the water problems next year. Your yard looks like it's in pretty good condition. You can make seeding just as complicated or as simple as you please. It doesn't look to me like it needs tons of help to catch back up. If it were me, I would cut it short, aerate (I have an aerator, which makes it easier for me), seed (fescue), fertilize, then water, of course. Should take a morning, or less. Stick with it!

Awww, c'mon morph! Already we know they're newbs. We can help right now. First of all, spring is not the time to get your lawn in shape if you live in the north. Fall is the time, so pull up your gardening panties and get ready. It's practically July so you've got all of July and probably all of August to get ready for the big project. A full renovation involves spraying to kill the grass, then watering to encourage new weeds from seed, then spraying again to kill the new weed sprouts. Then you rake up the chaff and put down the seed. Don't worry about aerating, rototilling, digging, or anything. It's pretty simple. Then you water (to be explained later if you decide on full reno). Then you mow and start backing way off on the watering frequency and going up on the amount. Or if you don't want to do a full reno and just want to see what happens, you can kill the broadleaf weeds with Weed-B-Gone Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis killer. Spray with a hose end sprayer. That stuff targets only broad leaf weeds like dandelions, thistle, clover, chickweed, oxalis, and most others. It does not kill grassy weeds that might be mixed in with your turf. Once you get the broadleaf weeds killed off, you can evaluate the remaining grass. I have a new house and new lawn, too. Remember this: even mowed weeds looks better than wild weeds. I mow every week just like it was a showplace. Here is something to have on hand. Actually you can start with this right now. Practice proper lawn care so when you do whatever you're going to do in the fall, you'll have some good habits. Here it is. Basics of Lawn Care After reading numerous books and magazines on lawn care, caring for lawns at seven houses in my life, and reading numerous forums where real people write in to discuss their successes and failures, I have decided to side with the real people and dispense with the book and magazine authors. I don't know what star their planet rotates around but it's not mine. With that in mind, here is the collected wisdom of the Internet savvy homeowners and lawn care professionals summarized in a few words. If you follow the advice here you will have conquered at least 50% of all lawn problems. Once you have these three elements mastered, then you can worry about weeds (if you have any), dog spots, and striping your lawn. But if you are not doing these three things, they will be the first three things suggested for you to correct. 1. Watering Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an inch in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. Do not spread this out and water for 10 minutes every day. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. If that does not work, then you might have to water more than once per week during the summer's hottest period. 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. You will have to learn to judge when to water your own lawn. If you live in El Paso your watering will be different than if you live in Vermont. Adjust your watering to your type of grass, temperature, humidity, wind, and soil type. It is worth noting that this technique is used successfully by professionals in Phoenix, so...just sayin.' The other factors make a difference. If you normally water 1 inch per week and you get 1/2 inch of rain, then adjust and water only 1/2 inch that week. 2. Mowing Every week mulch mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. However, bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses will become the most dense when they are mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. In fact there are special mowers that can mow these grasses down to 1/16 inch. Dense grass shades out weeds, keeps the soil cooler, and uses less water than thin grass. Tall grass can feed the deep roots you developed in #1 above. Tall grass does not grow faster than short grass nor does it look shaggy sooner. Once all your grass is at the same height, tall grass just looks plush. 3. Fertilizing Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 5 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less important than numbers 1 and 2 above. Follow the directions on the bag and do not overdo it (unless you use organics in which case you may overdo it without fear of hurting anything). At this point you do not have to worry about weed and feed products - remember at this point you are just trying to grow grass, not perfect it. Besides once you are doing these three things correctly, your weed problems should go away without herbicide. If the lawn has been ignored for some time, it would be a very good idea to get the biology back up to normal. Start by spraying the yard with any clear shampoo. Spray at a rate of 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. Then water about 1/2 to a full inch to work the shampoo down into the soil. This has multiple effects - all good. Then I would apply any organic fertilizer at a half rate. My favorites are alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow) and ordinary corn meal. These are available at most feed stores. Morph likes Milorganite and/or soybean meal. Those might be more available to you where you live. Get whatever is inexpensive to start with. Apply at 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet for the first dose. Once you do that, 3 weeks later your yard should look considerably better in color, growth, and density. That will signal that your biology is back and your soil will be much healthier. Don't worry about chemical fertilizer all summer. Wait until early fall for that. Can't wait to see the pictures.

...and where do you live? What's in the spot where you want to extend now? The more you know about the variety of grass you have the easier it will be to match everything. If you have a seeded type grass then I'll tell you now that fall is the best time to do this job. Trying to seed grass in the spring usually leads to disappointment by about the 4th of July. But if you have a sod type lawn, then this should be easy. We just need more information.