# Iriasj2009s celebration Bermuda lawn



## Iriasj2009

2016 I spent it bringing back my lawn (2.5K sqft)after not caring for it the previous year (2015). Purple Nutsedge had basically taken over and finally found a product that worked for me (Certainty).






I also converted about 1.5ksqft of tifway to celebration Bermuda after 2 apps of roundup and then using my proplugger to plug the area.


Thanks to a warm winter, my celebration plugs took off and took over. You can still see tifway here and there but it is being over taken by celebration.




Now my goal is to maintain my lawn below 3/8" all year long. Im am shooting for a HOC of ¼" and am going to try to keep it there.
So far I have taken the lawn down to .25" and a small area even took it down to bare dirt (accidently after getting carried away with my new toy, but it is filling in nicely).
My next plan is to fertilize (based on soil test), add one yard of sand to smooth it out a bit, and then just mow with my groomer set at 25-50% below HOC (will play it by ear). Once It fully greens up, I will then vertticut, aerate and topdress.


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## Mightyquinn

Looking great Irias!!!! It will be interesting to see who can keep their lawn under ".50 all year. I will definitely be following along for sure!!


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## Ware

+1, great story. I'm anxious to follow your progress.


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## Iriasj2009

Thanks guys! Me too lol. I'll definitely be needing everyone's help.
I was able to maintain at .5" all year long so I'm sure I can handle it. Last year I basically plugged "aerated" my yard and sanded twice and detached late in the year which kept it in control.


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## Mightyquinn

I'm sure all that maintenance you did helped keep the "grain" at bay. I thought I put a lot work into my lawn!! :lol:


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## lagerman72

Wow, great job! I'm with the rest and can't wait to see the progress.


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## Iriasj2009

Done scalping!!! Today I Double Verticut and then lowered the groomer to soil level and kept .25" HOC. I just have some sections around the street that need the string trimmer. Tomorrow I'm topdressing.


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## Mightyquinn

Are the edges still green because they are sloped?

Looks great and can't wait to see it once it all greens back up!!!


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## Mightyquinn

One more question, TOG and I were wondering with all the plugs you did last year, 1. What did you fill all those holes with after removing the Celebration plug, and 2. Did you put the plugs into or on top of the dead 419?


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## Iriasj2009

Mightyquinn said:


> Are the edges still green because they are sloped?
> 
> Looks great and can't wait to see it once it all greens back up!!!


Sorry been busy! Water break...
Okay, there are a couple of reasons why the edges are still green. Most of the green that you see is mostly tifway. It's so short that the mower didn't reach it and the verticutter just made ridges. Also, the ground is not as dry and it was hard to mow close to the edges with the Jacobsen. I ended up manually taking it and used the weed eater to finish the job.

After pulling plugs I used sand to fill them up. I didn't take up the dead tifway. I just put down the plugs. My plan was to verticutt but I never did.


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## Iriasj2009

Grass by the edges is mainly tifway. Hardly has any thatch and any grain.


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## Iriasj2009

Im almost done "topdressing". Bought a yard of sand for 2.5Ksqft. 
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=peMEWxpvHnI


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## Iriasj2009

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W_xCa-Kntis


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## Mightyquinn

Looking great Irias!! Your plugs look a lot more uniform than mine do(I still own you one don't I ?). Using all that sand and your homemade Levellawn looks to be getting the job done!! You are definitely inspiring me!!


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## Iriasj2009

Thanks MQ, but I'm only dealing with 2.5k sqft whereas you are dealing with 4-5Xas much?!! Just thinking about doing this times 5 gives me a headache haha.


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## Mightyquinn

Iriasj2009 said:


> Thanks MQ, but I'm only dealing with 2.5k sqft whereas you are dealing with 4-5Xas much?!! Just thinking about doing this times 5 gives me a headache haha.


If it's any consolation, I only have about 3X what you have!! :lol: About 8K


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## Redtenchu

Great turn around Iriasj! I can't wait to see that Celebration Bermuda in another Month!


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## Iriasj2009

8K?! Mad respect man lol. Keep up the work! Yea I'm glad I'm done for now. I have other projects that I needa take care of. Now i just needa figure out where to set my groomer at. Red, what height will you be mowing at???


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## Mightyquinn

I would set the groomer at about 50% below your HOC and then adjust it up or down depending on your results, that's my plan at least.

How much sand did you use over 2.5K? I'm wanting to put a light coating down before it all greens up but haven't figured out how much I need.


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## Iriasj2009

Got it. I bought 1 yard of sand. I think it was more than enough. A spreader would have been nice as I think I would have been able to use less sand and spread it more evenly. Sand was very wet either way but I'm happy the way it turned out.


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## Redtenchu

Iriasj2009 said:


> Red, what height will you be mowing at???


I scalped at 0.20, and plan to keep it at 0.25 this spring.


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## Mightyquinn

Iriasj2009 said:


> Got it. I bought 1 yard of sand. I think it was more than enough. A spreader would have been nice as I think I would have been able to use less sand and spread it more evenly. Sand was very wet either way but I'm happy the way it turned out.


I was thinking of doing the same thing with my spreader. In the next few weeks, I might buy several bags of sand and put them in the spreader and see how it goes. Did you buy your sand in bulk and have it delivered?


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## Iriasj2009

[/quote]

I scalped at 0.20, and plan to keep it at 0.25 this spring.
[/quote]

I can't recall but did you mow that low last year?!


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## Iriasj2009

Mightyquinn said:


> Iriasj2009 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Got it. I bought 1 yard of sand. I think it was more than enough. A spreader would have been nice as I think I would have been able to use less sand and spread it more evenly. Sand was very wet either way but I'm happy the way it turned out.
> 
> 
> 
> I was thinking of doing the same thing with my spreader. In the next few weeks, I might buy several bags of sand and put them in the spreader and see how it goes. Did you buy your sand in bulk and have it delivered?
Click to expand...

Bought in bulk from our local garden center.


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## Iriasj2009

Just mowed again. Weather has beeen ugly. It's either rain or showers or cloudy days for the last 2 weeks. Grass is coming along but today I noticed some spotted rings. Hoping someone can help me out to identify the cause. I'm thinking a fungus maybe. Avg temps, HIGHS in the low 70s; and LOWS in the low 60s.i need some sunshine!!!! Well the grass does haha. You can see the rings in the first picture.


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## tbdh20

I can't help with the cause but the last pic, groomed, flat! I'm sure a bit of spring heat and your meticulous attention will take care of it.


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## Redtenchu

Iriasj2009 said:


> I can't recall but did you mow that low last year?!


Sorry I missed this before. Yes, I was at .25 for a short time, but moved to .33 shortly after. My scalp was much better this year and I'm hoping to hold it at .25 until summer.


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## Iriasj2009

Mowed yesterday and I might end up with a collar. I can't get the greens mower too close to the edge by the road without hitting the concrete. So I might mow that area at 1/2" with my mcclane until I figure out a game plan.


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## Redtenchu

Does the bedknife hit the concrete? Or just the rollers?


