# Brodgers88's 2018/2019 Renovation



## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

After much consideration I decided to kill off the centipede in the front and side yards and plant bermuda. The back will remain centipede for now. I had bermuda at my last home and I loved it. Coming from a bermuda lawn to a centipede lawn is not easy.

My previous lawn


















I never had the same feelings for the centipede at my new home. I just don't like the thick blades, thick stolons, and coarse look.



















The plan- kill off the centipede, make some irrigation system modifications, plant rye for the winter, kill off the rye in spring, and finally plant bermuda.

To begin the end of the season for 2018 I decided to go ahead and kick off the renovation with a little fun trying my hand at growing some perennial rye for the fall and winter. Soil samples were taken and sent to Clemson unversity. Here are my results:










On August 19th I began killing all the centipede in the front and side yards. I made two applications of glyphosate two weeks apart.



















Between glyphosate apps I completed my irrigation modifications which consisted of moving a couple heads to achieve better coverage and removing one head in the back yard that was tied to the zone watering the side yard. I also installed a new irrigation controller due to the existing one only allowing 3 run times per day. I wanted to be able to run at least 4 times per day just to be safe.




























Two weeks after the second application of glyphosate I began removing the dead grass using a SunJoe electric dethatcher/scarifier. This unit is similar to the VonHaus and has worked well for this purpose. Hopefully I will be able to utilize this unit to verticut and dethatch my bermuda once it's established.



















The centipede grass was fairly easy to remove being a stoloniferous grass that doesn't have rizhomes. It stripped right off the top of the soil. I used the spring tine dethatcher attachment for most of the grass removal and I probably went over the yard about 4-6 times with the dethatcher gradually lowering the height each pass. I bagged and removed all clippings and debris. After all the grass was removed and soil completely exposed, I used the scarifier attachment going over the soil in multiple directions to create a seed bed.





































I applied 50lbs/k of gypsum and 5lbs/k magnesium sulfate per my soil test about two weeks prior to seed down.



















September 30th was seeding day! For the grass I used Pennington fairway supreme perennial rye. Before spreading the seed I ran the scarifier over the whole yard 4 more times to ensure my seed bed was good. I spread 5lbs/k of 10-10-10 and then the seed at 12.5lbs/k and raked it in with a metal leaf rake. Irrigation was set to run 4 times a day, 8 minutes per cycle for a total of about .2 inches a day.




























This seemed to work very well, by day 5 I was seeing green.

Day 4









Day 5









By day 8 the grass was about 1.5" so I decided to go ahead and give it a mow at 1". I plan to work it down a little after my next mow but only down to about 3/4".

Before mow


















It has a nice dark green color and I really like the look of it.




























I plan to fertilize again in a week or so with another 5lbs/k of 10-10-10. I'm excited to have a lawn for the winter! I'm also excited about having Bermuda again next season!


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Wow, you went from having one of the nicest looking centipede lawns to killing it. Was this because you didn't get LOTM? 

Have you chosen a cultivar for next year?


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

Colonel K0rn said:


> Was this because you didn't get LOTM?


 :lol: :lol: How'd you know??

All kidding aside, I don't like the look and feel of the centipede. Just a personal preference and nothing more. The grass looked good and was doing fine but it didn't bring me as much enjoyment. I constantly found myself wishing I had bermuda so I decided to take action :nod:



Colonel K0rn said:


> Have you chosen a cultivar for next year?


Not yet, I am still trying to make a decision on cultivar and planting method.


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## Jacob_S (May 22, 2018)

Oh snap! 
I completely understand where you are coming from, I'm glad to have seen your centipede though. I am planning on getting mine how yours was next season, then possibly do the same thing only I will just go ahead and sod when I make the switch. I will for sure be keeping up with this journal.


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## Iriasj2009 (Feb 15, 2017)

Following, curious to see what you go with. Ever considered zoysia? @Brodgers88


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## Fishnugget (Sep 29, 2017)

Hey Brodger,

I just ordered my Sun Joe Dethatcher because of your thread. Great job on your yard. Looks like you did everything right.

I plan to do PRG for winter. The Sun Joe looks like a cheap toy machine but all the reviews give it high ratings. Also, my yard is about 2500 sq ft total so it isn't very big. If I can get a few years I will be happy with it.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Iriasj2009 said:


> Following, curious to see what you go with. Ever considered zoysia? @Brodgers88


You will like the look and feel of a fine blade Zoysia....and appreciate the low input in the summer heat.


