# occamsrzr's 2020 reno/2021 grow-in



## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Hey all,

I figured I'd put together a journal of the project I've been working on. I didn't take many before pictures but I'll try to give as much detail I can of the lawn before the reno. We moved into this house a few years ago. It's a basic Northern Mix. The house was built in the 1940s so you could tell the different patches throughout the yard. I spent the first year getting used to mowing often and fertilizing. I ended the year with an overseed to try and unify the look of my yard. It was moderately successful.

7/9/2019 - shot of the area that will become the focus of the reno.


8/26/2019 - facing the house and right after our fence was installed. This was also before my overseed.


9/14/2019 - I had aerated and overseeded. I won't go into detail here. This was way too late in the season but I had a decent stand before my first frost.

The fall overseed had some decent results that survived the winter. It brought some uniformity but there were areas of the lawn that I came to realize could never be conquered by continual overseeds. By mid spring of 2020, I had decided I was going to commit to a full renovation.

I will try to recollect that journey as well as I can. This is the southern section of my front yard. It's about 2000sqft. I am planning to do the smaller 1000sqft northern section of the front yard in Fall of 2021.

7/1/2020 - First application of glyphosate.
7/5/2020 - Cut to 2" and bagged
7/7/2020 - Started irrigating to help fallowing
7/8/2020 - mowed at lowest setting on mower, bagged
7/9/2020 - Second application of glyphosate.
7/10/2020 - Put down sand to help level out bumpy parts of lawn.
7/11/2020 - Put 0.92 # N/M via urea down and 1# K/M via SOP. Soil tests showed low potassium rates. Urea used to help with kickstarting any plants during the fallowing process
7/16/20 - Put down compost. Fallowing process continues. Looking back, I think applying sand and then compost could have gone terribly. Being aware of creating soil interfaces is something I want to keep in mind going forward. I think the sand helped with stability for the bigger dips in my lawn. My logic was the compost would help with moisture retention during seeding.

7/21/2020 - Spot spray glyphosate for any new weeds that came up.
7/23/2020 - rolled the lawn to try and get the seedbed smooth.

7/28/2020 - Spot spray glypho
8/1/2020 - Big Day!

The mix I went with was 80/20 TTTF/KBG. I just custom made this. The TTTF is 4th Millenium from United Seeds. KBG is Blue Note / Mazama / Bewitched. Cultivars selected for shade tolerance.


 Last app of Glyphosate
 6lbs XStart / 6lbs XGRN / KBG - Applied them all together to bulk up the KBG
 TTTF goes down
 Raked / rolled 
 Application of Hydretain / Propiconazole / Tenacity
 Peat moss down / rolled again
 Tested irrigation, we got a small rainshower later that day, and a large downpour later that night.

After seed was down, before peat moss.


Peat moss down, testing irrigation and a bit of rain.


The downpour later that night seemed to have had a bit of washout.

8/4/2020 - Started seeing grass germinate. Not much but a handful of areas.
8/6/2020 - Widespread germination! Using this as a reference date for Days After Germination (DAG).
8/7/2020 - Shot of seeds coming up.

8/8/2020 - Seeding some bare spots / washout areas. Used peat and tackifier this time
8/9/2020 - Massive 3" rains causing even more washout. Also had some hail. I'm doing great with this timing thing!
8/10/2020 - After the rains. Some grass is laying flat.

8/12/2020 - First cut! Cut grass at 2" with a manual reel. Put down 0.24# N/M via spraying urea. Also had MKP in the tank for about the same amount of P.
8/15/2020 - Second round of XStart. Put down Disease X for Pythium preventative. Getting to those temps where this could be a problem. Adding a bit more seed to bare spots. More peat. More tackifier.
8/17/2020 - Third mow. Moved it down to 1.75" HOC.
8/19/2020 - Forth mow - still at 1.75"

8/25/2020 - 6th Mow - 1.75" HOC. We were back in pythium peaks for temps/humidity. I noticed potential fungus issues. Sprayed: 1/2#MKP / Contact Fungicide / PPZ.
8/28/2020 - 7th mow, first cut at 1.5"
8/29/2020 - Approaching that 1 month mark since seed down. Made a heavy handed application that probably dinged the stand a little bit but it all came out looking good in the end.