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## Iriasj2009

Redtenchu said:


> Does the bedknife hit the concrete? Or just the rollers?


Not the bedknife, but I'm afraid that it could. It's the groomer. I will be using the Jacobsen which has the groomer on it.
The groomer assembly sticks out so much that I can't get too close without hitting the concrete. Maybe if my street edging was like yours I'd be able to mow closer. My edging sits at a different angle than yours. Hope it makes sense
With my mcclane I can get over the edge. The roller rides on the edge without bottoming out. It also has a bulkier bedknife so it can take more of a beating.


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## Redtenchu

Oh, I understand now. Looking good!


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## Mightyquinn

Maybe I'm not understanding but could you raise the soil level around the curb slightly to obtain a clear cut and not worry about hitting it with your mower? You might want to look into a landscaping blade!


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## Iriasj2009

Redtenchu said:


> Oh, I understand now. Looking good!


Thanks!!


Mightyquinn said:


> Maybe I'm not understanding but could you raise the soil level around the curb slightly to obtain a clear cut and not worry about hitting it with your mower? You might want to look into a landscaping blade!


I was just gonna create a thread about the Maruyama! Definitely buying one this year! The slope is kinda steep as it gets closer to the street. Sand seems to wash away but I've never had a problem when mowing with the mcclane. I will definitely add some top soil and see if that helps. Again my problem is the way my lawn slopes into the curb, creates a bad angle. Sorry I'm bad at explaining things.


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## Iriasj2009

Added more plugs and removed some brick edging.


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## tbdh20

Looking good! I'm jealous how much earlier your season starts!


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## Iriasj2009

Tdbh20 thanks!!! The lawn is slowly filling up. Hopefully by this year next year, I have full green up.

Mature celebration









Most areas Where I plugged celebration last year look like this. Finally some 80s and sunny weather!


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## Iriasj2009

Lawn is slowly filling in. I decided to run the verticutter to where it barely scrapes the surface. Only hit the area where I took pictures as this area is the bumpiest and was getting pretty stemmy. 


















Worst area. Real bumpy and stemmy here.


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## MrMeaner

Irias, what height are you planning on keeping your Celebration at this year?


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## Iriasj2009

The "Green" @ .25" and 7/16" on the outside. I can't get the reel too close to the edge right now because of the groomer. I'm kinda liking the look. I'm not having any issues mowing this low right now. The groomer is keeping it nice and tight. I'm Mowing every other day. I'm just curious on color. I'm really liking the low cut but if I don't like the color, I will have to settle for 3/8"- 7/16". I'm planning on maintaining it this low all season. It has a lot of filling in to do and some spots the celebration runners are real thick like in the picture above, so I decided to slice thru some of them. Once I cleaned up, it didnt look too bad. I never thought you could mow celebration this low because of how thick the runners develop but once you start verticutting it, you can see where the new plant (daughter plant) is much much thinner, just like tifways.
And How about you?!


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## MrMeaner

Interesting on the color, but the grass has really not taken off yet will be interesting to see ours when it really warms up...Was just curious how low you can go with celebration, everything I've read says down 1/2" since its a thicker bladed grass and the runners are so thick. Yours looks pretty good so far.

I scalped mine last month down to 3/8" with my reel. However I have never really truly verticut mine and being 5 years old now I have areas in the yard that are so thick and matted down the real mower is just riding over the top of the matted, spongy grass in certain areas its not really getting cut at 3/8" more like 1"-1.5" because the grass is so thick.

With that said, I just bought a Toro Greensmaster 3150Q Triplex, which has 11 blade reels with groomers and also purchased as set of verticut reels. I'm really looking forward to actually verticutting the whole yard this year. My plan is to keep the yard at 1/2" for a couple reasons, with such a big yard as I have, not wanting to cut so often and my back yard is still pretty bumpy and needs another leveling with sand. I don't want to have to change heights for the front and back yard while mowing.

There are a couple good videos on youtube by Sod-Solutions out by about how serveral sports field managers take care of there celebration Bermuda - worth a look if you have not seen them allready


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## Iriasj2009

Thanks! And yes I have watched all the videos. It can definitely tolerate the lower heights as it takes a more dwarf growth. I noticed this last year after power raking and each time it would come back with thinner runners and smaller/more blades. But Yes, you will need to go over it with the verticutter reels to get a true HOC, or else you will just be hovering over a thick mat. 
I'm anxious to see how yours turns out. 1/2" is a great height to maintain, I think you will be very pleased. 
I'm planning on lightly verticutting every 4-6 weeks and aerating twice this season to keep it in check.


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## MrMeaner

One thing I was worried about was the 11 blade reels that are coming with the mower I purchased. Toro recommends using 11 blade reels on anything less than .450 and 8 blade reels on anything over that.

I think I may have another mess on my hands when I verticut the whole yard. I ended up with 40 - 95 gallon trash bags when I scalped it this year. thinking I may get to at least half that with the verticutting.


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## Mightyquinn

Iriasj2009 said:


> Thanks! And yes I have watched all the videos. It can definitely tolerate the lower heights as it takes a more dwarf growth. I noticed this last year after power raking and each time it would come back with thinner runners and smaller/more blades. But Yes, you will need to go over it with the verticutter reels to get a true HOC, or else you will just be hovering over a thick mat.
> I'm anxious to see how yours turns out. 1/2" is a great height to maintain, I think you will be very pleased.
> I'm planning on lightly verticutting every 4-6 weeks and aerating twice this season to keep it in check.


Do you plan to remove the cores after aerating and then top dress to fill the holes? And, do you plan to remove any of the material you bring up from verticutting?



MrMeaner said:


> One thing I was worried about was the 11 blade reels that are coming with the mower I purchased. Toro recommends using 11 blade reels on anything less than .450 and 8 blade reels on anything over that.
> 
> I think I may have another mess on my hands when I verticut the whole yard. I ended up with 40 - 95 gallon trash bags when I scalped it this year. thinking I may get to at least half that with the verticutting.


MrMeaner, I'm sure you will be fine with the 11 blade reels no matter what HOC you decide to go with. I cut mine at .300" with an 11 blade reel without any issues at all.


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## Redtenchu

MrMeaner said:


> One thing I was worried about was the 11 blade reels that are coming with the mower I purchased. Toro recommends using 11 blade reels on anything less than .450 and 8 blade reels on anything over that.


My Toro flex is 11-Blade and I've cut up to 0.50 without any noticeable issues. It might not be the optimum clip rate, but it'll work fine.


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## Iriasj2009

MrMeaner said:


> One thing I was worried about was the 11 blade reels that are coming with the mower I purchased. Toro recommends using 11 blade reels on anything less than .450 and 8 blade reels on anything over that.
> 
> I think I may have another mess on my hands when I verticut the whole yard. I ended up with 40 - 95 gallon trash bags when I scalped it this year. thinking I may get to at least half that with the verticutting.


