# MNLawnGuy1980 Lawn/Pond Journal - 2021 Journal



## MNLawnGuy1980

Hello,
Kicking this off for 2021. 16 days until Spring, which means absolutely nothing in MN. The first mow in 2020 was on 03/30, we will see how this year compares.

I am shooting for more consistency this year, less roller coaster of decision making, and more stroll in the park consistency. The more consistency approach is driven by me constantly doing stupid stuff throughout the year, i.e. when my lawn is thriving at .3 or .4, I am going to do my best not to make the jump down to .25 to "see how it will do".

I am moving away from a pre-emergent this year as I applied it last year and I did not like how handcuffed I felt regarding not being able to overseed. I will spot spray as needed.

Pics from last year of what I am working with:



Most of the items on my to-do/planning list are in the backyard and I have listed those below.
*Mowers:* 

Jacobsen Eclipse2: Sticking with the Eclipse for this year again. The new reel for it came in yesterday and I will be changing it out. I dinged up the left side last year and had to file it down.


Jake 426: Replace the reel and get it going this year.
*Front Yard:*

Dethatch, light top dress, overseed as I will probably have to deal with snow mold damage again
*Backyard:*

These two wreak havoc on the lawn back there but that is fine, I do not spend as much time tending to it.


Drainage: Put in a drainage system that gets to the pond. This is at the top of the list of items to complete for the backyard. I plan to rent a sod cutter, then trench it out and lay corrugated french drain piping to the pond. I may just do the prefabricated piping to avoid having to mess with laying gravel in the trench.




Trees: We are putting in 16, 7-gallon Techny Arborvitae on each side to get some privacy back there. My "plan" is to shape them into a shrub and maintain them at ~5' tall.


Pond: Our pond in the back is getting overrun with cattails. I have talked to all the neighbors on the pond and I plan to get it under control this year before it is taken over by them.


Fountain: Run electric down to the pond and install a 1HP fountain. Pic below is a mockup.


Spray Catt Plex Herbicide

UltraClear Farm Blue Dry Packs

Floating duck house: I am sick of seeing random duck heads in my backyard that are left by the coyotes/foxes. Our 10-year-old and I are starting this weekend on building a floating duck house like the pic below. Hopefully, it will get used.


I have been scouring marketplace for a reasonably priced 16-24' roll in dock to throw in down there. Also looking for a cheap pedal boat to float around in. It might only get used for me working on the pond but it would be fun to have back there.

Hope everyone has a great year!!


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## mowww

@MNLawnGuy1980 great post, I really like the way you laid things out. Best of luck with an early spring, I'll be crossing my fingers.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Thanks @mowww, I got the sod cutter and trencher rented for next Friday. You should stop out, it will be a good time!!


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Current state of the front yard, getting there. Backyard is a mud pit and will be for awhile with the pups back there.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

03/07: Raked some snow mold and got a better feel for what I am working with.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

03/08: Not quite ready to mow, but I did take the lawn vac out over the front yard and cleaned up a lot of debris. Felt great to be out again. Temp is looking to hit 70 tomorrow, beach day!

Went back to front and I am pretty surprised that my diagonal lines stayed the way they did.


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## Pete1313

Looking forward to following your journal!



MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> I am shooting for more consistency this year, less roller coaster of decision making, and more stroll in the park consistency. The more consistency approach is driven by me constantly doing stupid stuff throughout the year, i.e. when my lawn is thriving at .3 or .4, I am going to do my best not to make the jump down to .25 to "see how it will do".


This quote stood out to me and is something I hope to aim for as well. Too much roller coaster changes especially when it comes to HOC for me in the past. If you don't mind, I might borrow this quote when I start my journal for 2021. :thumbsup:


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Thanks @Pete1313, have at it.
The one thing I am hoping for with more experience is the understanding that I have done most of the dumb things I can do to my lawn...I am just thinking that maybe I will learn from them eventually!! Example being that when the grass is doing well, maybe wait a week and then go from .4-.35 instead of .4-.25. Yeah, that kind of stuff!

I will get there someday


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## Pete1313

I'm learning more how HOC changes can have consequences as well. Even in my HOC range, going from .75"-1" or vice versa may not be best if done too quickly or even if done slowly at the wrong time might not be the best.

This is a couple clips of a conversation that @osuturfman and I had that extended from a Ryan Knorr podcast https://theryanknorrpodcast.simplecast.com/episodes/turfcast-ep-11 where he talked about HOC changes.


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## Harts

@MNLawnGuy1980 @Pete1313 I just wanted to jump in quickly and give my thoughts on this quote - which I think is outstanding advice for everybody on this forum. The tendency is to always tinker and try to make things better. Reality is, a lot of times we make things worse. I believe the hardest thing to do is, once you find something that works; stick with it.

Reading that quote above is something I needed to read heading into this season. Great job! Look forward to your progress in 2021.


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## GrassOnTheHills

Regarding the french drain, I'd check out a few videos on the French Drain Man channel. He has a thing or two to say about different types of piping and his opinions on the matter. Doing a little bit of research into that may save you a few headaches in the future. I wish I could TLDR his opinions for you but it's been a long time since I've taken the deep dive into the french drain topic. I'm only throwing it out there because it'd suck to dig up the lawn again to fix an issue that could have been avoided! Best of luck, and the lawn is looking awesome already.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Thanks for the heads up@GrassOnTheHills, I get a kick out of the french drain man and the apple drain guy in Florida. One will do a video showing how they do it and the other will do a video how they do it and how "others" are wrong on it. French drain man looks to be the most effective but it does not look as though his process is real cost effective for me. 
I got my ez drain for $3.99 a foot, his corrugated pipe alone is $27 a foot, without the fabric and rock. I need about 100 feet. Lets just say that I am going into it knowing that it may not be the best drain out there, but with limited dollars allocated to this, I understand the risks on it.

Good luck with your lawn this year!


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Getting a lot of rain today which is great for the front yard, not so great for the mud pit I have in the back. 



Now for what I am working with in the backyard...yeah, really need to get that drain put in. The mud pit is where the tramp goes, I am going to move it this year, or just throw it in the pond and be done with it.

I am not going to do anything back there until I get that done. This is my starting point for the back.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

I haven't been able to do much with the lawn yet due to weather, supposed to get some snow today. Some pond supplies arrived over the weekend though. Have no experience with any of this stuff but am going to give them a whirl. Picked up a cheap 4-gallon back pack sprayer for the pond chemicals. 


Pond Bacteria - Reduces muck and sludge

Blue Pond Dye

Cattplex - Cattail control

Aquatic Surfactant


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## bwerthmann

MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> Drainage: Put in a drainage system that gets to the pond. This is at the top of the list of items to complete for the backyard. I plan to rent a sod cutter, then trench it out and lay corrugated french drain piping to the pond. I may just do the prefabricated piping to avoid having to mess with laying gravel in the trench.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Trees: We are putting in 16, 7-gallon Techny Arborvitae on each side to get some privacy back there. My "plan" is to shape them into a shrub and maintain them at ~5' tall.


Just FYI, planting stuff in that swale will make your drainage problems worse. The root mass grows over time and dams up the swale, forming a new pond. Also, My Arborvitae do not like it when the soil is saturated...



MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> Getting a lot of rain today which is great for the front yard, not so great for the mud pit I have in the back.
> 
> 
> 
> Now for what I am working with in the backyard...yeah, really need to get that drain put in. The mud pit is where the tramp goes, I am going to move it this year, or just throw it in the pond and be done with it.
> 
> I am not going to do anything back there until I get that done. This is my starting point for the back.





MNLawnGuy1980 said:


>


I'm doing a _crapload_ of drainage at my property. So, here's some unsolicited, drive by, sorry for the "wall of text", advice...


If you only want to do it once, give French Drain Man a call. They really know there stuff and can help identify the root of the problem and put a solution together. They are based out of Michigan, and ship to the con-us. Their single wall 4" "High Octane" pipe (in Solid, Perforated, and knife-cut) is crazy strong compared to stuff you get at a big box.
It would be helpful to get a couple of picture looking through the lowest part of the swale into the pond... This should resolve some loose ends in my mental model of your hydrological conundrum.

Questions...

In this pic off to the right, it looks like someone put a mulch bed + planted a tree in the bottom of the swale? Did a homeowner add this? Sometimes a berm like this is engineered into the community's drainage plan (such as to mitigate erosion, regulate infiltration rate to the pond, etc..). It disperses the concentrated water over a wider area which makes it more difficult/work/expense to collect), and may make this area "swampy" over time. If not part of the drainage plan consider:
The "inflow(s)" are ideal locations for an inlet to collect this surface water
move bed / berm out of the swale (...it a lot of work? ...not your property?).
"divert it" around the berm by creating a "bypass"

Questions: More general: 

Do you have issue with the yard being "generally" soggy or muddy outside of the area along the property line? Or a problem with water loving weeds, like sedges?

Questions: Tramp Spot:


what is the origin of the concentrated water where the trampoline was? has a "dish" formed there? What about to the "high side" of it, seems like water is standing/concentrated there too. Try to identify the "upstream" origin of this. Perhaps it's coming from from / between your house and the neighbor on the high side. 
Where do your (and the "high side neighbor") downspouts / sump pump / etc discharge?

Questions: Where is the upstream source?


 what the origin of the surface water flowing in from over your right shoulder the mulch bed?
 ..is it this storm water drain in the street (7-20 ft past your domination line) passing under the sidewalk with an outlet (or leak / blockage) somewhere which flows into that swale all the way to the pond? If so, collect that at the source and give it a straight shot to the pond.
 what is upstream source of the standing water on the far right?
 What is the thing in the "bottom right" of the pond looks like a culvert pipe perhaps?