 Granular app of 1#K/M of SOP another app of Disease X. I think Soil loading with SOP was unwise here. It's a low salt content but this could have gone a lot worse
 Heavy foliar app includes: 0.46#N/M via urea. 0.13#P/M via MKP. A little more K from MKP. FAS mix of 2oz/M Fulvic, 1.5oz/M AMS, 1oz/M Ferrous Sulfate
 1.5oz/M Depth 10+
 12oz/M Depth CARB

Again, looking back, this application was maybe the most heavy handed I had during the whole reno. This, in combination with my constant seeding in bare spots, I think led to a bit of toasty plants. Definitely a mistake to keep in mind going forward.

9/1/2020 - 8th mow. Still at 1.5" HOC. Noticed a bit of tip burn. Put down second Tenacity app. Watered this Tenacity app in. 

Overall at the 1 month mark, I'm happy with the coverage and progress. I think the second Tenacity app helped me remain weed free throughout the rest of the season. The bleaching was fun to deal with.

I'll stop my first log entry there. I'll continue adding to this log and hopefully I can get caught up to present day soon.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Log entry #2: 9/1/2020-10/1/2020

9/1/2020 - Picking up where we left off. Here is a pic of the same day as the previous 9/1 pic but facing in the opposite direction.

9/4/2020 - First cut with the rotary mower! 10th mow overall. Had some issues with scalping near the curb. Everything else seems to be going well. I can maybe see the very first signs of Tenacity bleaching.

9/7/2020 - 11th cut with reel. Seeing some more whitening from Tenacity. Added more seed/peat/tackifier. Did another liquid app: 0.1NPK/M from Peters 20-20-20. 1oz Fulvic/1ozFeS/1.5oz AMS. 22 fl oz Hydretain.
9/10/2020 - Example of Tenacity bleaching. Areas with higher bleaching are either areas I've been adding small amounts of seed. Also shows a bit where my spray overlapped. I starting planning to change my spraying pattern around this time.

9/11/2020 - Bumping up HOC to 2" on the reel mower. Little to no clippings. Going forward, I (mostly) remain at this HOC for the rest of the year. Applied a bit of granular and liquid.

 0.48 #N/M via CarbonX
 Sprayed: 0.1#N/M from Peters 20-20-20; 1.5oz Depth 10+; 9oz Depth CARB
 Let stay on leaves for 2 hours before watering both in.
9/12/2020 - 2nd Rotary mow on the reno. I edged the lawn for the first time and trimmed flower beds. Seems like the worst of the Tenacity bleaching is over here. 

9/16/2020 - Another reel mow. At 1.75" to just gauge growth. Seeing bleaching slowly fade away.

9/17/2020 - Planted out the garden beds. A little bit of foot traffic from this. Pic is from other side of fence facing the street. Liking how the live edge came out.

9/18/2020 - Sprayed on reno: 0.1#N/M via Peters 20-20-20. 0.105#N/M via AMS
9/19/2020 - Rotary mowed at 2.0". Planted some plugs from some trays of grass seed I had planted. Not sure if I like the initial look but the plugs seem like a good idea going forward. Planted remaining perennials under tree.
9/21/2020 - It's starting to look like a real lawn. Hoping the perennials bring some color to the landscape.

Sprayed:

 0.1#N/M of Peters triple 20
 2oz/M Fulvic
 2oz/M FEature
 0.25oz/M Kelp Extract

I hand watered localized dry spots. Area near property line and near the road are a little dry.


9/24/2020 - Next somewhat heavy app of fert here. Trying to increase N rates and decrease the frequency.
Sprayed: 

 0.42#N/M via AMS
 0.52#P/M via MKP 0.34#K/M
9/26/2020 - Shows the plugs/patches I have going on in trays. I'm liking the striping so far with the rotary.

Another angle: 
Angle I've been using up until this point:


9/29/2020 - Another spray:

 2oz/M Fulvic
 1.5oz/M Depth 10+
 9oz/M Depth CARB
 2oz/M FEature
 0.1#NPK/M via Peters 20-20-20

This wrapped up the month. Looking back, my fert apps are still a bit heavy handed. Seems to be a recurring theme with me. Maybe I'll learn to practice on my patience. Next log entry, I'll cover the remainder of 2020. Days were noticeably shorter and our first frost averages for about Oct. 5th here.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Let's wrap up this year and see where we ended up. This entry will go over October 1st - December 31st.

