Problems with rental property lawn.

[Malibu]

I live in the Los Angeles area in a rental home with a decent sized yard.

It is a unique situation because the sun hits the property at a weird angle, and the backyard is heavily shaded by tall privacy trees.

I haven't put the sprinkler system on once in the last 2 weeks, the backyard is always wet in the morning.

At first the sprinklers were set to go off far too long and the yard would never dry out, which also sucks because letting my dog out would cause her to rip up the grass and get all dirty.

My main problem is the grass is really subpar. I have multiple small bare spots, and areas where there grass is just not full, its almost like a person going bald. at first I tried buying the expensive 'instant' grass stuff that looks like insulation, but that didn't really work.

The front lawn has lots of yellow spots. Front lawn gets more sun in the later part of the day. wondering if the front lawn problem is due to lack of watering.

My main question is- how often should I be watering the back yard even though every morning the grass is wet naturally and the fact that the sun doesnt hit all of the yard. Also was wondering if I could buy some seed / fertalizer to fill in the bare spots and maybe improve the quality of the grass?

If necessary, I can take multiple pictures and post them here if that would help.

thanks for any assistance.

ps- the management company provides a weekly gardener but he really doesnt care about the property. he comes every monday but all he does is mow/weed wack/leave blow and thats it.

[Hortman]

Hey, Malibu. Ken here in the Chicago area. You say that the backyard is
always wet in the morning. Check to see how deep the “wetâ€

[Malibu]

[quote="Hortman"]Hey, Malibu. Ken here in the Chicago area. You say that the backyard is
always wet in the morning. Check to see how deep the “wetâ€

[Malibu]

Front yard:

[img]https://i42.tinypic.com/2d97by9.jpg[/img]

Back yard Right Side (they are replacing part of the fence in the background there)

[img]https://i39.tinypic.com/29omvk1.jpg[/img]

Back Yard Left Side

[img]https://i41.tinypic.com/e120p3.jpg[/img]

Also, since I hadn't received any responses at the time, I went to Home Depot and got the following:

1) Scotts ez seed for tall fescue lawns combination mulch seed and fertilizer

2) Scotts turf builder winterguard fall lawn fertilizer.

I haven't used or opened either, so if you suggest I need something else, I can just go back to Home Depot and exchange it for whatever I need.

Thanks for any help.

[LawnRanger]

Hi Malibu,

I'm Travis from The Home Depot in Atlanta. Ken wanted me to drop in on this conversation since he is away for this week.

Thanks for the additional pitures, they are worth thousands of words!

Your front yard seems to be doing fairly well, especially compared to the back yard. It appears to be Bermuda or Zoysia for the most part. These warm season grasses will do well as long as they receive adiquate sun exposure. However, if the area receives less than 4 hours of direct sun, the lawn will decline. I suspect that inadiquate sun is the issue in the back yard.

The yellow spots in the front are urine spots. The spots are as result of too much Uric acid in a concentrated area. Drench these areas with water to dilute the uria, which is a form of nitrogen, so it is simply too much of a good thing.

The shady back yard may benefit from a cool season grass, such as fescue. Fescue will tolerate more shade and will remain green all year. Aerate the lawn, spread a starter fertilizer and overseed at a rate of 3 pounds per thousand square feet. Double the amount of seeds over the bare areas. Sprinkle some compost or seeding soil over the seed, but not more than a quarter of an inch thick.

Aerating the soil should help the water retension issue while allowing the water to pennetrate deeper for stronger roots. Morning dew fall has no effect on root growth. Sprinklers twice a week for 30 to 45 minutes (when there is no rain) is enough. Early morning is the best time to water.

This aeration and watering regimen will help both the front and back yards. Fertilize with a slow release/high nitrogen fertilizer every 3 months during the growing season. Here in Atlanta, bermuda is dormant now, so fertilizer is not necessary until April. If the grass is green, feed it every 3 months.

I hope this helps you.

LawnRanger

[cynthia_h]

I haven't put the sprinkler system on once in the last 2 weeks, the backyard is always wet in the morning.

