# santhony1231's 2021 & 2022 Lawn Journal



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

It's about time that I get one of these going!

I am going to do a recap over the next few posts of what has happened since new sod went in on the property in July 2021.

The house was new construction. We closed in February 2021 here in Chaska, MN.

Stay tuned -- went from not knowing a thing about lawns in 2021 to reel mowing with an Allett Liberty 43 and being completely obsessed with improving the lawn.

Most recent struggles have been some sort of disease taking a toll on a few spots, neighbors with new sod watering my lawn 6 times a day, and trying to level out the bumps!!

Shout outs to @mowww and @MNLawnGuy1980 for demonstrating that this isn't out of the realm of possibilities in Minnesota. Also to @ReelWILawn and @JerseyGreens for consistently documenting their legendary lawns. And @g-man for all of the info that you share with us noobs.


----------



## ReelWILawn (Aug 29, 2021)

Thanks for following along and hopefully i've been able to help even just a little. I continue to learn more each day just by sharing my own journal and reading others. Looking forward to seeing your recap and more reel cut grass!

I know your struggle with you neighbor and new sod. I am lucky to have great neighbors; however, I went through the same issue last year during my reno. They were way over watering and they flooded about 1/3 of my yard. Since then they still water way too much.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

*-- July 23 2021 (D-Day) --*
The lawn was stormed by wave after wave of hard working individuals delivering and laying the sod.

I had no idea what I was in for, as this was the day where I realized I had zero idea what to do after the grass was in and the workers were gone. I also had no idea how much time, money, energy I would devote to this hobby over the following year+.













This was new construction and I sure wish I had done some more prep work of my own on the dirt before the sod went down. It would have saved a lot of time spent finding and digging up various materials down the road.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

*-- Rest of July 2021 through Mid August 2021 --*

*7/24/2021 (day after install)*


*7/29/2021*
This was the day where the builder dealt with the post in the front yard which I believe is the water access.


*8/5/2021*
I believe I had mowed once prior to these photos. I had just purchased a 21inch Ryobi dual blade crosscut that runs 2 of their 40V batteries. This is the mower that I used for the rest of 2021 and the beginning of 2022.






*8/8/2021*
Had some good rains and started dealing with some landslides in the back by the drainage manhole. This is really still an issue to date.


*8/15/2021*
Starting to look much better. Like a real lawn!


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

*-- The rest of August 2021 --*
We had an absolute ton of rain between 8/20/2021 and 8/26/2021. Inches and inches of rain. My brother came into town to stay with me for the weekend. On Friday 8/27, we woke up and went to the butcher shop to get some goodies to put on the smoker. We came back to the following:

*8/27/2021*




The hole that had been dug for the home next door completely caved in. We lost some grass, our mulch bed on the side of the house, and the fiber internet line. The irrigation lines somehow stayed intact. I had many (like 30) stressful conversations with the builder over the next week. This sod would not end up being replaced until July 2022 (a full year later).

*8/29/2021*
Aside from the obvious disaster above, the yard was coming along nicely. The pup who was 5 months old at the time, was just getting his first experience of having his own yard. His name is Severus (named after Professor Snape). He is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and he is the effing man.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

*-- September 2021 --*

September was uneventful! Mostly just mowing, watching, likely getting overly stressed out about micro changes. I did one feeding around Labor Day, but I believe I miscalculated my app way on the low side. It was a noob moment.

Towards the end of the month I did start seeing a lot of discoloration -- potentially a mix of heat stress (new sod during ultra hot july), being underfed, and some disease pressure from heat/drought/not-enough-fert.

*9/1/2021*
Back yard




Back yard landslide area by drain



.... gap in photos! Wasn't very thoughtful of documenting.

*9/27/2021*
I believe the flags and paint in the front yard was in preparation for burying our fiber line. This attempt failed, though -- they kinked the line and left us with no internet for the entire weekend. A temporary line was laid on top of the surface and stayed that way until August 2022.







*9/30/2021*
Started seeing some seedheads, poa a, discoloration.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

-- October 2021 --
The recovery from whatever I was dealing with made major strides in October. Another feeding at a proper rate + ideal weather were the main ingredients to success.

I also started figuring out the edging game. Added a Ryobi edger attachment for the powerhead.

*10/1/2021*






*10/3/2021*


*10/4/2021*










*10/6/2021*














*10/11/2021*


*10/12/2021*










*10/13/2021*




*10/15/2021*










*10/17/2021*
The recovery was just about complete as of here. I think it really started to look good late in its first season.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

*-- November 2021 --*

Just mowing and one late app of granular fert. No blitz in 2021. I did lower the HOC quite a bit in November to about 2.5 inches before snow came.

*11/1/2021*
Neighbor's fence install started. Was not thrilled with the idea of having to weed whip this fence line, but it does keep their dog contained.


*11/7/2021*












*11/10/2021*

Some areas could have been much nicer in the back yard if I had dropped more N. But man was it looking thick and dark. Makes me wonder if I did the right thing in 2022 in switching to the reel mowing game.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

-- December 2021 through March 2022 --

Mourned the loss of my full time job working in my own lawn.