Questions: Perhaps something else is contributing to your water problems?


 There seems to be _a lot_ of water in your swale. Do other lots have this too? If there's no obvious place where bulk water is flowing into the swale, there could be water infrastructure underground in the swale  such as this (what appears to be a) culvert pipe  or perhaps a feeder line to it? If the water seems to be flowing out of the ground in one spot or "every 6 feet" or "in a straight line", something "unnatural" , consider that some underground infrastructure may be the root of problem. It could be a blockage or broken / collapsed, or perhaps even just improperly installed... 
 A time-lapse of the "upstream" problem area might provide more insight
 Go to the area when its bad, does it seem like the water is flowing up from the soil, or just collected from "uphill"
 any sink hole forming? It would not be the first time that culvert was installed backwards

Random things I learned the hard way:


Generally, you want to be very careful with any drain near a body of water to ensure that the relief (outflow) is safely above the high water mark of the pond/lake/etc. You don't want the body of water to "backflow" via the outlet, this effectively gives the pond a path to make your yard into a septic field / mote. 
 Use grading as a tool to solve or help solve your drainage issues. Slight changes in grade can have a dramatic effect on the path water takes. For example, where the trampoline was, maybe just try to make that the top of (what appears to be a) the crown?
 Generally, try to avoid "cutting in" to your existing grade to direct water, unless you have _a lot_ of fall you'll fall into the trap of creating a lower and lower path for the water, and next thing you know, you have "pulled" the water into a new low spot / wet area. Instead, I've found it better to "push" the water where you want it to go by_adding_ grade. Remember, water find it's own level and takes the lowest possible void path.
 Never Fill in Collection Areas
 Don't make things worse part 1 Part2

Things to know about a french drain (perforated pipe, 16" deep, 14" wide, geofabric, etc ) for your situation:


 Is an option, and if executed correctly may be a "better"  solution...
 but is a lot more work + materials + excavation + skill needed to get right (Tips and Tricks)
 As I understand it, the problem is a high concentration of surface water which flows though a swale to its final destination, effectively the high water mark of the pond.
 You'll need significant cross-sectional void / airspace and enough slope to move the bulk water I see in the photos
 I'd guess 4 x 4" perforated pipe, FDM calls this a "quadpack" - this airspace also assists with root pruning
 The french drain system needs to be sealed from contaminates entering with filter fabric
 French drains are one tool in the toolbox for "seepage drainage"
 Moving bulk/surface water thought a french drain is possible. It needs to be filtered and have enough slope (3%) to keep the water moving 
 You can run Surface Drains, including downspouts in the same trench as the french drain. This will prevent the bulk surface water from percing into adjacent soil, where by capillary action it can "leach" into the sub soil. 
 Keep in mind that for a french drain to work we must create an airspace that is lower than the existing water table to be effective. When a Water feature dictates the water table, you can't drain a lake to itself with seepage drainage, can only drain to the airspace. If relief (outflow) is lower than the lake, seepage drainage becomes a septic field, makes problems worse. If relief above resting level of the lake, then lake rises during a rain event above relief, water backs into French Drain / Seepage drainage (Septic Effect), as if it was below the water level of the lake. To get around this is possible but starts to get complicated, you have to control the relief, and go deeper than water table, _then_ pump out to create air space
 A seepage drainage solution is the only option if you want it to be "invisible"

Suggestion: Consider surface drains to direct the surface water to the pond.


 IMHO, your highest priority should be to prevent any bulk water on the surface from becoming seepage water in the soil profile. Once it becomes seepage, much more effort is needed to collect it. A contributing factor is the obstructions in the swale, these inhibit flow (velocity). With a pond in the mix you also have a high water table to contend with as well.
Based on the photos, my first suggestion is that you go with a simple "yard drain" or "surface drain" to collect the bulk water at the surface(Puddle in the Far Right Edge) and give it a "fast path" to the pond.
This is just corrugated non-perforated pipe(I'd go 6"), inlet(s), a cleanout basin and a relief (outflow).
Seal all the seams/connections with tile tape.
No rock / stone / geo fabric / etc needed along the line (can be used near basins depending on the case).
From the photos it looks like your water problem is caused by a high concentration of runoff passing through the swale from (unknown) to the pond.
In this case, for best results, chase the flow uphill (taking pictures  ) and locate the highest concentration(s) of surface water (or your property line if that's a restriction).
These are the _Ideal_ place for inlets.
Rectangular inlets should be perpendicular to the direction of flow.
We can further develop a plan on this once some of the questions have been answered. (There's more options too...)

A couple of example for inlets for collecting surface water:

https://www.polylok.com/20-round-catch-basins-prod-283.html
http://www.turfdrain.com/channels-and-curbing/
https://www.polylok.com/rain-drainage-boxes-prod-162.html (may not apply to your case, would need to see the problem area)

Suggestion 2: A combined approach


 redefine the swale along your property line down to the pond by grading / filling
 use grade / fill to further direct water to inlet(s)
 inlet takes water in and directs it to the pond
 Inlet here is some void / channel to manage the flow
 outflow should be above the top of ponds culvert pipe (presumable the high water mark)

Example plan 1 for Suggestion 2: dry creek bed

 Construct a dry creek bed, channel drain/gutter to act as a Inlet / Transport via a vein of stone. This provides a void for water to flow through
 outflow is near the shore it (vein of stone) could "blend" into your existing cobble on the shore
 Trench 6" deep, maybe 14" to 16" wide
 compact native soil
 line with geo fabric, fill with stone (I'd use 3" round rock or larger)
 The trench should have a steady downward slope without any dips or bellys and "cut through" all the problem areas
 If you don't like a vain of stone running along the property line, a variation of this is to use 
 This will give the surface water a "fast path" to the pond (that's not crossing your yard).

Variations...

 If you consider either of these, the "deep dive" links are a must...
 Trench and backfill with sand. You can use something like 2 or 3 wide High Octane with a sock
 ... or like TurfDrain which can use a smaller trench width
 Turf Drain Perma Basins are slick because they can collect surface water and seepage water. They are intended for golf so they also have the ability to easily add risers should you start top dressing / sand capping program. You can also seal off and burry the inlet, and later add the inlet if you need it.

If you're the type to "deep dive..."


 turfdrain.com: UNDERSTANDING WATER TABLES AND THE CAPILLARY FRINGE (pdf)
 turfdrain.com: Analyzing Drainage Problems and Applying Proper Drainage Techniques (pdf)
 Analyzing Drainage Problems and Applying Proper Drainage Techniques
03/18/2014 Dennis Hurley, Turf Drainage Company of America
 The Inherent Differences in Surface Water vs. Seepage Water and How They Affect Drainage Design;
12/13/2016 Dennis Hurley, Turf Drainage Co. of America
 Understanding the Principles of Seepage Drainage;
04/21/2015 Dennis Hurley, Turf Drainage Co. of America
 More from TurfDrain...
 Water Movement In Soil


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## osuturfman

This guy drains!


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## osuturfman

bwerthmann said:


> MNLawnGuy1980 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Drainage: Put in a drainage system that gets to the pond. This is at the top of the list of items to complete for the backyard. I plan to rent a sod cutter, then trench it out and lay corrugated french drain piping to the pond. I may just do the prefabricated piping to avoid having to mess with laying gravel in the trench.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Trees: We are putting in 16, 7-gallon Techny Arborvitae on each side to get some privacy back there. My "plan" is to shape them into a shrub and maintain them at ~5' tall.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just FYI, planting stuff in that swale will make your drainage problems worse. The root mass grows over time and dams up the swale, forming a new pond. Also, My Arborvitae do not like it when the soil is saturated...
> 
> 
> 
> MNLawnGuy1980 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Getting a lot of rain today which is great for the front yard, not so great for the mud pit I have in the back.
> 
> 
> 
> Now for what I am working with in the backyard...yeah, really need to get that drain put in. The mud pit is where the tramp goes, I am going to move it this year, or just throw it in the pond and be done with it.
> 
> I am not going to do anything back there until I get that done. This is my starting point for the back.
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MNLawnGuy1980 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I'm doing a _crapload_ of drainage at my property. So, here's some unsolicited, drive by, sorry for the "wall of text", advice...
> 
> 
> If you only want to do it once, give French Drain Man a call. They really know there stuff and can help identify the root of the problem and put a solution together. They are based out of Michigan, and ship to the con-us. Their single wall 4" "High Octane" pipe (in Solid, Perforated, and knife-cut) is crazy strong compared to stuff you get at a big box.
> It would be helpful to get a couple of picture looking through the lowest part of the swale into the pond... This should resolve some loose ends in my mental model of your hydrological conundrum.
> 
> Questions...
> 
> In this pic off to the right, it looks like someone put a mulch bed + planted a tree in the bottom of the swale? Did a homeowner add this? Sometimes a berm like this is engineered into the community's drainage plan (such as to mitigate erosion, regulate infiltration rate to the pond, etc..). It disperses the concentrated water over a wider area which makes it more difficult/work/expense to collect), and may make this area "swampy" over time. If not part of the drainage plan consider:
> The "inflow(s)" are ideal locations for an inlet to collect this surface water
> move bed / berm out of the swale (...it a lot of work? ...not your property?).
> "divert it" around the berm by creating a "bypass"
> 
> Questions: More general:
> 
> Do you have issue with the yard being "generally" soggy or muddy outside of the area along the property line? Or a problem with water loving weeds, like sedges?
> 
> Questions: Tramp Spot:
> 
> 
> what is the origin of the concentrated water where the trampoline was? has a "dish" formed there? What about to the "high side" of it, seems like water is standing/concentrated there too. Try to identify the "upstream" origin of this. Perhaps it's coming from from / between your house and the neighbor on the high side.
> Where do your (and the "high side neighbor") downspouts / sump pump / etc discharge?
> 
> Questions: Where is the upstream source?
> 
> 
> what the origin of the surface water flowing in from over your right shoulder the mulch bed?
> ..is it this storm water drain in the street (7-20 ft past your domination line) passing under the sidewalk with an outlet (or leak / blockage) somewhere which flows into that swale all the way to the pond? If so, collect that at the source and give it a straight shot to the pond.
> what is upstream source of the standing water on the far right?
> What is the thing in the "bottom right" of the pond looks like a culvert pipe perhaps?
> 
> Questions: Perhaps something else is contributing to your water problems?
> 
> 
> There seems to be _a lot_ of water in your swale. Do other lots have this too? If there's no obvious place where bulk water is flowing into the swale, there could be water infrastructure underground in the swale  such as this (what appears to be a) culvert pipe  or perhaps a feeder line to it? If the water seems to be flowing out of the ground in one spot or "every 6 feet" or "in a straight line", something "unnatural" , consider that some underground infrastructure may be the root of problem. It could be a blockage or broken / collapsed, or perhaps even just improperly installed...
> A time-lapse of the "upstream" problem area might provide more insight
> Go to the area when its bad, does it seem like the water is flowing up from the soil, or just collected from "uphill"
> any sink hole forming? It would not be the first time that culvert was installed backwards
> 
> Random things I learned the hard way:
> 
> 
> Generally, you want to be very careful with any drain near a body of water to ensure that the relief (outflow) is safely above the high water mark of the pond/lake/etc. You don't want the body of water to "backflow" via the outlet, this effectively gives the pond a path to make your yard into a septic field / mote.
> Use grading as a tool to solve or help solve your drainage issues. Slight changes in grade can have a dramatic effect on the path water takes. For example, where the trampoline was, maybe just try to make that the top of (what appears to be a) the crown?
> Generally, try to avoid "cutting in" to your existing grade to direct water, unless you have _a lot_ of fall you'll fall into the trap of creating a lower and lower path for the water, and next thing you know, you have "pulled" the water into a new low spot / wet area. Instead, I've found it better to "push" the water where you want it to go by_adding_ grade. Remember, water find it's own level and takes the lowest possible void path.
> Never Fill in Collection Areas
> 
> Things to know about a french drain (perforated pipe, 16" deep, 14" wide, geofabric, etc ) for your situation:
> 
> 
> Is an option, and if executed correctly may be a "better"  solution...
> but is a lot more work + materials + excavation + skill needed to get right (Tips and Tricks)
> As I understand it, the problem is a high concentration of surface water which flows though a swale to its final destination, effectively the high water mark of the pond.
> You'll need significant cross-sectional void / airspace and enough slope to move the bulk water I see in the photos
> I'd guess 4 x 4" perforated pipe, FDM calls this a "quadpack" - this airspace also assists with root pruning
> The french drain system needs to be sealed from contaminates entering with filter fabric
> French drains are one tool in the toolbox for "seepage drainage"
> Moving bulk/surface water thought a french drain is possible. It needs to be filtered and have enough slope (3%) to keep the water moving
> You can run Surface Drains, including downspouts in the same trench as the french drain. This will prevent the bulk surface water from percing into adjacent soil, where by capillary action it can "leach" into the sub soil.
> Keep in mind that for a french drain to work we must create an airspace that is lower than the existing water table to be effective. When a Water feature dictates the water table, you can't drain a lake to itself with seepage drainage, can only drain to the airspace. If relief (outflow) is lower than the lake, seepage drainage becomes a septic field, makes problems worse. If relief above resting level of the lake, then lake rises during a rain event above relief, water backs into French Drain / Seepage drainage (Septic Effect), as if it was below the water level of the lake. To get around this is possible but starts to get complicated, you have to control the relief, and go deeper than water table, _then_ pump out to create air space
> A seepage drainage solution is the only option if you want it to be "invisible"
> 
> Suggestion: Consider surface drains to direct the surface water to the pond.
> 
> 
> Based on the photos, my first suggestion is that you go with a simple "yard drain" or "surface drain" to collect the bulk water at the surface(Puddle in the Far Right Edge) and give it a "fast path" to the pond.
> This is just corrugated non-perforated pipe(I'd go 6"), inlet(s), a cleanout basin and a relief (outflow).
> Seal all the seams/connections with tile tape.
> No rock / stone / geo fabric / etc needed along the line (can be used near basins depending on the case).
> From the photos it looks like your water problem is caused by a high concentration of runoff passing through the swale from (unknown) to the pond.
> In this case, for best results, chase the flow uphill (taking pictures  ) and locate the highest concentration(s) of surface water (or your property line if that's a restriction).
> These are the _Ideal_ place for inlets.
> Rectangular inlets should be perpendicular to the direction of flow.
> We can further develop a plan on this once some of the questions have been answered. (There's more options too...)
> 
> A couple of example for inlets for collecting surface water:
> 
> https://www.polylok.com/20-round-catch-basins-prod-283.html
> http://www.turfdrain.com/channels-and-curbing/
> https://www.polylok.com/rain-drainage-boxes-prod-162.html (may not apply to your case, would need to see the problem area)
> 
> Suggestion 2: A combined approach
> 
> 
> redefine the swale along your property line down to the pond by grading / filling
> use grade / fill to further direct water to inlet(s)
> inlet takes water in and directs it to the pond
> Inlet here is some void / channel to manage the flow
> outflow should be above the top of ponds culvert pipe (presumable the high water mark)
> 
> Example plan 1 for Suggestion 2: dry creek bed
> 
> Construct a dry creek bed, channel drain/gutter to act as a Inlet / Transport via a vein of stone. This provides a void for water to flow through
> outflow is near the shore it (vein of stone) could "blend" into your existing cobble on the shore
> Trench 6" deep, maybe 14" to 16" wide
> compact native soil
> line with geo fabric, fill with stone (I'd use 3" round rock or larger)
> The trench should have a steady downward slope without any dips or bellys and "cut through" all the problem areas
> If you don't like a vain of stone running along the property line, a variation of this is to use
> This will give the surface water a "fast path" to the pond (that's not crossing your yard).
> 
> Variations...
> 
> If you consider either of these, the "deep dive" links are a must...
> Trench and backfill with sand. You can use something like 2 or 3 wide High Octane with a sock
> ... or like TurfDrain which can use a smaller trench width
> Turf Drain Perma Basins are slick because they can collect surface water and seepage water. They are intended for golf so they also have the ability to easily add risers should you start top dressing / sand capping program. You can also seal off and burry the inlet, and later add the inlet if you need it.
> 
> If you're the type to "deep dive..."
> 
> 
> turfdrain.com: UNDERSTANDING WATER TABLES AND THE CAPILLARY FRINGE (pdf)
> turfdrain.com: Analyzing Drainage Problems and
> Applying Proper Drainage Techniques (pdf)
> The Inherent Differences in Surface Water vs. Seepage Water and How They Affect Drainage Design; 12/13/2016 Dennis Hurley, Turf Drainage Co. of America
> Understanding the Principles of Seepage Drainage; 04/21/2015 Dennis Hurley, Turf Drainage Co. of America
> Analyzing Drainage Problems and Applying Proper Drainage Techniques; 03/18/2014 Dennis Hurley, Turf Drainage Company of America
> More from TurfDrain...
> Water Movement In Soil
Click to expand...

Ohh, I see that knowledge you dropped.


----------



## bwerthmann

osuturfman said:


> Ohh, I see that knowledge you dropped.


You bet your butt I did. This is two years worth of research and "field experimentation at the expense of everyone around me" consolidated in to a single post on TLF.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

@bwerthmann, dang, thank you for the well thought out post. That is a ton of great information. Based on what you put together, it would appear something like a surface drain(s) would be the best approach to just get the water from that area directly down into the pond. At least, that is what I am thinking.

What happened was the area between the yards, probably about 10-15 yards(blue space in the pic below) was left ungraded as that is an access way to the city to the pond. We told the builder that we would like it graded and it was supposed to be graded to the pond, it was not and now we have a fun bowl effect in the back corner. 


"Do you have issue with the yard being "generally" soggy or muddy outside of the area along the property line? Or a problem with water loving weeds, like sedges?"
"what is the origin of the concentrated water where the trampoline was? has a "dish" formed there? What about to the "high side" of it, seems like water is standing/concentrated there too. Try to identify the "upstream" origin of this. Perhaps it's coming from from / between your house and the neighbor on the high side."

The only spot in the whole yard I have issues is where I circled in blue, my two neighbors runoff converge right there and then get hung up by the bowl in the back corner. My downspout is also in that SE corner of the house so the runoff from my gutter goes there as well. All of the arrows are where the water is coming from.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I had to adjust my wants vs. capabilities for the floating duck house. I haven't been able to do any lawn stuff so we worked on duck house on Saturday. First coat of stain put on today. It has 4" of foam board underneath so I am hoping it floats. That would kind of suck if it just sunk as soon as I put it out! 
It will be anchored with a cinder block on both sides to prevent it from moving, and so the opening is always facing our house. 
We will probably throw one more coat of lacquer on there and hopefully get it out this week.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Haven't done anything with the lawn since the 8th. Greening up nicely. Getting my mower back on Friday so I am hoping to get started this weekend if the rain holds off.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Got out today for the first mow of the year in the front yard. Had the hoc at .25, will raise it up to .35 or .40 for the year. Am planning to level out a couple areas. Should have more to post next weekend when I start doing more that is not drain and pond related. 


Got the duck house out in the pond today also. Really pleased with how it turned out...looking forward to seeing some ducks in there. I need to adjust the anchors a little as I would like for it to be pointed towards the house most of the time. Oh well, I will figure it out. 




