# Brian's Mega Build & Journal



## Grass Clippins

Alright! Here we go...

I live on roughly 3 wooded acres in Marietta Ga with my wife and 7 week old son. I want a nice respectable lawn so a couple years ago I decided to take out a few pine and sweet gum trees to make way for the sunshine. I ended up taking out around 40 trees. I roped them, cut them down, limbed them and burn them all on my own. About a year ago I had someone do the stump grinding for me. Two water oaks and a hickory tree remain in this area.

Below is a picture taken before I started cutting (1/18/2019 Edit: The Phase 1 area is around 18,000 square feet, not 27,000)


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## TigerinFL

man that's a whole lot of trees


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## Greendoc

Good man. Either you have a lawn or else you live in a cottage in the middle of Sherwood Forest. Keep cutting!


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## pennstater2005

Is the area marked set to be all lawn?


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## Grass Clippins

Here is a picture from the street near the upper right corner of the property, you can barely see the house in the summer.



And here is a picture taken last night, same location.


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## Grass Clippins

and here is a picture from the house looking toward the upper right corner of the property.


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## Grass Clippins

TigerinFL said:


> man that's a whole lot of trees


Exactly....whole lot of work. People ask me what I do for exercise and laugh when I say "yard work". I have to get serious and say "no really, I do some pretty intense yard work."


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## Grass Clippins

Greendoc said:


> Good man. Either you have a lawn or else you live in a cottage in the middle of Sherwood Forest. Keep cutting!


Thank you. Cutting is done in Phase One brother, except that nasty looking dog wood by the telephone pole, that's bothering me. This summer the goal is to finish pulling up the roots with my box blade and prep for bringing in a lot of dirt. Once that's in place I may do irrigation, if I have time, and then throw her down this fall.


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## Grass Clippins

pennstater2005 said:


> Is the area marked set to be all lawn?


yes, for the most part. I have not decide on what to plant though. Which is one of the reasons why I'm here. I like the idea of tall fescue, but realize that it may not be realistic in this climate. I'm beginning to lean towards bermuda and a winter overseed to keep the green.


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## Grass Clippins

In addition to taking out all those trees I've also removed the overgrown shrubs and monkey grass. This place is laced out with monkey grass and I really don't like the way it looks. Everything must go!


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## pennstater2005

Grass Clippins said:


> pennstater2005 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Is the area marked set to be all lawn?
> 
> 
> 
> yes, for the most part. I have not decide on what to plant though. Which is one of the reasons why I'm here. I like the idea of tall fescue, but realize that it may not be realistic in this climate. I'm beginning to lean towards bermuda and a winter overseed to keep the green.
Click to expand...

That's a big lawn! Are you grinding all the stumps down? Bermuda would be nice as it spreads aggressively and lots of members here have beautiful bermuda lawns. I imagine TTTF would be tough down there but I know @social port grows it in Tennessee and it's beautiful.


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## Grass Clippins

pennstater2005 said:


> Grass Clippins said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> pennstater2005 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Is the area marked set to be all lawn?
> 
> 
> 
> yes, for the most part. I have not decide on what to plant though. Which is one of the reasons why I'm here. I like the idea of tall fescue, but realize that it may not be realistic in this climate. I'm beginning to lean towards bermuda and a winter overseed to keep the green.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> That's a big lawn! Are you grinding all the stumps down? Bermuda would be nice as it spreads aggressively and lots of members here have beautiful bermuda lawns. I imagine TTTF would be tough down there but I know @social port grows it in Tennessee and it's beautiful.
Click to expand...

Yes, I had the stump ground last fall. In all it was around 60 stumps, I snuck down a few in the back as well. They did a pretty good job grinding but some of these trees were massive, for the area. Sweet gum tree roots are girthy and will run forever. The only way to get them up is wait for the rain to soften the ground and pull them up with the tractor. I have since forked up most of the wood chips and am now working on the rocks...and roots.


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## pennstater2005

60 stumps :shock:


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## social port

First of all, that is a nice property and house that you have there.

I think that a warm season grass makes all the sense in the world. That is the reasonable thing. But...if you are getting rid of all of those trees, I'd spend so many nights dreaming about running ridiculously long passes on a mower--from your house, all the way down to the street with no obstacles--and in the process leaving stripes on fescue grass so pronounced that they would show up on a satellite. Long, straight passes on cool season turf =  and Bliss.

If you have financial comfort, are willing to invest in fungicides (and apply them), can install irrigation, and are willing to tolerate an experiment for a year or two, I'd try my luck with fescue.
If it's a flop, a bermuda lawn can look exquisite. I've been tempted in that direction after seeing so many nice looking bermuda lawns on this forum. But once you go bermuda, you're going to have a hard time going back if you wanted to. Not so with fescue. It will die when you ask.
FWIW


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## Colonel K0rn

social port said:


> But once you go bermuda, you're going to have a hard time going back if you wanted to. Not so with fescue. It will die when you ask.
> FWIW


:rofl:


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## Tellycoleman

I am a Bermuda guy and you have done alot of work. 
What type of trees do you have left?
I can also see bermuda struggling in the areas around the trees you have remaining ( especially when they get older). You have done a great Job !! But You might do better with zoysia or St Aug if your wanting to keep a more uniform lawn in the shaded areas. Remember Bermuda Does Not Like Any Shade. and growing bermuda around trees, even if its just a few, will not be successful in the long run. When you look at these awesome Bermuda lawns on this forum you notice one thing in common No Trees. Whatever decision you make will be awsome because you have the time and dedication. 
On a side note if you get bermuda with that size yard and possible expansion your gonna need a Triplex reel mower if your gonna cut it low.


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## dfw_pilot

+1 @Tellycoleman


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## Grass Clippins

social port said:


> First of all, that is a nice property and house that you have there.
> 
> I think that a warm season grass makes all the sense in the world. That is the reasonable thing. But...if you are getting rid of all of those trees, I'd spend so many nights dreaming about running ridiculously long passes on a mower--from your house, all the way down to the street with no obstacles--and in the process leaving stripes on fescue grass so pronounced that they would show up on a satellite. Long, straight passes on cool season turf =  and Bliss.
> 
> If you have financial comfort, are willing to invest in fungicides (and apply them), can install irrigation, and are willing to tolerate an experiment for a year or two, I'd try my luck with fescue.
> If it's a flop, a bermuda lawn can look exquisite. I've been tempted in that direction after seeing so many nice looking bermuda lawns on this forum. But once you go bermuda, you're going to have a hard time going back if you wanted to. Not so with fescue. It will die when you ask.
> FWIW


I hear you, I'd have stripes for days...


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## Grass Clippins

Tellycoleman said:


> I am a Bermuda guy and you have done alot of work.
> What type of trees do you have left?
> I can also see bermuda struggling in the areas around the trees you have remaining ( especially when they get older). You have done a great Job !! But You might do better with zoysia or St Aug if your wanting to keep a more uniform lawn in the shaded areas. Remember Bermuda Does Not Like Any Shade. and growing bermuda around trees, even if its just a few, will not be successful in the long run. When you look at these awesome Bermuda lawns on this forum you notice one thing in common No Trees. Whatever decision you make will be awsome because you have the time and dedication.
> On a side note if you get bermuda with that size yard and possible expansion your gonna need a Triplex reel mower if your gonna cut it low.


Good suggestion. I'll correct a previous comment, I have One Hickory and two Water Oaks in the Phase One area. There is another big Hickory, but it's near the property line and cast it's shadow toward my neighbor. Those three trees should take off now that they don't have any competition. They are going to put out a lot of shade in the coming years but the house is East to West facing so hopefully entire yard should get some sun throughout the day. With that being said fescue would probably do better in the long run.


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## social port

Actually, now that I am connecting dots, I believe that you and @FlyMike live in the same area. He grows fescue, and it looks awesome.


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## FlyMike

Thanks @social port, and for notifying me of this post. I do live in the same area.

If you're waiting until this fall to do fescue, you can use me as a guinea pig reference. I just renovated my front yard last fall, and this will be the first summer for the lawn.

You're house and property look awesome. Excited to see your progress and what you choose.


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## Tellycoleman

social port said:


> Actually, now that I am connecting dots, I believe that you and @FlyMike live in the same area. He grows fescue, and it looks awesome.


Better yet the new Dwarf Tall fescue i have been hearing about on the Youtube. 
DO you plan to sod or seed? That is an important factor as well.
Your not to far south to have a cool season but you might struggle during the hot Atlanta Summer. Not sure how difficult it will be to find a sod farm in your area that has cool season turf . you may have to reach out to Chattanooga Tn
Sod for 30K sqft is gonna be a huge money investment and i wouldn't even touch such a project without an irrigation system. Seeding will be alot easier on your wallet but require alot more time and care to establish. ( I know personally)
Either way sprinklers are your next investment because both seed and/or sod will require that.

But What to do now while you decide on which way to go?
I might suggest a perennial rye grass. Its cheap and easy to kill once you make a decision and looks very good. It will also give you practice. lol 
*DO NOT PRACTICE WITH CHEAP BERMUDA SEED! You will never be able to kill it*


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## Grass Clippins

FlyMike said:


> Thanks @social port, and for notifying me of this post. I do live in the same area.
> 
> If you're waiting until this fall to do fescue, you can use me as a guinea pig reference. I just renovated my front yard last fall, and this will be the first summer for the lawn.
> 
> You're house and property look awesome. Excited to see your progress and what you choose.


Thanks Mike. I checked out you're journal, good looking lawn. I should have the tractor back up and running by the weekend and will have some progress pics to post soon.


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## Grass Clippins

Tellycoleman said:


> social port said:
> 
> 
> 
> Actually, now that I am connecting dots, I believe that you and @FlyMike live in the same area. He grows fescue, and it looks awesome.
> 
> 
> 
> Better yet the new Dwarf Tall fescue i have been hearing about on the Youtube.
> DO you plan to sod or seed? That is an important factor as well.
> Your not to far south to have a cool season but you might struggle during the hot Atlanta Summer. Not sure how difficult it will be to find a sod farm in your area that has cool season turf . you may have to reach out to Chattanooga Tn
> Sod for 30K sqft is gonna be a huge money investment and i wouldn't even touch such a project without an irrigation system. Seeding will be alot easier on your wallet but require alot more time and care to establish. ( I know personally)
> Either way sprinklers are your next investment because both seed and/or sod will require that.
> 
> But What to do now while you decide on which way to go?
> I might suggest a perennial rye grass. Its cheap and easy to kill once you make a decision and looks very good. It will also give you practice. lol
> *DO NOT PRACTICE WITH CHEAP BERMUDA SEED! You will never be able to kill it*
Click to expand...

Dwarf Tall Fescue - I'll have to research that, sounds interesting. I was actually looking at Seashore Paspalum Platinum TE, because that's what they used in the new Braves Stadium, then I found out how much it cost. The place they get it from is in Alabama. I called and the lady told me that if they did sell it to the public it would go for around $3 a square foot. They claim that's the grass of the future, but I doubt it does well in shade.