10/2/2020 - Another rotary mow. Sprayed 40g K4L Extreme Blend through hose end sprayer.
Maybe my favorite picture from the year: 
Same day, our usual angle: 

10/4/2020 - Have been having issues with squirrels getting into perennials and digging holes in yard. I put down Greendoc's special formula of mustard powder, chili, and black pepper. A little bit of dawn for a surfactant.
10/5/2020 - Sprayed: 0.1#NPK/M via Peters Triple 20, 2oz/M Fulvic, 2oz/M FEature
10/9/2020 - Sprayed Hydretain, 0.5oz/M Kelp Extract from K4L, small amount of Superthrive
Keeping up with mulching the leaves:

10/16/2020 -

A bit of a blurry photo but I'm enjoying the color I'm getting.


10/18/2020 - Put down a "hardening off" application:


 Granular: 1.05#N/M via AMS, 2.5#/M of FeSO4
 Spray: 1.5oz Depth10+, 9oz/M Depth CARB, 2oz/M Fulvic, 2oz/M FEature, 0.5oz/M Kelp Extract, 0.1#N/M from Peters 20-20-20

This last app is considered my "winterizer". The use of AMS + FeS was based of a similar type of applications used by UK golf courses to harden off plants going into winter. Don't quote me on this.

This is basically the last input I had last year. We ended up getting new siding put on the house in November. The biggest concerns I had here were the heavy foot traffic and siding supplies left on the grass for weeks. I was freaking out around this time because the dormant grass wasn't looking great with all of this. This ends up contributing to problems I start seeing at the start of 2021. Oh well... it's just grass.

12/16/2020 - I ended up doing a dormant seed of TTTF/KBG. This was my insurance plan. I ended up not really needing this and I'll speak to this more in upcoming posts.

2020 Year End retrospective:

I think I did a decent job overall. I had a lot more fun than I was expecting. I think I should have planned out my fertilizer apps a bit more. I felt I was just winging it in the day-to-day and following rough guidelines for inputs. My goals for next year are going to be focusing on my patience, getting a better plan and an input budget for the year. I'm looking forward to the grow-in and planning the reno on the next section of my lawn with the experience I have.


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## Wiley (Dec 2, 2019)

@occamsrzr great entry and documentation! Successful grow-in for sure. Excited to see how it progresses this year.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Wiley said:


> @occamsrzr great entry and documentation! Successful grow-in for sure. Excited to see how it progresses this year.


Thank you, man! I appreciate the kind words from a fellow TTTF+KBG compadre.

I think I'll be able to get this journal up to date soon. In the meantime, here is a teaser of some of my upcoming plans.


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## MNLawnGuy1980 (May 10, 2019)

@occamsrzr congrats on the new lawn, looks phenomenal!

Good luck with the reel, you will have a blast with it!


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Thank you, @MNLawnGuy1980! You're definitely an MN inspiration to get into reel mowing.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

This log will cover 3/1/2021 - 5/1/2021

3/20/2021 - Notice some traffic damage and snow mold on lawn. Rake some of the worst parts to get some air circulating.
3/25/2021 - Clean up remaining leaves and rake lawn. Took two sets of soil samples in front yard. North and South (the current reno) samples bagged and ready to send off to Waypoint.
Liking how quick my lawn greened up.


4/6/2021 - First spray of the year:

 5g/M prodiamine
 2oz/M Subvert PreFIX
 0.1#NPK/M via Peters triple 20

Pic after spray:


4/9/2021 - Second spray, first substantial Nitrogen push. We had some unseasonably warm days, my grass had greened up and I wanted to get some AMS into the lawn while the soil was still cool.

 2oz/M Fulvic
 2oz/M FEature
 0.21#N/M via AMS
 9oz/M Depth CARB
 1.5oz/M Depth 10+
4/10/2020 - 24 hours after I sprayed:


4/15/2020 - Received my soil test results from Waypoint. Seems like the liming I had introduced last year helped bump me up to 6.5pH. I'm going to be focusing on my Ca:Mg ratios, trying to leech some of the sodium, and continue with supplementing K into my soil.


