# Tcorbitt20 new home lawn journal



## tcorbitt20

We're on the cusp of getting started building our home, but we're not quite there yet. I thought I'd start this journal to help document it all along the way. We bought 21 acres that I'm really looking forward to working on for the rest of my days.

This is roughly where the house will be. Picture taken last winter after we bought it. 

Ours is roughly what's inside the red


I took my riding mower from work out there today to help mark where I want our driveways for the builder to have something to go by. Hopefully he'll be able to get started in the next few days.









This sketch isn't very accurate, but it's an idea and the best I could do drawing with my finger on my phone. 


This is gonna be fun. I need to get a drone...


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## Redtwin

Better get a Toro 3100D to go with that drone!


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## adgattoni

Redtwin said:


> Better get a Toro 3100D to go with that drone!


Might need a fairway mower with this lot! What sort of turf are you thinking @tcorbitt20?

I would leave much of it naturalized with manicured spaces around the house and driveway. Sort of like Whistling Straits:


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## tcorbitt20

adgattoni said:


> Redtwin said:
> 
> 
> 
> Better get a Toro 3100D to go with that drone!
> 
> 
> 
> Might need a fairway mower with this lot! What sort of turf are you thinking @tcorbitt20?
> 
> I would leave much of it naturalized with manicured spaces around the house and driveway. Sort of like Whistling Straits:
Click to expand...

That's what's I was thinking of doing - keep it nice and reel cut for maybe 3/4 an acre around the house, and keep it mowed along the driveway and bush hog the rest. At some point in the future, I'd like to build a pond in the southeast corner and maybe a nice barn somewhere, too. As far as the turf, I think I've settled on Celebration unless something changes my mind in the next few months.


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## chadh

Followed your previous thread and look forward to following this one. What side of town is that on?


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## tcorbitt20

chadh said:


> Followed your previous thread and look forward to following this one. What side of town is that on?


West of Notasulga


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## chadh

tcorbitt20 said:


> chadh said:
> 
> 
> 
> Followed your previous thread and look forward to following this one. What side of town is that on?
> 
> 
> 
> West of Notasulga
Click to expand...

I thought it was somewhere out there. Beautiful land out that way.


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## tcorbitt20

Thanks @chadh. They started moving dirt this morning.


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## tcorbitt20

One month from pouring the slab, and these guys are rolling. Said we should have insulation and drywall done in another couple of weeks. Planted a bunch of elaeagnes (75) today to hopefully give us a good screen in a few spots where the brush wasn't very thick. It's coming along. Looking forward to cutting grass out there.


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## tcorbitt20

Well, my wife got me a drone for Christmas. Finally got a chance to try it out today.


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## thelawnpirate

This is awesome. Such a cool property, keep the drone shots, pictures, and updates coming! Plans for your garage/lawn equip storage space?


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## ericgautier

Beautiful home!


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## tcorbitt20

thelawnpirate said:


> This is awesome. Such a cool property, keep the drone shots, pictures, and updates coming! Plans for your garage/lawn equip storage space?


Thanks! I plan to take plenty of pictures once I get a chance to get to work. The garage is big enough to fit my truck (finally!), so the third bay will have its share of stuff. Got a little John Deere tractor, and we've got a golf cart, four wheeler, and other stuff that I'll have to figure out a way to cram in there. I'd like a barn one of these days.



ericgautier said:


> Beautiful home!


Thanks!


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## Ware

Amazing place. Congrats!


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## tcorbitt20

Ware said:


> Amazing place. Congrats!


Thanks, Ware!


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## Thor865

great property, almost time to get your dirt right, but until then dirt stripes drone shot required


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## tcorbitt20

Thor865 said:


> great property, almost time to get your dirt right, but until then dirt stripes drone shot required


Nothing but bush hog scalp marks right now. I'm planning on plowing it all in early spring and using some kind of drag to smooth it all out. You can't drive anything across it east to west without it shaking you to death.


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## tcorbitt20

@thelawnpirate you wanted drone pictures... The quality isn't very good, and it was pretty windy.

They didn't attach in any particular order. Oh well


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## Brackin4au

If you play golf at all, I see no reason why you shouldn't end up with a tee and green for a par 3 hole... maybe a few small tees placed around the property, all going to the same green haha


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## Thor865

Brackin4au said:


> If you play golf at all, I see no reason why you shouldn't end up with a tee and green for a par 3 hole... maybe a few small tees placed around the property, all going to the same green haha


I love the guys that do fried eggs golf on YouTube. They did something similar


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## Brackin4au

Thor865 said:


> Brackin4au said:
> 
> 
> 
> If you play golf at all, I see no reason why you shouldn't end up with a tee and green for a par 3 hole... maybe a few small tees placed around the property, all going to the same green haha
> 
> 
> 
> I love the guys that do fried eggs golf on YouTube. They did something similar
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was thinking about when I commented ha


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## tcorbitt20

That would be a fun idea, but I'm not a golfer. My son is getting into hunting - deer, turkey, whatever he can hunt. The triangle going down the hill behind the garage side has a feeder down there (and has been a food plot in the past). I think I'll probably plant a bunch of trees across the big field behind the house to plant another food plot back there. I also thought about maybe some kind of wiffle ball field with a real outfield fence somewhere. Who knows...


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## Brackin4au

tcorbitt20 said:


> That would be a fun idea, but I'm not a golfer. My son is getting into hunting - deer, turkey, whatever he can hunt. The triangle going down the hill behind the garage side has a feeder down there (and has been a food plot in the past). I think I'll probably plant a bunch of trees across the big field behind the house to plant another food plot back there. I also thought about maybe some kind of wiffle ball field with a real outfield fence somewhere. Who knows...


I like where this is headed...


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## jakemauldin

It's coming right along. You have a nice spread there!


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## ENC_Lawn

Beautiful home!!!


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## tcorbitt20

jakemauldin said:


> It's coming right along. You have a nice spread there!





ENC_Lawn said:


> Beautiful home!!!


Thanks, fellas!


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## jasonbraswell

Nice. Looks like you have a pretty good contractor that gets things done.
Any plans for irrigation?


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## tcorbitt20

jasonbraswell said:


> Nice. Looks like you have a pretty good contractor that gets things done.
> Any plans for irrigation?


Absolutely. He doesn't play around. I'm hoping to meet someone out there tomorrow to talk about it.

Got this cool wall of pallet wood done today. Wish I could take the credit.


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## tcorbitt20

Builder had the landscaper do a little grading today. I told him I'd handle the rest. Irrigation in 2-3 more weeks when I can get my irrigation guy out of the woods then some plants and sod.


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## Gilley11

Shoot, you'll be moving in in no time!


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## tcorbitt20

Well, we're scheduled to move in the next couple weeks. Decided on Celebration Bermuda. It comes out to a little over 16,000 sq ft worth. If we get irrigation done next weekend, I hope we can get sod down the next weekend.

Obviously this isn't drawn to scale, but it gives you an idea of what I'm planning. The only reason I went with that angle in the back is because that's about where the final grading stopped. Looked like as good a spot as any. I've got plenty of room to add onto that in the future. Really looking forward to getting this grass down!


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## Bmossin

This will be awesome to see the sod go down.


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## Brackin4au

That's an awesome 4mo turn around. Looking forward to seeing the grass


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## tcorbitt20

After some holdups from the weather, they finally got started on the irrigation this morning. Maybe not too much longer before I can get some sod down.

(Tried to upload a picture, but it keeps saying the size is too big. Something I'm doing wrong?)


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## tcorbitt20

Finally got some grass down today! I think it ended up being right at 17k sq ft worth. Celebration Bermuda. Irrigation should be finished on the last zone tomorrow. Didn't get many pictures as I was pushing a roller around for a couple of hours. Looking forward to getting it growing well enough to get some sand spread around, and hopefully some plants in the beds before too long.


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## LA Basshole03

Beautiful.


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## Bmossin

Very nice!


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## tcorbitt20

LA Basshole03 said:


> Beautiful.





Bmossin said:


> Very nice!


Thanks, guys. I wish I had thought to get some pictures as they were rolling it out. Oh well...


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## Backyard Soldier

Must feel nice to see it coming Along. But nerve wrecking at same time. #waitingkills


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## Cory

Looks really nice!


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## tcorbitt20

Backyard Soldier said:


> Must feel nice to see it coming Along. But nerve wrecking at same time. #waitingkills


I think my expectations were too high for how it would look after I spent so much time trying to get the ground level before it was laid. Even after rolling it, it's still pretty bumpy. I'm figuring I'll need about 25 yards of sand for the first go 'round.



Cory said:


> Looks really nice!


Thanks! It may take me a couple years to catch back up to yours.


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## tcorbitt20

The left is where I had already rolled. To the right had not been rolled yet. It helped, but it's gonna take a LOT of sand.


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## BakerGreenLawnMaker

I laid about 3,000 sq/ft of Royal Zoysia last summer in my backyard and I leveled and leveled the soil over and over again. When the sod arrived and after I started to lay the pieces, some pieces were thicker than others, once I had it all laid, I noticed it was really bumpy, it wasn't the level soil beneath, but they way the pieces were cut from the sod farm. This season, I'll be doing a big leveling project. I hope to get it done around June time frame.

Lawn and house looks great man! I'm excited to see the progress of your celebration Bermuda.


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## robbybobby

Celebration is the way to go...beautiful dark color and thick as ever. With as much sun as it looks like you'll have - LOM in no time. Looks like they did a pretty solid job on the seams too. Excited to see this.

Curious to see what your irrigation layout looks like.


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## MrMeaner

tcorbitt20 said:


> The left is where I had already rolled. To the right had not been rolled yet. It helped, but it's gonna take a LOT of sand.


Hard to tell from the pics but that does not look bumpy at all after being rolled. Love the house and, property all together!!


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## ENC_Lawn

Looks Great!

And love the property!!!

What are you going to do with the area outside of the Celebration Bermuda?


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## tcorbitt20

BakerGreenLawnMaker said:


> Lawn and house looks great man! I'm excited to see the progress of your celebration Bermuda.


Thanks! Me too!



robbybobby said:


> Celebration is the way to go...beautiful dark color and thick as ever. With as much sun as it looks like you'll have - LOM in no time. Looks like they did a pretty solid job on the seams too. Excited to see this.
> 
> Curious to see what your irrigation layout looks like.


It really isn't bad unless you're looking through the lens of trying to mow it at 1/2". I'll get a sketch of the irrigation on here soon. It's three zones at 7 heads each. Seven in the front, five going down the side with two going across the middle of the back yard, and the rest spread between the far back and the driveway side. We came up with that to save on another zone and a few hundred dollars.



ENC_Lawn said:


> Looks Great!
> 
> And love the property!!!
> 
> What are you going to do with the area outside of the Celebration Bermuda?


Thanks! The area that's kind of smoothed out with nothing growing? A lot of it I may just let naturally grow in, and I do plan to plant a good bit of plants when I can get around to it. In the open fields, I hope to till it up and smooth it out soon. Then let it come back in naturally. Maybe put some wildflower seeds in a few places and some fruit trees somewhere.


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## bmw

War Eagle, and impressive property!!


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## RayTL

Looking good @tcorbitt20 !

I'm excited to see your progress. I've thought about sodding with celebration too, so excited see how it turns out for you. Congrats on the new home!


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## tcorbitt20

Thanks, @RayTL. Just saw your post...

I mowed it Friday afternoon at .75" with the TruCut. It took an hour and a half with just a handful of stops to pick up a stray rock or two and pick a weed here or there. According to my watch it was about 18,000 steps worth of walking. I know I could use the exercise, but it sure does make me want a triplex. I also spread 100 lbs of 13-13-13 since it could probably use some P and K. From 40 yards away, it doesn't look too bad. Up close, it's gonna take a lot of sand. Still waiting on a friend to help me get started with picking out what plants I want where. I really hope I can get them planted before it gets too hot. 




I also started trying to smooth out the front field with a box blade. It helped some, but I may try a different implement if I can borrow something.


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## tcorbitt20

Here's a shot from Friday before I mowed this weekend. 


It looks pretty good from a distance, but I'm ready to get some sand on it. Once I mowed, you could see stripes of you look hard enough.





I got a friend to make a drag for me, too. It's 8' long and HEAVY. I was hoping for about 100 lbs, but it's probably closer to 250 lbs. I had my son driving my truck pulling it around the field as I was pulling a box blade around. If I'd had a few cinder blocks lying around I would have strapped them onto it for out there, but in the few soft spots we went through it worked perfectly.


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## tcorbitt20

Fertilized this morning with three bags of Super Rainbow 16-4-8 at 1.4 lbs N/1000. Hopefully I'll see a green pop in a few days. Also finally started getting a few plants in the landscape.


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## Brackin4au

I bet those pups like the new property! Looking good man


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## tcorbitt20

Brackin4au said:


> I bet those pups like the new property! Looking good man


Thanks. They seem to be. Every now and then they take off into the woods and come back soaking wet. I've walked through most of it, but maybe I missed a little spring in there somewhere. I'm not looking forward to trying to keep them out of the sand here in another week or two.


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## tcorbitt20

Mowed this morning. I really hope that fertilizer kicks in soon. I cut back on the watering after a $500 water bill, but I can't just let it dry out. It all seems to be rooted pretty well. Supposed to have a truckload of mulch and a truckload of sand delivered this week. While I probably should wait, I don't think I can wait past next weekend to start spreading sand.


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## Redtwin

Dang! Is a shallow well an option in your area? It might pay for itself quickly.


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## tcorbitt20

Redtwin said:


> Dang! Is a shallow well an option in your area? It might pay for itself quickly.


It is an option, but I did water an awful lot for 2-3 weeks.


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## tcorbitt20

Got 20 yards of mulch and 20 yards of sand delivered today. Spread some of the mulch, and ordered some sedgehammer because wow the nutsedge. Planning to fertilize agin next week in preparation for the sand going down next weekend. The dogs will be boarded for the week, so that seems like a good time for it. Ready for this grass to get growing, too.



Got a little tractor time for the youngest, too.


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## Redtwin

Those scuffed knees look just like my little girl's when she was that age trying to keep up with her older brothers.

:laugh:


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## tcorbitt20

Sprayed 8 gallons worth of Sedgehammer mix and still didn't get to hit it all since it got dark on me. This stuff absolutely took off in the last week. It's not all over, but there's a little bit everywhere. This picture is one of the worst patches.


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## tcorbitt20

"Scalped" tonight getting ready for sand this weekend. I didn't measure, but I think it's about .5". 
Putting down 150 lbs of Super Rainbow in the morning and maybe two bags of some Humic DG that I ordered.


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## tcorbitt20

I've got a few bare spots from thin pieces of grass being pulled out of a spot by my dogs. Interesting to see how much product ends up spread across the lawn after fertilizing. 150 lbs of Super Rainbow and 80 lbs of Humic DG because I didn't want to spend any more than that on humic. That stuff is expensive.


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## tcorbitt20

Started putting sand down last night. The tractor made it too easy, and I ended up putting way too much in the front yard. Dragged it a bunch with a box blade this morning and then a bunch more with the drag mat after that. Watered it once, and dragged it again. I can at least see a little grass poking through, so I feel sure it won't hurt it. But it's gonna take a while to grow through that.


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## tcorbitt20

Dragged it some more yesterday, watered it good this morning, and dragged it again after it dried. I wish I had gotten enough to cover everything, but I'll get the rest one of these days. Looks like I managed to move enough out of the way to keep from smothering everything in the front for weeks. Already a huge difference from yesterday morning.


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## NewHomeOwner

That is a beautiful piece of property. That's our end goal... Great journal too!


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## Thor865

You can't smother Bermuda. The more you cover it up the more pissed off it gets and grows faster.


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## tcorbitt20

Thor865 said:


> You can't smother Bermuda. The more you cover it up the more pissed off it gets and grows faster.


Not worried that it would have killed it, but the longer it's sandy with kids and dogs around, the less effect all that work has.


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## tcorbitt20

NewHomeOwner said:


> That is a beautiful piece of property. That's our end goal... Great journal too!


Thanks!


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## tcorbitt20

NewHomeOwner said:


> That is a beautiful piece of property. That's our end goal... Great journal too!


Thanks!


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## tcorbitt20

We've gotten good rainfall the last two days. I haven't dragged the lawn any more, but all that fertilizer and the rain sure has seemed to help. Here's a day by day look.



