# How much time do you spend doing lawn care?



## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Since I don't own a house, I spend zero time. If I owned a house, I would brick the entire front yard. I can't believe how much time & money people spend on grass not to mention that they will kill for it. "Get off my lawn". I worked for a guy who did exactly that along with 2 flower beds. The bricks could only be seen, from inside the property. I spent a year in Florida where they have what Northerners call crab grass. They think that it's gorgeous.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

There is a big difference between crab grass and St Augustine.

Since I have very little topsoil and have settled for 'as long as it's green' I don't do a whole lot other than mow ..... except for pulling weeds and mulch where the flowers/bushes are.


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Besides the crab grass, that was another thing in Florida, mulch. I never saw so much mulch in my life. I even thought about buying stock in it. 



> There is a big difference between crab grass and St Augustine.


They are both ugly to me. Neither one is used in ball fields & golf courses. Doesn't sod exist in the South?


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

I spend anywhere from 40 to 50 hours a week, guess that's because I own a company that does lawn care.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Guap0_ said:


> ......... Doesn't sod exist in the South?


Most of the builders I've painted for here in northeast tenn seed the yards but when I worked in central fla most builders used sod; either Bermuda or St.Augustine with the latter being an upgrade.


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## NickTheGreat (Jul 25, 2014)

joecaption said:


> I spend anywhere from 40 to 50 hours a week, guess that's because I own a company that does lawn care.


Boy, to listen to any lawn guys I talk to, they work 14 hour days, 8 days a week :wink2:


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

> Boy, to listen to any lawn guys I talk to, they work 14 hour days, 8 days a week


Por lo menos, as they say. (at least)



> Most of the builders I've painted for here in northeast tenn seed the yards but when I worked in central fla most builders used sod; either Bermuda or St.Augustine with the latter being an upgrade.


I don't see how St Augustine is an upgrade to anything.


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

Most of the time is spent in the flower and plant beds.
We plant close with lots of ground covering, thus, there is no
room for the weeds to grow...and that's a good thing.

As far as the lawn, fertilize and water 
in early spring...and lawn maintenance is mowing twice a week...
Normal people only mow once a week, but the head guy around
here loves gardening and working outside, so, twice a week is 
normal...


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Doesn't twice a week get expensive?


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## ZTMAN (Feb 19, 2015)

Downsized a few years ago from 11 acres, 8 of which was grass, to 1.5 acre lot. In the spring we do cut twice a week. Used to take four hours per cut on the 8 acres, now 35-40 min. taking my time mowing, string trimming and blowing.

I rather enjoy mowing.

Hedge trimming, maybe 20 hrs per season
Mulching, usually 10 yards per year, takes me about ten hours.
Wife takes care of flowers, etc. Don't know how much time that takes.


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

Guap0_ said:


> Doesn't twice a week get expensive?


It's not expensive when you DIY...:smile:


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

All things considered and the time averaged over the season about 2 hours per week from March 15 to Nov 15. Some of that time is big clumps. About 40 minutes a week to mow and I trim every other time.

I pay a company to do the chemicals so they will get done on time. They probably do a better job than I would even if I managed to do it on time.

When I've not got a work related project going on I enjoy it for the most part.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

This time of year? about 6 to 8 hours a week. Later in summer about half that. I have a one acre lot. I trim every other time. I'll be doing a little more this year as several bushes need to be replaced. I bought 5 bushes today to plant this weekend.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

Way too much, but my yard looks great and I enjoy it.


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

For all you lawn lovers, I just heard of something that protects not only your lawn but your entire property. If I understood it correctly, you put what looks like solar lights in the grass around the property which not only look nice at night but if they sense something that might be unwanted, it launches a drone that goes wherever & snaps pics.

https://sunflower-labs.com/


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

The last couple of years I spend very little time but I do spend 25 bucks a pop for the brothers down the street to come through with their zero turn and weed wacker to spruce up my triple lot. 

It takes them about 30 or so minutes to do what takes me 2 hours and they do a better job.

I love it that they're better than me! :biggrin2:


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## Premium08 (Jul 28, 2014)

Been working hard the past couple months trying to get some grass growing in my rocky soil where no grass was before. Patchy in some areas but so far I'm happy with the results. Trying to get decent yard for my daughter to play in when she gets old enough.









Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

I have about 4 acres in green, and it's not cutting the grass that is time consuming. It is dodging 53 blueberry bushes, 40 fruit trees, and 3 grape arbors. I formerly did it with a finish mower behind my tractor.....2.5 hours, and I still had to weed whack around the trees, etc.

Enter the Kubota ZD21, and time was cut to 1.25 hours and everything is trimmed while I cut.


