# Richkm20's mini reno experiment



## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

After going full lawn crazy this year (liquid prodiamine apps, fertilizer, liquid iron apps, pgr use, preventative fungus rotation, etc) I've decided to test my luck at a renovation with a small 500 Sq ft area hidden away inside the fence of my back yard. I ordered some mazama KBG and applied the first round of glyphosphate this afternoon so there's no turning back now! Wish me luck!


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Good luck! That's a nice plot to work with. Looking forward to the results :thumbup:


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

I think a mazama monostand will look great. Looking forward to your progress.


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

Welcome to the Mazama monostand crowd this year  Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Took the grass down to 2" today. Second round of glyphosphate tomorrow but wondering if I should go over the area with a thatch rake before I spray. Good idea or no?


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Didn't have as much time as I would have liked over the weekend so chores got moved to Tuesday. Mowed at 2.5 inches, went over the area with a thatch rake, mowed and bagged a second time and applied the second round of glyphosphate. Looking good so far!


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Dropped the HOC on the HRX all the way down and mowed (and leveled :lol some areas. Raked everything to stand it up again and went over it a second time with the mower. Hoping to seed, apply a third glyphosphate app, and get tenacity down this weekend.

Also finally had a visit from the neighbor (had only been puzzled looks at my backyard prior) to ask me what was happening to my lawn and couldn't believe I was killing off grass that looked better than his by choice(not a very high bar ) .

Now I just need to figure out if applying glyphosphate and tenacity in the same tank is acceptable or if I should do separate apps.

Only a few days till seed down (hopefully),wish me luck!


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## dacoyne (May 27, 2018)

I don't know if mixing them is ok or not but personally I would wait on the Tenacity. It's lifespan is pretty short so you'll want to maximize it. Wait till seed down or a few days after since you can't spray again untill after a few mows if any weeds do come up. Just my 2 cents, looks great and good luck!


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## Wolverine (Jan 17, 2018)

What is your method for seeding?


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Wolverine said:


> What is your method for seeding?


Since it's such a small area I'm going to use the little handheld Scott's Wizz that I've got. If that doesn't work maybe I'll throw it out like rice at a wedding


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Picked up 2 bags of GreenTRX from the co-op (thanks @Wolverine). Then decided to organize the shed (wife got sick of everything seeming to accumulate in the garage). Tomorrow I'll rake the patch and get it ready for seed down.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

You can tell just by that picture how much the lawn care bug got you lol Bags of milo and greentrx, spyker spreader, Sprayer's Plus sprayers, looking good!


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

ksturfguy said:


> You can tell just by that picture how much the lawn care bug got you lol Bags of milo and greentrx, spyker spreader, Sprayer's Plus sprayers, looking good!


Yeah it escalated quickly! I blame my wife, she said I needed a hobby :lol:


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

Man, really makes me want to get a bigger shed...maybe someday. Right now the previous owners just left one of those cheapish plastic ones that is maybe 9x6 so i cant fit much more than a mower, a pressure washer and a few other things in there. Even then i have to play tetris to get it all in and out every time.


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

FuzzeWuzze said:


> Man, really makes me want to get a bigger shed...maybe someday. Right now the previous owners just left one of those cheapish plastic ones that is maybe 9x6 so i cant fit much more than a mower, a pressure washer and a few other things in there. Even then i have to play tetris to get it all in and out every time.


I'm definitely glad the previous owner built it even if the corner of it is "technically" in the neighbors yard (according to the survey).


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## Wolverine (Jan 17, 2018)

Good looking shed!


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Hit the patch with another dose of roundup on Sunday. Today I went back over it with the thatch rake to get more soil exposure. Hopefully there's enough as seed goes down tomorrow.


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Finally got seed down on Tuesday after work (couldn't believe how satisfying that was) and scheduled the rachio to go on at 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm and 9pm. Tomorrow I'll do a tenacity app and wait to see if I was successful or a total failure. Fingers crossed!


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Nice work! I just had a chance to go through your journal and will be following. That IS a neatly organized shed. I need to bump up a shed cleanup on my list.