4/17/2021 - Granular app of:

 20#/M Gypsum
 4#/M HumicDG
 0.50#K/M via SOP

4/22/2021 - First mow with the manual reel mower. Set this to 1.5". Taking off just the high points of the lawn.
Worst spots from my first mow:


Best shot from my first mow:


4/26/2021 - Second mow at 1.5" with manual reel. Taking off a consistent amount across the lawn.

4/27/2021 - After searching for a while, I was able to find a good deal on a Toro Greensmaster 1000. I've been wanting to upgrade from my manual push reel mower. I had a really good time using that reel mower and it worked so well on the new seedlings. This somewhat changes some of my goals for this year and some of my plans for my Fall 2021 reno.

4/28/2021 - Double cut the lawn at 1.25" with the manual reel. My trouble spots also seem to be waking up slowly. We got a lot of rain and grass was looking flushed of nutrients.

Sprayed 0.18#NPK/M via EqualizORR
Pic after spraying:


4/30/2021 - First mow with the GM1000. Here is from the usual angle.


This post brings us up to present day. We're slowly getting into temperatures where the grass is fully waking up.

The "worst spots" pics I included highlight some of the goals I have for this year. I'm hoping to push the N to try and fill in some of these spots with KBG. I also have some plugs I'm growing just in case. These weak spots were caused mostly by construction on the house in the Fall but also something I deal with all the time: road salts.

The front 15ft or so of the lawn closest to the road is burred with snow and road salts in the winter. I've noticed these being localized dry spots. I'm beginning on a gypsum plan this year to try and help deal with this. I also hope to increase my Ca:Mg. The high magnesium must be common here and definitely explains some of the "tighter" soil attributes and localized dry spots. For being such a sandy soil, it can feel pretty compacted. If you actually look to the very second pic of the start of my journal all the way back in 2019, you can see the same corner had very similar issues.

Another goal I have is to try cutting this reno at 0.75" - 1.0". I think I can make this happen. I wanna push the TTTF a bit more than most would. I see that people like g-man and PokeGrande have had success pushing their TTTF. I feel like I have the right climate for it and I've been training my TTTF to be pretty compact. Right now at 1.5" with the reel mower, I'm really enjoying the look. I'm debating just gradually going down to 1.0" on my manual reel before switching over to 1.0" on the Greensmaster. Doing a bit of a scalp and then backing up to 1.0" is another option but I'm cautious of this.

Depending on the success of this project will influence my Fall 2021 Reno. This is a much sunnier section and might be a better fit for full KBG or KBG+PRG.

I'll end there on a hopeful note.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Wanted to do a more casual update.

Was able to mow with the Greensmaster for the first time yesterday. My HOC is 1.25". Will be slowly going lower as my growth potential starts rising.

Some pics from the first mow:

Here is another problem area closest to the house. Seems to be waking up slower than the rest. It's a high traffic area and gets a bit of winter ice covering parts of it.


Just to the left of that problem area. You can trace the mailman's path.

Problem area closest to the street. This is where the most traffic and where pallets sat between November-December during siding installation. I'm trying to strategize for this section. I am trying to decide between plugging here or pushing N for the KBG to spread in. Leaning to just plug.

Shot from the problem area near the street. At the forefront is my old Scotts spreader I set out near the street to give away. Hopefully someone puts it to good use. I'm really excited for the plants in the beds to start taking off.


I need to practice on my stripes but here's a shot at a better angle and without the blemishes.


Just geeking out over how clean of a cut this is. You can tell the difference even in between the last cut with the manual reel and the Quality of Cut here. The TTTF/KBG colors seem to blend well and it's hard to tell the difference until you get really close.


With that, here are some goals I have thought about for this upcoming season. I'll likely add more.


 Raising the canopy of the two silver maples. I have this coming up in a couple of weeks. They still haven't fully leafed out yet.
 Slowly lowering my HOC. So far the TTTF is handling this well. My end goal is 3/4" by the end of the year. I'm in no real rush as even at 1.25", I'm really enjoying the quality of cut. The hype is real.
 Add another bed/put the drain access underground with a utility box. Still not sure here. I asked the plumber this winter what most people do. I like the idea of a flower bed here. It's an area that is a low point and usually accumulates water. It also gets a fair bit of sunshine so my plant options open up here.
 Plugging problem areas. I have some seed trays started inside. I am also thinking about getting something like the ProPlugger to make this process easier. Since I put down my pre-em already and I didn't really wanna seed in the spring, I think plugging might be best. Pushing NPK throughout the summer might help fill things in during this grow-in period.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Got another mow in today. Yesterday we had a high of 86. Second hottest day of the year so far. Wanted to measure how much growth I've had. Was also supposed to rain tonight so I didn't wanna chance it. Most of the rain is missing us so I also irrigated.

