# Reel Mow TTTF



## Ohio Lawn (Mar 20, 2019)

Has anyone on here ever reel mowed a 100% TTTF lawn? I'm thinking about it.


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## The Anti-Rebel (Feb 16, 2019)

How low are you thinking of going?


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## Ohio Lawn (Mar 20, 2019)

The Anti-Rebel said:


> How low are you thinking of going?


1 inch maybe


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## The Anti-Rebel (Feb 16, 2019)

It won't be easy.


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## Ohio Lawn (Mar 20, 2019)

That's what I figured. Maybe I'll kill mine and do KBG or PRG....


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## Sfurunner13 (Feb 26, 2019)

I have a KBG/TTTF mix and started reel mowing this fall. It was a struggle taking the HOC down and it was very unhappy. It was partly my fault as I did it during a heat spell and a drought. It's looking much better now, green and healthy. Only issue is it's still pretty thin.


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## Drys (Sep 19, 2018)

I'm down to about 2.5" with my TTTF in preparation for winter. At first it looks really chopped up but bounces back in a day or two. Then again, I am using a rotary and not reel.


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## lucas287 (Jun 3, 2018)

@PokeGrande has had great success reel mowing his TTTF


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## rob13psu (May 20, 2018)

I have 3 of the 4 cultivars you have (Regenerate, 4th Millennium and Amity) and I was cutting at .9" with no issues. Amity's spec page states it can be cut as low as 5/8". I believe Regenerate and 4th Millennium state 1.5", but I've gone below that. Raptor III states an inch under controlled conditions. I think you'd be fine at an inch.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

My guys at work scalp the  out of Spyder LS (monostand), and it survives (and has a nice blue/green color). Also, you could think about overseeding kbg into your TTTF around Labor Day, if you really scalp it at that time.


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## Guest (Nov 5, 2019)

I think it is a cool idea to reel mow tall fescue, and also a different idea from Chris Li to do the daunted KBG overseed. Pete with GCI Turf is going to reel mow a tall fescue test plot alongside a PRG and KBG test plot. I think the results will be telling on how all those grass types respond to reel mowing.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

I would cut it to 0.5" and then maintain at 1" if you want. It'll be all brown but will come back. Fescue is kinda brown near the base so I would cut that off so you have more leaf area. You'll probably need to overseed since I'm not sure how wide each plant will be if it is kept that short. It'll take a couple weeks to start filling back in and probably a month to be thick. I cut mine to 1.1", veritcut, seed, and maintain at 1.75". It's thick and green. 1" is definitely doable.


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## Ohio Lawn (Mar 20, 2019)

rob13psu said:


> I have 3 of the 4 cultivars you have (Regenerate, 4th Millennium and Amity) and I was cutting at .9" with no issues. Amity's spec page states it can be cut as low as 5/8". I believe Regenerate and 4th Millennium state 1.5", but I've gone below that. Raptor III states an inch under controlled conditions. I think you'd be fine at an inch.


Cool. Thanks. Have any pics?


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## Ohio Lawn (Mar 20, 2019)

Chris LI said:


> My guys at work scalp the  out of Spyder LS (monostand), and it survives (and has a nice blue/green color). Also, you could think about overseeding kbg into your TTTF around Labor Day, if you really scalp it at that time.


Do you think the KBG would make the TTTF look clumpy?


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## Ohio Lawn (Mar 20, 2019)

Suburban Jungle Life said:


> I would cut it to 0.5" and then maintain at 1" if you want. It'll be all brown but will come back. Fescue is kinda brown near the base so I would cut that off so you have more leaf area. You'll probably need to overseed since I'm not sure how wide each plant will be if it is kept that short. It'll take a couple weeks to start filling back in and probably a month to be thick. I cut mine to 1.1", veritcut, seed, and maintain at 1.75". It's thick and green. 1" is definitely doable.


Do you have any pics of your TTTF at 1.1"?


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## PokeGrande (Mar 25, 2018)

Love mine at 1.25" and would probably still look good at 1.0" or 1.125".


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## rob13psu (May 20, 2018)

Ohio Lawn said:


> rob13psu said:
> 
> 
> > I have 3 of the 4 cultivars you have (Regenerate, 4th Millennium and Amity) and I was cutting at .9" with no issues. Amity's spec page states it can be cut as low as 5/8". I believe Regenerate and 4th Millennium state 1.5", but I've gone below that. Raptor III states an inch under controlled conditions. I think you'd be fine at an inch.
> ...


This was in mid October.


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## polofitted007 (Sep 16, 2019)

I used the Fiskars 18 inch. It can cut up to 4 inches but on my all TTTF lawn, it didn't work well. The cut was sloppy at best.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Ohio Lawn said:


> Chris LI said:
> 
> 
> > My guys at work scalp the  out of Spyder LS (monostand), and it survives (and has a nice blue/green color). Also, you could think about overseeding kbg into your TTTF around Labor Day, if you really scalp it at that time.
> ...


Kbg should help to fill in bare spots. However, if you try just overseeding TTTF the first fall (or spring, if you must), that might be a better test to see if the TTTF can stay thick at reel mower height (1"-2"). TTTF overseed might be a better choice for uniformity at a lower height. My experience with TTTF is that you need to overseed every year, because it won't fill in dead spots in the spring or fall like kbg. It sounds like @Suburban Jungle Life and @rob13psu have more appropriate experience with low cut TTTF. The lowest I have regularly mowed it was 2", and it didn't like to be rotary cut at that height.


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## Sfurunner13 (Feb 26, 2019)

I can personally attest that you may have to overseed the TTTF at first. Before i scalped mine I had a dense, thick strand of TTTF/KBG. Removing all the leaf tissue thinned out the turf considerably. I wasn't smart and put down prodiamine a week or two before I transitioned to reel mowing and now I'm stuck with a thin lawn. The KBG is filling in the gaps and it doesn't look clumpy. It's currently around 1.25 inches or so and looks good.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

Ohio Lawn said:


> Suburban Jungle Life said:
> 
> 
> > I would cut it to 0.5" and then maintain at 1" if you want. It'll be all brown but will come back. Fescue is kinda brown near the base so I would cut that off so you have more leaf area. You'll probably need to overseed since I'm not sure how wide each plant will be if it is kept that short. It'll take a couple weeks to start filling back in and probably a month to be thick. I cut mine to 1.1", veritcut, seed, and maintain at 1.75". It's thick and green. 1" is definitely doable.
> ...


This is at 1.75 but there is plenty of leaf tissue to cut shorter if you want. I like this height and with my rotary and no leveling, this works for me. If I had a reel, I'd mow at 1". You're going to need a thick lawn to mow low though or it'll look sparse.


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## Ohio Lawn (Mar 20, 2019)

Thanks for the advice everyone. Since I just planted the TTTF lawn a couple months ago, I think I will cut it somewhere between 2.5"-3.5" until next fall. Next fall I will overseed with TTTF to get it thicker. And start reel mowing between 1" - 1.25" once that comes in.


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