# trc's emerald zoysia journal



## trc (Jun 23, 2017)

Welcome to my emerald zoysia lawn journal!

I planned to start this journal last year but three boys five and under so yeah. Here's my high level 2019 lawn plan. I'll go into more detail on my thought process and decision making for why I'm doing what I'm doing over the course of the year:

- 2 lbs N spoon fed
- PGR
- Reel low
- RGS and FEature
- Drought management
- Fungicide program
- USGA sand leveling
- Weed free

It's been a long journey to get where I am today. For those just getting started here's some inspiration via original pics from April 2013 when we moved into our house. I sodded late summer 2014 and the first year and a half was frustrating to say the least...I posted on ATY for help and ultimately between a seal team and this community I got started down the path of neighborhood domination.

Front:









Back:


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## trc (Jun 23, 2017)

Prodiamine hasn't done the best job on summer broadleaf control for me. Doesn't help that I'm surrounded by two neighbors with "lawns" fully composed of weeds. I've most notably struggled with spurge and chamberbitter so I added broadleaf control ($$$) this year for the first time.

Pre-M cocktail @ 2/10/19:

Gallery 75DF - 0.5 Oz/M 
Prodiamine 65 WDG - 0.4 Oz/M

I own and am big fan of celsius but with either one max rate or two medium rate apps I wanted some additional flexibility this year. I also have some huge mulch beds and wanted to make post-M life a bit easier this year.


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## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

You have any current pics? I'm stalking zoysia people right now


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## trc (Jun 23, 2017)

On to the scalp!

We had record rainfall fall 2018 and winter 2019 in the Atlanta area so scalp timing was especially challenging this year. I don't have any good pics but I swear parts of my lawn never went fully dormant...and started partially greening up late January. Not sure if this is due to last years PGR program or what but the lawn was rocking and ready to go early this year.

I didn't get my scalp on until March 16 due to all the rain and it was almost fully green in many parts of the lawn. Bench HOC was 0.5 In but actual HOC was about 0.4 In and much lower in some spots that need leveling.

Pics!


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## trc (Jun 23, 2017)

@gijoe4500 and here's today. First mow @ bench .750 this am since the scalp and probably a week late but work and spring break had me super busy.

Japanese maple and snowball bush are showing off:










But ruh-roh...came back from vacay and all that rain and morning shade became these spots of brown patch. I expected I needed to get some azoxy down before we left for spring break but I was out of town working the week before and didn't make it a priority.

So today was a broadcast 0.75 Oz/M of azoxy to get ahead of any additional patches on the way. For the record I did two rounds of azoxy and prop on time during the fall and still peachtree dishes in the right front yard.










Took the kids to the Tech baseball game today. Field, stripes and view were on point.


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## trc (Jun 23, 2017)

We had 4+ inches of rain Friday and Saturday so by the time the lawn dried out it was 8 days between mows. I filled a 30 gallon yard bag with clippings so growth is in full gear early this year. I would say it's time for PGR but I have a few spots of large patch filling in plus sanding in the near future.

Not too visible from afar but the reel is dull from scalping and was not cutting great today. Backlap or annual relief grind is likely in my near future.

Here's a couple post-mow pics right at dusk, turf is already super dense with mower floating at .750. Wish I had verticut during the spring scalp.


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

@trc

What is your schedule for spoon feeding N? Urea or Ammonium Sulfate?

Also. What rate/frequency on RGS/Feature?

Yard looks fantastic.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

I'm getting my Bermuda removed soon and my landscaper is pushing emerald or Zeon.

I want trinity zoysia but I doubt I can get some.

You aren't too far from me and emerald looks good, what made the first year or so rough with it? Hope it wasn't the 3 boys under 5. I also have that affliction!!

Great looking lawn by the way. I'm curious how low it can be cut, and frequency. I have PGR too.


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## trc (Jun 23, 2017)

Once a week mowing wasnt working so time for PGR. I used Greenkeeperapp and gdd last year with great results so more of the same this year. In the spray tank was first RGS of the year plus fungicide in addition to my standard PGR and Feature blend. Still no npk to date - targeting memorial day weekend for first dose. The turf is growing really fast so wont need much.