Ignore the longer bits, those are from the beds. The majority of the other clippings are about 1/8"-1/4".


I can see some plants waking up in some of my problem areas. Still cautiously optimistic. I ended up ordering some Anuew PGR and the ProPlugger. Thinking it might give quicker results to move those plugs, push some NPK, and get it spending that energy on tillering/sending rhizomes.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

First round of plugging today. Transplanted about 10-15 plugs. Backfilled the donor spots with sand. Put seed on top.

After transplanting, I sprayed a rooting mix I made. I'll give it another couple weeks before spraying these again. Spray contains: root hair promoting peptides, Indole-3-butyric acid, and Peters triple 20. After spraying, I watered these in.

Example of plugs closest to my sidewalk:

Problem area near sidewalk. Seems to be waking up a bit. Can see some of the plugs I put in.

Another problem area closest to the house. Also slowly waking up.


Tomorrow I'll be mowing and fertilizing. Height will be dropped by 5% later this week.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Last mow at this 1 1/8" - 1 1/4" height. Going to go lower on Friday.


Sprayed:

 0.18#NPK/M via EqualizORR
 9oz/M Depth CARB
 1.5oz/M Depth 10+
 2oz/M FEature
 2oz/M Fulvic Acid


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Bumped HOC down 1/16" to 1-1/16". First learning experience with the mower. I didn't check the bedknife after adjusting and quality of cut somewhat suffered. Still got decent clipping yields so I didn't think much of it while mowing.

Clipping yields. Still some border areas that are in there with the 1"+ cuttings. Wanting some rotary shears but will be edging the beds this weekend.


Problem area near house seems to be filling in.


Problem area near street. Filling in slowly but thinking of where my next round of plugs will be.


A good idea of midday shade during a sunny day. Maples still haven't leafed out yet.


I have been working on cleaning up the garden beds. The area around the tree is done. The one near the fence needs some work. I've found a couple _Poa a._ plants in the beds. Hoping I don't find any in the lawn.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Got a cut in today. Checked reel to bedknife after transporting. Seems to have helped a ton with cut quality.

Here are my clipping yields. Still a bit of longer pieces either from edges along beds or stragglers from last time.


I was also able to edge one of the beds with the weedwhacker. Looks terrible up close but better than the stragglers. Was also able to get in a watering.

In the process of installing a Eley reel. Got a cedar 8' 4x4 on clearance and I'm going to mount it to that. I'm ready to get rid of the plastic reel hose. Definitely my least favorite part of my irrigation routine.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Last frost for us last night. Temps getting up to highs of 70s/lows of 50s will be here soon. Got a cut in today.

Clipping yield:



Problem area near house. There is some _Poa a._ in the garden beds nearby. I think there is one or two plants I can see right near the edge of the sidewalk.



Problem area near street. Seems to be filling in pretty well with new plants waking up every day. Think I will be doing another round of plugs here this week.

This is one of the plugging areas. Think this will be the next focus point for plugging. I think I can fill this in pretty quick after adding a few more plugs.


After mowing and doing a bit of hand watering. Thinning out the tree canopy on Monday.


This will be the last mow at 1-1/16". Lowering it to 1" on Thursday. Doing another fert app tomorrow. Going to switch over to some more urea-based products for my next app as we're hitting a good soil temp.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Fert application:


 8fl oz/M of FFF(12-4-8)
 3fl oz/M of MFT(4-0-4)
 2oz/M of Fulvic
 8oz/M of Peters(20-20-20)

Leaving this on the blades tonight, going to bump down to 1" HOC tomorrow and water it in.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Bumped down to 1"! Time to celebrate this milestone.

:yahoo:

This is the first mow I've mulched as well. Was able to get a double cut in and watered in my fert app.

