# GIJoe4500's Lawn Journal



## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

Hello again. I have unfortunately not been around these parts much. I've been neglecting my lawn for years now, even when I had every intention of getting things going. Going to try again this year. Life has always gotten in the way in the past, and I need to do my best to prevent that this year.

I have a (mostly) celebration bermuda lawn in the back with some common bermuda and weeds mixed in around the fence lines. I am not at all worried about the celebration and the common mixing. There isn't much I can do to prevent it anyhow, so I'm just going to embrace it and go for 100% green, no matter the exact strand of bermuda.

The front yard is primarily emerald zoysia mixed with some common bermuda. Neighbor had a few small bare spots in the 3 foot wide strip between the property line and her driveway. Instead of giving me time to get the zoysia to spread that way, she thought it would be best to put down some cheap bermuda seed. So now I have my zoysia competing with the bermuda along the property line.

San Antonio weather is entirely unpredictable, so I have no clue what things will be like in the near future. My old Mclane reel mower had an entanglement with a rock hiding in the grass that bent the reel and bedknife. I picked up a California Trimmer today to replace it. I'm hoping to scalp the bermuda tomorrow evening as low as I can get the Trimmer to cut. I am sure I'll be dragging in the dirt in multiple places, and I'm okay with that. The lawn isn't super level, and until later in the year, there isn't much I can do about it.

After all that, I'll be putting down some pre-m and a balanced fertilizer to get things going for the year.

Here is the new to me California Trimmer. Hoping to give it a good degreasing and a bath soon as well. its pretty gunked up in some places.


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## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

Just went out for a good look, and I believe my emerald zoysia is ready to party for the year. The bermuda isn't as awake yet, but there are some small sprigs of green here and there.


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## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

Got in a good scalp on the celebration Bermuda last night. Seeing more green than I expected after the scalp. I'd say I'm somewhere around the 5-10% green up area.

Haven't decided quite yet what I want to try up front in the zoysia this year for mowing height. It's currently around 50% greened up. I've never quite got it to thicken up like I'd like, but it's also competing with a live oak tree right in the center of the yard. And the tree is staying put.

Since I have been out of the lawn care game for a couple years, outside of regular mowing, I was low on supplies. Also didn't really plan ahead for the year. Ran out to Home Depot just to grab -something- to get things up and running. Ended up with pendimethalin for a pre-m. I couldn't find anything there with prodiamine like I would normally use. Never used it before, so I guess I'll see how it works out. Also picked up a 13-13-13 fertilizer. Planning on using it for a half app now, and for the march/April apps on the Bermuda. Then I'll switch over to a nitrogen heavy fertilizer. I'll use up the rest of the 13-13-13 on the zoysia and switch over to a 3-1-2 ratio there.

Not planning any soil tests this year, but am already putting it on my calendar for the last weekend of January next year.


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## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

Spent a little time in the front yard today. Had a ton of live oak leaves to rake up. While I was working on that, a lot of the dead grass blades from last year were coming up with the leaves. Way more of my front emerald zoysiagrass lawn is green than I realized. Easily 75% plus. Unfortunately, from a couple years of neglect, there is some thinness to it. Temps are dipping over the next couple days, but I'm hoping for a scalp on Friday, with a follow up app of 13-13-13, bifenthrin, and pendimenthalin pre-m.

I really am considering pushing fertilizer hard this year to get the zoysia to spread and thicken. I know this will risk some major thatch with the zoysiagrass, but the risk may be worth it. With it being emerald, I should be able to basically scalp to the dirt without too much issue if the thatch gets ridiculously bad.

I know I am horrible about taking pictures, hopefully I will get some posted soon!


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## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

Finally got the front yard scalped last night. Took the emerald as low as my Cal Trimmer would go. With my uneven lawn, that was definitely to the dirt in some places!

Unfortunately this lawn will never be totally flat. The ground kinda humps up where the live oak tree is, I'm assuming from roots and a crappy original level of the lawn when the house was built in 2004. I do have a small area I'd like to remove some dirt from, in an attempt to at least smooth things out. And I also have a depression in one spot from a tree that I removed. It's not as bad as it use to be. I'm going to slowly add sand to that spot throughout the growing season this year.


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