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

The PRG is looking pretty good. It got kind of hot and humid one week after planting which caused it to get a little discolored in localized areas. I was thinking maybe disease developed since conditions were favorable. I applied a fungicide and the weather has cooled off since and now things have improved a lot. Mowed yesterday at 1". Right now I'm mowing twice a week.





































@Jacob_S it was fun taking the centipede to a new level. Good luck with yours next season, you will like it better under 1". I think 3/4" was the sweet spot with mine.

@Iriasj2009 I'm thinking of going with 419 or either tifgrand depending on availability and cost when I'm ready to plant but all of that is still to be determined. I like the idea of tifgrand being a semi dwarf. How do you like your tifgrand so far?

@Iriasj2009 @jayhawk 
I haven't really considered zoysia, any particular cultivar you guys would recommend?

@Fishnugget yeah man that SunJoe did the job! Definitely worth the $90 or so. The dethatcher and scarifier attachments both worked well.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

i think 'muda has a lot of ++ for your situation (lots of sun available, overseed if desire, price per pallet).

consider the next buyer...are they going to value the opulence of zoysia 
and zoysia establishment - near 2x $ sq/foot you'd front
zeon is the most marketed/avail one, zorro and i think i have seen a "royal" version out in SC that is also similar...emerald is the "419" of zoysia (lot of history)


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## Iriasj2009 (Feb 15, 2017)

@Brodgers88 
Looking great man. I have mix feelings so far. I think tifgrand can look amazing if properly cared for, I just haven't been able to see its great potential. I do love how dense it gets even without PGR and that it doesn't get leggy. It has a deep green color even with my ph of 7.2-7.5. Reason I mentioned zoysia (zorro) was because I personally admired its texture and color when mowed at .5". You're last tifway lawn looked incredibly tidy and always enjoyed how uniform the color was so at least you can't go wrong with old school tifway. Tifway can look amazing when properly cared for. With my high ph, I just never had luck with it.


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

I've been having a lot of fun with my PRG lawn! It's awesome looking out at dark green turf as all the warm season lawns are beginning to fade away for the season. HOC is still around 1'. I'm mowing it with my 7 blade McLane since I'm mowing so tall.

Today


















Last Thursday









@jayhawk thanks for the zoysia insight. I'm pretty certain almost any future buyer wouldn't value such a fine turf...unless they were a member of TLF :lol: ...but you never know. I think I'm definitely going with bermuda for a lot of the reasons you stated.

@Iriasj2009 thanks! I think your turf is looking pretty fantastic. What HOC are you maintaining? That's pretty awesome it is dense without pgr. I'm guessing this is the dwarf growth habit it is supposed to exhibit? Are you going to apply any pgr at all?


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## Iriasj2009 (Feb 15, 2017)

@Brodgers88 Wow that just looks sick man..
Tifgrand definitely shows its dwarf charactistics. It grows denser and naturally has a higher shoot density than tifway. If I decide to maintain above 1/2", I won't be using any, but my goal is to maintain at 1/4" so PGR is definitely necessary just to keep up with it getting away from me.


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

@Iriasj2009 Thanks man. Nice, I'm looking forward to seeing your tifgrand at 1/4" next season. I'm liking everything I hear and read about tifgrand.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Looks great @Brodgers88 !


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

Thanks @Ware!


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## datcope (Oct 29, 2018)

@Brodgers88 That lawn looks awesome!


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## PokeGrande (Mar 25, 2018)

Brodgers88 said:


> I've been having a lot of fun with my PRG lawn! It's awesome looking out at dark green turf as all the warm season lawns are beginning to fade away for the season.


PRG is awesome. Whatever warm season grass you choose, you'll be overseeding it with PRG next September . . .


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

In my experience, centipede under perfect conditions, and exception maintenance, just kinda looks OK. I really don't understand why its so widely used down here, unless its just cheaper or something. Every once in a great while I see a centipede long that looks 8/10 nice, but most are in the 3-5/10 range, or worse.

Plus they all got ANNIHILATED by armyworms this year.


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

After 4 solid days of rain it was so nice to see the sun! Great day for a mow and a new pattern :nod:
















































datcope said:


> @Brodgers88 That lawn looks awesome!


