Watching Grass Grow and Be Eaten : Week 14

Buffalo grass passes the doggy taste test. The photo was taken a couple of months ago, and she still likes to eat the grass.



Like any grass, however, it does get brown spots if the dog urinates on it.
Read more!

Watching Grass and Weeds Grow : Week 13

Birds love my buffalo grass lawn, or maybe it's the weed seeds!

This are three species of Arizona doves. The tiny one is an Inca dove. They are often mistaken for the babies of other dove species, but they are just sparrow-sized doves. A mourning dove is at the upper right, and a whitewing is in the foreground. Whitewings are the biggest of the native doves.



The annual weeds are slowly being eliminated as I hand-pull them. After a section has been cleared of weeds, the buffalo grass is so thick that new ones can't sprout.

I wish I had used a pre-emergent, but it's too late now.

Bermuda grass is still emerging in a few places. Itjavascript:void(0) will continue to be a pest for quite a while.
Read more!

Watching Grass Grow Week 12: Baby's Second Haircut

The buffalo grass responded to the first mowing by sending out a lot of side growth and getting thicker, so I mowed it again!


Weaning it off water starts real soon, when the relative humidity goes up. Right now it's getting watered every other day, so I'll go to three days, then four, increasing the length of the waterings as I decrease the number.

Read more!

Watching Grass Grow Week 11: Baby's First Haircut

I wasn't planning to mow the lawn until after the summer rainy season started, but I noticed that the grass nearest the sprinklers was tall enough to block the spray. That gives it more water, it grows even better and it's a self-feeding monster.

June 3, before the mowing, showing the obvious clumps where the plugs were planted.



June 6, after mowing. There's not much difference, except that the highest clumps were shortened a couple of inches. The grid pattern is still obvious.


It's making nice turf in spots. The grass has thinner blades than Bermuda, and makes a softer lawn. It's easy to mow, not nearly as "juicy" as rye or bluegrass.

Read more!

Watching Grass and Weeds Grow: Week 10

This week I have some comparison photos. I took these by standing at the edge of the patio, with the camera pointed straight down.

March 24, 2009 is really wimpy. It's a few days after planting.

April 27, 2009 is not much better, and the weeds are sprouting.

May 21, 2009 is starting to look like it might be a lawn. The runners are criss-crossing the bare patches and starting to root.

June 3, 2009 shows it's getting dense and almost needs mowing in this spot. Not all of the lawn is like this, but most of it looks at least like the previous picture. This is only 2 1/2 months after planting the plugs at the maximum recommended spacing. There are a few weeds, but it's choking most of them out.

Read more!