# BH Green's Lawn Journal - TTTF/KBG



## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Greetings!

I've been reading countless lawn journals on here for a while now and watching videos from a few of the youtube pros. Decided to go against the odds and renovate my yard this spring. It's tough to have a successful reno in the spring and there are many reasons why not to, but I really wanted to give it a shot for a few reasons:

I've been stuck at home during a pandemic so what else am I going to do?

Wife said I could do it :thumbup:

My yard has some shade which might help new grass survive the heat this summer.

My expectations are realistic.

*Seed selection:*
80 TTTF/20 KBG from Seed Superstore. 
-TTTF: SS1000 Tall Fescue Blend
-KBG: 40% Mazama, 30% Bewitched, 30% Bluebank.

*Timeline:*
Here's a timeline to catch up on what I've done so far, then I'll post some photos. Here in South Dakota, spring can take forever to arrive so I got a later start than I would have preferred. We had snow on easter, a week of frost, then a few windy days that kept me from spraying Glypho until late April.

3/27/20: cut down a silver maple in the front yard. Trunk was rotting so it had to go (= more sun for the grass)
3/28/20: started taking photos and time-lapse videos to track sun exposure and help determine cultivars.
4/7/20: raked the yard to remove debris
*4/26/20: Roundup* first application.
5/2/20: ordered seed
5/3/20: Roundup second application
5/4/20: topsoil delivered
5/8/20: scalped and bagged with mower
5/9/20: 
-Power raked the crap out of it in multiple directions
-bagged with mower again
-started putting some topsoil down to fill a few low spots
5/11/20-5/18/20: level yard, monitor soil temperatures and weather forecast
5/18/20: sent in some soil samples to a local lab
5/19/20: garden weaseled the whole yard, tested sprinkler setup
*5/20/20: SEED DAY!!* 
-final raking/leveling before seed
-spread TTTF in multiple directions, then KBG separately
-lightly raked seed into soil
-rolled lawn
-spread peat moss
5/21/20: Scott's starter fertilizer with mesotrione
5/23/20: it rained 1" within 2 hours - repaired a couple washed out areas
5/25/20: soil results in - not too bad but pH is high in front (7.5) and low in back (5.9). Also low in N overall
*5/26/20: GERMINATION!!* first germination in front where soil is warmer 
5/27/20: most of the TTTF has germinated by now
5/31/20: overseeded some thin areas
6/1/20: sprayed Soil Hume from Simple Lawn Solutions (seaweed, humic/fulvic)
6/2/20: We got hit with a couple days of high temps in the 90's, so I had to ramp up the watering frequency to keep non-germinated seeds from drying out. I'm beginning to worry about fungus with these conditions.
6/3/20: Scott's Disease Ex
6/5/20: hard to tell but it looks like there is KBG growing in now
6/8/20: Weed update: So far I am very impressed with the lack of weed pressure. Biggest problem area right now is a section of the front where it looks like there's a baby spurge invasion.
6/9/20: 20 days post seed down-threw some more seed in a few remaining bare spots. At this point I might be wasting seed but at least there are cooler temps and a little rain in the forecast.

Overall pleased with how things are going so far but I'm not out of the weeds yet with summer now in full swing. I will get some photos up soon!


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Some photos from April this spring a week before I sprayed Roundup. The yard has been neglected for years before we moved in last fall. It looked like a mix of KBG, PRG, FF, TF, lots of other grassy/broadleaf weeds throughout. More shady areas in the back have a lot of dirt, so we will see if my new cultivars fair better with proper maintenance. If not I may extend the patio and/or landscaping later.

Notice the trees in the back which may cause problems (sugar maple, black walnut, and a spruce). We had a pine tree removed last fall that was next to the shed and a silver maple in the front this spring. Another large silver maple remains in the front.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

A week after first Glypho app I hit with another round. Also worked on the hosta garden in the back while waiting for the grass to die. I'll probably re-edge the garden later but wanted to divide and transplant the hostas before they got any bigger.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

After power raking there was a lot of material to clean up.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

I didn't bring in too much topsoil because I knew I would not have enough time to kill any weeds in it, so I used a flat shovel to manually scrape high spots and fill in low spots. I did order some topsoil that I mixed with a dirt I had taken out of the hosta garden for the larger dips.

I also started using a garden weasel to break up the soil more, and made more piles of dead grass that I raked up and got rid of that.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

A day after we got some rain the ground was a little softer. I broke up the top inch with the garden weasel and did a test run with my sprinkler setup.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Here's after seed down.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Germination on the 7 day mark.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

9 days after seeding


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Day 10


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Day 13


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Day 16

Some areas with lots of sun look stressed after a couple hot days. Put down some Disease-ex to help control fungus because I'm watering frequently.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Here's what it's looking like now. Tallest grass is about 4 inches now but weak growing areas only a couple inches. Thinking about mowing for the first time later this week. We are supposed to get at least a half inch of rain tonight.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Looking thick in some areas

And very thin in others

This spot is looking weak. It gets quite a bit of sun and I've noticed it doesn't get the best coverage with my sprinklers. Also it's right under where a pine tree used to be, so I'm thinking the soil could still be a little more acidic there from years of pine cones and needles.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

If this grass survives summer it will be a miracle but I'm still hopeful. You never know what weather will be like in South Dakota. I was hoping June would be average and cooler but instead it's been well above average temps so far.

Here's the plan I'm thinking for the next few days. Any guidance would be appreciated.

06/11: first mow at 3"
06/13: second mow at 2"
06/15: apply GrubEx (I spoted a couple grubs)
06/15: Apply Tenacity sometime next week
06/19: should I spoon feed some nitrogen soon? Maybe Milorganite?


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

We received an inch of rain last night, and the high today is 75°F. I took soil temperatures around the yard this morning and it ranged between 59°F-63°F, which is within optimum temperature for root growth. Weather forecast is looking more normal for June in SD with daytime highs in the low to mid 80's and lows in the upper 50's to mid 60's. I'm hoping the soil can at least stay under 75° for a while where root growth starts to be non-existent.

Pulled some plants to check roots. I'm seeing a wide range of root and shoot development. The plant in the middle is over 5" tall but has the shortest roots (probably trying to reach for more light). Plant on the far right appears to be KBG.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Some close up shots today. After the rain a couple nights ago It's getting pretty tall in some areas. I'm planning to mow it for the first time tonight. Got a brand new sharp mower blade installed.