I think you'll be fine too, I used mine set at 1/2" and it was cutting just fine. 
On the other hand, I'm sorry to say that you're correct about the mess you will create. For a large area I would considered renting some sort of vacuum.


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## Mightyquinn

Iriasj2009 said:


> MrMeaner said:
> 
> 
> 
> One thing I was worried about was the 11 blade reels that are coming with the mower I purchased. Toro recommends using 11 blade reels on anything less than .450 and 8 blade reels on anything over that.
> 
> I think I may have another mess on my hands when I verticut the whole yard. I ended up with 40 - 95 gallon trash bags when I scalped it this year. thinking I may get to at least half that with the verticutting.
> 
> 
> 
> I think you'll be fine too, I used mine set at 1/2" and it was cutting just fine.
> On the other hand, I'm sorry to say that you're correct about the mess you will create. For a large area I would considered renting some sort of vacuum.
Click to expand...

I believe he has a Walker Mower which is suppose to be one of the best mowers at sucking up debris and the like.


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## Iriasj2009

Mightyquinn said:


> Do you plan to remove the cores after aerating and then top dress to fill the holes? And, do you plan to remove any of the material you bring up from verticutting?


Yes. I will be removing them all and then topdressing with sand. I will be buying a drag mat and will run over the yard after verticutting to knock off any sand and dirt. Then will be using my Jacobsen with groomer to suck up all the material. The Jacobsen did a great job at cleaning up when I scalped and detached earlier this year. I'm also hoping to be able to spread sand thru my spreader after verticutting to give it a light coat, kinda what Simon does.


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## Mightyquinn

Iriasj2009 said:


> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> 
> Do you plan to remove the cores after aerating and then top dress to fill the holes? And, do you plan to remove any of the material you bring up from verticutting?
> 
> 
> 
> Yes. I will be removing them all and then topdressing with sand. I will be buying a drag mat and will run over the yard after verticutting to knock off any sand and dirt. Then will be using my Jacobsen with groomer to suck up all the material. The Jacobsen did a great job at cleaning up when I scalped and detached earlier this year. I'm also hoping to be able to spread sand thru my spreader after verticutting to give it a light coat, kinda what Simon does.
Click to expand...

Gotcha, I'm thinking about the same plan as you are, going to see how the sand through the spreader works too!! I have 300 lbs of it sitting in the garage waiting to go.


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## J_nick

Mightyquinn said:


> Iriasj2009 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> 
> Do you plan to remove the cores after aerating and then top dress to fill the holes? And, do you plan to remove any of the material you bring up from verticutting?
> 
> 
> 
> Yes. I will be removing them all and then topdressing with sand. I will be buying a drag mat and will run over the yard after verticutting to knock off any sand and dirt. Then will be using my Jacobsen with groomer to suck up all the material. The Jacobsen did a great job at cleaning up when I scalped and detached earlier this year. I'm also hoping to be able to spread sand thru my spreader after verticutting to give it a light coat, kinda what Simon does.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Gotcha, I'm thinking about the same plan as you are, going to see how the sand through the spreader works too!! I have 300 lbs of it sitting in the garage waiting to go.
Click to expand...

It needs to be really really really dry sand. I tried it last year and the sand I used was a little wet and wouldn't flow through the spreader.


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## Iriasj2009

J_nick said:


> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Iriasj2009 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yes. I will be removing them all and then topdressing with sand. I will be buying a drag mat and will run over the yard after verticutting to knock off any sand and dirt. Then will be using my Jacobsen with groomer to suck up all the material. The Jacobsen did a great job at cleaning up when I scalped and detached earlier this year. I'm also hoping to be able to spread sand thru my spreader after verticutting to give it a light coat, kinda what Simon does.
> 
> 
> 
> Gotcha, I'm thinking about the same plan as you are, going to see how the sand through the spreader works too!! I have 300 lbs of it sitting in the garage waiting to go.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> It needs to be really really really dry sand. I tried it last year and the sand I used was a little wet and wouldn't flow through the spreader.
Click to expand...

Can't wait until all these lawns take off haha. Yea I bet it does have to be really dry. I was even thinking about spreading it across my driveway and letting the sun dry it up for me lol. That will prob cause more confusion around the neighborhood, " what is he doing now?". I'm sure we'll find something that works. I think simon said that he just uses his shovel to toss it around, lets the sun do its thing, and then drags it smooth. This probably works great for a small lawn like mine but I would imagine that it would be back breaking for anything bigger than my lawn.


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## MrMeaner

I think you'll be fine too, I used mine set at 1/2" and it was cutting just fine. 
On the other hand, I'm sorry to say that you're correct about the mess you will create. For a large area I would considered renting some sort of vacuum.
[/quote]

I believe he has a Walker Mower which is suppose to be one of the best mowers at sucking up debris and the like.
[/quote]

Yes I still have a Walker mower as well and works quite well as a vacuum and still use it quite a bit. Use it for scalping in the spring, vacuuming up debris, breaking up aeration cores, mowing my alley and has the spray boom for spraying whatever.


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## Iriasj2009

I've Been working A LOT these past couple of days and haven't been able to post much. There's still a lot of filling in to do but I decided to verticut in order to keep the stolons from getting too thick. I'm going to raise the height to .3" since I've been having some issues mowing around a garden bed that I converted to grass.


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## Iriasj2009

Taken about a year ago.









Still dealing with this stump. I did a half fast job at removing ar much possible.


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## tbdh20

Coming along great! In a month or two it will be gorgeous! I'm curious about the sapling you planted or left in place?
(Sorry missed this on the other thread  )


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## Iriasj2009

tbdh20 said:


> Coming along great! In a month or two it will be gorgeous! I'm curious about the sapling you planted or left in place?
> (Sorry missed this on the other thread  )


Thank you! Still has a long way to go. My next step it to aerate heavily and sand the whole lawn but I will be doing that once it is all filled in.
Are you referring to the young crape myrtle?


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## MrMeaner

Looking great Iriasj!! I like the square flower bed!! I have so many curves around my house..including but not limited to flowerbeds concrete, pool, circle drive and sand box. Every thing has curves on it, look good but is a pain in the *** to mow, edge and weedeat. I had to do it all over again everything would be built with squares and rectangles without a single curve anywhere to be found.


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## Iriasj2009

MrMeaner said:


> Looking great Iriasj!! I like the square flower bed!! I have so many curves around my house..including but not limited to flowerbeds concrete, pool, circle drive and sand box. Every thing has curves on it, look good but is a pain in the @ss to mow, edge and weedeat. I had to do it all over again everything would be built with squares and rectangles without a single curve anywhere to be found.


Thanks! I know what you mean. I'm gonna go with squared beds instead of curved ones since it will make it easier to mow. I was inspired by the lawnporn page on Facebook after seeing a bunch of squared bed designs.


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## Iriasj2009

Sprayed some PGR about 5 days ago before going out of town. I went with a low dose ~.12oz/1ksqft, recommended for celebration is only ~.18oz/1ksqft. Lawn grew more than expected but the sedge grew even taller which was I was hoping for. So all I did today was edge and finish sanding along a flower bed that I've been working on. I will be spraying certainty tomorrow evening. I had a horrible invfestation of purple sedge last year but certainty did a great job at knocking it out. 
Looking at aerating/sanding either this weekend or next for sure.