I'll definitely be throwing down seed. I've been following this Fescue Academy and have a pretty good idea of how to give it a fighting chance during July & August, I guess that's when you find out what your'e made of. Thankfully, I've already laid the groundwork for irrigation. Couple years ago I dug a trench and buried 4" PVC along the length of the driveway to the street for a gutter runoff, that was a big project. While I was there, i put in a couple sprinkler heads and tied an manifold into the mainline. I still have a lot to do but at least that's done.


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## Grass Clippins

social port said:


> First of all, that is a nice property and house that you have there.
> 
> I think that a warm season grass makes all the sense in the world. That is the reasonable thing. But...if you are getting rid of all of those trees, I'd spend so many nights dreaming about running ridiculously long passes on a mower--from your house, all the way down to the street with no obstacles--and in the process leaving stripes on fescue grass so pronounced that they would show up on a satellite. Long, straight passes on cool season turf =  and Bliss.
> 
> If you have financial comfort, are willing to invest in fungicides (and apply them), can install irrigation, and are willing to tolerate an experiment for a year or two, I'd try my luck with fescue.
> If it's a flop, a bermuda lawn can look exquisite. I've been tempted in that direction after seeing so many nice looking bermuda lawns on this forum. But once you go bermuda, you're going to have a hard time going back if you wanted to. Not so with fescue. It will die when you ask.
> FWIW


Check out my 9 am sun trajectory. Once that morning sun makes direct contact with those dewy stripes... forget about it.


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## social port

Grass Clippins said:


> Once that morning sun makes direct contact with those dewy stripes... forget about it.


 :nod:

Sounds like you know what you want to do


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## social port

Grass Clippins said:


> I've been following this Fescue Academy


Also, if you are here referring to GCI Turf Academy, then you're at the right place. (Prof.) Pete is Mr. Fescue as far as I'm concerned.
He grows with the transition zone in mind (varied as we are).


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## jayhawk

Welcome. Where did you find 3 acres in marietta?$? There was a Paspalum guru @southernguy311 ...he has a lot of good posts. I think he got his in S Ga. My perception is that's it needs almost as much light as 419 bermuda and you have to be more selective on herbicides. A good looking emerald green grass.


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## Greendoc

Seashore Paspalum also needs to be grown on sand and watered with salt water unless you like dealing with a high maintenance PITA. The golf courses that drank the Kool-Aide here now know how many diseases it gets and how hard it is to control weeds in it. Salt to control the weeds, you say? Do it at your own risk. Understand that if salt is applied to soil that is not mostly sand, it will be very hard to get rid of that salt.

So far, the only grasses I do not curse about every time I run into them are St Augustine, Centipede, and Bermuda.


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## Grass Clippins

social port said:


> Grass Clippins said:
> 
> 
> 
> I've been following this Fescue Academy
> 
> 
> 
> Also, if you are here referring to GCI Turf Academy, then you're at the right place. (Prof.) Pete is Mr. Fescue as far as I'm concerned.
> He grows with the transition zone in mind (varied as we are).
Click to expand...

Yep, that's the place. He's definitely the guru. I just wish he'd put together that ebook and make more videos.


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## Grass Clippins

jayhawk said:


> Welcome. Where did you find 3 acres in marietta?$? There was a Paspalum guru @southernguy311 ...he has a lot of good posts. I think he got his in S Ga. My perception is that's it needs almost as much light as 419 bermuda and you have to be more selective on herbicides. A good looking emerald green grass.


My dad purchased the property in 1983 when he was about to retire from the Marine Corps. They then built the house in 2000. I purchased the house from them in 2014, right before the prices shot back up 

My parents moved way up in the North Georgia Mountain to a town called Suches.


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## Grass Clippins

Greendoc said:


> Seashore Paspalum also needs to be grown on sand and watered with salt water unless you like dealing with a high maintenance PITA. The golf courses that drank the Kool-Aide here now know how many diseases it gets and how hard it is to control weeds in it. Salt to control the weeds, you say? Do it at your own risk. Understand that if salt is applied to soil that is not mostly sand, it will be very hard to get rid of that salt.
> 
> So far, the only grasses I do not curse about every time I run into them are St Augustine, Centipede, and Bermuda.


Interesting, yeah it's definitely out of the running.


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## Grass Clippins

Update, she's coming along nicely. Looks like it's about time to cut the crab grass again.


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## Grass Clippins




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## Grass Clippins

I raked this area out, with the tractor, to let it dry a little. Once it does I will lower the sacrifices on the box blade to get the roots up. This is the last little area that still needs rooting.


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## Grass Clippins

Removed my little wall up front and had to dig out about 100 pounds of daffodil bulbs. Smooth sailing from here, I hope.


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## Lawn_newbie

This is going to be a good show.

Do you have ideas for stages 2,3...etc?


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## Grass Clippins

Lawn_newbie said:


> This is going to be a good show.
> 
> Do you have ideas for stages 2,3...etc?


I do...stage 2 will be the front yard to the left of the driveway, it's about 15K Sq ft. Stage 3 will be the back yard which is also about 15K Sq ft. Then I've got the way back yard which is more long term. Ultimately I want to remove all of the pine and sweet gum trees on the property, all 3 acres. That'll give the oaks room to grow and hopefully that will help the property value in the future. I might even have room for a big garden when this food shortage jumps off.

2018 Plan: Finish getting up the roots and raking out the rocks. Bring in some topsoil and throw seed by the end of August. At that point I plan to outline my natural areas. If I have time I will bury some irrigation lines. I'm going to start with Fescue, just to have something, while I figure it out. I really want a warm season eventually.

2019 Plan: Continue to cut down trees on the left side of the driveway (stage 2) then get the back ready for seed in the fall. Lumber Jackin' gives me time to replenish my Mega Build Fund. If you've already got a saw you only need to pay for gas and bar oil, and it's good exercise.


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## driver_7

Grass Clippins said:


> Update, she's coming along nicely. Looks like it's about time to cut the crab grass again.


That is an absolutely gorgeous tractor. I think I'm in love. :shock:


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## pennstater2005

Can't wait to see each stage! I wondered what happened to this thread but you've actually been outside working :lol:


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## Alan

Nice place. You bit off a lot to chew, but it appears you're handling it just fine. Good job!


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## Grass Clippins

717driver said:


> Grass Clippins said:
> 
> 
> 
> Update, she's coming along nicely. Looks like it's about time to cut the crab grass again.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That is an absolutely gorgeous tractor. I think I'm in love. :shock:
Click to expand...

Thank you. It's a 1948 Ford 8n.


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## Grass Clippins

pennstater2005 said:


> Can't wait to see each stage! I wondered what happened to this thread but you've actually been outside working :lol:


Haha...yeah I've been busy. Most of my spring was spent fixing the tractor. It's always something with that thing.


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## Grass Clippins

Alan said:


> Nice place. You bit off a lot to chew, but it appears you're handling it just fine. Good job!


Yep, one bite at a time. Thank you.


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## cnet24

Awesome tractor and project. If I could start from scratch I would take a hard look at zoysia, but you can't go wrong with Bermuda. I would not recommend fescue due to the heat- it's going to require a lot of maintenance and overseeding in the fall. You can stripe bermuda, FYI! Good luck!


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## JRS 9572

@Grass Clippins What class sir? C/O 94 here. Go Dogs!


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## Grass Clippins

JRS 9572 said:


> @Grass Clippins What class sir? C/O 94 here. Go Dogs!


Hey Ohh! India Company 04. I ought to be calling you sir, Sir. You're from the Old Corps, pre Shanon Faulkner era.


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## Grass Clippins

cnet24 said:


> Awesome tractor and project. If I could start from scratch I would take a hard look at zoysia, but you can't go wrong with Bermuda. I would not recommend fescue due to the heat- it's going to require a lot of maintenance and overseeding in the fall. You can stripe bermuda, FYI! Good luck!


I would love to grow zoysia but I don't know much about it. The fescue was going to be a place holder until I can do the zoysia right. This is funny, a few minutes ago I went on YouTube to search "Grow Zoysia from Seed" and these two videos came up.... pretty obvious Big Zoysia doesn't want you growing from seed. Naturally I had to leave a comment.





https://youtu.be/T9lCKke44UY


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## jayhawk

cnet24 said:


> Awesome tractor and project. If I could start from scratch I would take a hard look at zoysia, but you can't go wrong with Bermuda. I would not recommend fescue due to the heat- it's going to require a lot of maintenance and overseeding in the fall. You can stripe bermuda, FYI! Good luck!


Just saw the video ...yet HD sells it for big margins to the sheep

only @Iriasj2009 has nuked more Bermuda than I  ....zoysia (geo, zorro, emerald, zeon) would fit your situation nicely from what it appears. Initial cost is almost double to Bermuda however. 
Zenith (seed able) zoysia = big blade

Have you considered a mix ...in golf terms, a fairway and a rough approach due to the sq ft? Just tossing out ideas


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## Grass Clippins

jayhawk said:


> Have you considered a mix ...in golf terms, a fairway and a rough approach due to the sq ft? Just tossing out ideas


I actually did think about that a while ago. Towards the house I have a 10K sq ft area that gets sun all day. I was considered defining an area up there to reel mow and use a rotary on the rest. That's a ways in the future though. Within the next few years I plan to put in a retaining wall (on the right side of the house)that shots out toward the street with a slight curve back in to flatten the area in front of the house . I'll sit down and draw it out.

The retaining wall plan is another reason I want to start with Fescue. I'll be bringing in more dirt down the road so the majority of what I plant now will be killed off later. I won't be doing a full tilt Fescue program, I'll just feed it whatever is on sale to keep it alive. I figure this also gives me time to completely kill all of the Bermuda that's worked its way in there. It's like this...I plan to "date" Fescue for the next couple years but eventually want to settle down with Zoysia. I'm not ready for Zoysia yet but I have to have something out there. Is that fair to the Fescue? Probably not, but due to the heartache she caused a lot of people down here I'd say she's got it coming.


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## Grass Clippins

jayhawk said:


> Zenith (seed able) zoysia = big blade


I like a thicker blade. We've got a guy down her whose name is Walter Reeves AKA "The Georgia Gardener". He's got a lot of good info on his site for Georgians. Someone asked a question about shade tolerant Zoysia, he pointed them away from Emerald and towards Zeon. It's looks like Zeon isn't good to grow from seed though so Zenith would be a good replacement. El Toro's seems like it might be a good one to consider.

_"Q: I have heard there is a new zoysiagrass that handles shade better than 'Emerald'.We want to replace existing bermudagrass under an oak. Any suggestions?

A: Dr. Clint Waltz, my turf guru, says he has no research data, just his personal observations. He says that 'Emerald' does not do well in heavy shade. It eventually thins and becomes unthrifty. 'Zeon' does better. Mark Banta, manager of centennial Olympic Park, has good things to say about the 'Zeon' they installed under shade cloth in their Southern Company Amphitheater.

