# Mikes 2018 Lawn



## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

I figured I'd start a 2018 journal so that I can keep track of what I do, while getting and potentially giving help where I can. Last fall I renovated my lawn in this thread . Here's what I've done so far up to this point:
2/8: put down some Air-8 and RGS that I had from last yet
2/17: put down Lesco 19-0-7 Dimension pre-emergent

My plan for this year is to: 
-maintain/improve the grass. I feel like I have a great reno last year and my grass very thick with just a few spots that are thin due to trees, but not bad enough for me to really worry about

-get rid of the small amount of wees that I have. I've seen a few broad leaf weeds in the yard that I have gone after with some Spectacide Weed Stop (2,4 d, mcppc, dicamba) which seems to have done the trick. I also have some poa and quackgrass that I'm slowly working on with glyphosate.

-in the fall address any weak/bare spots that have come up due to the summer stress.

Here is my lawn after the renovation on 11/8/2017



and then on 2/21/2018


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## ericgautier (Apr 22, 2017)

Mike that looks awesome so far! Can't wait to see how the lawn does this year. :thumbsup:


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Wow, that came out really well. Nice landscaping, too. I'm excited to see how everything looks in late spring.
Are you planning on using a preventive fungicide?


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

I am going to do some sort of preventative fungicide program, but still haven't decided on how I want to go about it. Right now I am leaning towards experimenting with just using Serenade and going at around 5-6oz/1000sqft. If I start to see some sort of disease pop up I'll switch to the big guns (azoxystrobin and propiconazole) and stick with that. I think I am willing to take a risk and try the biofungice route first, even though I'm not sure if it's going to work.

I also plan on taming those bushes and and ivy. They have gotten a bit overgrown.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

No real updates to the lawn, just some general thoughts that I've had recently: 
- I used to mow my old "lawn" about once a week, and that's no where near enough for this lawn. I have started mowing every 3-4 days recently.

-Never had issues with clumping with mowing the old lawn, but have been fighting clumping issues this year with the new lawn. I think time between cuts and moisture are the culprits. New lawn grows much faster and is much thicker than the old one so I need to mow much more frequently, which is fine by me

-New lawn holds moister very well since it is so long and thick. I don't think we have had any rain in the past 5ish days and the soil is still moist to the touch. I'm hoping that will help out during the summer, but am afraid how big of an impact it will be on fungus issues.

-The neighbors love the lawn. I get compliments from everyone that walks by when I'm outside. I'm not used to that, but it's kind of cool. My next door neighbor joked with me and said "don't let any of your nice grass grow over into all my weeds" :lol:


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Very cool entry. Sounds like we are having similar experiences.


FlyMike said:


> Never had issues with clumping with mowing the old lawn, but have been fighting clumping issues this year with the new lawn


After my first cut this year, I had to spend quite a bit of time to collect all the clumps of grass left on the lawn. I was using a bagger, too. Also, it is astonishing how much buildup there is under the mower's deck after a mow. I spend 30-plus minutes scraping it all out. 


FlyMike said:


> The neighbors love the lawn. I get compliments from everyone that walks by when I'm outside


I receive a lot of compliments as well. It is confusing, though: There are several very impressive lawns in the neighborhood. Mine couldn't stand out that much. The only difference I can identify is that my lawn is slightly greener and thicker than others. Must be a TLF thing.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

@social port you're right about the build up. I cleaned out the deck earlier when I first noticed the issue. There was just enough room for the blade to spin and that was about it. My dad gave me the mower after he got a Super Recycler. I'm not sure how much build up was mine vs his, but it obviously performed much better after cleaning it out.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

I just mowed my lawn again today, and I came back here to see when it was that I mowed last. It's been 3 days since the last mow, and it was pretty much clump free this time. Looks like it is a matter of frequency for me to fix that issue.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Wow, it must be a lot warmer there. We are still having 30 degree lows in my area. Really slows growth.