I think the white spots in this one is bleaching. It's in a spot where I applied too much starter fertilizer with mesotrione.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

First cut!
Please excuse my odd mowing pattern-I was trying not to turn too sharp. Cut at 3" and considering mowing again at 2" this weekend.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Some photos from Saturday after second cut at 2"

The better side in the back gets more shade throughout the day but still gets 3-4 hours of sun

This wide shot shows the difference between the shady side (right) and the sunny side (left). Overall areas with a lot of sun have been struggling. Over the past few days soil temperatures have been ranging between 60-75°F on the shady side while the sunny areas are between 65-90°F. During the day there can sometimes be a 15 degree difference between some spots.

The front is also struggling a bit. Soil pH is much higher there too (7.5), which isn't helping. Growth is much slower and a lot of the grass didn't even get cut at 2".


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Wow! That's a tale of two cities, when you compare the first and second photos of the same area from different perspectives. I feel for you, as my front gets baked over the summer. Maybe raise HOC and TLC for that stressed area. I do a lot of hand watering to pound the turf with water, and use kelp and other organics in liquid form. On days I'm off from work, I'll be out there 1-3 pm syringing the turf with water to cool it down. Overall, your lawn looks great!


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Thanks for checking out my journal and the advice @Chris LI!

*Here's what I've done this week:*
-mowed at about 3.5" (bagged to reduce fungus and spreading weed seeds)
-put down Milo at bag rate
-sprayed 2nd app of Humic/Fulvic/Seaweed blend

Here's a progress shot of the back yard. Bare spots have filled in a little. Color is a but inconsistent but maybe the iron in the Milo will help.



Here is the section I'm now calling "Purslane Square". It's really gotten out of control! If I can't get this under control I may redo this small section in the fall.

The rest of the front is looking alright but is still lagging and has some thin areas.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

:thumbup: 
Great progress, and you should see some more with the combo you put down!


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Sharing some shots one week since Milo/Humic/Fulvic/Seaweed combo. Have not done much since except mow and watered about 0.5" every 3rd day. In the first shot you can see the light green patch of crabgrass in the upper left.

The front yard is very inconsistent in growth all around. Surprisingly the healthiest section of my entire yard might be the section of hell strip between the driveway and where the tree used to be. In the middle where the stump was removed early this spring it's lighter in color and not growing very much. I tried to remove most of the ground wood stump and added topsoil to fill it in, but the left behind wood mulch mixed in might be robbing the soil of nitrogen. I sprinkled some extra Milo in that spot which seems to be helping a little. I think this spot will improve over time.


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## Vtx531 (Jul 1, 2019)

Very impressed with the leveling job you did using a shovel - looks great and and it looks like going from bare dirt to green went pretty quick


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

___


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Vtx531 said:


> Very impressed with the leveling job you did using a shovel - looks great and and it looks like going from bare dirt to green went pretty quick


Thanks! Gotta love the quick establishment of that TTTF. I have to admit I did not expect this much green with a spring renovation, especially since this has been one of the hottest summers I've seen in a long time.

I think crucial timing and a bit of luck was involved. The late glypho got a better kill, but I don't think I could have waited a single day later than May 20 for seeding because 12 days later it was 100°F. I'm still not sure how seedlings survived.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

After further inspection, it appears my weed ID was wrong. What I thought was purslane is actually spotted spurge, so I am rethinking my strategy. I also realized the silver maple root zone might be well beyond the drip line, so I don't want to spray T-Zone or anything with Dicamba right there. I'm looking for something I can safely apply that kills spurge, but not finding many options.

Might try WBG CCO which has spurge on the label. According to Ortho, it "can be applied under lawn trees and will not be taken up by their root systems".


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Spot sprayed crabgrass with Drive and spurge with WBG CCO on Wednesday. Crabgrass looks toast and spurge is looking weaker.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Waiting for my weeds to die, I've been reading more about irrigation. I found g-man's post here about evapotranspiration (ET) extremely interesting and helpful (thanks @g-man for this and also all of your other great resources).

Learning about ET has underscored one of the biggest challenges of planting turf in spring: young/shallow roots + high ET in summer means you have to water every day to keep from running a water deficit in the root zone. My roots average only about *2"* deep. My silty clay loam soil holds roughly *0.15"/inch*, so if my math is correct the top 2 inches of soil (my root zone) holds about *0.3"* of water. Right now the daily ET for my area is *0.26*, which is *86%* of the root zone capacity lost every single day.

*My irrigation schedule this summer:*
I've been watering the new grass mostly every other day over the summer, but sometimes watered consecutive days, and occasionally every 3 days with deeper watering to promote deeper roots (although that probably just wasted more water past the root zone). I try to time the consecutive irrigation days with higher wind and lower humidity if possible, and always water between 5-8am to reduce fungus. It's a constant balancing act to keep moisture in a shallow root zone without having wet leaves too long. So far I've managed to keep the turf alive and healthy for the most part. Luckily, conditions for optimal root growth are right around the corner when I'll have a chance to prepare the turf for success next summer. Today's heat index is 100℉ so there's still a chance my whole yard can be wiped out by fungus or heat stress before summer ends, but I'm doing the best I can to prevent that.

*My current irrigation setup:*
Here is my irrigation plan I created before seeding which has worked fairly well for me. Coverage is not perfect in all areas but not bad. Another zone would be helpful in front but keeping it simple allowed easier management.
• 3 zones in the back and 1 zone in the front with 2-3 heads per zone (10 total heads)
• Hunter MP rotator heads attached to spikes
• bought used hoses and cut them to the exact lengths I needed to connect each head
• programmable timers control each zone individually (Ace hardware brand in back, Orbit in front)
• I only have to move hoses for zones 2 and 4 when I mow.
• areas with more sun or weaker coverage were supplemented with hand watering when needed.



Someday I dream of a personal weather station with soil moisture sensors, and in-ground irrigation integrated with a smart sprinkler controller, but there are far too many priorities before that


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

I have not been doing much except mowing at 3.5" and tweaking irrigation strategy. Most of the summer has been excessively hot and dry, but we have had cooler temps and more moisture recently.

I'm very happy with how the herbicides have been working. I might need a second round of CCO for the spurge but overall that spot in front is looking much better.

Here's a few recent photos of the lawn. (new privacy fence and shed coming soon in the back)

Weeds are improving in front and the turf is competing more.

Progress of the worst spot in the back yard. I'm very surprised how it's filling in. I won't need to reseed nearly as much as I thought.