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## Iriasj2009

Probably 3/4" tall in some places so I will be mowing it to 1/2". Once I aerate, I will be taking it back down to .30 inches. A lot of tifway mixed in. Depending on how much the celebration takes over, I'm considering nuking the lawn and sprigging celebration next season. I really hate the contrast in both varieties.


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## Redtenchu

It sure is looking tight, like carpet!


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## Alan

How did those queen palms do through the winter? I have two and I think one is dead.


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## Iriasj2009

Redtenchu said:


> It sure is looking tight, like carpet!


It's definitely getting there, but still have a ways to go. Celebration loves to creep in all the bare spots first then it thickens up. A lot of runners. I'll post pics of what I mean.


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## Iriasj2009

Alan said:


> How did those queen palms do through the winter? I have two and I think one is dead.


I planted 4 of those in 2012 I believe and lost one after 2012-2013 winter. The others made it through and are doing very well. This past winter I only had one cold spell for 2 consecutive nights (24F) and the fonds browned a bit but are bouncing back. I'll post some pics of them. I still haven't had the chance to clean them up yet


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## Iriasj2009

I sprayed the lawn with certainty at full rate (.8grams/1ksqft). We'll see how it goes.


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## Iriasj2009

Aerated fertilized with first application of slow release feet and started topdressing/ leveling. I'm exhausted. My broadcast application of certainty didn't hurt the Bermuda, so far..


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## SGrabs33

Looking good so far Iriasj! I like your plug sweeper upper set up.


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## Mightyquinn

Looking good Iriasj!!! Did you notice if it took more sand to level after aerating?

That Classen Aerator is a BEAST!!! That thing will give you a workout!!!


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## Iriasj2009

SGrabs33 said:


> Looking good so far Iriasj! I like your plug sweeper upper set up.


Thanks! Yea about that lol, I used a 18" push broom to sweep them up, not fun. I need that power brush attachment if I'm gonna be doing this twice a year. Also i should have mowed lower but I couldn't. Mowed down to .4 inches with my mcclane. My John Deere was just gliding over at .25", so far I'm not a big fan of that mower. My Jacobsen is out of commission as we speak. Took off the bedknife but the screws have not made it in yet. Jacobsen has a groomer set at 50% below HOC and it cuts perfectly.


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## Iriasj2009

Mightyquinn said:


> Looking good Iriasj!!! Did you notice if it took more sand to level after aerating?
> 
> That Classen Aerator is a BEAST!!! That thing will give you a workout!!!


I must have picked up about 4-5 full wheel barrow worth of plugs. I bought 3 yards of sand. I have 2.5ksqft of lawn. I didn't finish but I spread about 2 yards all over. Tomorrow we'll see how much I actually use. I'm guessing only 2 yards will be used. I will be using a drag mat, then I'm gonna water it in and then add more sand as needed.


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## Mightyquinn

Iriasj2009 said:


> Thanks! Yea about that lol, I used a 18" push broom to sweep them up, not fun. I need that power brush attachment if I'm gonna be doing this twice a year.


Yes, the paddle attachment for the Kombi/PAS makes sweeping the plugs up a breeze as it glides over the turf!!! I'm finding more and more uses for mine as the years go on. :thumbup:


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## Ware

^^^ I'm wanting to order one of those for the Maruyama.


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## Iriasj2009

Mightyquinn said:


> Iriasj2009 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks! Yea about that lol, I used a 18" push broom to sweep them up, not fun. I need that power brush attachment if I'm gonna be doing this twice a year.
> 
> 
> 
> Yes, the paddle attachment for the Kombi/PAS makes sweeping the plugs up a breeze as it glides over the turf!!! I'm finding more and more uses for mine as the years go on. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Yes I definitely need one! Sweeping kicked my @$$. Oh and yes, that classen aerator was a beast. Also kick my @$$. Not my favorite machine. Turns were difficult to make and it was pretty hard keeping it going straight. Plugs were only 1.5" to 2" long. Wish it went deeper but that will have to do.


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## Iriasj2009

Ware said:


> ^^^ I'm wanting to order one of those for the Maruyama.


Definitely buyin one for next season as my budget is running thin.


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## Mightyquinn

When I rent those aerators, I have found that going in a concentric(circle) pattern around the lawn helps a lot as you don't have to turn the BEAST around 180° for each pass. You just keep going around the perimeter until you are in the center of the lawn. It also allows you to go over spots more than once and get more holes in the ground!


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## SGrabs33

Would it be easier to run the verticutter over the plugs to chop them up nice and fine? Maybe your cutting so low that it wouldn't be good to work the plugs back into the turf when you drag the sand in. Just a thought.


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## Iriasj2009

Mightyquinn said:


> When I rent those aerators, I have found that going in a concentric(circle) pattern around the lawn helps a lot as you don't have to turn the BEAST around 180° for each pass. You just keep going around the perimeter until you are in the center of the lawn. It also allows you to go over spots more than once and get more holes in the ground!


That's what I did on my second pass lol. I did one pass and then swept them up. I wanted them out of the way for my second pass. I'm trying to incorporate as much sand as I can. My second pass I just went in a circle and was much easier, and like you said, hit some spots more than twice.


----------



## Iriasj2009

SGrabs33 said:


> Would it be easier to run the verticutter over the plugs to chop them up nice and fine? Maybe your cutting so low that it wouldn't be good to work the plugs back into the turf when you drag the sand in. Just a thought.


 If I had a sandy soil then I think that would work. My soil is very clayish, they don't break easily, and I'm mowing reel low. The soil has gotten a lot better over the years though, but this is the reason why I'm planning on aerating twice a year, to incorporate more sand.


----------



## Iriasj2009




----------



## Ware

Looks great! How did you get those small piles of sand all around the perimeter?


----------



## Mightyquinn

Looking great Iriasj!!! I see you got the wife out there to help you :thumbup:

I can't wait to aerate and top dress my lawn.


----------



## wardconnor

Nice work... I love it. You are going to love the result. So much so that you will be doing it again at some point.


----------



## Iriasj2009

Ware said:


> Looks great! How did you get those small piles of sand all around the perimeter?


Thanks! Shovel and some muscle. I had to make 3 trips to pick up the sand. I unloaded it that way so that It'd be easier to spread. I wish I had a top dresser.. 2 yards is what I ended up using on 2.5ksqft and that was on the heavier side.


----------



## Iriasj2009

Mightyquinn said:


> Looking great Iriasj!!! I see you got the wife out there to help you :thumbup:
> 
> I can't wait to aerate and top dress my lawn.


Thanks! Yea she felt sorry for me so she decided to help, plus, she missed her workout so she figured pulling that drag around would be a good substitute haha. Ps. She hates working on the yard..

