I've done everything I should reasonably be expected to do. I applied Johnathon Green's MAG-I-CAL in early March, then JG Greenup with Crab Grass Preventer in April, followed by JG Weed and Feed in May, and most recently Grub-Ex two weeks ago. Why does my lawn look so dilapidated. I have clovers everywhere, different color/length grasses popping up here and there and yellow/brown spots now...see pics below. I have a sprinkler system that I activate only when we haven't seen rain for three days so I don't over-water it. When it is enabled it goes on every other day (or when it is forecast to be above 90F on a given day). It goes on at 3am and is off by 6am so the water pressure doesn't affect my morning shower.

I mow on average every 5 days. I was bagging the clippings until about three weeks ago. Now that the growth rate has slowed, I mulch it. I change my mow pattern every cut (I have four different types actually).

Most of my neighbors can afford landscapers so their lawns look a hell of a lot better than mine. However, the landscapers are just cheap laborers that mow the lawn and fertilize in the time it takes me to fill the gas tank on my mower. Oh, I have a Honda HRX217HXA (see link below that I found on YouTube) and I just had the blades sharpened. My wheel height is set at 3 which I believe is just in the middle.

So what the hell am I doing wrong?????

I'm guessing this is a fescue lawn that has never been overseeded in the fall. You may have seeded in the spring but not in the fall. You have some weeds in there that only come into bare spots.

Every other day watering might be too frequent.

You should raise your mower to the top if this is fescue.

I'll be back later with some ideas but my lunch is over and I need to get back.

In this picture I see circular spots of discolored turf. There are several of them - at least 3 of varying diameters. It is hard to really tell from this angle but it looks like a disease. There are many fungal diseases which result in a circular kill area. Unless you can inspect and determine that you have a different type of grass in those areas, then I would be concerned about too much water leading to the disease.

This looks like grass that was planted too late in this season. Spring planted grass has many issues - one is that the tender roots cannot take the summer heat. Could be something else, but that is a candidate, especially as low as you are mowing.

The variety of plants in your turf in this pic also indicate spring seeding. The yellowish looking grass could be crabgrass or a few other pesky grassy weeds. Your best hope is that it is crabgrass. Crabgrass is an annual weed that dies out every fall. Crabgrass is another reason why fall seeding is much preferred to spring seeding. The worst case is you have poa annua. It is a grassy weed that gets tiny white flowers on it. That's a problem because it is very persistent. It will come back every year as long as you let it get the white flowers (which immediately become seeds for next year). Other weeds appear to be dandelions. Those are relatively easy to control, too when you are doing your watering and mowing right.

The clover (no picture needed) is simply taking advantage of an opportunity. It will spread to fill any thin spot faster than most other grasses will spread. Clover is an opportunist in that it does not need to be fertilized to thrive.

Read this and we can discuss places where you beg to differ.

Basics of Lawn Care

After reading numerous books and magazines on lawn care, caring for lawns at seven houses in my life, and reading numerous forums where real people write in to discuss their successes and failures, I have decided to side with the real people and dispense with the book and magazine authors. I don't know what star their planet rotates around but it's not mine. With that in mind, here is the collected wisdom of the Internet savvy homeowners and lawn care professionals summarized in a few words. If you follow the advice here you will have conquered at least 50% of all lawn problems. Once you have these three elements mastered, then you can worry about weeds (if you have any), dog spots, and striping your lawn. But if you are not doing these three things, they will be the first three things suggested for you to correct.

Watering
Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an inch in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. Do not spread this out and water for 10 minutes every day. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. If that does not work, then you might have to water more than once per week during the summer's hottest period. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds.

You will have to learn to judge when to water your own lawn. If you live in Las Vegas your watering will be different than if you live in Vermont. Adjust your watering to your type of grass, humidity, wind, and soil type. It is worth noting that this technique is used successfully by professionals in Phoenix, so...just sayin.' The other factors make a difference. If you normally water 1 inch per week and you get 1/2 inch of rain, then adjust and water only 1/2 inch that week.

Mowing
Every week mulch mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. However, bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses will become the most dense when they are mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. In fact there are special mowers that can mow these grasses down to 1/16 inch. Dense grass shades out weeds, keeps the soil cooler, and uses less water than thin grass. Tall grass can feed the deep roots you developed in #1 above. Tall grass does not grow faster than short grass nor does it look shaggy sooner. Once all your grass is at the same height, tall grass just looks plush.

Fertilizing
Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 5 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less important than numbers 1 and 2 above. Follow the directions on the bag and do not overdo it. Too little is better than too much. At this point you do not have to worry about weed and feed products - remember at this point you are just trying to grow grass, not perfect it. Besides once you are doing these three things correctly, your weed problems should go away without herbicide.

Get a proper soil analysis done to determine which nutrients your soil has and is lacking. Clover, for example, is a prime example of poor nitrogen levels. Whatever the analysis yields, get products that add what your soil lacks.

I fertilize 5x per year: mid-March, with Dimension pre-emergent, late April (also with pre-emergent, fertilizer+insect control (Allectus) in mid-June, starter fertilizer along with core aeration and overseeding in late August or early September, once the summer heat breaks and once in late October, with pelletized lime). I'll also spot-treat weeds with Weed-B-Gon Max as needed, and if they're heavier than usual, I'll use a hose-end sprayer and spray the whole lawn. Follow the directions here VERY carefully! I don't use weed-and-feed products.

Mow to 3", no less. Weeds will get choked out by healthy turfgrass.

As mentioned above, core aerate (two passes, at the very least) and overseed with seed appropriate for where you are. Here in Northern NJ, I use a parks mix with 33% fescue, 33% Rye and 33% Kentucky Blue for my sun-exposed parts, and thicker fescues for shadier areas. When you overseed set your irrigation system to go off for 5 minutes twice a day--new seed must be kept moist until after it germinates. Make sure you haven't overseeded within about 4-6 weeks of using any sort of week control product.

This is why spring seeding is problematic. If you're going to spring seed you can't use pre-emergents. Which means weeds will take root and take over by summer, leading to a never-ending cycle of frustration. Basically, what I'd recommend, is if the weather is under 85 degrees for a few days, spot-treat any weeds NOW, and no later than July 10th, weather permitting. If it's too hot, then skip it and deal with any weeds. Next, hire a landscaper (or rent the equipment yourself) to do a very thorough core aeration. I do 3-passes on my lawn...left/right, up/down and diagonal. Overseed (prepping bare spots as needed), spread starter fertilizer at the prescribed rate (and no more) and then let Mother Nature do her thing. By late September you should see a marked improvement.

A note on overseeding, DO NOT use too much seed! It will choke itself out. Use whichever rate your product calls for and no more.