If it's not raining tonight, I'll spray all the landscape beds with sedgehammer again (my mulch was obviously full of seeds and the rest of the land seems to be, too) and maybe even spread some more mulch around the outside edge of the lawn. At some point I'm going to plant something there, but I haven't decided what yet.


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## LA Basshole03

Man that's beautiful. Great job man.


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## tcorbitt20

LA Basshole03 said:


> Man that's beautiful. Great job man.


Thanks! It's fun. Easiest sand leveling I've ever done. Didn't have to pick up a shovel the whole time.


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## zcabe

@tcorbitt20 looking forward to following this thread all the way to LOTM.


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## tcorbitt20

zcabe said:


> @tcorbitt20 looking forward to following this thread all the way to LOTM.


Thanks! Let the horses get ahead of the cart a little bit. I've got a loooong way to go.


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## tcorbitt20

One week from sand leveling and here's where it stands. I've still got a lot of nutsedge popping up everywhere, and it looks like I may have to fight that battle for quite a while. So far I've sprayed 23 gallons worth of Sedgehammer mix. Now if I can keep the dogs off of it for another week somehow...


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## RayTL

Man, it's coming along though. Looking good!


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## tcorbitt20

RayTL said:


> Man, it's coming along though. Looking good!


Thanks!


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## tcorbitt20

Dug out the drone. You see a lot more sand from up high. Can't wait to get some trees planted around the edge of the yard. I think that'll really help the looks of things.


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## robbybobby

I vote tree lines driveway up but nothing excessive around the yard! Feed her sun!


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## robbybobby

robbybobby said:


> I vote tree lines driveway up but nothing excessive around the yard! Feed her sun!


I'm just daydreaming of having your property...ignore me


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## tcorbitt20

robbybobby said:


> robbybobby said:
> 
> 
> 
> I vote tree lines driveway up but nothing excessive around the yard! Feed her sun!
> 
> 
> 
> I'm just daydreaming of having your property...ignore me
Click to expand...

Trees lining the driveway are in the plans, too. I'm just talking crepe myrtles and maybe the smaller variety magnolias.


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## tcorbitt20

Early morning mow for the front. It looked more filled in before I mowed, but it's getting there. And the nutsedge...


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## Redtwin

Looking good and filling in nicely!


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## Bmossin

Very Nice!


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## RayTL

Love mowing in the dew, it's filling in great! I'm Wanting celebration sod more and more myself ... hmmm


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## tcorbitt20

Bmossin said:


> Very Nice!





Redtwin said:


> Looking good and filling in nicely!





RayTL said:


> Love mowing in the dew, it's filling in great! I'm Wanting celebration sod more and more myself ... hmmm


Thanks! The dew makes it so easy to see where you've mowed, but it always seems like it looks worse when I mow it while it's wet. Maybe it's just me.


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## tcorbitt20

Mowed the back this evening. I'm really surprised how good it's looking back there. I didn't use nearly as much sand simply because I ran out, but this ain't bad.


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## ENC_Lawn

Looks great!


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## Meximusprime

Looking good!


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## tcorbitt20

Meximusprime said:


> Looking good!





ENC_Lawn said:


> Looks great!


Thanks! I'm trying.


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## tcorbitt20

Sprayed four more gallons of Sedgehammer today, but I KNOW that I sprayed every single bit of nutsedge that was currently present. If anymore pops up, I'll know it wasn't there today.


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## tcorbitt20

Walking around looking this morning and noticed this. About 12" of lateral growth in two weeks for that runner


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## tcorbitt20

Forgot to post a two week update after the sand leveling. Still several spots that haven't filled in, but it's getting closer every day.



You can see a few spots where I sprayed Sedgehammer yesterday. Is it the surfactant that makes it still look wet the next day or is that just the Sedgehammer?


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## tcorbitt20

Got a mow in yesterday after four days without. It's getting closer every day. Lots of seed heads and nutsedge.


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## acegator

Love your place again reminds me of my old place before my wife moved me to Baton Rouge suburbia hell 

The lateral growth of Celebration is pretty amazing.. I'm thinking I will need to invest in a better edger now though because I see 1" a day of growth now on my driveway/sidewalks :lol:



tcorbitt20 said:


> Walking around looking this morning and noticed this. About 12" of lateral growth in two weeks for that runner


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## thompwa

I'm battling the seed heads and nutsedge as well here in north AL. I got my PGR down in hopes of suppressing the seed heads a little so we'll see if that helps. I was having to bag them with my rotary because the reel would just lay them over.


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## tcorbitt20

acegator said:


> Love your place again reminds me of my old place before my wife moved me to Baton Rouge suburbia hell :
> 
> 
> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Walking around looking this morning and noticed this. About 12" of lateral growth in two weeks for that runner
Click to expand...

Thanks! I couldn't do an HOA again, and we all needed some room to breathe. Love it here so far!


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## tcorbitt20

thompwa said:


> I'm battling the seed heads and nutsedge as well here in north AL. I got my PGR down in hopes of suppressing the seed heads a little so we'll see if that helps. I was having to bag them with my rotary because the reel would just lay them over.


Mine did a decent job of cutting them, and I'm really surprised that the reel hasn't dulled too much because I watched a lot of sand go through it. It's still cutting well.


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## tcorbitt20

Backlapped the reel yesterday before doing a double cut on the front in hopes that it would help cut the seed heads. Maybe it helped a little. Finished up mowing the back this morning. It's not nearly as dark as it was, so I guess I'll get some more fertilizer to spread tonight. I've ordered some Ferrous Sulfate and Ammonium Sulfate to try spraying that. It's supposed to be here next week, and I still want to try getting some better nozzles for my ATV sprayer. It looks like teejet makes some that would fit what I've got, but I need to take a few minutes to take the old ones off to be sure.

From this morning post mow






First canna bloom. I've been wanting some of these for a few years. You can see a little nutsedge there. That crap is everywhere here. I may go broke buying Sedgehammer.


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## tcorbitt20

Got 50 lbs of Super Rainbow spread out over the whole yard for about .5 lb N per 1000. It's hard to put that light an application when you're used to really throwing it down.


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## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 Love this new property!

My wife and I "may" eventually looking into more land.

I would do what you did with the SOD around the home...but any idea on what you will plug / seed / or SOD on the rest of the lawn eventually?


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## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 Love this new property!
> 
> My wife and I "may" eventually looking into more land.
> 
> I would do what you did with the SOD around the home...but any idea on what you will plug / seed / or SOD on the rest of the lawn eventually?


Thank you!

Are you talking about the big fields? For now I'm just trying to smooth them out a little when I can. They're pretty bumpy from being farmed previously. I've sprayed crossbow to help get rid of all the briars, and it seems to be helping. I may just let it do what it does and bush hog it every so often. Or I may get a wild hair and try to sprig it with some kind of Bermuda. I do know that I have no desire to reel mow that much. It's probably 10-12 acres that's cleared off. Maybe make along the driveway a little nicer grass as I plant some trees this fall. Who knows.

What are your thoughts? I'm open to suggestions.


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## ENC_Lawn

tcorbitt20 said:


> ENC_Lawn said:
> 
> 
> 
> @tcorbitt20 Love this new property!
> 
> My wife and I "may" eventually looking into more land.
> 
> I would do what you did with the SOD around the home...but any idea on what you will plug / seed / or SOD on the rest of the lawn eventually?
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you!
> 
> Are you talking about the big fields? For now I'm just trying to smooth them out a little when I can. They're pretty bumpy from being farmed previously. I've sprayed crossbow to help get rid of all the briars, and it seems to be helping. I may just let it do what it does and bush hog it every so often. Or I may get a wild hair and try to sprig it with some kind of Bermuda. I do know that I have no desire to reel mow that much. It's probably 10-12 acres that's cleared off. Maybe make along the driveway a little nicer grass as I plant some trees this fall. Who knows.
> 
> What are your thoughts? I'm open to suggestions.
Click to expand...

Yes the big fields...

Yeah...I agree reel mowing would be out of the question for me as well.

I have asked myself the same question if we purchased a small farm like area...and here is my ideas.

And area the size you have SOD would be out of the question....because of the price and sand leveling that is required. I guess you could do it slowly over the years...but it would take a lot of time money and sand.

So if the above rules out SOD you could use the tractor to remove the turf and level the best you can and sprig or seed.

In regards to seeding...Bermuda seed seems to do very well with just seeding and let mother nature take over.

OR...I have had the thought I could seed something slower growing like Centipede....or Zenith Zoysia.

The advantage to these above is the slow growing and they don't really scalp.

And although I would prefer the Zenith Zoysia over centipede any day...centipede only grows by stolons and is easy turf to remove if you decide to let the Bermuda take over one day or go a different direction.

Where with Zoysia and Bermuda as you very well know once you have it you have it forever because of the stolons and Rizones.

My Bermuda yard is inbetween 2 centipede yards and they are both cut at about 2 inches and look very good.

If a large portion of your property was slow growing and you could cut it once a week without scalping and in did not infringe on that beautiful celebration you have that would be a plus as well...

Sorry for the rambling...but I have asked myself the above question as well if we every go larger to a small farm.

Don't know if I help any at all...lol....but I sure do admire your property!!! :thumbup:


----------



## tcorbitt20

Thanks for the compliments!

That makes sense about the fields. I do plan to have a good border around the edge of the celebration lawn to separate it. I'm planning on some crepe myrtles and little gem (? I think that's what they're called - the ones that don't get too big) magnolias along the straight edge on the northeast side (opposite the garage) with a mulch bed all the way down.



I still have about 5-6 yards of mulch waiting for that job which still may not be enough. Just need to go get the trees. Probably do something similar along the back edge and around the strip behind the basketball goal. Also need to get some smaller shrubs right next to the parking pad. The list keeps getting longer...

I've used a box blade as kind of a plow to do a little bit of smoothing on the big field past the front yard. It took probably 10-12 hours on the tractor and a few more dragging around a big drag. I'll do that in the big field at the back at some point this summer probably. Maybe I'll try to get some kind of Bermuda seeded there and see what happens. It'll have to be something coated to give it a good chance at survival because there's no chance I'm attempting to irrigate all that.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 Yeah I agree about the irrigation.

The great thing about seed...( I just seeded a ton of seed last year with my renovation) is once the ground is level and smooth you don't have to worry about sanding no where as much.

My Arden 15 and P77 looks really good for seed results...but to use lawn enthusiast its not gonna look as good as SOD.

However from what I understand Princess 77 Bermuda (now improved Arden 15 ) was used by many golf courses for there fairways...so it may be an economical way to have that much Bermuda if you choose.

Youtube Princess 77 Bermuda and there are two golf courses that have videos on there renovation with P77.

The good thing about Bermuda is once you establish it you have it...

The bad thing I guess would be that large of an area and it gets leggy cutting it once every 2 to 3 weeks....but I bet it would still look good from the road.

Whichever route you eventually choose make sure you post about it!


----------



## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 Yeah I agree about the irrigation.
> 
> The great thing about seed...( I just seeded a ton of seed last year with my renovation) is once the ground is level and smooth you don't have to worry about sanding no where as much.
> 
> My Arden 15 and P77 looks really good for seed results...but to use lawn enthusiast its not gonna look as good as SOD.
> 
> However from what I understand Princess 77 Bermuda (now improved Arden 15 ) was used by many golf courses for there fairways...so it may be an economical way to have that much Bermuda if you choose.
> 
> Youtube Princess 77 Bermuda and there are two golf courses that have videos on there renovation with P77.
> 
> The good thing about Bermuda is once you establish it you have it...
> 
> The bad thing I guess would be that large of an area and it gets leggy cutting it once every 2 to 3 weeks....but I bet it would still look good from the road.
> 
> Whichever route you eventually choose make sure you post about it!


I've even considered a coastal Bermuda and maybe grow hay, but I don't think I want to have it tied up where I couldn't do what I wanted if I wanted to grow sunflowers or something else.

No doubt about posting it. It helps me keep track of everything more than anything else, and we all love watching the process. As much as my son loves YouTube, I keep thinking I might get him to record some stuff and edit it just for the education of the process. We'll see...


----------



## tcorbitt20

Today was three weeks since the sand leveling. Still quite a few places that are lagging, but it's coming. 






Much better than it was beforehand.



My plan tomorrow depending on rain is to mow early and try my first spray app of Ferrous Ammonium Sulfate. We'll see how it goes. Then I plan on spraying the borders of the lawn with a mix of glyphosate, crossbow, and Sedgehammer. I'll take pictures of why as I'm spraying.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Well, I got a mow in and an application of FAS. I've got to get some different nozzles on my sprayer. It seemed to work well for spraying about a 20' wide swath in a field where just a little bit on a leaf goes a long way, but it didn't seem to do as well trying to get a uniform application. I could be wrong, though. Maybe I won't have fertilizer stripes everywhere. Here's right after mowing and spraying.


----------



## Sbcgenii

That yard might be looking as good as your last one come August!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> That yard might be looking as good as your last one come August!


I hope so, but I doubt it. I spent an hour and a half this morning spot spraying 8 more gallons of Sedgehammer. I'm sick of it. I still need another good leveling, too. But I do appreciate it!


----------



## Sbcgenii

At least it's not dallis grass. I bet after a season of pre em and spraying you won't have much next year.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> At least it's not dallis grass. I bet after a season of pre em and spraying you won't have much next year.


I suppose I should count my blessings.


----------



## Deltahedge

Thanks for documenting your progress. I'm just now getting into taking care of the lawn myself, but I have about 21k sqft of 419 Bermuda, and an additional 2.5 acres of unchanged nature native area. I've been struggling for ideas on what to do with the wild area for the entire year we've lived at the house. Ideas have crossed my mind of keeping the entire property reel cut. I would need a fariway reel mower. But, like you, I've been dealing with $500 water bills just irrigating the 20k sqft so I think I'll leave that area wild.


----------



## tcorbitt20

@jspearm1983 that $500 bill was for the period when I had new sod. This last month was $200 when I had started to cut back watering dramatically.


----------



## Deltahedge

tcorbitt20 said:


> @jspearm1983 that $500 bill was for the period when I had new sod. This last month was $200 when I had started to cut back watering dramatically.


Thats a good point. I was only irrigating for the last two months of the season last year when the sod was new, and then moved into Fall. I had pretty high bills both of those months, but I am new to lawn care and I was likely over-watering in that 2nd month.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Early morning mow. Maybe the seed heads are close to being done. Almost everywhere has filled in from the sand, but there are still a few stragglers, and after 4 days of not mowing, I could tell a few spots that may need a little extra fertilizer. But my goal has been to have it looking good by July 4th. I think I'll make it. Don't mind my unkept edges. That's on the agenda for this weekend.


----------



## Sbcgenii

That last photo looks awesome. What an awesome place that is going to be to spend time In once you get it finished.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> That last photo looks awesome. What an awesome place that is going to be to spend time In once you get it finished.


Thanks! It won't ever be finished, though. You know that.

Anybody know what I've got growing here?


----------



## Redtwin

I've got that rearing it's ugly head throughout my edges. My wife and I call it horse grass because that section of the yard used to be part of a horse pasture. I'm sure that's not the proper name for it. It spreads by rhizome but it's different than Torpedograss. Does that match your description?


----------



## tcorbitt20

Redtwin said:


> I've got that rearing it's ugly head throughout my edges. My wife and I call it horse grass because that section of the yard used to be part of a horse pasture. I'm sure that's not the proper name for it. It spreads by rhizome but it's different than Torpedograss. Does that match your description?


Could be. It's out in the big field in front of the house and not in the lawn. I don't mind it out there so much. It's much better than any of the briars that I've been spraying. A plant identification app said it was northern sea oats. Just curious. I know that it was a pea patch for several years, but not for the last two.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Spread another 50 lbs of Super Rainbow over about 2/3 of the lawn. I've got to get better at making it stretch.


----------



## RayTL

Looking good @tcorbitt20 , I think it will be a stand of grass worth ... celebrating ... by July 4th :thumbup: keep up the great work!


----------



## tcorbitt20

RayTL said:


> Looking good @tcorbitt20 , I think it will be a stand of grass worth ... celebrating ... by July 4th :thumbup: keep up the great work!


Thanks!

Got to mow this afternoon. Still a few spots straggling to fill in from the sand, but it's starting to pop a little bit. I'll have to get a few pictures of the morning dew if there is any tomorrow.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 looking good and coming along nicely.

Quick question I know very little about celebration Bermuda except that's is one of the best cultivars.

I know you did your research so any particular reason you went with celebration vs others?