One more of my daughter enjoying the new yard. It's great to let her and the dog finally roam on the turf.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It looks really good. Spring Renos are a challenge, but it seems that you made it work.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Thanks @g-man! It has been challenging for sure with the summer heat and draught we've had, but I couldn't be more pleased with the results, and I'm excited to be going into fall with a lawn. Spring renos can work but they take more time and effort, and there are lots of ways it can go wrong. I appreciate all of the knowledge shared on this forum from people with more experience than me-I truly could not have done this without it.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

For anyone considering a spring renovation, here is some advice I would give: 

Be prepared to babysit the grass all summer.

Set realistic expectations and know that it might not work.

Put some serious thought into your irrigation strategy. Also know that you will need to monitor moisture all the time and can't always rely on programmed timers when conditions fluctuate.

You will constantly walk the line between draught and fungus-with shallow roots I think it's even possible to have drought stress and fungus at the same time. Water just enough and let the leaves dry when you can in between.

If it's hot there will be long periods where you are just trying to keep it alive and it won't grow at all.

Some things might be different than other fall renovations you follow. For example, I only cut at 2" once or twice, then kept it at 3.5" most of the summer. I also have not been feeding it nitrogen except one app of Milo.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Looks like another week-long heat wave to get through here in SE South Dakota. I was planning on over seeding some spots but think I'll wait for this to pass. I'll bring the HOC down in about a week from now and throw some seed down before hopefully getting a good dose of rain.

I have both KBG and TTTF seed leftover from the renovation, but not sure if it will be worth adding any KBG in there.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

:shock: Forecast is trending up even more. This is bonkers.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Next 6-10 days look hot:










But then it looks like it drops in 8-14


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Weather sure is bipolar around here. Temperature will range between 90°F and 40°F in a span of 4 days.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

*Update on the yard:*
7 straight days with above 90°F temps, along with heavy traffic from new shed and fence projects have taken a toll on the back yard turf. On top of that the walnuts have been wreaking havoc dropping all over the north end. Last night I dropped the HOC from 3.5" down to 2", raked/dethatched a few areas, baged clippings, overseeded where needed, and rolled it in. I used a garden weasel before and after dropping seed in some places to disturb the soil more. I spread some peat moss in some spots that were bare dirt. A little later than I wanted to seed but hopefully enough time for TTTF. Now if I could just get some rain that would be great.

I was too busy to take photos last night so I'll try to post some soon.

*upcoming plans:*
-tonight: put down preventative app of fungicide (Azoxy)
-water as needed daily
-mow in a couple weeks or when needed
-right after mowing drop fertilizer (was thinking of doing 3lb of X-Start from Carbon Earth, or 0.24 lbs N/1,000 sq. ft.)
-possibly rotate in a preventative app of Propiconazole to be safe
-2 weeks later put down second app of X-Start Fertilizer
-might spoon feed some fast-acting nitrogen weekly after that but not sure

Decided to skip the Tenacity because weed pressure is looking very low. It might help suppression of poa annua as a pre-emergent, but I'd rather not risk stressing the turf more than it is after the heat wave and draught we've had.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Finally getting around to posting some photos and an update on the lawn's current state. The new shed and fence projects are finally complete so I can focus more on the lawn.

*Since my last post here's what has gone down:*

I inspected the stressed areas in the back. Thought it was heat/draught stress but turns out there were a lot of grubs munching on it.

On top of that I think there was some leaf spot developing so I went with a curative approach with Azoxystrobin (DiseaseEX) and Trichlorfon (24-hour grub killer).

Areas that got seed germinated around Sept. 6th or 7th, so I'm around 10 DAG right now.

On Friday and Saturday there were these strange water droplets falling from the sky. I am told this is called "rain". We got over 0.5" of the stuff and it seemed to help the lawn.

*Upcoming plans:*
The turf is VERY hungry for some nitrogen and needs a cut but I'm holding off on fert a little longer since I overseeded. Seedlings are growing well and I will be mowing soon. After that I will put down .25 lb. of N weekly for the rest of the growing season (however long that is) and mow frequently. Haven't decided on HOC yet. I regret not overseeding earlier even though temps were very hot, because I would have liked to have a couple fert apps down already.

Here's the back yard. Our small dog has been trying to help fertilize the grass (notice the dark green patches). It's recovering from a couple hard weeks of construction traffic, heat, grubs, fungus-you name it. With perfect temps and some nitrogen coming it will only improve.

This spot in front was 50% spurge in early July. A couple apps of WBG CCO took care of most of it, and the grass has filled in the gaps. No seeding was necessary here.

Other side in the front. There were some bare dirt patches here that got a little seed.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

New Earthway 2600A arrived and assembled. I'm replacing my Scott's Edgeguard mini and think this will work much better. Also got some BalX fert I'm going to try out after my next mow. I might switch to a straight N source as the season grows closer to winter.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Also picked up one of these bad boys. It has quite impressive power I must say.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

The Toro mower needs a tune-up so I took it to the shop today. It was surging (Reving up and down) while running and not cutting really great. Should have it back in tip-top shape by Tuesday and ready to cut the grass for the first time in a couple weeks.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Back yard is recovering well from the late summer stress that caused some damage, and the overseed is looking good. Still some uneven color and growth, but I think some of the uneven growth is due to varying soil conditions and tree roots. This photo was taken from under the spruce tree which has surface roots under that shorter grass in the middle foreground area. You couldn't notice it when I maintained a higher HOC but it was cut short for the overseed then left to grow for 3 weeks, which inevitably will expose different growth rates in the lawn.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

You know your grass needs nitrogen if the spots where the neighborhood dogs pee look better than the rest. If I can get the mower back from the shop today I plan to mow and drop some fertilizer. Need to work on that edging too.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Finally got to mow last night. The Toro ran beautifully after being serviced and the cut was razor sharp. Grass was tall so I kept HOC at 3.5 and will be mowing more to bring it down to 2". My goal is to mow every 2-3 days for a while as long as it's growing.

I dropped just under a half pound of N with BalX (16-4-8). Wanted to spoon feed with 0.25 lb but the prill size made that too difficult. I will either drop another 0.45 lb N in 10 days or find something easier to apply at lower rates. I want to avoid adding K anyway later in the season.

_EDIT: My math was wrong-I actually put down 0.35 lb N/1000 sq ft. So not as much as I thought. I might feel comfortable with weekly apps at that rate. _


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Here is the progress of post-emergence spurge control since July in the front.