According to Clint, "The grass I've been most impressed with under heavy shade is 'El Toro'. Texture-wise, it is vastly different from 'Emerald' or 'Zeon', but often you have to give a little to get a little. Do you want a good turfgrass stand in shade or finely textured grass…. and weeds?"​_http://www.walterreeves.com/gardening-q-and-a/zoysiagrass-for-shade/


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## Brad Thompson91006

I just installed Zeon Zoysia from sod 16 days ago, located in Southern California.
Gave the lawn its first mow at day 14 (5/8"), with a Toro Greensmaster 1000. The areas that get a little less water are actually growing faster. Sod lines are quickly disappearing.


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## jayhawk

Brad Thompson91006 said:


> I just installed Zeon Zoysia from sod 16 days ago, located in Southern California.
> Gave the lawn its first mow at day 14 (5/8"), with a Toro Greensmaster 1000. The areas that get a little less water are actually growing faster. Sod lines are quickly disappearing.


I think you'll be amazed soon, cutting with a gm1000. Share updates please.

@Greendoc had a picture of his el toro, probably the best version of it I've ever seen. I think it's sod only.


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## Grass Clippins

Brad Thompson91006 said:


> I just installed Zeon Zoysia from sod 16 days ago, located in Southern California.
> Gave the lawn its first mow at day 14 (5/8"), with a Toro Greensmaster 1000. The areas that get a little less water are actually growing faster. Sod lines are quickly disappearing.


That looks great. I think a guy down the street had Zeon put down a couple years ago. It only gets a few hours of sun a day and looks awesome.


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## RandyMan

Only thing that sucks about bermuda is it only stays green 7 months per year for us georgians .This year with the cold spring we had it will be more like 6 this year.Me personally I really like the brown dormant look it has..Especially for the first month or two(nov & dec) going into dormancy. It almost glows a gold color..Then jan- march it has that ugly grey/beige look. It gives the yard two different colors throughout the year.

I had a huge renovation like you did.I took down alot of trees and and removed stumps.My yard is 2 acres though..I am removing all the trees.I am basically clearing all my property off and sprigging/plugging bermuda all in front ,side and back...Biggest trees I have in my yard when I get done will be thujas(green giants) and crepe myrtles.Ive got one side left that I will be doing over the next year. Its been a remodel thats has been going on for about 3 yrs now.Just doing a little at a time.


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## Grass Clippins

@RandyMan Nice! You should create a journal. I would love to see the progress. Bermuda sounds like the way to go if you have full sun/no tree. Are you cutting and burning yourself or having someone get the trees?


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## TN Hawkeye

Grass Clippins said:


> jayhawk said:
> 
> 
> 
> Have you considered a mix ...in golf terms, a fairway and a rough approach due to the sq ft? Just tossing out ideas
> 
> 
> 
> It's like this...I plan to "date" Fescue for the next couple years but eventually want to settle down with Zoysia. I'm not ready for Zoysia yet but I have to have something out there. Is that fair to the Fescue? Probably not, but due to the heartache she caused a lot of people down here I'd say she's got it coming.
Click to expand...

I just have to say that this is hilarious. Just don't let Fescue catch you looking at Zoysia yards. Once you break things off with Fescue I'm sure Pete from GCI Turf will be glad to lend her a shoulder to cry on. Or you could just kill her off and start over.


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## RandyMan

Grass Clippins said:


> @RandyMan Nice! You should create a journal. I would love to see the progress. Bermuda sounds like the way to go if you have full sun/no tree. Are you cutting and burning yourself or having someone get the trees?


I do got a little journaled on another site..I will try and get some stuff transferred over here.Just found this site like 2 months ago and really like it.Lots of good content here

I am doing smaller trees my self but the big ones if they fell the wrong direction it would defiantly hit my house so I paid a local two man crew.What I did was pay them $100 to come and drop 2 trees(Pretty big oaks).Thats all they did.It would take them 30 minutes and they would be leaving .They were pretty good.Its almost like they enjoyed it, like they love entertaining people lol. But after they were dropped I would post on internet "free firewood all you want, bring your chainsaw" .You have to have a little patience as I have a few no shows.I probaly had 20 + full trucks loads I gave away. Some people only got one load, they said they would be back but never heard anything back.I even helped by wheel barrowing it to them and loading it..What a workout !Lots of people use wood for keeping warm in the winter here in my area, so its moves good here.

All the brush/small pieces I burnt myself at my property.They all burnt good..Had over 30 ft flames mins after starting..It was scary looking.Just make sure to never put under power lines.I had a stack stacked and had to move it because I had it to close.


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## jayhawk

I forgot @Spammage has some amazing looking el Toro too.

TTTF can do ok here in atlanta during the summer - anecdotally, yards surrounded by tall pines etc that provide some relief from the sun seem to manage fine. full sun...those yards seem to struggle....just like in kansas where the temp is >100. admittedly, I have no idea what practices are required to keep them going other than irrigation.


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## Grass Clippins

TN Hawkeye said:


> Grass Clippins said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> jayhawk said:
> 
> 
> 
> Have you considered a mix ...in golf terms, a fairway and a rough approach due to the sq ft? Just tossing out ideas
> 
> 
> 
> It's like this...I plan to "date" Fescue for the next couple years but eventually want to settle down with Zoysia. I'm not ready for Zoysia yet but I have to have something out there. Is that fair to the Fescue? Probably not, but due to the heartache she caused a lot of people down here I'd say she's got it coming.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I just have to say that this is hilarious. Just don't let Fescue catch you looking at Zoysia yards. Once you break things off with Fescue I'm sure Pete from GCI Turf will be glad to lend her a shoulder to cry on. Or you could just kill her off and start over.
Click to expand...

Haha...I'm sure he would. I'll probably just kill it all at once, a clean break.


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## Grass Clippins

RandyMan said:


> Grass Clippins said:
> 
> 
> 
> @RandyMan Nice! You should create a journal. I would love to see the progress. Bermuda sounds like the way to go if you have full sun/no tree. Are you cutting and burning yourself or having someone get the trees?
> 
> 
> 
> I do got a little journaled on another site..I will try and get some stuff transferred over here.Just found this site like 2 months ago and really like it.Lots of good content here
> 
> I am doing smaller trees my self but the big ones if they fell the wrong direction it would defiantly hit my house so I paid a local two man crew.What I did was pay them $100 to come and drop 2 trees(Pretty big oaks).Thats all they did.It would take them 30 minutes and they would be leaving .They were pretty good.Its almost like they enjoyed it, like they love entertaining people lol. But after they were dropped I would post on internet "free firewood all you want, bring your chainsaw" .You have to have a little patience as I have a few no shows.I probaly had 20 + full trucks loads I gave away. Some people only got one load, they said they would be back but never heard anything back.I even helped by wheel barrowing it to them and loading it..What a workout !Lots of people use wood for keeping warm in the winter here in my area, so its moves good here.
> 
> All the brush/small pieces I burnt myself at my property.They all burnt good..Had over 30 ft flames mins after starting..It was scary looking.Just make sure to never put under power lines.I had a stack stacked and had to move it because I had it to close.
Click to expand...

That's crazy that you had a hard time getting rid of the firewood, especially oak. I'm getting my burn piles together now for this winter.


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## RandyMan

Heres a picture of the backyard..All this back was trees ,I sprigged all this last summer..Had the stumps removed in jan 2018..Had over 40 stumps..It was a Big mess when they was done grinding them up..It was a huge workout getting the stuff they grinded up removed and filled back in with good dirt.


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## Grass Clippins




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## Grass Clippins




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## Grass Clippins

Looks like I'm going to have to move this over to the cool season journals. I ordered a few bags of Titan Ultra TTTF the other day. Got a hot deal and went with it, I'll be back over here one day...

@Ware would it be possible to move my journal to the cool season journal page?


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## Ware

Grass Clippins said:


> Looks like I'm going to have to move this over to the cool season journals. I ordered a few bags of Titan Ultra TTTF the other day. Got a hot deal and went with it, I'll be back over here one day...
> 
> Ware would it be possible to move my journal to the cool season journal page?


Done.


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## Grass Clippins

Ware said:


> Grass Clippins said:
> 
> 
> 
> Looks like I'm going to have to move this over to the cool season journals. I ordered a few bags of Titan Ultra TTTF the other day. Got a hot deal and went with it, I'll be back over here one day...
> 
> Ware would it be possible to move my journal to the cool season journal page?
> 
> 
> 
> Done.
Click to expand...

Thank you!


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## social port

Welcome to the cool side, GC! :thumbup:


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## Grass Clippins

Rented an excavator for the weekend to get the rest of the roots up and rocks moved.


----------



## Grass Clippins

Also finished trenching the rainwater runoff closer to the street.


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## g-man

When you say mega build, you are not joking.


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## Grass Clippins

Laid down some N-Ext Products today to prep for seeding. Hopefully I will be able to put the seed down next weekend or early next week. Bringing more topsoil in this week and renting a skid steer and harley rake next week end.


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## Grass Clippins




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## Grass Clippins

More information about my hose end spray on a separate topic, click "Blue Mule Hose End Sprayer" link below in signature. I swear my driveway doesn't look that bad in person...still needs to be pressure washed though.


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## Grass Clippins

IT'S DONE! I finished rolling the seed in last night as the rain rolled in. It rained a lot more than it was supposed to but the seed is still in place and I have very little pooling. I decided to use the Greene County Fertilizer Products for the seeding process; I followed their instructions as close as possible considering I've never done this before.

Quick review and updates

2 weeks ago:
Completed the soil preparation step by applying RGS, Air8, Humic12 & MicroGreene.

https://www.greenecountyfert.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/DIY_N-Ext_Seeding-Over-Seeding-Package_GreeneCountyFertCo.pdf

Last weekend:
I had two more loads of topsoil brought in and spread out before bringing in the equipment. I rented a New Holland C227 Skid Steer, Harley Rake and RockHound. They delivered it on Friday and it got used from sun up to slightly after sun down until Monday Morning. The Harley Rake was the most useful at mixing in the topsoil and getting the ground level. I played around with the RockHound but ended up not using it because it was gathering up to much good soil. That was probably more of a user issue that a RockHound issue but I didn't have the time to learn the tool. I wish I would have taken pictures but I barely had enough time to eat.

Monday - Wednesday:
With the skid steer gone I got out the Ford 8N and three point landscaping (peanut) rake. These rakes are extremely useful in smoothing everything out, especially with the guide wheels. Once I got as far as I was going to get doing that I busted out the hand-landscaping rake. I spent about two days raking by hand to get out most of the rocks.

***In this process I think that I may have stumbled on a pretty good leveling strategy, night leveling. At night with the porch lights on I could kneel down and see the shadow of every little low spot. If I'd of had the time I could see myself going OCD over this.

Yesterday (Thursday):
I applied 1 teaspoons of Tenacity for every 1,000 square feet with my backpack sprayer. I then used the Blue Mule Hose End Sprayer to lay down the RGS and 9-0-1 GreeneStart. I had planned to do this step after seeding but was afraid the hose would disturb the seed coverage. After this step I put down the seed. I ended up going with Titan Ultra Turf Type Tall Fescue at about 8.5 to 9 pounds per 1,000 square feet. This sounds like a good fescue for Georgia heat and I got it at a good deal, we'll see. I believe it was around $90 per 50-pound bag. After seeding I dragged my hand-landscaping rack over the entire plot and then rolled it in. My neighbor has a big 6-foot tow behind lawn roller that saved the day with this step.