----------



## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 looking good and coming along nicely.
> 
> Quick question I know very little about celebration Bermuda except that's is one of the best cultivars.
> 
> I know you did your research so any particular reason you went with celebration vs others?


The sod farm I knew I was going to use said they knew I'd like it. They're the ones that helped me get my Discovery lawn where I wanted it. I think Discovery has turned out to be kind of a flop. I didn't really do any research other than telling them I didn't want 419.


----------



## Sbcgenii

Why Did it flop? Your last yard was so dark and thick? Any particular reason you stayed away from 419? Asking for a friend.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

tcorbitt20 said:


> ENC_Lawn said:
> 
> 
> 
> @tcorbitt20 looking good and coming along nicely.
> 
> Quick question I know very little about celebration Bermuda except that's is one of the best cultivars.
> 
> I know you did your research so any particular reason you went with celebration vs others?
> 
> 
> 
> The sod farm I knew I was going to use said they knew I'd like it. They're the ones that helped me get my Discovery lawn where I wanted it. I think Discovery has turned out to be kind of a flop. I didn't really do any research other than telling them I didn't want 419.
Click to expand...

Gotcha...well it's sure looks good!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> Why Did it flop? Your last yard was so dark and thick? Any particular reason you stayed away from 419? Asking for a friend.


Discovery seemed to mutate on its own fairly quickly and return to whatever they started with when they created it after a few seasons. The great qualities that it was advertised to have just didn't pan out long term. The last time I asked them about it, I think they were down to just a couple acres of it at the farm in the event one of their bigger customers with Discovery needed some for a repair project. Seems like they had about 100 acres of it just two years ago. They don't even advertise having it anymore.

Mine lawn was dark and thick because I was piling on the fertilizer way past what was recommended because that was the only way to keep it there.

419 has no shade tolerance. While I don't have a lot of shade now, I will have some once I get a few trees planted around the edges of the lawn. And the spot right off my back patio is shaded for at least half the day. It would be tough to ever get 419 thick there.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Four week update on the sand leveling









This picture is from two weeks ago until now



This area hasn't been leveled at all and usually gets whatever is left of the fertilizer. It's also where I'm trying to train the dogs to go all the time. Not much luck with that yet.


----------



## acegator

Looking great bud,

Hows the celebration responding to the 13-13-13? Thicker growth?


----------



## tcorbitt20

acegator said:


> Looking great bud,
> 
> Hows the celebration responding to the 13-13-13? Thicker growth?


Thanks. It's been a while since I used any. I've been using the Super Rainbow 16-4-8. It's getting pretty thick in places. I may have to look into buying a verticutter.


----------



## acegator

Same here I have some places where it looks like it wants to grow on top of it self, very little weeds because it is choking them out and some that are just flat and have little growth but still greening up with heavy weed pressure. Gonna push the nitrogen really hard this month because at this rate I will be fighting weeds constantly.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Security camera from May 15 right before the level vs today


----------



## tcorbitt20

Well, the TruCut slipped the drive chain Tuesday night as I was mowing the back yard. Managed to slide it back on to get everything but the last two strips before it came off again. Took it to the shop for them to fool with it. They got busy and couldn't get it by yesterday afternoon when the owner helped me diagnose the issue which was a stretched chain with one roller even missing. After two hours of driving store to store to see if anyone had it, I found one an hour away. So this morning I'm there when they open their doors. I get the chain and head home and get the chain cut and put on in just a few minutes. Mowed the front, and things were looking up until a second chain broke. No problem I thought since I bought 10' of chain. One catch though, I didn't buy any extra master links. So, I guess I'm off to buy some master links now. Video would have documented my frustration much better and made or better entertainment. Sorry, @Redtwin


----------



## tcorbitt20

Update: found an extra master link at home. Woohoo! I then proceeded to break my chain breaker. Back to the store after all.

The front is starting to look pretty good though. Still a lot of nutsedge...


----------



## Redtwin

tcorbitt20 said:


> Video would have documented my frustration much better and made or better entertainment. Sorry, @Redtwin


We're laughing *with you* not *at you*!

I'm crossing my fingers my greensmower makes it through the season.


----------



## Sbcgenii

Maybe it's time to chain to a triplex.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> Maybe it's time to chain to a triplex.


That's a lot more stuff for me to not really know how to fix.


----------



## BakerGreenLawnMaker

@tcorbitt20 the lawn as always, looks good man!


----------



## tcorbitt20

BakerGreenLawnMaker said:


> @tcorbitt20 the lawn as always, looks good man!


Thank you, sir!

Mowed the back yard again this afternoon because the seed heads are ridiculous in some spots. Maybe it helped a little. I did put a pretty heavy application of Super Rainbow down (100 lbs on the whole yard, and probably just 20-25 of that on the front). Some spots appear to be struggling a little bit. Hopefully I'll see some good results in just a few days.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Decided to backlap the mower this morning since it seemed to have such a hard time cutting seed heads this weekend. It was very dull. In the process of backlapping, I saw a couple spots on the reel (one really bad one that I was trying to hammer out) where something like a piece of chain probably got run over. It gouged it pretty good, and even bent the blade a little. Looks like I'll be needing a new reel surely by next season or maybe before this one is over. Fun times... I did backlap enough to at least get it where the reel would turn without catching on that spot, so it is cutting better at the moment.


----------



## acegator

If you figure out how to get rid of the stalks just let me know 



tcorbitt20 said:


> Decided to backlap the mower this morning since it seemed to have such a hard time cutting seed heads this weekend. It was very dull. In the process of backlapping, I saw a couple spots on the reel (one really bad one that I was trying to hammer out) where something like a piece of chain probably got run over. It gouged it pretty good, and even bent the blade a little. Looks like I'll be needing a new reel surely by next season or maybe before this one is over. Fun times... I did backlap enough to at least get it where the reel would turn without catching on that spot, so it is cutting better at the moment.


----------



## tcorbitt20

acegator said:


> If you figure out how to get rid of the stalks just let me know


I'm hoping mine is this bad because it's new sod, I've been pushing it pretty hard with a bunch of fertilizer, and dumping sand all over it. I really hope it won't be this way every year.

Mowed this morning. From a distance it looks pretty good.


----------



## acegator

yeah i have the same issue with fert/sand/sedgehammer etc.. lol

looks great what hoc?

looking at a place with 2 acres right now so hopefully that will work out.


----------



## tcorbitt20

acegator said:


> yeah i have the same issue with fert/sand/sedgehammer etc.. lol
> 
> looks great what hoc?
> 
> looking at a place with 2 acres right now so hopefully that will work out.


Thanks! I haven't measured it, but I think it's 5/8". At some point I marked on the mower to know, but that may not be entirely accurate.

Good luck with the house hunt!


----------



## wking

tcorbitt20 said:


> acegator said:
> 
> 
> 
> If you figure out how to get rid of the stalks just let me know
> 
> 
> 
> I'm hoping mine is this bad because it's new sod, I've been pushing it pretty hard with a bunch of fertilizer, and dumping sand all over it. I really hope it won't be this way every year.
> 
> Mowed this morning. From a distance it looks pretty good.
Click to expand...

Looking good!! My 419 is looking the same, struggling some after sand level coming out of dormancy post sod and the wave of low temps in early June. I also had lots of seed heads, but I think 419 is notorious for seed heads. Love the house and the lawn!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Thanks @wking


----------



## tcorbitt20

Haven't mowed in a couple of days, so I plan to spray more Sedgehammer tonight. That stuff just won't go away. All the fertilizer I spread last week is making a difference. Really good color, and it seems like the seed heads are letting up some finally. From a distance, it looks pretty good to me. I think I might raise the HOC when I mow again just to see how it does. 










I got up this morning and sprayed a mixture of glyphosate, triclopyr and 2,4-d on the driveway and around the side and back edges of the lawn. I've been trying to find a bunch of trees to plant, but they're having trouble finding anything thanks to EVERYBODY buying plants to have something to do during the quarantine.


----------



## MrMeaner

From my experience on Celebration bermuda seed heads using either a 27" tru-cut, Toro Greensmaster 3150 Triplex and Toro 3100d Triplex none of them actually cut seed heads. Wether its a fresh grind, fresh backlap, tighter than normal contact or dull....seed heads get pinched and pulled from the stalk not cut. the seedheads then die on the lawn and the stalk dies and turns white and looks horrible.

What i have done in the past is is take a rotary mower over the seedheads...the rotary mower seems to cut the stalks and vacuum up the seed heads. Then I go back and cut the lawn with the reel mower. Does not solve the problem but the after cut appearance looks much better.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

The lawn is looking good...really like the 2nd to last picture from your front porch....cool pic!


----------



## tcorbitt20

MrMeaner said:


> From my experience on Celebration bermuda seed heads using either a 27" tru-cut, Toro Greensmaster 3150 Triplex and Toro 3100d Triplex none of them actually cut seed heads. Wether its a fresh grind, fresh backlap, tighter than normal contact or dull....seed heads get pinched and pulled from the stalk not cut. the seedheads then die on the lawn and the stalk dies and turns white and looks horrible.
> 
> What i have done in the past is is take a rotary mower over the seedheads...the rotary mower seems to cut the stalks and vacuum up the seed heads. Then I go back and cut the lawn with the reel mower. Does not solve the problem but the after cut appearance looks much better.


If I could get my rotary low enough to do any good, that would probably work. I think it must have been the fact that it was new sod and some spots had dirt that was not as good as other spots, I got a little lax in fertilizer application, and a couple of really dry weeks. Since I really threw down the fert, watered heavy, and got a few inches of rain during the week, it looks better. Or maybe it was just time for them to quit growing. Either way, it's much better now.


----------



## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> The lawn is looking good...really like the 2nd to last picture from your front porch....cool pic!


Thanks!


----------



## MrMeaner

tcorbitt20 said:


> MrMeaner said:
> 
> 
> 
> From my experience on Celebration bermuda seed heads using either a 27" tru-cut, Toro Greensmaster 3150 Triplex and Toro 3100d Triplex none of them actually cut seed heads. Wether its a fresh grind, fresh backlap, tighter than normal contact or dull....seed heads get pinched and pulled from the stalk not cut. the seedheads then die on the lawn and the stalk dies and turns white and looks horrible.
> 
> What i have done in the past is is take a rotary mower over the seedheads...the rotary mower seems to cut the stalks and vacuum up the seed heads. Then I go back and cut the lawn with the reel mower. Does not solve the problem but the after cut appearance looks much better.
> 
> 
> 
> If I could get my rotary low enough to do any good, that would probably work. I think it must have been the fact that it was new sod and some spots had dirt that was not as good as other spots, I got a little lax in fertilizer application, and a couple of really dry weeks. Since I really threw down the fert, watered heavy, and got a few inches of rain during the week, it looks better. Or maybe it was just time for them to quit growing. Either way, it's much better now.
Click to expand...

I think bermuda also goes through stages where some years are worse than others. Ive read PGR suppresses seedheads but i put down PGR 4weeks ago and all of a sudden had tons of seed heads this year. One of my water well motors finally died after ten years so with very little rain and irrigation not working for the past couple of weeks may have stressful on the grass causing more seed heads


----------



## tcorbitt20

Didn't get around to the Sedgehammer last night because it looked like it might rain, and I didn't want to spend two hours spraying for nothing. The nutsedge is taking off. Anything better than Sedgehammer that I can spray while it's above 90°?

Mowed this morning and raised the mower a notch. The fertilizer has kicked in.


----------



## Redtwin

Have you tried Certainty on the nutsedge?


----------



## Bmossin

I have used dismiss and usually put down around 730-8pm when it is starting to get a little cooler.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Bmossin said:


> I have used dismiss and usually put down around 730-8pm when it is starting to get a little cooler.





Redtwin said:


> Have you tried Certainty on the nutsedge?


I haven't tried either. Thanks!


----------



## Redtwin

Certainty doesn't have a temperature limit.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Redtwin said:


> Certainty doesn't have a temperature limit.


 :thumbup:


----------



## tcorbitt20

The screen is kind of in the way, but the back yard is looking pretty good from above.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Morning mow at what I think is 3/4" but I haven't measured it.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Happy 4th of July!

Before


After


Before


After


----------



## tcorbitt20

Did my first app of T-Nex at the .125 oz/1000 sq ft rate with FAS tonight. I'll mow in the morning. We'll see how it goes. Got new sprayer tips on the boom, and I didn't take the time to really test it. They seemed to be a fairly even spray. Maybe I won't have racing stripes.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Just realized I didn't use a surfactant. Was I supposed to?


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 I will be following along...interested to see how your first app goes.

I have T-Nex and sprayer on the way...I should get them both by end of the week or next week.

With your lawn being 17,000 square feet...I think you will be happy with the PGR from what others say!


----------



## Bmossin

tcorbitt20 said:


> Just realized I didn't use a surfactant. Was I supposed to?


I think you'll be alright. I usually put down with some iron and am getting results.


----------



## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 I will be following along...interested to see how your first app goes.
> 
> I have T-Nex and sprayer on the way...I should get them both by end of the week or next week.
> 
> With your lawn being 17,000 square feet...I think you will be happy with the PGR from what others say!


 :thumbup:

Yeah, I think it's either the PGR works well, or a I've got to get a triplex. I just can't keep up with the mowing especially when I get busy at work or it rains when I can mow. Something has to change.

Thanks, @Bmossin


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 I agree...I have about 14,000 square feet and I am looking to add some beds and shrink my yard some...14,000 with a ditch gets old reel cutting as much as I love it!

I envy your flat lawn though! 

I cuss my ditch the entire time I mow it...


----------



## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 I agree...I have about 14,000 square feet and I am looking to add some beds and shrink my yard some...14,000 with a ditch gets old reel cutting as much as I love it!
> 
> I envy your flat lawn though!
> 
> I cuss my ditch the entire time I mow it...


Starting from scratch definitely has its perks. The power pole limited my side yard, but I'm okay with it. Once I can find some crepe myrtles and little magnolias, it'll help my feelings even more. Covid has cleaned out all the nurseries apparently.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 Hey...one thing that is cool about a yard your size is you Will always have room to have areas for test plots of different grasss if you ever wanted too...which I think is very cool!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Blanket app of Certainty this morning at .125 oz/1000 sq ft rate. I'm sick of the nutsedge, so maybe this will help more than the Sedgehammer. It was a whole lot easier blanket spraying the whole thing than trying to spot spray with a hand pump backpack sprayer.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed two days ago after the PGR application. Still looks about like I just mowed it. There's some yellowing out there, but that could have been from the mow since I was taking about an inch off the grass in some spots.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed tonight. I think I'm going to appreciate the PGR. It seems to have kicked in some. Not nearly as many clippings as usual, and it's got a nice color but that could be from the FAS I sprayed with it. So far so good.


----------



## JRS 9572

One thing I learned about Celebration in my last yard. You better stay on top of it. Or you'll be bailing hay soon.

Wish I knew about PGR back then.

What a beautiful set up. Can't be living in the country.

Do you plan to build a barn or a work shop in the future?


----------



## tcorbitt20

JRS 9572 said:


> One thing I learned about Celebration in my last yard. You better stay on top of it. Or you'll be bailing hay soon.
> 
> Wish I knew about PGR back then.
> 
> What a beautiful set up. Can't be living in the country.
> 
> Do you plan to build a barn or a work shop in the future?


Thanks. I do plan on building something else. I'd like a nice, timber frame barn, but I don't think that's in the cards. Probably a metal building big enough to put the tractor and room for some other stuff. May try to squeeze a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen in there just in case we ever needed in for a child or mother-in-law.


----------



## BakerGreenLawnMaker

You always amaze me @tcorbitt20 beautiful lawn man!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Thanks, @BakerGreenLawnMaker! I'm liking your zoysia back yard.

Haven't mowed since Thursday. Still looks freshly mowed. I like PGR. Greens keeper app says I should be good until 7/19. Do I aim to reapply then or the day before? The day after? I figured since I only did the .125 oz/1000 sq ft rate it should be safe to reapply before 7/19. Also, the blanket app of Certainty seems to have helped the nutsedge. I didn't notice any popping up in the worst spots as before.


----------



## Sbcgenii

Just try to apply within a couple days of what the apps says if you want to stay suppressed. Spraying at different rates just affects the amount of suppression you get not the amount of time it will be suppressed. I can't help on what rate to apply to celebration.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> Just try to apply within a couple days of what the apps says if you want to stay suppressed. Spraying at different rates just affects the amount of suppression you get not the amount of time it will be suppressed. I can't help on what rate to apply to celebration.


