# creinle11 Lawn Journal



## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

New home owner in NC. My wife and I bought our first house in August last year, and it desperately missed getting preM down last fall. There is a lot of common Bermuda in the front, and a little in the back as well. Going to try to kill out the weeds and let the common Bermuda take over and make everything consistent.

I put down prodiamine in February, and did a soil test with NC State. My PH is sitting nicely in the 6-7 range. My soil is low in P, so my first fert app was an 18-24-2 last weekend.

Here is the front and back yard in January -


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

I'm using the GCF products as well this year to hopefully help battle the crappy clay soil around here.

Some of the tools for the season:


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

I took my push mower as low as it can go on March 23rd and applied my first fertilizer of the year as well. Starting to see some green up this weekend in the front and side yard.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

Welcome to the forum!

It looks like you are prepared! Just scalp down that Bermuda to the dirt and wait for it to come back stronger. If your trying to promote the Bermuda to fill in I would recommend a faster release N than milorganite. Check out Ewing Irrigation locally as they are super helpful when looking for anything yard related :thumbup:


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

@SGrabs33 thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely reach out to those guys this week. I was thinking about some form of quick release, maybe in liquid form that I can put down between the Milo feedings.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

I've also been working the past few weeks at edging out new landscaping beds and turning some of my shaded wet areas next to my fence in to mulched landscaping. I'm bringing in 10 yards of mulch this weekend. I also hope to get down an air8 and RGS app this weekend as well.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

Mulchapalooza 2019 went down today. It took a little over 7 hours to spread all of this mulch around. My wife was a great help, but I don't think either one of us will be able to get out of bed tomorrow. My back is fried now!

Just have to get my grass growing faster, and kill out the weeds from my salad bowl yard soon! Especially all of the Poa in my back yard.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

Got in the 2nd mow of the year today. Temps are finally getting up enough where I hope to start mowing twice a week. I put down some RGS, Air8, and Microgreene on Thursday as well.

The yard is still mostly weeds and undesirable grasses but I'm still getting more and more Bermuda coming up out of dormancy.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

SGrabs33 said:


> Welcome to the forum!
> 
> It looks like you are prepared! Just scalp down that Bermuda to the dirt and wait for it to come back stronger. If your trying to promote the Bermuda to fill in I would recommend a faster release N than milorganite. Check out Ewing Irrigation locally as they are super helpful when looking for anything yard related :thumbup:


@SGrabs33 I stopped by Ewing irrigation down in Garner today and they were super cool! I picked up some extra liquid fert, and will plan on going back if I need anything else. Thank you for the recommendation!


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

creinle11 said:


> SGrabs33 said:
> 
> 
> > Welcome to the forum!
> ...


Glad to hear it!


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

Got in the 3rd mow of the season, and I grabbed some liquid 21-0-0 from Ewing's this week. I put down 0.5 N/1000 today. I'm trying to keep fertilizing every 2-3 weeks to push growth and spread of the Bermuda. Things are looking good in the front yard, but still lagging in the back. I willbe applying Celsius soon to start killing off weeds and giving the Bermuda room to start running. It obviously won't kill the Poa but will knock out most anything else.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

Sprayed Celsius on the front and side yard yesterday (minus a section still soggy from the storm last weekend). Already seeing some of the broadleaf weeds starting to close up and curl up. 80 degrees yesterday and today will hopefully speed up the kill off.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

I've been trying to clean up and mow back some of the overgrowth of dirt and grass that has crept up on my sidewalk, and I'm working on the edging through that area.



The Celsius that was applied on Wednesday is definitely causing some discoloring to the broadleaf weeds, but I haven't seen much of a reaction from the grassy weeds just yet. I'm going to probably be left with some bare areas after the weeds die, but I'm ready to fertilize and mow my face off for the summer until the grass fills in!


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

I put down some Milo, and am currently getting in 2 mows per week right now. The Celsius definitely zapped the majority of the weeds in the front yard, and the back yard is starting to die off too. There is some expected bare spots, but some nice areas where the Bermuda is really growing and filling in. Just have to keep mowing, fertilizing, and let it do it's thing!


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

I've been battling an illness for the last few weeks so I haven't been keeping up with the mowing and yard work like I should be right now. I did muster up enough energy yesterday to apply some more liquid 21-0-0, some RGS, Microgreen, and Humic 12. There are areas in my front and side yard that are getting thick, and runners are taking off everywhere. I should get really good fill in and coverage this year.











Unfortunately it looks like the back yard may be a reseed project for this summer. There isn't hardly any grass left over after the weed treatment and the heat killed off the Poa. I was hoping for a little something to work with, but I'm guessing there is maybe only 10% grass left over in the back. #reseed2019


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

The game plan of mowing, fertilizing, and mowing some more keeps rolling on. I did have to hook up a hose and sprinkler for the front yard to survive the last three weeks of crazy heat and no rain. The yard survived and keeps spreading and filling in! There is some crab grass where the Bermuda isn't think yet, but I can deal with that issue later.

I'm strongly considering putting in sod for the back yard. The time and stress of seeding is too much for me. Super Sod here in Raleigh is suggesting Zenith Zoysia since there is a few hours of shade on one side of the yard. @hefegrass your pics are encouraging me to take the plunge for some zoysia!