That grass is looking great. Deep, rich green.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

It's been in the high 30's-low 40's at night and mid 50's during the day. It's supposed to start warming up the next few days. It's blowing my mind how quick the grass is growing. In just 3 days I had nearly an inch cut off.


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## Budstl (Apr 19, 2017)

Grass looks great mike! :thumbup:


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

Haven't done anything but mow squiggly lines in the lawn lately. 








I really need to replace my blade. The tips are really getting shredded and brown
I had a few Poa spots that I haven't taken care of, but I need to get to them since I have noticed them popping up in a few more spots.

The cultivars of fescue I used last year are "lateral spread" type. I got a little heavy handed with the glyphosate while trying to get rid of some quack grass. Depending on where you're from this spot is about as big around as a pop/soda/coke can. I'm keeping an eye on it to see if the grass will actually spread and fill through the year.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

FlyMike said:


> The cultivars of fescue I used last year are "lateral spread" type.


Yes, I noticed that. I'm definitely interested to see how that goes. It looks like you have a nice test set up for yourself.


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## Togo (Jun 7, 2017)

Your lawn looks like it's off to a great start!


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Looks great so far, jealous that you're cutting so frequently already. We are still having lows in the upper 30s here in NJ. Supposed to be in the 70s by the weekend though!

What HOC were you at in the pictures from last fall? Looks like 3.5-4"?


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

social port said:


> Wow, it must be a lot warmer there. We are still having 30 degree lows in my area. Really slows growth.
> 
> That grass is looking great. Deep, rich green.


Looks as good as KBG. WTHIWT? :roll:


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Ridgerunner said:


> social port said:
> 
> 
> > Wow, it must be a lot warmer there. We are still having 30 degree lows in my area. Really slows growth.
> ...


Good decisions bring good payoffs.
Make the righteous decision to grow fescue all the way down in Georgia = Grow fescue that rivals bluegrass.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

gregonfire said:


> Looks great so far, jealous that you're cutting so frequently already. We are still having lows in the upper 30s here in NJ. Supposed to be in the 70s by the weekend though!
> 
> What HOC were you at in the pictures from last fall? Looks like 3.5-4"?


I think the mower I was using last fall the HOC was maxed out at 3.5". The one I'm using now is 4" I believe. I haven't really measured. I just set it as high as I can and get to mowing.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

@Togo and @Ridgerunner thanks for the compliments.

I'm trying to do all I can to prep it for the real test, which will be this summer. If I can make it through with minimal issues I'll be happy.

There was a thread on a different forum that I came across that had someone growing KBG about an hour north of where I live. It was an old thread and there wasn't much follow up, but it seemed like his first year was successful. Depending on how well I do maintaining my lawn in the coming seasons I may portion off a small section and try to grow some sort of KBG just for the fun of it and see what happens.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

I also ordered a new blade the other day. My Gator G5 should be here tomorrow and hopefully I'll get to test it out Wednesday or Thursday.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@FlyMike GeorgiaDad kept a kbg lawn in Suwanee, GA. Search in ATY for his username.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

That wasn't the one one I was thinking of, but thanks for letting me know about his @g-man I think the one I was thinking of was up in Dalton if I remember correctly. Suwanee is a lot closer and more of the same climate as where I am.


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## Togo (Jun 7, 2017)

I have a set of G5's and they've been great. Hope they work well for you too!


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

I was looking at my the little dead patch today, and noticed some green grass in the middle of it. I went back to the old picture, but couldn't tell if it was there before (I don't think it was).








Since I want this grass to spread and have a little self healing properties, I'm going to say that it is spreading and is going to fill in this spot. :lol: :bandit:

The Gator blade came in today, and I was surprised at how much wider it is that the previous blade. It also has more weight to it, probably because of the extra width. I'm excited to go out and mow with it tomorrow.


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## ericgautier (Apr 22, 2017)

FlyMike said:


> The Gator blade came in today, and I was surprised at how much wider it is that the previous blade. It also has more weight to it, probably because of the extra width. I'm excited to go out and mow with it tomorrow.