Ah, I didn't realize that. Thank you! I may try a little more next time just to see what happens.


----------



## Meximusprime

Looking good. I did a rate of .20 /1000 on my celebration and it's doing really good. Doing way better than my tifway 419 at same rate.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Meximusprime said:


> Looking good. I did a rate of .20 /1000 on my celebration and it's doing really good. Doing way better than my tifway 419 at same rate.


Good to know! Thanks!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Didn't realize it was supposed to storm today. When my wife mentioned it, I hustled to try to get it all mowed before the bottom fell out. I didn't quite get done.

I think I had made it to the back yard when my son took this picture. I probably had 15 minutes of mowing left that I'll probably do in the morning. 








What it looked like this morning


----------



## tcorbitt20

Finished my mow this morning and spread 50 lbs of Super Rainbow over the whole yard which is just under .5 lb of N per 1000. Love the way the morning dew gives it a blue look at the right angle.

Looks like I am at 3/4".


----------



## tcorbitt20

This is about 48 hours since I mowed. The diagonals seemed to scalp a little in a few spots. I need to try to get another level in this summer. I think I'll mow in the morning and spray some more T-Nex at the same rate I used before.


And here's the sprayer I've been using. Sprayed a glyphosate, Certainty, crossbow combination tonight around the edge of the lawn and on the driveway. Trying to get ready to plant some trees around the edge of the lawn.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed this morning and applied T-Nex at a .155 oz/1000 sq ft rate with a little Ammonium Sulfate mixed in. I plan to go home at lunch and run the irrigation for a few minutes.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Got a few drone shots while I was home. Forgive the angles. I haven't used it enough to get used to it, and the picture quality is what it is.


----------



## dubyadubya87

That right there is one great looking lawn. Wow.


----------



## tcorbitt20

dubyadubya87 said:


> That right there is one great looking lawn. Wow.


Thank you!


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 Lawn looks great!

Can't believe you are pushing mowing all of that...when I see the drone pics.

That's what I call dedication!

Wonder how many miles a week you are walking from just mowing the lawn?


----------



## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 Lawn looks great!
> 
> Can't believe you are pushing mowing all of that...when I see the drone pics.
> 
> That's what I call dedication!
> 
> Wonder how many miles a week you are walking from just mowing the lawn?


Hard to tell since I always forget to set my watch to check it and it doesn't count steps when my hand isn't moving. Whatever it is isn't enough to make me any skinnier.

My lazy side REALLY wants a triplex, but I'm trying to make a rational decision on that.


----------



## Redtwin

tcorbitt20 said:


> My lazy side REALLY wants a triplex, but I'm trying to make a rational decision on that.


I'm in the research phase of looking for a Triplex as well. I will be adding another 8K sf of low-mowed lawn next season.

Yours is looking fantastic!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Redtwin said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> My lazy side REALLY wants a triplex, but I'm trying to make a rational decision on that.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm in the research phase of looking for a Triplex as well. I will be adding another 8K sf of low-mowed lawn next season.
> 
> Yours is looking fantastic!
Click to expand...

Another 8k?! I'd definitely be in the market at that point.

Applied FAS this morning to combat the bronzing from the T-Nex. Guess I should have done that when I sprayed it.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed yesterday morning, and applied Bifen and another shot of Certainty this morning. Hope that the Certainty doesn't hurt anything other than the nutsedge. I just can't seem to get rid of that stuff.



Two thumbs up for the T-Nex, though.


----------



## acegator

Looking good! yes t-nex is amazing isn't it? Downsides are the nut sedge seems to stick out pretty quick afterwards.

I think initially nut sedge is just something that will need to be initially dealt with the first season and it will slack off next season as I keep having to deal with it as well.


----------



## tcorbitt20

@acegator that nutsedge sticks up pretty quick with or without T-Nex. I really hope next season won't be as bad. Hope the seed heads aren't as bad either.


----------



## Two_Rivers

Looking great! I feel you on the sedge, when the seed heads finally went away it queued up the sedge. Frustrating.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Haven't mowed since Monday. I am now a HUGE fan of T-Nex. I do think I'll raise the mower up a notch when I mow tonight which should put it at 7/8". I probably need to do a height reset, and I definitely need to do another leveling if I can get some sand delivered.


----------



## tcorbitt20

50 lbs of Super Rainbow down this morning


----------



## cnet24

Incredible property, looks fantastic. Excited to follow along!


----------



## tcorbitt20

cnet24 said:


> Incredible property, looks fantastic. Excited to follow along!


Thanks! We've finally got some trees coming next week - hopefully!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Busy weekend in the yard. Spent this afternoon mowing then sprayed FAS and T-Nex. It's taller than I'd like it to be, but this is the best the lawn has looked.

This was pre mow this morning. 


Also caught a beautiful sunrise today. 


It sure is hot mowing in the middle of the day, but it looks so good when I mow then. 






If you're on the fence about PGR like I was, let this help convince you. I was scalping a little bit mowing every other day. Now I'm mowing on the third day with just a few clippings. The turf is thicker, darker, and more healthy looking.


----------



## Keepin It Reel

That looks fantastic!


----------



## tcorbitt20

MeanDean said:


> That looks fantastic!


Thank you!


----------



## dubyadubya87

What is the dark colored material bordering your turf? Is that just the same mulch as your shrub beds? Whatever it is, it really makes your grass _pop_!


----------



## tcorbitt20

dubyadubya87 said:


> What is the dark colored material bordering your turf? Is that just the same mulch as your shrub beds? Whatever it is, it really makes your grass _pop_!


Yes, the same mulch. My plan is to get a bunch of day lilies and other bulbs planted around there eventually.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Bronzing I guess?


----------



## tcorbitt20

Still seeing the effects of the bronzing from the PGR (I'm assuming). 


Looking closer, it does look like the areas that are "bronze" are just on the tips of the grass blades where the PGR sat for an hour or so before a good rain came through. Hopefully after I mow it'll look more like normal.

Bronzing on the left. Normal on the right


----------



## Redtwin

I bumped my rate up to .38oz/1000sf on Sunday and have the exact same look along the edges where I had a bit of overlap. Your Celebration is still looking good and the bronzing will probably get cut off after a couple of mows.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Redtwin said:


> I bumped my rate up to .38oz/1000sf on Sunday and have the exact same look along the edges where I had a bit of overlap. Your Celebration is still looking good and the bronzing will probably get cut off after a couple of mows.


Thanks. I dropped my rate to about .12 oz/1000 sq ft with this last app. It would happen right before we have company stopping by from out of state.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed this morning for the first time since Sunday. I had fewer clippings than I used to have mowing every other day before PGR, and the bronzing has cleared up for the most part. I imagine if I mow again on Sunday, it'll be like it was last weekend. I've got 15 crepe myrtles that are coming that I hope to get planted on Saturday to get a little closer to finishing out the border of the yard.





And I've got nutsedge starting to pop back up. Will a third application of Certainty within a 6 week period do any damage to the turf?


----------



## jayhawk

Have you seen the 'teddy bear' magnolias? I like mine, more than the 'gems'


----------



## tcorbitt20

jayhawk said:


> Have you seen the 'teddy bear' magnolias? I like mine, more than the 'gems'


I'm not sure that I have, but I planted two of the big Southern Magnolia variety this morning. They're about 4 ft tall right now. I'll get a picture tomorrow.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Planted two Southern Magnolias earlier this week and got 16 crepe myrtles of various varieties planted this morning. Need a big load of mulch or two to finish things out around those beds. 








I didn't say they were big trees.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed today. Had another chain break on the mower with about three strips left. I think I'm ready to give up on the whole reel mowing thing and then I look at what I just cut and know that I've got to fix the mower now.


----------



## cnet24

Triplex time...


----------



## tcorbitt20

cnet24 said:


> Triplex time...


Luckily, I had enough chain from the last chain fiasco. My biggest holdup on the triplex is knowing there's that much more to break for me to not know how to fix it.


----------



## Sbcgenii

Not many more things. What are you worried about?


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> Not many more things. What are you worried about?


I'm not very mechanically inclined. I mean, I can eventually figure stuff out, but I don't like doing it and I just get aggravated the whole time I'm working on something because there's always one little piece that doesn't want to fit just right because I missed that step about 12 steps prior that would have made it easier...

My TruCut currently has a bearing that is frozen and won't let me adjust my reel to bedknife in one side in addition to having a bent blade from where a chain broke, and I found the broken piece later as I was mowing. I just ordered parts to replace the reel and both bearings/bushings and whatever else is there holding the reel along with getting a new bedknife. About $800 worth.

I don't really want to spend $5000 on a triplex and end up spending a pile every time something breaks. Because it will if I have anything to do with it


----------



## Sbcgenii

https://www.mowersdirect.com/ProMow-GO310/p68775.html


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 I know how you feel.

I love Reel mowing...and would like to think I will always do it.

That being said...with a lawn my size 14,000 square feet I have come to realize that trying to treat it like a 5k lawn it just plain tough unless you are retired or this is all that you do.

I can only imagine how you feel at your lawn size.

Have you considered "trying" to rotary cut some of the areas and maybe just reel mow the front?


----------



## cnet24

@tcorbitt20 I didn't mean to start the Triplex discussion. The yard looks fantastic and you should mow exactly how you like!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> https://www.mowersdirect.com/ProMow-GO310/p68775.html


Interesting...



ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 I know how you feel.
> 
> I love Reel mowing...and would like to think I will always do it.
> 
> That being said...with a lawn my size 14,000 square feet I have come to realize that trying to treat it like a 5k lawn it just plain tough unless you are retired or this is all that you do.
> 
> I can only imagine how you feel at your lawn size.
> 
> Have you considered "trying" to rotary cut some of the areas and maybe just reel mow the front?


I've thought about it, but not for very long. The idea of leaving the grass that tall just doesn't sit well with me anymore. If I had another 5k sq ft, the triplex would be a must. With the PGR, it's bearable mowing twice a week.



cnet24 said:


> @tcorbitt20 I didn't mean to start the Triplex discussion. The yard looks fantastic and you should mow exactly how you like!


Thanks! It's all good.


----------



## Sbcgenii

I was just thinking if the chain you keep breaking spins the reel maybe your reel to bedknife is to tight?


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> I was just thinking if the chain you keep breaking spins the reel maybe your reel to bedknife is to tight?


It's not that. I had to use a screwdriver and a hammer instead of the spanner wrench to adjust the reel to bedknife the other day, and that got it barely making contact. It did strike me that I hadn't lubricated those chains any, though. I'm guessing that was the issue. We'll see.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Haven't mowed since Wednesday, but it's still looking pretty good. It does need another shot of fertilizer, though.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed and spread 50 lbs of Super Rainbow


----------



## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 Lawn looks great!
> 
> Can't believe you are pushing mowing all of that...when I see the drone pics.
> 
> That's what I call dedication!
> 
> Wonder how many miles a week you are walking from just mowing the lawn?


My watch has a GPS feature to track runs, walks, etc. that I used the last few times I mowed. Seems to be that it's about 3 miles of walking every time I mow, and about 1 mile when I fertilize. So PGR is saving me 3 miles of walking a week.


----------



## Ware

That's incredible. Nice work.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 Wow...thats some miles right there!!! :thumbup:


----------



## tcorbitt20

Ware said:


> That's incredible. Nice work.


Thanks, @Ware! How's the house coming?



ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 Wow...thats some miles right there!!! :thumbup:


Doesn't seem to be helping at the scales. I'm obviously finding plenty of cheeseburgers to make up for it.


----------



## Ware

tcorbitt20 said:


> Ware said:
> 
> 
> 
> That's incredible. Nice work.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks, @Ware! How's the house coming?
Click to expand...

So far so good - I have been posting some updates here.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 lawn color looks great!

Especially since you went 4 days without mowing!


----------



## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 lawn color looks great!
> 
> Especially since you went 4 days without mowing!


Thanks! I've ordered some sand to do another level hoping it would be delivered before this past weekend. No such luck, so I may go ahead and reapply PGR tomorrow. I like to mow, but the kids start school this week. Time is about to be at even more of a premium than normal.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sprayed more PGR on Monday at a .145 oz/1000 rate. And got around to mowing today at lunch. I'd really like to scalp it down and do another sand leveling if I can get more sand delivered. Delivery guy has been a little spotty lately.



Also got the drone up again the other day. Cool to see a different angle. You can see where I'm still waiting on more mulch, too.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Decided to give it a HOC reset and take it back down to 1/2". I started off trying to catch the clippings, but I dumped the bucket 11 times making two passes around the whole lawn. I gave up on catching after that. Got done with the front yard, and it took about an hour and a half just out there. That's an awful lot of organic material in 1/2" of grass. Maybe I need to look into a verticutter in the future.


----------



## RayTL

Nice! I did the same thing yesterday. Bagging the clippings is the worst!


----------



## tcorbitt20

After the scalp, I figured it was a good time to tackle replacing a bunch of stuff on my mower - reel, bedknife, most everything up front. Not having a clue what I was doing, it ended up taking most of the week as I was having to borrow tools, take the bedknife somewhere to get the screws out, etc. I finally got it all back together on Friday night (even though I'll still need to replace a couple of things I didn't order and maybe one or two I broke). Mowed yesterday at 5/8" and spread another bag of Super Rainbow this morning. It's getting back to normal. I was hoping to do another leveling this year, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed tonight and then sprayed another application of T-Nex at .155 oz/1000 sq ft along with just a little FAS.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Still recovering a little from my HOC reset and a week without mowing as I took apart my mower and put it back together. It's getting there. Mowed at 3/4" yesterday which is not as low as I wanted but oh well.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Morning picture


----------



## tcorbitt20

Got a mow in this morning


----------



## Rooster

This is one of my absolute favorite journals to follow. Great stuff, @tcorbitt20.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Bermuda_Rooster said:


> This is one of my absolute favorite journals to follow. Great stuff, @tcorbitt20.


Thank you! Just glad I didn't have to seed anything like you did. That's too much work! :lol:


----------



## Rooster

tcorbitt20 said:


> Thank you! Just glad I didn't have to seed anything like you did. That's too much work! :lol:


Honestly I've loved every minute of it, though it's been a lot of sweat and frustration. I work at a computer all day so getting out there in the dirt feels like a break.

I can't tell you how much I envy that property of yours. Absolutely beautiful.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Bermuda_Rooster said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you! Just glad I didn't have to seed anything like you did. That's too much work! :lol:
> 
> 
> 
> Honestly I've loved every minute of it, though it's been a lot of sweat and frustration. I work at a computer all day so getting out there in the dirt feels like a break.
> 
> I can't tell you how much I envy that property of yours. Absolutely beautiful.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! Never thought we'd have something like this, but I'm really enjoying it.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Another morning mow. I really prefer mowing when it's dry, but that hasn't been an option lately.


----------



## cnet24

Had anymore issues with sedge?


----------



## tcorbitt20

cnet24 said:


> Had anymore issues with sedge?


Constant. I sprayed Certainty again last week some time, I think, maybe the week before. I've used a whole bottle of Certainty. Planning to wait until it cools off a little to use the rest of the Sedgehammer I have. I will get rid of it.


----------



## Lawn Burgundy

Sulfentrazone knocked my sedge out really quick. Great lawn and excellent property! One of these days it would be cool to take a quick motorcycle ride down and check it out in person since you are not that far away. Keep it up and congrats on the LOTM nomination. You might need to do cheater stripes to win that one &#129315;


----------



## tcorbitt20

Thanks! I don't know that there is such a thing as a quick ride from Huntsville to Notasulga, but come on any time. I'll have to get a picture of some of the worst patches of sedge on the property. That stuff is all over out here. I think I've made good progress, but it's definitely not gone yet. The biggest problem is the waiting two days after mowing to spray and another two days before mowing again.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Still haven't mowed since Monday, but it sure does look good now if I do say so myself.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Here's a picture of some of my nutsedge farm


----------



## wking

tcorbitt20 said:


> Still haven't mowed since Monday, but it sure does look good that now if I do say so myself.


Looks great!!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed yesterday at 3/4". Fruit trees supposed to be delivered tomorrow. Enjoy the long weekend if you get one.







Thanks, @wking!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Just got done mowing while my wife was on the tractor running the bush hog. Win!













I'm still waiting on several different fruit trees I ordered to come in, but I got two satsumas planted yesterday. We'll see how it goes!


