# LIGrass KBG Backyard reno (Mazama monostand)



## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

I pulled the trigger last week on a last minute reno. I'm going with Mazama for its summer patch performance which is near top of the list, and for its shade performance, color and turf quality (also high up there). I had bewitched back here which did okay but I would lose 25%+ of the lawn to summer patch every year. I gave PRG a try and it is too finicky/stalky in the summer. So trying 100% KBG again. I started pre-germinating the seeds on Friday 8-19. 20% of the seed already went down. The rest is going down tomorrow. Will keep you all posted.

Backyard PRG nuked. Who needs a peat moss spreader?


Driveway strip


Front 20ft section of hell strip mostly dies every summer I think to Summer Patch. Also it was raised 2" above my sidewalk which is super annoying so I took a machete and shovel and cut 2" of sod out myself. Now it's flush with the sidewalk


This strip was a PRG KBG mix (moonlight, Pangea, Prosperity) but does poorly every summer


Thank you Twin City Seed Co. for the super fast same day shipping. Ordered Tuesday, got it on Friday in 3 business days which helped because I started soaking / Pre-Germinating right away


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Sounds great! A Mazama mono reno will be fun to watch. Good luck!

I've also had fungus issues with my Bewitched mono mini-renos, usually in early September. I ordered a Mazama/Beyond seed blend a few years ago and mixed it with some existing Bewitched seed, with good results and less fungus issues.


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

Thanks @Chris LI. I had a few seedlings germinate by day 3, and now day 4 since full seed down I am seeing pretty nice germination for this day into it. The pre-germination process works great. I feel like this shaved 4-5 days off germination time.
Day 3 backyard - few sprouts

Day 4 front strip - Camera doesn't pick it up good but when the sun hits it low there is a green fuzz


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Time to check the batteries in the flashlight! Nighttime searches are the fun part of renos.


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## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

Very best wishes. I have already done quite a bit of 'Mazama' overseed this late summer and in large bare spots. Germinated in about 6 days. Early.


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

Good luck be patient it's going to look fantastic come next late spring


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

Thanks everyone!
It's day 6 going into day 7 and I'm impressed with the germination so far. Mazama scored high on seedling vigor from what I remember. Even with the pre-germination this is beyond what I expected from it. We are under a severe drought right now which is making it tough to keep the seedbeds wet everywhere. I broke out the old oscillating sprinkler and put it to run 4 additional cycles in my backyard (watering 8x total including 4 cycles with my regular irrigation system). I'm grateful that we haven't had any torrential downpours but at the same time this drought is unprecedented for our area. My oak trees must be sucking up every ounce of extra water. 
front strip

backyard


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Glad to see grass babies! :yahoo:

This is fun to watch and I love the night shots! It's very gratifying to go on a successful "hunt"!


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## kman6234 (Jul 29, 2021)

Looking good!


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

11 DAS, 8 DAG







I picked up this Earthwise reel and love it compared to my old clunky scotts reel mower


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## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

@LIgrass I recently ordered the same push mower. So far what's better than the Scott's? I have the classic 20".


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

Jeff_MI84 said:


> @LIgrass I recently ordered the same push mower. So far what's better than the Scott's? I have the classic 20".


It cuts so much finer with smoother operation at lower HOCs. The 7 blades vs. 5 on the scotts makes a big difference. Not hard at all to push through and it cuts like butter vs. the scotts which was rough. I felt like the scotts had a harder time cutting thick grass properly at low HOCs.


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## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

@LIgrass all excellent qualities. Does it feel like it bounces less?


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

Day- 17 DAS, 14 DAG
Things are moving fast. The Mazama is already tillering. I'm so confident with how far ahead this reno is that I sprayed 2oz / K of Tenacity (normally would do this at day 30). I can tell already Mazama is going to be super dark. I hope it blends well with the Bewitched in the hell strip

Bewitched in the back of that strip, 2 week old Mazama in foreground


Back has excellent coverage, just a couple areas look too bare. Notice the PRG stalks STILL in my lawn from July!


driveway strip 


@Jeff_MI84 - I do notice the Earthwise feels like it wants to bounce or lift off. I apply downward pressure on the handle when I mow and no problems yet.


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Looks great! Should fill in well over the next couple of weeks!


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Wow! That's filling in quickly. You're right about Mazama being very dark. Between that and shade performance, it was a no-brainer for me. It is definitely darker than Bewitched, but blended well with it and Beyond. If you find that it's too much of a difference on the hellstrip, you could try swapping plugs from one area to the other once it matures, and maybe it will help them to blend together better. @NoslracNevok had done a comparison between the two awhile back in his journal in fall of 2018 and made some YT videos. 
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=5204&hilit=NoslracNevok&start=80


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## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

Could you talk a bit even more about the various characteristics between 'Mazama' and 'Bewitched' please. So far, I have been pleased with my 'Mazama' late August seeding in my shady backyard. It was an overseed into a relative mishmash that did include 'Bewitched' (lighter green) and some presumably old PRG.
My wife has consistently stated how "shocked" she is at that shady backyard overseed, saying she NEVER thought it would get that thick. Admittedly, overseeding makes it difficult to discern "what's what"
Thank for any further 'Mazama' characteristics thoughts. (oh, a friend thought it was not as fine bladed as some KBG).


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## NoslracNevok (Jun 12, 2018)

People with Bewitched say it will darken up after a few years. How long did you have that plot in the hellstrip? If it's been there two or so years, it seems it doesn't darken up that much. The year or so I had the two mono plots, the line was always obvious. I had a third plot of 1:1 mix Mazama/Bewitched which looked blotchy.

Excited to see it all thicken up even more!


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

4 week mark









4 week mark










6 Weeks









7 Weeks









5 Week mark on the hell strip section. Established 8 year old Bewitched everywhere else (tenacity apps ongoing on entire lawn + renos)













Sorry for the late replies guys been busy and haven't kept up with pics. I'm dropping urea every week, that's pretty much all I've been doing plus Tenacity apps every 2 weeks.
@NoslracNevok I've had the Bewitched in the front for 8 years. I will post pics of Bewitched from the first few years in another thread. I think it reaches its darkest potential around the 9 month mark. It really depends on how you feed it in my opinion. I've been going with low input N the last few years so it was darker years ago actually. Bewitched is still very dark though.
@lawn-wolverine I don't have enough experience with Mazama yet to judge how they compare. I can tell you that Mazama grows faster than Bewitched for sure. I think the Mazama will eventually be darker too but time will tell. Both make gorgeous turf, I have no complaints about either. I will get a better side by side comparison with Mazama around the spring flush in 2023 which I will update.


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