Thanks@datcope !



PokeGrande said:


> PRG is awesome.


@PokeGrande it is very awesome.


PokeGrande said:


> ...Whatever warm season grass you choose, you'll be overseeding it with PRG next September . . .


 You've got that right! I am already planning future overseeding of my furture Bermuda lol

@SCGrassMan yeah I don't understand the appeal of centipede either. It's kind of a sensitive grass that seems susceptible to any and everything lol. And then the recovery rate... :roll: My main dislike! And then the color and texture...


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

What a fantastic looking PRG overseed!


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

Mowed and applied fertilizer on Thursday. It was nice and sunny today so I made an iron application. Hoc is still around 1".












Colonel K0rn said:


> What a fantastic looking PRG overseed!


Thanks!


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## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

Wow. Pretty outstanding! Very brave project. Both before and after look good but the after striping is next to none. Nicely done!


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

@Austinite thanks!


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

Such a beautiful day for a mow! I'm so happy the rain has moved on and the skies have cleared! The PRG has really responded to the N and iron app I made last week.


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

Mowed some double wide curves, turned out pretty nice. I like the look of the wider stripes.


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## TheTurfTamer (Aug 8, 2018)

Great work !!


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I'm nominating this for LOTM!


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## TheTurfTamer (Aug 8, 2018)

I second that vote @Ware . Incredible turn around. Great job!


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

Thanks guys!!! @Ware @Aawickham78


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## Shindoman (Apr 22, 2018)

Nice work, worthy of LOTM nomination that's for sure


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

Thanks! @Shindoman


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## Kballen11 (Mar 26, 2018)

I so badly want to a fly on the wall when your neighbors drive by your house. They probably can't believe it! Awesome yard!


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

Kballen11 said:


> I so badly want to a fly on the wall when your neighbors drive by your house. They probably can't believe it!


@Kballen11 :lol: :lol:


Kballen11 said:


> Awesome yard!


Thanks!


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Lawn looks great. The orange flag looks even better; Go Tigers.


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

Thanks @Movingshrub! Yes! Go tigers!!


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## Buyanet (Feb 4, 2019)

Holy cow dude! Your yard looks awesome! All your neighbors must be jealous as can be, you can see some of their lawns, they look like mine (dark/brown/looks dead lol)


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## Jacob_S (May 22, 2018)

So I was just randomly thinking, man I thought I remembered Brodgers88 was going to kill off centipede and put bermuda, so how is this going?


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

Finally an update on my renovation! The last few months have been extremely busy! I got married, went on a honeymoon, and have been very busy with work. I've been anxiously awaiting this day for quite a while, but I think it was well worth it. It has been killing me managing so many lawns and not having my own lawn for like the last 2 months! The rye was history long ago and I have just been waiting until I had time to fully prep and install the new sod.

For prep I used my sunjoe scarifier until the electric motor burned up. To finish I rented a flail blade dethatcher which did a great job and of course a lot faster than the small electric unit.














































For the turf I decided to go with Latitude 36 bermuda from Modern Turf. On Friday 8 pallets were delivered and the fun was about to begin.




























This Latitude is a beautiful turf grass with a nice fine leaf and dark green color. The sod quality was excellent and I was extremely pleased with the low hoc from the farm.




























I started Friday evening with help from my wife, my dad, and my son. We worked all day Saturday and had additional help from my neighbor.














































We finished up Sunday morning. Lots of hard work but man am I excited! The front looks pretty good, already a nice green. The side along the garage is a little yellowed due to the length of time it was on the pallet but I'm not worried about these areas. I know this Bermuda will bounce right back. I rolled it Sunday evening after watering pretty heavily. I used my greensmaster which isn't super heavy but I figured would be better than nothing. It will definitely need some sand to level it out in the near future.























































I plan to fertilize it with some 10-10-10 pretty soon and just continue to water it well. I'm looking forward to the first mow! Even though it won't be reel low, it's going to be a blast. This will conclude my renovation thread journal, I'll be creating a new journal thread on 
the maintainance of my latitude bermuda.


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## Jacob_S (May 22, 2018)

Nice, look forward to seeing progress, and congrats on gettin hitched.


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## Brodgers88 (Feb 26, 2017)

@Jacob_S Thanks! Yes I can't wait for this turf to get established and begin tuning it in.


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