Lawn Care Planner Web App

7 years ago

Hello everyone!

I have been working on a web application to provide folks with a year long planner for various lawn care activities. I decided to develop this tool for a few reasons. First, a few years ago when I bought my first house, I spent a lot of time researching how to care for my lawn. I found tons of resources across the internet. But the information was so spread out over the web, and mostly non-specific to my location. The second reason is that on forums like this there are tons of posts where people are asking when they should apply pre-emergent herbicides, when to fertilize, etc.

I do NOT claim to be a lawn care expert by any means (although I am very proud of my lawn!!). What I did here was pull together information spread across the interwebs, and create a tool that makes that information location specific. I tried to include my sources for information where ever possible.

Here is the description of the web app from the homepage:

This web application is designed to create a personalized schedule for your annual lawn care. Currently this application only applies to COOL SEASON GRASS TYPES. It utilizes Normal Daily Temperature data for your area, and estimates dates when specific lawn care activities should be completed.

Your personal planner includes a recommended schedule for fertilizer, grass seed, mowing, weed control, and insect control.

The site is still very new, and I would appreciate any and all feedback on the appearance, usability, recommendations, etc. One point that I know some will bring up is the fertilization schedule. This site is based on 1 spring application, 1 summer application, and 2 fall applications. That was the most commonly recommended schedule I found in my research, which is why I went with it. Really I am open to any suggestions for changes, so please feel free to comment here, or through the site's feedback section. I am currently working on incorporating Warm Season grasses as well, so stay tuned for that!

The site can be found here: http://www.lawncareplanner.com/

Featured Answer

dchall_san_antonio

7 years ago

I think this is a great idea. I put in the zip code for the part of Ohio I used to live in and let it work. I have a couple of problems with the results. Here is the Spring results for Beavercreek, OH, zip 45430.

Spring

All Season

Mow at height of 3" for first mow of spring as soon as the grass begins to grow
Mow at height of 3.75"

April

April 18 - First day to seed
April 11 - Summer annual weed pre-emergent herbicide application deadline.

May

May 10 - Last day to seed
May 4 - Fertilize with 3.75 lbs of Nitrogen

First: If you are going to suggest spring seeding, I would put in some more information about the hazards of that practice. Spring is a horrible time to seed new grass, and mid to late spring is worse and worse. Bluegrass is the very worst for that time of year because it takes almost a month of continual watering to germinate the grass seed. The reason spring is bad is that crabgrass and other summer annual weed seed is germinating at exactly that same time. By watering for a month you can guarantee every weed seed in the lawn will have beaten the bluegrass seed to the surface. If you could seed in early spring you might be able to miss some of the weeds, but you're still going to have a yard full of weeds in July. Secondly typical turf grasses seeded in the spring do not have time to develop roots sturdy enough to make it through a hot summer. Again, weeds in July.

Second: April 11 might be too late for preemergent. Generally the guidance we have been giving here is based on Nature. The time to do preemergent is when the forsythia are blooming in your neighborhood. That may or may not be April 11 for Beavercreek. If the Beavercreek temperature averages correspond to the forsythia bloom, then this is perfect guidance, but it might be altered every year by an early or late forsythia bloom.

Third: ...and please don't get discouraged by my comments - I'm trying to be helpful. In keeping with the natural approach, May 4 is likely to be too early to fertilize. The idea for the spring fert drop is to apply after the initial spring flush of new/fast grass growth. Applying early will force the plants to use too many nutrients they have stored over the winter. It will be worn out before the summer. Too many people jump the gun with spring fertilizer and cause problems with late spring and summer growth and health. Fertilizing late is better than fertilizing early. Change that, fertilizing late is much better than fertilizing early. We typically talk about fertilizing on Memorial Day for two reasons: one is that it is easy to remember, and the second is that it is guaranteed to be after the grass has stopped rocketing out of the ground.

On to summer...

Summer

All Season

Mow at height of 4"

June

June 26 - July 10 - Fertilize with 3.75 lbs of Nitrogen
June 22 - Grub worm preventer application deadline.

First: Grass undergoing summer heat stress can sometimes be overstressed by a dose of chemical fertilizer. For that reason, if you are going to recommend summer fertilizer, I would emphasize using an organic fertilizer like Milorganite, alfalfa pellets, or soybean meal.

Second: Recommending insecticide on a lawn with no grubs is irresponsible. What I would recommend for that date is to dig up a square foot of the lawn searching for grubs. If fewer than a dozen are found in that square foot, the homeowner is good to go. If he/she finds uncountable masses of grubs, then it's time to apply the insecticide. Grubs, by the way, can be anticipated if you had swarms of beetles around your porch lights in late May or early June. This is true north or south although the beetle and grub species are different.