Two apps of CCO spaced a month apart pretty much took care of it. I might use Gallery (Isoxaben) next year for pre-emergence control in this spot. I feel lucky to not have any noticeable weeds in the entire lawn after a challenging spring renovation, and to be honest I did not expect these post-emergence results I had. Let's hope there's no poa annua that pops up yet this fall-so far I see nothing and soil temps have been hovering between 65-75°F.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Another mow tonight with HOC down to 2". Let's see if I can keep mowing every other day to encourage the roots to grow deeper.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Cooler highs in the mid-to-upper 50's over the next week, then looks like above average temps in the 70's for the first half of October. Lows look to stay above freezing for now. 


We received some light rain yesterday (probably under a tenth of an inch). Friday was my last mow, and I'll probably mow again soon-either today or tomorrow. Then later this week another mow and fertilizer app of 0.35 lb N. Rinse and repeat.

Other than that my main duty is scaring squirrels off the lawn. They have been digging little holes everywhere and I'm sick of it. Any suggestions to keep them from doing this is welcome.


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## Stonefeet (Jul 30, 2020)

Re: squirrels, .177 pellet gun, knock a few down and the rest will go on


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Stonefeet said:


> Re: squirrels, .177 pellet gun, knock a few down and the rest will go on


Thanks for the suggestion @Stonefeet, but I'd consider that only as a last-resort option due to the illegal nature of shooting a pellet gun in my city limits. Took a peek at your reno journal btw and it looks to be off to a decent start. Good luck!


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## Stonefeet (Jul 30, 2020)

BH Green said:


> Stonefeet said:
> 
> 
> > Re: squirrels, .177 pellet gun, knock a few down and the rest will go on
> ...


Same, but the town ain't gonna pay for all the roof damage those things can do so i do what I have to do.

Thx good luck out there.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

I was able to get another mow in today. Looks pretty much the same but noticing slow progress in the trouble areas and slightly more even color. I'm confident that the lawn will only improve until it really starts getting colder in about 3 weeks from now. If I'm lucky temps will stay above average through October. Season sure is short here-I'm looking forward to spring already.


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Wow, this is fantastic. Nice work! You definitely set yourself up with success with all the work and planning you did prior to actually seeding. I think you'll be very happy with how your yard looks come spring next year. Keep up the great work!


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Thanks @gregonfire! My journey has only begun and I'm excited to continue gaining knowledge and experience with this lawn.


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## Stonefeet (Jul 30, 2020)

The way the grass is all the way up to the base of that tree brings pure joy to my heart. (No sarcasm)


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Stonefeet said:


> The way the grass is all the way up to the base of that tree brings pure joy to my heart. (No sarcasm)


There's something I really like about that too. And for a sugar maple, those roots are tucked nicely into the ground to allow the grass to grow up to it. I thought about a neat mulch ring around it, but I'll probably keep the natural look. She should be getting her fall colors soon!


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## Stonefeet (Jul 30, 2020)

BH Green said:


> Stonefeet said:
> 
> 
> > The way the grass is all the way up to the base of that tree brings pure joy to my heart. (No sarcasm)
> ...


Attempting to do that here but this tree (also a maple) has decided to start dropping leaves already, not sure how to get them off of there without walking all over week old grass or would it even matter


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Stonefeet said:


> BH Green said:
> 
> 
> > Stonefeet said:
> ...


That is honestly one of the reasons I did my reno in the spring. I get a ton of leaves, and walnuts too. Not sure if it's actually a huge issue or not though either. I would probably try to move them with the leaf blower, or bag em on the first mow if possible.


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Stonefeet said:


> Attempting to do that here but this tree (also a maple) has decided to start dropping leaves already, not sure how to get them off of there without walking all over week old grass or would it even matter


I had this problem during my reno. I used a leaf blower but left it on idle and was able to get most of the leaves off the grass without hurting the babies. It's ok to walk on the new grass just try to limit how much you're on it.


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## Stonefeet (Jul 30, 2020)

gregonfire said:


> Stonefeet said:
> 
> 
> > Attempting to do that here but this tree (also a maple) has decided to start dropping leaves already, not sure how to get them off of there without walking all over week old grass or would it even matter
> ...


Thx, kind of what I was thinking. I've got this sort of test area around a magnolia tree that I use to more or less practice stuff since nothing will ever actually stay there i get to reseed it 2 times a year with whatever I've got laying around. In may when I threw down some random tall fescue and of course that awful tree starts dropping leaves like crazy, after a few days of picking them up I just took the blower to it and blew them down into the lower part of the yard. I had a fair amount of success with that under there. Gonna be a little tricky on the new grass side because of wood piles outside the fence but hopefully with full sun and much much drier air today it'll dry out a bit and I can give it a go later on.

I'll stop hijacking this thread with my own stuff


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Haha no worries on hijacking my journal @Stonefeet-I welcome discussions here from others with similar challenges and experiences. And great advice on dealing with leaves @gregonfire it seemed to have all worked out for you.

On a different note, here is a progress comparison shot of how the back yard's "sunny side" has improved over the last month. This side didn't get overseed except a couple bare dirt patches, and a tiny bit in those grub-damaged spots. I think in the future, I will push the KBG more to fill in and repair this side instead of overseeding when damage occurs (this seemed to work amazingly well for Greg). These photos also show the fence completion and the shed getting a paint job to match the house.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

While the yard has been improving, I did notice some spots were turning that grayish-brown color again yesterday. Took a few core samples to check soil moisture last night. The worst spots were completely dry. I have cut back on watering this week, but didn't expect it to be that dry with the cooler temps. However, I forgot it has been very windy with low humidity and zero rain in 3 weeks.

It's been a while since I took a hard look at Evapotranspiration (ET) and irrigation, so let's go down that rabbit hole again. If interested, I recommend reading the ET and Irrigation Guide.

*so here are my current variables:*

_root depth: *4.5"*_
_

soil capacity: *0.15"* / inch of soil

100% root zone capacity: *0.68"* (4.5x.15)

50% capacity: *0.34"* (0.68/2)

current daily ET: *0.16"*
_
*Base on these values:*
It takes just over 4 days for 100% of moisture in the top 4.5 inches of soil (the root zone) to dry up (0.68/0.16=4.25 days). To lose 50% capacity (0.34"), it will take almost 2 days (0.16 x 2 = 0.32"), so to maintain 50% capacity I should be watering 0.32" every 2 days.

Now it makes sense why my soil would be totally dry: because I have not maintained ET (My total irrigation for the week has been less than the weekly ET). I ran a 90 minute cycle this morning with over 1"-I know this is more than my root zone can hold but I wanted to give it a good soaking since I let it get so dry. Now I know that I can water another 0.5" on Sunday morning if ET remains the same, and will plan my next fert app the night before.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Wow, since I started writing my previous post about irrigation and ET, the daily ET has dropped from 0.16" to 0.11". Either that or I read it wrong. Temps are dropping to the upper 30's tonight and the wind is letting up. I guess this source gives you a forecast for the next few days which is helpful.