Kept my smoker/grill game in form:

XMAS Beef Tenderloin. Smoked, pulled off, put back on for sear.





That was a big boy and probably turned out about as good as it could have.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

-- April 2022 --

Snow cover disappeared and came back a few times in April.

Some construction debris made its way into our yard, including a cardboard box down by the drainage manhole. I didn't think much of it and figured I would just go out and clear it at some point.

When I finally went down to get it, I lifted it only to feel a bunch of movement inside. It was a pretty solid family of voles.

Raked that area very very lightly and all along their paths out of that area. It eventually filled in just fine.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

*-- May 2022 --*

*5/6/2022*


*5/8/2022*

First mow of the year. Added the big league striping kit to the Ryobi. I was pretty impressed with it right out of the gate and definitely had my fair share of fun.

Also came out of winter with some damage likely from the dog. Next winter, this will not happen.









*5/11/2022*
Started plugging some spots. Worked pretty well. Should have placed plugs more densely.




*5/15/2022*
Wave stripes following the contour of the mulch bed. I still think this is my favorite pattern.


*5/18/2022*


*5/29/2022*
Backyard


----------



## gatorguy146 (5 mo ago)

I like the wavy stripes. That's a cool look and idea, bet it looks amazing to the naked eye with a beer in your hand


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

*-- June 2022 --*

June was the month where some things really started happening. I think I just said screw it and started doing all the things I wanted to do, but was maybe a bit hesitant to do earlier on.

I decided to get into the reel mowing game with a little manual scotts 6 blade from Home Depot.

Right around that time, I also got a sunjoe and scarified the yard.

I definitely did this at the wrong time as it was already getting super hot here. Our June was bizarrely hot and dry. Despite doing this during a stressful period of weather, nothing awful happened and I am now further along than I would have been if I waited!

I loved the little manual reel so much that I ordered an Allett Liberty 43 just 2 weeks later. It arrived on June 22.

*6/2/2022*

Sunjoe performed really well. Will definitely use in the future at times despite having the scarifier cartridge for the Liberty.





*6/10/2022*
These pics show the lawn when using the manual reel. I think at this time I had it set to about 1.25 inches, but I believe it was actually cutting at about 1.5in. If I was priced out of the powered reel market, I would have been just fine with a manual. It was super enjoyable to mow with. And it was no big deal on the backyard slopes (unlike the Allett, which is a total B-word).




*6/16/2022*
Sev enjoying his little turf square in the driveway.


*6/23/2022*
First mow with the Allett Liberty 43. Man was that mow rough. Highest setting (1.25in), but just butchered it all. I knew from this forum to just keep going at it and keep using the turf rake gently to clear it out.


*6/25/2022*




At this point I was still mowing the back yard with the manual. The front was just too much work with the Allett, that doing a backyard 3x the size of the front was not something I wanted to take on.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

*-- July 2022 --*

In July, I switched to cutting the back yard with the Allett. Steady progress was made throughout the month. I mowed almost every day in July and was pretty aggressive in lowering the cut a tiny bit each time with the goal of getting below an inch going into the fall season. I did some spot leveling with sand/dirt mixes in preparation for some more widespread leveling in August/September.

In July, I put down 2 bags of Milorganite over my 4k ft2 lawn. I did also spray iron once, and made 2 sprays of .1 lb N per 1k via AMS.

*7/1/2022*


*7/9/2022*


*7/11/2022*


















*7/12/2022*








*7/19/2022*












*7/20/2022*


*7/23/2022*








*7/27/2022*




*7/29/2022*








*7/31/2022*
This is a low spot that formed in my back yard right next to the neighbor. They just got their sod at this point and have been watering a tonnnn. This sitting water is going to cause issues here.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

*-- August 1 through August 16 2022 --*
Fair amount going on in August so far.
- Weather has been absolutely gorgeous. Highs in the upper 70s or low 80s. Lows in the upper 50s, low 60s. Still humid.
- Lowering HOC steadily. I am regularly mowing the front yard in the 7/8in range, give or take. Back yard HOC hangs out around 1in to 1.1in due to larger bumps/hills.
- Started Fall N Blitz on 8/11 in small doses. 3 apps of AMS so far at .1N/K, .1N/K, and .15N/K.
- Did add some leftover GreenEffect (6% iron) to 8/13 AMS app. 4oz/K of GreenEffect. Rinsed the following morning.
- Fiber line finally got buried in front yard. Left some tracks from the DitchWitch (more leveling, yay)
- Have been picking areas of the front lawn so far to spread sand/soil mix to level some areas out a bit at a time.

Photo dump from August so far:

*8/2/2022*
Same low spot in the back yard where water is pooling instead of running to the back ditch.


*8/4/2022*














*8/5/2022*






















*8/10/2022*


*8/11/2022*




*8/14/2022*




























*8/16/2022*

I am really happy and proud of how far the front and back have come. I am feeling a bit like I am running on fumes, so hoping that I can finish out the year strong, and start next year in a much better spot!


----------



## ReelWILawn (Aug 29, 2021)

This is looking really good! You've done a great job :thumbup:


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

@ReelWILawn thank you! I appreciate that. There are days when I don't know if it's moving in the right direction or if I've pushed it too far. But just continuing on has worked so far. What really gets me about your place is the landscaping. The deck, the beds, the edging - it's all top notch.