Oh, and until I get that brush attachment, I'm not looking forward to picking up those cores again haha.


----------



## Iriasj2009

wardconnor said:


> Nice work... I love it. You are going to love the result. So much so that you will be doing it again at some point.


Thanks! Hope y'all like the pics even tho I didn't take many. I was exhausted. I will try to take more tomorrow as I will be cleaning up and touching up. I'm sure I will love the results but for now I will take a break lol. I will be doing it again in August.


----------



## Iriasj2009

So this was my first time tackling a job this big. I had aerated before but I left all the cores in place and didn't sand afterwards.
So things I will do differently.

1. I will definitely mow it down to 1/4". Maybe even verticut before hand. My lawn hasn't develop much of a root system so I decided to skip verticutting.
2. I will only get 2 yards of sand instead of 3. 2 yards was more than enough for 2.5ksqft. Maybe even considering having it delivered.
3. I will spread the sand with a rake early in the day to give it time to dry before dragging it. Dry sand is much easier to spread and it spreads much better instead of clumping up. 
4. Definitely have someone to help out. It's back breaking work. Will be ordering a sweeper brush attachment at least by the beginning of next season.

After watering it in, I noticed a lot of holes did not fill in with sand. Wet sand doesn't fall easily in the holes. I will be using my drag mat tomorrow now that the sand is dry to push more sand into the holes.


----------



## wardconnor

Try using a push broom preferably with stiff bristles and preferably when the sand is dry. I find working with the sand when it's dry is much easier to work down into the canopy like you mentioned above.

The broom works wonders. So much so that I want to buy 10 broom heads and mount them to the underside of my drag device so I can make it 2 sided. One side for dragging/leveling and the opposite side to sweep in the sand. My drag is 10 feet long so 10 24" heads would work. Like  this.


----------



## Ware

+1 on the broom. I ordered this dragbrush from R&R last week and it is doing a great job with the sand. I will do a write-up on it when I'm finished.


----------



## Iriasj2009

Thanks for the tip guys.
Just finished touching up using a rake and 2 final sweeps, one with a push broom and then finished things off with my drag mat. I made sure most of the sand was nice and dry. Right now I'm watering things in.


----------



## tbdh20

Iriasj2009 said:


>


I have liked following your progress over the years! Seems like you've dialed it in!


----------



## Iriasj2009

tbdh20 said:


> Iriasj2009 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have liked following your progress over the years! Seems like you've dialed it in!
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks! Yea, we decided to stay at this place and have been remodeling the inside. Next project will be painting the brick and redoing the windows and shutters. I really don't like the red brick.
> 
> Here are some more pics!
Click to expand...


----------



## Iriasj2009




----------



## tbdh20

:thumbup:


----------



## Iriasj2009

It's been 8 days since I aerated and 7 days since I leveled/topdressed. Mowing at .3"
Hopefully it's all filled in by the end of the month.


----------



## Mightyquinn

Looking good Iriasj, you can almost barely tell you did anything.


----------



## Iriasj2009

Mightyquinn said:


> Looking good Iriasj, you can almost barely tell you did anything.


Thanks! Yea I will take some more pics today. It's filled in for the most part. I will be putting my 2nd application of pgr today. I've been having to mow every other day. I was using the Deere (no groomer)since I aerated. It was cutting great but will be going back to the Jake w/groomer. I gave it a cut yesterday first without the groomer on and then with the groomer on. What a difference. Cut a bunch of unwanted runners.


----------



## lagerman72

Very nice work you've done! I'm hoping to do the same process next week and am now extra inspired after seeing what you've done. I read your "what to do differently" and will keep that in mind with the early rake spreading, then drag later when sand is drier. Like you said, hopefully that'll help it fill in some more holes.


----------



## Mightyquinn

Glad to hear it's finally getting filled in. I think having a groomer could be a game changer in maintaining the lawn short as long as it's set correctly. I'm curious too at how much a difference the groomer makes at removing runners from the lawn.

Keep up the great work!!


----------



## Iriasj2009

lagerman72 said:


> Very nice work you've done! I'm hoping to do the same process next week and am now extra inspired after seeing what you've done. I read your "what to do differently" and will keep that in mind with the early rake spreading, then drag later when sand is drier. Like you said, hopefully that'll help it fill in some more holes.


Thanks! I would've let the sand dry but it got late by the time I started spreading the sand, so start early to take advantage of that sun then water it in real good. The following day you can drag it again depending on your results. Take lots of pics!!


----------



## Iriasj2009

Mightyquinn said:


> Glad to hear it's finally getting filled in. I think having a groomer could be a game changer in maintaining the lawn short as long as it's set correctly. I'm curious too at how much a difference the groomer makes at removing runners from the lawn.
> 
> Keep up the great work!!


Thanks mighty. 2.5ksqft keeps me busy enough, I don't know how everyone with anything more than that does it haha, but I guess I'm still in the renovation stage that keeps me busy.

I also think it will be a game changer especially mowing below 1/2". I guess only time will tell on what the groomer will do. :thumbup:


----------



## Iriasj2009

Dang seed heads :evil: 









After spraying PGR. I have a bunch of dry spots and I've been stingy with water.


----------



## Redtenchu

Ive seen an increase in Seed heads this season. I was hoping the T-PAC PGR would help suppress it more, like in years past.


----------



## Iriasj2009

Redtenchu said:


> Ive seen an increase in Seed heads this season. I was hoping the T-PAC PGR would help suppress it more, like in years past.


 You have them too? They just look fugly


----------



## Redtenchu

Iriasj2009 said:


> Redtenchu said:
> 
> 
> 
> Ive seen an increase in Seed heads this season. I was hoping the T-PAC PGR would help suppress it more, like in years past.
> 
> 
> 
> You have them too? They just look fugly
Click to expand...

Yes, I have a few spots that seem to be worse than others. The brush on my mower seems to help lift them into the reel, so that's helping, but doesn't get them all.


----------



## Iriasj2009

I applied my second app of certainty 2 days ago. hopefully that knocks out most of the sedge leftover. My lawn is no where near to what i think it can look like. I was going to maintain at .25" but i still need to let my lawn fill in completely first. celebration bermuda shoots thick stolons as it spreads to new areas so for now i have decided to raise my HOC to .5". I think i will be happy mowing at half inch. i also have lots of tif in the mix and these two varieties do not match nicely. if I'm not happy with the way these two look like by November, i will kill the whole lawn, plant rye grass and resod it come may-june.

Aerated and sanded just 5 weeks ago.
Pre verticut HOC .43"
mowed down to .3"
verticut one direction and cleaned up
vertticuted in a second direction and cleaned up
applied 21-0-0 at .5lbs/1ksqft
watered .5" 
Raising my HOC to .5"

Expecting full green up within 10-14 days. i will be watering every morning the next 7 days.

Lots of seed heads still but hoping they disappear after today.





















































































































Round 2. i will post pics in the morning of the final product.


----------



## Redtenchu

Nice work, it'll all pay off!


