jeff kushner
Well-Known Member
I went to lawn forums last year when I got my lawn robots.........I read a lot so of course while I was there, I read a lot of different stuff on lawn care. A lot I hadn't known before but it was also overwhelming with so many options......but there's always opportunity with "options"....
Anyone that has gone to the local Home Depot or Lowes store to buy lawn care products knows that the costs have skyrocketed. The same 3 part "grey bag 16-0-0" I bought for Kerry's and my lawn in Oct for $52, is now $76.99. Lime has suddenly become a precious commodity! No, I'm not ranting on inflation.....I am a "work around guy" so to find a solution to that BS, I decided to try sprays this year for both lawns. This is all "new territory" for me but we're giving it a shot. My daughter had given me a Ryobi battery soldering iron last year so I bought the 4 gal backpack sprayer for 120 bucks by itself, use the monster 5.4ah battery she got me and I'm golden. and it will do both lawns w/o even dropping one bar on the battery! Sweet! All-up weight with 4 gal is around 50 lbs, I use 3 gallons cause it doesn't hurt so much the next day....(yeah it stinks) but how many 64 yr old guys do you know that strap-up with 50lbs when they get home from work and go for a walk, for 3 miles? Superman stuff, I'm telling you....lol
I do #'s for a living so for me, this is how I see it;
Ikes 2.5 gal of 18-6-6 concentrate does 48,000SF or both yards, 2 times- cost 40 bucks x 2 =80 bucks delivered
Calsil(lime) 2.5 gallons does the same- cost 68 bucks x 2 = 136 bucks delivered
Weed pre-emergent Prodiamine- does both lawns all season- 25 bucks delivered
Weed killer as required-(trying to find one that works)- 32 bucks delivered
Castol oil, mostly for her lawn...voles & moles 1 gallon does both lawns all season- 35 bucks delivered
I also assume that I will have to spray the lawns very 4-6 weeks or 4 or 5 treatments for each lawn, it's the downside of sprays....they don't last.
So, for 300 bucks or so, it's half the cost of both lawns last summer when I used solids, not even taking into consideration what the cost of using those products today would be!
I do know that with solids, Kerry, who bought a house in the woods with a long neglected lawn, has a very nice lawn in her new home, one that survived the winter! My lawn did ok but in truth, I put most of my efforts over there last year b/c she was basically starting from a "lawn" of sand. LOL
My lawn recedes on the edges as it degrades, exposing Jose's and Hose B's guide wires so it's more apparent to me now than before they moved in. I mixed EVERYTHING together(after confirming compatibility) and had at it.......I gave those areas an extra dose but I did both lawns in the past week and it's raining now for a couple days so we'll see.
You know what really sucks? Last year, after taping my old drop spreader together with pieces of wood for the handle, tie-wire for the control.....I broke down and bought a new one.....and now it sits.....LOL
That's the sum of my knowledge for this stuff....but I was bored this morning and Matilda didn't want to play.....
Anyone that has gone to the local Home Depot or Lowes store to buy lawn care products knows that the costs have skyrocketed. The same 3 part "grey bag 16-0-0" I bought for Kerry's and my lawn in Oct for $52, is now $76.99. Lime has suddenly become a precious commodity! No, I'm not ranting on inflation.....I am a "work around guy" so to find a solution to that BS, I decided to try sprays this year for both lawns. This is all "new territory" for me but we're giving it a shot. My daughter had given me a Ryobi battery soldering iron last year so I bought the 4 gal backpack sprayer for 120 bucks by itself, use the monster 5.4ah battery she got me and I'm golden. and it will do both lawns w/o even dropping one bar on the battery! Sweet! All-up weight with 4 gal is around 50 lbs, I use 3 gallons cause it doesn't hurt so much the next day....(yeah it stinks) but how many 64 yr old guys do you know that strap-up with 50lbs when they get home from work and go for a walk, for 3 miles? Superman stuff, I'm telling you....lol
I do #'s for a living so for me, this is how I see it;
Ikes 2.5 gal of 18-6-6 concentrate does 48,000SF or both yards, 2 times- cost 40 bucks x 2 =80 bucks delivered
Calsil(lime) 2.5 gallons does the same- cost 68 bucks x 2 = 136 bucks delivered
Weed pre-emergent Prodiamine- does both lawns all season- 25 bucks delivered
Weed killer as required-(trying to find one that works)- 32 bucks delivered
Castol oil, mostly for her lawn...voles & moles 1 gallon does both lawns all season- 35 bucks delivered
I also assume that I will have to spray the lawns very 4-6 weeks or 4 or 5 treatments for each lawn, it's the downside of sprays....they don't last.
So, for 300 bucks or so, it's half the cost of both lawns last summer when I used solids, not even taking into consideration what the cost of using those products today would be!
I do know that with solids, Kerry, who bought a house in the woods with a long neglected lawn, has a very nice lawn in her new home, one that survived the winter! My lawn did ok but in truth, I put most of my efforts over there last year b/c she was basically starting from a "lawn" of sand. LOL
My lawn recedes on the edges as it degrades, exposing Jose's and Hose B's guide wires so it's more apparent to me now than before they moved in. I mixed EVERYTHING together(after confirming compatibility) and had at it.......I gave those areas an extra dose but I did both lawns in the past week and it's raining now for a couple days so we'll see.
You know what really sucks? Last year, after taping my old drop spreader together with pieces of wood for the handle, tie-wire for the control.....I broke down and bought a new one.....and now it sits.....LOL
That's the sum of my knowledge for this stuff....but I was bored this morning and Matilda didn't want to play.....