Ps. I grew up in Brookfield, WI


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

- 8/17/2022 -

- 3lbs per k Headway G (azoxy and propi) which is a fairly heavy rate. Killed the bag.

- .15lbs N/k Ams granular and watered in right after

No PGRs right now. Curious to see how much the propi affects top growth.

Noticing some yellow tips as of today.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

- sunday 8/29/2022 -

After coming back from walking the dog this morning, found a bunch of little mycelium spots in the front yard.

It is a little odd after putting down such a solid app of Headway G 3-4 days ago.

MN Renaissance Festival with the wife and kiddo this morning. Then mow. Then putting down my last app of Xzemplar. Will throw in the last app of t-methyl within a week to try and stomp this problem out.









The mycelium is pretty widespread which is concerning. We have been pretty wet lately. And very humid.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

- Sunday 8/21/2022 -

Mowed mid day.

Evening app:
.25 fl oz per 1k Xzemplar 
.04 lb N per 1k via AMS

In 4 gallon sprayer over 4k lawn

Added 1 fl oz lesco spreader sticker to the tank.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Those are spiderwebs.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

@g-man - thank you. I guess I did not even consider that possibility. Is this indicative of something else that needs to be dealt with in your opinion?

I've put down 2 apps of talstar (Bifen) and nyguard (IGR) earlier this summer.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Nah. They are harmless.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

@g-man thank you :thumbup:

Been following your reno. Doing a Sundance for you.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

Was out of town august 24-28. Have been getting the grass back down to its normal height. Right now it is back to about 1in.

-- Tues Aug 30 --
Put down .5 lb N per 1k at 7pm from some leftover bags of fert from last year. I had fallen behind in my blitz and wanted to get back on track. We are heating up a bit here this week, so hopefully this amount was ok. Let it sit overnight and watered in with a full irrigation cycle in the morning.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

Mowed today. 1inch setting on the Allett approximately. Switching up the stripes to a 50/50 on the garage side in front. These are still not fully switched from previous pattern. Cannot wait to get sand down in the front and back to even things out and get a bit cleaner.



Hell strip. Switching to 3 stripes instead of 4.





Main front section. Double cut today to get the diagonal perpendicular stripes back in better.







Back yard. Haven't mowed yet today. Last mow was 8/30 (2 days ago). Photos are from this morning. Looking pretty solid.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

I really want to get some collars around beds and trees next year. This year the focus is leveling, lowering the cut, and thickening/spreading. @jskierko and @Wile hooked me.


----------



## Wile (Sep 17, 2020)




----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

The neighbor across the street in picture 2 has nice stripes too.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

@g-man Armando is the man. He's got a striping kit on his rotary. We talk a fair bit about lawn maintenance. I think he might be joining the reel mowing club next year. But dang those stripes are so bold at that 2-3 inch height.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

I had to get the rotary out today to do the newly re-sodded areas.

Then I decided to just mow the front with the reel. I got a surprising amount of clippings.

Mowed just below 1 inch.

Feels like that fall blitz might be starting to rear its head. It felt like a very good, thick stand. Obviously will get better as the fall goes on. We've been pretty hot the last 3 days near 90 degrees. 3 upcoming days in the mid 70s. Those overnight temps are definitely helping.

Photo dump from after tonight's mow:


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

Got a 3 day period of highs in the mid 70s here in MN. Started to do some heavier leveling. Been going section by section.

Yesterday I dropped about 75 lbs of sand on some areas.

Today I put down about 300 lbs.

Cut down to ~.5-.7in prior.

Last night I also applied .06 lb N via AMS per 1k, .5oz talstar per 1k, and 3ml Nyguard per 1k. Been weirdly buggy lately. Also treated the perimeter of the house and throughout the garage today at a slightly heavier dosage of insecticide and IGR.

Cleaned out the garage beforehand.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

Put down .16 lbs N via AMS. sprayed last night and rinsed with full irrigation cycle this morning. Actually had some pretty dry areas yesterday.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

Got 3 tons of sand delivered today from the Mueller Pit in Carver, MN. Looks pretty good! Letting it dry out in the driveway today and tomorrow.

Hoping rain stays away on Friday so I can start getting it down on the lawn!


----------



## ReelWILawn (Aug 29, 2021)

Nice! Just finished 7 tons over the weekend.


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

@ReelWILawn for how large of an area?


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

Mowed today. The main area in the front is going to get sanded over the next few days if rain stays away so it's not going to look as good for a while


----------



## ReelWILawn (Aug 29, 2021)

santhony1231 said:


> @ReelWILawn for how large of an area?


Approximately 6,300 sqft


----------



## santhony1231 (Sep 30, 2021)

So it’s been about a month. In that time:

I put down 6000 lbs of sand
Thought that I killed the front where I went super heavy with it
Have been blitzing like crazy. I am at exactly 3 lbs of N since I started on August 8th
The grass has come back and now looks better than ever. I think the sand definitely set it back with respect to spreading and filling in.


----------