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## Dave Sal (Dec 20, 2012)

Beautiful spread you have there chandler48. My lot is only 50'x150' so there is not much lawn but I haven't been having much luck growing grass like I used to. When I first bought the house I seeded the backyard and after a year or two my neighbor commented that it "looked like a country club". 

Within the last few years though, I have weeds popping up all over and patches of dying grass. This year I decided to have a soil test done and got the results back two days ago. My soil basically is depleted of potassium, so that might be my problem. Now I need to figure out what product to use and how much to get it up where it's supposed to be. 

But to answer the original question, I spend about an hour a week on cutting, trimming and occasionally fertilizing.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Dave, go to a real garden center (home stores may or may not carry it) and ask for 0-0-10 fertilizer. It is almost completely Potassium (Potash), and may help with your situation. If the other two numbers are lacking (Nitrogen and Phosphorus), you can adjust it likewise by buying a coordinating bag.

For help: https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/the-numbers-on-fertilizer-labels-what-they-mean/


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

If you have a nice lawn want to eliminate the mowing time, they do make robotic mowers. A cousin of mine in Norway has used a Husqvarna for at least 6 years. His lawn looks like a golf course. That’s hard to do in Norway as the grass grows quickly with the long summer days (18-19 hours of daylight where he is).

They have a number of models of it depending on the area you need to mow.
https://www.amazon.com/Husqvarna-967646405-Automower-Robotic-capacity/dp/B074DZPZHJ/ref=pd_sbs_86_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B074DZPZHJ&pd_rd_r=VKEDE7GAAB4RWV773E59&pd_rd_w=ohslO&pd_rd_wg=46V8e&psc=1&refRID=VKEDE7GAAB4RWV773E59


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

I have about 1930 square feet of lawn (.25 acre minus the house). I have a 42-inch riding mower which usually makes quick work of the mowing.

I like a nice lawn but I do not have the time or money to maintain it to royal garden standards. I am just happy it is green and reasonably lush. Admittedly I have an ongoing battle with weeds, primarily dandelions at the beginning of each season.

Once daytime temperatures are consistently above 60-degrees I do a high cut followed by a de-thatching and bagging. At this time also edge all the curbs, sidewalks and driveway. I then wait a week and apply turf builder with weed control. This does help somewhat with the weed problem. I will then do a high cut every other week. If we get a period of frequent rain I have to do a cut and bag.

Bagging used to be annoying as I have to drive the mower slower because the chute clogs if I go to fast. Also the wet grass makes the plastic trash bags heavy to lift out of the container. I then hit upon this process. 

I mow in concentric circles beginning on the outside mowing towards the middle constantly blowing the grass to the inside.

I let the grass sit as I break out the line trimmer and edge the fence line, around the house, sidewalks (corner lot) and driveway. I then blow off the sidewalks and driveway.

By this time the cut grass has dried out. 

I then connect the bagger and go over the concentrations of dried grass with the deck set at the same height as when I cut essentially using the mower as a vacuum. The dried grass is now lighter so picks up quicker and does not clog the chute. I also save on lawn bags as I can get more grass in a bag without the risk of the bag bursting as it would under an equal amount of wet grass.

If I do not have to bag, I can cut and trim the lawn in about 45 minutes. Add another 30 minutes if I have to bag.


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## kkford10 (May 25, 2018)

Me = 0 hours
Husband = 24 hours/7days a week
🤣🤣🤣


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## Todd82TA (Mar 20, 2018)

I wish I had time for that, but I'm currently paying someone $45 a cut, twice a week, here in San Antonio. I just moved here about a year ago, and bought a total "PIT" of a home in an established luxury neighborhood. The neighborhood I moved into was all built by this particularly luxury home owner who ONLY does custom homes. There are no two homes that are identical. The closest thing to my home is one where the floor plan was reversed 180 degrees, and they added dormers. All the homes have concrete tile roofs, mahogany doors, custom built-ins, etc. But after 35 years... it needed help. It was all original, so I've spent all my time renovating it. 

I'm almost done, and then I'll move on to the landscaping which needs help desperately. 


Until then, I just don't have time. But once everything is finished (I'm about 80% there), then I'll do the landscaping and start doing my yard myself.


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## danomac (Sep 2, 2010)

I dunno, about 20 minutes a month.

Wait until it gets knee-high, whack it down with a scythe, repeat. :devil3::biggrin2:


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

> Wait until it gets knee-high, whack it down with a scythe,


My wife might shoot me if I followed that schedule :surprise:


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## Cariessa (Jun 8, 2018)

Before I married and my husband moved in, it took me about 45 minutes to mow my yard. I usually mowed once a week... Less if we were in a dry spell, and thankful for it. I don't do any other form of lawn care like dandelion killer or anything, so normally I don't actually have to mow the grass I just have to mow the weeds. Trimming was done with vegetation killer. 

