# New Construction, New Lawn



## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Maybe this should be a journal thread (and feel free to move it there if that's the better place), but wanted to show off prep for my Celebration bermuda that is showing up at the end of this week. Just oved into our new place last week (in total, 17 acres). Told our builder I'd do the sod and landscaping myself. Ordered 14 pallets (6k square feet) of Celebration to be delivered on Friday. Last week, I had 15 yards of masonry sand delivered. A lot of my prep plans were spoiled by heavy rain last week. Ended up taking my tractor and distributing the sand around the perimeter of the area to be sodded. Then spent way more time and effort moving that by hand around the future yard (was way too wet even for a riding mower to drive around).

Finally this week it's dried out. Yesterday I finally was able to borrow my neighbors zero turn. Made a drag mat out of 2x4s and pulled it behind the zero turn to get a final grade. There are still some final touch ups, but generally speaking, it's ready to go. I will post back with some progress pictures, but it will probably be the end of the weekend. Have a feeling it's going to be a couple of long days to get 14 pallets down (yes, I do have some help).


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Anxious to follow your progress @mrigney. If it turns into more of a journal I am happy to move it. Just let me know. :thumbup:


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Thanks, @Ware! I had originally planned on being around the boards a lot more this summer, but the house build ended up sucking up way more of my time than I expected (notice the balcony on the front of the house is not finished...there's a long story to why it's been torn down and is being rebuilt that involves structural engineers and lawyers).

I'm excited to have the build behind us and spend some time getting the yard up and going and undertaking various other projects (I'll be doing a paver patio and paver walkways sometime over the next 6 months).


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

mrigney said:


> …I had originally planned on being around the boards a lot more this summer, but the house build ended up sucking up way more of my time than I expected…


Oh I feel your pain. :thumbup:


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

@Ware did your house get finished? What are/did you put down in your new yard?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

mrigney said:


> @Ware did your house get finished? What are/did you put down in your new yard?


We did, but as you know it's never really finished. I predict we'll still be decorating and finding permanent places to put stuff for months. :|

Here is a link to my Lawn Journal where I discussed what we've done with the lawn.


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

@Ware I predict your 419 ends up looking better than my Celebration🙂 Only way I could get Celebration was if I decided to lay it myself. Otherwise, would've been in the same boat with some 419 type.

Love your house. It looks great!


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Some updates from mid afternoon. Have laid about 11 of 14 pallets. Has gone way faster than expected honestly.


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

And 8 hours in, we are done with all 14 pallets.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

Can we take a vote to convince you to turn this into a journal thread @mrigney ?


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Let's do it. @Ware, can you move it?

Going to put down some starter fert tomorrow, and also roll it to make sure I've got good contact. I don't wish it on anyone, but might get some good rain from Tropical Storm Ida early next week. Until then, have sprinklers going keeping it moist in the heat.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

Did I miss the part about how much of that land you have irrigated or are you hose humping it?


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Hose humping it. Irrigation just didn't happen as part of the build. Might add it later. Next project, though, is getting a barn built. Sodded area is about 6300 sq ft. We have about 16 additional acres (10 total pasture, 6ish wooded). That is definitely not irrigated.

At my previous house I had about 6k sq ft that I hose watered. We average 50"+ of rain here, so it's pretty rare to get long droughts. I'll typically pull out the hoses a couple of times a summer, and otherwise depend on natural irrigation&#128578;


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Put down Lesco starter fert today (24-18-12) at a rate of about .75# N per 1k. Kept the watering up. Looks like we'll get some rain from Ida early next week.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

Nice. What's your native vegetation in your pasture land? Around here most everything "native" is pasture Bermuda or Bahia.


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

@Amoo316 I would jokingly say sweet gum saplings, but it's kind of true. Tons of them. The pasture had not been super well cared for before we bought it. I'm actually strongly considering a pasture renovation over several years, partly because we do plan on having some livestock eventually. But, it's a mix. A lot of broomsedge, some fescue, a little clover, a few legumes, and yes. Lots of sweet gum saplings.


