# SpeedNess's Lawn Journal from High to Low



## SpeedNess (May 21, 2020)

Hello all, long time lurker here. Recently joined this will be my first topic.

For the past three years I've been getting more and more serious about taking care of my lawn. Just recently got the "reel low" itch. Ended up getting a great states 7 blade push reel last August/September, I've "improved" it with a DIY striping roller 

Brief history of last three years before I get into this year:

*2016-moved in to the house, lawn was a mess*


*2017-not great but by end of season neighbors started noticing* :lol:

Got soil test, NPK looked good. Basic soil test they only looked at soil PH and Macronutrients

Started putting down Milorganite and Ringer Restore mostly as my main ferts. Big improvement overall very happy with results.

3.5" HOC for the whole season, for the most part followed the 1/3rd rule





*2018-pretty much same input as 2017, lawn looked great thru spring and fall, did not suffer too much in summer either*



*2019-Way better than previous years, darker and denser. Good domination line on both sides of neighbors :lol: Best my lawn has ever looked, including 2020*

Soil Test, NPK all looked good, same lab

Started using Next BioStimulant pack

Continued with mostly, Milo and Ringer

Started using prodiamine as pre-emergent and spot treating with weed-b-gone for the most part. Not many weeds

Fall decided to scalp, detach and scarify before overseeding with KBG (didnt know any better at the time how low of a success rate it is to overseed KBG) from seed superstore 30% Bewitched,40% Midnight,30% Everest. Bare areas took the new grass great and I love the mix.

3.5" HOC for first half of season with rotary. 2.5" remainder of the season after the overseed with both rotary and reel. Again following the 1/3rd rule for most of the season




*2020-Wife and neighbors definitely think I've completely lost my mind*

Started raking up the lawn as soon as there was no snow covering it, early March if I remember correctly even though the ground was still frozen and we got more snow after a few times 

Applied prodiamine as soon as ground was around 55 degrees.

First app of Carbon X on April 26 at half bag rate along with Next RGS, Humic and MicroGreene

Started mowing with manual reel at 2" HOC brought it down to around 1.25 inches in around 3 weeks.

Was not happy with lack of deep green color at 1.25" HOC, decided to do full app of CarbonX again on May 20 and brought HOC up to 1.5". Big mistake, lawn went crazy as we got decent amount of rain. Was mowing DAILY with the manual reel, if I missed a day i would manual reel and then used rotary to pick up clippings. Neighbors and wife are laughing at me for being out mowing every single day with two mowers. I dont mind it, I think I'm addicted to that little push reel.

Got T-Nex to hopefully get better root development and manage top growth moving forward. Have not applied yet

Not super happy with color yet at current 1.5" HOC

Ordered 2 pounds of FS and 2 pounds AS to mix and spray in hopes to get that deep green color that I had at the higher HOC. Have not applied yet

Plan moving forward is hopefully be at 1" or less HOC by the end of 2020. Hopefully do some light leveling this fall

Longer term plan 2+years, get Swardman and full Reno for 100% bluegrass.

May 2020 1.25 HOC


May2020


June2020 1.5 HOC


June 2020 Lots of seed heads still visible 1.5 HOC


June 2020 Lots of seed heads still visible 1.5 HOC


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

Nice transformation! I know how it feels to have the neighbors think you're crazy. My one neighbor walks her dog everyday and every time she sees me in the lawn (which is everyday), she yells out "psycho!" in a playful way. Lol. You obviously get used to it and don't care.

I also went low this year and it's addicting. I think losing a little color is going to happen no matter what when you're starting to go that low. Are you planning on sticking with the manual reel or getting a greens mower? Again, awesome progress from just a few years ago!


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## SpeedNess (May 21, 2020)

jrubb42 said:


> Nice transformation! I know how it feels to have the neighbors think you're crazy. My one neighbor walks her dog everyday and every time she sees me in the lawn (which is everyday), she yells out "psycho!" in a playful way. Lol. You obviously get used to it and don't care.
> 
> I also went low this year and it's addicting. I think losing a little color is going to happen no matter what when you're starting to go that low. Are you planning on sticking with the manual reel or getting a greens mower? Again, awesome progress from just a few years ago!


Yea definitely I big transformation from 2016 till now, thanks for the compliments.

Hahaha, yup used to it by now and don't care.

I was actually watching your journal pretty closely just a few days ago (your lawn is looking awesome BTW). Hoping to gain some of that color back with FAS, have you tried that yet?

Yeah plan is to stick with the manual reel for now (unless i find a crazy deal on a greens mower). Long term 2+ years would like a Swardman and a full reno for 100% bluegrass. Easier said than done, I've put that Swardman in my cart a few times already this year :lol: not sure if I con hold myself for 2 more years :mrgreen:


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

SpeedNess said:


> *2020-Wife and neighbors definitely think I've completely lost my mind*


Now you know that you're doing it right!