At first the sprinklers were set to go off far too long and the yard would never dry out, which also sucks because letting my dog out would cause her to rip up the grass and get all dirty.

My main problem is the grass is really subpar. I have multiple small bare spots, and areas where there grass is just not full, its almost like a person going bald. at first I tried buying the expensive 'instant' grass stuff that looks like insulation, but that didn't really work.

The yellow spots in the front are urine spots. The spots are as result of too much Uric acid in a concentrated area. Drench these areas with water to dilute the uria, which is a form of nitrogen, so it is simply too much of a good thing.

It's difficult to understand how "drenching" an area which may be wet already will help with an underlying problem.

Malibu, I thought I had responded to this situation, but it must have been another member. My apologies.

There are [url=https://pet-supplies.drsfostersmith.com/search?p=Q&lbc=drsfostersmith&uid=2467302&w=lawn%20urine&isort=score&method=or&stateid=s2B22C12B2fbhPZTWw&ts=results&ed=dogs&modaf=r:cat1:dogs]products[/url] available to feed to your dog (female dogs are the usual offenders b/c they do all their "business" in one place) to change the pH of their urine and make it less destructive to the landscaping. Look at the first four products in the search I've linked to. Check with your vet before feeding, but since the products are offered *by* a company owned by vets, I have hopes that they're perfectly safe. Note: I have not used these products myself, as I don't have any lawn.

Best wishes for a nice lawn! By the way, what kind of trees are those in the photos? Some trees don't want any competition, even from grass; could that be part of the situation?

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Malibu]

thanks for the response.

Here is what's weird. My dog doesn't have access to the front yard because it isn't fenced in. So if those are actually urine spots, it would be from other dogs. While this is possible, it's unlikely. I do live on a cul-de-sac but we don't get a lot of people walking their dogs here and those that do are on leashes, so I really don't think the front yard problem is urine. If I had to guess I would say its underwatering but I'm not even close to an expert.

I'm not sure what type of trees they are in the back yard. They are very old though, were planted by original owners in the 70s.

What do you guys think of those products that I listed which I have?

[gardengail]

thanks for the response.

Here is what's weird. My dog doesn't have access to the front yard because it isn't fenced in. So if those are actually urine spots, it would be from other dogs. While this is possible, it's unlikely. I do live on a cul-de-sac but we don't get a lot of people walking their dogs here and those that do are on leashes, so I really don't think the front yard problem is urine. If I had to guess I would say its underwatering but I'm not even close to an expert.

I'm not sure what type of trees they are in the back yard. They are very old though, were planted by original owners in the 70s.

What do you guys think of those products that I listed which I have?

This is GardenGail, a friend of Travis and Ken, new to the site but not the problem.
The 2 scotts products you listed are fine, but because of the length of time that it has probably been since any thing has been done to the area, I think the idea of aerating the soil and putting down some mulch and raking it in is a good one, at least in the back yard.The problem is that you may have to do it in sections, especially in the back yard, because of the dog.
Just because there is dew on the grass does not mean it is getting watered further down, I agree with the idea of taking a plug out of the area to see how far down the damp is actually going.
What I find here in so. calif. is that people think watering their existing lawn for 5 minutes every day is a good thing. At that rate it stays wet on top and is not watered further down.When you water an existing lawn, do so at the rate of 1/2 hour to 45 minutes once a week to every 2 weeks, then leave it alone.
That way the lawn has a chance to dry out, and gets properly watered
This rate will fly out the window if you try to grow new grass seed, because you must water every day for at least 5 minutes to get it started.

Hope this helps,

[greenstubbs]

I think lawnranger got your pics mixed up. Your front yard has "Burmuda" grass in it and in the winter it goes dormit and looks horid like that. Don't worry it will green up in spring. I can't speak much for the back, but rake those bare spots to cratch the dirt, throw down some seed and just step on the seed to kinda push it into the soil. Keep the area damp for about a week or two and don't fertilize until after your first cutting of the new grass. Lawns need about 1 inch of H2O a week, less in winter. I H2O up here twice a week for about 45 mins or so depending on temps. Good Luck