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Picked up a sod roller this morning and rolled the sod to make sure we had good contact with the underlying soil. Another light watering right now. Had about 0.15" of rain overnight that was nice. Looks like we'll get 2-3" early in the week from Ida.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

I've got farm land on all 4 sides of me (front of the house has the dirt road between me an another field). I always have a heads up as what to expect in regards to weed pressure for the year based on what I'm seeing in the fields once the crops start coming up. This season I saw lezpedeza start showing up in the fields soon after the peanuts came up. Sure enough my fence lines and usual "gypho areas" started seeing pressure from that.

We have a pasture at work and it's a whole different ballgame weed care wise then home lawns. The weeds actually get easier to control when you have animals on the pasture as you can start using products like GrazonNext. Velpar specifically lists sweetgum and is pasture safe. It's definitely a whole different world of chemicals even if you transitioned over to pasture bermuda.


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Things starting to root some and appears (to my cursory glance) to be turning the corner and starting to green up. Did a little watering yesterday just to keep it moist.


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

3" of rain yesterday...probably more than I really needed. Today is day 6 including the day of install. Generally really starting to green up!


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Looking good @mrigney. I would take 3" of rain on new sod any day. My water bill after we put down our second round of sod was over $400.


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'd much rather have the 3" than not. Just wish we could've spread it out a little more!

One week 1...I think I'm past the point of worrying whether or not it'll survive. Just want to get it fully rooted and grown in by the end of this growing season, and then will look to really getting it going in the spring.

Day 7


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Went around yesterday and filled some of the larger seams with sand to try to keep it leveled. Ended up with about 3 or 4 yards of sand of the 15 I brought in for prep. Going to probably just keep it around (advantage of having 17 acres) until the spring and use it for a leveling next spring/summer.


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Two weeks in now. Still looking pretty good to me. Probably going to give it a mow soon. Need to decide what height to mow at to end the season.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

I'd vote 2" to give yourself as much green leaf material as late into the season as possible and drop it next year.


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Still growing in pretty well at the almost 3 weekark. Everything is rooted well at this point. Plan is to give it a quick mow this weekend with the rotary (going to go relatively high since we're close to the end of the growing season in line with @Amoo316 above. Got a few sedges popping up here and there. It sure if it's worth spraying them in sod this new?


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

Looking good buddy. I'd hard pass on the sedge treatment at this point and just worry about Pre-M time which should be close for you.


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## mrigney (Jun 6, 2017)

Been an eventful couple of weeks here with the yard. Mixed in with my wife being due w/a baby this week has made things a little hectic (and no, no baby yet...all of our kids tend to make late appearances). About a week ago, we got an absolute flood of a rain. 4.3" in one day, and about 7" total over a 4 day period. I had standing water all over the yard for a day plus, and the wet-weather creek that runs on my property turned into a raging monster a couple feet deep and was way over its banks.

Waters finally receded. I guess on Wednesday, or maybe Thursday I noticed some brown spots in the yard as I walked out to work. Thought, "hmm...maybe a fungus from all the rain" (10"+ in the 5 weeks since the sod was laid). Grabbed a fungicide on the way home, but when I got home, did some more looking and thought...this doesn't look like fungus. I wonder if it's armyworms. Grabbed a bucket and did the soap test...and there they were. Luckily damage was confined to a pretty small area at this point.

Went to grab my backpack sprayer to immediately spray bifenthrin (Talstar P). But, having just moved, I of course couldn't find the battery. So....back into town. I picked up an Ortho spray product that had bifenthrin (Bug B Gone, I think) and also a bag of Spectracide Triazicide (a.i. Gamma-Cyhalothrin). I knew both were pyrethroids, but wanted to try to get as much coverage as possible with a spray and a liquid. Came back, put both down concurrently. Maybe not the best thing, but didn't want my brand new sod to get eaten.

Attached picture is taken from the balcony. This is the part of the yard with the worst damage. There's another smaller area with some damage, but so far most of the yard has escaped relatively intact.

We're over 48 hours since I applied and damage seems to be contained. Haven't noticed it spreading to other areas of the yard, and another soap test yesterday yielded no army worms. Will keep an eye on it and see.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

Glad you passed the "dummy check" and found the problem. I would personally feel comfortable with 2 prong approach you used. I know I read in a study somewhere that armyworms prefer new sod to existing grass, but I can not for the life of me find it. The pressure I've seen you guys in AL under this year with armyworms doesn't surprise me one bit, you ended up with them. Still looking strong all things considered.

You make any determinations yet if you're going to drop a Pre-M this fall or you going to ride it out until spring?


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