I use the same blades and love them.

Question though, your old one looks to have a "star" bolt pattern while the new one is just a circle.. did/will it work for you?


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

@ericgautier It fit right up and the bolt is nice and tight. I'm not sure of the significance of the star pattern on the old blade because it's just a regular bolt and washer holding it in. I guess I'll find out if it matters tomorrow when I mow the lawn.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

FlyMike said:


> Since I want this grass to spread and have a little self healing properties, I'm going to say that it is spreading and is going to fill in this spot.


Thegrassfactor just published a pretty encouraging video on lateral spread in fescue. FYI. I can't remember what cultivar he is using though.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

social port said:


> I can't remember what cultivar he is using though


Well, I just checked, and he conveniently listed them under the video description.
Valkyrie LS
Dynamite LS
Screamer LS


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

I just saw that video also, and it was pretty cool to see some rhizomes popping out.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

I was walking around the yard today after being gone for 4 days and notice this area of grass that is considerably darker than the rest of the lawn. It definitely wasn't like that before I left.








I'm pretty sure this is from dog pee from people walking their dogs, but it has got me wondering if I am not fertilizing my lawn enough. I have heard a lot of talk about not fertilizing cool season grass in the spring down here in the transition zone because it will lead to increased summer stress and disease so I haven't really put down any fertilizer this year.

I put down about .5lb/N per thousand when I put down my pre-emergent since it was a 19-0-7 with Dimension in February. Last fall was the start of my lawn since it was a renovation and got two applications of starter fertilizer with .75lb/N per thousand each application.

Looking for thoughts/comments/suggestions on this.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Wow, Mike. I'm not sure. I feel like I am trying to catch the wind on this one. I didn't even know that dog pee would act as a fertilizer; I always thought that dog pee killed grass :lol:

My first thought is that your lawn never struck me as...not green. I mean, dang, you've had a beautiful, deep color to that grass. But I definitely see the contrast in that picture. It is striking.

Has the rest of your lawn 'diminished' in color over the last week or two?

I really don't know -- at all -- but this is where my mind would be if I were you.

Fertilizing in the spring is not a bad idea the year after a reno. I fertilized this spring because I needed to get some parts of my lawn growing better. Mine needed the jumpstart, but I applied a good while ago. Keep in mind that folks as knowledgeable as the LCN used to recommend starter fert in the spring (but he didn't live in the transition zone either).

For you, your lawn looked great right out of the gate of mowing season, right? And you were able to mow several times last fall after your reno, right?
If so, and your grass looks healthy (if not entirely the desired green), then I would err on the side of preserving the health of your grass. 'Hot and humid' season is right around the corner, I would imagine, and that is really not the time to be stressing your grass. I've heard of too many stories (nightmares) about disease taking out young fescue in the transition zone.
I recall that you've got a preventative down, but still...

If you fertilized with your PreM in Feb., then we've had comparable fertilization this year (though I have been supplementing with incredibly light doses of potassium). I'm not going to use N again until Fall. I don't know why your grass would be any 'hungrier' than mine.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

social port said:


> Wow, Mike. I'm not sure. I feel like I am trying to catch the wind on this one. I didn't even know that dog pee would act as a fertilizer; I always thought that dog pee killed grass :lol:
> 
> My first thought is that your lawn never struck me as...not green. I mean, dang, you've had a beautiful, deep color to that grass. But I definitely see the contrast in that picture. It is striking.
> 
> ...


Color has pretty much stayed the same all year, and I thought it was pretty good until I noticed this spot.

After thinking about it yesterday maybe some iron will give me that color all over. I was planning on putting down some RGS, AIR-8, and 0-0-7 Microgreen in the next few days, so I'm going to go through with that and see what kind of response I get.

I have been searching locally for some potassium sulfate to put down but haven't had any luck. How has that been working for you?


