# 2021 Mazama KBG Monostand



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Just kicked off the year today by applying 5g/M of prodiamine. The lawn could use a mow but I am without my GM1600 due to grinder issues at the shop I brought it to. I am super excited to get it and start mowing again as I replaced the reel, bedknife, reel bearings, drive drum bearings, side covers, differential boot, and some other cosmetics over the winter. Hoping to have it back within a week but they wouldn't give me an ETA as they service all the local golf course toros and have a large amount to do.

This year I'll be trying a couple new things. My Ca is pretty good from my soil test, but I'm going to throw down a small amount of gypsum and I'm going to be applying elemental sulfur to attempt to lower my pH and see if I can get some of those cations to move for me. Both of these I've never tried before and I'm imagining the gypsum being a one year thing, but I can see the sulfur being a few years as I plan to take it slow and see how the lawn responds and review next year's soil test to see the difference.(if there is one) I'll also be treating the backyard a little differently this year than the front with fertilizer applications. I've opted to continue to use AMS and SOP up front, but for the back I will use a balanced fert to get my P & K up. Last year I hit the backyard with 3lbs/M of P, but it barely moved according to the soil test.

2021 Soil Test results:




I had some winter kill of the areas I seeded a second time last fall so I skipped over those when spraying prodiamine and threw down some seed today and will see if I can get that to fill in this spring.

2020 Reno Journal


----------



## Zip-a-Dee-Zee (Apr 9, 2020)

I have a very similar soil profile and I adjusted with 10#/M elemental sulfur last year to decrease the pH. My test this year showed the Sulfur content improved from 8 ppm to 13 ppm but the pH didn't budge so I'm going to repeat with the same rate this year. I think you're right, with highly alkaline soil like ours adjusting the pH will take several seasons and may not move the needle significantly. How bad were the areas that died off over the winter?


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@Zip-a-Dee-Zee I'll try and get some pics in the next couple days and toss em up. They're mostly on the sides of the house. Back yard looks great and the front took a small hit in an area I had issues with prior to the reno.

Just fyi we may never move the pH, but I'm still going to try. At the very minimum I'd expect the pH at the top of the profile to be slightly lower and help out during the season. When did you apply last year? I believe we need to apply when/prior to when it's warmest for the microbes to break it down.


----------



## OnTheLawn (Jul 23, 2020)

Welcome back sir! Looking forward to following along here.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Thanks @OnTheLawn! Sorry to see you're fighting the poa annua as well. I was able to get most of mine hand pulled last fall, but there was a fair amount this spring as well that I was able to spot and pull.

I haven't decided if I'm going to start spraying tenacity 1-2x/week until the remaining are gone or I hit yearly max at which time I'll hand pull anything that's white.....or just spray once to light up what's escaped my wrath and continue to hand pull as they reveal themselves.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

No pictures?


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Here comes @g-man with the pressure to get some pics!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Gbj9H8q2i2aEhdYy6

Pics at end is the worst area and the one I'm most concerned with and seeded the most. Couple other areas I dropped seed as I didn't feel like putting back in the bag of seed so I just used it. I feel like the other areas will fill in or I'll plug them to help out.

Super happy with the color already this early in the year and compared to neighbors that have rye and TF which usually green up faster but not this year which is surprising as Mazama isn't rated highly for spring green up! Fertilizer will go down this week at some point or maybe tonight if I get back from fishing at a decent time.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I try not to read and just look at pictures. 

The area by the ac looks rough, but it should fill. The rest looks great. Start feeding it.


----------



## OnTheLawn (Jul 23, 2020)

synergy0852 said:


> Thanks @OnTheLawn! Sorry to see you're fighting the poa annua as well. I was able to get most of mine hand pulled last fall, but there was a fair amount this spring as well that I was able to spot and pull.
> 
> I haven't decided if I'm going to start spraying tenacity 1-2x/week until the remaining are gone or I hit yearly max at which time I'll hand pull anything that's white.....or just spray once to light up what's escaped my wrath and continue to hand pull as they reveal themselves.


The struggle is real... all good though, I'm putting down my second app of tenacity tomorrow morning and will keep hand pulling. Checked out your pictures and the color is looking great! I was surprised as well with the green up happening so quickly as you're right, it wasn't rated too high for Mazama. Looking good though and those areas are going to fill in quickly. Like @g-man said, get to feeding with that AMS and it'll really come alive.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

4/5/2021 Applied AMS granular @ .56lbs/M and SOP @ 1lb/M to the front yard. Applied Triple 19 @ .55lbs/M and SOP @ .5lbs/M to the back yard. The whole yard got 8lbs/M gypsum and I have another bag left I'll be applying shortly as it began to rain while I was spreading so I called it quits.

I still have not mowed this year as I'm waiting on reel/bedknife to be ground. The lawn definitely needs a mow, but I don't think it's tall enough for the rotary so I may have to try the manual reel if I don't get the call to pick up the GM1600 shortly.


----------



## Zip-a-Dee-Zee (Apr 9, 2020)

synergy0852 said:


> When did you apply last year? I believe we need to apply when/prior to when it's warmest for the microbes to break it down.


Looking back I applied 5#/M of sulfur on 4/27 and 5/27. According to GreenCast, the average soil temperatures were 45 F and 69 F (respectively) when I applied. I'm not sure what the optimal temperature range is for microbial activity to break down sulfur so I'm interested to see when you decide to apply it.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@Zip-a-Dee-Zee I was thinking May or even June depending on the weather.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed yard yesterday with the fiskers manual mower, I couldn't wait anymore with some spots growing and others not doing much the look was bothering me.

Got the call today the shop got their grinder issues figured out and the GM1600 is ready to be picked up so I will find time in my schedule Thursday to pick that up. Can't wait to use it! Also, can't wait for it to warm up, someone send some warmth to MI please!


----------



## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

@synergy0852 @Zip-a-Dee-Zee If you apply sulfur early, it will just sit in/on the soil until it warms up.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed today @ .75" and then sprayed .105 lbs AMS/M, 2 oz crossbow/M, and 2 oz/A rate tenacity(.275 tsp/M for use with included syringe) .

Goal with the spray is to get a little more N into the plants now that the cold snap is over and the crossbow is to take out all the broadleaf quickly while I'm hoping the tenacity lights up the poa annua I haven't been able to see. I've been hand picking a little bit here and there as I see them and just when I think I'm done a plant under the canopy pops through and I go on another rampage.

Weather hasn't been great lately so some parts of the lawn are awake while other still are not. The parts that are awake are growing well. The seed I put down never germinated with the spring fakeout. Will continue to monitor and toss more down in the one area on the side once the soil warms back up if the first round doesn't germinate.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 4/5 @ .75"

Sprayed 4/28 2oz/A rate of tenacity, tossed in 1.5oz/M of Depth 10+, used rest of the bag of AMS I had which worked out to just shy of .08 lbs N/M AMS.

Mowed 4/29 @ .75"

Still dealing with poa annua and it seems to be getting worse, but I stopped digging it out after the first tenacity spray. Will probably begin soon, but I imagine the KBG will be going to seed soon so I may just continue with tenacity.