Fall

All Season

Mow at height of 3.5"
Mow at height of 3" for last mow of fall, just before or just after the first frost

September

September 22 - First day to seed
September 1 - September 23 - Fertilize with 3.75 lbs of Nitrogen

October

October 7 - Last day to seed

November

November 13 - Fertilize with 3.75 lbs of Nitrogen

First: As I recall the summer temps begin to cool off in late August. Is that what your temp monitors suggest for that zip? Anyway the time to seed in spring is as early as practical when the summer heat breaks. Reason? Because that gives you time to redo it if necessary after you see the results.

Second: Using the natural approach to fertilizing, the time to winterize is after the last blade of grass stops growing but before the grass turns brown. The idea is to get fertilizer into the roots such that new growth is not stimulated by the fertilizer. The final fertilizer should be fast release, high N.

Lastly I notice you said nothing about watering. Watering is the single most important part of lawn care. As long as you have temperature charts built into this, the watering part should be a cinch. Here's what I have written about watering.

Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.

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Comments (9)

Ted (Zone 4) IA
7 years ago
Cool idea. I've a few agricultural extension office calendars that have been published for turfgrass that I reference. Everything is predicated on location of course.

I wouldn't fertilize in summer unless I irrigate, which I don't. Some folks have different levels of lawn obsession, er, care and time they want to spend on a lawn so the app should reflect that.

Moderate to heavy fertilizer and nutrient applications in the fall are where lawn enthusiasts make their money, and the shoot growth is attenuated so we don't have to mow twice a week. It's a win/win, and sets up for success the next season. One thing that I keep an eye on is average soil temperature. Water soluble N can be applied very late in the season so long as the ground isn't frozen. Guess I don't need an app for that, but it should be part of the program.

High temperatures and drouth on the other hand, are bad times to apply certain herbicides, and weeds are especially resistant to this. You could have an "Alert" type of notice when temps and moisture levels are such that 2,4,D might burn the lawn for example. This is what they mean when they say "product should be applied when weeds are actively growing."; the grass is too.
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Lee Mychajluk
7 years ago
I think it's a great idea, too, but obviously still has some limitations.

I didn't take "First Day to Seed", "Grub Worm Preventer Deadline" to be suggestions, though - just brackets for date ranges to apply a certain product if you want based on Avg climate data for your area. There's no way for the tool to know if you currently have grubs, or weeds, your soil's pH, or what deficiencies you have in what nutrients. But, if you can incorporate those variables into the data input, then you can specify when to apply treatments. You'd have to build in an user login / account feature, with multiple 'Lawn Profiles' that would contain all the variables for each Lawn or Lawn Area that the user would want to manage (soil type, soil test results incl. pH, N/P/K values, current makeup / problems like Crabgrass, Grubs, etc...).

One thing I noticed with my report was that I had a 'Pre-emergent Herbicide' Deadline in May, but no recommendation as to when to start applying.

Also, check the sort order. All recommendations should appear chronologically from top to bottom, but "May 21" comes before "May 10", "June 13" before "June 6", etc...
User
7 years ago
There's no way for the tool to know if you currently have grubs, or weeds, your soil's pH, or what deficiencies you have in what nutrients. But, if you can incorporate those variables into the data input, then you can specify when to apply treatments. You'd have to build in an user login / account feature, with multiple 'Lawn Profiles' that would contain all the variables for each Lawn or Lawn Area that the user would want to manage (soil type, soil test results incl. pH, N/P/K values, current makeup / problems like Crabgrass, Grubs, etc...).

Stay tuned :-)
User
Original Author
7 years ago
Here is my response to dchall_san_antonio :

I really appreciate you taking the time to look through the site, and provide such detailed feedback. This is exactly the kind of response I was hoping to get. Here are some responses to your comments.

When you open up your lawn plan there is a menu on the right that goes into more detail about each lawn care activity. I think that clicking through this would address some of your comments. I reference this menu in the top paragraph of the planner page, but let me know if you think that I need to be more clear about that.