Problem area near house is waking up as is the postman's path.


Problem area near the street is as well.


Area with plugs seems to be waking up. Holding off on a round of plugs until next week. I'm thinking a couple two week cycles to get some plugs in and I can push the rest with N.


Midday sun under the maple.


Hoping Monday's tree trimming won't cause too much foot traffic. I'm also planning on a sanding application. I might go light on this reno just to help with some low spots.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Another mow in today. Here's a mid-morning idea of the shade. It gets a good bit of sun in the early morning with the midday sun covering most of the yard.


I started noticing a bit of burn from my last app, I believe. I'm thinking Peters + MFT might just be too much micros. Wanted the micros for the color bump as I go lower. I think I'm just going to focus on Peters or EqualizORR for most of my apps this spring.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Not much done in the yard today. I didn't want to stress out the grass anymore than I need to. Got my two big maples trimmed. A lot more light making its way down to the canopy.



They ended up backing their truck onto the reno to get the bucket to reach both trees. Expecting some pretty dramatic compaction. There were also some divots caused by falling branches. Ended up just watering after they left and hoping for the best.

Looking to level with some sand later this week if weather cooperates. Hoping no major damage from the tree trimming. I'll try and get a mow in tomorrow and follow it up with a fungicide app soon. Weather went from last frost last week to some disease temps and humidity this week. Might end up putting the PGR app later this week. Thinking I'll keep the 1" HOC for a couple more cuts.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Got a mow in today. It was probably a little too long and it's only been since Saturday. Thinking I'll need to get the PGR on it soon.

Problem areas near house keep getting a little more filled in.


Problem area near street also blending in a bit.

Usual angle. Really like the colors and stripes on that small hill near the gate.

More detailed pic of a problem area in between the fence and the tree. This area seems to be getting more light now. I think this will be a struggle all season long. I've noticed some potential powdery mildew. I think if I were to overseed this area, it might be a good place for FF to help fill in.

A little bit of striping looking toward the tree.


Going down with a fungicide application tomorrow. I might be doing a light top dressing of sand soon and then I'll get the PGR down. Thinking of skipping a fert app this week. MIght do one during the weekend.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Preventative fungicide app put down.

0.6oz/M Armada
4oz/M Fosetyl-AL

Weather is looking like prime disease time!


Hopefully I can get a mow in either tomorrow or Friday. Definitely needing a PGR soon. Going to be topdressing with sand this weekend.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

We've had some good rain here over the past week. Maybe 2" total in my area. My first mow after the rains was going to be breaking the 1/3 rule. I figured because I was already breaking this rule, it wouldn't be a bad time to also do a height drop again. So I ended up dropping it to 15/16". It was looking a little rough right after the first mow but it recovered in no time.

5/21/21 - Mow at 15/16"

The USPS path is looking good and waking up.


The problem area by the street is getting there.


Plugging progress.


The usual view slightly shows the checkerboard pattern I attempted.


This has been one of my better views looking towards the tree. The light just hits the stripes just right.


5/23/21 - Second mow at 15/16". Took the rotary over it first to clear up a lot of the leaves and maple seeds we've been getting. It didn't last too long before another blanket of maple seeds.

I also ended up doing the first edge for the year around the sidewalk and street. Used the stick edger and the whipper snipper. I did another round of plugging. Got another 12-15 plugs put in. Everything seems to be waking up quite well after all of our rains and higher soil temps.

USPS path:


Street problem area after adding some more plugs:



Usual view. These maple seeds are annoying AF.


You're gonna make it, little guy!


View from the USPS path looking at the shade garden's progress.


Attempting double doubles at an angle.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Got a quick fert in between the rains this morning and later today.

Sprayed:

 0.20 NPK#/M of Peters triple 20

Thinking I'll knock the height again tomorrow to 7/8".


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Dropped to 7/8". Rained late last night/early this morning.

Problem area near street:


Usual view:


Looking toward the maple:


Took about 2 loads of the catcher. Today is our last day in the 80s for now. I might end up putting down my PGR today or tomorrow. I think I'll rock it at 7/8" for at least a week.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Had a great Memorial Day weekend. Still no PGR as I ended up sanding. Not wanting it in regulation until after it recovers.