Having a battle in my head on whether or not I want to cap the yard with sand this year as the grass hasn't fully taken off except around the concrete. I'll give it a few more weeks and re-evaluate then. If I don't see the grass growing sufficiently by late May I will probably push this out to next season.....but I can't stand how bumpy it is after the reno so you never know.


----------



## OnTheLawn (Jul 23, 2020)

Funny, we're in basically the same boat this year. I've debating capping as well, but with the Poa battle and not knowing how thin things will be post summer, unsure. Also not entirely sure how long we'll be in this house, so not sure I want to invest all of that labor into capping if we'll be out in a couple years.

The bump is real though. All that top soil and peat moss being composed of a ton of organic matter... it's inevitable. It settles and keeps settling and is extremely frustrating. Right there with ya brotha!


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@OnTheLawn Coincidence? I think not. Funny you say that about moving as my current plan has me moving in 5-7 years at the latest. The way I see it is the mow isn't as enjoyable with the little bumps and the cut isn't as good as it could be. One weekend of my time for a few years of enjoyment is worth it to me personally.

I checked your journal out earlier and thought damn I wish mine looked like yours for density(but not poa annua). I've been screen grabbing from a camera in the afternoons maybe once a week and the fill in I'm seeing is very promising, but I'm a historically impatient individual and I just want the density back to make the mow more enjoyable as well. We just need some better weather here in West Michigan to get the soil temps up and help those interior spots get going.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

0.08lb of N for the month? You should be doing 0.20lbN weekly.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@g-man noted. Thank you.


----------



## OnTheLawn (Jul 23, 2020)

Coincidence?? I think not!! Just kidding, at first I thought it might have been the seed, but the amount I'm dealing with there's just no way it was infected THAT bad. I also have a battle going on in the TTTF, so my guess is this year was just one of those weird years. It seems like every renovation from fall 2020 is battling extreme Poa right now.

And just like Gman said, get the N going. So far this year I'm at about 0.75 lbs N/1000 total and it has helped tremendously with the Mazama. It's insane to me how great this cultivar is in the shade too. Once you get the N pumping it'll get going.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

I'm also at .75-.8 lbs N/M just haven't been putting it down weekly like g-man said. No way I can spread that little with granular so I'll have to figure something out to get that down and spray a supplemental N in between I think.


----------



## OnTheLawn (Jul 23, 2020)

Ahh gotcha. Yea the spoon feeding is tough when it's weekly. I went with the Lesco NOS sprayable urea. It was a bit more expensive than standard urea, but the 50 lb bag will last me quite a while on the 1400 sq ft I'm actually taking care of. It dissolves very easily in cold water, but it depends what's available near you. This was the only urea I could source locally. Still was cheaper than shipping a standard urea bag, or going with liquid fert from N-ext or an alternative.

It's really a shame that the carbon earth 8-1-8 isn't available anymore. Freaking loved that fertilizer and it made spoon feeding much easier with granular, especially at a greens grade prill size. Hopefully it all works out and Matt is able to get back into the game after what happened with CE. He deserves better.

Anyways, hopefully you can source something locally.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

I do have urea and spray grade ams so that's not the issue for me. My issue is I have taken up fishing as another hobby more seriously this year and purchased a boat so now I'm having to juggle the two. Wouldn't have it any other way though!


----------



## OnTheLawn (Jul 23, 2020)

So you mean to tell me you did a lawn renovation AND bought within a 6 month window? You, sir, deserve an award. Well done!


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

synergy0852 said:


> I'm also at .75-.8 lbs N/M just haven't been putting it down weekly like g-man said. No way I can spread that little with granular so I'll have to figure something out to get that down and spray a supplemental N in between I think.


1lb of AMS/ksqft on a hand held spreader is super easy and fast. Just dont buy the spray grade AMS.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 5/2 @ .75"

Went a bit crazy tonight after getting home from work. Mowed @ .75" and then proceeded to spread AMS @ .55 lbs N/M and SOP @ 1 lb. K/M on the front. Spread .55 lbs Triple 19/M and .5 lbs K/M via SOP on the back yard. The whole yard then got GrubEx @ bag rate as well as 8 lbs/M Gypsum and 5 lbs/M Elemental Sulfur. After that I went out with my weekly spray at a reduced rate of N since I had already spread a fair amount. Sprayed AMS @ .1 lbs N/M, Main Event @ 1 oz/M, and Tenacity @ .046 oz/M (2 oz/A rate). Supposed to get a nice light rain for most of the day tomorrow to help me get it all watered in, if the rain doesn't show by 10A I will be triggering an irrigation cycle.

I haven't seen much turn white from two 2 oz/A rate apps of Tenacity so I think I may have reached the shelf life on it, but not positive on that. The poa annua has exploded from under the KBG to produce seed heads and part of me thinks that is due to the stress the tenacity would cause for the poa annua and I've been hand pulling on sight and maybe not giving it a chance to take in much of the tenacity.

I'm having a bit of a mental battle determining if I want to toss sand down this year or deal with what I have until I can get this KBG to fill in and then spread sand...@g-man any advice on this dilemma? Also, I'd like to apologize for not throwing pics up lately for you to check out, I know how you love pics! I will get some up soon, hopefully Friday after another mow if I can swing it!


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

You want the lawn to be thriving and growing for sand. Maybe in August?


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Thank you @g-man. I always forget I have one camera that records 24/7. Here's a pic just after I mowed it tonight to hold you over .


----------



## OnTheLawn (Jul 23, 2020)

My guess is the temps are too low for the tenacity to be working it's magic on the Poa. I had the same issue with my first two blanket apps and my daytime temps were in the 50s here. I held off until temps hit mid-60s and targeted the warmest day I could and that made a huge difference. Within a few days after that app the Poa started bleaching. The next follow up app was even more effective.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed today @ .75" (double cut)

Finally got some pics. Took some from a good distance away where it looks pretty good imo. Then I took pics up close which reveal the blemishes! Still a long way to go to get where I want it. Have to remind myself to have patience....it will get there someday.










I need to edge again. I should be mowing every 2-3 days here shortly with the warmer weather moving in....finally! Also need to get around to plugging the sides of the house. I'm pretty sure the front will fill in the bare spots this year yet, but skeptical with the sides as there are some pretty large bare spots.


----------



## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Lawn is looking good. Good color. Nicely done.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Thank you @SNOWBOB11.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 5/13 @ .75" and sprayed AMS @ .2lbs N/M, tenacity @ 2oz/A, and Main Event @ 1oz/M.

Mowed 5/17 @ .75" and need to increase frequency of mow a by maybe a day. Sprayed AMS @ .2lbs N/M, tenacity @ 2oz/A, propiconazole @ 1oz/M waited for that to dry and followed with 20g/M K4L EB and 1.5oz/M D10+. Sprayed today as I won't have time tomorrow and we're supposed to get rain the next two days and high temps following that. The smith kerns DS model has me at 50% by weekend end so prop went down to get ahead of it.

Sun going down so lawn looks ridiculously dark when compared to neighbors. I love the color of the Mazama in real life. I've never had this color during the seed head flush at this house.


----------



## OnTheLawn (Jul 23, 2020)

Looks awesome sir. The Mazama color is unreal and I've never seen anything like it. Shocks me every day, especially since I'm growing it in a very shaded area. I already know my next renovation will be a monostand of Mazama without a doubt. Unless of course we move to florida...