Spring:

First: If you are going to suggest spring seeding, I would put in some more information about the hazards of that practice. Spring is a horrible time to seed new grass, and mid to late spring is worse and worse.
- Under the Seeding tab, it includes the information that you are referencing here. Let me know if you think it is lacking.
Second: April 11 might be too late for preemergent. Generally the guidance we have been giving here is based on Nature.
- So one thing I need to mention is that any dates listed on the site are based on Normal weather data provided by NOAA, and is for planning purposes only. In a future version I’d like to also incorporate forecasted weather data to give something like a two week look ahead.
Third: ...and please don't get discouraged by my comments - I'm trying to be helpful.
- Not discouraged at all! I really do appreciate the time you put into this.
May 4 is likely to be too early to fertilize. The idea for the spring fert drop is to apply after the initial spring flush of new/fast grass growth.
- Based on this comment I am going to reevaluate the spring fert algorithm. Currently it selects the first date that the Normal average temperature is above 60 degrees. I selected this temperature because the dates it outputs are close to most extension office local recommendations. I will see what I can do for this.
Summer:

First: Grass undergoing summer heat stress can sometimes be overstressed by a dose of chemical fertilizer.
- Fert detail page mentions that the mid summer application should only be done if lawn is properly irrigated.
Recommending insecticide on a lawn with no grubs is irresponsible.
- Totally correct. I am going to modify the paragraph on the Insect Control detail page to say that you should only apply if you have a grub problem.
Fall:

As I recall the summer temps begin to cool off in late August. Is that what your temp monitors suggest for that zip?
- The seeding algorithm looks at daytime and nighttime temperatures and germination time recommendations for the specific grass type and looks for windows of time that meet those requirements. So if you select KBG, it will look for a 30 day window where nighttime temps are above 40, and daytime temps are below 80.
The final fertilizer should be fast release, high N.
- I understand what you are saying here, however so far I have stayed silent on all organic/synthetic and fast release/slow release recommendations. I may decide to change that in the future, but not at this time.
Lastly I notice you said nothing about watering.
- This will be added in a future version!
User
Original Author
7 years ago
Here is my response to Ted (Zone 4) IA :

Thanks for your time and feedback! Here are some responses to your comments on the site.

I
wouldn't fertilize in summer unless I irrigate, which I don't.
- Agreed!
  Check out the note on the top of the fertilizer detail page.
Water
soluble N can be applied very late in the season so long as the
ground isn't frozen.
- The
  site looks at the Normal temp data provided by NOAA, and the 2nd
  fall application looks the date two weeks before air temperatures
  get down to 32 degrees. Obviously that date varies year to year, but
  this should give you an idea of when that application should be
  made.
High
temperatures and drouth on the other hand, are bad times to apply
certain herbicides
- Currently
  I have no recommendations for post-emergent herbicides, but I do
  plan to add that in the future.
User
Original Author
7 years ago
Here are my responses to Lee Mychajluk :

Thank you for taking the time to offer suggestions and review my web app!

There's
no way for the tool to know if you currently have grubs, or weeds,
your soil's pH, or what deficiencies you have in what nutrients. But,
if you can incorporate those variables into the data input, then you
can specify when to apply treatments. You'd have to build in an user
login / account feature, with multiple 'Lawn Profiles' that would
contain all the variables for each Lawn or Lawn Area that the user
would want to manage (soil type, soil test results incl. pH, N/P/K
values, current makeup / problems like Crabgrass, Grubs, etc...).
- All
  of this is in the works! I really wanted to start very basic, and
  get a good working application before I started to add more
  features. But definitely look for user accounts, and macro/micro
  nutrient recommendations in the future.
One
thing I noticed with my report was that I had a 'Pre-emergent
Herbicide' Deadline in May, but no recommendation as to when to start
applying.
- This
  was intentional, but I think you making the point that I need to
  explain this a bit better. There really is only a deadline for
  pre-emergent herbicide. Different types have different durations of
  protection. Really you want to apply as close to the deadline as
  possible without going past. If you go past the deadline, some
  crabgrass may germinate before the herbicide is applied. Does that
  make sense?
Also,
check the sort order.
- You
  are right. It looks like I have a small bug in the sorting. I will
  check this out and fix it. Thanks!
Lee Mychajluk
7 years ago
So, by saying I have a deadline in May to apply pre-emergent, herbicide, is that saying that there would be little chance of crabgrass of germinating prior to that date? Will the 'good' grass (fescue, rye, kbg) have already germinated by this time, or would I be preventing the good grass from germinating as well by applying pre-emergent at that time? (Sorry, this might be a bit off topic.)
User
Original Author
7 years ago
You are correct that the deadline means that there is little chance that crabgrass germinates prior to the deadline. You want to have your herbicide barrier in place before then. Whether or not your 'good' grass has germinated by then depends on when you seeded and the type of grass. if you go to the seeding detail page it will tell you what the germination period is for your type of grass. For MOST preemergent herbicides you do not want to apply them until after your grass has germinated. There are some herbicides that are OK to apply during good grass germination (Tenacity is one).

All of this considered, read through the top of the seeding page, as it lists some reasons why you may want to wait for fall to seed. That being said, I always seed my back yard in the spring because my dog tends to tear it up. I either use Tenacity, or just deal with weeds post-emergently.

Lawn Care Planner Web App

dchall_san_antonio

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