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Local availability of SOP in smaller quantities has been an issue for me as well. 
I ended up getting 0-0-60 (called muriate of potash, I believe) simply because no one would sell a small amount of SOP (i.e., one can buy only by the truckload).
The next time I buy a product for K, I will have to drive 1+ hour to get what I want (a mix with Magnesium=KMag).

I'm applying K only to amend a nutritional deficiency in my soil. And I'm applying very small amounts at a time (in fact, I've only done 1 0-0-60 app this year, and I believe it was applied at like .30 lbs of K per M--ridiculously small). With respect to the color of the grass, I can't say whether it has made a difference or not.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

Iron sounds like a great idea for this time in the transition zone. I'm in the transition with TTTF and I have put down about .7 lbs N over the last 2 months spread out. It's growing a little fast so maybe that was too much. That's it for my N until the fall. I'll be trying out FAS to see what rates work and what results I can get.

As for SOP, my local farmers coop didn't have it but I found it at a landscape supply store. Search on the interwebs and see what the local pros use for their suppliers. You can always order it online from amazon or kelp4less but that's $$$...


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

social port said:


> Wow, Mike. I'm not sure. I feel like I am trying to catch the wind on this one. I didn't even know that dog pee would act as a fertilizer; I always thought that dog pee killed grass :lol:


Depends on the size of the dog! The bigger dogs you'll see the center will be dead but the edges will be super thick. It's like over fertilizing in the middle. Makes a lot of people think it's some weird disease but then you ask if they have a large dog and they go ohhhh lol


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Urine has urea in it. It is a fertilizer (around 10-1-2). It could also have high salts. The concentration in a small area often kills it.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

I have another theory on the mysterious lush dark patch:
Looking at my soil test from last spring my pH was a 7.2. Looking at the nutrient charts that makes iron and some of the other micro nutrients a little less available. Could the dog pee (if that's whats really causing this) have acidified the soil slightly and made those nutrients more available? Maybe if I bring down my pH slightly for the rest of the lawn I will get this type of response?


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## desirous (Dec 15, 2017)

^ Perhaps, but I think the urea is more likely. It would be easy to test, sprinkle a little urea on another spot and see how it reacts.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

@desirous why'd you have to go be all simple and smart on me :lol: :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

Haven't done much to the lawn except try to keep up with the mowing. I've been real busy with work, starting a new job, and other house projects that the lawn has unfortunately been pushed a little further down the "to do" list. 
It has been so wet and humid here lately that I have some sort of fungus moving through my yard
















My junk Harbor Freight sprayer has broken again, so I will be dropping a granular fungicide today. At least now I get to buy a battery sprayer soon :thumbup: :nod:

Other than the recent fungus outbreak the lawn has been doing really well.

Side note: This forum has blown up, and its awesome. It's hard keeping up all the new topics and posts, and I'm sure I've missed some good posts.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

@FlyMike how's your fescue lawn handling the summer?


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

Hey everyone, I've been super busy lately and haven't spent much time on here. I landed my dream job, and I'm almost done with training. I'm also in the middle of ripping out old floors and installing new hardwood ( I guess I have a thing for renovations).
Once those two are taken care of I'll have a lot more time for the yard.
I got hit with brown patch pretty hard, but that is my own fault. I didn't get fungicide down when I wanted to and ended up being on the defensive with it trying to get it taken care of. I have it under control right now and the grass seems to be doing really well.
There is also another area that I need to figure out what to do with. The grass is VERY thin and a lot has died out. I think it is getting hit by a double whammy with a tree shading out a lot of light as well as possibly sucking some moisture from the grass. It looked great and thick last fall after the renovation, but now that the tree has it's leaves back it's a different story.
I haven't done much for watering, maybe only put down a total of 2-3" since early spring. The grass hasn't really shown any signs of drought stress which has surprised me.
@Powhatan thanks for checking up.
Lawn:
































thin area:









little look at the floor project
before:








during:








and nearly done.... with this area


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

@FlyMike you have been busy. Congrats on the dream job. cheers :beer:


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

I got started on rehabbing my lawn from the heat and brown patch issues I ran into this summer. I raked out the dead grass, seeded, fertilized and put peat moss over the top on the side yard today, and plan on working in the rest of the yard tomorrow.