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Thank you @OnTheLawn! Glad to see you're winning the battle with poa. I still have some here and there that I'm digging out as the tenacity highlights it. I'm going to attempt to spray 2oz/A rate 2x/week, up from 1x/week, to stress the poa more going into the heat wave we're forecasted to get. The app tonight puts me at 10oz/A for the year so I believe I have 3 more apps left before yearly max and I shut it down. Another couple buckets and hopefully I'm done. Do you have any left at all?


----------



## LawnBoy (Sep 30, 2018)

Iooking good. I seeded Mazamma, Bewitched, and Award last Fall and the dark color when the snow disappeared was amazing and it's only getting darker. Keep up the good work.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Thank you @LawnBoy! Looking good over your way as well.


----------



## OnTheLawn (Jul 23, 2020)

@synergy0852 I have some, but at this point it's hidden and the Mazama has taken over completely. Thankfully I don't need to overseed it and I can run my pre-emergent early this fall to help fight it off. Whatever is remaining late next winter will be easy enough to hand pull once the Mazama shrinks back a bit.

The tenacity approach is a good one. I may do one more blanket app on just the Mazama to see what lights up. The TTTF got hit hard by the frequent apps, so I had to stop them there, but the Mazama held up great and made it easy to locate. With the warmer temps now you're in a good spot to have some serious efficacy with it.


----------



## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

This looks absolutely stunning @synergy0852 - love the double wides in the backyard!


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 5/19, 5/22, & 5/24 @ .75".

Sprayed AMS @ .1lbs N/M and 2oz/A rate of tenacity on 5/22. Wanted to do this spray a day earlier, but fishing followed by a birthday dinner with friends got in the way!

I think I may make this my last app of tenacity as I haven't seen anymore poa annua lately. 99% of the lawn isn't showing any bleaching, but I do have a couple spots where I turned the sprayer on before I was at speed so they got a slightly heavier dose than the rest. I am currently at 12oz/A for the year so I have some wiggle room should I need it.

We need rain badly, the whole neighborhood/area is experiencing drought stress right now and are out hand watering a few minutes here and there or running their irrigation a few minutes a day not knowing they aren't putting down enough water. The forecast shows chances of rain for the rest of the week so fingers crossed as I'm almost embarrassed by how my lawn sticks out so much.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 5/26 & 5/29 @ .75".

5/29 spread 5lbs/M Elemental Sulfur, 2lbs/M SOP 4lbs/M ProPeat 17-0-4.

5/29 sprayed second round of prodiamine. I goofed up my first spray and misread my notes and did it again. Only 3g/M instead of 5g again. I will make up for it sometime in July and probably do a 4th spray in September to hit yearly max of 15g/M. I have 0 weeds in the yard currently so not too worried.

5/29 sprayed .2 lbs N/M AMS, 1 oz/M Main Event, and my first PGR app for this season at .15 oz/M.







We finally got some rain this past week, nearly 1.5" which was more than welcome. I'm still working on getting bare spots to fill in and the weather looks nice for the next week with near 100% growth potential. I'll have to get the drone up sometime to better show the bare spots.


----------



## OnTheLawn (Jul 23, 2020)

Looking great. Getting those spots to fill in will be accomplished with patience, but you know that! We're a bit ahead of you weather wise here in NJ, so get ready for it to take off. I definitely broke the 1/3 rule with the last mow and it's going nuts. The PGR will certainly help and I'm about ready to pull the trigger on some just for the Mazama plot.

What are you using to track your growth potential?


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@OnTheLawn I've been using greenskeeper for the past few years. Works great.

PGR is a heaven send and I was just holding out on 
using it until I absolutely needed it. I was hoping it would help a bit with the fill in. Mowing every two days is where I usually start to spray it and have been able to get 4-7 days in the past while under regulation. I'm curious to see how a Monostand of KBG will react to it this year!


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

JerseyGreens said:


> This looks absolutely stunning @synergy0852 - love the double wides in the backyard!


Thanks @JerseyGreens! I somehow missed this earlier.


----------



## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

Color is really popping now! Your front yard is one of the flattest I've ever seen. Excellent leveling work.

Glad to hear your poa problems have gone away.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

bf7 said:


> Color is really popping now! Your front yard is one of the flattest I've ever seen. Excellent leveling work.
> 
> Glad to hear your poa problems have gone away.


It's not as flat as the pictures make it seem but it works for now. Sand will be going down sometime between now and next fall (waiting for more fill in).


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 6/1, 6/4, 6/8, and 6/12.

Sprayed foundation of house on 6/3 with Talstar @ 1 oz/Gallon and Suspend Polyzone @ .75 oz/Gallon. Trying out the suspend polyzone this year to see if I can get extended coverage as I only see about 30 days with bifenthrin.

Sprayed propiconazole again on 6/6 @ 1 oz/M. So far this year with DS smith kerns prediction in the 70% range it's impressing me. I know one of the sales pitches was excellent DS resistance but I didn't think it'd be non existent. With the prior nomix I'd have it all over even with preventative fungicides.

Sprayed tonight 6/13 in two rounds.
1st round was K4L Extreme Blend @ 20 g/M and Depth10+ @ 1.5 oz/M.
2nd round was AMS @ .1 lbs N/M, Main Event @ 1 oz/M, TNex @ .2 oz/M, and Talstar P @ 1 oz/M as the bugs destroyed me while I raced to mow last night before the sun set. I will rinse this in tomorrow morning before sunrise.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed tonight after work @ .75"

Been awhile since I posted some pics so I snapped some even though the lighting wasn't great.

These pics taken 3 months apart show the fill in I'm getting on the area close to the flower bed and sidewalk. I can't remember exactly when I plugged it, but most of the fill in has come from the grass that was existing and not much from the plugs yet.


Pardon my shadow...


Need to clean up the beds and edge them. Didn't do mulch this year and I'm regretting it.


----------



## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Looking sharp bud - nothing beats the even look of green on a monostand. Love it.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

JerseyGreens said:


> Looking sharp bud - nothing beats the even look of green on a monostand. Love it.


Thanks @JerseyGreens!

Mowed today @ .75". Probably shouldn't have waited this long as it was near 1.5" after the past few days of rain.

Pre mow on top, post mow on bottom.


Got the drone up for the inaugural flight on the new lawn today as I wanted to check density from the air and I'm overall pleased as I didn't think it was this good...still a long way to go, but not bad for under a year old. I tried not to take straight on photos so the lawn police (@g-man) couldn't accuse me of mowing under the influence.



Snapped a pic of the girlfriends flowers with the drone. I prefer not to see much ground and every year she does a little better with it. Next year I'm hoping to go with her to pick stuff out and really pack them in. This is definitely not our specialty, but I like how far it's come from where it used to be. The goal was to give color year round through different seasonal blooms.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I think you passed the field sobriety test. Those look straight. 

I think she should add something taller on the side of the windows and move the asian lilies forward. Maybe two evergreens.


----------



## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

🔥🔥🔥.