Next Step:
In 15 to 20 days I spray RGS and 18-0-1 GreenePunch.


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## g-man

1tsp of tenacity per 1k? That's 8oz acre rate. Are you sure this is not a typo?


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## Grass Clippins

Those are leaves on the grounds not rocks. The beds were left as is for now, I will smooth those out after my body recuperates.


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## Grass Clippins

g-man said:


> 1tsp of tenacity per 1k? That's 8oz acre rate. Are you sure this is not a typo?


Nope, not a typo just going by the instructions on the bottle. Page 12 "New Seeding/New Lawn Establishment - Apply Tenacity at 5-8 fl. oz. per acre..." That allows for another big hit in the springs for any crabgrass that sneaks past the protamine. Although direct, the instructions are a little vague so I had to lay it out a spread sheet. Worse case scenario is that I will have a level sh#tty looking yard again this summer :lol:


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## Grass Clippins

Details for GCF Application...


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## g-man

I think most of us do 4oz rate. Last year I did 4oz rate, but the slope concentrate it and I had issues with my germination. It turned white and died.


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## Grass Clippins

@g-man Ok, I see. Hopefully it doesn't have the same effect on tall fescue, we'll see. I read that it may be rough on a few of the more delicate turf types. I watered it in before applying the seed and then we had over an inch of rain the evening into the next day (today). Stay tuned...


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## Grass Clippins

Thought I'd post little motivation while I'm waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in...

*April 2015 (is was actually worse before this):*



*October 2018 (taken from the same spot, note the telephone pole on far right): *


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## jdc_lawnguy

Brian, what a great read. I thought my little project was ambitious. We have about an acre. About half of it wooded. We took down 20 pines and about another 10 trees to open up some of space and stop the moss from growing. After seeing how hard you worked, I am now embarrassed to say I hired out. Great work. Look forward to following along.

I documented it here. 
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6831

I guess you Citadel guys aren't that bad. Rah Virginia Mil


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## Grass Clippins

@jdc_lawnguy Thank you! You were probably wise to pay and get it over with.


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## g-man

Germination ?


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## Grass Clippins

Hahaha....stop it G-Man! Don't jinx it.

No germination yet, but the weather has been weird. Plenty of rainy days. Last year, at this time, I threw out some fescue seed and it took a while for it the germinate. Today marks day 8 :|


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## g-man

Sorry, I'm getting used to kbg that germinates in 6 days. But then it sits there for 2 weeks.


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## Grass Clippins

@g-man must be putting the G in Germination because I've got growth!!! This morning I noticed a green hue on the horizon and thought my eyes were playing tricks on me again. Hot Damn!!!


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## g-man

Congrats!


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## Grass Clippins

Day 12


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## Grass Clippins

Couple of pictures I found from October.


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## Grass Clippins

Day 16

Hopefully these leaves will hurry up and drop so that I can get more sun. Plan to cut down most of the trees to the left of the driveway this winter. Those to the right will stay.


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## Grass Clippins

Phase 2 - Coming 2019


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## PokeGrande

:clapping:


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## Grass Clippins

@PokeGrande Thank you! This is my first time trying to grow grass from seed the right way, big moment.


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## Grass Clippins

Day 57 :


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## Grass Clippins

I was hoping my lawn would be a little more established by now but I still feel pretty good about my progress (trying to stay positive). In review, not only did I have to wait for the hurricanes to pass in the fall, I had to wait for the ground to dry out enough to work the soil. Thankfully the weather has not been too cold but I did notice a considerable slow down in growth in December. Earlier this week we had a day in the 60's and next week is supposed to be sunny with mid 50 to mid 60 degree highs.

I took advantage of the warm weather this past Tuesday and laid down two applications of bio stems and nitrogen. Was this a good idea? I have no idea but I'm desperate and figured it wouldn't hurt. According to Dirt Jesus (John Perry), if the plant doesn't need the nitrogen it will be there when it does.

Looking back I would not use the GCF Seeding/Overseeding GreeneStart Package again for *seeding*. I'm sure it's great for over-seeding or sod installations, but I feel that I would have had better results with a granular starter fertilizer in this process. The hose end sprayer applications were great on the soil preparation and seed sowing steps but the post-seeding application did not go as planned. 15-20 days after germination was the time to apply the 18-0-1 GreenePunch/RGS application. Unfortunately I didn't feel comfortable walking all over those green babies or dragging 150 foot of ¾" hose across those little jewels. To compound the situation, it was raining every other day and the ground was incredibly soggy. As a result I had to wait, then I got busy, and now here I am doing it at the end of December. I would have felt more comfortable going out there with a granular.


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## Grass Clippins

I did the math to figure out how much I paid for what I got with the last application of Bio Stimulants and 18-0-1. I'm going to have to go with another plan of action because this 18-0-1 is going to be way to expensive. Ive started to go through Mighty Quinn's Liquid Lawn Fertilizing Plan. So far I've stuck with the GCF products because are they are very user-friendly but it's time for this bird to leave the nest.

*What I Got:*


*What it Cost:*


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## Grass Clippins

I worked from home today and had a chance to interact with the UPS Driver. He said "...your grass sure is coming in good for not having done much" I laughed so hard that he looked away, it was at that moment I realized he was serious. I replied "Really?" By "not doing much" he meant throwing doing wheat straw or hay, I'm glad we got that cleared up.


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## jabopy

Seeing that green hue!! I remember having to check and double check. Great thread you got going, thanks for showing us.


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## Grass Clippins

It finally stopped raining :yahoo: and it looks like the next few days we'll have high's in the mid 60's. The grass has thickened up considerably. Maybe the application before Christmas helped. I still haven't had the need to cut it but hopefully that will change by the end of the week. Current height is a consistent 2 inches. Photos were taken at 10am, the winter trajectory of the sun is killing me. I'm tempted to clear cut the other front half of the property and clean up the mess later this winter.


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## Grass Clippins

Prior to about a week ago I had zero weeds due to the Tenacity application. Last week I noticed some clover, then I started to see one type of grassy weed. With today's sun that grassy is growing by the hour. Most are around 3 inches tall but I found this monster towards the center of the lawn. Last year I threw out some Fescue, without Tenacity, and this weed established itself pretty quicker. Then it died once the temperature went up. Not sure what it is.


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## NoslracNevok

This was a HUGE undertaking to do for yourself. Well done Brian! Following your progress. #lawngainz


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## Grass Clippins

Thank you @NoslracNevok. I started doing everything by hand. Then I got an old Ford 8N Tractor. Now I rent whatever equipment I need to finish it as quickly as possible.


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## jayhawk

Sure you can't carve out an acre to sell?


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## Grass Clippins

@jayhawk  You're definitely not the first person to ask that question. We've had a couple people on the street try to sell the back half of their property but it's never been approved. If, one day, you're ever looking relocate in the metro area you should give the Harrison High School District a look. It's on the Marietta/Kennesaw line and it's "East Cobb Nice" without the snobbiness. Fun article about Kennesaw Gun Ownership Requirement.


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## Grass Clippins

I wanted to post a pic of the seed label I used before it gets lost. I was looking for a value heat tolerant turf type tall fescue and landed on Titan RX. Hancock seed had the best price, and I found a coupon, so I placed the order. After shipping and tax is was $110.98/50 pound bag. When it arrived I was shocked/pissed that they sent me Titan Ultra. I pulled my order up on the Hancock website, looking for a phone number and saw this message in bold red print.

_"According to the harvester and producer of Titan Rx, the Titan Ultra variety will eventually replace the Titan Rx variety. We could possibly have both varieties available during Fall 2018. Currently, we have Titan Ultra in stock and will fill all orders with Titan Ultra until it is sold out. In the Spring of 2019, the Titan Rx will no longer be available. The varieties are very similar. Please call our office if you have any questions."_

I'm not sure how I would have missed that message so I must have read it and placed the order anyways, I have a lot going on so it's very possible. Titan RX is advertised for "The Heat" while Titan Ultra is advertised for "The Heat and Cold". I'm using Titan Ultra as a single cultivar.

Key Features:
 Cold Hardy
Strong Heat Tolerance
Rhizomes and Recovery
Disease and Weed Resistant
Pest Resistant
Great Curb Appeal
**I also read somewhere that the recommended height of cut is 2 to 3 inches.

Sounds good. I'll take 200 pounds... :lol: Titan Ultra Fact Sheet

I looked up the 5 year study (Griffin GA 2010) to judge heat tolerance and it looks like they exaggerate their performance a bit. I believe Titan Rx is PSG-TTST and Titan Ultra is PSG-TTRH.


----------



## Grass Clippins

I got my soil test back. The results are pretty self explanatory but I'm trying to figure out why that iron is not moving. I'm not a soil expert but I'm guessing there is a problem with iron uptake, my grass is more yellow than before. I've read a low ph can cause this but 5.8 doesn't seem that bad. @g-man Any advice?


----------



## g-man

A quick glance, if you are sure it is not a fungus, then the ratio of iron to Mn could explain it. I would try applying just iron (FAS and not FEature) to see if you notice a response.

Their recommendations seem pretty good. The CEC is on the low side, so half rate applications twice a month are better than one monthly.


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## Grass Clippins

@g-man Thank you!


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## Grass Clippins

I got lucky! The N-ext DIY Lawn YouTube Channel put out a soil analysis video (filmed in GA) and the results are pretty close to mine. I was able to easily apply that advice to mine.

*NOTE TO SELF:*

*Soil pH* is the first limiting factor, needs 26 pounds per thousand to buffer up. Dolomitic lime needed due to lower saturation of magnesium

*Organic Matter* is low for clay soil but I'm not sure; it would be a lot lower had I not brought in the topsoil. According to  SARE  the goal should be around 6%.

*CEC* (Cation Exchange Capacity) At 5.5 this falls in the 1-10 sandy range. I'm sure this has to do with topsoil that was brought in. Most topsoil in the area has high sand content from riverbeds. "Low CEC soils hold fewer nutrients, and will likely be subject to leaching of mobile "anion" nutrients. These soils may benefit from split applications of several nutrients". Thank you @g-man for pointing this out.

*Saturations* theses levels will more than likely change after the lime application.

*Phosphorus (P)* is low but can be corrected quickly. Currently 15 parts per million but needs to be in 40 to 80 parts per million range.

*Potassium (K)* is ok, can be built on throughout the season.

*Magnesium (Mg)* is ok, can also be built on throughout the season.

*Boran* is low, can be fixed with 0-0-2, not much needed to correct. Iron may be blocking.

*Copper (Cu) Iron (Fe) Manganese (Mn) & Zinc (Zn)* are all at good levels.