----------



## Bmossin

tcorbitt20 said:


> Just got done mowing while my wife was on the tractor running the bush hog. Win!


She's a keeper


----------



## tcorbitt20

Bmossin said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Just got done mowing while my wife was on the tractor running the bush hog. Win!
> 
> 
> 
> She's a keeper
Click to expand...

Absolutely!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed this morning (and had quite a few spots of scalping) for the first time since Sunday and noticed a few spots that looked really dry even though I watered well yesterday. Looked back in the journal and noticed it had been a month since I fertilized, so I spread 50 lbs of Super Rainbow.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed this morning at 5/8" since it looks like we're in for three days of rain. Got quite a bit of scalping, but I was expecting that. I also need to reapply PGR, but I'm still waiting on sprayer parts from where my kids managed to break the nozzles while driving through the woods. Maybe it won't be the perfect storm of PGR rebound and 8" of rain over three days. Will update this weekend.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 Nice looking lawn stripes!!!


----------



## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 Nice looking lawn stripes!!!


Thanks! My scalp stripes yesterday weren't quite as good.


----------



## tcorbitt20

2.25" of rain so far today. Plenty more tonight and tomorrow coming.


----------



## tcorbitt20

We ended up getting 4.5" of rain in total from Sally. I ended up in a tough spot running out of my PGR suppression right about the time my sprayer broke and 4.5" of rain. So today I raised the mower back up a notch to 3/4" and mowed. Got a lot of scalping in spots, but I did get a chance to spray after I was done. I sprayed a mixture of PGR, FAS, Sedgehammer (I know that was the wrong time, but I couldn't help myself), propiconazole, and Bifen. Irrigation is set to run in the morning. Maybe it'll get back to looking good before the season ends. Enjoy the weekend!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed last night at 3/4" for the first time since last Friday. Got a little scalping (and my lines were a little off since I couldn't see well), but overall not terrible for missing a whole week of mowing thanks to rain and work.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed yesterday and finished this morning at 3/4". That's the first mow in about 3 weeks, and I did get a few spots where it scalped pretty good, but overall I'm impressed with how the PGR kept things at bay in the slightly cooler weather. I got one full month of regulation from my last application. I don't think I'll use any more PGR this year, but I may spread a little triple 13 this week and get some prodiamine down. Has anybody used any triclopyr or 2, 4-D on Bermuda without any issues? I've got a few spots of either blackberry or elderberry that is starting to poke through in the front yard. I'm surprised it took so long for that to happen because I did see some before the sod was laid. All in all, not too bad. It's about time to get a bunch of shrubs to go around the parking pad and get tulips planted.


I didn't edge, either. Yeah, yeah.


----------



## cnet24

Probably good to think about your fall pre-em application, I think the grass is rooted enough to handle it.


----------



## Lawn Burgundy

I use the 2-4-D in the southern ag "lawn weed killer" and haven't seen any negative impact on the Bermuda


----------



## tcorbitt20

STRES said:


> I use the 2-4-D in the southern ag "lawn weed killer" and haven't seen any negative impact on the Bermuda





cnet24 said:


> Probably good to think about your fall pre-em application, I think the grass is rooted enough to handle it.


Thanks!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Spread 150 lbs of 8-8-8 peafowl fertilizer this morning and watered it and the prodiamine in good. I plan to mow again over the weekend, and hopefully get it looking good one last time before it goes dormant in late November probably. Still looks alright on the security camera.


----------



## tcorbitt20

I feel like I've neglected the lawn and the journal for the last month or so. I haven't been able to mow as often as I'd like due to work and weather, but it's still looking pretty good. I'm still planning on spraying some triclopyr and 2, 4-D on it to get rid of the briars popping up. As long as I mow often enough, I don't really notice them, but they're still there. And the nutsedge is still hanging around, too. I may wait until spring to try anything with it again.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 Your dedication to keeping a lawn that size push/reel mowed this season is impressive!

The lawn has looked great all season and still does! :thumbup:


----------



## tcorbitt20

Thank you! I appreciate it!



ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 Your dedication to keeping a lawn that size push/reel mowed this season is impressive!
> 
> The lawn has looked great all season and still does! :thumbup:


----------



## tcorbitt20

Noticed an azalea today that looked like I must have sprayed a little PGR on it. Oops!


----------



## tcorbitt20

There was just a little frost on the ground this morning when I mowed. Not too bad for November, but certainly not perfect. I'm ready to wind this year down.


----------



## cnet24

Right there with you. Seems like our temps here in Atl are right on the edge of keeping the bermuda growing. Enough to keep a semi mowing schedule but not enough to keep it green & perky. No motivation right now to mow!


----------



## RayTL

Right ther with you guys! Go to sleep bermuda!!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Grass is still green, but it doesn't look great. I sprayed some triclopyr and 2, 4-D last weekend since I was already spraying it all over the fields to get rid of the briars, I hope. This weekend I planted 34 live oaks to line to driveway, 20 cryptomeria in different places to hopefully make a screen one day, some crab apple and pears for the deer, and a few maple and dogwoods splashed around here and there. I'll get some better pictures tomorrow, but there was a pretty sunset tonight.


----------



## tcorbitt20

By the time I die, this ought to look pretty good. Maybe it'll only take a decade or two, and I get to enjoy it for a little while.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Well, it's about time to crank up again. I had some briars creeping up through the front yard, so I blanket sprayed with 2,4-D and triclopyr, and also got some prodiamine down about 3 weeks ago.

I couldn't find what I did with my rotary blade with the welded bolts to really tear everything up, so I used the TruCut on the lowest setting and scalped 2 weeks ago. After another week, it looked like this. 


Probably due for a mow this weekend, and I'll probably try it at the lowest setting again to see what happens. Planning on trying to go a lot lighter with the nitrogen this year and just spray a little FAS every so often especially with my PGR. Looking forward to getting back in the lawn.


----------



## jasonbraswell

I don't have near that amount of green yet.
But I know it is getting closer


----------



## tcorbitt20

Spread 50 lbs of 13-13-13 this morning for a little bit of early season nutrients since my soil is so sandy. Only .38 lb of N per 1000 sq ft. My soil test last year wasn't bad at all, but I noticed a couple of places where I spilled some balanced fertilizer did really well all season after getting over the initial burn.

I'll spread a strong amount of ammonium sulfate in 2-3 weeks probably.


----------



## cnet24

Same... I'm really fighting back the urge to throw down my first N of the year as it wakes back up. Just a little longer...


----------



## BakerGreenLawnMaker

I ordered Yard Mastery's 12-12-12, came in yesterday. I really wanted to put it out this afternoon, but told myself to hold off for about another month.


----------



## tcorbitt20

I ended up almost scalping again yesterday not really meaning to. I guess I didn't get as low as I thought to begin with. I noticed a lot of that fertilizer get picked up, too. I must not have watered it in very well. Ready to get kicked into gear!

@cnet24 and @BakerGreenLawnMaker, we're almost there.


----------



## BakerGreenLawnMaker

tcorbitt20 said:


> I ended up almost scaling again yesterday not really meaning to. I guess I didn't get as low as I thought to begin with. I noticed a lot of that fertilizer get picked up, too. I must not have watered it in very well. Ready to get kicked into gear!
> 
> @cnet24 and @BakerGreenLawnMaker, we're almost there.


Yep, it's like waiting to go to your favorite vacation spot and with each week closer you get all the more excited.


----------



## cnet24

I threw down today with this rain coming through. Couldn't hold up anymore. I'm probably at 40% green up


----------



## tcorbitt20

cnet24 said:


> I threw down today with this rain coming through. Couldn't hold up anymore. I'm probably at 40% green up


 :thumbup: You'll be fine.


----------



## tcorbitt20

I couldn't wait. Spread 80 lbs of Humic DG and 50 lbs of Ammonium Sulfate this afternoon.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Getting closer


----------



## Two_Rivers

This is the hardest stretch of waiting for the green up, that AS ought to kick in soon.

Can't wait to follow along, your yards always look great!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Two_Rivers said:


> This is the hardest stretch of waiting for the green up, that AS ought to kick in soon.
> 
> Can't wait to follow along, your yards always look great!


Thanks! That warm spell a couple weeks ago was followed up by lows in the 40s the last few days. Still way ahead of last year. I think the sod was laid on March 18. I'll be spraying PGR before I know it to slow it down.


----------



## monsonman

I've read through your journal a few times now as i'm putting Celebration down in a few weeks. Love your spread and great work on what you've done so far!

Any advice or tips now that you've had a year of the new turf?


----------



## tcorbitt20

monsonman said:


> I've read through your journal a few times now as i'm putting Celebration down in a few weeks. Love your spread and great work on what you've done so far!
> 
> Any advice or tips now that you've had a year of the new turf?


Thanks! Biggest tip is to use PGR. It really grows fast in the heat of summer.


----------



## monsonman

I've already got some T-Nex in the arsenal. How far from laying the sod did you begin a PGR routine?


----------



## tcorbitt20

monsonman said:


> I've already got some T-Nex in the arsenal. How far from laying the sod did you begin a PGR routine?


Seems like it was 3-4 months. I did a leveling job first.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Got in a mow this morning. I know it's been a little warm this early spring, but I don't ever remember having grass this green this early in the season.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Doing a little striping this morning


----------



## Sbcgenii

More pics of the the tractor and implements needed.


----------



## Ware

Sbcgenii said:


> More pics of the the tractor and implements needed.


+1


----------



## tcorbitt20

Ware said:


> Sbcgenii said:
> 
> 
> 
> More pics of the the tractor and implements needed.
> 
> 
> 
> +1
Click to expand...

 :thumbup: I'll work on that tomorrow. It's nothing fancy. John Deere 3025e with a 2060 (I think) rotary cutter. And I use a box blade quite a bit. Got something big planned for this summer. Big for me anyway. I'm no farmer.


----------



## tcorbitt20




----------



## Redtwin

That's an awesome setup! I wish I had the room to keep one of those parked in my workshop.


----------



## Sbcgenii

That bucket and box blade will make leveling acreage a breeze...


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> That bucket and box blade will make leveling acreage a breeze...


I didn't touch a shovel during the sand leveling I did last year. It was pretty awesome.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Pre mow this morning


Pretty excited about how green it is so soon this year. I hope that's the case every year. 






Happy Easter!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sprayed Blindside tonight to hopefully get ahead of the nutsedge problem I can't seem to beat.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Got a couple of Japanese maples planted yesterday and mowed today.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Spread another 50 lbs of Ammonium Sulfate today. That makes a little over 1.5 lbs N/1000 so far for the season. Getting closer all the time.


----------



## monsonman

It's looking really good @tcorbitt20! makes me excited to start my celebration journey. Hoping I can get it looking right like yours this season!


----------



## Sbcgenii

tcorbitt20 said:


> Spread another 50 lbs of Ammonium Sulfate today. That makes a little over 1.5 lbs N/1000 so far for the season. Getting closer all the time.


I'm glad I'm not the only one putting the fert down. Really early growth for me and I hope I am not being to ambitious.


----------



## tcorbitt20

monsonman said:


> It's looking really good @tcorbitt20! makes me excited to start my celebration journey. Hoping I can get it looking right like yours this season!


Thanks! I'm still trying to get it "right" myself. I was looking at your journal earlier. Once it takes root, do what you want with it. I put pre emergent down, scalped, sand leveled, everything within 3 months of laying the sod. It's an awesome grass so far.

@Sbcgenii As long as you're about 50% green, you ought to be good. We had 3 nights of freezing temps a couple weeks ago that knocked mine back a little, but it's almost fully green now.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Got 25 crape myrtles planted yesterday. I think I've officially lost count of how many trees I've planted since we moved out here. I think I'm at 282, but it might be a few more.


----------



## robbybobby

It will be really cool to look back at pictures in 15 years.


----------



## tcorbitt20

robbybobby said:


> It will be really cool to look back at pictures in 15 years.


I just hope I get to see it in real life in 15 years.

Got some RGS and Air8 down for the first time today. RGS at 3 oz/1000 and Air8 at 6 oz/1000. Trying something different this year.


----------



## Sbcgenii

tcorbitt20 said:


> Got 25 crape myrtles planted yesterday. I think I've officially lost count of how many trees I've planted since we moved out here. I think I'm at 282, but it might be a few more.


 :shock:  What a maniac. That is going to be awesome when they get a little bigger and are blooming.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Grass really hasn't taken off yet, and it's way behind where my lawn was a couple of years ago (I'm disregarding last year since the sod was laid in March). So I just spread another 50 lbs of Ammonium Sulfate for another .6 lbs of N/1000. Surely it'll kick into gear this week with temps into the 80s.

I also put a little 16-16-16 fertilizer on my live oaks down the driveway, the crape myrtles and magnolias around the lawn, and the shrubs around the house. I haven't bush hogged the fields since before Easter, but I'm kind of liking the color from the weeds. It's a nice haze of red and purple. Maybe I'll get some wildflowers planted this fall.





@Sbcgenii my wife asked me, "Why can't you be obsessed with buying me jewelry instead of trees?"


----------



## tcorbitt20

Yesterday, I applied some D-Thatch (about 1.25 gallons in a 18 gallon solution) after I mowed. As I was mowing I saw an awful lot of seed heads popping up. I really hope those don't stick around too long. But compared to last year at this time, I can't complain.

May 3, 2020



May 1, 2021



My wife said I ought to get a picture at the same angle as last year's picture, so maybe I'll try that tomorrow.


----------



## tcorbitt20

May 3, 2020



May 4, 2021


----------



## Lawn Burgundy

looking good man, i feel you on the trees, no where near you but we have put in 42 trees in a neighborhood so yea i get it :bd:


----------



## tcorbitt20

STRES said:


> looking good man, i feel you on the trees, no where near you but we have put in 42 trees in a neighborhood so yea i get it :bd:


And you might have spent more on those 42. They were big trees.


----------



## monsonman

looking great! what HOC are you maintaining?


----------



## tcorbitt20

monsonman said:


> looking great! what HOC are you maintaining?


Thanks. I haven't measured it, but the mower is set at a notch where I marked 5/8" at some point in time.


----------



## Lawn Burgundy

tcorbitt20 said:


> STRES said:
> 
> 
> 
> looking good man, i feel you on the trees, no where near you but we have put in 42 trees in a neighborhood so yea i get it :bd:
> 
> 
> 
> And you might have spent more on those 42. They were big trees.
Click to expand...

they were surprisingly cheap, we got them from a wholesale dealer in their discount area because they were not doing too well, figured we could nurse them back to health, only lost one and they replaced FOC so i cant complain.


----------



## Lawn Burgundy

tcorbitt20 said:


> STRES said:
> 
> 
> 
> looking good man, i feel you on the trees, no where near you but we have put in 42 trees in a neighborhood so yea i get it :bd:
> 
> 
> 
> And you might have spent more on those 42. They were big trees.
Click to expand...

they were surprisingly cheap, we got them from a wholesale dealer in their discount area because they were not doing too well, figured we could nurse them back to health, only lost one and they replaced FOC so i cant complain.


----------



## cnet24

Not sure if you plan on applying PGR this year but it has other benefits including seed head surpression. I am applying my first dosage today as I also have a ton of seed heads starting to pop.


----------



## tcorbitt20

cnet24 said:


> Not sure if you plan on applying PGR this year but it has other benefits including seed head surpression. I am applying my first dosage today as I also have a ton of seed heads starting to pop.


I am planning on it. I was trying to wait until a few spots that got scalped extra good and some places where I sprayed glypho could recover a little before I started the PGR for the year. I'm also hoping to get a sand leveling in if I can get some good sand delivered.


----------



## tcorbitt20

I've noticed a few spots that look like they may have some kind of fungus issue. A lot of them tend to hold water when we get really hard rains.



I sprayed a mixture of Next RGS and propiconazole and watered it in a little bit. I plan on mowing in the morning.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed this morning and spread 50 lbs of 13-13-13 this evening. Maybe those fungus spots are looking a little better, but the seed heads are going crazy. Maybe another round of fungicide and fertilizer will bring it around next week.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Finished mowing and left my mower sitting here waiting to clean it off. A couple hours later I walked over to see that chain sitting under it. Upon further inspection, it looks like the master link came off somewhere, and the chain just happened to fall off there after I shut it off. Weird.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Decided to spray some TNex (.25 oz/1000) and FAS late this afternoon to hopefully help with the seed heads.


