# MacMellow's 2021 Lawn Journal - Southern Connecticut



## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

Hello all,

we are back at it again! Excited for my second year of home ownership and second season on this forum. As a recap, we have ~10,000 sq ft of mowable yard. Because my lawn has four different personalities, I have mapped my yard into zones.

From the picture below, you can see the 4 zones depicted. Q1 and Q2 are fairly dry during the summer months and need alot more irrigation than Q3, and Q4. Q3 ends up being the nicest part of the lawn and doesnt require as much maintenance. Q4 keep moisture so well that mushrooms will appear later in the season and moss grows pretty rampant in those parts. For grass types, they are split as follows:









Q1/Q2 = lots of sun, mix of PRG, TF
Q3/ Q4 = shaded by large trees year round so it has a mix of KBG and fine fescue

*Goals for this years growing/maintaining season are as follows:*

get down a lawn fertilization schedule I can stick to

dial in weed control schedule and prevent weeds from running rampant in my yard

 Continue my journey to health soil (including periodic soil tests, & improving the soil chemistry)

improve the layout of my lawn with some additional landscaping work

 Get current grass to spread and fill in for a fuller looking lawn

For 2020's lawn journal, check out the link here: https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=22349&p=317968#p317968


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## Larryl9797 (Mar 26, 2021)

:thumbup: Howdy- Central Ct(W. Hartford) Here..... Good to see a nutmegger on the boards! Looking to get my lawn into a solid Zone 2. After a overseeding session this fall lets see how good we can make it!


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

Larryl9797 said:


> :thumbup: Howdy- Central Ct(W. Hartford) Here..... Good to see a nutmegger on the boards! Looking to get my lawn into a solid Zone 2. After a overseeding session this fall lets see how good we can make it!


Hey Larry, happy to hear from you neighbor. Lets get it done! I've definitely gotten alot of help from people on this forum last year. Looking to take it to the next level as well.


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

Late update:

3/27: Had to get prodiamine sprayed into the front and backyard before the rain came the next day. I tried the split application method [https://thelawncarenut.com/blogs/news/how-to-apply-a-split-application-with-prodiamine-wdg-pre-emergent-herbicide]

Conditions for application: Soil temperature was below 55 degrees F.
Applied at a rate of 0.183oz/1000 sq ft. I have a 10,000 sq ft lawn to cover.

Going to wait about 6 weeks for the next application.
3/28: Rain came in to help water in the prodiamine

Now Im sitting here trying to figure out when to do my first mow. I've been spending time cleaning up rocks and tree branches left in the yard from the winter. Gravel driveway is nice looking but a pain to snowblow and keep all the rocks in the drive way as apposed to the lawn.
Also sharpening my mower blade today before the first mow.

I have been watching this website [https://www.greencastonline.com/tools/soil-temperature] to check average soil temps and also looking at the air temps as we get later into April. Consistent days over 40 degrees F for the low are a good sign I can start to mow. So we are there now. I think today will be the day.

Then this weekend I start looking at laying down some fertilizer. More to come soon.


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## kay7711226 (Jun 24, 2020)

@mac_mellow Did you make a new Journal???

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=22349&p=361895&hilit=macmellow#p361895


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

kay7711226 said:


> @mac_mellow Did you make a new Journal???
> 
> https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=22349&p=361895&hilit=macmellow#p361895


Yes I did. Instead of having one long journal with a hundred pages, Ill have a different thread for each year


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

*update*

After mowing on Saturday, I realized I have a fair amount of moss to get rid of. Went over to HD and picked up some mossex by Scott's.

Already had a bag of Lesco's fertilizer [25-0-6] + carbonPro soil optimizer.
https://www.siteone.com/en/510112-lesco-fertilizer-25-0-6-50-polyplus-5fe-50-lb/p/355359
https://www.siteone.com/en/10940cpg...ptimizer-w-mirimichi-green-sgn-100-4/p/633876

I know the MossEx can be put down with fertilizer, but I wanted to see how this product would perform on its on.
4/19: Put down MossEx on entire lawn. Used heavy rate for highly effected spots.
Going to wait a little while to put down fert and optimizer.

Here's pics of what the lawn looks like while its trying to wake up. Lighter spots are where moss is growing.


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

Been a busy couple of weeks. Preparing for the birth of our first child, but still have been able to get things done outside. Here are some pictures of the progress.









this is the front yard. ~4486 sq ft.









other section of the front yard on the left. ~2282 sq ft.









Back yard play area. ~1389 sq ft.

Here is the same area from another (from the patio):









Time to continue adding fertilizer and turn on the sprinkler system. We've gotten enough rain here that it wasnt needed before. However, with summer approaching, Im starting to notice some yellowing where the grass is drying out.

More pictures to come in another couple of weeks.


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## amartin003 (Apr 30, 2021)

Four zones, that's a lot to keep track of! I'm just trying to figure out my little 1200sq ft yard! But it's looking great. Hope things go well with the new addition to the family!