**Ferric iron is what contributes to the red color in soil. Breaking down clay can free up iron (Air8).


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## Grass Clippins

Last fall I did the $ math $ and determined that I'm going to be a low nitrogen guy, healthy soil is the priority for 2019. Lately I've been reading up on Korean Natural Farming and today marked my first enterprise with propagating indigenous micro organisms.... They call it JADAM Indigenous Microbial Solution (JMS). I used this in my hose end sprayer to do a GCF Bio-Stemulate application as opposed to the usual water from the hose. It's a mix of non chlorinated water, sea salt, leaf mold (the topsoil under decomposing leaves) and baked potatoes.

*Leaf Mold:*


*After 36 Hours:*


*Agitated before I mixed in the GCF Products:*


----------



## GA_Fescue_Man

Hey Brian. I was checking out some of the videos from Chris about the JMS solution. Really interesting stuff and for the most part, simple to make. I am thinking along the same lines as you, trying to to build the soil as much as possible, getting the nutrients balanced for the most part, and apply smaller amounts of nitrogen overall.

My question is about fungicides. What is your fungicide plan this summer for brown patch? Are you spot spraying curative apps or blanket spraying preventative apps? If you are putting fungicides down, how much of the good biology is getting wiped out by those fungicide applications?

It will be interesting to see how the JMS apps impact brown patch in your fescue. I'm over in Suwanee and I feel like I'm in a constant battle; building up good soil during the fall and spring, and then wiping out the soil biology during the summer months with fungicides to prevent brown patch. Just wanted to get your thoughts on how the JMS applications could coincide with a traditional cool season fungicide program in GA. Thanks man. I appreciate your thoughts.


----------



## Grass Clippins

@GA_Fescue_Man Up to this point I've done more book learning than doing but it seems like fungicide is a "three steps forward one step back" situation when focusing on soil health. In the JADAM book they talk a lot about good vs bad bacteria. They say not to look at it as good vs bad, but see them all as one and to take the good with the bad. What you don't what are pathogens...most bacteria are not pathogens. Pathogens get a foot hold when your crop is sick. It seems like low organic matter, soil compaction & over fertilization are the common cause of turf getting sick under stress.

I don't know what to think about it all but I have noticed that the people who push these expensive fungicides are the same people who over fertilize lawns for a living. Sounds like government work - creating a problem to sell a solution. I already bought some Azoxy 2SC and Propiconozole (Cyber Monday Deal) so I may use the GCI schedule this year but I don't think I'll buy it again. I'm not into hand holding, if this fescue can't get it together I'll send her on down the road and throw down some common bermuda seed :bandit:

On a side note the JADAM'ers don't do prevenative fungicide applications. If powdery mildew, downy mildew or fungal disease occur they spray it with JADAM Sulfur (JS) until it goes away. The video is in Korean so you have to click the "CC" button for english subtitles.

(edited spelling)


----------



## GA_Fescue_Man

Thanks man. Really interesting stuff.


----------



## Grass Clippins

Feb 15th: Went to Lowe's to pick up the lime I need to raise the PH. I was expecting there to be a product that said "Dolomite" on the label but there wasn't. I bought the closest thing they had by looking at the magnesium to calcium carbonate ratio. It ended up being so fine that my spreader would not broadcast it so I had to hand broadcast it out of a 5 gallon bucket, lesson learned. The lime I used.

Feb 27th: Prodiamine application at .38 oz per/1 gallon of water/1,000 square feet. Low dilution ratio but I followed the directions and applied before rain to get full effect. Weighted it out on a scale and mixed with hot water. I can see how people under apply by making the mistake of using fluid ounces vs weight, it would have been around half. I've been tempted to put it out sooner but the soil temps have not consistently been over 50 degrees. Today's average is 55 degrees but the 5 year average is 49.2 degrees and 10 year average is 48.4 degrees. It looks like last year the 10 year average broke 55 degrees on March 11th, while the 5 year average broke 55 degrees on March 9th.

Finally note: I noticed big, lush green patches down by the street where the neighborhood dog has been peeing. I think this may be a sign the my grass is waking up and needs to eat. I may throw down a granular nitrogen fertilizer over the weekend to get her fed. I need to get some growth so that I can start mowing and let the clippings by the primary nitrogen source. I still have some GCF 18-0-1 but it would take way to much to get the pop I'm looking for.


----------



## Grass Clippins

Laid down a hot app last Sunday, grass is looking good. Decided to use the 18-0-1 because I found out that it's not warm enough to use and organic nitrogen source.


----------



## Grass Clippins

The wild turkey showed up ready to work this morning.


----------



## Grass Clippins

View from the street:



View of other side of driveway:


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## g-man

^ they can destroy a lawn in no time.


----------



## gb043075

I like that avatar, Go Dogs!

Citadel '97


----------



## Grass Clippins

@gb043075 Thank you Sir! I was India Company 2004. @JRS 9572 is from the class of 1994, maybe you guys know each other.


----------



## JRS 9572

There has to be more of us around. The Long Grey Line is full of type A people that like to keep stuff neat. Go Dogs!

Oscar '94


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## gb043075

@Grass Clippins @JRS 9572 updated my avatar for consistency. Small world.


----------



## Grass Clippins

@JRS 9572 @gb043075 Very Nice, I like it. If there are any other Citadel grads on the site I'm sure we'll fish them off with these avatars.


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## Grass Clippins

I've decided to create a mini orchard. These three arrived a couple weeks ago, bare root, and I planted them in these 7 gallons pots from Home Depot. I know most people put them straight in the ground but I've still got some planning and research to do before I decide on the placement. We are zone 7B and about 20 miles north of zone 8.

Picture left to right: 

Emperor Francis Sweet Cherry

Pakistan Mulberry

Shiro Plum

These Haven't been delivered yet:

Robert Pineapple Guava

Bing Cherry

Susquehanna Paw Paw

Shenandoah Paw Paw

Peter's Honey Fig

Brown Turkey Fig

Fuyu Asian Persimmon


----------



## Grass Clippins

This is how I feel when I see other people's TTT Fescue lawn's around town....tall dark and thick. Mine looks good in spots and it's as thin as frog hair in others. I'm noticing the parts that were wooded a couple years ago are struggling the most. It may be that those areas are more acidic due the pine trees. I need to keep that in mind next time I do a soil test.


----------



## Grass Clippins

*04/13/2019*

Picked up two 50 pound bags of Lesco 24-0-11 from Home Depot and threw her down. I have noticed some thickening and green up, it's only been a week and it's looking better. I believe the struggling areas may be lacking nitrogen due to some of the left over roots and chips from stump grinding and clearing. I'm coming to the realization that I may need to wait for the turf to establish for a season before I try my low nitrogen strategy. I wish I would have known about TurfGro Professional 24-0-11 at Lowe's, it's $10 less per bag than Lesco. Looking at my 2019 totals I see that I need to start adding some phosphorus. My soil test also shows low phosphorus levels. Now that it's heating up I should probably switch my nitrogen source to Milorganite or Lowe's ProCare 4-3-0?





*04/18/2019*

Applied Scotts GrubEx before the rain rolled in. Hopefully it didn't rain too much, we got way more that one inch.


----------



## Grass Clippins

Couple weeks ago I secretly did a heavy handed application of Lesco 18-24-12 on a thin test plot to see if I could get a response, it worked. I'll post pictures tomorrow. When I look over what I've put down so far this year I don't have any phosphorus which is odd but I guess GCF subs in humid acid, fulvic acid & sea kelp extract for the macro phosphorus.

05/01/2019


----------



## Grass Clippins




----------



## Grass Clippins

The the lawn is looking a lot better. Over the next few weeks I should be able to get some of the detail work done like creating & edging the beds.

A couple issues that I'm dealing with are....


Weeds - Earlier this week I sprayed Triplet SF, that should take care of the broadleaf weeds, I'm already seeing them start to die off. When it heats up the poa and annual ryegrass should natural go away. Yesterday I noticed one strand common bermuda down by the street so I'm anticipating a battle with that pretty soon.


Fungus - The rain should move on by Monday so I'll give it a day or two before I mow again. After that mow I plan to apply propiconazole & azoxystrobin fungicides. I'm certain I have a fungus issue now and I'm fairly certain it started in the winter. I didn't treat it back then though because I was being hard headed and couldn't accept that it could occur outside of summer, live and learn.

5/6/2019 Applied Triplet SF @ 1.5 ounces per 1,000 square feet
5/10/2019 Appled round 2 application of Prodiamine @ 0.55 ounces per 1,000 square feet


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## GA_Fescue_Man

Looking good man!


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## Grass Clippins

@GA_Fescue_Man Thank you.


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## Grass Clippins

The good news is that the heat is killing off the poa annua and annual ryegrass. The bad new is that the heat is hammering my fescue. Fungus has been present but I think it looks a little worse this week due to the propiconalzole application I did over the weekend. It's supposed to be in the low to mid 90's with a chance of rain next weekend.

5/19/2019 Applied Azoxy 2SC, Propaconzile 14.3 & Humid DG at the following rates.


Azoxy 2SC - 2 0.77 ounces per 1,000 square feet, good for 28 days.

Propiconazole 14.3 - 0.77 2 ounces per 1,000 square feet, good for 21 days.

Humic DG - 4 pounds per 1,000 square feet. This was the the high rate on the bag so naturally that's what I did :bandit: The bag states that it contains 70% humic acid.

The Azoxy 2SC and Propiconazole 14.3 were applied together with 2 to 4 gallons of water per 1,000 square feet. Before I did the fungicide application I cut the grass and cast the Humic DC.

I made the following notes in excel to keep from having to pull out the label again.


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## Grass Clippins

I put down my second application of fungicide for the year on Sunday. Last month I watered it in with 2 gallons of water per 1,000 square feet, per the instructions, but I don't feel that I got much curative action so this time I sprayed at low volume and let it sit for a day until the rain rolled in last night. I can definitely notice a little more burn without the watering in step. I also mixed in 7 ounces per 1,000 square feet of GCF Humic12 that I'm trying to use up. Once the GCF Humic12 is gone I'm switching over to Anderson Humic DG.

6/16/2019 Applied Azoxy 2SC, Propaconzile 14.3 & GCF Humic at the following rates.


Azoxy 2SC - 2 0.77 ounces per 1,000 square feet, good for 28 days.

Propiconazole 14.3 - 0.77 2 ounces per 1,000 square feet, good for 21 days.

GCF Humic12 - 7 ounces per 1,000 square feet.

Theory on why I have a fungal issue:
At the moment, one side of my driveway looks amazing and the other side looks OK. I can't really figure it out. The side that looks OK was the first to germinate after seeding in November. Not long after that we had a very rainy late fall and some decently warm weather. It was at this time I think the fungus got a foothold on my girls. When I over seed this fall I'm going to follow the seeding instruction on the propiconazole label, live and learn. The other side of the driveway the looks amazing germinated later and missed most of the damp weather, therefore avoiding the early on set. I can't think of any other reason to explain it because they get the exact same treatment. I'll take pictures tomorrow.

Note to self...apply Tenacity at seeding and then apply 1 fl oz. per 1,000 sq ft of Propiconazole at the 2 to 3 leaf stage of growth to avoid late fall issues.