With my forecasted ET, my root zone, which holds roughly *0.68"* of water, will not be depleted by half until about Monday:
Today: 0.11"
Friday: 0.08"
Saturday: 0.06"
Sunday: 0.08"
Monday: 0.13"
Tuesday: 0.12"
total through Monday=*0.38"* (that's 55% of root zone capacity)
total through Tuesday=*0.5"* (74% capacity)

If I am understanding this correctly, and this forecast is accurate, I should water just under a half inch on Tuesday morning to replenish the 0.38" lost between now and Monday. @g-man am I doing this right?

_note: I understand this isn't representative of exact moisture content in every part of my lawn, but it can be a helpful tool to guide my irrigation practices. My goal is to provide adequate irrigation and promote deeper root growth while avoiding excessive runoff and wasting water resources._


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It looks right. My ET is 0.08in for the next few days. It is normal for this time of year since we get less sun and colder temps.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

g-man said:


> It looks right. My ET is 0.08in for the next few days. It is normal for this time of year since we get less sun and colder temps.


Thanks for taking a look!


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

*Weather log:*
This morning we technically had our "first frost" with a low temperature of 34°F. We should not be getting another frost for a while according to the temperature outlook. After this weekend, the forecast is showing 70's and sunny for the next couple weeks. Soil temps are currently 56°F and will probably creep back above 60°F for a while, which means I have time to put down more fertilizer.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Only had time to mow and edge the front. I have not edged before this so it needed it. Picked up a new Ego edger to get the job done. I'll get the back yard mowed tomorrow and maybe drop some fert.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Mowed and applied 0.5 lb N tonight. Took some photos from the roof, which provide a better look at my problem areas.

Transitioning to a less frequent irrigation schedule this fall has revealed where the dry spots are. I took more soil samples today and found some spots totally dry 6" deep while others had plenty of moisture. It's either because I have poor coverage, the soil is drying up faster for some reason, or the soil is not absorbing the moisture at all. I will have to investigate further. It does not help that we have not seen rain in weeks. It is soo so dry.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Overall I'm proud of my progress with the yard this year. I've put a decent amount of thought into my irrigation (wouldn't have survived summer if not) but have more to learn and need to make improvements if I want better results during a drought like we have now.

I'm going to try to measure how much water those dry spots get when I run the irrigation in the morning, then see how much moisture is in the soil.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Yep, there's definitely a problem with my sprinkler coverage. Looks like my DIY irrigation design needs work, and I've got homework to do this winter.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

This section of the hellstrip has performed very well. Not sure what's going on here, but it's always been thick and healthy looking with zero signs of disease or stress. I like the sharp angle with the new edger too. Let's see how well it does after sitting under a pile of snow for a few months :lol:


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## Stonefeet (Jul 30, 2020)

Edge game is tight


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Thanks @Stonefeet I love a clean edge. First time I have ever used an edger. The Ego was great!


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## Stonefeet (Jul 30, 2020)

BH Green said:


> Thanks @Stonefeet I love a clean edge. First time I have ever used an edger. The Ego was great!


My wife has bugged me about getting an edger but all of our edges are just stones or wildly not straight concrete so it's not a clean straight line so I just roll with the upside down weed eater. Getting better at it.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Stonefeet said:


> BH Green said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks @Stonefeet I love a clean edge. First time I have ever used an edger. The Ego was great!
> ...


My wife never bugs me to buy more lawn equipment lol.

A weed eater might actually work better for non-straight edges. I tried using the gas weed eater to edge a small section once but didn't do very well. I wasn't very good at trimming with it either so now I use the Ego power head combo with trimmer and edger attachments.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Btw here are some photos after a double mow in the back. Trying to stay on top of mulching those leaves. HOC 2.5", grass was 3" tall before I mowed it, so it grew 0.5" in 3 days. Can't decide what height to go with for the last few mows of the year.

Those pesky dry spots are still struggling but better after some extra watering Tuesday. Head-to-head coverage is vital with MP rotators and that seems to be the problem.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

3 month progress of spurge central. Came out better than expected.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

May 16, 2020-1 week before seed down:



October 9, 2020:

 

We moved into this house just over a year ago (September 27, 2019). I discovered TLF sometime the following February and the rest is history. Still so much to learn and more work to do. My journey has only begun!


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Fantastic results for a spring reno. Great diligence keeping up with and curing those problem spots. Looks awesome!


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Thanks @jskierko! It sure has required diligence to keep this reno alive. I've had to "cure" a few issues, but next year I hope to take more preventive measures to control weeds, fungus, and pests.

I'll be making improvements to irrigation too. The good thing about having drought is that it has forced me to learn how to manage irrigation and exposed any flaws in my system design so I can make it better.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Well folks, it looks like the growing season is coming to an end here. With morning low temperatures forecasted to stay below freezing for a long time, I decided to put away the DIY sprinkler system this weekend after running a final cycle Friday morning. Soil temperatures have declined by 20° over the last week but remaining above freezing for now, currently 42° on Greencast.

There were still grass clippings when I mowed Thursday. I expect to mow at least once more but not expecting much if any top growth. There are still a lot of leaves falling so I'll need to stay on top of mulching or bagging those before putting the mower away for good. We have about 0.5" of precipitation (snow and rain) expected this week so I'll need to let things dry out first.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

The ground has been wet all week with light rain and snow. Soil temperature is averaging 35° today, and the local forecast shows record-breaking lows below 10° in the next 5 days with highs in the 20's and 30's. It's safe to say the season is over, and I'm glad I got all of the hoses put away last week. It's hard to believe it was 86° here a couple weeks ago, but that's how fast weather can change around here.

Leaves continue to fall, so I need some warmer dry days to finish cleaning up the yard before putting the mower away for good.

Here's a photo from earlier this week. As you can see I've got some maple leaves to clean up once it dries out.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Leaves getting out of control, but ground has been either wet or freezing. Soil temps are averaging 30 today and we have a winter weather advisory. Might be a while before I'll be able to clean this up.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

This sucks. Now I've got a bunch of leaves covered with a bunch of snow.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

It's been a while so thought I'd catch up here with where things ended last fall. Our late October snow melted and the lawn was dry enough to do some final cleanup work in November. These photos show the lawn as it was beginning to enter it's dormancy in November.