----------



## Sbcgenii

How is the fungus looking? Did you spray those areas with PGR? Good first dose BTW. That's all my yard wants this time of year.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> How is the fungus looking? Did you spray those areas with PGR? Good first dose BTW. That's all my yard wants this time of year.


Yeah, I sprayed it all. It's looking a little better, but the seed heads are really bad.

Here's a two week change with one spot where there was fungus.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Another 50 lbs of Ammonium Sulfate this morning. 


Maybe the sunflowers will really get going before too long. I planted about 15,000 in the field at the back of this picture and another 10,000 way behind the house. Supposed to get about 8' tall. We'll see. This is my first attempt, and I'm no farmer.


----------



## Redtwin

Oh man, sunflowers are going to look awesome! I don't think they are in full bloom until late June/early July.


----------



## JRS 9572

tcorbitt20 said:


>


Get you a top dressing and verti-cutting attachment for that bad boy, and you really will be cooking with gas!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Redtwin said:


> Oh man, sunflowers are going to look awesome! I don't think they are in full bloom until late June/early July.


I hope they do. I planted them about May 10, and I think this cultivar is about 80-90 days to bloom.


----------



## tcorbitt20

JRS 9572 said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Get you a top dressing and verti-cutting attachment for that bad boy, and you really will be cooking with gas!
Click to expand...

I'd have to replace some tires, too. Between transmissions, taxes, and tires, the budget is getting tight.


----------



## cnet24

That would make a heck of a dove field in September!


----------



## tcorbitt20

cnet24 said:


> That would make a heck of a dove field in September!


That's why I planted the field in the back. I don't want my 13 year old shooting the house.


----------



## Sbcgenii

tcorbitt20 said:


> Another 50 lbs of Ammonium Sulfate this morning.
> 
> 
> Maybe the sunflowers will really get going before too long. I planted about 15,000 in the field at the back of this picture and another 10,000 way behind the house. Supposed to get about 8' tall. We'll see. This is my first attempt, and I'm no farmer.


Let me get some of that sunshine! How did you put down the sunflower seeds?


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Another 50 lbs of Ammonium Sulfate this morning.
> 
> 
> Maybe the sunflowers will really get going before too long. I planted about 15,000 in the field at the back of this picture and another 10,000 way behind the house. Supposed to get about 8' tall. We'll see. This is my first attempt, and I'm no farmer.
> 
> 
> 
> Let me get some of that sunshine! How did you put down the sunflower seeds?
Click to expand...

I tilled the field first. Smoothed it out and tried to pack it back down a little, then used an old Covington one row planter.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed yesterday a little lower at 1/2" to see if that would help with the seed heads. Maybe it cut a few more of them, but I've still got a good crop. 




Nothing but temps in the 90s all week with no rain. I fertilized just a few days ago after PGR a day or two before that. Any tips that might speed up their departure?


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sprayed RGS and DThatch yesterday. Planning to spray some more propiconazole and FAS tonight and maybe even spread more fertilizer to kick this grass into gear.

The sunflowers are popping up, but so is a lot of grass. Without preparing those fields properly, I'll be fighting that all summer I imagine. I sprayed Poast which is supposed to be safe for sunflowers. We'll see.


----------



## Chuckatuck89

tcorbitt20 said:


> Mowed yesterday a little lower at 1/2" to see if that would help with the seed heads. Maybe it cut a few more of them, but I've still got a good crop.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nothing but temps in the 90s all week with no rain. I fertilized just a few days ago after PGR a day or two before that. Any tips that might speed up their departure?


man thats looking good already. Im behind you but hoping it's just the crappy weather we've had. How much N/1000 are you at so far this year?


----------



## tcorbitt20

Chuckatuck89 said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Mowed yesterday a little lower at 1/2" to see if that would help with the seed heads. Maybe it cut a few more of them, but I've still got a good crop.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nothing but temps in the 90s all week with no rain. I fertilized just a few days ago after PGR a day or two before that. Any tips that might speed up their departure?
> 
> 
> 
> man thats looking good already. Im behind you but hoping it's just the crappy weather we've had. How much N/1000 are you at so far this year?
Click to expand...

I think about 3.25 lbs. So much for that low nitrogen plan.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

Looks really good at .5 HOC.


----------



## JRS 9572

tcorbitt20 said:


> JRS 9572 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Get you a top dressing and verti-cutting attachment for that bad boy, and you really will be cooking with gas!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I'd have to replace some tires, too. Between transmissions, taxes, and tires, the budget is getting tight.
Click to expand...

I can well understand and respect that


----------



## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> Looks really good at .5 HOC.


Thanks! I like it better there, too. Just a little harder to keep up with it.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Not sure what's going on, but something in the fungicide and FAS did a number on the grass.


----------



## HungrySoutherner

If I'm reading this right you put out Propiconizole right after you did Tnex which is probably what is going on. You've double regulated the lawn with the Propiconizole. So its bronzed out. You'll be good in a week or so with all the warmer temps.


----------



## tcorbitt20

HungrySoutherner said:


> If I'm reading this right you put out Propiconizole right after you did Tnex which is probably what is going on. You've double regulated the lawn with the Propiconizole. So its bronzed out. You'll be good in a week or so with all the warmer temps.


So, you can't use propiconazole when you're under regulation?


----------



## tcorbitt20

Looking a little better this morning. Much fewer seed heads in the front. The back is still full of them though.


----------



## Mightyquinn

tcorbitt20 said:


> HungrySoutherner said:
> 
> 
> 
> If I'm reading this right you put out Propiconizole right after you did Tnex which is probably what is going on. You've double regulated the lawn with the Propiconizole. So its bronzed out. You'll be good in a week or so with all the warmer temps.
> 
> 
> 
> So, you can't use propiconazole when you're under regulation?
Click to expand...

It's not that you can't but you just have to be really careful with Propiconazole on bermuda as it does have those two side effects of PGR and bronzing. I've noticed it happens more often when it is hot outside when you apply it but sometimes the weather just doesn't cooperate


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mightyquinn said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> HungrySoutherner said:
> 
> 
> 
> If I'm reading this right you put out Propiconizole right after you did Tnex which is probably what is going on. You've double regulated the lawn with the Propiconizole. So its bronzed out. You'll be good in a week or so with all the warmer temps.
> 
> 
> 
> So, you can't use propiconazole when you're under regulation?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> It's not that you can't but you just have to be really careful with Propiconazole on bermuda as it does have those two side effects of PGR and bronzing. I've noticed it happens more often when it is hot outside when you apply it but sometimes the weather just doesn't cooperate
Click to expand...

Thanks. Lesson learned.


----------



## tcorbitt20

@Mightyquinn pr @HungrySoutherner, if I'm due to reapply my PGR in the next few days, am I going to knock it back again if I reapply? Should I let it come out of regulation or maybe just wait a few days past when the greenkeeper app says it's coming out of regulation?


----------



## Mightyquinn

You can do it 2-3 days on either side of the window and be safe. I always err on the sooner rather than later and haven't had any issues. Whatever fits your schedule best.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mightyquinn said:


> You can do it 2-3 days on either side of the window and be safe. I always err on the sooner rather than later and haven't had any issues. Whatever fits your schedule best.


I meant while still dealing with the propiconazole effects.


----------



## Mightyquinn

tcorbitt20 said:


> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> 
> You can do it 2-3 days on either side of the window and be safe. I always err on the sooner rather than later and haven't had any issues. Whatever fits your schedule best.
> 
> 
> 
> I meant while still dealing with the propiconazole effects.
Click to expand...

OH!! My bad, totally forgot about that part. Yeah just wait a few days after the greenskeeper app says you out of regulation and you should be good. I don't really think you will harm anything either way even if you sprayed PGR on "zero" day. The Propiconazole effect should wear off after about a week plus we have some milder temps coming this week with hopefully some rain :thumbup:


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mightyquinn said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> 
> You can do it 2-3 days on either side of the window and be safe. I always err on the sooner rather than later and haven't had any issues. Whatever fits your schedule best.
> 
> 
> 
> I meant while still dealing with the propiconazole effects.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> OH!! My bad, totally forgot about that part. Yeah just wait a few days after the greenskeeper app says you out of regulation and you should be good. I don't really think you will harm anything either way even if you sprayed PGR on "zero" day. The Propiconazole effect should wear off after about a week plus we have some milder temps coming this week with hopefully some rain :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Got it. Thank you!


----------



## Mightyquinn

Sorry, I messed up again and thought you were in NC. I'm getting senile in my old age


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mightyquinn said:


> Sorry, I messed up again and thought you were in NC. I'm getting senile in my old age


It's all good. I appreciate the help.


----------



## Ware

Mightyquinn said:


> Sorry, I messed up again and thought you were in NC. I'm getting senile in my old age


We've been telling you this for years. :lol:


----------



## HungrySoutherner

tcorbitt20 said:


> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> 
> You can do it 2-3 days on either side of the window and be safe. I always err on the sooner rather than later and haven't had any issues. Whatever fits your schedule best.
> 
> 
> 
> I meant while still dealing with the propiconazole effects.
Click to expand...

You should be fine to spray PGR. Better to keep it under regulation than to rebound it and put it back under. The effects from the Propi + Tnex combo should be worn off.


----------



## tcorbitt20

HungrySoutherner said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> 
> You can do it 2-3 days on either side of the window and be safe. I always err on the sooner rather than later and haven't had any issues. Whatever fits your schedule best.
> 
> 
> 
> I meant while still dealing with the propiconazole effects.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> You should be fine to spray PGR. Better to keep it under regulation than to rebound it and put it back under. The effects from the Propi + Tnex combo should be worn off.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Looks better already today after a mow.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed yesterday. Sprayed TNex at .25 oz/1000 sq ft with just a little FAS this morning. I hope I'm turning the corner.


----------



## monsonman

Looking good @tcorbitt20 . What rate for TNex do you think is a good starting point? I remember reading that Celebration is a little more sensitive to it.


----------



## tcorbitt20

monsonman said:


> Looking good @tcorbitt20 . What rate for TNex do you think is a good starting point? I remember reading that Celebration is a little more sensitive to it.


I just looked back to last year and saw where I started at .125 oz/1000 and ended up a few times at .155 oz/1000. Maybe I should have gone a little lighter myself this year.


----------



## monsonman

Noted, thanks for that. I'm planning on making my first app next week so I want to keep it light. Make sure to update how .25 does!


----------



## tcorbitt20

The front looks like it's finally making the turn, but the back is still struggling.


----------



## Redtwin

That's a well trained dog dropping a deuce in the mulch area!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Redtwin said:


> That's a well trained dog dropping a deuce in the mulch area!


Ha! I didn't even notice. That was only by chance. They both usually drop them all over the yard.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed this morning. Got some Azoxy that I need to spray all over the back yard especially, but I'll probably spray the front, too, just to try to stay ahead of this fungus.


----------



## AFBiker2011

Looks like the recovery from the previous fungicide/PGR spray is coming along nicely. Good job. I always love to see that property, it's beautiful.


----------



## tcorbitt20

AFBiker2011 said:


> Looks like the recovery from the previous fungicide/PGR spray is coming along nicely. Good job. I always love to see that property, it's beautiful.


Thank you! I enjoy working on it, but I guess we all enjoy that.


----------



## AFBiker2011

Sunflowers popping up yet? EDIT: I've got 2 sunflowers that germinated in my rubber mulch bed next to the bird feeder! Apparently the birds planted them. They've grown about 2 feet so far, about as high as my encore azaleas.


----------



## tcorbitt20

@AFBiker2011 oh yeah. Lots of weeds popping up, too. I think I'm going to have to spray roundup by hand to clear up the fields. Next year, I'll plan a little better. I'll get a picture tonight.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Lots of weeds


----------



## tcorbitt20

And now I've spotted mole crickets. Never had this much trouble with grass before.



You can see a few of the worst fungus spots from this angle. Frustrating start to the season, but I'll get there eventually.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Got the fungus cured. Didn't get a picture while it was looking pretty good other than this one right after the TruCut broke.



So I got looking again for a triplex, and I ended up with this. 


It was set at about 2-3 inches tall, so I had to get that down before I could attempt to mow. The bedknife was about 9 clicks off on each cutting unit, too. It cuts now, but I don't have all the heads lined up the same. After not mowing for a week and a mower that's a lot heavier than the TruCut, it scalped it on down pretty good.



I'm hoping my friends at the local sod farm will let me hire a mechanic on the side to get it situated and get a big hydraulic leak fixed, too. But I went from taking an hour and a half to cut it to about 20 minutes.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 Awesome!!!...well this just got interesting! 

Congrats on the purchase! :thumbup: :nod:


----------



## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 Awesome!!!...well this just got interesting!
> 
> Congrats on the purchase! :thumbup: :nod:


Thanks. I hope I don't regret it. About 4 hours of slowly turning nuts to drop the height of cut that much. Some of those nuts are pretty hard to reach, especially when the reels won't stay up because of the hydraulic leak.


----------



## cnet24

What's your targeted HOC with the new mower?


----------



## tcorbitt20

@cnet24 I cut the blocks I dropped the cutting units onto at 9/16" figuring the curve of the bedknife would end up at about 3/4". I thought I was cutting at 1/2" with the TruCut, but it was probably floating on the turf a little. Not being able to cut for a week hurt, too.

The grass feels a lot shorter now.


----------



## cnet24

Nice. I bought an accu-gauge to help measure my HOC when I got my greens mower. They are expensive, but I called them and got a used demo unit for a very great price!


----------



## tcorbitt20

@cnet24 maybe when the hydraulics are fixed I can look into a decent gauge. Until then, there's not much point in having it unless I start taking the cutting units off. My non-mechanical mind will have to learn how to do that, I suppose. I know that comes natural to some non people to be able to look at something and tell how it works. Not me.


----------



## Boy_meets_lawn

That 6500 is sweet, looking forward to future updates.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Boy_meets_lawn said:


> That 6500 is sweet, looking forward to future updates.


I'm looking forward to getting it cutting right. Got a friend coming to fix the huge hydraulic leak, so that maybe I can get the reels to stay up long enough to check the HOC. I've tried mowing 10-20 yards and looking at what was cut and trying to adjust based on that. It's gotten better but still not great.

My sunflowers may end up as a learning experience only. I didn't prep the field right or use any kind of preemergent. I sprayed some Cadre on everything last week. This is what it looked like three days later.


----------



## JRS 9572

tcorbitt20 said:


> And now I've spotted mole crickets. Never had this much trouble with grass before.
> 
> 
> 
> You can see a few of the worst fungus spots from this angle. Frustrating start to the season, but I'll get there eventually.


I'm pretty sure Satan himself created mole crickets. 1st lawn I ever had down in the lowcountry of SC back in the late 90's. Switched between durbsban and diazanon in a miracle grow feeder monthly. It was the only thing that kept them at bay. Of course neither of those chemicals are available today.


----------



## RayTL

Congrats on the Reelmaster, can't wait to see you get it all dialed in.


----------



## tcorbitt20

RayTL said:


> Congrats on the Reelmaster, can't wait to see you get it all dialed in.


Thanks! I'm ready to get it dialed in myself. Got a friend to fix the hydraulic leak, so I can mow with it. I need to get a HOC gauge to get those reels right.

This was after 10 days without mowing


The was not no long after that after mowing over it a couple of times. I'd make a pass and try to adjust whichever side of whichever reel was cutting the lowest.



That was yesterday. I got out this morning and sprayed another TNex app.


----------



## AFBiker2011

tcorbitt20 said:


> And now I've spotted mole crickets. Never had this much trouble with grass before.


Did you end up using any chemicals to control the mole crickets?


----------



## tcorbitt20

AFBiker2011 said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> And now I've spotted mole crickets. Never had this much trouble with grass before.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Did you end up using any chemicals to control the mole crickets?
Click to expand...

The two I spotted were already dead, and I haven't seen any since. I sprayed Bifen earlier in the spring, so maybe that took care of them.


----------



## Redtwin

Bifen XTS took care of them for me at .25 fl oz/1000sf. I tried switching to Permethrin this season but it had very little effect on mole crickets.


----------



## tcorbitt20

My sunflowers were a flop. I'll have to prep better next year. Out of the 25k I planted, that's all that's blooming. 


Still trying to get the new mower dialed in, but it's getting closer.


----------



## AFBiker2011

It's all about the adventure, keep up the good work!


----------



## tcorbitt20

AFBiker2011 said:


> It's all about the adventure, keep up the good work!


Yep, it's fun. Thanks!