I'm not trying add to your lawn equipment hoarding craze (well, yes I am). I didn't see a Pro Plugger in your shed. Maybe that should be your next acquisition. Lol


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Chris LI said:


> Nice work! I just had a chance to go through your journal and will be following. That IS a neatly organized shed. I need to bump up a shed cleanup on my list.
> 
> I'm not trying add to your lawn equipment hoarding craze (well, yes I am). I didn't see a Pro Plugger in your shed. Maybe that should be your next acquisition. Lol


Can't take the credit for the organization, I utilized my wife's expertise for that part. She got sick of the lawn gear migrating into the garage :lol:

I've looked at a Pro Plugger before but didn't pull the trigger. If this reno experiment goes well and I decide to do a monostand on the rest of the lawn next year I'll probably add one to the arsenal.


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Did some quick math for a Tenacity app on 650 Sq ft and ended up with 1.765 ml. I'll show my work below so someone can double check my calculations


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Looks right.


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

After getting confirmation of my math (thanks @g-man) and getting my wonderful 15 month old daughter to bed a bit later than I would have liked I looked all over the house for something that could measure out the 1.765 ml of Tenacity. I searched without luck until I remembered these little gems we ordered on Amazon to measure out the medicine my daughter was prescribed last year for a wicked case of infant reflux. Found a fresh one, loaded up the sprayer, grabbed a flashlight and went headfirst into the darkness (bonus points for no neighbors reporting a lunatic pacing back and forth in my backyard with a flashlight and hand sprayer :lol.

Now I'll tweak my watering schedule as needed and wait for germination day!


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

We have germination! Exactly 7 days since seed down day. Excited to see the area slowly start turning green. Also noticed massive amounts of worm casting hills so that's a good sign as well (I think).


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## NoslracNevok (Jun 12, 2018)

Baby Mazama is so cute!


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Day 10 after seed down (Day 3 after beginning of germination)

Really happy with how things are going. Amazed how quickly the little mazama seeds are germinating. You can now see a green shade already starting in the dead grass. Coverage is better than I expected as well. Weather has been great with mild Temps and no crazy downpours, hope that trend continues.

As for the rest of the lawn I'll be applying 0.6 Oz of T-Nex and 1.5 Oz of feature per 1k later tonight.


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Day 13 from seed down, day 6 from germination start

What a difference 3 days makes. Really starting to get some color coming through. Adjusted my sprinkling schedule to go at 8 AM (7 min), 2 PM (9 min), and 9PM (7 min) due to some wet spots. Weather has been pretty ideal without any heavy rain or big temperature fluctuations.

Started a fall blitz for the rest of the lawn by spreading .5 lbs N/K of 21-0-0 ammonium sulfate yesterday during my daughter's second nap. Never used synthetic ferts before so I'm taking the cautious approach and fertilizing every 2 weeks.


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Day 21 after seed down / 14 after germination

The mazama is really starting to come along. Still seems to be in the "pout" stage but hopefully that will come to an end soon. Took a close look today and noticed the single blades are beginning to tiller. Now I need to figure out how much longer I should wait for the starter fertilizer I put down at germination to "wear off" before I give it a light app of 21-0-0 ammonium sulfate.

Also grabbed an old push reel mower from my parents cottage to use for the first few mows to minimize any damage my HRX might cause


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

You can start nitrogen right about now.


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

Day 24 after germination

Dropped 0.2 lbs of N in the form of 21-0-0 ammonium sulfate on Wednesday and let the crazy storms water it in. Hopefully it didn't all wash away. I couldn't wait any longer and busted out the manual reel mower for the first mow. Didn't get much in the way of clippings but there is something so satisfying about finally seeing some stripes (albeit pretty weak) in the reno. I'll probably apply some propicanozol at the 1oz per 1k rate tomorrow to help it along after I do my 2oz/k of feature and 0.6oz/k T-Nex app on the rest of the lawn.

Before cut





Post cut


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## Wolverine (Jan 17, 2018)

Looking good! Patience is key.


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## Richkm20 (Mar 13, 2019)

45 days after germination:

Haven't been able to update the journal as much as I'd like to due to a job change and the chaos that entails. Since my last post I've put down. 25. Lbs of N per 1k of ammonium sulfate per week and tried to be diligent with the mowing. Also did an application of propicanozol at the 1 oz/1k rate 2 weeks ago to help things along. Really excited to see it the grass beginning to darken up and want to give it a shot of Feature 6-0-0 to help the color along (good idea or no?)

As far as weather goes it's been really wet for the last few weeks and I've noticed the reno has some yellowing going on. Hopefully it's just from being waterlogged and not something more severe.


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## Wolverine (Jan 17, 2018)

Any updates?


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