My wife thinks I’m totally crazy, and my family agrees. It all started when I was stuck at home with a knee injury and had a bit too much time to think (dangerous, I know).
I’ve set up 9 zones in my yard – 6 for the grass and 3 for the flower beds – each with its own custom fertilizer mix.
It’s actually working great! I know I won’t hit the perfect soil levels I had in mind, but even if I’m 20% off, I’m happy with it. So, what’s the craziest project you’ve planned out?
Guess there is no turning off the over achiever gene lol
Nice job.
Crazy? No. Autistic? Possibly.
Bao said:
Crazy? No. Autistic? Possibly.
He said he’s an engineer, so same thing.
/s
Source: fellow engineer here.
Bao said:
Crazy? No. Autistic? Possibly.
He said he’s an engineer, so same thing.
/s
Source: fellow engineer here.
As a recovering Engineer I approve this.
@Jamie
Engineeraholics
Bao said:
Crazy? No. Autistic? Possibly.
He said he’s an engineer, so same thing.
/s
Source: fellow engineer here.
The knack… it’s a real medical condition, not my fault…
@Ira
touches nose. squeak. ‘Oh… my… god…’
Thayer said:
Really OP I’m disappointed that there isn’t a GPM watering breakdown per area.
Seriously. Does this guy even turf management?
How do you know someone’s an engineer?? Don’t worry… they’ll tell you.
It makes complete sense if your applications are based on soil tests, and your lawn looks great, so the proof is in the pudding.
I’d love to get soil tests done but they’re too expensive here in Australia, like I’m looking at $200 AUD for one, and an additional $175 for each extra sample.
So instead I just throw organic pellet chicken shit and spoon feed urea and potassium sulfate with a backyard pH test for lime; it’s not perfect but it seems to be working pretty well.
@Hart
Yours works well because chasing soil numbers is a fool’s errand. Tracking and retesting to gauge a deficiency is one thing but I would guess OP would have similar results by having one test. Two if there were different grass/soil types. Especially on a micronutrient level.
@Flynn
Yeah I just do my reading on the forums and put down what I think and see how it responds. Spoon feeding has really helped in that regard to see how the lawn responds in a much shorter time frame (days rather than weeks), and it’s cut the fertilizer costs down significantly buying raw ingredients from the farm shop.
pH is easy enough to get a ballpark reading and amend slowly with home testing.
And I think by doing a part-pellet organic fertilizer it covers most of my basics without getting technical, then I just boost the main N and K according to the season.
@Hart
You described a lot of lawn care in the US too…
…‘expensive’… yes, that’s why we don’t soil test /s
Logan said:
@Hart
You described a lot of lawn care in the US too…
…‘expensive’… yes, that’s why we don’t soil test /s
Check out your local land grant university or extension office. Most will do a test for about $25, depending on what you need done. And they are more reliable tests than the marketed ‘mysoil’ and other online models.
@Flynn
That’s what I keep hearing about the US, that there are universities that will soil test at reasonable prices.
Ours here are all geared at farmers, and the only cheap/free soil tests you can get done are for contamination, and while that’s great service, we don’t have an affordable test for home punters that are just obsessed with their lawns.
@Hart
Oh my bad. I thought by your comment you were in the US. Misunderstood. I see what you meant now! Yes. 100% true in the US.
As a fellow engineer, I tried this level of analysis last year with middling success. This year I downloaded the Scott’s app and followed their prescribed regimen (super easy four applications) and the results were phenomenal. Not nearly as satisfying as your work though, I’m sure.
At the end of the day, this is a hobby. Go as hard or as easy as you want, and have your fun with it. That’s the point!
Fellow engineer here. Not crazy.