PGR: .25/M
Feature: 2oz/M
RGS: 6oz/M
Prop: 1oz/M

Cal Trimmer going in for sharpening on Tuesday. Backlapped last weekend for an improved cut but the reel is ready for a fresh edge.

Results:


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## trc (Jun 23, 2017)

Tmank87 said:


> @trc
> 
> What is your schedule for spoon feeding N? Urea or Ammonium Sulfate?
> 
> ...


I haven't spread any fert yet but planning to use a blend of GreenTRX (AS), Milo and SOP. Looking for around .35 N/M per app and using Milo as a carrier has helped with more uniform spread. RGS and Feature rates in post above.


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## trc (Jun 23, 2017)

FATC1TY said:


> I'm getting my Bermuda removed soon and my landscaper is pushing emerald or Zeon.
> 
> I want trinity zoysia but I doubt I can get some.
> 
> ...


First year I made all the rookie mistakes but once I went reel low and figured out a proper herbicide program it's been great. Emerald repairs very slowly so mistakes are magnified but now its so thick only fungus can really impact it. Cant go wrong with emerald or zeon as long as you have enough sun and drainage.


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## trc (Jun 23, 2017)

Overdue update:

It's been hot and dryish in Atlanta so without irrigation I called an audible on the idea of frequent spoon feeding. I also couldn't get comfortable evenly applying such a small volume of granular product so instead came up with a blend of GreenTRX (18%) and Milo (6%) to better control coverage and a 1:2 ratio or 1.5 lbs/M GreenTRX and 3 lbs/M Milo works out nice for a total of .45 slow release N.

That's the only fert app of the year so far and have otherwise been relying on the micronutrient formula of FEature, PGR and RGS every 2-3 weeks according to GDDs. I wasn't sure what to expect with barely any N this year and have been pleasantly suprised with overall turf health and improvements in drought tolerance/LDS compared to problem spots last year. I'm tempted to say the turf is in better overall condition now compared to twice the amount of N and significant additional rainfall we had last last year. Hard to point to a direct causation but the plan so far seems to be working.

Switching topics to pre-m: it's safe to say the decision to include Gallery in the lawn and landscape beds has been a huge win. Last year this time I had broadleafs everywhere in the beds and spurge throughout the yard and thus far weed control has been limited to ~3 mins of hand picking before a mow. I need to look into isoxaben half life and a reapp for the yard because I did reapply in the beds along with 120 bags of mulch over Memorial day via Preen extended granular (w/ isoxaben). Not having to mix and spot spray Celsius everywhere has been great and opened up extra time to focus on the natural edges and technique with the landscape blade. :thumbup:

On to the pics!


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## learnt (May 19, 2019)

Yard looks awesome, my dude. Landscaping is on point - and, general home aesthetics are killer! Fantastic property!!!


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## trc (Jun 23, 2017)

One more:


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## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

This is the turf that my next year's dreams are made of.

What is GDDs?


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

@Gilley11 
GDD= Growing Degree Days. It's a calculation of accumulated heat energy using the high & low daily temperatures, and for PGR applications it estimates the duration of that single application. It's essentially estimating when the next app is due, based on the daily temperatures.

This website ( https://www.greenkeeperapp.com/marketing/ ) helps keep track of this for you.


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## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

Get out, that's pretty slick. Thanks for the exploitation and link


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## ZeonJNix (Dec 13, 2019)

Looks great. I just sodded my whole yard with Zeon in May. I didn't put any fert on it the whole summer and it did great. Super green and filled in nicely. I kept the HOC at 1.25 this summer due to bumpiness and trying to get established nicely. I plan to scalp and level in the spring.

How does the PGR do on yours? I was able to mow once a week with no issues at 1.25. But I know when I bring it down to .5 this year I will need to plan on at least twice a week.


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## dmbowen3 (Aug 25, 2020)

trc said:


> Overdue update:
> 
> It's been hot and dryish in Atlanta so without irrigation I called an audible on the idea of frequent spoon feeding. I also couldn't get comfortable evenly applying such a small volume of granular product so instead came up with a blend of GreenTRX (18%) and Milo (6%) to better control coverage and a 1:2 ratio or 1.5 lbs/M GreenTRX and 3 lbs/M Milo works out nice for a total of .45 slow release N.
> 
> ...


 Looks fantastic!


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