I'll take the trophy for messed up diaganols but it's nice to see that I surely inspired you and @g-man to do them on your last mows!! (Cough cough) 😃


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 6/22 @ .75" before the rain. Rain began Wednesday and didn't stop for long until Saturday evening. Ended up with 6.5" of rain, but I didn't let that keep me inside. I switched to fishing in the rain since I couldn't get in the yard!

Today I got the front mowed mid day and waited for the back to dry out as much as possible until this evening before mowing. Unfortunately it didn't dry out as much as I'd like to see and there's muddy grass blades in a few spots and it looks terrible. I didn't have much choice as it was the first day without rain and the grass was mostly 1.5" and even 2" in some places. The mower struggled to cut this long grass, but after a double cut the front was decent. The back only got a single cut to minimize damage.

Rain in the forecast for the rest of this week so I got in a spray of 1 oz/M Main Event, .3 oz/M azoxy, and .3 oz/M T-Nex. No N outside of the ME this time as I'm not trying to push any growth at the moment. I was late just a day on the PGR and disease pressure is extremely high right now across the spectrum of diseases it seems. I will monitor for DS and apply something for it if it becomes an issue. Hopefully the rain will push some of the azoxy to the soil, if not I will water accordingly.


----------



## LawnBoy (Sep 30, 2018)

Looking awesome so far! Good luck keeping up with all this rain we have got in the last few days. We all needed it bad but then just got wacked.


----------



## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

I remember you having water logging issues in that same area during the reno. Are you thinking about core aerating the hell out of that area come fall and filling in with mason sand to help?


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@LawnBoy thank you sir! I was checking out your journal post early and I absolutely love your property! That lawn is looking amazing!

@JerseyGreens 5 years ago the back yard wouldn't even be walkable still today. It drains much better after everything I've done over the years. That being said sand is in my future.


----------



## LawnBoy (Sep 30, 2018)

synergy0852 said:


> @LawnBoy thank you sir! I was checking out your journal post early and I absolutely love your property! That lawn is looking amazing!
> 
> @JerseyGreens 5 years ago the back yard wouldn't even be walkable still today. It drains much better after everything nice done. That being said sand is in my future.


@synergy0852 Thanks I appreciate it, I have been debating top dressing with sand as well. I have a shaded spot on my south side that does not dry well and hold water. even tho I live in a sand pit the compost soil I brought in retains water well. I am thinking top dressing pool sand in after aerating this fall in some spots to break down the soil a little more. I have been using Penterra to break up the surface tension in the soil and that seems to have helped.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 6/29, 7/1, 7/5, 7/10, 7/14, & 7/16 @ .75" and mowed 7/17 and 7/19 @ .6875".

Spread 2lbs/M ProPeat 17-0-4 on 7/6 and 2lbs/M of SOP on 7/10.

Sprayed 1.5 oz/M D10+ on 7/10 along with 4.5 g/M Prodiamine and 20 g/M K4L EB and watered it in quick before following it up with a spray of Clearys 3336 @ 4 oz/M and let that sit on the leaf blade until the next rain a few days later.

Tonight I sprayed 1 oz/M bifenthrin to knock down the bugs I've started to see again...need to spray the foundation of the house hopefully tomorrow night.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Looking for some help from @g-man and anyone else who may have ideas as to what I'm dealing with here. First a little background leading up to the issue. I skipped a Rachio cycle late June to see how close I was to wilting and I made it to the next cycle with no clear signs of drought stress other than the areas near the blacktop where I know there's rocks below and a shallow root system that I just hand water those randomly throughout the year by hand to supplement the inground irrigation.

The lawn looked excellent for the 4th of July, but on the 5th I began to notice issues in the backyard close to the house. A day later I noticed the same issue in the front in a couple spots and then a day later the rest of the back yard began to show symptoms. I chalked it up to drought stress as the tips were yellowing and closing up even though Rachio had watered the morning of 7/4 and it was due for water the next day 7/8. Some of the grass tips were purple as well, After the watering on 7/8 it seemed to get even worse, but I figured I'd give it another day before jumping to fungicide as the Azoxy went down 6/27 and I figured I still had protection against fungus minus DS which I was certain this was not as I've dealt with that before and can ID that one quickly. Well it continued to get worse so I figured what's to lose I'll do a foliar app of Clearys and that seemed to stop the spread....or maybe it was the cooler weather.

Fast forward to this morning and the irrigation had run for the first time since 7/10 due to some rain we had gotten in between irrigation cycles. It seems to have sparked the issue again as I noticed the lawn looked worse today than yesterday. At this point I expect Azoxy to be wearing off at the 22 day mark under high disease pressure and the Clearys won't be lasting much longer if it's still active at all.

I thought I had identified it as Leaf Spot. I'm pretty certain it is not DS, but reviewing the pics just now I do see one blade with hour glass lesion. I don't think it would be BP on the KBG as the lesions and overall appearance aren't lining up. I have not seen any mycelium when I do my quick walks around the yard in the morning and the appearance doesn't match PB. @g-man had mentioned in BF7's journal earlier that his issue looked like PGR + Propiconazole over regulation, but I don't believe that's the case for me as I haven't sprayed PGR since 6/27 (I'm definitely in rebound, it's growing so fast I can barely keep up with mowing) and I haven't sprayed Prop since 6/6.

Below is a link to google photos as I took the pics in the highest resolution my phone will do (108MP) and they are too big to use post image. Any ideas from anyone are welcome here. I try my best to identify these things by myself, but this one has me bamboozled.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VaMeB3Vz7e7CnzKz8

I tired to get some pics of the overall area and some close ups. I wouldn't say there's a clear edge between the affected areas and "good" areas to take pics of as I would say there's perfectly healthy grass right in the middle of the affected areas. Some of these spots are beginning to repair while others are new as of today and getting worse.


----------



## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

My Mazama has a couple areas that look very similar to that. I also can't pinpoint whether its a fungus and if so what it is. Mine is in areas that get more sunlight so I almost thought heat stress but we've honestly not had that bad of a summer. So not really sure.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

I have a mixed bag I'd say @ksturfguy . Some are in full sun all day long, others are in partial shade areas (maybe sun half the day), while others are in heavier shaded areas with only a few hours of sun for the day.


----------



## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Looks like a good, normal, KBG lawn in the summertime. Seriously I wouldn't worry if I were you.

Your side yard looks like it's in the worst shape. Did you check for compaction issues there? Got a picture of a soil core?


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Sides don't get as much sun and they've been like that since last year. I plugged the other side earlier this year but they haven't done much yet. I will address the sides next year most likely if I don't get any fill in this fall. My neighbor on the side in the picture waters daily and her lawn care people don't respect the property line very well and have dug up the turf when spinning their tires on my property more times than I can remember so some of that damage over their is due to those two things.

I appreciate the input @JerseyGreens.

EDIT: I do not have a pic of a core from over there but I've never had an issue taking a core 8"+ over there with ease or anywhere on the yard since a year after I started taking samples.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I don't think this is a fungus. I went back to your soil test + your applications in June and July. What are you doing for phosphorus?

I see some healthy looking leaves bad right next to it some purple looking ones. You have a pH towards the high side, which makes phosphorus not that available too.

I noticed you did D10, propeat + K4L. It think these all have root stimulants. Can the combo be over stimulating and causing issues?