I need to figure out a better plan of attack. A dethatcher or some power equipment would be ideal, but that's not an option right now. I was using a garden weasel to loosen up the dead grass and then raking it to the side. It works well, but it's just slow going. Thinking maybe a thatch rake or a metal rake with smaller tines might help out. I'm currently using a big plastic leaf rake and it doesn't do a very good job of digging in and getting the dead grass up. I'll see what Lowe's and Home Depot have to offer tomorrow.

I wasn't able to get any pictures when I was done since I was putting down peat moss in the dark. We'll see how good of a job I did in the morning :lol:


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

What's up, @FlyMike ! Hope the new job is still going well.

Your local Lowe's should carry thatch rakes. They are an improvement over a garden rake, for sure.
I bought a craftsman pull-behind dethatcher this year for under 100. And a YouTube personality or two have give good reviews of the greenworks electric dethatcher.

I like my tow-behind. I'm just not crazy about all the weed seeds I imagine floating around the lawn when I use it.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

Looks like I'm going for a new plan of attack. I got out there this morning and decided that I just don't want to put in that much manual labor to get out all the dead grass. My original plan was to get it all taken care of by the weekend doing a little bit at a time in between my daughter's naps, but that's not working out real well.
I'm going to hold off until beginning of October when I have a little more free time, and will either buy an electric dethatcher or rent a slit seeder. I'm leaning a little more towards the slit seeder, but am still weighing my options since I have a little bit of time. I'm open for suggestions if anyone has anything to add.
For now I'll just take care of the few weeds I have.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

Yesterday I was able to dethatch and overseed the rest of my yard. I ended up buying the Greenworks electric dethatcher, and I was surprised how well the thing worked. It was perfect for what I needed it for. 
















I've never used a dethatcher before so I don't have anything to compare it to, but I would definitely recommend it based off of my use yesterday.

Bagged everything up with the mower, seeded, fertilized with Scotts Starter w/ weed preventer, and then threw 7 bags of peat moss over the top. 

















I had to mow the renovation on my side yard for the first time yesterday. The established grass went crazy and was super long. I wanted to wait another week, but I don't think it was possible. New grass is coming in pretty well.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

FlyMike said:


> Bagged everything up with the mower


Did your mower struggle to get all of that 'thatch' and dead grass? Looks like you pulled a ton.
I spent a very long time trying to vacuum everything up with my mower, and I eventually had to bring out the rake.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

@social port It didn't struggle, although I did empty the bag A LOT. I had a wheel barrow out with me and every time I got to it, I was full. Ended up with about 4-5 loads of dead stuff. I went slow and it thankfully worked out.


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## FlyMike (Aug 27, 2017)

Hurricane Michael hit right at the 1 week mark of the overseed on the main part of my lawn. The seed had sprouted and was about 1" tall, then the rain came. We got about 2.5" of rain on Wednesday. It washed away a good amount of my peat moss, but I'm hoping the grass stayed put. I can see that the grass that had sprouted stayed put around the edges, and as far in towards the middle as I can see. The baby grass did get matted over due to all the rain, and I'm hoping it didn't drown or get damaged. I went out today and tried to stand it back up with a little air from the leaf blower. Hopefully once the ground dries up some the grass will unstick itself from the ground and keep growing.

I have about 8lbs of seed left over. I think I'll give it a few weeks to see how things play out and then desperately throw down the rest if I need to.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

One thing I've learned this year is that if you have germination (even if only for 1-2 days), those heavy downpours aren't as consequential. So, I am guessing that what was up will be fine.

Hopefully, those new shoots kept all of your ungerminated seed relatively in place.


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