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## synergy0852

Grass Clippins said:


> 6/16/2019 Applied Azoxy 2SC, Propaconzile 14.3 & GCF Humic at the following rates.
> 
> 
> Azoxy 2SC - 2 ounces per 1,000 square feet, good for 28 days.
> 
> Propiconazole 14.3 - 0.77 ounces per 1,000 square feet, good for 21 days.
> 
> GCF Humic12 - 7 ounces per 1,000 square feet.


@Grass Clippins I believe I have the same product as you have for Azoxy, but I sprayed only .4oz/M and wondering where it said 2oz./M. I'm applying as preventative which I read as .38oz./M and the curative as .77oz./M. These are the rates I got from the label, but I think I'm missing something as someone else recently had a higher rate as well. I have Azoxy 2SC 22.9% AI.


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## Grass Clippins

synergy0852 said:


> Grass Clippins said:
> 
> 
> 
> 6/16/2019 Applied Azoxy 2SC, Propaconzile 14.3 & GCF Humic at the following rates.
> 
> 
> Azoxy 2SC - 2 ounces per 1,000 square feet, good for 28 days at .77.
> 
> Propiconazole 14.3 - 0.77 ounces per 1,000 square feet, good for 21 days.
> 
> GCF Humic12 - 7 ounces per 1,000 square feet.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> @Grass Clippins I believe I have the same product as you have for Azoxy, but I sprayed only .4oz/M and wondering where it said 2oz./M. I'm applying as preventative which I read as .38oz./M and the curative as .77oz./M. These are the rates I got from the label, but I think I'm missing something as someone else recently had a higher rate as well. I have Azoxy 2SC 22.9% AI.
Click to expand...

Good catch. I went back and switched the numbers in the previous post. I used 0.77 of Azoxy 2sc to get 28 days of coverage.

From what I understand 0.38 will get you 14 days of coverage vs 28 days at 0.77. 0.40 is good for spot treatment. I could be wrong but I don't think there is a preventative vs curative rate for azoxystrobin as it should be applied before disease development.

_"Under light to moderate disease pressure, use the lower rates within the specified rate range (1.9-3.85 fl. oz./100 gallons, or 0.95-1.9 fl. oz./50 gallons) on a 7-14 day interval or the higher rates within the specified rate range (5.75-7.7 fl. oz./100 or 2.85-3.85 fl. oz./50 gallons) on a 14-28 day interval."​_


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## synergy0852

@Grass Clippins Thanks for the tip on the non curative aspect. Right now I fall under that light to moderate pressure statement, I will raise my rates if/when disease pressure is higher! Thanks again!


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## Grass Clippins

I'll start with the good side of the driveway. This section was slow to germinate in the fall/winter of 2018 but ended up looking really good. I have a couple sprinkler heads on the other side of the driveway but I haven't run the sprinklers since late May. Since then I've been relying on the rain.


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## Grass Clippins

The other side of the driveway is a different story. This germinated quickly in the fall of 2018 but got into the fungus with the warm wet December we experienced. I had no idea that you could get fungus in the winter so I didn't treat the problem. It doesn't look half bad now but looked a lot worse during the drought in May. I've been going pretty hard on the Humic DG and I'm seeing some good regrowth in the bare spots.


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## Grass Clippins

And finally the unforgiving aerial view.


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## Rooster

Grass Clippins said:


> And finally the unforgiving aerial view.


Welcome to trying to keep TTTF alive through summer in the transition zone! It's hard work. I've grown TTTF in three different yards, and all started promising but proved to be huge challenges. I'm a couple hours north of you and our builder will be putting in bermuda in the new lawn instead of TTTF-- I'll be making friend with my longtime dreaded enemy.

Your work so far has been amazing. Keep posting and good luck!


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## Grass Clippins

@Bermuda_Rooster That's no lie. I've accepted the fact that if I'm to stick with non-irrigated TTTF then my yard is going to look terrible three month out of year.

If I had full sun I would differently go with a warm season grass, you'd be crazy not to. Thank you for the kind words.


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## Grass Clippins

I apologize for the converational hiatus. My late summer lawn strategy has been to do nothing so I don't have much to share other than a few observations.

1.) I've got nutsedge that needs dealing with but I don't want to stress the fescue until the temps come down. Other than that the weed pressure to surprisingly low considering all the bare spots.
2.) The grass by the street took a beating, from the heat, and a good amount of common bermuda is taking advantage of the barren real estate. I'm going to come in about 4 feet and spray glyphosate the length of the street then seed in a few weeks.
3.) Decided to give Titan Ultra/RX TTTF another shot in 2020. I'll be overseeing at the end of the month.


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## Grass Clippins

Back in June I did my third and final fungicide application, surprisingly I didn't have any issues in the fall. I'm guessing the first emergence of fungus is what will get you more so that what hits in August.:dunno: After June 16th I didn't do a thing to the grass because of the heat. I barely mowed it and gave it no water to see what would happen. It's far from perfect but....that ain't half bad. The big dead areas around the trees are intentional. It's edged and waiting for the leaves to completely fall before mulching. The really rough spotty areas are on a slope, I need to adapt the plan for these problem areas next summer.

10/18 

Extensive Plug & Aeration

Overseed (Titan Ultra)

80 pounds of Humic DG

100 pounds of Lesco Starter Fert 18-24-12

I did NOT use Tenacity this year during seeding. If I could have gone seed done earlier I would have used it but I'm trying to see if I get better germination results without a pre-emergent this year.


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## Grass Clippins

Germination at day 8 this year. Seed went down sooner and temps are little warmer this year. I also used a granular starter fertilizer vs the GCF Starter. Similar to last year I didn't use a sprinkler but got lucky with consistent rain. If we have another warm November and December this year I should be able to drive these roots deep enough to handle the summer a little better than this past year.


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## Grass Clippins

I should have cut the grass a little shorter before overseeding because it got really tall over the last couple of weeks. Cut it today at the highest setting, twice. I'm going to drop the height and cut again before the rain on Thursday.


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## Grass Clippins

She's filling in nicely. Last Friday was the two week mark from over seeding. I'm really impressed with how this Titan Ultra bounced back considering I'm in Georgia and did not water this past summer.


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## GA_Fescue_Man

Looking good. I hope we can get a couple of more weeks out of the growing season. The 4 inch soil temps are hovering between 45 to 55 degrees at the Atlanta Athletic Club weather station in John's Creek.


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## Grass Clippins

@GA_Fescue_Man Thank you. Your turf is looking good as well my friend. I noticed some growth today, time for a cut tomorrow after I do something about all these leaves. This year will be the first year I do a winterizing N application, I may do that on the last weekend of this month.


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## Grass Clippins

It's been raining a lot lately and soil temps have been all over the place. Couple instances already of soil temps breaching 55 for two consecutive days. I need to remember to go February 1st "wheels down" on the pre-m next year regardless of what I think the weather is going to do. I had to search last weekend but found a couple pop annua seed heads. I'm going to try really hard not to add anymore nitrogen until April or May . Maybe that will help me deal with disease a little better this summer. Will cut and take pics in a few days.

2/15


Spread 5lbs/# HyR BRIX Fertilizer

2/22


Sprayed .38 oz/# Prdiamine


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## Grass Clippins

I'm letting her have it this week boys...

4/7/2020


4#/k Andersons Humic DG

6#/k of 10-10-10 fertilizer from Home Depot gave me 0.6#/k of N, P & K. If I would have ordered more HyR BRIX I would have used that instead. Very impressed with HyR BRIX. Last N app until Fall 2020

Grubex per bag instructions, can't remember the specifics

0.77 oz./k Azoxy 2SC. Last year I was late to the brown patch party and am trying to get ahead of it this year. Within the next few days the sum of our temp+humidity will exceed 150. We're expecting light rain tonight and tomorrow so I went for it.

Later this week - Prodiamine, Triplet, Propiconazole & a bunch of left over Greene County Fert from last year. I didn't put the propiconazole down with the Azoxy 2SC because I have better results when I let the Propiconazole sit on the grass and soil for a couple days before watering vs. immediate water needed for Azoxy 2SC.

Lawn is looking good compared to this time last year. Fair amount of broadleaf weed pressure but that doesn't bother me, need triplet before heat hits. Very little Poa this year. Anxious to see how I'll do without irrigation. Need to order pine straw for my beds.


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## Grass Clippins

Observations from last year: It seems like this is the time I had issues with fungus last year. The problem with last year was that by the time I noticed the issue it had gotten bad and we were at the beginning of a drought with May temps getting up to 93 degrees. I learned that once you've got a bad fungus issue preventative applications don't seem to help while curative applications can be harsh when temps go north of 85 degrees. This year I started early, April 7 2020 was my first Azoxy 2SC application because our humidity+temp was getting close to 150 and I did notice a little bit of fungus towards the base of most blades. Usually I apply it with Propiconazole but for some reason I forgot. It ended up working out because the little bit of fungus I had on April 7th is now gone. I guess I caught it just in time this year. Today I applied my second application of Azoxy 2SC w/ Propiconazole this time, details below. I realized that I'm still in my 28 day window but we have rain rolling in this afternoon, I don't run irrigation so today will do.

4/29/2020


3.00 oz./# GCF Humic 12

3.00 oz./# GCF RGS

0.77 oz./# Azoxy 2SC

2.00 oz./# Propiconazole 14.3

0.55 oz./# Prodiamine. This was my 2nd and final application for 2020, weight on scale. This app put me a lil' over the 0.83 oz./# max annual rate but I think I'll be ok. First app was 0.38 oz./# but followed by heavy rain so I'm not sure how much of that actually hung around.

Side Note: I've been working on my edging. Experimented with metal edging from Lowe's to add some side wall retention. I staked it down into the V trench so that the top of the 4" brown metal edging is about 1/4" above grade. We put pine straw in one bed last night and it looks good.


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## Grass Clippins

Temperatures are supposed to be in mid 70's next week so I plan to spray Triplet to kill off the little bit of broadleaf weeds I have. I don't mind clover but there is something else in there that seems to be spreading. Slowly wrapping up my edging job and putting down pine straw. Running a new sharp blade, HOC is 4". The low cut quality in pic 3 is from the string trimmer, my deck doesn't go far enough beyond my wheelbase to cover my edging. #LittleDeckIssues :bandit:


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## Grass Clippins




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## BakerGreenLawnMaker

@Grass Clippins overall, how has the Titan Ultra done with the heat? I'm just to the east of you in Rock Hill, SC. I'm really thinking of killing off of what's left of the my St Augustine and going with a TTTF. I had Titan RX at my old house and it did fairy well considering I had no shade. Just wanted to get your thoughts on that variety of seed. Thanks! Keep up the good work, lawn is looking great!


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## Grass Clippins

@BakerGreenLawnMaker The verdict is still out on how it handles the heat overall. The heat wave and drought last May really messed me up. This year the weather seems to be a little more typical so I should get a good read on how it handles the heat without irrigation. I will tell you that it did significantly better in the shade last year. In the shaded areas I had very little fungus and it handled the heat like a champ until August. The non-shaded area didn't do so well but I think that may have been based more on my site than the seed. For example the flat area, that retains more moisture, did ok but the hills got smoked. I've got a lot of variables going on in my yard. With that being said, I'm convinced that if you have a relatively flat shaded lawn with irrigation Titan Ultra would be an excellent value seed assuming you can get it for less than $100/50 pound bag. After I install irrigation and gain more experience I'll probably experiment with more expense TTTF options but for now I'll stick with Ultra or RX.