It's been a strange winter with both unusually warm periods mixed with extremely cold temperatures. We had some rains in December followed by cold temperatures, so my biggest fear of ice cover on the TTTF might have happened. It is being put to the ultimate test in it's first year after one of the hottest summers, severe draught, and now ice cover this winter.

My plan is evaluate damage this spring, push the KBG as much as possible, and mow mow mow often to encourage root growth.


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## BruteMak (Aug 18, 2020)

@BH Green How's your lawn looking now that we've had some periods of decent weather?
My TTTF/KBG Reno seems to have woke up nicely. I also haven't seen much for snow/ice damage, so I think we're in the clear if yours held up the same


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

@BruteMak thanks for asking, glad to hear yours survived the winter (I'd love to see it, so if you feel like starting a lawn journal I encourage you to do so  )! Mine's mostly greening up nicely but some areas are struggling with winter damage. I have some snow mold and mole damage but it looks like there is green popping up so most of it should recover. Some larger areas that didn't have snow cover for most of the winter look like they suffered from a bit of desiccation, but it could also be damage from rabbits-they ate much of the backyard down to the crowns. My other theories are that our dog may have trafficked those areas more, or those areas could have been weaker going into winter and less likely to handle the stress. Either way those larger areas still have green popping up too so I'm hopeful it will recover but it will take some time.

*Here's what I've done so far this spring:*
-lightly raked a couple times
-cleaned up debris
-mowed for the first time last Friday
-this week I'm getting core samples for a soil test

*Pre-emergent:*
I decided to skip pre-emergent for the lawn's first real spring this year in order to push roots and spreading the KBG as much as possible. I had some isolated weed issues last summer (crabgrass, spurge) but it was after a spring reno so I want to evaluate the true weed pressure now that the lawn is thicker and more established. This year I have the ability to spot spray young weeds as they pop up since I'm not seeding.

*Fertilizer:*
I'm giving the grass more time to wake up before pushing any fertilizer. I also want my soil test results before finalizing my fert program for the year. I will likely make my first app sometime in May. I'm considering incorporating some Subvert Depth-10 and some Micros into my program, and may experiment more with spoon feeding this year.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Quick update on the lawn. The grass has greened up more and the winter damaged areas seem to be recovering and most spots should fill in on their own. The back yard looks very patchy between the recovering spots and the super green and fast growing dog pee spots-I need to get some light fert apps down to even it out asap but I'm waiting for some Teejet nozzles to come this week. I'm going to try spoon feeding all liquid fert this year.

Mowing about every 4-6 days right now but will increase that frequency as temps rise and I start spoon feeding some N. We've been having some cool temps with lows in the 30s at night, so growth is still fairly slow.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Soil test results are in!

FRONT:



BACK:



*My general plan with a liquid spoon feeding aproach.*

Front Yard:

spoon feed AMS for N source.

SOP to replenish K.

Apply some elemental sulfur and citric acid to help bring pH down.

Back yard:

Stabilized Urea for N source (UMAXX).

Apply some lime to add calcium and raise pH.

Both Front and Back:

biostimulants- RGS, Humic12, and Air8

fungicides-preventative rotation of azoxystrobin and propiconazole

micros-foliar chilated iron and manganese


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## BruteMak (Aug 18, 2020)

Looking good!
I'll definitely be doing a lawn journal, just not sure when I'll find the time to sit down and do it :lol: 
I ended up running a sunjoe scarifier through my front yard reno a few weeks ago to break up all of the clumps of dead material I couldn't manually rake out last fall. 
Opened up a few bare spots, but I'm planning on experimenting with growing kbg plugs to help fill in some problem areas in the backyard (2 dogs, one big one small) so we'll see if I have to use some in the front as well.

Where did you get/send your soil test? I winged it last year and now I'm curious to see what mine looks like.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

The difference between front and back pH is very strange. Can you explain it? Lime in the front?


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

BruteMak said:


> Looking good!
> I'll definitely be doing a lawn journal, just not sure when I'll find the time to sit down and do it :lol:
> I ended up running a sunjoe scarifier through my front yard reno a few weeks ago to break up all of the clumps of dead material I couldn't manually rake out last fall.
> Opened up a few bare spots, but I'm planning on experimenting with growing kbg plugs to help fill in some problem areas in the backyard (2 dogs, one big one small) so we'll see if I have to use some in the front as well.
> ...


Thanks!
Sent soil samples to Waypoint Analytical Iowa location. Got there in a couple days and results were in my inbox the day after that. Last year I got a test from Agrilab here in Sioux Falls but they took about a week to get my results back. I only tested for pH, P, and K last year.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

g-man said:


> The difference between front and back pH is very strange. Can you explain it? Lime in the front?


It is very strange indeed and I have no explanation for it. I thought it was my spruce tree (and two pines that were removed) in the back making it more acidic, but my research seems to tell me that's a myth. We moved here Fall 2019 so I don't know much history. Everything I've done is in this journal. I've never applied lime.

I did have pH tested last spring and pretty much same results, different lab. (7.5 front, 5.9 back).

My best guess is something to do with construction of the home (1963). Like maybe they filled in the front with different material or something?


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Some photos from this week. I've got AMS, SOP, Urea, and biostimulants to put down next week. Hopefully I can even out the color and growth in the back a bit.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

2nd photo of the front is amazing!


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Thanks @Chris LI! That little square section in front has come a long way since last summer when it was full of spurge.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

I calibrated my Field King 2 gallon sprayer last night using the white TeeJet TF-4 tip. Walking to a metronome at 95 bpm puts out exactly 1 gallon per 1,200 sq. ft. (the size of my front lawn). I plan to spray twice in two directions for even coverage and to use up one tank-this would give me a carrier volume of just over 1.6 gallons/M.

For the front yard:
I plan on starting with weekly apps of .18 lb. N/M (exactly 1 pound of AMS for the 1200 sq ft) at a carrier rate of 1.6 gallons/M. When temps get warmer I may reduce my rate, or increase my carrier volume.

For the back yard:
I'll be spraying urea. I might try to find a tip that would allow me to keep the same walking speed and lower my carrier volume to 1.2 gallons/M, which for 3,300 Sq. feet in the back would only require me to refill the tank one time per application. I will try either the gray Floodjet tip (TF-4), or maybe the gray Turbo (TT11006) for a little more foliar absorption.