Girls taking the paddle boat for a spin:


Also was able to get the drain put in the backyard yesterday. It was quite the project so hopefully it helps. I will post more on this when I feel like talking about drains again. Now is not a good time for that.


----------



## mowww

@MNLawnGuy1980 Incredible how well that all came out of winter. You'd swear your lawn is 200 miles south. I'll give you a week to ask about the other stuff.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thanks @mowww...I am just thankful that I am not having to deal with the snow mold that I did last year.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Dethatched and cleaned up the backyard yesterday, then put down a couple bags of Milorganite. Rain is expected most of the week so I do not anticipate getting out and doing much.

I got notification that our trees are ready to be picked up so I might be able to get them put in on Saturday. We will see how the rest of the week shapes up.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I broke a stud on the hoc adjuster Wednesday on the Jacobsen, but got it all put back together. All ready to go for a mow tomorrow after all of the rain from this week. I see I have plenty of grass in the mulch that I am going to have to take care of.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Got out for a couple passes on the lawn this morning. HOC is at .35", will bring it up a little higher and hopefully find a sweet spot around .4. Pleased with how it looks for April 10th. 











Still no takers on the duck house, this guy has been scoping it out for some time though. He keeps getting closer and closer. Might need to put a sign on it letting them know it's for them.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

We were able to get the 18 trees put in the backyard. Removed quite a bit of grass for the beds (2nd to last pic below). It was a ton of work but we are happy with the result.

The only thing left to do with it is that I am going to be removing some excess dirt from the beds and refine the edging on them. We are thinking of doing some steel stripping for the edging. Similar to the pic below.


----------



## jrubb42

You're not messing around this year are you? You've already tackled a ton of projects. I'm tired just looking at the pictures. Haha! Yard is looking great man!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thanks @jrubb42. Yeah, I was trying to get a lot of this stuff knocked out early so I can have a somewhat decent backyard for the summer that isn't all tore up.

Fun that we got some snow last night.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

My brother in law and I got the electricity run to the backyard and hooked up the fountain and get it running. Also put some blue dye in the pond to get some color in there.

Looking forward to getting out in the yard this week and getting the lawn in shape.


Geese bad!

Wood ducks


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Got a quick mow on the front in over lunch, until it started snowing. Moved the hoc up to a little above .4. 


Haven't cut the back yet at all this year. Been too busy tearing it all up. I am going to have to bring the rotary over it for the first pass and lop off quite a bit.

Took close to a month, but today I saw the first duck on the duck house.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Keeping it at the same hoc (.4") and settling in there, that was one of my goals for the year so I am sticking here. I have a good rotation going on the front with different passes to get things looking normal again. The sprinklers are opened up but I have only ran them one time to water in some fert, which I probably didn't need to do. 






I now have the back at the same hoc and will do some additional passes over the next couple days to get it to how I want it. It's not great, but I have tore it up pretty bad (and the dogs have too) so I am happy to have that stuff behind me. Just need to mulch the new beds in the back. 


Bonus pics of sunrise and duckhouse:


----------



## SOLARSUPLEX

I never thought i'd want a pond in the backyard, but this is making me pretty jealous. Do your neighbors care for the space behind their fences if they've put them up or is there a local company that comes and does a rough pass at it all?


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## MNLawnGuy1980

The pond is city owned, I cleared everything with them on it. Regarding the area behind the fences, some put the fence right up to the property line and others kept some lawn. There is not a company that does any back there, whatever is back there is either maintained by the homeowner or left alone as the city is not doing anything with it. 
It was technically supposed to be landscaped all around, at least that is what the brochures had. But the builder left the US and got out of Dodge pretty quickly.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Mowing in the 40 degree weather is not exactly my cup of tea, but I got out today for a couple passes in the front. It is supposed to heat up significantly though mid week so we will see what happens. I would like to get the front yard beds cleaned up, but the weather has just sucked for the last few days. Probably should take those Christmas lights down too!


----------



## occamsrzr

MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> Bonus pics of sunrise and duckhouse:


Never thought I'd say this but: I need a duckhouse. This is real sweet.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thank you @occamsrzr, I never thought I would build one, or finish it for that matter to be able to get the cars back in the garage. Pretty sure my wife was losing patience with a big duck house taking up the garage space!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Snuck in a quick mow between some work stuff today, trying to get back to a good routine with the front yard. This appears to be a good hoc (.4") so I am going to keep things here and not muck it up!
Still holding off on any additional fert, and have not done any applications of PGR. Beautiful day here today! Love it!


View from my office, would be nice to have a pond view but this will have to do!


**Edit to add a couple pics of the back yard...tramp area is actually starting to fill in.



Grey Heron stopped by the pond two days ago, noticed it while playing the piano. They only stop by once or twice per year so it was nice to be able to grab my camera and head back there for some photos.


Filter catch basin on the pump was letting items through and clogging the fountain. When I got out there to unclog it, I noticed that it was covered with leeches and they were getting stuck in the fountain holes. Replaced the old basin with a new one with smaller holes and have not had any issues since. Darn leeches!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I don't take pictures very often in the evening, it was nice out tonight and we went for a walk...of course I snapped a couple pictures.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Sorry for all of the pond content, I just want to get it in the journal though. 
Fountain light video that I got this morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD8xmTAwino


----------



## bosox_5

keep the pond content coming


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Different view of the backyard from this morning. Expected temps today are in the mid 80's so I gave the grass a good drenching this morning. Whoever did the mowing back there really needs to work on their lines!!


Applied an additional gallon of bacteria around the perimeter of the pond this morning to keep fighting against muck buildup. Starting to see some new cattails come in so I am going to be spraying those and dragging the weed sheers around to cut them down. Some of the neighbors like the cattails so we are going to leave some around the edging.


----------



## g-man

I just noticed the sliding door in the second floor without a deck. I don't think that would be legal in my county (you would not get a occupancy permit).


----------



## occamsrzr

MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> Sorry for all of the pond content, I just want to get it in the journal though.


Loving the pond content. Keep it up! Your landscape is a really fantastic mixture of phenomenal turf and enjoyment of wilderness. The bird pics (esp that Heron!) are also amazing.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

g-man said:


> I just noticed the sliding door in the second floor without a deck. I don't think that would be legal in my county (you would not get a occupancy permit).


Yeah, it is pretty normal here. They put an odd shaped screw in the slider part with a shiv like thing so you can't open it...but you can take it out pretty easily.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Loving the pond content. Keep it up! Your landscape is a really fantastic mixture of phenomenal turf and enjoyment of wilderness. The bird pics (esp those cranes!) are also amazing.
[/quote]

Thank you, I was pretty excited and I was telling the family about the heron and they looked at me like I was insane! The ducks are pretty interesting little sh**s though, they have always just hung out back there on the lawn. I would mow and be like 2-3 feet from them and they would just stay there, no nests or anything, just hanging out.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Real nice day today, not too hot, not too cold. I hadn't cut the front since Thursday afternoon, and had substantial wash boarding going on with the reel when I took it out this morning. Ended up going over it in my three different directions, but I was surprised at how much growth there was in three days.

I would like to get some PGR down but I was hoping to wait until after the seed heads come in, which was on the 20th of May last year. Who knows, maybe they will come early this year since my grass has been green for close to two months now. I will hold off for a little bit on it. I was also going to start with Urea today but I really don't think I need anything right now that is going to promote growth.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Tried doubles on the front to back passes...not sure if I want to keep the diagonals as singles or move those to doubles.


----------



## Harts

Looking great this Spring. The colour is really popping!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thank you @Harts...congrats on the new place, pretty envious of that huge lawn.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Activity at the trough last night. Apparently the "duck house" has taken on more of a corner bar feel with just the dudes hanging out.

What happens is that the hen is responsible for tending to the nest/eggs. The drake sticks around for 10 days after the eggs are hatched, he then takes off and finds other drakes to hang out with for the rest of the summer. Then the process starts over again in the fall, where he will search for a hen and they stay together until the spring mating season. The pair also return close to the area where the hen was born.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

It's been real dry here lately, a nice soaking would be nice to give the irrigation a little bit of a break. Moved a sprinkler head this evening, first time doing that, don't think I messed up too much! I got a kick out of watching that Doc guys instructional video on how to move a sprinkler head. He basically just stood over the irrigation guy while the guy did the work and he talked about all the sprinkler heads they moved, not exactly helpful. Oh well.

Sprayed FEature this evening. Thank you @SumBeach35. I went pretty lite on the application though, first time and all.

Big day pond wise...some babies made their first appearance out with mom in the pond today, I am not sure when they were born. I think I counted 10 of them. Pretty cool, the girls were actually pretty excited about it too so that made it even better!


----------



## SumBeach35

Thank you for the business. I appreciate it. Be sure to post before an after pics if you took any.


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## Babameca

Looks awesome for this time of the season! What is it with the seed heads and PGR? I may have missed something lol. I put my 1/2 dose down 2 weeks ago. Couldn't afford to scalp every time with my every 7 days mowing .


----------



## occamsrzr

MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> Activity at the trough last night. Apparently the "duck house" has taken on more of a corner bar feel with just the dudes hanging out.


A duck walks into a bar...

Have you had good luck with PGRs and seedhead suppression? What is your strategy there? Starting PGRs here in the next week or two and am interested in this quality.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Babameca said:


> Looks awesome for this time of the season! What is it with the seed heads and PGR? I may have missed something lol. I put my 1/2 dose down 2 weeks ago. Couldn't afford to scalp every time with my every 7 days mowing .