SOP is still a salt and can also cause problems if you don't keep the lawn well irrigated.

With summer drought, it makes it even harder for the plant to get iron. I saw an app of main event in early June. That's all the iron so far?

Lastly, did you check for billbugs? This is from MSU instead of the wolverines, https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/bluegrass-billbug


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@g-man for the year I've done 1lb P in the back using Triple 19 and none up front. The last app of that was 5/5. I can call the co-op and check my options for high P fert, but I haven't applied the triple 19 since then due to the MOP in summer.

The lawn has been back on the normal irrigation cycle since the last SOP app on 7/10. Before that the last app was 5/29.

ME got sprayed on 5/29, 6/13, and 6/27. I skipped the last pgr app that was supposed to be 7/10-7/11 which would have included more iron.

I have not checked for billbugs, I will check out that link and check tomorrow. Part of the reason I sprayed tonight is due to the bugs I've seen around the house but also the thought crossed my mind that an insect may be damaging the lawn as well. I will most definitely check for them and report back hopefully tomorrow night.

The root stimulation one could also be a good one. Didn't really think about that during the summer when they are already struggling in that dept with soil temps.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

The coop likely has MAP.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Called a couple co-ops/elevators and my options are a 16-32-3 fert or a monopotassium phosphate 0-52-34. Price on the first is $30.90 for 50lbs, the second is outrageous at $67 for 50lbs. Leaning towards the 16-32-3 and doing maybe 2lbs/M every 3-4 weeks in the back.

Checked for billbugs this morning and all I found were worms in the soil. What're your thoughts on spreading the 16-32-3 and spraying TNex and ME again @g-man vs. just spraying ME and putting down some of that 16-32-3?


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

If you can keep with mowing, leave the t nex out.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It's been almost two weeks. Better, worst or the same?


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Since we last spoke @g-man here is what I've done.

Mowed 7/22, 7/24, 7/26, 7/27, 7/29, 8/1, and 8/2.

Went and grabbed that 16-32-3 w/ 6S as it's the best option I had to get P down. That went down on 7/20 at the lowest rate I could apply evenly with the spreader which was 2.5lbs/M. (.4N/M, .8P/M, .075K/M, .15S/M)

On 7/22 I sprayed 1oz Main Event/M. Azoxy app was due so that went down and since I wasn't using PGR I threw in some Propiconazol. (Azoxy @ .2oz/M and prop @ 1oz/M)

I had not applied anything to the lawn since the 22nd of July and was just doing my best to keep up with the mowing. I couldn't take it much longer so out of desperation tonight I broke down and decided I'd put it back under regulation. I don't feel like the lawn has gotten any worse since the 22nd and was progressively getting worse up to that day. A week and a half later I'd say I can see some small improvements, but nothing crazy. My thought is I just need to get through the rest of August and then I can push it to repair a bit before it starts to store nutrients for the winter.

Unfortunately I don't have any pics of the lawn since the last ones I've posted. I do have this picture of the pot I planted last year before the reno and it appears to have the same thing I had seen in the lawn. No insects, it gets fed NPK all year long but never gets any fungicide. 


Tonight I followed the mow with .1lbs N/M from AMS, .1oz/M PGR and 1oz/M Main Event.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Great that it is not getting worst. You will need to push for growth to get it to look better. You might start with more nitrogen after this weekend.

I would avoid using propi at all.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Unfortunately I had already bought a fresh gallon of propi earlier this year after seeing the price on Xemplar and I just wasn't willing to pay it this year. Next time I get low I will revisit alternatives. Anything else you would suggest for DS other than Xemplar or is that the bee's knees these days @g-man?


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

There is a long list of DS fungicides. http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/ppa/ppa1/ppa1.pdf

One thing that does help the budget is to use the Smith-Kerns model. Only apply fungicide when the percent is going up.

Another one is to use straight FS in your sprays (not FEature). The FS in iron does help (a little bit).


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 8/5 and today, 8/8.

Been slacking on the pics so made sure to grab some after the mow. Can't wait for some cooler weather.


----------



## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

So dark man! Can't imagine how good this is going to look in October!


----------



## Zip-a-Dee-Zee (Apr 9, 2020)

Looks very nice and dense. I was just reading through your 2020 journal again and it looks like you considered adding seed after some early wash outs in spots but decided instead to just let it fill in. Does that sound right?


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@bf7 I'm definitely excited to see how it finishes out the first year as well!

@Zip-a-Dee-Zee I ended up tossing more seed that germinated but did not get established before winter. In spring all these areas were dead and I plugged late spring on the sides of the house. Those still haven't filled in, but the front and back has done well as they get pretty much full sun all day long compared to a few hours on the sides.

We'll see how the year ends, but I'll probably be plugging again in the spring as I may have overestimated how much ground the grass could fill in and I had some of it die right after the 4th of July.


----------



## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

@synergy0852 lookin good.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Thanks @Jeff_MI84!

Mowed 8/10 & 8/13. The next few mows I will begin lowering mowing height in preparation for the sand I hope to do in a couple weeks. The company I had planned to use that advertises USGA spec sand had a minimum of 25 tons to deliver which is 3x+ what I need. I have called another place and will hopefully get out of work early one day this week and head there to pick out one of their four sand choices.

Tonight I sprayed AMS @ .1 lbs N/M, T-Nex @ .15 oz/M, main event @ 1 oz/M, sedgemaster @ .9 g/M, and speedzone @ 1 oz/M. I've been holding off on spraying weeds for weeks with the grass looking stressed still, but it's looking much better now! I'm targeting a few broadleaf weeds and my annual nutsedge problem, which is lessening with every year that passes.

@g-man I had an observation tonight and you may have been right about what caused my issues shortly after 7/4. As I was measuring out the PGR in my tip-n-pour I got the urge to toss it in the measuring cup I used to use. 1/2oz in the tip-n-pour measured 3/4oz in the cup. I'm leaning towards the cup being more accurate and that would mean the app on 6/27 @ what I thought was .3 oz/M or 1.5 oz over the whole lawn may have been upwards of 2 oz over the whole lawn or close to .45 oz/M. I'll have to measure out 1.5 in the tip-n-pour sometime and then dump it into the cup to see what rate I actually applied!

For others reading this be careful with tip-n-pours on products that require precision. For me they were a convenience factor, but now I'll make sure to measure with the cup I've used for years to be certain of my rate.

For anyone that has done sand before am I correct in thinking I want the largest granule sand that's screened down to the lowest size/smallest pebbles?


----------



## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

synergy0852 said:


> @g-man I had an observation tonight and you may have been right about what caused my issues shortly after 7/4. As I was measuring out the PGR in my tip-n-pour I got the urge to toss it in the measuring cup I used to use. 1/2oz in the tip-n-pour measured 3/4oz in the cup. I'm leaning towards the cup being more accurate and that would mean the app on 6/27 @ what I thought was .3 oz/M or 1.5 oz over the whole lawn may have been upwards of 2 oz over the whole lawn or close to .45 oz/M. I'll have to measure out 1.5 in the tip-n-pour sometime and then dump it into the cup to see what rate I actually applied!
> 
> For others reading this be careful with tip-n-pours on products that require precision. For me they were a convenience factor, but now I'll make sure to measure with the cup I've used for years to be certain of my rate.
> 
> For anyone that has done sand before am I correct in thinking I want the largest granule sand that's screened down to the lowest size/smallest pebbles?