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## hefegrass (Mar 20, 2019)

creinle11 said:


> The game plan of mowing, fertilizing, and mowing some more keeps rolling on. I did have to hook up a hose and sprinkler for the front yard to survive the last three weeks of crazy heat and no rain. The yard survived and keeps spreading and filling in! There is some crab grass where the Bermuda isn't think yet, but I can deal with that issue later.
> 
> I'm strongly considering putting in sod for the back yard. The time and stress of seeding is too much for me. Super Sod here in Raleigh is suggesting Zenith Zoysia since there is a few hours of shade on one side of the yard. @hefegrass your pics are encouraging me to take the plunge for some zoysia!


 looks like the front yard will be nicely filled in by the end of summer! As far as your backyard..it definitely seems like it would be a good candidate for zenith, my shady backyard is filling in suprisingly well..in fact the only really bad spots are some low areas where water collects and a large area where i sprayed simazine before greenup and it basically nuked everything in that area. Even those bare spots are going away now that its warm everyday and nights over 70 degrees. every few days it is noticeably thicker. I have been using 16-4-8 liquid fert off amazon, some lawnstar stuff i think its called. I put down about 10-16oz / M every 3 weeks or so. I also just put down two bags of milorganite on memorial day..noticing some nice greenup since then. Overall i am very happy with the zoysia, everyone else in the neighborhood with tttf is brown and patchy right now


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

The front yard continues to fill in slowly but surely. We got a much needed rain on Saturday afternoon, and I'm doing my best to keep mowing 2-3 times a week. I have a lot of crabgrass that has moved in, but hope to smoke it with some quinclorac soon.









Also spent a few hours on Saturday tilling up the back yard in preparation for sod. I've got to smooth and level everything back out and clean up the rocks and sticks that I dug up, but I'm excited to keep moving forward with the project!


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

I sprayed quinclorac and Duo Stick Select MSO on Sunday morning. We got a rain shower around 2:45 that afternoon, so I was worried about the efficacy of the application. Luckily I'm seeing good die off already, so it must have had enough time to dry before the rain.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

Finally laid the zenith zoysia sod in the back yard today. Thankfully super sod delivered it early this morning so my wife and I were finishing up before the 95 degree heat set it. I think it turned out great! I put down starter fert and watered every thing really well. I'll keep watering twice a day and am going to put down some RGS, Humic 12, and Microgreene tomorrow.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

Mid summer status of the yard update:

Back yard zoysia sod looks great! Half is fully rooted and tacked down and the other half is at least partially rooted. I'll give it another week or so then let it dry out and give it a hair cut. The grass is getting long!



The front yard and section by my driveway have some gaps that need to fill in. A lot of it is from the crabgrass kill off, and also a dead tree that got pulled up back in spring. It's still light years ahead of where it started, but still has a ways to go.







Finally, a small section next to our garage is 90-95% filled in and looking lush! I'm really proud of it!


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

The zenith zoysia sod got her first trim today. I cut it at 2.5 inches and it turned out great! All of the sod felt stable and remained well connected to the dirt while I mowed.







I also hung a few Rubbermaid FastTrack rails in the shed today to help hang and organize some of the yard equipment.



My wife and I spent the balance of the morning trimming shrubs and our rose bush, and watering all of the plants. It was a productive Saturday morning!


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

Tried cutting around 1.5in on the zoysia yesterday. Scalped quite a bit. Nothing too serious that can't recover, but there is still a lot of filling in and leveling work that needs to be done from sodding.

I'm going to put down another round of fert this weekend to help everything recover and continue establishment of the sod.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

Between the fert and rain over the past week, everything in the back yard is growing strong! The grass is dark green and my Crape Myrtles are blooming like crazy!


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## agrassman (May 26, 2019)

What fertilizer are you using on your Zoysia? Looking nice.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

agrassman said:


> What fertilizer are you using on your Zoysia? Looking nice.


Thanks! I used a 10-18-10 starter fert from Amazon when I laid the sod, and then put out milorganite for the second app. It has also gotten two applications of Humic12, RGS, Air8, and Microgreene.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

We had four straight days of afternoon thunderstorms this past week and the grass grew really long. I raised my HOC an extra 0.25-0.5 in to help avoid cutting off too much, but I actually like the slightly taller mow!

I also put together some hanging baskets for the front porch with Impatiens and sweet potato vines. They are looking really nice and have grown a ton in just two weeks.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

Happy Labor Day! Been a long weekend of mowing, fertilizing, tree trimming, gardening, and also applied some Celsius with MSO. I mowed my zoysia and Bermuda around 1.5in.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

The season isn't completely finished yet, but days are definitely getting shorter and cooler temps are just a few weeks away... here is the progress made for the year. I'm going to keep mowing like crazy and try to squeeze out a bit more spread of the Bermuda, but I'm proud of what has been accomplished!


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

Remember when I posted that cooler temps are just a few weeks away? Yea, that was a pipe dream. It has still been 90+ degrees every day. Took some pics on Sunday morning, a few days after putting out milorganite. The grass has continued to green up nicely from the application.


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## creinle11 (Mar 25, 2019)

Threw down my prodiamine this weekend if my front and side yard. I'm skipping preM on the zoysia yard, since it is still young and establishing. I also followed back around with an app of Humic12.


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