Thank you @Babameca...I use T-nex and that does not suppress seed heads. What happened a couple years ago was my first application of PGR was before the seed heads came in. The PGR limited their growth when they came in making it harder to get rid of them and giving the lawn a lighter tint to it. I usually try to hold out on spraying it until they come in.



occamsrzr said:


> Have you had good luck with PGRs and seedhead suppression? What is your strategy there? Starting PGRs here in the next week or two and am interested in this quality.


@occamsrzr Loved the duck joke!! The brand I use does not suppress them and I have never tried anything other than T-nex. I usually just try to wait to apply it until after they arrive. I can't remember if I held out last year, @mowww has some options on PGRs that do that.

Ultimately it is not a huge deal, it's just another thing to weigh if you want to spray it or not.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

The lawn has been somewhat neglected as I have not been tending to it as much as I would want to. I have stayed with the wide checkerboard. although I am not crazy about it since it only gives me two different passes on it, as opposed to the three with my normal cut pattern. My mower also digs in on the side to side pass due to the slope of the front yard.

Still pretty dry here...I was able to sneak in a mow last night after all of the Mother's Day festivities. Not great, but it is coming along. Still holding out at the .4" mark for hoc. Neighbor dethatched on Friday night and got a mow in, looks great, he does a great job with it.





Pork shoulders in the smoker for Mother's Day


Bonus sunrise pic from this morning:


----------



## mowww

"Neglected" is a pretty good look as it turns out. Looking great.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

@mowww, thank you. I am pretty sure you were talking about PGRs last year that suppressed the seed heads. What was that again?


----------



## mowww

@MNLawnGuy1980 the class A PGRs like Primo/T-Nex and Aneuw do not truly suppress seed heads, rather just slow the process down which is typically good enough for me. Proxy is probably the most famed seed head suppressor on the market right now but that does not have a residential label, has high injury potential on KBG, and requires significant planning (apps the fall before).


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thank you @mowww...@occamsrzr, see above, mowww is in the south suburbs.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

When watering this morning, I noticed this lawn bubble in the front yard. Upon researching them, it looks as though it could be a couple different things.
Irrigation issue: I am hoping this is not the case, I don't think it would be this though as I do not have a line directly under there.
Aeration: I aerate each fall, but it is pretty compacted since I run the big reel over it all the time. Hoping it is this!
Down spout: It hasn't rained in like a month here, and the down spout runs down the side of the house.

I poked about 20 holes with a stake to pop it.


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## mowww

@MNLawnGuy1980 I'd bet it's a light frost heave. Hopefully. Centered between those heads it may get a little more water than surrounding areas.

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1243191004074782722


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Thanks @mowww...I didn't reallize it was 30 when the sprinklers were going this morning. Will have to keep an eye on it, very odd as I have never seen that before.


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## g-man

I would still get a shovel and see what's underneath.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Got it dug out, had two nicks in the piping. Neighbor was getting his irrigation serviced and the guy came over and took care of it for me. Wow, that worked out well. 


Water Wizards out of Brooklyn Park, great guy!


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## MNLawnGuy1980

First seed heads appearing today. Still real dry here, it is apparently supposed to rain today but I will believe it when I see it.

Got a quick mow in over lunch.

Had the driveway re-sealed yesterday, love getting that done!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Finally got around to finishing the beds for the trees in the backyard. We put new edging in the front and back, and went with black mulch for the year. I am kind of digging it. I kept with the natural edge for a couple years and I just couldn't keep up with it anymore. In the back we did a metal stripping (it was cheaper) and the front is a rubber edging.

I am fairly certain that if I tell my wife one more time this year that I have a "little yard work", or "just one more project", I will be sleeping in the garage with the mowers. She has helped with all of these and it has been a blast doing them together!





Lawn pics after the mow this evening...had to get out for a mow and unwind a little after working all weekend on the beds. 





Have a great week everyone!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I have been trying this checker board pattern for close to 2 weeks now, today was the first time I actually liked how they looked. It was probably due to the location of the sun though.

Made the decision to stop reel mowing in the back. I just don't cut it enough to continue using the reel. I might give it a whirl later on in the year, but I just don't have the time to do it right now. My rotary is a p.o.s. that I have beaten the heck out of, so hopefully it gets me through this, really don't want to have to get a new rotary mower,


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I got my first application of PGR in yesterday. Hoping I didn't mess it up too bad. Still at .4" for the hoc. It feels a little strange to not have to make weekly adjustments/amendments like I did in the past from changing the hoc all of the time and "trying things out".

Pond Junk:
Seeing a lot of green popping up throughout the pond with new cattails coming in. I plan to get out there this afternoon in the paddle boat to begin spraying them. I will let the product sit for a couple days and then pull the weed sheers behind the boat around the edges of the pond to cut them at their bases. 
Image from this morning:


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Finally getting some rain...rained last night into today. Applied some RGS and Humic12 today. It went well, I think.
Neighbor (yard seen to the left of mine in the pic below) and I get a kick out of the fact that our lawns were put in at close to the same time, and the contrast between the two is pretty funny. He keeps his at a "normal" height, and I don't, but we started from the same. I'm a big fan of his lawn.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I got out yesterday afternoon in the pond to spray Catt Plex. I was planning to do it the other day but this whole job thing is getting in the way of dorking around in the pond.

Catt Plex is a Glyphosate based aquatic herbicide that is apparently safe for fish and wildlife. I am not sure how that works, but that is what the label says. I sprayed that at 2 ounces / gallon combined with a surfactant.
While spraying I saw this little guy, he was about the size of a half dollar. 




I will let the Catt Plex sit for 2-3 days and then go out with the weed sheers. **Not me in the picture, so don't send me any DMs!! 


Couple other pics from my cruise around the pond spraying. I didn't bring my good camera out there, so the phone pics will have to do. The red-winged blackbird males have the black body with red wings, the females are brown in color.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

It was a beautiful morning to be out working in the yard before it got too muggy. I couldn't stand using the rotary in the back yard so I went back to the reel. Hopefully the growth will slow down some with the PGR that I put down.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Side yard view, and overall view of the backyard (not just the spots that appear good on camera). 


My pups have the run of the backyard and tear it up pretty good. It has filled in nicely but it still not great. Bottom right corner is where the tramp was last year. I moved it over to the other side this year and need to spray for weeds in that area. As can been seen, I don't do a lot back there with products since the dogs tear it up so much.



Irises bloomed this morning, first time in three years that they have blossomed. I like them!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I was thinking that it sure would be nice to have the 26" Jake working right now. It would be nice to be able to raise up the hoc on that and use it just for the backyard. Oh well!

Weekly Urea app this morning and a cut for the front yard. Couple pics from the mow this morning, Sorry for the cliché mower pic.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Different time of day, different angle. I think I will go back to the diagonals after the weekend.

Not a fan of that tree out front. Did the builder/landscaper just think that the best option was to throw a soon-to-be big a** tree right in the middle of the yard.

I was planning to take some pics of the back but I am kind of done with the yard for the day.

Have a great holiday weekend Everyone!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Had some new visitors to the pond yesterday...they ended up staying for the night in the house. I was so excited to see it occupied this morning! Second pic has a wood duck in the forefront of the picture. The last pic is pretty good also with the red-winged black bird on top of the house.

Some of the pics are kind of lousy, apparently taking photos through a window screen is not recommended, who would have thunk it!


----------



## The Lawn Monk

That checkerboard pattern are what dreams are made of, looks fantastic!


----------



## hammerhead

One of the best lawns on TLF...and therefore probably in the whole world 
Good job! Amazing!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thank you @hammerhead and @The Lawn Monk for the kind words. It is fun to see it all come together when I just go with the plan, instead of winging it every other day.

RIP to the backyard. It was fun while it lasted but we apparently needed a pool, it was a good run but I will probably use it more than anyone else.

Second pic below includes the mallard babies on the right, and three wood ducks on the left.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Good timing on the pool I guess. Temp is pushing 98° here today and it will be in the high 90's for the next 4-5 days. I decided to not really mess with the lawn and leave it be with the current pattern until things cool off a little bit. With that in mind, just keeping up with my regular mows and taking it easy on the lawn. 
Pool temp is up to 72


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Posted this a separate forum, throwing it in my journal:
It is now showing a high of 101 for today. Pretty odd. What is even stranger is that looking at the extended forecast, we are looking at high 90's for a week straight, followed by high 80's for a week. I really don't plan to change much but we will see how it goes.

Reminds of the quote from the great philosopher, Mike Tyson! "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." My plan is not change up my watering, for now.


----------



## BH Green

Lawn is looking tight! Good luck on getting through this Midwest heat wave.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

BH Green said:


> Lawn is looking tight! Good luck on getting through this Midwest heat wave.


Thank you @BH Green, that was a pretty brutal weekend.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Back in February I purchased a grown up camera for the first time, a Canon 850D. This is why there are so many different kinds of photos in my journal.
I decided to take it down to the pond this morning to get some better pics of the babies in the house. My morning routine is to bring the dogs back there and I have noticed that the babies are starting to stay put in the house while I am wandering around down there. 
Most of the pics before this have been with a telephoto lens taken from my kitchen. 
I had to put this pic through Lightroom to brighten it up since the sun was behind the ducks.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Absolutely brutal heat...some of the surrounding areas got a little rain today but it has avoided us here.

Cut on the 9th, quite frankly I am just trying to keep things alive right now to hopefully have something to work with after this heat wave. It's been pushing 100 for close to a week now, our bodies up here are not meant for this!
Pics from the 9th




Pics from this morning. Most of the neighboring lawns are toast, my back yard is toast. Getting plenty of use out of the new pool though!



Some pond views from earlier this week in the paddle boat.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Back to the diagonals in the front yard. It is still hanging in there. I am a big fan of this cut pattern as it has the three different cuts ensuring that all of the blades are getting cut. I have realized the last couple cuts that my lawn is getting extremely bumpy, I don't think it has to do with the heat, I think I just need a good levelling job on it. That will give me something to look forward to in the fall, I enjoy doing that.