----------



## Iriasj2009

Redtenchu said:


> Nice work, it'll all pay off!


Thanks! I think one round of verticut would have sufficed but I decided to do two to try to break up as many stolons as possible. I last verticut a section back in April and it pulled up a lot of long stolons This go around, I had a much cleaner cut.


----------



## Iriasj2009

This morning.

I'll update in a week


----------



## MrMeaner

dominate the neighbors!! lol


----------



## Iriasj2009

MrMeaner said:


> dominate the neighbors!! lol


Haha we'll see In 2 weeks lol. I just finished raising the HOC on my Jacobsen. Max it out roughly at .5"


----------



## Mightyquinn

Still looking good Iriasj!!! I am sure all this hard work will pay off in the end as I'm in the same boat as you right now 

How are you liking using the 21-0-0 over 46-0-0? I'm thinking of switching over to Ammonium Sulfate as my go to Fast Release over the Urea as soon as I can find someone that has a 50lb bag locally.


----------



## Iriasj2009

Mightyquinn said:


> Still looking good Iriasj!!! I am sure all this hard work will pay off in the end as I'm in the same boat as you right now
> 
> How are you liking using the 21-0-0 over 46-0-0? I'm thinking of switching over to Ammonium Sulfate as my go to Fast Release over the Urea as soon as I can find someone that has a 50lb bag locally.


Thanks mighty! I'm curious to know how's your lawn is coming along. Well I'm hoping to get the tif and celebration to blend in but they just don't want to spread into each others territory lol. Either way, if I don't like the way it looks by end of October, I will be killing it and will be giving latitude bermuda a shot :mrgreen:

As for the 21-0-0 over urea? Only reason I looked into ammonium sulfate was to try to help acidify the soil. Started with a soil ph of 7.8 three years ago and this year my soil test came back with a 7.4ph. Other benefits of ammonium sulfate is that it is easier to spread since you are applying more product compared to urea. I would always have to mix urea with milorganite to spread it. It is also harder to burn the Bermuda with ammonium sulfate. As for growth, I think they are both the same, can't really tell a difference. Hope this helps.


----------



## dfw_pilot

Iriasj2009 said:


> Other benefits of ammonium sulfate is that it is easier to spread since you are applying more product compared to urea.


Big +1. Sometimes my spreader just won't spread very well unless there is a certain amount of flow that his going out.


----------



## Mightyquinn

Iriasj2009 said:


> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> 
> Still looking good Iriasj!!! I am sure all this hard work will pay off in the end as I'm in the same boat as you right now
> 
> How are you liking using the 21-0-0 over 46-0-0? I'm thinking of switching over to Ammonium Sulfate as my go to Fast Release over the Urea as soon as I can find someone that has a 50lb bag locally.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks mighty! I'm curious to know how's your lawn is coming along. Well I'm hoping to get the tif and celebration to blend in but they just don't want to spread into each others territory lol. Either way, if I don't like the way it looks by end of October, I will be killing it and will be giving latitude bermuda a shot :mrgreen:
> 
> As for the 21-0-0 over urea? Only reason I looked into ammonium sulfate was to try to help acidify the soil. Started with a soil ph of 7.8 three years ago and this year my soil test came back with a 7.4ph. Other benefits of ammonium sulfate is that it is easier to spread since you are applying more product compared to urea. I would always have to mix urea with milorganite to spread it. It is also harder to burn the Bermuda with ammonium sulfate. As for growth, I think they are both the same, can't really tell a difference. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

I plan on updating my thread on here in a little bit so standby 

That's good to hear about the AS and I've also heard and read that you actually lose less of it to volatilization as the plant can use it right away and doesn't have to convert it like Urea. Thankfully I don't have an issue with it flowing out of the Spyker no matter how much I put in.


----------



## Iriasj2009

I had 8 nice days without mowing. Today I mowed it at my new HOC of .5 inches. I was hoping for some rain but not a single drop fell after I verticut. I watered 1/8" everyday and will now cut back to every other day for another week then I should be able to cut back to every 6 days.


----------



## Iriasj2009

Mowed right before the rain


----------



## Iriasj2009

Just wanted to update my progress. 
July 6: 
verticut one direction, mowed to .4" before going on vacation.










July 13:
Came home to 1-1.5" Bermuda. Bermuda has hit full gear. Also, Sedge outbreak. Applied certainty at full rate. Maxed out for the year.










July 15: mowed it down to 1/2". Lots of scalping. Applied .5lbs of slow release and milorganite at half full rate.

July 18: 
mowed at 5/8" and applied 1/4lbs of fast release. Sedge stopped growing.

July 20 & 22:
Mowed HOC 5/8" no groomer. Using toro 1000 since my Jake only goes up to 1/2".





































Made up my mind. I will be killing off the lawn mid October plant rye and will give latitude 36 a try. That will be a new thread as I have so many questions and need guidance. I'm just really hating the way celebration and tiff look together. This angle really shows what I'm talking about. You can still see the celebration plugs slowly spreading.










BUT I've come a long way. These were taking exactly a year ago.


----------



## Iriasj2009

Update, 
Today I scalped the lawn down to .4". Had the groomer set at .2"
HOC was at 1" before the scalp. A lot less runners floating on top of the grass after scalping compared to the beggining of the season. I will be seeding PRG in mid oct so I decided to reset the lawn now and maintain below 1/2" until I kill and overseed the lawn. Right now I can't decide if I want to go with latitude 36 or tifgrand since I have some areas that receive more shade. Decisions decisions.


----------



## jayhawk

So you're going to (next year) replace all that celebration with latitude? What are you looking for (because your lawn is in the top 10 %, at least), what's important to you?


----------



## Redtenchu

I can't wait to see how the PRG works out for you. What HOC do you plan to maintain the PRG at?

I still cant get over the laser straight lines you have on that flower bed.


----------



## Iriasj2009

jayhawk said:


> So you're going to (next year) replace all that celebration with latitude? What are you looking for (because your lawn is in the top 10 %, at least), what's important to you?


Jayhawk, thank you for the kind words. I asked the same question before I made this decision.
What's important is:

1.) UNIFORMITY. Main reason. Never mix tifway and celebration. They will make one another look like a weed. It's like overseeding a hibrid Bermuda with a courser common Bermuda strand. To the avg Joe, it looks great but to me it doesn't. In pictures the lawn looks much better than if you were standing right on top and in person. Worst area. Eye sore lol. HOC 1"










Since I have to kill the lawn and start over, I figure I'd give something else a try. I love celebration Bermuda since it's an outstanding Bermuda. Tolorates high soil PH without loosing color, repairs itself quickly. Needs less fert and grows slower vertically. Great for shade. But other factors that helped make my decision.

2.)HOC, I want to be able to maintain at .25"-.43". Celebration can handle those heights but doesn't look it's best. 7/16" to 3/4" HOC is ideal for celebration.

3.)TEXTURE, celebration is a tougher grass and would prefer a softer one like tifway.

4.) I have the time and money to do the renovation.