At some point I will probably need to upgrade my sprayer to a 4 gallon backpack to make this a little easier and also allow more flexibility with carrier volumes.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

I didn't have the room for storage of a backpack sprayer and wanted to upgrade from my 2.5 gallon pump sprayer, so I purchased a Chapin 3 gallon pump last year. I also purchased a CF valve for it and I'm quite happy with it. I've learned to pace myself to apply at 1 gallon per 1,000, to keep the math simple. My front is just shy of 3k and my backyard is just shy of 2k, so I only need two fill-ups. I haven't purchased any tee jets for it, but am happy with the flat fan tip that comes with it. The spray is a little on the coarse side. I have some posts about it last year in my journal, if you're interested.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Chris LI said:


> I didn't have the room for storage of a backpack sprayer and wanted to upgrade from my 2.5 gallon pump sprayer, so I purchased a Chapin 3 gallon pump last year. I also purchased a CF valve for it and I'm quite happy with it. I've learned to pace myself to apply at 1 gallon per 1,000, to keep the math simple. My front is just shy of 3k and my backyard is just shy of 2k, so I only need two fill-ups. I haven't purchased any tee jets for it, but am happy with the flat fan tip that comes with it. The spray is a little on the coarse side. I have some posts about it last year in my journal, if you're interested.


Sounds like you have a good system down, I'll have to check out your previous posts.

I ended up getting my first app down tonight following my plan outlined in my previous post. I have to say I love the precision achievable with spraying, especially with the different teejet tip options you can really dial it in. Using a metronome kept my pace consistent so the only thing I had to watch was my nozzle height and distance between each row.

I did the back first using the gray tip. A single two gallon tank perfectly covered the back in one pass (3300 sq ft), then I refilled once and went over it in the other direction for a total of 4 gallons/3,300 sq ft, or 1.2 gallons/M.

Then I swapped out to the white tip and sprayed the front with one last 2 gallon tank in 2 different directions.

*Recap of what I put down:*
Front:
AMS (.18 lb N/M)
RGS
Air-8

Back:
Urea (.2 lb N/M)
RGS
Air-8


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

It's May 20, exactly a year from the day I put down seed in the renovation last spring. Today I reflect on the journey so far.

The renovation process was fun last year but I'm happy to have a lawn to mow now. I do not miss the challenge of keeping baby seedlings alive in 90 degree heat, but it taught me a lot about grass. It's crazy to think about putting seed down this late in spring but I managed to make it work. This stand of turf has been through a stressful year but ultimately it prevailed. I've made some mistakes and learned a ton, and I'm ready for whatever challenges come my way.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Okay enough reflection as I have to focus on preparing my turf for it's most stressful time of year. It should be easy compared to raising baby seedlings in summer, but I also have to realize that a thicker turf probably means more fungus, and the stand is still vulnerable to disease being only one year old.

Soil temps are creeping into the 60's with the 5 day average around 63 degrees on greencast. It's been foggy and drizzly for a couple days now so the grass has been wet for a long time, which makes me worry about disease. I think it might be time for a preventative app of fungicide before temps rise into the mid 80's this weekend. The night-time lows Friday and Saturday will be 66 degrees so conditions are starting to be ripe for brown patch.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Last night the grass was dry enough to mow. Still cutting at 3" for now. I'm mowing about every three days now and keeping well within the 1/3 rule. There are some spots in the back that are not growing much and don't even get cut and I think it's a mix between compaction and winter damage trying to recover. I'll keep spoon feeding and mowing often and see what happens. At least the color seems to be evening out a little after the dose of fertilizer.

I put down preventative granular fungicide (azoxy + propi combo) but have not watered it in yet. Theres still plenty of moisture in the soil so I will wait another day to run an irrigation cycle.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

log for Saturday May 22:

mowed for 3rd time last week (3")

noticed some slight fertilizer burn from my foliar app last week so I ran about an inch of irrigation

*learning lesson on applying fast-release nitrogen:*
I learned that I need to water in my nitrogen apps better. I only hand watered it in last week with a good rain in the forecast the following morning, but the rain never came. There is a little yellowing at the base of the grass from the fertilizer sitting there too long and not getting all the way down to the soil. Newbie mistake on my first time spraying fert. I will make sure to water it in better and maybe lower my rates to me safe next time. Overall, I'm pleased with the response from the fertilizer and glad the damage was minimal. We had a decent rain the last two nights so that should help flush remaining salts.

The front yard looks pretty much the same with maybe a little better color and thickness. The back yard is showing the most improvement from the nitrogen with how uneven it was looking. Sill a little patchy but looking much better back there.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Mowed on Monday night, and last night I applied preventative GrubEX and Sulphate of Potash (separately). I found it difficult to spread the SOP evenly at a low rate and ended up at about 1.25 lb. K/M, but at least this granular stuff from yard mastery is supposed to be slow release.

Rain we got last night and this morning should total at least .5" I think. Cooler temps this week with high of 52 today, gradually rising back into the low 80's towards the end of next week.

Next applications will likely be another .1 lb of N and then Humic12. in the coming days.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Rained all day yesterday totaling almost an inch. Sun finally came out this evening so I snapped some photos of the front. I'll let the ground dry a bit and maybe get a mow in tomorrow.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Here's a close up of that little bare spot you may have noticed in the front. This spot died after the first snow last year. I might just leave it as an experiment to see how well the tall fescue can fill in a spot this size.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Back yard is finally starting to even out. This is the most consistent it has looked between the shade and sunny sides. Have not applied anything since my last post. Mowing 2-3 times a week now. I'm monitoring moisture in the soil-it's been a week since we had rain, but I still see moisture at 4 inches in the sunny areas. I will have to run irrigation tomorrow morning probably with temps climbing into the 90's this weekend.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Forecast looks extra crispy for a cool-season lawn! Pretty much every lawn in my neighborhood is at least some shade of green but I expect that to change really soon.

I ran a heavy irrigation this morning to replenish moisture in the soil, which was only the third time I've irrigated so far since we've had some decent rain. Roots are currently reaching a depth of 8" according to a core I took yesterday-I was hoping to have a little deeper roots by now from the fescue, but I'm in far better shape than this time last year when I had week-old seedlings. By this time next year, let's see if I can get some roots down to depths of 12-20" or even more.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

An hour later and the forecast now has 13 straight days with a High temp 90 or above and zero rain. This should be fun.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

We are a couple weeks into this heatwave with high temps in the 90's every day, with a total of six days reaching 96 or above. Only rain we got was .26" last Friday. It does look like things will cool off a little after this weekend.