*Pond Update:*
Applied 2 quarts of Sonar RTU to help get rid of the duckweed in the pond. Apparently duckweed is real bad as it suffocates the pond and promotes algae growth. First time using it, hopefully it gets rid of some of the junk out there.

Had some new babies show up on Saturday. Hooded Merganser ducklings. They are in the pic below swimming while the mallard ducks are sitting in the house. Pretty neat. Photos taken with phone so they are not real great to zoom in on.


Close up of the mallard babies, they are getting big.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Tiger lilies started opening up this morning. Some pics of those and the other flowers we have around the yard.







I nearly dug this rose bush out in early spring as it had never bloomed before, it has a ton of flowers on it now.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I have some kind of fungus/disease (first pic), or heat stress going on in the southeast portion of the front yard. Just planning to put some disease-ex down in the morning, hopefully that takes care of it. 


I hadn't cut in awhile due to the heat but got out today as there is a little break in the heat here.


----------



## g-man

Eventually you will hate that maple in the front lawn. I hate mine.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

It's no surprise these things have ~40% chance of surviving past the first day of summer. Out mowing the backyard and look down and they were about four ft away. Good work on the stranger danger there mom duck.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

g-man said:


> Eventually you will hate that maple in the front lawn. I hate mine.


I got to that point about 1 month ago. I have never really minded it until a month ago, I was looking at a pic of the front and that darn tree just stood out like a sore thumb, right in the center of the yard. Getting worse and worse to mow around also.


----------



## g-man

It is not that. It is the roots and sucking water from the lawn.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

That too @g-man! Big shock that I was thinking about from a superficial perspective :lol: :lol:


----------



## zeus201

g-man said:


> It is not that. It is the roots and sucking water from the lawn.


I hate our autumn blaze maple. Damn roots keeping coming up through the turf and sucking all the water away.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

@zeus201 & @g-man, are there any tips that I can do to keep the tree roots below the turf, or is it just something that will eventually happen?


----------



## g-man

With maples, it is just going to happen and get worst and worst. You can cut the roots at some distance from the trunk on one side to encourage the roots to grow to the neighbor side. Maples have a lot of surface roots.

I have maples at the corner of my property, so I only have to deal with 90 degrees of roots instead of 360. When I mulch at the start of the season, I cut the roots at the mulch edge.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thank you @g-man, I appreciate the response.


----------



## bakler5

We must have had the same builders. This isn't a great picture, but the layout of your house and yard is identical to mine. Also having issues with the maple in my front yard, been topdressing every few months over the roots that keep surfacing.

Edit: Sorry shouldn't have posted a picture in your lawn journal! Removed.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

No worries on the pic @bakler5, it was helpful as I got a look at how thick the trunk was compared to mine. 
Topdressing every few months? Dang, I was thinking I just didn't like it because it was in the middle of the yard. Apparently I have more to contend with than that.


----------



## bakler5

Yeah, the roots only started getting bad the last year or so, but once they surfaced they were hard to miss. I have never tried cutting them though. House was built in 2013, just to give you an idea of the timeline.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Fungus on the southeast side of the front appears to be dissipating. Sprayed another round of PGR and Hydretain on Thursday. Been keeping up with daily cuts for about the last 6 days. Backyard is still pretty fried, probably didn't help it being at the lower hoc. Oh well.









Pond has taken on more of a split pea soup look to it, algae has really started kicking in. I found out that I have a store that deals with pond products about 3 minutes away, I took a trip over there yesterday. It was pretty insightful, wish I would have done that at the beginning of the year as I have been self diagnosing issues as they come up. They had a product for algae, so I got out this morning in the paddle boat, and backpack sprayer and went to town on the algae. Supposed to kick in after 7-10 days. I also had to replenish the food out there as the ducks/birds have gone through about 75 lbs of pellets.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I have been seeing this little guy hanging out by the edge of the water. Apparently it is a green heron, I thought it was pretty interesting with the longer beak and legs. Every time I open the door to go out and get a better pic of him, he leaves so this is the best I can do with my current setup. 
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Green_Heron/id#


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Too dry, too wet. We have been getting some decent rain amounts the last few days, and I woke up to a substantial amount of dollar spot. I just put the Scott's disease ex down last week and it appears that does not take care of dollar spot, neat! I might have to up my game on the fungus/disease control as I have never really put much thought into it. Nice timing though as I was thinking last night that the lawn is looking pretty nice after the brutal heat wave.

Also noticed some dog vomit slime mold in the mulch, I don't recall ever seeing that before. The girls thought it was pretty nasty! Apparently I can just shovel it out or leave it, but it says it may continue to spread if you leave it.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I was torn on doing it this year as the lawn has been doing pretty well lately. Oh well, we went ahead with it anyway. Third annual paint the lawn neighborhood event. The kids had fun doing it, which is pretty much all that matters.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

First daylily for the year opened on Sunday, the rest followed this morning.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I noticed that my cut had not been very even the last couple passes. I initially thought it was due to the lawn that needs to be levelled. I check out the reel to bedknife and noticed that the bedknife had been jarred loose. The Eclipse has the magnetic bedknife on it and boy is that magnet strong. You have to line up the two tabs on the undercarriage and fit two holes that are in the bedknife into the tabs. Not an easy thing to do when as soon as you get about two inches from the magnet, the magnet sucks it in. Finally got it put on but pinched my fingers in it a few times trying.

Lowered the hoc to .25" as I had to get the grass all at the same height. Will be raising it back up. 





Pond:
There were about 20 ducks out there this morning. Usually we just have the six little ones and the mom. I am assuming it was like an arranged meetup overnight where the mom's are trying to get the little ones married off!

The little ones are starting to fly short distances, testing out their wings. They start on the rocks and fly/jump about 10 feet into the water. Algae is all gone, now I just have the duckweed back there to deal with. The stuff to treat it is pretty expensive though so I am just going to let it be.
Some of the new visitors this morning to the pond: 

Sunrise this morning:

Hummingbird hanging out at the feeder


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Raised the height back up to .4". Just keeping up with my mows...nothing other than mowing at the time.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

We got a decent amount of rain yesterday, a little over an inch. I raised the height of cut on the reel to .7". Looks great, nice deep green color, just not a big fan of it though at the higher height. I guess it boils down to the look of the deep green at a higher cut. Or, the feel of the lower cut with a reduced green look to it.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

~2 weeks since we painted the lawn. Couple shots showing how it has filled in.


----------



## mowww

@MNLawnGuy1980 some fun times over there! Looks great at 0.7" too. Hope it takes the heat well when it arrives next week.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thanks @mowww, nice to see the heat returning in full force. The smart thing to do would probably be to keep it at this height and just let it keep filling in to get through this next heat wave.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Heading back into another round of heat up in here in MN.


Keeping up with regular mows...nothing else at this time with the lawn. 




Pond:
I was sick of looking at all of the duckweed in the pond so I bit the bullet and stopped over at the local pond store to pick up some Dibrox. I had great success with the algae remover product about a month ago, so hopefully this eliminates the duckweed. I sprayed half a gallon this morning in the 4 gallon sprayer. I will do another application in about a week.

Before pic:


----------



## BesnaGlista

It's sound like fun but a lot of work to keep pond in a good shape. Any mosquito problems with a pond nearby?


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Hello @BesnaGlista, it definitely is a lot of work...now that I know I can just go up to the pond store to get help with applications, that has made it a lot easier though. I should have approached it differently at the start of the year, probably wasted a little extra money applying things I didn't need to apply. 
I was reading the other day about our low mosquito population this year, we have not had much rain at all. The only time I ever notice any flying bugs in the backyard is if the lawn gets a little longer, 1". 
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2021/07/15/whats-behind-minnesotas-unusual-lack-of-mosquitos-this-summer/


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Before and after pic of the pond now that the Dibrox has started working. Duckweed is almost all gone.

Bonus pic of the green heron hanging out on top of the duckhouse.


----------



## Jeff_MI84

I always chuckle when I see the HOC difference between you and your neighbor.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

@Jeff_MI84 Yeah, we get a kick out of the difference between the two.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

We got a little splash of rain today...the talk is that they are looking at a statewide ban on irrigation due to the lack of rain received and forecasted.


----------



## Liquidstone

Your lawn is awesome! Looks like they dibrox did the trick. Pond looking amazing as well. Great view, no doubt!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thank you for the kind words @Liquidstone, I can't believe how quickly that stuff worked in the pond.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Brought the height back down to .4", Nice Sunday morning mow. Too lazy to walk across the street and get a better pic of all of it!





*Pond:* Put out some blue dye this morning with my helper, also changed out the fountain head to a different pattern (geyser pattern) and got some duck pics while we were out there. She may have been feeding them the whole time allowing me to get better pictures.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Took a couple better shots of the lawn...no idea how it is still alive. It has been pushing mid-90's the last few days and that continues into tomorrow. It says we will get rain tomorrow night though. Still no watering restrictions, other than odd/even which is pretty normal for this time of the year, but I have cut back on the watering.

Double checkerboard is not as prominent as the diamonds from last year, but it is a lot less busy looking. 










Turtle hanging out with the ducks this morning:


----------



## Jeff_MI84

Beautiful!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thank you @Jeff_MI84!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

PSA: If you have to take your stupid magnetic bedknife off to readjust it (for the third time), don't forget to check the height of cut in all the excitement that you finally have paper cutting all the away across again. It apparently was off quite a bit, I had the hoc at .4" prior to this. I should go check to see what it is at now.

Lawn is unbelievably thick right now though, so that is a good thing!








Bonus sunrise pic from earlier in the week.