It's funny that you are thinking about smoking off your St Aug. for TTTF because last month I was thinking about smoking off my TTTF for St. Aug. :lol: . I was extremely close to buying a couple trays of Palmetto plugs to play around with until I read that it doesn't do well north of Atlanta. I'm zone 7B but maybe 15 miles from being zone 8A. I hate feeling like I'm starting over every fall with overseeding TTTF and I'd love to mow lower. If growing turf on a shaded lot in the transition zone had a theme song it would be Every Rose Has It's Thorn by Poison. I don't think there's any perfect or easy choice.


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## GA_Fescue_Man

@Grass Clippins Things are looking tight man!  Hope you are doing well? The temps in May this year were a lot cooler than last year. I ended up putting down my first fungicide app (propicanazole, strobe, & adjuvant) on 05/16. That may come back to bite me, we'll see. I did notice some lesions on the grass blades in parts of the yard (possibly looked like rust) before the application. I'm having a little trouble with a compacted area of my yard (regraded a couple of years ago) and it checked out a little bit last week (light green/yellow color, heat stress) before the rains came. It looks a little better after we got some rain. I haven't ran my sprinkler system at all this year so far because I was trying to push those roots down. I will post a pic when I have a minute. Be safe.


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## Grass Clippins

GA_Fescue_Man said:


> @Grass Clippins Things are looking tight man!  Hope you are doing well? The temps in May this year were a lot cooler than last year. I ended up putting down my first fungicide app (propicanazole, strobe, & adjuvant) on 05/16. That may come back to bite me, we'll see. I did notice some lesions on the grass blades in parts of the yard (possibly looked like rust) before the application. I'm having a little trouble with a compacted area of my yard (regraded a couple of years ago) and it checked out a little bit last week (light green/yellow color, heat stress) before the rains came. It looks a little better after we got some rain. I haven't ran my sprinkler system at all this year so far because I was trying to push those roots down. I will post a pic when I have a minute. Be safe.


He's back in the lawn Ladies and Gentleman :lol:

I've already done two fungicide apps this year and I'm still noticing signs of fungus, no outbreaks thankfully. My year 2 grass is doing much better than my year 1 grass. Next time GCI posts a video on his lawn I'm going to ask if it's normal or acceptable see to signs of fungus. Obviously we're trying to prevent an outbreak but I doubt there's a way to eliminate all signs of fungus in this climate. June 1st I'll start laying down heavy apps of Humic DG, last year that seems to help a lot with the heat stress. I think it's good to rely on rainfall as much as possible but it's also really smart that you have irrigation as a backup.


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## GA_Fescue_Man

I'm back at it man! This pandemic has forced me to step up my yard game. With everyone working from home, all of the neighbors' landscaping is approaching 5 star status . I'm trying to keep up with the Joneses!


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## Grass Clippins

The yard is looking pretty good still. I got worried last week when we didn't have any rain and high temps but the rain earlier this week has really helped. No more heavy doses of Nitrogen till fall, ordering Hyr BRIX Pasture fert for the calcium as well as FAS ingredients from Amazon to get rid of this yellowing. Also doing heavy applications of Humic 12, Humic DG and Air8 to break up the clay. I have a decent amount of clover but that doesn't bother me, not worth damaging the good stuff to get rid of clover. My goal this year is to keep it alive and to keep the dirt covered.


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## Grass Clippins

g-man said:


> A quick glance, if you are sure it is not a fungus, then the ratio of iron to Mn could explain it. I would try applying just iron (FAS and not FEature) to see if you notice a response.
> 
> Their recommendations seem pretty good. The CEC is on the low side, so half rate applications twice a month are better than one monthly.


@g-man Back in 2019 you helped me with my soil analysis and recommended that I use FAS over FEature. I finally decided to go for it and am reading the "Ferrous Ammonium Sulfate I Liquid Iron for Lawns" Thread. Taking your recommendation but curious why you recommend FAS over FEature for my particular situation of having high levels of iron in soil but still needing to apply iron to deal with yellowing. Thanks for all of your help.


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## Grass Clippins

5/28/2020

When I went to apply fungicide application I realized that I didn't have enough Propiconazole to get my 2.00 oz./# rate. I only had 10.00 oz left so I ended up running that over 20K square feet.


0.77 oz./# Azoxy 2SC

0.50 oz./# Propiconazole 14.3

6.0 oz./# GCF Humic

3.0 oz./# GCF RGS

6/10/2020

Propiconazole arrived last week. Wanted to get it out ASAP but also wanted to wait for 14 day mark.


0.77 oz./# Azoxy 2SC

2.00 oz./# Propiconazole 14.3

5.00 lbs/# HyR Brix Pasture Fert
Nitrogen (2%), phosphorous (1%), potassium (8%), calcium (10.20%), sulfur (4.25%)​
4.00 lbs/# Andersons Humic DG


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## Grass Clippins

Well it's still alive and fungus free for the most part. Not the darkest shade of green but green none the less. Proud of my girls and hope they've pushed their roots deep down into the earth. July, August and September are brutal on fescue in Georgia.


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## Grass Clippins

Forgot my tomato pic.


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## Grass Clippins

Note to self: Fert schedule idea for flowers from Anderson Seed

*Daily*
Water and alternate between these two fertilizers @ 1/2 rate Ferti-lome 20-20-20 and Feti-lome 9-58-8

*Monthly*
Auqueduct L&G 3.00 oz/gallon (for hanging baskets, not using with wicking tubs)

*Every Two Weeks*
Seedlingers Plant Fertilizer this is part of a compost tea, need to figure out the rest of the recipe.

-----------------------

Currently adding 7-35-24 to water for wicking tubs @ 1 tsp./gallon of water. May keep that but add N and Compost Tea.


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## Grass Clippins

They've arrived... Last weekend I ordered (90) 2.5" Thuja Green Giant Arborvitae Starters from Sandy's Online Nursery. They ended up being a little over $3.50 per plant. The plan is to up pot them into 1 gallon containers and nurse them until next spring, at which time we will plant them. Hopefully A.M. Leonard will get it together and ship my containers so I can give these guys some leg room.


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## Grass Clippins

6/30/20

The grass is still alive. Patches of clover are getting bigger, need to remember to spray triplet next year regardless of how minor the issue may seem before the temps get in mid 80's.


0.77 oz./# Azoxy 2SC

2.00 oz./# Propiconazole 14.3

3.20 oz./# RGS

6.40 oz./# Air8

Potted tree in 1 gallon pots.


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## quattljl

If you have Triplet, mix some in a spray bottle and go around and hand spray the patches of clover on a cool(er), cloudy day. Just a couple sprays per patch should take out the clover without stressing the fescue. I did something similar with OTC Weed-B-Gon spiked with Triclopyr and the clover was gone after a couple days.


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## Grass Clippins

@quattljl I probably should do that but I'm just being lazy :lol: I gave it a mow on Monday and that will probably be my last mow for a month or two. Perfect timing to get burned out I guess. There's a lady a few miles from my house who has a TTTF lawn that everyone talks about. I drove by yesterday and it's looking great but is noticeably shaggy. She has it maintained by a company that does the ultra high properties around here with big shaded oaks and TTTF. I'm going to follow their lead with the no mow. Still trying to figure out which cultivar they use, more that likely it's sod so that should narrow it down a bit.


----------



## Grass Clippins

I think I figured out which TTTF cultivars they are using off of W Paces Ferry Rd in Atlanta. In the past I thought they were using seed so the possibilities were vast. Not sure why I was thinking seed because these are mega wealth people who hire contractors and contractors usually lay sod. Looked for sod farms who sell Fescue in GA and found North Georgia Turf, they have a TTTF Sod called Rebel Supreme. I called and spoke to a lady who told me they send tons of sod down to W Paces Ferry Road, mainly Rebel Supreme and Zeon Zoysia due to the well established shaded lots. Rebel Supreme contains Rebel II, Rebel Jr. & Rebel 3D. Not only do they sell the sod....they also sell the seed for $100/50 pound bag :thumbup:. Once I get irrigation installed I may smoke off this Titan and seed with Rebel Supreme. Seems to work pretty well down here and I have the option of purchase small quantities of sod to deal with any blemishes that may arise. I did some digging and found the NTEP results. Didn't look to closely but it seemed to test fairly well to ok in most catagories but excelled in disease resistance, which is nice.

Rebel II (1988-1991 Final Data)
 Rebel, Jr. & Rebel-3D (1991-1995 Final Data)

t's bitter sweet...this whole situation. I think I found what I'm looking for but I feel a little let down that it's a Rebel blend and not something more lavish.


----------



## jayhawk

NG Turf is the Chick-fil-A of grass here (cust service, family)!


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## Grass Clippins

@jayhawk I could tell from the lady on the phone that they are a good operation. I'd like to go up there sometime to look around.


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## Grass Clippins

Used a 20% off coupon at Site One to buy a Lesco spreader today. Model is 101186/Stainless Steel with Deflector. Super pumped I don't have to borrow my neighbors Scott's DLX EdgeGuard anymore. Wanted a Spyker but couldn't pass up the deal. Treat Yo Self.


----------



## Grass Clippins

7/16/2020

Applied 2 oz./gallon of spinosad (Captain Jacks Deadbug Brew) to cucumber plants via soil drench. A couple years ago we grew cucumbers for the first time and had an awful issue with cucumber bottles & worms in late summer. Those were planted directly in the ground, these are planted in self wicking tubs.

Yard is looking good but stressed. Supposed to get rain all next week, waiting to mow until then. Not running sprinklers this year.


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## Grass Clippins




----------



## Grass Clippins

7 weeks ago I propagated a bunch of hydrangea cuttings. So far so good, should have started introducing air last weekend. Check out those roots...eat your heart out Jon Perry. I'd like to find some oak leaf hydrandrea to get cutting from but no luck so far.

(36)Hydrangea paniculata Strawberry Sundae®
(18) Nikko Blue Hydrangea


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## Grass Clippins

Hydrangeas are coming in strong. I only had 2 of 54 that didn't root. Took them out of the chamber at week 8. Placed three big leaf begonia cuttings in the chamber last weekend 8/15.


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## Grass Clippins

Not so bad, much better than last year. I wasn't able to mow for about a month and a half due to a lack of rain. It's finally raining again so this hopefully reflects it's lowest point of the year. The view from the street is much better than this angle but I need to see my problem areas for next year. My biggest problem area, in the top picture, is on a slope and gets full sun all day. It was previously a natural area with several hard woods. A good bit of that brown should pop back pretty quickly once the temps drop. No exposed dirt this year, big win for the soil.


----------



## Grass Clippins

Got a good snap back from all this rain. I haven't done anything but mow. Planning to try some GCF D-thatch before I overseed. During the drought my thatch acted as a mulch to keep the dirt covered but it's too thick to get soil to seed contact at this point. Shooting for Mid October overseed.