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

amartin003 said:


> Four zones, that's a lot to keep track of! I'm just trying to figure out my little 1200sq ft yard! But it's looking great. Hope things go well with the new addition to the family!


Indeed you are right. It is alot, but the final result means so much to me as Im sure it does to you. Thanks for your well wishes and keep striving for the ultimate green!


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## kay7711226 (Jun 24, 2020)

When was the pics taken? Nice to be able to use time periods as reference for progress. Compare it to last Fall.......


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

kay7711226 said:


> When was the pics taken? Nice to be able to use time periods as reference for progress. Compare it to last Fall.......


The post date is when the picture was taken. That's May 22nd to be clear.


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## kay7711226 (Jun 24, 2020)

Got last Fert app down since? Good time this weekend with the rain.


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

kay7711226 said:


> Got last Fert app down since? Good time this weekend with the rain.


Wasnt fertilizing as much as I should have been. I took your advise and bought three bags of the 25-0-6 fert from siteone.
Already fertilized again since my last post. Will give an update shortly.


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

Update for today:
Alot has happened since my last post. I have continued to mow at a height of about 2.5 inches. Mowing approx 1 every 6 days. My trusted consultant (kay7711226) says I should be pushing the lawn as much as possible to maximize growth.

We had a good amount of rain throughout the end of May, but as we hit June the rain stopped and the temps got HOT.
Discovered my irrigation system has a leak, so had to patch that before I can use that. For this reason, I am observing some browning in spots.

I have continued to fertilize. Date was May 23rd or 24th. I have already forgotten which day.

6/1: Friend brought over some PGR, and helped to spread it across my lawn. He said it should take a couple of weeks to start working. The expected result is it will regulate my grass growth, but then I should hopefully see more horizontal spreading across my lawn. *fingers crossed*

6/6-6/8: on the endless journey of killing weeds in the driveway and flower beds. Its a full time job for sure!

Next up is another application of prodiamine, and finishing up mulch application for front flower beds.

Per usual. Obligatory lawn pic:


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

Been a while since I've been on the forum, but the lawn is still being tended to for the most part. I thought the lawn was work, but then I had a kid. That's the real challenge!

Here's what I've done most recently. 
7-23: Sprayed back yard with post emergent to kill the weeds/clover/etc.
7-29: after the delivery of XGRN and SOP, I decided to give the lawn a cut and spread fertilizer. The front and back yard received the fert application. I also added SOP with the application of fert.

Here is the breakdown:
Q1: (approx 4500 sq ft) 18lbs fert + 3 lbs SOP
Q2: (approx 1389 sq ft) 5lbs fert + 1.0 lbs SOP
Q3: (approx 1700 sq ft) 6lbs fert + 1.2 lbs SOP
Q4: (approx 2282 sq ft) 8lbs fert + 1.5 lbs SOP

Pics from the day:


The rain storm was coming in quickly so I improvised 




Most of the lawn has made it a long way. The picture above shows an area up front that still needs more grass to grow in. I will be seeding my lawn again this fall. Especially this section where it is sparse.

Up next is a continued post emergent for the front yard. Then another fert application on 8/12.


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

overview and update:

It has definitely been a while since I have posted, but the lawn hasn't gone completely neglected :lol: . This month, I want5/51489911993_3caed to focus on overseeding the front lawn to help fill in the areas that had missing grass. (We'll call these sections the front parts of Q1 and Q4 on my lawn picture from previous posts)


















I used the cool season overseed guide.


The first thing I did was cut the grass really low. My grass was at about 3.75" to 4" during the summer. So I cut it down to 1.5" to get the current grass nice and low.


 I did bag all of the clippings to help the seed not compete against the current grass growth.
After that, I raked up areas where there were some thicker thatch to make sure there could be contact with the soil.


 After loosening up more clippings/dead grass, I did another pass with the lawn mower to bag the rest of the clippings. 
Definitely got my steps in that day!











 I then got out the seed. I got a 50lb bag of the Newsom trio and spread that at 6lbs/1000 sq ft. This seed is 80% tall fescue, 10% kentucky Bluegrass, 10% Perennial Ryegrass.


 Because I am not seeding the entire lawn, I measured the areas I wanted to seed, and it looks like approx 2200 sq ft for the front of Q1, so I spread 13.2 lbs of seed in this area.


 For Q4, it is about 470 sq ft out of the 2282 sq ft that I put seed down on.
After seeding, I finished the job by adding peet moss on top of the seed and compacting it down by walking over the peat moss.










As a reference, here are pictures from last month [the last time I actually took pictures of the lawn from just cutting and fertilizing the grass] Pictures dated August 5th.

Front yard view from house








Front yard view from driveway








Front yard view from the street **worst view**


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## kay7711226 (Jun 24, 2020)

Slacking big time! Gonna have to push those younglins once they show up!!


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

hahaha, yes will have to get them going indeed. Will update with pictures soon since I already see germination!


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