----------



## mowww

Very satisfying!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thanks @mowww, the cooler temps and sun not beating on it has helped quite a bit.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Few more pond pics...
Ducks hanging out wondering where all the food went, nice bit of grass/weed growing on the back of the house


Ducks left for a little bit after I put food out. Turtles moved in, three hanging out on the house. The one on the right is in hog heaven just laying in the food eating


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Last cut at this lower height today before I shift up the height to .5" for aerating and leveling on Friday.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

The backyard has been a miss for me pretty much all summer (except for the pond, I like the pond). It got fried during the early summer months and it became more and more frustrating to cut back there with that darn pool and trampoline the size of an apartment.

I spent some time out there today trying to get it prepped for aerating and filling in the dog spots (yes, I know, waste of time, but it will look nice for like a week though!). I took two passes over it with the rotary to keep bringing the height down...then for the fun part.

The height adjuster knobs on the Jacobsen broke, so I can move the height to however high I need it go. Moved it up to just under 1.0". So, I am cutting at just under 1.0", with a 15 blade reel made for precision cuts on a golf green. Probably not what they had in mind when they engineered it. 
Last night view:

Tonight:


Looks a ton better in person, pretty dang happy with it!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Nice clean slate all ready to go for tomorrow. Dethatched with the SunJoe tonight and bagged up the junk afterwards. Had it on the lowest setting but did not get a whole lot up. I was considering using the scarifier but I kind of chickened out as I didn't want to dig too much into it.

Plan for tomorrow is aerating, mulching the plugs, levelling with topdressing sand and a light overseed. I might get a couple more ton of rock to throw down by the pond since I will be hauling junk all day anyways and the water is so low.

Oh, borrowed the neighbors tractor to pull a grate around for levelling, should be a little easier than the last time when I hoofed one around the yard for about 8 hours. Pretty excited for that! Especially since the first time I ever drove one was a few weeks back helping @jrubb42 with his reno, just don't tell him that!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I had a slight change in plans when I got to the rock yard to pick up sand on Friday. I started thinking (bad idea) that I should probably throw some more rock down by the pond before levelling and overseeding, otherwise I won't be able to do it for the rest of the fall.

Picked up ~2.5 more ton of 2-6" rock to put down there, as well as the 2 yards of sand for the yard. 


Got the rock done in about 2.5 hours and started on the sand but had to call it a day, getting old. Finished up the sand yesterday and got everything levelled with a drag, worked great. Put down some seed this morning and now I wait.





Two weeks ago pic vs. this morning:


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Day 11 Update - Sand is pretty thick still, that is fine though. I do have grass coming up through the sand so I am thinking it will be fine, it will just take some time to thicken up.

Collage pic showing the 13th vs. this morning


----------



## Babameca

It is insane how sand sinks in. 6 more tons for me, just waiting on things to finally cool down. Tried it once at mid 80's and full sun and saw the grass dying in front of my eyes. Never again.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

@Babameca, I had to go back to my journal from '19 to look at progress from when I put down sand the last time. I'm glad to have done it before, otherwise I would be freaking out over how it's coming along.


----------



## JerseyGreens

What kind of grass seed did you put down on top of the sand?


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

@JerseyGreens Midnight KBG and a Grand Slam PRG mix. I tried to keep it the same but apparently you can't buy just Grand Slam PRG anymore.


----------



## JerseyGreens

MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> @JerseyGreens Midnight KBG and a Grand Slam PRG mix. I tried to keep it the same but apparently you can't buy just Grand Slam PRG anymore.


Thank you for sharing. 
The amazing stripes on your lawn make me want to overseed with PRG badly...but then I go back to wanting to keep a monostand KBG for it's many pros.

If you had to do it all over again would you go with a KBG+PRG mix?


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

@JerseyGreens, you bet I would. I like having the PRG in there, I feel like they compliment each other well.

Just curious, when you say the monostand has many pros, what are they? Not asking in a confrontational manner, just curious as I had always heard that you are better off with a mix of KBGs to avoid disease or something, I can't remember what it was? Is it mainly to keep the grass color consistent throughout the yard, without having variations of color?


----------



## JerseyGreens

MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> @JerseyGreens, you bet I would. I like having the PRG in there, I feel like they compliment each other well.
> 
> Just curious, when you say the monostand has many pros, what are they? Not asking in a confrontational manner, just curious as I had always heard that you are better off with a mix of KBGs to avoid disease or something, I can't remember what it was? Is it mainly to keep the grass color consistent throughout the yard, without having variations of color?


Great question.

From my perspective the main pros are growth habits, color evenness, and ease of product applications that have varying rates for different types of grasses (PGR comes to mind)...at the end of the day KBG and PRG are cool season, the last point isn't terribly strong.

You are correct that most folks go for a mix of KBG seed for disease resistance. Honestly, I think "monostand" just scares people away...maintaining a manicured lawn with a mix or monostand isn't much different at all in my mind.

My only fear is that the PRG would consistently outgrow the KBG even if under regulation and I'll miss that fresh mow look which can last 2-4 days with a monostand.


----------



## jskierko

JerseyGreens said:


> My only fear is that the PRG would consistently outgrow the KBG even if under regulation and I'll miss that fresh mow look which can last 2-4 days with a monostand.


^This. Main reason why I chose a monostand. I enjoy mowing, and love the look of a freshly manicured lawn, but I don't have the time for mowing 18k every other day unfortunately. I can go damn near a week and it still looks more uniform than most of the mixes in the area 1-2 days after mowing. Also (with a disclaimer that I have never seeded an elite PRG), I feel like my rye that I did have had a tendency to get very stalky and not visually appealing towards the end of the summer.


----------



## JerseyGreens

jskierko said:


> JerseyGreens said:
> 
> 
> 
> My only fear is that the PRG would consistently outgrow the KBG even if under regulation and I'll miss that fresh mow look which can last 2-4 days with a monostand.
> 
> 
> 
> ^This. Main reason why I chose a monostand. I enjoy mowing, and love the look of a freshly manicured lawn, but I don't have the time for mowing 18k every other day unfortunately. I can go damn near a week and it still looks more uniform than most of the mixes in the area 1-2 days after mowing. Also (with a disclaimer that I have never seeded an elite PRG), I feel like my rye that I did have had a tendency to get very stalky and not visually appealing towards the end of the summer.
Click to expand...

The stripes on an elite KBG and PRG mix like @MNLawnGuy1980 blow my mind away though. I follow this journal for the eye candy!

This conundrum is one that I believe even @Pete1313 had interest in wanting an elite Duostand, KBG+PRG but he shook it off and didn't look back!! (If memory serves me right from back in the day...maybe from ATY).

We have officially highjacked this journal for a healthy discussion on this topic - sorry!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

JerseyGreens said:


> Great question.
> 
> From my perspective the main pros are growth habits, color evenness, and ease of product applications that have varying rates for different types of grasses (PGR comes to mind)...at the end of the day KBG and PRG are cool season, the last point isn't terribly strong.
> 
> You are correct that most folks go for a mix of KBG seed for disease resistance. Honestly, I think "monostand" just scares people away...maintaining a manicured lawn with a mix or monostand isn't much different at all in my mind.
> 
> My only fear is that the PRG would consistently outgrow the KBG even if under regulation and I'll miss that fresh mow look which can last 2-4 days with a monostand.


@jskierko, @JerseyGreens, thank you very much for the responses. Very helpful. I will have to look into the outgrow aspect of it and see if I notice any PRG consistently being longer than the KBG.

Regarding "highjacking" of the journal, it's a lawn journal. I think we will be ok to have a discussion on seeding practices! I appreciate the responses.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Day 19 - Still a ways to go with the front filling in. It will get there eventually.



Backyard was about 7". Cut it down to about 5" and will finish up tomorrow bagging and bring it back down to about .5". I really let it go back there and I'm paying for it some now. Oh well. Took the pool down also, have to get that cleaned up tomorrow as well. 


Heading out on the lake to get away from the mess of a yard for a little bit! Walked a little over 7 miles this morning pushing the rotary and trying to get the hoc's to a manageable height.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I have come to the conclusion that I should have probably treated this as a seed from scratch, rather than an overseed when it came to how much seed I put down. I should have used that whole common sense thing and figured out that if I am going to be covering the grass with sand completely in some parts, an overseed rate would not be sufficient. Oh well, live and learn. I'm just happy to have some grass back and mowing again consistently. I have the hoc set at close to 1".

Feels great to be back, I am sure that everyone missed my repetitive daily lawn and pond pictures!

I am thinking another 10 days and the sand will be filled in. The places where the sand remains were pretty bad for taking the reel over and where the large dips were.


----------



## mowww

@MNLawnGuy1980 looking good. You'll have some ideal fill-in weather ahead. Good luck!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thanks @mowww, we got walloped last night with over 1.5" of rain in about an hour. It was pretty crazy, the pond water was on the move big time back there.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

It certainly has come a long way, but still not there yet. There are a couple patches that are filling in still, but overall I am pretty dang happy with it. I have been keeping up with consistent mowing and it seems to fill in more and more each day. Crazy how that happens.

Plan is to not change anything (which means I will probably do something dumb with it) and just keep up with the daily mows and frequent urea applications. 
Couple pics showing the thin areas



Couple other viewpoints










Nice sunrise from this morning:


----------



## livt0ride

Great shot of the sunrise.


----------



## BilldozerVT

Front is looking great! How is the back recovering?


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thanks, the back is just kind of off doing it's own thing right now. Apparently my wife likes it at the lower hoc so I have taken it down to .5". I have been hitting it pretty hard with urea so it will be fine with the lower temps that are forecasted. Yesterday was up over 90 here so that didn't help at all! Today it has rained all day, probably pushing 2-3" so far.

