ABC Pest Lawn Dillo Dirt?

There is never a bad time to put on compost. However, for aesthetics I would put it down in mid March. It will really green up your yard quick and then follow with the fertilizer in mid April. One good thing you can do for your lawn right now is mowing over the falling leaves and letting them compost into the soil over the winter.
 
I have an acre +, and I'm old and tired. Is ABC the way to go in my situation? Will their "blower" or whatever it is lay on a thick enough layer?
 
they will blow on 1/4" or 1/2" or whatever it is, no matter your yard size. They blew extra for my bushes and trees.

Just a note, when I did it, it was 2-3 months between when I called them and when they could come out. I don't know if they were extra busy then, or if it was because I was having an aeration done, too, but if you're planning to call them and have them come out next week you might be disappointed.
 
Man, you guys do a ton of work.

I just water mine and, once a year, get that organic stuff they sell at Home Depot and broadcast it over my yard. Works great and my lawn and grounds look like Ireland.
 
I got a quote from ABC a couple of weeks ago and was going to pull the trigger... but they can't do it until mid May. I might just buy 2.5 yards at Natural Gardener and do this myself. I can feel my back hurting already......
 
I top dressed 2 yards of the revitalizer from the natural gardener a couple of weeks ago. I just have your normal suburban sized yard. It didn;t take too long. just make sure you have a good wheelbarrow
 
I did 6 yards of dirt from my driveway to the backyard for leveling. Took me half a Saturday. So 2 yards is doable. Half the hassle is hosing off your driveway. Oh, and make sure you have a flat shovel. Don't plan on much for Sunday.
 
around 2-3 hours I think. I wish I had got around a 1/2 yard more. My neighbor did 3 yards in his yard. we had natural gardener deliver to both of our driveways at the same time
 
I called them up. $45 per yard. $65 delivery charge. Or $7 per 1.5 cubic foot bag (prebagged) or $3.50 or something for 1.5 cubic foot bag (you bag it).
 
To me, that's the most fun way to do it- drive up the hill at TDS or the soil yard at Natural Gardner or Gardenville or Geo Growers, and they dump a bucket of dirt or compost into your truck. You in turn dump it into your driveway.
Two tips:
1) If borrowing a friend's truck, you should clean it out after you do this.
2) Improbably, a beautiful woman works at one of the places I've mentioned, and I suspect the traffic they get for self-hauled compost is in part due to that.
Do not PM me for details.
 
I got a quote from ABC for roughly $250 but like I said, they were months behind (which MishaTx predicted). I ended up avoiding the Dillo Dirt and bought from Geo Growers in Dripping Springs.

link

I bought 2 yards of "Turf Topper"; it is half compost (dairy cow) and half masonry sand. I could only fit 1 yard in the full sized truck at a time (made 2 runs). $47 after tax per yard.

More than enough for a normal suburban sized yard.

Did this on Saturday and Sunday and watered it in. I plan on doing 8-2-4 in 2 weeks. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be but my left arm is a bit sore from carrying the shovel so much.

Question, I didn't use the rake at all. Since it is half masonry sand, it was pretty granular and settled in the soil pretty good. However, I have some low spots due to the grass/soil settling or maybe not level when the builder did it 1.5 years ago... I put more compost in these spots to the point that you cannot see the grass there (maybe 12-18" in diameter circles). Is this a problem? Do I need to rake in these areas so that I see the grass?
 
Fied- good choice. I'm a fan of Geo Growers. Anyway, you should probably rake it in lightly, but it's not going to kill you if you don't, unless you put so much on that it can't push through.
 
Fied- one more thing. 8-2-4 is higher nitrogen analysis than you need, given the soil improvement you are doing. I use the 6-2-4 "Texas Tea" they sell at Garden-Ville, and that's without top dressing. Anyway, I wouldn't go higher than 6-2-4.
 
That stuff is pretty good from what I understand. Still a little high analysis, but it releases slowly, so that matters less.

Do you have clover in your lawn? If you do, count yourself lucky and don't weed it- clover fixes nitrogen. Meaning, it pulls it out of the air and puts it into the ground. So you need lower analysis fertilizer as a result. Over time, by improving soil health, introducing microbes and biodiversity, cutting your lawn long and often and letting the clippings fall on the lawn, by encouraging worms and lizards and good bugs, you'll find that you don't have to fertilize.
 
I have some clover, frogs and lizards.

I have had good success with LadyBug 8-2-4 and might use that again just out of familarity. It is supposed to be slow release as well? I don't mind considering other stuff though.
 
i did. i think that the CGM i put down in feb. was 8-0-0 (bought it at natural gardener). the "Control Prevent" corn gluten is 8-2-4 but the stuff at natural gardener was 8-0-0 i believe.
 
That's what I thought- the reason I ask is that between the CGM and the compost/sand mix, you've got plenty of nitrogen on the ground and you probably don't want more. Too much nitrogen will cause serious disease problems and potentially burning if it gets hot early this year. You probably need a little (but not much) phosphate, potassium, trace minerals, etc..

I would spread some Texas greensand and some red lava sand, or a combined commercial product called volcanite. Then your lawn will have been amended as much as it can be this spring, and if you are wanting to do more, mulch any bare spots and aerate, which is really the best thing anybody can do to their lawn.
 
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