Interesting. Never thought about those not being accurate.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Stop at cvs, get one of these (or a few).

https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-oral-syringe-2-tsp-10-ml-prodid-715154


----------



## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

^ What gman said. I usually pour my sensitive liquids into a measuring cup first, then I syringe out 10ml (or however much needed) at a time and add to sprayer. Just a way to double check yourself. Perks of working in a pharmacy, have those syringes at my disposal.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Dang I've read that here many times before and it never clicked for me...I have a couple of those laying around to use! Thanks @jskierko & @g-man!


----------



## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

Good luck with the USGA sand. I googled it, and couldn't find any place in Wayne County. Every place down here has play sand or call it mason sand when it's actually play sand.


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

First post. Glad to be here. I am in the U.P. of Michigan and attempting to do a heavy KBG overseed on a messy existing patchwork (maybe 65% mixed KBG), with Midnight, Mazama and Bewitched.
QUESTION: you mentioned "play sand" as a leveler. I have a few bags from our local…based on your experience, is THIS acceptable ? It is sort of a medium tan color and to my relatively untrained eye on grit size…would appear to be about "medium" (certainly NOT "powdery" and not particularly coarse).
My soil is a mish-mash of loam to sandy-loam.

I hope that my Mazama pulls me through my front yard of only 5, maybe 6 hours of sunlight a day up here !
Thank you gentlemen for any input, especially on that "play sand" top dress.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@lawn-wolverine I wouldn't recommend play sand as I believe the size of the sand is too small and you're looking for something larger for drainage and levelling like masonry sand. Also if you have some deep holes I wouldn't recommend sand at all. I still have to go pick mine out so we'll see what I decide on.

This is the place I'm looking to go check out and based on the website descriptions I'm leaning towards a #8 sand, but I still see some pebbles of decent size in there and need to get eyes on before I choose one.
https://grsandandgravel.com/products/buy-sand/


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

synergy0852 said:


> @lawn-wolverine I wouldn't recommend play sand as I believe the size of the sand is too small and you're looking for something larger for drainage and levelling like masonry sand. Also if you have some deep holes I wouldn't recommend sand at all. I still have to go pick mine out so we'll see what I decide on.
> 
> This is the place I'm looking to go check out and based on the website descriptions I'm leaning towards a #8 sand, but I still see some pebbles of decent size in there and need to get eyes on before I choose one.
> https://grsandandgravel.com/products/buy-sand/


Thanks for the quick reply sir ! Hmmm, well, we live 100 yds. from Lake Michigan and white sand beach galore…I wonder HOW "Lake Michigan beach sand" would compare to bagged & purchased "play sand??"


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

I've used play sand before when in a pinch and I didn't need a ton of it I just don't plan to make it work on a larger scale this time when looking at 7 tons.


----------



## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

@synergy0852 how did you calculate that you needed 7 tons of sand?


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@bf7 I just figured I'd get 5 yards which is approximately 7 tons and .33" of depth over the 5M ft². There are plenty of calculators on Google to help you determine how much to get to achieve the depth you want over a square footage.


----------



## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

synergy0852 said:


> @bf7 I just figured I'd get 5 yards which is approximately 7 tons and .33" of depth over the 5M ft². There are plenty of calculators on Google to help you determine how much to get to achieve the depth you want over a square footage.


Thanks for the tip. I had heard 1 yd per 1k was a good rate, and .25 -.33" is a good depth for kbg. I wondered if the conversion from yds to tons could be thrown off if the sand is wet when you buy it. I am probably overthinking it lol


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

Hey guys…on the topic of 'Mazama' I am planning to overseed a mish-mash backyard (trying to get more consistent look). It only gets about 5 hours of sun a day. I read that 'Mazama' is one of thee very best KBG for shady areas. Love the KBG look and there IS some type of KBG stand in there doing well, now (maybe 20% in patchy areas).
Do you think it is worth giving Mazama a shot ?
Thanks!
BTW, this site and this thread is fantastic. So glad I found you folks !!


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

synergy0852 said:


> I've used play sand before when in a pinch and I didn't need a ton of it I just don't plan to make it work on a larger scale this time when looking at 7 tons.


Yea, I am in a relatively rural area. Not much in choice on sand texture. I am looking to topdress an area…ohhh, a strip along between curb & sidewalk, about 8' x 14'. I am considering doing a 50/50 mix of *play sand, and *topsoil.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

You're not wrong @bf7 that will definitely throw it off. Most places around me weigh it instead of using volume so I just go along with it. I'm not terribly concerned if I get a little more or less than I expect I just want it to be the best quality sand I can source so I'm not sifting it by the 5 gallon bucket when it arrives like I've had to do in the past.

I went and visited the place yesterday after work and decided I'm doing the #8 which is basically their version of masonry sand. It's washed and screened and looked pretty good from what I was able to see. I'm targeting next week Friday to get it delivered. I should be near the end of the pgr regulation if not a couple days past so it should work out well.


----------



## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

lawn-wolverine said:


> Hey guys…on the topic of 'Mazama' I am planning to overseed a mish-mash backyard (trying to get more consistent look). It only gets about 5 hours of sun a day. I read that 'Mazama' is one of thee very best KBG for shady areas. Love the KBG look and there IS some type of KBG stand in there doing well, now (maybe 20% in patchy areas).
> Do you think it is worth giving Mazama a shot ?
> Thanks!
> BTW, this site and this thread is fantastic. So glad I found you folks !!


I think the Mazama would do just fine there. I have a 1500 sqft area of Mazama and it gets much less than 5 hours a day and it's done really well.


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

:thumbup:


ksturfguy said:


> lawn-wolverine said:
> 
> 
> > Hey guys…on the topic of 'Mazama' I am planning to overseed a mish-mash backyard (trying to get more consistent look). It only gets about 5 hours of sun a day. I read that 'Mazama' is one of thee very best KBG for shady areas. Love the KBG look and there IS some type of KBG stand in there doing well, now (maybe 20% in patchy areas).
> ...


Awwwwright !! Fantastic. Thanks for the encouragement on that 'Mazama' in a shady backyard (also about 1500 sq.ft.).
My wife says now it is LESS than the 5 hours of sun I (wrongly) estimated. She says probably 4 hours of sun a day. I do have some decent splotches of (probably) SCOTTS Sunny (KBG) mix, around in there. Ugh ! Big neighbor oak tree dumping scads of acorns about now ! I rarely hear of THAT phenomenon on here !
Thanks again to @ksturfguy @thumbup and all.


----------



## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

There is my area. 2nd full year with it. I'd be shocked if any of it gets more than 5 hours of consistent sunlight a day. I question whether some spots get any haha


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

Bravo ! It looks thick/lush ! You can be proud of a shady area that looks that lush.
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION: Sometimes it is the light (shine) on the picture of a lawn, BUT curious…now with some N + a little iron, could it be reasonably expected that you could get that a bit darker green (or maybe you have seen it a tad bit "darker ?")