I am leaving the tarp there for the winter where the pool was, otherwise I would just have a mud pit there for the dogs to play in!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I entered some of my photos from the summer into the local, city photo contest. I am assuming that for places around the city they did not anticipate getting some random guys lawn picture!
https://www.ci.otsego.mn.us/index.asp?SEC={F6FD509B-9B9A-4CB9-AB67-DE89FF18965A}


----------



## jskierko

MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> I entered some of my photos from the summer into the local, city photo contest. I am assuming that for places around the city they did not anticipate getting some random guys lawn picture!
> https://www.ci.otsego.mn.us/index.asp?SEC={F6FD509B-9B9A-4CB9-AB67-DE89FF18965A}


Lets get @MNLawnGuy1980 to win both categories. Here's the list of all his submissions.

*"Nature"
*Fountain Ducks 2
Paddle Boat Sunset (I voted for this)
Paddle Boat Sunset 2
Sunrise (AC)
Duck In House With Babies 2
Guys Night Out
Pond
Duck Family With Babies
Fountain Ducks
Ducks

*"Places"
*Lawn (I voted for this- currently in the lead)
Ice Rink


----------



## Chris LI

Got mine in for Sunrise AC and Lawn.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Some other angles after the mow today...plus some shots of the areas that are still filling in. I like the progress pics though. I am not sure what the first pic is, other than to say that when you stand across the street it is hard to see the thin spots!!

I am just happy to be mowing again! 





Not so good:


----------



## JerseyGreens

Recovery from that sand looks great. I'll say it time and time again...KBG+PRG taken care of the right away stripes better than any other combination (or monostand)!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thanks @JerseyGreens...I have it at .5" so it stripes pretty well. I will be taking it down to .25" here shortly since it's the only time of the year I can really get away with it. I had it their prior to the sand being put down but that was on accident.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I brought the hoc down yesterday to ~.3". Back cut (didn't know it actually had a name) it also to get as many of the pressed down blades as I could. I am down to one problem spot and I think I am just going to use some plugs from the side of the house and skip the dorking around waiting for it. 








Problem Spot


Sunrise pic from yesterday morning...there are actually 4 ducks in the pic. Hadn't seen a duck out there in about 3 weeks now.


----------



## Allan-00

@MNLawnGuy1980 beautiful!


----------



## mowww

@MNLawnGuy1980 looking great. Feel like the level got a good 90% or better or the bumps worked out?


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

@Allan-00, Thank you

@mowww, The bumps are a lot better but they were pretty bad. I can definitely tell a difference when mowing now, obviously not perfect but it is a big improvement.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I have been bringing the hoc down and it is at a little under .25". I understand the trade off with color and the stripes but I really like the feeling and look of it at this height. It has been raining pretty good here lately also so I took the roller out yesterday and rolled it while it was raining. 








Apparently the girls have been getting asked on the bus when we are putting our Halloween stuff out. I was trying to hold out as I do not want to start with moving decorations while it is still filling in, but oh well, decorations are going out today.

Sunset pic from yesterday over the pond looked pretty nice.


----------



## livt0ride

I'm surprised you are cutting it that low. I am going to be playing around with cutting mine that low, but I want to go low since I will be chipping golf balls off of mine. Are you just walking barefoot on it or doing another activity with it that short? Looking great btw!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Good question @livt0ride! I don't putt or chip on it, more so that I just like the look and feel of it.

Last night we had handstand contests out there, not sure if that is what you were looking for in an answer though!!


----------



## livt0ride

Nice. Perfect reason to go short! I might play some games of Croquet as well.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Temps have definitely turned, 53 during the mow today. I haven't been doing much other than mowing, still cutting some off each day during the mow though, so I'm just going to keep at it. The battle now is taking the Halloween stuff down periodically to mow under the inflatables. Fun balance between keeping the neighborhood kids happy and keeping the lawn up! 










Backyard/Pond:
Got things under control back there finally with the lawn. Took the fountain and duck house out over last weekend.

I kind of liked this pic

Sunrise from yesterday morning


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Took awhile, but I finally feel that the front yard is back to where I want it at, which is perfect since it will probably snow in a week here in MN! Took some better pics today before I get the decorations put back out.









pics from earlier in the morning when the sun was out


----------



## bf7

This is simply beautiful! Stripes are perfect. What's the hoc?

Sorry your season will be ending soon


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thank you @bf7, height is at .3". Last year I mowed in December, more so just to say I mowed in December. Probably wont be doing that again this year.


----------



## bf7

Can't believe how good this looks for that low cut. Excellent work my friend, with the leveling and keeping it so green.

I stopped mowing around Thanksgiving last year. It's been so warm in PA this year, I'm expecting to go into December with actual clippings.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

I haven't posted much with the back with the addition of the pool and it basically struggling all summer with the drought. The temps have helped it out quite a bit and it is doing a lot better these days. On the left was the tramp and the right was the pool, was a mess mowing back there all year.




Finally got a sunny day so I decided to snap better pics of the front with the newish camera. The temp was pushing high 70's today.


----------



## lbb091919

0.3" and still looking incredible. The squares look painted on in those first two shots.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thank you @lbb091919, I wasn't a big fan of the pattern at first but it has definitely grown on me. I like how clean it looks compared to the diamond pattern from last year.


----------



## Wile

Fantastic color and overall look for that HOC! Is it taking a lot more fert to keep it up? Took mine down to a 1/2" for a couple weeks and it just looks ragged right now.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thank you @Wile, I have been pretty consistent with just Urea at .5lb / k per week. Sometimes I forget though and that's fine!


----------



## Wile

.5lb is more than I would have thought. Did you do that the whole season?


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

@Wile No, just started when it started filling in after the leveling fun!


----------



## Wile

Oh, got it. Looks great!


----------



## mowww

@MNLawnGuy1980 the back made some serious strides in the past month! Looks good all the way around.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thank you @mowww, it really turned around back there.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Big transformation for the lawn today. I feel like one of the YouTube guys announcing that I am doing a major renovation...not so fast though, just got all of the Halloween junk out for the first time. 
Before (this morning):






Now:


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

We had an interesting visitor in the pond yesterday...an otter stopped by to hang out. It was the first time we have seen him. It was a lot of fun just watching it dive and come up to eat floating on his back. I put a boat load of large minnows in there during the spring to see if they survive the winter. Based on what I read on otters, it appears they can decimate your pond of any fish in just a couple days.


----------



## Jeff_MI84

@MNLawnGuy1980 I like how you go all out with the Halloween decorations.


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Thanks @Jeff_MI84...just bought some more goodies today since everything's on sale!


----------



## Jeff_MI84

@MNLawnGuy1980 nice!


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980

Shutting it down for the year for yard work. Sprinklers are being blown out today.

Sunrise from this morning


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## WyGuy

Looks like last year you put down TransFilm, any plans to do that again this year?


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## MNLawnGuy1980

@WyGuy, I did the TransFilm two seasons ago. Last year I did not do it and it seemed to be fine without it. 
I am not doing it this year, I still have some though if you want to give it a go.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

I always get a kick out of the different frost levels between my yard and the neighbors.


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## livt0ride

Cool :gum:


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## WyGuy

MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> @WyGuy, I did the TransFilm two seasons ago. Last year I did not do it and it seemed to be fine without it.
> I am not doing it this year, I still have some though if you want to give it a go.


Good deal. I already picked up a gallon but thanks for the offer. I'm going to try and get it down this weekend, did you use the 8oz/1000sqft rate?


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## MNLawnGuy1980

@WyGuy, whatever label rate was. I wasn't real familiar with it so I just went with that.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Kind of odd to see 10 ducks show up in the pond today. They better get going on their way out of town as we had a light dusting of snow this morning. 


Christmas lights are up for the year. We went with the warm white look this year, happy with how it turned out.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Saw a mink running out on the pond today with a muskrat in it's mouth. I was lucky that my camera was right there and it had the telephoto lens on it. 



Supposed to be another warm one tomorrow in the mid-upper 40s. Thinking I will take the reel out and give it a once over.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Temps have been all over the place in MN. Finally got around to clearing off the pond, will be flooding it tonight.


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## bosox_5

This seems easier than the way I do it. What is the ice thickness? Can you get a snowblower out there?


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Hey @bosox_5, I am not sure of the thickness but it seems good enough. I cleared it yesterday by going over it twice with the snowblower. I also have a big shovel that is about six ft wide that I use out there.

I grew up playing outdoors, but never on ponds, and not ice fishing. That sound of the ice cracking around you still scares the heck out of me.

I flooded this morning but I must be missing a hose, or it's bigger this year since I wasn't able to get to the other side of the rink, I will have to borrow one or two from the neighbors. Thinking about making a homeboni today since I have nothing else to do. Hopefully that will smooth it out more and I can get some hot water on it.


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## bosox_5

I am guessing you fill up the trash can or use a hose from the house. Or do you cut a hole and drop a pump in?


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## MNLawnGuy1980

I was just planning to fill it up with rotating three five gallon buckets from the bath faucets...I am just kind of researching it now.


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## MNLawnGuy1980

It makes it very easy for me to maintain a rink this big when it allows for days like yesterday to happen. We hosted a skating party for our youngest's volleyball team.

I put a fresh layer of ice down on Saturday. Then it snowed that night, I was able to get it cleared early in the morning when it was still -5, but I couldn't get a new layer of water put down. Ice was still great and the girls had a blast!


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## bosox_5

Thats the best. Every year a swear I am never building my rink again... and then there is a magical weekend where the kids are outside in freezing weather all day (and night) laughing and smiling and it makes it totally worth it. The best is when it is one group of kids to start the day, and then a totally different group by the end of the day. Like they come in waves. Fantastic job with the lights too


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