# Chase's Lawn Journal



## Chase (Jul 1, 2019)

My wife and I bought a house last July and the front yard had been neglected for several years and is a mixture of Fescue, common Bermuda, and weeds. My goal has always been to do a renovation on the front yard and convert it into a Bermuda yard. I have chosen to use TiffTuf Bermuda and have it scheduled to be delivered in 2 weeks. I also have 5 yards of topsoil being delivered next week.

This is the yard prior to renovation.





I used 41% glyphosate two weeks ago and scalped the yard to a half inch today with the reel mower. I also put down humic acid today to start with the soil correction. I also have a soil test pending.


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## Chase (Jul 1, 2019)

Sorry for the delay in posting. I got busy working and did not have a chance to update the journal.

May 6, 2020:
T-minus 6 days to sod delivery. I first cut the dead grass at a half of an inch and bagged all clippings. Next, I rented a tiller from home depot and tilled up all the dead grass and about 2 inches of dirt to get a nice surface for the sod to lay on.







May 9, 2020:
5 yards of top soil was delivered by Green Brothers Earthworks. The dirt was spread evenly over the yard to create the most level surface possible. Thanks to a buddy I work with at the fire department, the job only took 4 hours to complete.



May 11, 2020:
I rented a lawn roller from home depot and proceeded to spend the next 4 hours pushing the roller around by hand in multiple directions on the dirt to smooth the surface in preparation for sod delivery the next day.


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## Chase (Jul 1, 2019)

May 12, 2020:
The day finally came and my new sod was delivered. The delivery guy showed up as scheduled and dropped off 7 pallets of TifTuf bermuda. SuperSod in Alpharetta, GA was super easy to work with and delivered as promised. The sod took approximately 5 hours to lay with the help of my dad.


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## Chase (Jul 1, 2019)

May 20, 2020:

The sod has officially become grass and was completely tacked down and ready for its first mow. I mowed the grass with my John Deere 220A that I acquired from a golf course in Villa Rica, Ga. I set the cut of height at 1 inch and the mower cut like a dream. I did have several spots that were scalped due to the uneven nature in which they cut the sod at the farm (some pieces had a half inch of soil and some had more than an inch of soil). I also put down 18-0-1 green punch liquid product from Greene County Fertilizer at a rate of 15 ounces per thousand square feet. I should mention that I put down their starter fertilizer and RGS and Humic Acid on the bare soil on May 11th prior to sodding.


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## Chase (Jul 1, 2019)

May 26, 2020:

The grass in coming in great. I have been reel mowing it a 1 inch every third day when I get home from the fire department. I am still getting scalp marks as you can see in the photo. I posted another topic about this in the warm season lawn forum. I am thinking about doing a sand leveling project on this next month in order to get a more consistent cut without all the scalp marks. Any input in this would be greatly appreciated. I am torn between using a completely sand mix called USGA topdressing from River Sand inc or using the mix from supersod that is 70/30 which will cost an arm and a leg. River sand inc quoted me 4 tons for $400 delivered of the USGA mix. And supersod is about $736 for 4 yards delivered of their soil 3 and sand mix.


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## mha2345 (Mar 30, 2019)

Personally I would go with just sand since you brought in topsoil before sod went down. Sand is perfect for leveling which is what you need and will make a huge difference with just 1 application. If you want to add a compost/soil I would do that early spring after your first scalp (when the grass is dormant). with a light topdressing of good topsoil or compost. This gives time as the grass comes out of dormancy for it to soak in, and you can collect any rocks,sticks,mulch that often comes in bags of topsoil with your rotary mower.

Grass is looking great!


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## Chase (Jul 1, 2019)

Did a full day of getting my beds finished. Removed bushes from the front and added new hydrangeas. Got a good mow in and put down an application of RGS and Humic-12.


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