In the end I do recommend celebration to anyone out there. Great shade toorance, will look great in almost any soil condition. Needs less input.

Now I need to decide if I want to go with latitude or tifgrand. I will decide once I physically put my eyes on both.


----------



## Iriasj2009

Redtenchu said:


> I can't wait to see how the PRG works out for you. What HOC do you plan to maintain the PRG at?
> 
> I still cant get over the laser straight lines you have on that flower bed.


.5" to 1" depending on if I can keep up with the mowing. The good thing is that PRG is more forgiving to scalping than Bermuda. I maintained my cousins front yard one winter at 5/8" and wasn't too bad. I hated it when it rained a lot because it would get messy and it stained everything, concrete, shoes. But it's a beautiful grass.










3weeks after seeding


















And thanks but I had to put a bit of work (a lot) into those beds.


----------



## jayhawk

Iriasj2009 said:


> In the end I do recommend celebration to anyone out there. Great shade tolerance, will look great in almost any soil condition. Needs less input.
> 
> Now I need to decide if I want to go with latitude or tifgrand. I will decide once I physically put my eyes on both.


Understood - yes, celebration does have a unique color, characteristics that i imagine can't be blended/hidden well. i have a little bit of 419 that somehow survived my zeon install so i'm sure we have similar frustrations in that regard.

No backyard action? (sorry if i overlooked a previous comment on that)

concur, PRG is pretty.


----------



## Iriasj2009

jayhawk said:


> Iriasj2009 said:
> 
> 
> 
> In the end I do recommend celebration to anyone out there. Great shade tolerance, will look great in almost any soil condition. Needs less input.
> 
> Now I need to decide if I want to go with latitude or tifgrand. I will decide once I physically put my eyes on both.
> 
> 
> 
> Understood - yes, celebration does have a unique color, characteristics that i imagine can't be blended/hidden well. i have a little bit of 419 that somehow survived my zeon install so i'm sure we have similar frustrations in that regard.
> 
> No backyard action? (sorry if i overlooked a previous comment on that)
> 
> concur, PRG is pretty.
Click to expand...

I bet your zoysia will blend in better with tif vs celebration. The blue green color really makes it stick out. That or it chokes it out lol zoysia becomes so dense!
Back yard is my next project come 2019. It's only like 1500 sqft but I have an oak tree and a pecan tree, and didn't waste my time trying to grow bermuda. I will be planting zoysia once I do renovate back there, only around 700 sqft of it, the rest will be made up of wood decking and pavers. Currently I have my own zoysia growing in containers and plan on having enough come spring 2019. That or, I might be able to source sprigs from a new friend I made that has zorro zoysia.


----------



## jayhawk

it blends color wise and blade size (naked eye) when you're at 1/2-3/4 HOC for the most part (wife for example, won't notice) however, i see it - the brown underbelly 'feature' of bermuda and when it gets wet, something makes it pop out visually to me. i was gifted some Fusilade from a former neighbor who moved to FL. #winning i think i'll try Fusilade / ester mix next spring to 'attack' it....if i can dial in the rate accurately and don't do more damage than good.

You have your own 'sod farm' in pots ...lol. Sounds like you have plenty of projects to keep you busy.


----------



## Iriasj2009

jayhawk said:


> it blends color wise and blade size (naked eye) when you're at 1/2-3/4 HOC for the most part (wife for example, won't notice) however, i see it - the brown underbelly 'feature' of bermuda and when it gets wet, something makes it pop out visually to me. i was gifted some Fusilade from a former neighbor who moved to FL. #winning i think i'll try Fusilade / ester mix next spring to 'attack' it....if i can dial in the rate accurately and don't do more damage than good.
> 
> You have your own 'sod farm' in pots ...lol. Sounds like you have plenty of projects to keep you busy.


I see, and yes I have a zoysia pot farm going on lol


----------



## Redtenchu

Mullet Yards FTW!

Business in the front, party in the back!


----------



## Iriasj2009

Redtenchu said:


> Mullet Yards FTW!
> 
> Business in the front, party in the back!


Haha!


----------



## Mightyquinn

Looking great as always Iriasj!!! Can't wait to see how the Rye overseeding goes this Fall/Winter too, that is something on my list of things to do further down the road.

Any thoughts on doing the lawn in a Ultra Dwarf Bermuda?


----------



## Iriasj2009

Mightyquinn said:


> Looking great as always Iriasj!!! Can't wait to see how the Rye overseeding goes this Fall/Winter too, that is something on my list of things to do further down the road.
> 
> Any thoughts on doing the lawn in a Ultra Dwarf Bermuda?


Hardest task will be keeping up with mowing if I'm wanting to maintain at 1/2". In the winter, by the time I make it home, it's real dark but I should be able to get a mow right after I get off. Main thing I didn't like about ryegrass was when we would get a lot of rainy days, the mess it would make after mowing. I don't think I will be overseeding after this. In my area, imdormancy if any should only last 4-6 weeks. 
I'm gonna start with latitude or tifgrand and then go from there lol. I think .25"-.4" will be my target height for now. How are you liking the tifgrand?!


----------



## Mightyquinn

Iriasj2009 said:


> How are you liking the tifgrand?!


Actually I forget that I even have it anymore as I can't tell the difference between that and the Tifway. Some of it has died off from shade and the rest of it gets thin in the fall but comes back pretty decent in the Spring and Summer. When the Tifgrand was new and I could easily compare it against Tifway, I would say the TG was a little finer bladed and a shade darker. I think you will like it if you decide to go that route. Why not TifSport?(Sorry for all the suggestions  )


----------



## Iriasj2009

I really like the way tifgrand looks in this video.








Mightyquinn said:


> Iriasj2009 said:
> 
> 
> 
> How are you liking the tifgrand?!
> 
> 
> 
> Why not TifSport?(Sorry for all the suggestions  )
Click to expand...

Haha no worries. Main issue that I have and why I really like celebration Bermuda is its ability to keep a deep green color with a soil PH of 7.3. When I first installed tifway, it never got dark, more like a lime green color. Actually, it struggled from what could have been chlororisis . The plant just didn't grow healthy and always looked thin. Apparently chlororisis, affects the plant by weakening and leaving it prone to diseases. So..... with latitude 36 (being a close cousin of tifway, a lot of similarities) I worry I will have to come up with a game plan to treat for chlororisis or deal with the color. Reason why tifgrand is on my list, it's also more shade tolerant. I haven't even looked up tifsport and wonder if they even sell it near me.


----------



## Mightyquinn

I didn't realize TIfGrand could be cut so short!!


----------



## Iriasj2009

Aug 13 cut at .33"










August 22 cut at .38"
Applied PGR at .15oz/1k. Been mowing daily since August 16. Watering every 3 days.
Slow release fert at .5lbs and supplementing with .25lbs of fast release every 7 days.

38 DAYS TIL KILL. Going with TIFGRAND BERMUDA. I will be starting a new thread soon.


----------



## Ware

Iriasj2009 said:


> ...38 DAYS TIL KILL. Going with TIFGRAND BERMUDA. I will be starting a new thread soon.