Quick Duck Update! We got about an inch of rain last Thursday. Got some visitors in the lawn. Was able to catch some pictures of them congregating around the bird feeder. Not quite a Duck Bar like @MNLawnGuy1980 but I enjoy seeing this couple in the neighborhood.


5/28/2021 - On that Friday, I had cut again and tried some double double stripes. This view is right near the USPS path. You can see the thinning in this area from top-down:


The usual view looking toward the house:


5/31/2021 - Monday I was able to get a cut in before the sanding started. After sanding, I put down 0.18#NPK/M via EqualizORR. Here are the before pics:

USPS path


Street problem area


Shot towards the maple:


Usual shot from the street:


I didn't get many pictures of the sanding process but here are a couple piles:


Right after working down the sand with the leveling rake and blasting it with water. Here, I'm standing in the North plot. This North Plot will be the subject of this fall's reno:



USPS path post sanding


Towards tree:


Street problem area:


Usual shot from the street:


Idea of how deep I'm sand capping the North plot:


6/1/2021

After another day of brooming and hand watering, the sand is working its way down:


Problem area near street:


Shot towards maple:



USPS path:


Shot from fence:


With that, I think it puts out first PGR app for another while as this recovers. This is, admittedly, a pretty light sanding in most places. My problem areas near the street and near the USPS paths are the heaviest areas. I'm thinking I might do another sanding here this Fall is time allows and if these heavy areas recover alright.

For the North plot, I'm expecting some pretty big die-off. This area had multiple inches of sand at some places near the sidewalk. The goal here is to raise this up to be even with the sidewalk. I will start my glypho apps in this section in about a month.


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## MNLawnGuy1980 (May 10, 2019)

Build a duck house!


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> Build a duck house!


Tempting! I might have a new project for the summer. :smile:


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

We're going to be in the 90s by the end of the week. I'm likely going to be continuing with watering to keep working the sand down and help the grass recover. Because of this, I put down a preventative fungicide app again.

0.6oz/M of Armada
4oz/M of Fosetyl-Al

I also gave it the first cut since the sanding on Monday.

USPS path after mow (look at those wiggly lines)


Problem area near street:


Usual view from street towards house.


I'm seeing a little bit of stress in the stand. I think this is to be expected. I'll keep watching this. It does seem, however, that growth has resumed. Wanted to get this cut in before we hit higher temps. I'm thinking PGR app after this heat wave will be my next step (I promise this time).


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Every day in the 90s with one topping out at 100. Wanted to get a quick update. Mostly been trying to stay off the lawn as much as possible and trying to keep up with watering.

6/6/2021 - Quick and dirty mow. High was 95+. Didn't want to give it a double cut. Mulched everything.

USPS path:

Problem area near street:

Usual view. Area closest to me has always been a problem area. Taking a bit longer to recover from the sanding.

View towards tree:


6/8/2021 - Just keeping up with watering at this point. I'm going to go down with my first PGR app tonight. It's been growing more than I want it to and I don't want to mow it as often as I should while it's so stressed. Hoping this will help me get through this heatwave. Waiting to apply any more NPK until we get below 90.

View towards tree:


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## Liquidstone (Mar 31, 2021)

USPS path looks to be recovering well. I deal with that same issue and it is beyond annoying.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Liquidstone said:


> USPS path looks to be recovering well. I deal with that same issue and it is beyond annoying.


Thanks! Definitely a slow road to recovery. I'm beginning to think this will be an on-going battle. It's just so annoying. Don't wanna be "that guy" and put up barriers for the USPS person to walk around. At least not until I overseed this area.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

PGR applied last night. Mowed this morning. Put down some water after the mow.

Sprayed:

 Anuew @ 0.18oz(5g)/M

USPS path:


Area near street:


Shot from the tree. Tried some double doubles here. Needed the double cut.


Shot towards tree.


Good from afar but far from good. The foreground plot will be getting some glyphosate here shortly. Background is showing the reno plot holding onto its color quite well. Problem areas fade away from this angle. Still a lot of work to be done but I'm seeing some progress.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

It's been pretty brutal here with the heat and drought. I've been just keeping up on watering to keep it out of dormancy. The PGR has really seemed to help. I feel like I could get away with one mow a week and be fine. My watering plan so far has been hitting the localized dry spots every or every other day. I also put down a good bit of water 1-2 times a week to try and drive some moisture down into the soil.