Other than the nutsedge and a few spots that really got gouged from turning while cutting, it's looks pretty good two days after a mow.





The field full of nothing but nutsedge past the mulch looks pretty good from a distance. And it's legitimately nothing but nutsedge at the moment.


----------



## cnet24

Too late for millet?


----------



## tcorbitt20

cnet24 said:


> Too late for millet?


Just had a buddy plant a bunch of wheat sorghum. 
I might have time, but I think I'm just going to let it ride until next spring. I really would like to see a couple fields of sunflowers outside my house one day.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Mowed today to beat the rain, and snapped this pic as I was scooping poop instead of smearing it for 40 yards. Those crape myrtles are about two feet tall. It's a big mower.


----------



## Redtwin

tcorbitt20 said:


> It's a big mower.


I need one!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sedge striping


----------



## Ware

tcorbitt20 said:


> Sedge striping


That's impressive.


----------



## tcorbitt20

@Ware it's a field of nutsedge. I can see why I have such an issue in the lawn if there are that many seeds or nutlets or whatever they're called around here.

Morning TNex app


----------



## Ware

tcorbitt20 said:


> @Ware it's a field of nutsedge. I can see why I have such an issue in the lawn if there are that many seeds or nutlets or whatever they're called around here.
> 
> Morning TNex app


Very nice. What are you spraying with?


----------



## tcorbitt20

Ware said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> @Ware it's a field of nutsedge. I can see why I have such an issue in the lawn if there are that many seeds or nutlets or whatever they're called around here.
> 
> Morning TNex app
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Very nice. What are you spraying with?
Click to expand...

A Fimco ATV boomless sprayer from Tractor Supply that I got some different sprayer tips for. When it works, it works well. I'm on my third one. I've had issues with every one I've had. The first one had a couple parts go bad that I can't remember now and was eventually broken from my son slinging it off the four wheeler while driving like a maniac. The second had a pressure switch go bad after a month. The third had the same issue after 5 weeks (just past the 30 day return period), so I've just replaced that. There aren't a lot of options out there for ATV sprayers.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/fimco-25-gal-boomless-atv-sprayer-5302952?cm_vc=-10005

Edit to add picture


----------



## Ware

tcorbitt20 said:


> A Fimco ATV boomless sprayer from Tractor Supply that I got some different sprayer tips for. When it works, it works well. I'm on my third one. I've had issues with every one I've had. The first one had a couple parts go bad that I can't remember now and was eventually broken from my son slinging it off the four wheeler while driving like a maniac. The second had a pressure switch go bad after a month. The third had the same issue after 5 weeks (just past the 30 day return period), so I've just replaced that. There aren't a lot of options out there for ATV sprayers.
> 
> https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/fimco-25-gal-boomless-atv-sprayer-5302952?cm_vc=-10005
> 
> Edit to add picture


10-4, I was wondering if you were using a 3pt sprayer on your tractor.

I built a 58gal skid sprayer that fits in the bed of my UTV. It is currently connected to a TeeJet FieldJet boomless nozzle on a receiver hitch mount. I have a boom for it, but the boomless nozzle is pretty convenient for maneuvering around obstacles.

I need to post some pictures of it.


----------



## tcorbitt20

@Ware my tractor has pretty aggressive tires, so I've kept it off the grass other than when I was spreading sand to level. I think I would prefer a better sprayer like that that might hold 100 gallons or so to be able to spray a lot more at a time, but oh well.

I'd like to see your sprayer setup.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Got a few drone pictures before the battery started to die waiting on the cloud to pass. 








You can barely see the live oaks that I planted along the driveway. Maybe I'll live long enough to see them grow over it.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 WOW...beautiful photos of your property!

All of your hard work is paying off. :thumbup:

Now start plugging that big field in front of your house with Celebration to use that nice new mower you have!


----------



## tcorbitt20

ENC_Lawn said:


> @tcorbitt20 WOW...beautiful photos of your property!
> 
> All of your hard work is paying off. :thumbup:
> 
> Now start plugging that big field in front of your house with Celebration to use that nice new mower you have!


Thank you!

I won't say I haven't thought about it, but I'd have to really do some leveling and pick up probably half a million rocks before I could put a reel out there. It would be better than the crabgrass, sand spurs, and briars though. But sprigging is a possibility and then mowing with a rotary. I've thought about trying to grow something that the kids could pick and sell to learn a little about entrepreneurship and hard work, too. Who knows. But there's no HOA to tell me I can't do whatever is that I might decide.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

tcorbitt20 said:


> ENC_Lawn said:
> 
> 
> 
> @tcorbitt20 WOW...beautiful photos of your property!
> 
> All of your hard work is paying off. :thumbup:
> 
> Now start plugging that big field in front of your house with Celebration to use that nice new mower you have!
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you!
> 
> I won't say I haven't thought about it, but I'd have to really do some leveling and pick up probably half a million rocks before I could put a reel out there. It would be better than the crabgrass, sand spurs, and briars though. But sprigging is a possibility and then mowing with a rotary. I've thought about trying to grow something that the kids could pick and sell to learn a little about entrepreneurship and hard work, too. Who knows. But there's no HOA to tell me I can't do whatever is that I might decide.
Click to expand...

At the rate Celebration grows and spreads plug it on 10 feet centers throw some fertilizer around rain storms and in 5 years you would probably have Bermuda everywhere.


----------



## Ware

tcorbitt20 said:


> …You can barely see the live oaks that I planted along the driveway. Maybe I'll live long enough to see them grow over it.


----------



## RayTL

@ware that is a beautiful line and yet haunting at the same time. +1 on the sprigging or plugging @tcorbitt20 !


----------



## Amoo316

Just out of curiosity, do you have

1. Any idea how close you planted that many live oaks?

2. Any idea just how big they actually get?

FWIW I wanted to live oak the driveway of our 2 acres when we moved in, wife put the kabosh on that, I got 1 in the middle of our "field.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Amoo316 said:


> Just out of curiosity, do you have
> 
> 1. Any idea how close you planted that many live oaks?
> 
> 2. Any idea just how big they actually get?
> 
> FWIW I wanted to live oak the driveway of our 2 acres when we moved in, wife put the kabosh on that, I got 1 in the middle of our "field.


1. I don't remember exactly. Seems like it was about 40' apart in a line and across the driveway.

2. Yes. We're hoping for this one day:


----------



## Amoo316

That has always been my dream driveway. Live Oaks are by far my favorite tree. Absolutely beautiful and vigorous growth throughout a season.


----------



## tcorbitt20

@Amoo316 they've probably grown a foot since March. I thought two of them died - al the leaves dried up and fell off as the others were still looking great in the middle of May. I scratched a branch, and it was still green so I left it alone. A month later I can't tell which ones they were.


----------



## Amoo316

tcorbitt20 said:


> @Amoo316 they've probably grown a foot since March. I thought two of them died - al the leaves dried up and fell off as the others were still looking great in the middle of May. I scratched a branch, and it was still green so I left it alone. A month later I can't tell which ones they were.


I haven't seen anything in your yard about a garden. Just some food for thought on what I have done with mine (added 10 feet up and tons out in 3 .5 seasons). I typically do a few rows of corn, some eggplant and some green beans, plus 1/2 squash. As you might be aware, corn requires heavy nitrogen multiple times, everything else benefits from shots of nitrogen sources. As a rule of thumb, anytime I do something to my garden fertilizer wise, I take 2 cups of 10-10-10 and toss it around my Live Oak.

You clearly have a ton more then I do, but it may not be a bad idea for you to buy a bag of 10-10-10 a few times a year and run by them with a spreader with the flapper down and hit them. They flat out love the fert. I didn't give it much the first season I planted it. I started this practice in year 2 and it really took off. My neighbor put one in his yard a season before I did. I've caught him in vertical growth, he still has me in lateral growth.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Amoo316 said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> @Amoo316 they've probably grown a foot since March. I thought two of them died - al the leaves dried up and fell off as the others were still looking great in the middle of May. I scratched a branch, and it was still green so I left it alone. A month later I can't tell which ones they were.
> 
> 
> 
> I haven't seen anything in your yard about a garden. Just some food for thought on what I have done with mine (added 10 feet up and tons out in 3 .5 seasons). I typically do a few rows of corn, some eggplant and some green beans, plus 1/2 squash. As you might be aware, corn requires heavy nitrogen multiple times, everything else benefits from shots of nitrogen sources. As a rule of thumb, anytime I do something to my garden fertilizer wise, I take 2 cups of 10-10-10 and toss it around my Live Oak.
> 
> You clearly have a ton more then I do, but it may not be a bad idea for you to buy a bag of 10-10-10 a few times a year and run by them with a spreader with the flapper down and hit them. They flat out love the fert. I didn't give it much the first season I planted it. I started this practice in year 2 and it really took off. My neighbor put one in his yard a season before I did. I've caught him in vertical growth, he still has me in lateral growth.
Click to expand...

I've fertilized in March, May, and I'm due for a July application. I just took some 16-16-16 and a plastic cup and scattered a little around the trunks.

I didn't have a garden this year, but I do want to grow some stuff next year. I've never had any kind of garden, so I've got to read up on it good first. I'd hate for the garden to end up like my sunflower attempt.


----------



## Amoo316

tcorbitt20 said:


> I've fertilized in March, May, and I'm due for a July application. I just took some 16-16-16 and a plastic cup and scattered a little around the trunks.
> 
> I didn't have a garden this year, but I do want to grow some stuff next year. I've never had any kind of garden, so I've got to read up on it good first. I'd hate for the garden to end up like my sunflower attempt.


Sounds like you're already on it then. Who knows you may make it to see that canopy one day at that rate of fert :lol:

Best advice I can give you on gardening on acerage:

1. Make sure you have a reliable way to irrigate it. If you don't and you have to drag hoses...etc you probably won't get the water it needs.

2. Plant in boxes, not single rows. This increased my yields. My garden has 3 - 65yard rows I plant 3 - 50 yard rows of corn, 3 - 10 yard rows of beans then fill in the rest with eggplant/squash/a random pepper...etc. This is supposed to help the pollinators.

3. Use your county ag extension resources. I'd soil test beginning of the year. A rototiller is almost a must imo. You can do it with just a harrow drag, but your results will not be as good IMO.

4. Plant your rows wide enough so you can get a walk behind roto tiller between them for "weed eating". You have plenty of land, make the garden big enough to accommodate a walk behind between the rows. You'll thank me later for this one.

5. Don't be afraid to play around with different varieties of the same thing. As en example, I can't grow Silver King Corn to save my life, but had some of the prettiest Silver Queen this year I've ever seen. Even got a compliment on it from my farming neighbor who had some planted as well.

6. Don't be discouraged by failure. I've failed in my garden way more then I have succeeded. I've had that garden at my house for 6 years now and this is the first year I haven't lost a single thing due to anything I did (lost my squash to peanut spray drift from the farm land behind me). The biggest change I made this year was I upped the nitrogen sources to everything, not just corn and watered way more then I thought I needed to (My corn fell over 2 different times from heavy storms and I had to stand it back up).

Edit, everywhere I said yards it should be feet. I have 6 pop up sprinklers that cover 65 Feet not 65 yards.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Ignore the mess from the three year old and the sunflower field flop. The lawn is looking pretty good.


----------



## Redtwin

Looking good! Was that cut with the Triplex? I love the art work as well!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Redtwin said:


> Looking good! Was that cut with the Triplex? I love the art work as well!


Thanks. That was cut with the quintplex/pentaplex (?, idk, it's got five reels) Toro 6500 D on Friday afternoon. Picture taken Monday morning. It still doesn't look great right after it's cut. The back two reels read lower than the front three with a HOC gauge, but they still cut slightly higher. I've been nudging up whichever end of whichever reel seems to be the lowest. It's getting close to having a decent look when it's cut. This fall/winter I want to get a nearby golf course mechanic whose course still uses the same mower to come by and get everything lined up for me.

I like the artwork, too. I like it better when she picks up her toys. Haha


----------



## RayTL

Lawn looks great, dreaming of my own peaceful place!


----------



## tcorbitt20

RayTL said:


> Lawn looks great, dreaming of my own peaceful place!


Thanks! Just do it. You won't regret it. I wish we had done it years ago.


----------



## robbybobby

@tcorbitt20 hope all is well! Not used to see you this quiet. Give us an update when you get the chance


----------



## JRS 9572

tcorbitt20 said:


> Amoo316 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Just out of curiosity, do you have
> 
> 1. Any idea how close you planted that many live oaks?
> 
> 2. Any idea just how big they actually get?
> 
> FWIW I wanted to live oak the driveway of our 2 acres when we moved in, wife put the kabosh on that, I got 1 in the middle of our "field.
> 
> 
> 
> 1. I don't remember exactly. Seems like it was about 40' apart in a line and across the driveway.
> 
> 2. Yes. We're hoping for this one day:
Click to expand...

I have a customer in Calhoun County, SC that planted oak trees lining the main drive to his estate probably 15 years ago. They look like they've been there 25 by the size of them. He said he put drip irrigation around the trees for the first 3 years. He's a firm believer that is what has made them grow much faster than you would expect.

You've got a great spot even without them. I know you're really enjoying it out there.


----------



## cnet24

Gone quiet on us @tcorbitt20!


----------



## Redtwin

cnet24 said:


> Gone quiet on us @tcorbitt20!


LOL! I was fist pumping for an update and was disappointed to see it was just @cnet24.

No offense, of course.


----------



## RayTL

Hahahaha


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sorry, guys. Got a little busy and decided I needed to let something go, so I picked my time on this website. All is good. Ready to get another season kicked off. I sprayed some prodiamine this morning.


----------



## RayTL

Glad you are well @tcorbitt20 !


----------



## Meximusprime

Welcome back @tcorbitt20!


----------



## tcorbitt20

The front yard in full sun is starting to green up pretty good. The back not so much.



I tried out my old rotary mower with the upside down bolt blade to do my "verticutting" but it wouldn't even touch the grass. Either the bolts have worn down or who knows. I've been trying to get someone to come adjust my big mower, but so far I'm still waiting. I've opted to put pine straw down instead of the mulch. I'm tired of hard rains washing mulch all over my lawn. I need to trim some shrubs, too. So much to do, so little time.


----------



## ENC_Lawn

@tcorbitt20 Looking forward to following along!


----------



## cnet24

Welcome back @tcorbitt20!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Trying to get this monster of a mower dialed in right. I was able to get a friend at a sod farm to send a couple guys to work it to at least get the reels where they were parallel instead wedged at an angle all the time. They were rusted in place from years of neglect probably, but they got them loosened up. They offered to take the mower to their shop and grind the reels and replace the bedknives for me. One attempt left them headed back to the shop for a bigger trailer. Maybe they can get it soon. But it cuts a lot better with the reels being lined up even though they're probably cutting at different heights.



I've been waiting on any fertilizer until I know I won't be without a mower for a week or a little longer.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Got the mower back up and running a couple weeks ago. They ground all the reels and bedknives, came and put the reels on for me, and got it all dialed in good. It's cutting better than it has since I bought it. Still waiting on the grass to really wake up, but I did finally spread some AS all over and some 16-16-16 in the back. The soil in those areas always seems to need a little more. Just waiting on it to take off now.





Had a little help planting an apple tree. She was too cute to not get a picture.



My cheap ATV sprayer quit working again, so I'm through with trying to make it work. Waiting on a Gator mounted sprayer now, so I can get back to spraying some stuff a little more often.


----------



## coreystooks

Excited to follow this journal again @tcorbitt20


----------



## Redtwin

tcorbitt20 said:


> Had a little help planting an apple tree. She was too cute to not get a picture.


The fruit from that tree will always be a little sweeter than any of the others!


----------



## tcorbitt20

The greenup is still slow this year (probably partly because I didn't scalp anything really, but it has been cooler too), but this mower is much better! You can almost make out some 9' wide stripes.


----------



## Redtwin

My green-up has been very slow this year as well. It just started taking off last week and then we got this post-Easter cool weather again.


----------



## tcorbitt20

A few seconds on the mower. I tried to get where you could see how wet the lawn was as water was pooling in front of the roller, but you can't really see it.

Reposted with higher quality upload. Sorry. I don't put much on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/ipAwMH3HNKQ


----------



## tcorbitt20

It's getting there. I spread another bag of AS on Thursday. With the warm weather over the next few days, I feel like it will be in full swing by the middle or end of next week.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Another mow this morning. I can tell a difference over the last week even if nobody in my house really cares. Haha. The angle of the sun sure makes a big difference in the stripes.