 :banana: :dancenana: :banana: :dancenana:


----------



## Mightyquinn

Ware said:


> Iriasj2009 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...38 DAYS TIL KILL. Going with TIFGRAND BERMUDA. I will be starting a new thread soon.
> 
> 
> 
> :banana: :dancenana: :banana: :dancenana:
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbup:


----------



## Colonel K0rn

Here's hoping you'll have a good conversion!


----------



## Iriasj2009

Colonel K0rn said:


> Here's hoping you'll have a good conversion!


Thanks colonel! Me too. It will be posting final pics right before the kill. This celebration and tif mix would have worked but I just couldn't stand the differences in colors and textures.


----------



## Tellycoleman

Dude how is the weather?


----------



## Iriasj2009

Tellycoleman said:


> Dude how is the weather?


25" of rain so far but no damaging winds for me and no flooding. I applied PGR and scalped the lawn before the storm knowing that I wouldn't be able to mow for 5-7 days. Haven't seen much growth at all.


----------



## Colonel K0rn

If I received that much rain here, it would take weeks for my lot to dry out. We're supposed to get rain all week due to the Tropical Storm Irma that's spinning up off of the coast. I'm praying that the forecasters are wrong. I did have a contractor come out to assess my lot, and have a few things in the works.


----------



## Iriasj2009

Colonel K0rn said:


> If I received that much rain here, it would take weeks for my lot to dry out. We're supposed to get rain all week due to the Tropical Storm Irma that's spinning up off of the coast. I'm praying that the forecasters are wrong. I did have a contractor come out to assess my lot, and have a few things in the works.


Ah man, I'll keep my fingers crossed. I've followed your post and feel your pain. Heavy rain is your enemy when trying to seed Bermuda.


----------



## Redtenchu

Iriasj2009 said:


> 25" of rain so far but no damaging winds for me and no flooding.


Glad to hear that, stay safe!


----------



## Bunnysarefat

I have to say, Iriasj2009, when I caught up on this thread a while ago and saw you were going to kill off the celebration and start over, it was like M. Night Shyamalan twist. But I feel you on your grievances and think your reasons are justified. What you're dealing with with the two Bermuda types, truly the worst.

To me, celebration is a lot like that girl in high school you always wanted to date and could have, but never went ahead and did it. Seems like a hell of a grass. Saw it on display at distributor store once and the stuff was busting the concrete seams out of its plot. Never seen a grass so aggressive and rediculously thick.

My neighbor was just a few weeks away from installing celebration in his backyard on the other side of the fence of my new TifTuf. I was seriously losing a little sleep over the thought of having to build a Donald Trump wall to keep that grass from coming under the fence into my yard, because I knew it would try. Luckily he had some unexpected expense pop up and ended up not doing it.

FWIW, I spent months trying to nuke the common Bermuda out of my yard. I probably sprayed 5 times over the course of a year.. it has come back since the grass went down but I'm sure it's in there waiting. You might want to check out the Grass Factor's new video on YouTube about surfactants, I didn't realize there were so many. Maybe you could go with a little hotter mix and get better results and kill it all in just 2 sprays or so. Looking forward to Lat36.


----------



## Iriasj2009

Bunnysarefat said:


> I have to say, Iriasj2009, when I caught up on this thread a while ago and saw you were going to kill off the celebration and start over, it was like M. Night Shyamalan twist. But I feel you on your grievances and think your reasons are justified. What you're dealing with with the two Bermuda types, truly the worst.
> 
> To me, celebration is a lot like that girl in high school you always wanted to date and could have, but never went ahead and did it. Seems like a hell of a grass. Saw it on display at distributor store once and the stuff was busting the concrete seams out of its plot. Never seen a grass so aggressive and rediculously thick.
> 
> My neighbor was just a few weeks away from installing celebration in his backyard on the other side of the fence of my new TifTuf. I was seriously losing a little sleep over the thought of having to build a Donald Trump wall to keep that grass from coming under the fence into my yard, because I knew it would try. Luckily he had some unexpected expense pop up and ended up not doing it.
> 
> FWIW, I spent months trying to nuke the common Bermuda out of my yard. I probably sprayed 5 times over the course of a year.. it has come back since the grass went down but I'm sure it's in there waiting. You might want to check out the Grass Factor's new video on YouTube about surfactants, I didn't realize there were so many. Maybe you could go with a little hotter mix and get better results and kill it all in just 2 sprays or so. Looking forward to Lat36.


Wow great information bunnysarefat!! Thank you for sharing. I will definitely be implementing this in my renovation. I will also be utilizing a sodcutter at full depth ~2.5" to help eliminate the Bermuda.

Yes celebration is a beast and I highly recommend that variety. Like you said, IT IS VERY AGGRESSIVE. if I were to maintain a larger plot, I would definitely choose celebration. Requires less fertilizer, handles drought better than tifway and has slower vertical growth. it is courser so that's something to consider if you prefer a softer grass.

First of all, convince your neighbor to instal tiftuf instead! But If your neighbor ever decides to install celebration, just prepare to switch over haha jk. I would use roundup on your fence line to keep it out and maybe even add a flower bed or rocks next to the fence. Mixing celebration with anything makes it look like a weed (technically it would be considered a weed in your case)


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## Bunnysarefat

I thought of this yesterday.. Since you're doing a blanket kill, you could look into adding DMSO to increase effectiveness of the glyphosate.

DMSO is a hell of a chemical. I've been familiar with it for a while and have a bottle on hand but never thought to use it for herbicides. I'm going to try using it as a carrier to paint halosulfuron-methyl (sedgehammer) on nutsedge. DMSO will carry the chemical right through that waxy coating like it's not even there.

This idea of using DMSO has been thrown around a few times on other forums, and there is some research on this from the 60's-70's and 90's, but they didn't have the herbicides we have today.. I just wanted to throw this idea out there to everyone on the forum. I will be trying it, but it may not be super scientific with control groups, etc, I just want the nutsedge dead of death.


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## Iriasj2009

Bunnysarefat said:


> I thought of this yesterday.. Since you're doing a blanket kill, you could look into adding DMSO to increase effectiveness of the glyphosate.
> 
> DMSO is a hell of a chemical. I've been familiar with it for a while and have a bottle on hand but never thought to use it for herbicides. I'm going to try using it as a carrier to paint halosulfuron-methyl (sedgehammer) on nutsedge. DMSO will carry the chemical right through that waxy coating like it's not even there.
> 
> This idea of using DMSO has been thrown around a few times on other forums, and there is some research on this from the 60's-70's and 90's, but they didn't have the herbicides we have today.. I just wanted to throw this idea out there to everyone on the forum. I will be trying it, but it may not be super scientific with control groups, etc, I just want the nutsedge dead of death.


Interesting! Again, thanks for sharing. I definitely want the best kill possible so I need to finish my game plan. I will be creating a new thread discussing my plan. Looks like sept 23-25 will be when I spray my first round of glypho.


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