I married last September and my husband has created himself quite a honey do list since he moved into my home. Edging as one thing I've heard him talk about. I'm afraid if he uses some sort of weed killer we will have huge bare spots. to reseed


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## jimfarwell (Nov 25, 2014)

NickTheGreat said:


> Boy, to listen to any lawn guys I talk to, they work 14 hour days, 8 days a week :wink2:


...well, yeah. You're talking to LAWN GUYS. But he's the owner or manager of a lawn-care company. To his credit, he says he puts in 40 or 50 hours a week actually performing lawn care services. Admirable.

However, if you've actually had to PAY a lawn-care company, you likely know that he spends another 10 or 20 hours a week figuring out where he's going to spend all that money his guys are bring in. :vs_laugh:


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## jimfarwell (Nov 25, 2014)

A Boeing engineer I knew, in Port Orchard, replaced all the grass on his sloped single lot with outdoor carpeting. Did I say he was an engineer? Figures.

Anyway, he reduced the time spent on lawn care to about three hours a year: using a pressure-washer (a) to spray a heavily diluted bleach and liquid detergent solution onto the carpet, and then (b) to rinse it off. Worked OK for three years, then a heavy rain revealed a weakness to this approach -- there was no grass under the carpet to retain the soil, so he had two huge (but carpeted) gulches in his lawn.

Oh, well, back to the drawing board.

[...and I hope no SPEEA member reads this, he'd pull out a SIC No. 1610 circular slide-rule and scheme up some dastardly engineer vengeance.] :vs_laugh:


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## Toaits (Jun 20, 2018)

Maybe like 20 minutes a year to pull the weeds. My neighbors kid mows my lawn for me for $20. :biggrin2:


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## OutbackAnnie (Jun 13, 2018)

We sit on a couple of acres so have a ride on mower. The deer eat whatever we miss. . My husband goes around with a hand held seeder a couple of times a year in the warmer months and spins out new seeds into thinning areas but we don't do too much around our place cause the deer eat everything that isn't fenced in. Oh we also have gophers, moles and groundhogs so they make holes around the yard that my husband has to fill in cause we twist our ankles falling into them. He's like Chevy Chase in that movie where he's out to get those little buggars even if he has to blow them up. LOL


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## cat's_pajamas (May 9, 2018)

The last time I had a house that had a lawn was 30 years ago. I liked having a nice little lawn and I 'm pretty sure I mowed it frequently. It was out in the desert and because I was busy, I would fit in my lawn mowing whenever I could. I recall one summer day, it was about 110 degrees I think, and I was mowing the lawn and I don't know why, but I was dressed all in black. I was young and slender then....I'm sure I looked like a Ninja. A very sweaty Ninja.


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## comfun1 (May 20, 2010)

With weed-eating a good two days. We have six acres with house, shop building, green house and pond. There are also berms, slopes, streams and a couple of bridges. Well over 200 trees and shrubs plus flower beds and a garden. In addition we have a 175'x 87' irregular shaped island with tiki hut, chairs, benches and large pots that all have to be moved to mow. The island contains a number of curving paths that wind among tropicals and exotics. The majority of the yard is mowed with a 50" ztr. The island is mowed with a 42", a 21" and a weed eater. I have been retired 13 years now and fortunately for us, my wife and I enjoy all forms of yard-work and gardening.


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

Sounds like a nice place. Would you like some company? I love to watch other people work.


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## OutbackAnnie (Jun 13, 2018)

comfun1 said:


> With weed-eating a good two days. We have six acres with house, shop building, green house and pond. There are also berms, slopes, streams and a couple of bridges. Well over 200 trees and shrubs plus flower beds and a garden. In addition we have a 175'x 87' irregular shaped island with tiki hut, chairs, benches and large pots that all have to be moved to mow. The island contains a number of curving paths that wind among tropicals and exotics. The majority of the yard is mowed with a 50" ztr. The island is mowed with a 42", a 21" and a weed eater. I have been retired 13 years now and fortunately for us, my wife and I enjoy all forms of yard-work and gardening.


How do you tend your island garden? Do you boat tools over there or keep a shed there for maintenance? Sounds beautiful. :smile:


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## comfun1 (May 20, 2010)

I have a bridge and it is just wide enough to get my 42" mower and trailer across.


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## OutbackAnnie (Jun 13, 2018)

comfun1 said:


> I have a bridge and it is just wide enough to get my 42" mower and trailer across.



Would love to see photos. Do you have any posted here in these threads or if not would you please post some for us to see them?


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

_This thread needs pictures._

_
_


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## The Chairman (Oct 4, 2018)

I moved from Key Largo, with pea rock lawns three weeks before Hurricane Irma hit to North Central Florida where I bouth 10.82 acres. I love my new home and so do my cats. I spend about a day a week mowing plus another day or so cleaning it up.


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