The lawn is hanging in there through this heat, but we had a birthday party for my daughter in the backyard last weekend so it got trampled quite a bit and is looking stressed now. Keeping up with irrigation has been a challenge but I'm managing okay for the most part.

I put down D-thatch yesterday morning to help break down some of the dead material and help feed the grass a little while it's hot out.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Not much happening with the lawn this week. A much needed hiatus from the extreme heat over the last couple days has helped relieve some stress in the lawn. Looks like normal temps for a bit before jumping back into the 90's. With how hot this summer is turning out to be I'm just letting it chill and focusing on mowing and irrigation. I'm really happy with how the turf has been handling a variety of conditions throughout my yard. I'm especially surprised how thick the grass is staying in some very heavily shaded areas, although it does seem more vulnerable to traffic there.

snapped some photos in the backyard this morning while watering the tomato garden:


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Lawn looks great, and appears to be holding up well despite the heat! Your 5/25 post mentioned 3" HOC. Are you still at the same HOC, or have you raised it since then?


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

@Chris LI Thank you! I've been mowing on the highest setting my Toro will go since the start of June. Measured the grass height at roughly 3.5" after mowing yesterday. Mowing at least twice a week.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

I was able to get some applications in at the end of June:

Azoxy + Propi liquid
RGS + Air8
Humic + Iron with little bit of sulfur, manganese, and nitrogen.

Was out of town for 8 days on vacation July 2-10 and came back to a super thick, lush, healthy lawn. It was scorching hot while I was gone but I ran my DIY irrigation on auto every other morning plus we finally got some good rains. Temps have since dropped to not normal. Having no traffic for a few days helped as well.

I'm noticing a lot more KBG in the lawn too. Before it would be tough to find a blade of KBG within the thick TTTF, but now there seems to be a lot more of it competing.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

I haven't really been doing anything to the lawn the last few weeks this summer. Basically just mowing and working on managing soil moisture. I'm ready to start dropping more N once it cools off more. I spend more time picking up walnuts out of the back lawn than anything else.

I started irrigating two days in a row, then waiting the whole week to water again. I've found that the water penetrates better when I water two days in a row and I am able to go longer between without seeing draught stress. I think the Air8 and Hydratain I put down in June may have helped some as well.

Some recent photos:


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## Ben4Birdies (12 mo ago)

Hey BH Green, how has your lawn been handling this strange winter we've been having?


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

@Ben4Birdies Sorry I missed your question! Winter sure was tough on my TTTF, which is very slow to wake up this spring. Looking very brown compared to my neighbors so far. TTTF likes it warmer.

I remember looking at how brown it was last spring and thinking "I'm not sure if this is going to come back", but it ended up greening up with warmer temperatures. This spring is different though-there are a lot of plants that look like they have dead crowns, and one section along the fence line had ice cover which may not have survived. My North end in the back is a bit thin compared to last spring too.

The good news is that the KBG in my lawn seems to be thriving and hopefully will slowly take over the areas where TTTF struggles. I might start spoon-feeding it N soon to push it more.

No mowing yet but I put a new air filter in the toro, changed the oil, and sharpened the blade so I'm ready to get out there!

I will try to get some photos up later today to show how things are looking.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Here are some photos I took of the lawn yesterday after my first mow of the season. Not much grass was cut but it was a good clean-up.

Looks like garbage right now. Last year it looked better in early April than it does now, but I think most of it will eventually come out alright once it warms up. I'm noticing more KBG in the lawn than I've ever seen, so with a little Nitrogen, I hope some of the winter damage can fill in. Whatever doesn't I will evaluate what to do with it later in the season.

Part of my long-term plan after renovating was to observe areas of weak turf performance and consider redesigning the landscaping where turf grass does not thrive. I would really like to introduce more diversity and native species to the perimeter landscape.







This area back here is really thinning out due to late-season shade and walnuts dropping in the fall out of that tree. It might make more sense to eventually extend the garden bed here with some hostas or other shade-tolerant plants if it doesn't fill in. A good percentage of the grass on this shady end is KBG though so we shall see if any of it fills in.





This is the worst area in the whole yard. It had ice cover for a good portion of the winter and looks like a lot of the TTTF died along this edge. This edge gets full sun in the summer, but is full shade spring and fall. I'm considering completely renovating the landscaping along this edge with some different plants, or I might try reseeding with KBG (more tolerant to ice cover) in early August before the shade sets in.



You can see I'm way behind my neighbors in terms of green-up, but I attribute that to TTTF grass type, which is really slow to come out of dormancy when it's cold.





Since I have not posted photos since last August, here is what it looked like in early November last year. It was starting to lose some color by that time but overall I was pleased with how it looked going into winter.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Still need to get a soil test done and then I will start a light spoon-feeding program. But first, looks like we finally get some decent rain over the next few days.


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## Ben4Birdies (12 mo ago)

Yeah, winter was pretty harsh on lawns in the area. Things seem to be bouncing back into shape a bit now though. Any updates?


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

Well it's been a busy spring! As @Ben4Birdies said, things seem to be bouncing back for the most part in the lawn, but I did have some areas of pretty bad winter kill, which are that saw the most ice cover.

Here are the applications I've made so far this spring. I'm spoon-feeding AMS in the front and Urea in the back due to the difference in pH. I've also applied some bio stimulants and a little iron with manganese. The front also received a dose of SOP and sulfur, based on soil test results. I plan to put down some preventative fungicides soon before it gets hot and muggy again.


*Front yard update:*
lots of dead spots where the ice sat all winter. I roughed it up and threw down some Mazama seed a few days ago but the storms may have washed some of that away. I don't have high expectations of fixing this until fall but will see what fills in. Lots of maple seeds stuck in the lawn right now.



*back yard*
looking decent. The shady side thinned out somewhat this year but has improved over the last couple of weeks. The rest looks good except for the strip along the fence line, which again saw lots of ice cover during the winter. I would like to extend the garden possibly with raised beds along this edge, but if not I'll seed this area in the fall.


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## BH Green (Apr 9, 2020)

2022 soil test results I got at the beginning of May.

*front*


*back*


My program for the year is slightly different for the front and back. 

for Nitrogen, I'm spoon-feeding AMS in front and Urea in the back because of difference in pH

front will also get monthly apps of sulfur, and also some SOP this year

back yard will get some calcitic lime in the fall

other than that, I'll be playing around with some foliar iron, along with bio stimulants RGS, Air8, and Humic


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## Ben4Birdies (12 mo ago)

How has this fall been treating your yard? The warmer than average October has been nice, but some more rain would be nice. I hope your edge areas were able to fill back in!


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