# Matty Q's Lawn Journal



## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

Starting pretty late with this lawn journal as I actually just recently joined TLF. This is my first home and first ever experience with Bermuda grass - the yard was sodded when it was built in 2013 with tifway 419. Seems as though the previous owners re-seeded common in the backyard (which is falling pray to the hybrid), luckily not in the front yard though.

at this point I still only own a Rotary mower as the yard is just far to uneven & bumpy for a powered reel mower - though the plan is to eventually level the entire yard, but realistically probably not until next year.

Spark notes of what's been done to the yard thus far this year 

First week of march:
laid down Pre-M coctail of Gallery / Prodiamine / Simazine

March 17: 
was sick of looking at the POA so i nuked with a spot spray of Celsius/Certainty - all dead within 3 weeks

March 24:
laid down some 10-10-10 and a couple extra bags of Milo i had laying around (64#'s total i believe it was)

Early April: 
Granular spread of 46-0-0 urea at 1#n Per 1ksqft + Sprayed NeXT Air8, RGS, MicroGreene 0-0-2

May 1st:
Did some leveling and re-plugging in the backyard where the dogs decided to start digging holes as well as starting Liquid Urea app's at aout .15# perk1k sqft to help fill in some bare spots

Yesterday I decided to beat the crap out of yard with the SunJoie scarifier - sharpened the blades Friday night to ensure it was truly slicing rather the ripping.

Before sunjoe:





After sunjoe:











6 bags worth of mostly dead crap - so feel good about how the sunjoe performed and honestly doesnt look as bad as i had imagined it.

Also got in a nice edge today (pictured above) and the HOA approved the Dog waste vendors to FINALLY remove the dog waste station in my yard - BIG win for me :lol: (even if i am getting some angry glared my way from people who are looking for it)

Planning on hitting the yard this afternoon with another Urea foiler spray - look forward to keeping this journal updated and hopefully soon enough the yard will finally be all nice and greened up.

Matt


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## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

May 10th:

Been calling the local supersod store about every week waiting for Tiftuf sod to become available. Was able to finally grab 10 rolls that where just cut this morning and installed them this afternoon. This area gets about 5-6 hours of sun a day this time of year so hoping that's good enough to get it established.

hope the color difference isn't major. Then again, anything is better than looking at mostly dirt 

Here's a before:



And after:


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## Ben S (Oct 6, 2018)

Welcome to TLF. Your yard looks great. Can't wait to see it once summer really gets going. Do you have irrigation?


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## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

Ben S said:


> Welcome to TLF. Your yard looks great. Can't wait to see it once summer really gets going. Do you have irrigation?


Thank you! Unfortunately, no I do not have irrigation- and I'm afraid the price to get one installed is a bit prohibitive for me at the moment. Definitely on the bucket list of things to do in the next couple years. But I've been getting creative with the ol' hose n sprinkler!


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## Ben S (Oct 6, 2018)

Same here. Well, good luck.


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## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

Just a small update - yard seems to be progressing well. Was able to hit it with some FEature and nitrogen urea foliar spray on Wednesday which I say definitely greened it up a lot in some spots.

Here's couple side by sides from 5/9 to today, 5/21:







I've been running different HOC's for the front yard/side of house vs fenced in backyard (where the dogs reign supreme) and noticed in the back where I'm keeping it a at 2.25" is greening up a lot quicker than the spots in the front/side cut at 1.25". I think it goes back to the hoc I used to scalp which was right at 1" borrowing a neighbors reel. I figured if I was persistent it would thicken, but it hasn't happened as quick as the back. Maybe I should suck it up and raise the HOC for now? Here's how it looks:



I did just purchased a used earthwise 1715-16ew (7 blades) but the previous owners sort of abused it and I'm waiting on the lapping paste to arrive from pinhigh before I can start using it.


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## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

5/23 update

Got the earthwise 7 blade reel up and running this afternoon and took it on its maiden voyage with the HOC set @ 1". Took me a LOT longer to hit the entire yard than imagined (5k sqft), but really digging how it turned out.

Here's a quick shot of the front yard


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## dubyadubya87 (Mar 10, 2020)

Amazing how much of a difference even a manual reel makes! Still love mine.


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## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

Memorial Day weekend Update -

5/29
Sprayed Panterra along the base of the swells in the side yard and some other low spots where water collects. Hit the rest of the yard with a tournament ready pellet to supplement the watering. Mother nature has not been kind to us in NC and we are going on almost a month with barely 1/4" of water from rain.

5/30
I hit some Virginia Buttonweed sprouting near the swells with a celsius / speedzone cocktail. I plan to stay on top of the VBW this year as years past it has been a huge problem where the swells even out and moisture collects. Also starting to see a small amount of torpedo pop up in some bare areas - hit with some quinclorac, but i may just go out and dig it up as its in really small patches right now.

5/31
had a windy Thursday + Friday which dumped a bunch of leaves and twigs all over. Ran over the yard with the rotary and bagger to grab most of it, and then tackled with the manual reel at a 1" HOC. absolutely loving how the yard is starting to look!