I always hear that 'Mazama' is naturally genetically dark (maybe by the second-to-third year ?)


----------



## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

@lawn-wolverine yeah I'm sure it would get darker. Last round of fert was in June and it was .25 LBS. Hasn't received any iron since May and that was a very very smal amount. But also yes the sun light in the pic made that area appear a lot lighter than it is in person.

I've never done extra iron apps because I just don't care about the super dark green lawn. As long as it's somewhat dark and consistent then I'm good with it.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@lawn-wolverine here's a pic of the Mazama in low light conditions. This has been sprayed with iron and pgr which darkens it a bit more but genetically it's only a few shades lighter.


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

ksturfguy said:


> @lawn-wolverine yeah I'm sure it would get darker. Last round of fert was in June and it was .25 LBS. Hasn't received any iron since May and that was a very very smal amount. But also yes the sun light in the pic made that area appear a lot lighter than it is in person.
> 
> I've never done extra iron apps because I just don't care about the super dark green lawn. As long as it's somewhat dark and consistent then I'm good with it.


Exactly!! Well sir, I, for one, am "GREEN with lawn-envy."😎 That shady backyard is hero-stuff. I hope to come slightly close, at best.
Thanks again for the inspiration (already my wife is saying "That area will never look decent.")
She is one of those 'Master Gardeners' that wants to plant EVERYTHING in with perennials😳
For me…LAWNS RULE BABY !!!🤗


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

synergy0852 said:


> @lawn-wolverine here's a pic of the Mazama in low light conditions. This has been sprayed with iron and pgr which darkens it a bit more but genetically it's only a few shades lighter.


OMG ! That photo of the 'Mazama' in the middle there almost brings tears to my eyes.🥲
Are we viewing the "Gold, er Green Standard"🏆


----------



## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Your yard is so flat and smooth (and looks great too). I am jealous of that grass pitch!


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

ksturfguy said:


> @lawn-wolverine yeah I'm sure it would get darker. Last round of fert was in June and it was .25 LBS. Hasn't received any iron since May and that was a very very smal amount. But also yes the sun light in the pic made that area appear a lot lighter than it is in person.
> 
> I've never done extra iron apps because I just don't care about the super dark green lawn. As long as it's somewhat dark and consistent then I'm good with it.


Thanks again for your info and your hands-on expertise. You really understand 'Mazama.'🤗
A follow up QUESTION please: how would you exactly describe/categorize the blade thickness of 'Mazama'?? I think I need to consider this as I am trying to sorta arrive at narrow BUT not exceptionally fine Kentucky bluegrass variety.
I have a 6 lb. bag of 'Mazama' in addition to three varieties that I have carefully self-blended of Midnight/Bewitched/Skye. The Mazama may go adjacent to that…backyard, but I do not want it it look conspicuously 'different.'😎
Thanks if you can characterize,, say, blade thickness of that 'Mazama.' (I already sense that I will love it !)


----------



## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

lawn-wolverine said:


> ksturfguy said:
> 
> 
> > @lawn-wolverine yeah I'm sure it would get darker. Last round of fert was in June and it was .25 LBS. Hasn't received any iron since May and that was a very very smal amount. But also yes the sun light in the pic made that area appear a lot lighter than it is in person.
> ...


I'll be honest I'm not sure lol. It's thin but I dont really have other KBG to compare it to. Besides the 1500 sqft of Mazama the rest of my lawn is TTTF. I don't think you will have a problem with the blade thickness though.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 8/16, 8/18, 8/20, 8/23, 8/26.

I see damage from what I believe to be dollar spot as I've seen some small mycelium spots in the mornings on my way to work but I'm going to let it go as I believe in a week the weather will flip towards a fall pattern.

After tonight's mow I spread 2.2lbs/M of 19-19-19. .42lbs of N,P,K.

Tomorrow is a big day for me. Sand will be delivered first thing in the morning and I will get to carting it around and spread out a bit as I'm expecting it to be wet. I was able to get a buddies zero turn to help reduce the manual labor of the day. I will come back later in the afternoon to drag it all out with a heavy pallet I got from work. It was supposed to be dry and cool tomorrow but a day after I ordered the sand that all changed and rain has been in the forecast for days. It's Michigan so we'll see what reality is vs the forecast...this may turn into a multi day project.

Pics from tonight after the mow...low light threw off the color. It's fairly close to the second pic to my eyes.


----------



## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

That's looking fabulous. The color of the backyard is really looking good.


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

synergy0852 said:


> Mowed 8/16, 8/18, 8/20, 8/23, 8/26.
> 
> I see damage from what I believe to be dollar spot as I've seen some small mycelium spots in the mornings on my way to work but I'm going to let it go as I believe in a week the weather will flip towards a fall pattern.
> 
> ...


Hero status !!!


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Thanks @SNOWBOB11 & @lawn-wolverine

Sand is here, I underestimated the task at hand...


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

synergy0852 said:


> Thanks @SNOWBOB11 & @lawn-wolverine
> 
> Sand is here, I underestimated the task at hand...


Wish I was there to help you on that. I am too far north…the U.P., but this is one awesome project. Gotta love it. It has been ridiculously dry up here. Suppose to get a good two days of rain (hopefully NOT a "gully-washer"). We want
G E N T L E.🤗


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

All the sand is in the lawn minus one cart full. I knocked it all down quick to dry while I have lunch and relax a bit before heading back out to work the sand down. Big props to those who do this yearly!


----------



## lbb091919 (Apr 26, 2020)

That's some hard work but looks great!


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

lbb091919 said:


> That's some hard work but looks great!


Amen to that ! Yes. We will really enjoy seeing that baby come back.

Keep 'r goin'! :thumbup:


----------



## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

That was quick work man!


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Thanks y'all. @JerseyGreens I have to go back out in a bit and keep working it to expose the grass blades once it's dried out a bit more. 89° and 70% humidity today! It was supposed to be 78° when I planned this all out.


----------



## Liquidstone (Mar 31, 2021)

Plenty of work there. Nice job. What are you using for working it in, big push broom, little bit of level lawn too?


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

This is how I'm leaving it tonight and will irrigate in the morning....or maybe tonight yet I haven't decided yet, but it's scheduled to go in the am.




@Liquidstone I used that mower and a chep pallet to drag it all in where I could reach then used a landscape rake and my own version of level lawn I built when covid hit last spring to get the hard to reach areas and do the final drag with.

Here's a pic of my cheap level lawn.


Keeping buddies ZT for the night and I'll evaluate if I want to get out here again tomorrow after I get some water on it and see how it looks.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

In the thick areas, get a hose/nozzle and drive it in.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@g-man that's on my list of things to do tomorrow. That and a broom have worked for me in the past when spot sanding.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 9/2, 9/6, 9/9, 9/12, 9/14, & 9/16 @ .75".

Put down 19-19-19 on 9/9 @ .38 lbs N, P, K.
Sprayed .05 lbs N/M of AMS with 1 oz./M Main Event and 6 ml/M of T-Nex on 9/9 as well.

On 9/12 I sprayed the last 4.5 g/M of prodiamine for the year totaling 15 g/M on the year. I spiked that with 1.5 oz/M of Depth10+.

