# Pgunn's - Operation New Zoysia



## PGunn (May 17, 2020)

Figured I would make a post about the current project I have going on. This is actually our second time laying zoysia at the new house in 4 months. The first job was done very poorly - sod was laid over whatever was in the yard, no proper grading or dirt work was done prior. The results of that were an extremely bumpy lawn, serious drainage issue, etc. After 3 months of fighting for it to be made right, I won! Here is the initial job....


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## PGunn (May 17, 2020)

Fast forward to today.... New dirt, grading work has been done but now it will not stop raining. Having issues getting zoysia cut at the farms due to wet conditions. With remnants of the hurricane tracking our way Monday/Tuesday I am hopeful we can get it cut and down tomorrow. My wife and I are really over grass at this point but my kids love the mud! I should also admit that my garage is full of fertilizers, SJ, N-EXT, and Biochar that I just walk by everyday and look at. This whole project is really testing my patience......





If you will you notice in the background you will see the pallets of the old zoysia stacked up. They pulled every bit of it up square by square  My guess is they are going to try and re-sell it to someone else.....


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## PGunn (May 17, 2020)

6/13 Update --- New sod comes in 48hrs. Yard is leveled and ready to go. I am debating if I should go get some compost or super soil tomorrow at the nursery and scatter it lightly across the top. In the backyard there are some rocky areas mixed in with topsoil that aren't necessarily ideal, but I think they will work.

Question- should I got get supersoil or some type of compost mix and put it lightly over the top or let it fly as is. I got 2 bags of humichar I will be putting down but didn't know if the work of spreading compost work be worth it or not.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Looks like a nice area! Which zoysia?


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## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

Put down your humic and char before your sod is laid down. Also, put down some fert to give those roots some nutrients when they start tacking down.

Fyi, you can save a lot of money in the future by skipping the sj and humichar by going with other products. Those are extremely expensive for what you get.


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## PGunn (May 17, 2020)

Fyi, you can save a lot of money in the future by skipping the sj and humichar by going with other products. Those are extremely expensive for what you get.
[/quote]

You live and learn. Couple YouTube videos sucked me in before I found TLF. Will be mixing in some Scott Starter Fertilizer as well.


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## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

Same here along with many others. "Doc" is all about sales, he's no pro.

What kind of zoysia are you going with? Z52 here


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## PGunn (May 17, 2020)

Well... the sod never came. Farm called and said it was still too wet to cut and was tearing on them and they needed to pass on my job. After searching high and low I finally found another farm late yesterday and will have 17 pallets (Meyers) coming tomorrow at noon. I have recruited everyone on the local high school football team to help get it down. It's a tall task but the yard is prepped and should go down pretty quick. Wish me luck!


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## PGunn (May 17, 2020)

Day 3. Applied RGS, XStart and Biochar on day 1. Rolled today since it rained on day 2 and didn't want to make a mess. Seams are starting to disappear and will hit with Microgreene this weekend for some much needed micros. It's starting to come together. My wife thinks I've gone crazy....


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## PGunn (May 17, 2020)

Day 16. It got its 1st haircut.


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## dubyadubya87 (Mar 10, 2020)

Nice!


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## PGunn (May 17, 2020)

Today was a big day. I pulled out the reel mower and clinched real tight as I took off on my first pass! Man did it turn out good... I mowed with a rotary first and got multiple scalp marks which prompted me to get the JD out. This is at 1" on zoysia and I couldn't be happier with the results for 3 week old sod. From here out it will be the reel mower!


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## Benwag (May 28, 2020)

Looking good!


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## dubyadubya87 (Mar 10, 2020)

Sweet!


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## PGunn (May 17, 2020)

1' HOC and application of FEature + 20-20-20. Afraid to take it any lower this summer with the heat and how new the sod is. Battling thin spots in many places and tons of thatch that I believe is from the sod farm. Do you think a lower cut would help fill in or just stress it and turn it brown?

It will need a good scalp in early Spring to get the thatch out and would love to get a verticut in, if I can find a machine to rent. Focus this summer has been more on root growth and fungicide applications.

It's hard to see in the picture but I have 5million+ weeds that need to be terminated. Trying to find someone who wants to sell 1oz of Tribute so I can take care of them but looking like I will be selling one of my kids to get a bottle.

Front (FEature applied)


Back (No FEature)


Overall, the front is coming along a lot faster than the back but I'm happy with the progress made from mid-June went it was laid. Thanks to everyone here for the knowledge transfer!


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## dubyadubya87 (Mar 10, 2020)

I've been battling the same idea, but am erring on the side of caution, staying at 1" HOC and let it fill in next year without the crabgrass competition.
Tribute...yeah, that's liquid gold and they price it accordingly


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## PGunn (May 17, 2020)

Battling thin spots and thatch issues. From far away it looks good, but here's a close up... Any thoughts on correcting this?


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## dubyadubya87 (Mar 10, 2020)

PGunn said:


> Battling thin spots and thatch issues. From far away it looks good, but here's a close up... Any thoughts on correcting this?


Scalp, but not until next year. Too little time to rebound before it gets cold.


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## PGunn (May 17, 2020)

@dubyadubya87 I went with a VC and removed tons of thatch. Hit it with the last round of fert for the season to help it along.


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## dubyadubya87 (Mar 10, 2020)

That looks nice, great call!


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## testwerke (Apr 4, 2019)

Looks so good!


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