Welcome to TLF! It's nice to see someone mowing at a similar HOC. I also went a little lower this year at 1.5", and trying to stay there as long as possible. I'm drooling over the Swardman, too. Lawn looks great and I'll be following.


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

SpeedNess said:


> jrubb42 said:
> 
> 
> > Nice transformation! I know how it feels to have the neighbors think you're crazy. My one neighbor walks her dog everyday and every time she sees me in the lawn (which is everyday), she yells out "psycho!" in a playful way. Lol. You obviously get used to it and don't care.
> ...


Thanks man! I have not tried FAS as of yet. Have thought about it, but I'm going to see how the lawn reacts by putting down some iron and PGR first. One less thing to worry about mixing together for now. I will try it eventually though.

I've wanted a Swardman and just could not justify the price with the wife. If I was you, I would do it though! :lol:

Keep us up to date on your journey. It's always interesting watching someone else go through the same process that you're currently going though!


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## SpeedNess (May 21, 2020)

Work has been crazy lately, did not have much time to update this post.

Overall Im happy with the current state of the lawn, still mowing the backyard at 1.5", using the reel Im doing triple passes to get some good stripe action. Pic from yesterday



Front yard I've been keeping at 1.25" and it I think it is doing fantastic for being summer. I don't have the guts to go any lower as I'm already getting pretty close to scalping with the manual reel in some areas. I plan on leveling this fall and hopefully I can be at 1'' HOC by end of fall and leave it there.
Applied T-Nex, 1 week ago at .25 oz/1000sq ft.

Pic from 7/18



Now, on the side yard I went for it and mowed it at 0.75" HOC, the first week it looked a bit rough, the picture below is two weeks after initially taking it down to 0.75" HOC freshly mowed at 0.75" with the manual. I am scalping in multiple areas so it will stay at 0.75" until I level it some more. I applied FAS to this side yard yesterday at 2oz Ferrous sulfate and 1.7 oz Ammonium sulfate per 1000sq ft. Will report in a few days if I see some green pop.

Pic from 7/14


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## SpeedNess (May 21, 2020)

Took left side small yard to 0.5" , detached and leveled lowest spots. Looks like crap but hoping that the sand will let me keep it at 5/8" once it bounces back without scalping in the more uneven spots.



On the right side mowed lower at 1" ,brought the level up ~3in with soil/compost/peat on the side closest to the driveway. Used a tamper to compact it nicely. Hopefully it doesnt settle to much, but will continue to lever with sand moving forward. Finally put some humic,rgs,hydretain and air8 and threw down a mix of bewitched, mazama and everest. Keeping it moist, hopefully I can get some good germination.



DIY'ed this bad boy, 48" across worked perfect ~$50-$60 at Lowe's for materials.


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## SpeedNess (May 21, 2020)

So much for waiting a few years to get a powered reel mower. Even though I was pretty set on a Swardman I find this GM1000 locally for $400 and picked it up. Everything apperars to be working correctly, 11 blade reel is very dull and instead of paying ~$150-$200 I decided to bite the bullet and updated to a fresh 8 blade reel and high cut bedknife. Let's see how it goes. With all the parts ordered from RR I will be in it ~$850.





And finally some pics from yesterdays mow at 1'' with the manual reel.


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## mribbens (Jul 13, 2018)

Wow, you have gone down the rabbit hole quick with mowing low, but your lawn looks great and it will be even better once you get the Toro on it. I have been mowing my front lawn at 1.5 w a manual reel-Fiskars, all season long and using liquid iron and growth regulator to keep the color popping. Will be following this, well done!


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## SpeedNess (May 21, 2020)

mribbens said:


> Wow, you have gone down the rabbit hole quick with mowing low, but your lawn looks great and it will be even better once you get the Toro on it. I have been mowing my front lawn at 1.5 w a manual reel-Fiskars, all season long and using liquid iron and growth regulator to keep the color popping. Will be following this, well done!


Oh yeah, head first into the rabbit hole  . Its funny how I thought getting the manual reel will hold me off for while, in retrospect all it did was fuel my want for a powered reel. It is damn impressive how nice of cut quality you can get with the manual reels but they do make you wonder what you are missing out with the powered reels,

Yeah, I've done two apps of PGR now and that is a definite game changer.


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## SpeedNess (May 21, 2020)

First mow with the GM1000 with new 8 blade reel and heavy cut bedknife. This mower is a beast to handle but so far I like it a lot. Definitely need to level now, having that beast bouncing around is not too much fun. This is at 1" HOC on the GM1000 definitely cutting lower then the manual reel at 1".


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