Today (6/1) im gunna hit the yard with a FEature / Urea app - been trying to time with my watering schedule and had unplanned guests come over causing me to skip it last week.

Next project will be finding a PGR to add to the mix. Just need a few more spots to fill in before i pull the trigger on it.


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## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

Hasn't rained for more than 5 minutes in the past month here. Obviously as is fashion - we got an inch and half dumped on us in 30 minutes. Wonder if I can list my house now as "water front property"





All things considered at least I won't have to water the yard for a bit :roll:


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## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

6/13 -

I was planning on leveling my backyard yesterday without aerating, but last minute decided to run up to Lowes to rent a BillyGoat AE401H. While this unit was an absolute tank, I actually found it fairly easy to maneuver and was able to finish the job in less than 2 hours for my 5200 sqft lot.





then the real work started in the afternoon leveling the backyard. The front / side yards are fairly level already so i opted to skip them, however i will be touching up some spots in the weeks to come. I wont lie, this was a tough job in the beating NC sun  took me about 5 hours to complete.









I did go a bit heavy with the sand in some spots like in front of the patio, but hoping the bermuda will be able to bounce back fairly quickly.

All in all im happy with the end result, but after about 8 hours of work, im absolutely beat - Hoping the end result will be worth it though!


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## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

13 day update since aeration and backyard level:





In the end I think I could have been a bit more heavy handed in some spots, but ran out of sand. But overall I think it was well worth all the effort!

(Yes i need an edge reallll bad haha)


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## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

7/9 update -

Almost been a full month since leveling the backyard. Have put down two feature / urea apps since then and am very happy with the results - minus the dog urine burns in the way back (they just love that spot to much):



Yesterday I finally started my PGR apps as I've been cutting at 3/4" almost every other day trying to keep up. This is my first experience with a regulator so I'm hoping for the best.


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## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

Been awhile since I updated this Journal - I have been deep in a battle with fungus issues in the backyard. After a steep learning curve and over-regulating the grass with PGR and an app of a DMI fungicide, the grass is finally starting to bounce back and the fungus is slowly going buh-bye 

We've had 5" of rain since Wednesday in Charlotte and i was FINALLY able to get outside this afternoon (8/15) to get a good mow and edge in. HOC has been 3/4" since beginning of July and I think its the sweet spot for the manual reel i've been using.


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## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

9/19/21 update - likely the last of the season 

First, just a big thanks to anyone on this forum who has helped me along the way. 2021 was the first year I decided to take this lawn thing seriously - and minus some hiccups, im happy with the results and look forward to the seasons to come. I've been able to turn yard work from being a chore to a passion / hobby and have TLF to thank for that. Its a great feeling when people in the neighborhood stop by while in the yard and ask how to get a lawn as nice !

Anyways, last week i applied Esplanade 200c (Indaziflam) + Prodiamine for my first Fall app. I was hit with POA heavy last year and am not trying to take any chances. Opted for 3 MOA approach, and next year may decide to rotate out the prodiamine. My Fall app 2 will be another round of Esplanade + prodiamine + simazine.

I have been tapering off of the Nitrogen (Urea) and likely today will be my last PGR app as the grass has started to really slow down. Today i will likely also start spreading Potash (0-0-50) to get the grass ready for dormancy (might be a little early, but im traveling after today).

But the best update is this past Tuesday I received my Swardman Edwin 2.1 55 from @Reelrollers



I wont lie, this thing is sweet and has some heft to it - glad i went with a homeowner reel over a greensmower for now as i cant imagine how bulky the JD220 i was eyeing would have been for this small yard.

I went a scootch bit heavy in the paint with it on the first mow thinking my 3/4" HOC on the earthwise would match the 3/4" setting on the swardman. News flash - it definitely does not given the weight and grooved roller being able to get much deeper into turf. So yea pretty much scalped the grass :lol:



You live and you learn i guess! Will likely let this grow back out above 1" and switch to the rotary this season to finish it off then do a proper scalp next spring.

At any rate, thats about it - thanks everyone again and see you next season!


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## mrmattyq (Apr 14, 2021)

Pretty late to the party this year.

So far this season i havent done much other than leveling the front yard. The Swardman has definitely helped me get a much cleaner (and lower) look this season, however the issues i have with the mower stack up every day (i'll save everyone my rant for now).

I was maintaining at .35" for about a month, but it seemed to struggle that low so i opted to switch to .5" which seems to fare better and i'll likely keep it at this height for the rest of the year. This year has been great so far with minimal weed pressure thanks to the ﻿Indaziflam (spectacle flo / Esplanade), haven't had to apply any herbicide this summer.

I will be going away for a week and a half, so the next month should be.. interesting  Photos below are from 3 days after i sprayed DMI fungicide (Eagle) and PGR (at .38oz/m) to try to stunt the hell out of the grass, thought there would be a lot more bronzing :twisted:


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## Dono1183 (Oct 11, 2021)

Your yard looks great!


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