# makiley's Lawn Journal - Maryland



## makiley (Jul 11, 2020)

I decided to start back in October of 2019 as this is when I first started getting into the lawn. Around this time my wife and I bought our first house. The yard was in rough shape as there was barely any grass. It was mostly weeds, moss, and dirt. The property was overgrown with trees, so the yard didn't get much sun, which didn't help. The first project was to clear about 16 trees to get some light. After this, my father-in-law started to teach me about growing grass, and helped me get this yard on the right track.

October 1-5, 2019:

Removed 16 trees from property, and had all stumps grounded.

Over seeded with Newsom's Trio Blend, applied 14-24-4(20%XCU), and Solu-Cal.







October 26, 2019

21 days after overseed and first fertilizer application. I don't have any close up picture of the germination, because I wasn't that into turf.



January 29, 2019:

Installed drainage pipe, back filled swale with top soil, and sodded with TTTF.


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## makiley (Jul 11, 2020)

Spring 2020

Before COVID, my wife and I were going back and forth about buying a mower or paying someone to cut our grass. We ultimately decided to buy a used 2002 ExMark Lazer Z 60" with 1230 hours. Thank you facebook marketplace.



Once COVID and quarantine started, I began to WFH full time which gave back 2+ hours a day of commuting time. With the extra time, I got obsessive about the lawn. I started watching LCN and GCI Turf on YouTube as well as reading Turf articles from universities. I know...I went full nerd.

My backyard at this time was a mess, just look at the pics. A lot of moss, dirt, and weeds.







Based on LCN's 55 degree ground temp suggestion, I over seeded the back yard with 50lbs of Newsom's Trio Mix. I should have put down more but hind sight is 20/20. Also applied another 200 lbs of 14-24-4(20%XCU), and 300 lbs Solu-Cal (to help raise soil pH to fight the moss). Also added a couple relaxing water features to the yard...two tripod sprinklers.







Around May I got a mysoil test, and the yard was just about low in everything. More starter fertilizer come Memorial Day.


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## dsc123 (Mar 22, 2020)

Looking good. What course is that in your backyard? I wonder if I've played it!


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## makiley (Jul 11, 2020)

dsc123 said:


> Looking good. What course is that in your backyard? I wonder if I've played it!


Thank you, the course is Laytonsville.


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## makiley (Jul 11, 2020)

May 2020

We had a significant low spot in our side yard, and our neighbor has three of his downspouts pointed to it. This area would become a pond and it would take a few days to dry out. We picked up the low spots and graded it with left over dirt from widening the driveway. Seeded the area with left over Newsom Trio Blend, and added compost on top since the added dirt was all hard red clay.









Memorial Day 2020

Applied 200 lbs 18-24-12 (50% XCU), which is about .84 lbs N/1000 sq ft.

I also added 200 lbs of Solu-Cal Humic Plus, at this rate it adds 12lbs of activated humic acid per 1 acre.

This was my first time applying Solu-Cal Humic. I'm trusting the science behind all Humic that this will be a good additive to the yard. I've had great success with the Solu-Cal Enhanced Calcitic Lime, so i hope the Humic plus will work. The enhanced calcitic lime quickly raised my lawns ph, which has helped removed all of the moss.


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## makiley (Jul 11, 2020)

June 2020


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## dsc123 (Mar 22, 2020)

Wow, that's quite the transformation!

And that's one of my favorite courses in the area. Cheers!


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## makiley (Jul 11, 2020)

July 2020

July was a rough month for the lawn. The hot temps and the little to no rain stressed the lawn out. The weather conditions seemed to contribute to a fungus problem in the back that destroyed some of the progress. On top of fungus and stress, a ton of crab grass and Japanese stiltgrass came up.

I treated the Japanese stiltgrass and other broadleaf weeds with 4Speed XT. Unfortunately, the 4Speed did not work on the Stiltgrass. I waited a couple weeks, and applied Acclaim Extra. It's a bit pricey, but it's the only product labeled for stiltgrass. It took about a week or two to see progress, but it works well.


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## VALawnNoob (Jun 9, 2020)

makiley said:


> May 2020
> 
> I also added 200 lbs of Solu-Cal Humic Plus, at this rate it adds 12lbs of activated humic acid per 1 acre.
> 
> This was my first time applying Solu-Cal Humic. I'm trusting the science behind all Humic that this will be a good additive to the yard. I've had great success with the Solu-Cal Enhanced Calcitic Lime, so i hope the Humic plus will work. The enhanced calcitic lime quickly raised my lawns ph, which has helped removed all of the moss.


How much was 50# humic plus at Newsom Seeds? 
Did it give you good results a year later? Also I noticed the filler material is limestone. Does it raise PH at all?


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