I also pulled the trigger on a new sprayer setup that will hopefully be more reliable. Maybe it'll be delivered by this weekend. Has anybody else tried to find a JD Gator lately? It's almost impossible.


----------



## Redtwin

That's looking super! The Reelmaster puts down some massive stripes.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Redtwin said:


> That's looking super! The Reelmaster puts down some massive stripes.


I am liking the stripes. I still have to do a little adjusting to get all the reels cutting exactly the same, but I'm not going to complain too much about this.


----------



## ag_fishing

tcorbitt20 said:


> Redtwin said:
> 
> 
> 
> That's looking super! The Reelmaster puts down some massive stripes.
> 
> 
> 
> I am liking the stripes. I still have to do a little adjusting to get all the reels cutting exactly the same, but I'm not going to complain too much about this.
Click to expand...

It's always awesome seeing your yard since I have celebration as well. Those big stripes have me excited since I'm picking up a 2600d


----------



## tcorbitt20

ag_fishing said:


> tcorbitt20 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Redtwin said:
> 
> 
> 
> That's looking super! The Reelmaster puts down some massive stripes.
> 
> 
> 
> I am liking the stripes. I still have to do a little adjusting to get all the reels cutting exactly the same, but I'm not going to complain too much about this.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> It's always awesome seeing your yard since I have celebration as well. Those big stripes have me excited since I'm picking up a 2600d
Click to expand...

Nice!


----------



## Sbcgenii

Nice mower. Those stripes are looking good!


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sbcgenii said:


> Nice mower. Those stripes are looking good!


Thank you, sir!


----------



## ag_fishing

I probably missed it, but do you put down PGR on your celebration?


----------



## tcorbitt20

ag_fishing said:


> I probably missed it, but do you put down PGR on your celebration?


I do, but I haven't started yet this year. This was from 2020 after two applications.


----------



## monsonman

Awesome comparison @tcorbitt20 !

Do you recall the rate you were applying?


----------



## tcorbitt20

monsonman said:


> Awesome comparison @tcorbitt20 !
> 
> Do you recall the rate you were applying?


Just went back and looked. .125 oz/1000 for two apps and .155 oz/1000 after that.


----------



## monsonman

Thanks, have you pushed it to .2 oz or higher? The greenskeeper at my course was telling me last week that he sprays around .3oz /k and has good results.

Trying to find the sweet spot this year without dinging the grass.


----------



## tcorbitt20

monsonman said:


> Thanks, have you pushed it to .2 oz or higher? The greenskeeper at my course was telling me last week that he sprays around .3oz /k and has good results.
> 
> Trying to find the sweet spot this year without dinging the grass.


I'd have to go back through my journal and look, but I don't think I did. As long as I stay pretty steady with the .155 oz/1000, I think it'll work out well for me. It's a lot easier to get out and mow several times a week now that it only takes me 30 minutes instead of an hour and a half every time.


----------



## r-trussell

Nice yard! Temps are going to be up this week with lows in the 60's so it should really start growing. Good to see the difference in PGR and none.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Here's a lesson in forgetting (in my case it was not having a sprayer) to use a fungicide in the early spring. Thanks to that I've got seed heads going crazy everywhere it has started to recover a little from the fungus. I sprayed an app of Eagle 20 this morning after 3336f last week. 




Hopefully it'll bounce back pretty soon. On the plus side, I really like my sprayer now. I've been having to drive 2 mph while spraying which is a chore, so I ordered new teejet nozzles that came today. It should allow me to drive 4-5 mph and get the same output as before at 2 mph.


----------



## TigerKnight

monsonman said:


> Thanks, have you pushed it to .2 oz or higher? The greenskeeper at my course was telling me last week that he sprays around .3oz /k and has good results.
> 
> Trying to find the sweet spot this year without dinging the grass.


How often do you apply? Or do you go with the GDD method?


----------



## RayTL

@tcorbitt20 Looking good man! Love the look of Celebration, highly considering it for my eventual renovation.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Still recovering from the fungus, but it's coming. I might gotten a little carried away spraying the pine straw with glyphosate, too


----------



## tcorbitt20

TigerKnight said:


> monsonman said:
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks, have you pushed it to .2 oz or higher? The greenskeeper at my course was telling me last week that he sprays around .3oz /k and has good results.
> 
> Trying to find the sweet spot this year without dinging the grass.
> 
> 
> 
> How often do you apply? Or do you go with the GDD method?
Click to expand...

Sorry I never responded to this. I did originally use GDD and found that I was applying pretty much every two weeks during the summer unless it was extra hot or rainy, and I reapply after 10 days. So I shoot for every two weeks unless it's hot or rainy.


----------



## SouthernTiftuf

Excited to continue following your journal. I have celebration now and a lot of that was from your journal. Still looks phenomenal. I haven't started using PGR yet on mine and not sure when I will yet but you have great results.


----------



## tcorbitt20

It's obviously some kind of weird camera thing because my grass doesn't look this blue/green, but I took a picture last night and got this.



I finally seem to be working past my fungus issues, too, but the seed heads are still hanging around. I fertilized with 50 lbs of generic 16-4-8 last week, and I'm about due to start my PGR apps. Maybe I can get a chance to do that this weekend.



I also planted a bunch of sunflowers again this year - about 1/3 acre with rows pretty well spaced apart. I used some Clearfield seeds to hopefully allow me better weed control. I sprayed to control the nutsedge after this picture, and I used a preemergent before they started popping up. the chemicals are Plateau and Charger Basic. I don't remember which one was which without looking it up. You can see a few sunflowers popping up here. I'll get a better picture in the next few days.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Sunflower update from this afternoon


----------



## tcorbitt20

Got up and mowed before church this morning. It has almost recovered completely from the dollar spot. It just needs to fill in a little more where it was affected the most. Also made my first PGR app on Friday night. Somebody asked recently what rate I was using, and I forgot that I had moved up to .25/1000 sq ft, and that's what I did again. So far no bronzing to speak of.

Pre mow


Post mow




Primo


----------



## Redtwin

That's really looking great! I assume you got your uneven reel issues worked out on the triplex.


----------



## tcorbitt20

Redtwin said:


> That's really looking great! I assume you got your uneven reel issues worked out on the triplex.


Thanks. But no not quite. I've been slowly adjusting every time I see a spot where it cuts a little too short and just bump that side of that reel up a little bit. After I got them ground, they were set up with the same cutting height by the gauge, but the result wasn't even. So I'm back to trying to blind guess as I mow. Sometime I'll make a pass and adjust. Make another pass and adjust some more. But then sometimes I get tired of climbing on and off and just want to mow. It isn't terrible looking, but it's aggravating. You can probably see it better from this angle.


----------



## tcorbitt20




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## tcorbitt20

Spread some 16-4-8 this morning, mowed, and watered in the fert. I think I've finally turned the corner with the fungus issues. 


This was yesterday as I was outside doing some other work in the yard.


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## tcorbitt20

Mowed again this morning. I've got a little fert burn where I apparently didn't water it in enough on Tuesday. Oh well. The TNex seems to be kicking in though. It's got a tighter appearance to me than it did a few days ago.


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## Dono1183

Lookin' good!


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## cnet24

Nice job as always. Hope those sunflowers work out for you this year


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## coreystooks

That Celebration is looking great would love to have some one day.


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## tcorbitt20

Thanks, guys.

@cnet24 I looked back at some pictures from last year, and weeds were already taking over at this point. So far, I'm ahead of the game.


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## tcorbitt20

I decided to mow Friday night which was my first "dry" mow of the season I think. This is what it looked like on Saturday morning.









The sunflowers seem like they're doing well, too.


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## tcorbitt20

Looked like I had some more fungus getting started so I sprayed another dose of propiconazole last night. I mowed this morning, and it seemed to look a little better.







My sunflowers are still chugging along nicely, too. I'm really hoping they turn out better than last year.


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## tcorbitt20

I'm excited about my sunflowers. It looked like we had a big thunderstorm on the way, so I spread a bag of ammonium sulfate. It didn't rain a drop, so I sprayed 150 gallons of water on it from my sprayer.



All the crape myrtles are about to explode, too.


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## tcorbitt20

Sprayed a whole bunch of stuff this morning. We'll see what happens. I tank mixed TNex, FErromac, 3336f (still have a couple fungus spots that won't go away), and Bifen xts. I'll probably set the sprinklers to run early afternoon to hopefully keep the nitrogen in the FErromac from burning the grass too much.

Sunflowers today



Forgot the lawn picture


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## tcorbitt20

So far so good


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## WillyT

Looking mighty fine! Beautiful property you have!


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## tcorbitt20

WillyT said:


> Looking mighty fine! Beautiful property you have!


Thank you!


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## Ware

One of my all-time favorite lawn journals.


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## tcorbitt20

Ware said:


> One of my all-time favorite lawn journals.


Check's in the mail, @Ware


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## tcorbitt20

I'm still having fungus issues. I sprayed propiconazole this morning. I'm sure it'll yellow everything pretty badly, but I'm getting frustrated at this point. Eagle 20, 3336f, and propiconazole so far this year. Should I go for some Azoxystrobin?



Other than the fungus and a little yellowing from everything I sprayed the other day, it looks pretty good.


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## Dono1183

I feel for you on the fungus issue. So far I've struggled with the celebration fungus recovery. It seems to get better, then it comes right back. This includes not over watering, watering in the afternoons. None of it seems to matter. I wonder if this is a known issue with this cultivar, or if it's just this year?


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## tcorbitt20

Dono1183 said:


> I feel for you on the fungus issue. So far I've struggled with the celebration fungus recovery. It seems to get better, then it comes right back. This includes not over watering, watering in the afternoons. None of it seems to matter. I wonder if this is a known issue with this cultivar, or if it's just this year?


It feels like it's just this year. It was a weird, wet late winter/early spring for us. I let the fungus get away from me, and I've been having trouble ever since. It took a couple of hydrangeas out for me, too. But if it's a common celebration issue, somebody please let us know!


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## tcorbitt20

Sick of this fungus. I've got azoxystrobin and Eagle 20 on the way.


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## tcorbitt20

Today the fungus issues are finally looking better. I got some azoxystrobin down last Sunday afternoon. Here's how different they look one week to the next. 




I've been trying to hold off on my TNex app, but I finally got it down today along with FErromac and some Eagle20. I should have enough fungicide to finally knock this out and prevent anything else for the next year or so.

I think the front yard may have been starting to come out of regulation which made it a little tough after the mow this morning. I'll mow again tomorrow morning, and maybe it'll look a little better.


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## tcorbitt20

Forgot about a sunflower update


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## tcorbitt20




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## tcorbitt20

I triple cut the front the other day as it was getting really thick. I tried to mow in opposite direction and diagonal from my usual just to help thin it out a little. Didn't get any pictures of it. I need to get a verticutter. Anybody got one they want to get rid of?

The back yard is looking pretty good, though. I may try a power rake next spring just to see what happens.


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## ENC_Lawn

Looks great @tcorbitt20

Nice strips on the Bermuda!


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## Redtwin

Dang! That back is popping!!! I love the fat stripes.


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## tcorbitt20

@ENC_Lawn and @Redtwin the pictures are better than real life, but I appreciate it.


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## tcorbitt20

I reapplied TNex yesterday because I can't seem to get things under regulation well. That's about .3 oz/1000 applied twice within a week. We'll see what happens. Also, it appears the fungus is trying to come back. I don't know exactly what kind it is, but I'm really tired of it. I sprayed azoxystrobin this morning since it doesn't appear to be dollar spot.

Sunflowers are starting to bloom, but I didn't pay enough attention to the variety I bought. They're only about thigh high to me.


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## tcorbitt20

Wet morning mow. I'm trying to time a Blindside application for nutsedge between mowing and TNex. I may just have to give it a shot and see what happens.


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## tcorbitt20

Short sunflower update. Really wish they were taller.


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## cnet24

Spraying those sunflowers in 2-3 weeks?


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## tcorbitt20

cnet24 said:


> Spraying those sunflowers in 2-3 weeks?


With what?


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## cnet24

Sorry, I thought in general you had planted the sunflowers for dove. A common practice is to spray the sunflowers with Roundup ~1 month out from the season so they die and drop seeds. Doves love dead sunflower fields. I normally hunt them every year!


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## tcorbitt20

cnet24 said:


> Sorry, I thought in general you had planted the sunflowers for dove. A common practice is to spray the sunflowers with Roundup ~1 month out from the season so they die and drop seeds. Doves love dead sunflower fields. I normally hunt them every year!


Ah, okay. No, I didn't plant them for dove. I didn't realize they got sprayed first. I figured the idea was to plant them early enough. Learn something new every day.


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## tcorbitt20

Pre mow


Post mow


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## tcorbitt20

It's been a busy couple of weeks without many lawn pictures. I've been having an issue if needing to scalp or verticut in a few places because it's getting thick and starting to have a poor cut quality. Without the ability to easily change HOC on my mower, I decided to experiment with TNex.

I had been using .26 oz/1000 sq ft. This past month I bumped that up slightly to .29 and applied twice just one week apart. No real difference. So I waited two weeks and applied .38 oz/1000 sq ft on Friday morning before leaving for the weekend. I mowed Thursday night, sprayed Friday morning and left. When I got back on Sunday, this is what I saw.





No bronzing, so I may try a stronger dose next time. We'll see if it helps my growth issues without verticutting anything.


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## cnet24

That's the same rate I use. I've read in this forum that celebration requires significantly lower rates of PGR compared to other Bermuda cultivars. My front yard is Tifway 419, so I do not want to have to do two separate batches with different PGR rates. Results have been the same- no bronzing for me


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## Redtwin

I use .38oz/1000sf on my Tifway 419 but was thinking of going higher as well for the same reasons.


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## tcorbitt20

@cnet24 and @Redtwin, I think I'm going to try .47 next time and see what happens. Seems like a strange number but that's 8 oz of TNex for me.


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## cnet24

Redtwin said:


> I use .38oz/1000sf on my Tifway 419 but was thinking of going higher as well for the same reasons.


I usually end the season at .50oz/1000sf on my Tifway 419 due to hot, humid conditions in GA with no issue.


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## coreystooks

Another thing you could try is reversing the pattern and mow against the stripes. I do this every now and then and its amazing how much more you end up cutting off. It's almost like a mini HOC reset without having to change it on the mower.


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## tcorbitt20

coreystooks said:


> Another thing you could try is reversing the pattern and mow against the stripes. I do this every now and then and its amazing how much more you end up cutting off. It's almost like a mini HOC reset without having to change it on the mower.


You're right. I did that a couple weeks ago. It did cut more than I thought it would. I'll probably do that again, too, but I think part of the problem is also that I'm developing ruts and the center reel is actually trying to cut lower if that makes sense. I need a big leveling, too. I'm hoping next spring that I can get a power rake over the whole thing to effectively scalp to dirt and do a little leveling at the same time.


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## Redtwin

tcorbitt20 said:


> coreystooks said:
> 
> 
> 
> Another thing you could try is reversing the pattern and mow against the stripes. I do this every now and then and its amazing how much more you end up cutting off. It's almost like a mini HOC reset without having to change it on the mower.
> 
> 
> 
> You're right. I did that a couple weeks ago. It did cut more than I thought it would. I'll probably do that again, too, but I think part of the problem is also that I'm developing ruts and the center reel is actually trying to cut lower if that makes sense. I need a big leveling, too. I'm hoping next spring that I can get a power rake over the whole thing to effectively scalp to dirt and do a little leveling at the same time.
Click to expand...

I did the same in going against the normal pattern and got a lot more clippings and some minor scalping but I think I need a solid verticut and HOC reset.


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## tcorbitt20

I cut it four different directions tonight. It looks pretty rough right now, so it'll hopefully look much better this weekend.


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## tcorbitt20

Sorry for the absence. I know you've all been pacing the floors waiting on another picture of grass…

I did finally bump up my rate of TNex application to .47 oz/1000 sq ft. I also applied Blindside the day after that rate of TNex and had some bronzing that was gone in a couple days. The next application of TNex at .47 was a couple days ago. Today is probably the best my grass has looked all season.













I also managed to get my little drone out yesterday and get a few pictures. It's pretty low quality but man, the stripes!


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## cnet24

Love the drone pictures- and really love the piece of property you have now that you can see the whole plot.

My celebration has finally turned on as well in the last few weeks- I think in the next year or two I am going to replace my Tifway 419 with it. It's a great grass.


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