Snapped a couple pics after tonight's mow. The sunny areas have filled in from the sanding better than I was expecting and much quicker than expected. The shady areas are more what I was expecting to still see in the sunny areas, especially in the deeper low spots.

Top down I can still see a decent amount of sand but from a distance/side view it looks decent. Overall I'm thrilled with the results. While the sand didn't level (not my expectation either) it really smoothed out the bumps and undulations to the point I barely notice them while mowing. I plan to do this again next year and probably one more time after that to get to where I want it to be.


----------



## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Recovering very well from the sand topdressing. Looking smooth!


----------



## lbb091919 (Apr 26, 2020)

Looking very good man. Well done


----------



## Wile (Sep 17, 2020)

Great color and density! Lookin' really good. Awesome work!


----------



## hobbyaddict1 (Aug 26, 2021)

Wow... Nice lawn!


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Thank you @JerseyGreens, @lbb091919, @Wile, & @hobbyaddict1! I appreciate the kind words!


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

No new pictures? Im getting crazy growth right now.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 9/19, 9/24, 9/26, 9/28, & 9/30 @ .75".

9/28 put down .35 lbs/M of N, P, & K via the last of the 19-19-19 I had left. For the rest of the year I'll just throw N via AMS and Urea.

9/28 Sprayed .1 lbs/M AMS, 9 ml/M T-Nex, and 1 oz/M Main Event.

Snapped a couple pics after the mow tonight.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

g-man said:


> No new pictures? In getting crazy growth right now.


Patience grasshopper! I'm getting somewhere around 1/3" to 1/2" of grow every two days right now. I didn't get my PGR down on time last Thursday so it started to come out of regulation slightly but I expect it to slow down just a touch here in the next few days as the T-Nex takes hold again.


----------



## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

Loving that color @synergy0852 your lawn is on point!


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Thanks @bf7! How's yours looking a couple weeks after sanding?

EDIT: Just saw you posted right before I posted this....love it!


----------



## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

synergy0852 said:


> Thanks @bf7! How's yours looking a couple weeks after sanding?
> 
> EDIT: Just saw you posted right before I posted this....love it!


Haha, thanks. I can't complain. Still some thin areas but they should clear up soon. If I've learned anything it's that kbg is very resilient.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@bf7 my deepest areas are still a little sandy but continuing to thicken back up. Will you sand again next year? I still have a little sand left in the gorilla cart I'm debating hitting my trench from last year this weekend to get rid of the sand.


----------



## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

synergy0852 said:


> @bf7 my deepest areas are still a little sandy but continuing to thicken back up. Will you sand again next year? I still have a little sand left in the gorilla cart I'm debating hitting my trench from last year this weekend to get rid of the sand.


Aw man I've been hitting different parts of the yard every Saturday with sand. Can't risk having that sand pile there all winter in my driveway.

It's pushing back my long term recovery beauty shots but it's paying off!


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

@JerseyGreens I like that idea of frequent light sanding, especially since the grass will be shutting down on me within the month. I'm excited to sand again as I'm loving the results after this fall!


----------



## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

synergy0852 said:


> @bf7 my deepest areas are still a little sandy but continuing to thicken back up. Will you sand again next year? I still have a little sand left in the gorilla cart I'm debating hitting my trench from last year this weekend to get rid of the sand.


Go for it! I'll definitely need to do multiple rounds, the next one possibly being in the spring. I underestimated how much I had leftover (probably close to a few tons), meaning my first pass was fairly light (~0.75 tons per K). I'll use as much as I can over the next couple of weeks to work on the deep craters. It's still a pretty bumpy ride with the greensmower so I feel like it's going to be long term project.


----------



## OnTheLawn (Jul 23, 2020)

@bf7 @JerseyGreens @synergy0852 y'all are making me quite jealous with all this sand talk!

Looking great brother, color of this grass is insane. Very much looking forward to my Overseed filling in and maturing with the Mazama in there.


----------



## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

@OnTheLawn - you want some? Still have a little bit sitting in my driveway!


----------



## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

Dude! That is a fine looking lawn, I tell ya hwat.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed 9/30, 10/6, 10/10, & 10/13 @ .75". Backlapped mower for the mow on 9/30.

Spread just over .5 lbs N/M tonight of AMS.

I spread the remaining sand I had sitting in my gorilla cart in the trenches where I buried my fiber last year during the reno as they still weren't quite up to the level of the ground around them. Definitely noticeable in the picture below, but I think it'll disappear by the end of the season.

Tons of rain lately the back yard is a mud pit and it's not fun mowing, but I can't bring myself to let it go with no end in sight for the rain I just mow when I can.

Snapped a pic of the front tonight after the mow...


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Mowed yesterday, 10/17 @ .75"

Tonight I sprayed .05 lbs N/M of AMS, 1 oz/M Main Event, and 10 ml/M T-Nex. The rain is keeping me off the lawn lately so I really need to try and slow it down.


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

synergy0852 said:


> Mowed yesterday, 10/17 @ .75"
> 
> Tonight I sprayed .05 lbs N/M of AMS, 1 oz/M Main Event, and 10 ml/M T-Nex. The rain is keeping me off the lawn lately so I really need to try and slow it down.


Incredible !


----------



## LawnBoy (Sep 30, 2018)

Beautifull, it looks very clean and perfect.


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

LawnBoy said:


> Beautifull, it looks very clean and perfect.


 :thumbup: Yes…I'd say "hero status."


----------



## MNLawnGuy1980 (May 10, 2019)

@synergy0852 Looks absolutely amazing. Love the clean look of it.


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

Thank you for the kind words @lawn-wolverine, @LawnBoy, & @MNLawnGuy1980!


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

This will conclude the 2021 journal as I broke my leg/ankle shortly after mowing 11/9 and won't be back in the yard until 2022 unfortunately.

Mowed 10/19, 10/26, 10/28, 11/4, & 11/9.

Last pic taken this season of the front yard.


Overall I'm thrilled with the performance of the Mazama this season. It completely filled in everything and I had the one spraying mishap which resulted in some grass dying on the sides of the house. The backyard thinned out a bit from the sanding and lack of sunlight shortly afterwards which I'm confident will fill back in next spring.

Next season I plan to cut way back on nutrient inputs as I'm not targeting the fill in like this year.

2021 Macronutrient Inputs for Front Yard
N: 5.97 lbs/m
P: 1.95 lbs/M
K: 5.58 lbs/M
Ca: 3.36 lbs/M
Mg: .008 lbs/M
S: 17.9 lbs/M (Mostly Elemental S, unsure how much was converted to be plant available)

2021 Macronutrient Inputs for Back Yard
N: 5.93 lbs/m
P: 3.05 lbs/M
K: 5.69 lbs/M
Ca: 3.36 lbs/M
Mg: .007 lbs/M
S: 16.23 lbs/M (Mostly Elemental S, unsure how much was converted to be plant available)


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

Wow ! Finished the year&#127942;Gold Cup !


----------



## synergy0852 (Jun 30, 2018)

2022 Journal


----------



## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

Very best wishes for a Most Successful 2022 to all my fellow lawn enthusiasts. 
You guys truly provide me with much-needed motivation!


----------

