The Lawn Tracker - Page Two

What a Tim Allen moment! Future father-in-law pulls in, looks at my enormous pile of supplies and says, "Wow!" Oh yeah! See the picture on the left. This portion of the tracker is the continuation of the last. The first post started off at the Fall. I have made some adjustments based on what I saw over the year. Most notable was changing the type of seed to straight Kentucky 31. I used a Carolina blend the last time. I got some weird flowering weeds in the Carolina blend.

I started September 1. The summer temps backed off early. The rains were good timing too. This is earlier in the season than the last time. I used four bags of Kentucky 31, six bags of lime and three bags of 10-10-10. I used no lime this time last year. This is the second time I've added lime. On a hunch, my soil/clay isn't suited for fescue.

I cut the grass low one week before. This allowed the grass cuttings time to mulch in. My spreader was set at half way for the lime and the fertilizer. My spreader number is 15. I wanted to go heavy seed this time. I went up to 20 on my spreader for the seed. I went over the areas that looked like it needed more help with a secord or third pass with the spreader.

When it was all done, I got lucky. It started raining moderately for an hour or more. For a good yard, I'm coming to the belief that I have to be a weather person to a degree. My company has one on staff that predicted a cooler end of summer. It hasn't been anywhere close to the century mark. It was 93 on the day I seeded, but the temps have dropped to upper 80s to 90° with rain. I downloaded the weather underground app. It's a huge help.

Based on these results, my goal is to take care of weeds early Spring and lime again. I have considered using a weed and feed instead. In every article/blog/online source, it sounds like crab grass takes about 7 years to control thanks to the germination cycle. Once I see how the new seed takes off in those areas, I'll make a better judgement on the product.

How's your lawn? Are my pains in the yard helping? What do you do? Comment below :-)

The Lawn Tracker - Year One

One of my favorite things to do is sit outside with my Java and admire the birds, the trees, my craptastic lawn.. An acre and a half of a mix of every weed known to man with some beautiful patches in between. This lawn hasn't seen an aerator or fertilizer in at least eight years. I decided to create the lawn tracker for myself based on a twice a year program. I'm no guru on the subject - this is merely a way to look back and say this worked and that didn't. I also realize that I'm not alone. Perhaps through comments we can track our successes together and enjoy that perfect cup of Joe to the fullest.

Fall 2011
• Rented aerator from Mt. Holly Farm Supply (MHFS)
• Purchased 3 huge sacks of Fescue, 3 bags of Green Charger
• Two weeks into October (warm winter ahead) aerated and spread the above
• Settings for the pull behind spreader was half way open for both

Spring 2012
• Purchased six bags of pre-emergent and six bags of lime from MHFS
• Spreader set half way last week of February
• Cut the grass two weeks later
• Normal cutting - mower deck set one setting lower than half (Bolens)
• Hand spread Pennington advanced seed to fix Mr. 704's pee spots

Year One Results
• Pennington seed worked so-so.
• Crab grass has a long way to go to get rid of
• Different species of grass causing different shades of green
• Opt to weed and feed after pre-emergent next Spring?
• Lime twice a year with Green Charger due to high acidity in the soil?

I welcome your comments below to adjust Fall 2012's prescriptive program!

Maple Nut Crunch! - Caffeine's Tribute to Denis Leary

Coffee doesn't need a menu! It needs a cup! Maybe a saucer underneath the cup! THAT'S IT! www dot What the Fuck dot com.

Caffeine Central believes in Coffee Flavored Coffee! We drink for the effect!!! Right? Some flavors are ok. But let's face it. Give us a good old cup of coffee, shot of espresso, or Cuban coffee.

Caffeine now presents you with 8 minutes of absolute tear jerking comedy..

Denis Leary, Lock N Load - Coffee  [Explicit - of course]
Enjoy!

What Caffeine is all about

In the heart of Historic Downtown Gastonia and down a short flight of stairs, you will find GasPump Coffee Co. I was gravitated to the smell of fresh local coffee being brewed up by owner/operator Ella Childe. Almost transformed, I was feeling more awake with each step down to the sub-basement establishment.

I'm a huge fan of popular coffee houses as many of you already know. However, I'm a huge supporter of buying local when I can. GasPump is a gem to our revitalizing local community. Just as the coffee vapors invigorate my blood, so too does establishments like this one to our historic district. The beat of hammers and construction equipment surrounding Main Ave. let me know just how much our community is finding new purpose. GasPump Coffee Co. is in the center of it all. Situated just behind GasPump lies another piece of our Gaston County history - the empty shell of one of Gaston's largest Southern textile manufacturing plants. I can feel this rich history in the original brick walls and tile floors lining this coffee house.

I can't go into any establishment, let alone a coffee house, without striking up a conversation with the people around me. I was fortunate to have owner Ella Childe there to talk with. Like the same old story, she and her husband are transplants like me. We have a common love of dogs (of course - I find all the animal lovers like a magnet). We also have a great vision and passion for what our Gaston County community will become. Like Cramerton's town motto states that we have: Pride in our past. Faith in our future. If you need your morning fix, visit the good folks at GasPump Coffee Co.