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## Grass Clippins

It's been a rough 5 months but I've got to get back to journaling. In November my retina tore and detached in my left eye while I was at work. Unfortunately that was on a Friday afternoon so they weren't able to do surgery until Monday. By then I was almost completely blind in that eye. During that surgery they went in to fix the tear and installed a scleral buckle. That put me out of service for a couple months. The only thing I was able to do was put down a winterizer and I had to sneak out of the house to do that while my wife was shopping. Then back on February 15th I had surgery #2. This time they did a vitrectomy. So far so good, I have 100% reattachment but am waiting for the gas bubble they put in to dissolve. Hopefully in a month I'll get the green light to haul around my backpack sprayer to get ready for fungicide season. Until then I can push the Lesco and that's about it.

Long story short....I wasn't able to overseed in the fall and I'm a little worried. I'm also having to use a granular pre emergent so we'll see how that goes.

November 24, 2020
Applied 100 pounds of HyRBrix Lawn Fertilizer 22-7-7 (1.0 lbs. / # of N)

March 14, 2021
Applied 50 pounds of Turf Gro 50-lb Pre-Emergent


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## Grass Clippins

5/2/2021

First time I've used the backpack sprayer since last summer and it was terrible...need a new nozzle. Next weekend I will sprayer triplet to deal with my clover situation, it's taking over in places. Last year I said that I was going to do it but never did. Also need to focus on getting rid of the common bermuda that keeps popping up in the late summer. Bought 2.5 gallons of azoxystrobin (mazolin) from Chemical Warehouse that should last me for a couple seasons.


0.77 fl. oz./# Azoxy 2SC

2.00 fl. oz./# Propiconazole

0.55 oz./# Prodiamine


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## uts

Grass Clippins said:


> It's been a rough 5 months but I've got to get back to journaling. In November my retina tore and detached in my left eye while I was at work. Unfortunately that was on a Friday afternoon so they weren't able to do surgery until Monday. By then I was almost completely blind in that eye. During that surgery they went in to fix the tear and installed a scleral buckle. That put me out of service for a couple months. The only thing I was able to do was put down a winterizer and I had to sneak out of the house to do that while my wife was shopping. Then back on February 15th I had surgery #2. This time they did a vitrectomy. So far so good, I have 100% reattachment but am waiting for the gas bubble they put in to dissolve. Hopefully in a month I'll get the green light to haul around my backpack sprayer to get ready for fungicide season. Until then I can push the Lesco and that's about it.
> 
> Long story short....I wasn't able to overseed in the fall and I'm a little worried. I'm also having to use a granular pre emergent so we'll see how that goes.
> 
> November 24, 2020
> Applied 100 pounds of HyRBrix Lawn Fertilizer 22-7-7 (1.0 lbs. / # of N)
> 
> March 14, 2021
> Applied 50 pounds of Turf Gro 50-lb Pre-Emergent


Really sorry to hear about the retinal detachment. The fact that you are worried about thelawn while going through something like that takes you way beyond the Tier3 folks! Glad to see you are back and spraying!


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## Grass Clippins

@uts I appreciate the kind words. Feels good to be back out there.


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## Grass Clippins

Preparing to fight the dragon (common bermuda). They say not to apply to a stressed turf but that's not going to be possible in August. I'm going to do the best I can to keep it comfortable. Come August I don't care if she's comfortable or not I'm still going to send it. The casualties of war can be overseeded late October.

Label notes for future self:


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## Grass Clippins

Found a really old Oakleaf Hydrangea to get some cuttings for propagation. 54 cuttings loaded in the chamber. I still have one tray (18 cells) left and found a Lacecap Hydrangea for next weekend.


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## Grass Clippins

I did a bulk order of Topramezone - 29.7%. A little bit goes a long way so I'm splitting what I don't need. 
Click here for my chemical exchange thread.


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## Grass Clippins

Price drop on the Topramezone (Pylex) Split.. Price is now $64.54 for 4 oz. I'm a little surprised I haven't sold it all quicker. I guess most people aren't familiar with it. Even if someone doesn't have a bermuda issue in their cool season lawn they can mix it with Drive XLR8, late June application, to kill pretty much every weed I can think of in a cool season lawn. BASF has a sell sheet called The solution for summer weed control in cool-season turf that lays it all out. Pylex rate in the Pylex/Drive combo is 1.0 oz/acre, Drive rate is 48 oz/acre. Drive XLR8 (Quinclorac) is around $64 for 64 oz. At those rates the Topramezone would be 1/3 of the cost of Quinclorac and I consider Quinclorac to be inexpensive. I may end up keeping what I have left to use on my Dad's property in the mountains, he has about 4 acres of K31 in the mountains. We'll see...


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## Grass Clippins

6/29/2021

(2) 50 lbs bags of Lesco 5-0-20 10% Fe, really happy with this application. 0.25 lbs of N/# and 10% Fe gave me the perfect flush of growth and hit of green, not to much. May do this every 6 to 8 weeks moving forward in summer months. Picture from this evening.

No fungicide applications this year except for one in May. Fair amount of heat stress but she's going strong.


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## Grass Clippins

First round of Pylex and Triclopyr last night 8/6/2021

1 gallon of water per 1000 square feet
1.0 mL of Pylex per 1000 square feet
0.735 fl oz of Triclopyr per 1000 sq ft
1.28 fl oz of MSO per 1000 square feet (1% v/v)

This was my first of three applications that will be spaced out three weeds apart. Three weeks after the third application I'll overseed. From what I read, triclopyr is reason behind waiting three weeks to overseed after last application. Although common bermuda isn't invading my entire lawn I did a blanket application vs spot spraying per the label instructions. It's not going to rain for a few days and I will make sure to not mow 2 days before/after application.

Here is a picture of some Bermuda that I've let tiller out onto the driveways. Fully stretched it's 27.5 inches. I'm going to leave it as is to watch it die.


Here is a picture of a heavily Bermuda infested patch. I will monitor this as well.


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## Grass Clippins

It's hard to find good help these days...


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## Grass Clippins

So far so good. Definitely doing what it's supposed to do with little to no effect on the fescue. My Fescue tips are frosted a little bit but I think that's because my blades need sharpening.


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## Grass Clippins

8/28/2021

Round 2 - Right on Time

Pylex and Triclopyr1

1 gallon of water per 1000 square feet
1.0 mL of Pylex per 1000 square feet
0.735 fl oz of Triclopyr per 1000 sq ft
1.28 fl oz of MSO per 1000 square feet (1% v/v)

Feels like it takes forever to put down 15 gallons over 15K square feet but I feel like it's worth it to have extra carrier. Noticing I have a fair amount of Bermuda nestled deep in the thick fescue. I might see about getting a pull behind rake next year to bring that Bermuda up top to meet it's maker.


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## VALawnNoob

Grass Clippins said:


> 8/28/2021
> 
> Round 2 - Right on Time
> 
> Pylex and Triclopyr1
> 
> 1 gallon of water per 1000 square feet
> 1.0 mL of Pylex per 1000 square feet
> 0.735 fl oz of Triclopyr per 1000 sq ft
> 1.28 fl oz of MSO per 1000 square feet (1% v/v)
> 
> Feels like it takes forever to put down 15 gallons over 15K square feet but I feel like it's worth it to have extra carrier. Noticing I have a fair amount of Bermuda nestled deep in the thick fescue. I might see about getting a pull behind rake next year to bring that Bermuda up top to meet it's maker.


I have been thinking about doing a sun joe dethatching right before my final Pylex app before overseeding. As you mentioned, some Bermuda hides deep in fescue so it's important to pull them up to get the Pylex treatment.


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## Grass Clippins

@VALawnNoob It's a tough decision. If you don't lift that stuff out I don't see how it will ever totally go away but if you dethatch or rake you may stress the fescue and cause more damage in this hot weather. I was thinking a rake would be a little more gentle. I would be afraid that a dethatcher might divide it up and make it spread. I pulled up the bermuda in the pic below, otherwise you'd have never known it was there.


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## Grass Clippins

I'm noticing a pattern here and it's pretty interesting to watch the process vs the quick kill of a less persistent weed.
I was expecting for all my Bermuda to turn white within a couple days, but that didn't happen. It took about 7 days for the things that were going to turn white to turn white. Other areas seem to of skipped the whitening and went straight to brown. By the time I was ready for round 2 this past Sunday the white stuff had died off...or so I thought. I was looking around today and noticed that I've got some fresh growth.


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## Grass Clippins

Big dethatch & overseed this weekend. Took me almost the entire day but I got it done. Felt good to get all of that junk out of the fescue. My neighbor's lawn tractor with bagger saved that day. Overseed at 5 lbs./#, Lesco setting at 24. Did Titan again because I didn't want to risk waiting for Rebel Supreme from NG Turf.

Didn't get third round of Pylex + Triclopyr down due to the weather. It was raining for about a week when I had scheduled my application and then I got busy with other stuff. Need to start the process a few weeks earlier next summer. When I was pulling the dethatcher I noticed a 5 x 5 patch of about 6 Bermuda runners up by the porch, other than that the apps did their job.


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## Grass Clippins

Every year I say I'm going down with my PreM on February 15th but it never happens. Maybe if I aim for an earlier date I might actually hit my target. As opposed to watching the soil temps I will more than likely watch for my daffodils to emerge, not sure when they germinate but it's probably not far from 50 F. This year I think they started coming early February.

2/06

Sprayed .38 oz/# Prodiamine

50 lb Lesco 30-0-10

I wanted to do 100 lb but I ran out of time. Plan to apply the other 50 lb the day before our next rain. That should get me a little over 1#/k of nitrogen. It also has 2% iron which is nice.

As soon as the round up kicks in I will clean up my edges and put down mulch, that should make a big impact. I also have two Teddy Bear Magnolia coming in to plant along my privacy hedge in the front. They're a small variety and will be deep within the bed so I'm not worried about it interfering with the turf. Along with the magnolia I'm picking up a Patti Faye Deodar Cedar.


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## jayhawk

Teddy Bear ..small? I got one that is 20yrs old, getting tall. Yes not a wide as it's tall train wreck variety. I think it's better looking than the smaller little gem. Wish I had more.

Did you see NG Turf is selling a new bluegrass hybrid, wondered if that has you interested.


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## Grass Clippins

jayhawk said:


> Teddy Bear ..small? I got one that is 20yrs old, getting tall. Yes not a wide as it's tall train wreck variety. I think it's better looking than the smaller little gem. Wish I had more.
> 
> Did you see NG Turf is selling a new bluegrass hybrid, wondered if that has you interested.


I'm hoping it will stay in the 20 feet tall 12 feet wide range. Small compared to those 80 footers. In neighborhood down the street there is a home with a grandiflora that's every bit of 50 feet wide. 95% of their yard is that one tree.

I hadn't seen that bluegrass hybrid. Thanks for bringing it up, definitely sparks my interest. I know I'm eventually going to do something different but don't know what yet. I hate think about what it would cost for sod now a days.


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