# MacMellow's 2020 Lawn Journal - Eastcoast, Southern CT



## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

HI all,

I am new to this site and to lawn care. My wife and I bought a home this time last year in eastern Connecticut. In the spring I tried a couple of things on my own to improve the condition of my lawn, but feel like none of it helped. A neighbor/coworker/friend introduced this site to me, and I feel like you all will be my saviors.

Here's some pictures of my lawn and what I am working with:


picture of the front lawn


zoom in of distressed area, that needs repair


front yard


bare patches that needs repair




bar patch that I tried seeding when we first moved in, that needs repair.

backyard

backyard, a section that was overrun by weeds. I used a rake to remove the weeds, but now the area is bare. Will try adding top soil and seed next month.

backyard

backyard

backyard area needs to be overseeded.

So, now after finding this website, I am trying to follow the steps for the cool season guide by G-man (Many props for sharing that with us). I want a lawn you see on the tv ads.
I know my lawn size (9500 sq feet) and I got my soil tested about four weeks ago now.

I have been killing weeds for the last two weeks, but will start using PreM to make sure these weeds dont come back. Lastly, I am watering four times a week at this point. My sprinkler system had a busted main when we moved into the house, so just got that repaired and have been watering religiously for the last three weeks. More to come soon.


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## kay7711226 (Jun 24, 2020)

@mac_mellow Welcome, lets turn those Brown patches Green


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

HI all,

been very busy getting ready for all the work I need to do to my lawn to get it in better shape for the spring. I uploaded my lawn report and am going to follow the instructions provided by the state of Connecticut.


Also, ordered seed from Newsom on the recommendation of a fellow TLF member. I got the newsom trio which has 80% fine fescue, 10% KBG, and 10% PRG. Hope this helps my lawn grow in the bare spots and the thinning areas.

Last update is I tried some seed from the superseedstore in Buffalo, NY. It was a shade mix. I already planted these seed in a large bare area I had in the backyard about a week ago. Its the only part of my lawn that is shaded. I already have some growth! I will post pictures in my next post.


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

Quick update before bed.
Did alot of work on the yard since the last update. Started cutting the the grass shorter. At first, dropped the mower an inch. Dropped it down further to cut the grass to one inch length since I overseeded today. It was a full day of dethatching, cuttting the lawn, dethatching again, and mowing to pick up all the dead grass.

A fellow lawn enthusiast came over and sprayed the lawn with tenacity after we spread topsoil and seeded bare spots and the entire front lawn.

A full day of work, but really felt worth it.

Here's the pics to show what we did. 












Now we wait for grass to grow...


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

Welcome to the site. Good luck for the seeding. Its late in the season, I need the same luck as you


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

uts said:


> Welcome to the site. Good luck for the seeding. Its late in the season, I need the same luck as you


Many thanks uts! First go at this, so I'm hoping with the vast array of information on this site, and guidance from @kay7711226 that my lawn will show some progress.


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## kay7711226 (Jun 24, 2020)

@mac_mellow update on the backyard seeding? How's the shady area mix looking?


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

kay7711226 said:


> @mac_mellow update on the backyard seeding? How's the shady area mix looking?


@kay7711226 Here's a pic of the growth after the a couple of weeks.



You can see shady mix (fine fescue form the superseedstore in Buffalo, NY) growth right next to the house. It came in nice and thick. Funny because that was just supposed to be a test spot to try out some of the superseedstore seed, but it came in way better than expected. I also seeded on the other side. That seeding is a little more spaced out.

As for the front of the lawn, I am getting germination! Its rained here for the last three days, but since day one I've kept on a schedule of watering three times a day. I've been advised to water more, so will increase to watering five times a day at 5-7 min depending on the zone requirement. More pictures to come after the rain stops.


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

Trying to get a calendar of events together to keep things organized. Here is what I recently did in chrono order.

9/21/2020: seeded front yard with Newsom trio mix [80% TF, 10% PRG, 10% KBG], and top soil after dethatching.
Sprayed yard with tenacity at time of seeding.
9/27/2020: seeded backyard with newsom trio mix and top soil after dethatching.
Sprayed yard with tenacity at time of seeding.
9/28/2020: Spotted first germination for front yard bare spots
10/2/2020: spotted first germination for back yard spots where I seeded.

Now we wait to mow...


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## kay7711226 (Jun 24, 2020)

mac_mellow said:


> Trying to get a calendar of events together to keep things organized. Here is what I recently did in chrono order.
> 
> 9/21/2020: seeded front yard with Newsom trio mix [80% TF, 10% PRG, 10% KBG], and top soil after dethatching.
> Sprayed yard with tenacity at time of seeding.
> ...


How's the germination coverage looking after the watering adjustment?


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

Its been a while since I posted, but wanted to share some images and give an update of what I've done recently.

   

these pictures above were taken on October 8th.
Here's the updates to my calendar of activity:

9/21/2020: seeded front yard with Newsom trio mix [80% TF, 10% PRG, 10% KBG], and top soil after dethatching.
Sprayed yard with tenacity at time of seeding.
9/27/2020: seeded backyard with newsom trio mix and top soil after dethatching.
Sprayed yard with tenacity at time of seeding.
9/28/2020: Spotted first germination for front yard bare spots
10/2/2020: spotted first germination for back yard spots where I seeded.
10/11/2020: First application of urea to front and back yard
10/21/2020: Advised to spread starter fertilizer, so covered front and back yard with 50lbs of starter fert. Split back between front and backyard.

More pics for the progress to come once its stops raining. Also, looks like the temps will get below freezing soon, and my opportunities to promote deep root growth will come to an end.


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## kay7711226 (Jun 24, 2020)

what the total lawn looking like now? With the high temps this week, you will get a burst of growth.


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

Here we are heading into winter. Here's some pics of my lawn before the grass goes dormant. Lawn in its entirety is looking pretty good thanks to help from Kay. Cant wait to see how we can push it further for next year.

Pictures taken October 30th!


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## kay7711226 (Jun 24, 2020)

@mac_mellow Look at you "Tiering up" can't wait until next year!! Looking really good man!


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Keep up the good work.

With the leaves still on the trees, it doesn't look like Northeastern CT. Ours are all down in the Central part of the state. Also, your location doesn't match the thread title. What part of the state are you in?


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## kay7711226 (Jun 24, 2020)

Green said:


> Keep up the good work.
> 
> With the leaves still on the trees, it doesn't look like Northeastern CT. Ours are all down in the Central part of the state. Also, your location doesn't match the thread title. What part of the state are you in?


@Green Indeed he is 5 miles away from me, think those pics were at least a month ago.


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

@kay7711226 thanks sir, couldn't have done it without your guidance. @Green , you are absolutely correct. I took those pictures a month ago so all the leaves are down now. I also updated the title. I live in Shelton near the Trumbull line. I'm always in the yard but terrible about updating my journal .


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## mac_mellow (Jul 30, 2020)

After a long winter and alot of snow, I'm back! Ready for spring and lawn activities.


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