6/12/2021 - Got a mow in. Put down the following:

0.24#N/M via XGRN 8-1-8
20#/M of Gypsum
6oz/M of SoakORR wetting agent

After this went down, I got the impact sprinkler out to water it all in.

USPS path:


Problem area near street:


Progress of plugs. They seem to be filling out well:


Usual shot towards house. Area on right hand side near property line has proven to be a problem with this drought.


Shot towards maple:


6/16/2021 - Another mow in. Putting down some water with the impact.

USPS path:


Problem area near street:


Usual shot towards house:


Shot towards maple:


I was able to get the string trimmer out on Saturday to trim up some of the taller stands of grass. Need to get the edger out soon to get rid of the long grass on the edges. Holding off on this until this weekend. Wanting to get through these last couple of 90deg days first.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Made it through the first part of the heat/drought. I was able to get another PGR app in and a cut in. I think I can go at least a week without a cut with this level of suppression. I'm sold on PGRs  I also used this better weather and PGR app to lower my HOC again to 13/16". One more bump to get to my 3/4" goal for the season.

6/19/2021 - Started the day by busting out the edger and getting rid of my mullet edges. Those were bugging the hell out of me but I'd like to think that helped with some dry spots around the edge.

USPS path looking good:


Shot from new reno area:


Edging:


Problem spot near street:


Usual shot towards house:


After this trim up and watering, I sprayed the following: 

 5g/M of Anuew (applied at 300+GDD since last app)
 0.2#NPK/M from Peters

6/21/2021 - Yesterday, we got our first rainfall in about 4-ish weeks. This was a welcome reprieve from the heat wave. I bumped down the HOC to 13/16".

Tried to get some double doubles in:


Problem area near the street. You can see there is slow but steady progress being made.


Usual shot towards the house:


Maybe a little crooked but I'm loving the HOC + PGR app.


Got my PRG in for the reno area.


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## Wiley (Dec 2, 2019)

@occamsrzr Looking good! I enjoy seeing the progress and the pics from the same spots. Which area are you going to be dropping that PRG?


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Wiley said:


> @occamsrzr Looking good! I enjoy seeing the progress and the pics from the same spots. Which area are you going to be dropping that PRG?


Thanks big dawg!

Going to be dropping this in the new reno area. Thinking of doing 80/20 PRG/KBG.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

No pics but quick status update:

Have been getting a good bit of rain. Don't think we're close to covering the deficit but the lawn is responding well.

Yesterday I put down a preventative fungicide:

1.5oz/M of Armada
4oz/M of Fosetyl-Al

Today I sprayed RoundUp on the North Plot. Hoping for a thorough kill.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

Been about a week since the last mow. Got another mow in today and the next fert application.

Sprayed:

 20floz/M of FFF
 1.5floz/M of MFT

USPS Path:


Problem area near street:


Usual view towards the house:


Towards the tree head on:


Bit of a checkerboard pattern today:


Will likely be applying another PGR app in the next week or so. I think I could have gone another few days before I needed to mow. I'm also seeing my Pre-em wearing off. I'm thinking of overseeding a couple of the shadier areas with some more TTTF. I'll keep updating this post with the new Reno as well.


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## occamsrzr (Apr 27, 2020)

We've had some cooler temps in the area this week. A bit of rain but not nearly enough to make up for the deficit.

07/03/2021 - I sprayed another app of PGR. This time, I bumped up the rate a little bit.

Sprayed:

 0.24oz/M of Anuew

07/08/2021 - Got in another mow. This time I've reached my goal HOC of 3/4". I'll keep it at this HOC for the rest of the year. Collected these clippings to get an idea of clipping yield. Ended up with about half a catcher full. I also mowed the new reno area to get rid of the dead grass. I'll be spraying this area with another round of glyphosate soon.

USPS Path:


Shot towards the tree:


Closeup of the stand at 3/4" HOC.


Problem area near the street. I'm surprised at how well this is filling in.


Usual shot towards the house. This shows a bit of the density areas I'm still seeing near the street:


Lower angle shot towards the tree. I'm really liking this HOC. Color seems great.


After the mow, I also spread:

 5#/M of XGRN (0.4#N/M)


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