# Joe's Side Reno 2021/22 - Paused



## joec-ct (Aug 6, 2021)

Starting a journal for the side lawn as the reno was incomplete and partial fail due to drainage issues. Reno'd the area and seeded end of Aug 21. Contractor did not properly grade between me + my neighbor. Instead of there being a slight swale between our yards, there was a gradual convex bump. This forced water back into both of our lawns.

Neighbor and I called a landscape company and they 
1. Installed French Drain at the base of the hill in between our backyards.
2. Using a 6" pipe and going down about 2', they grabbed our gutters and T'd them to the main pipe.
3. They went underneath my driveway (currently still stone) and grabbed my front gutter as well, this cut into the side lawn and got torn up.
3. Main pipe now connects to the street.

Seed mix is the same as front, SSS Sunny Mix. 60% KBG, 20% FF, 20% PRG

Side lawn was torn up. Here are photos of the drainage work and where it stands today. I'll have to do _*something *_in the spring, there's just lots of bare dirt right now.


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

That is a job done once and you will never have to worry so it's great. Excited to see some spring renovation!


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## joec-ct (Aug 6, 2021)

@uts oh man, here we go again! Let's see how the weather turns out 😜


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## joec-ct (Aug 6, 2021)

4/13/22 -

Now that water issues have been addressed. I've decided I'm going to *wait until late summer* to reno the side. The company that installed the drainage didn't do a great job of cleaning up. There's rocks everywhere. I'll work on removing the larger ones over the summer.

Half of the bare area belongs to my neighbor. He and I will be getting topsoil brought in, probably early August so I can start fallowing. Still debating on the upper area since there is good grass growing there. Knowing me, I'll probably end up gly-ing the whole side and starting fresh.


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## lbb091919 (Apr 26, 2020)

joec-ct said:


> Knowing me, I'll probably end up gly-ing the whole side and starting fresh.


If you're up for it, this is the way. It doesnt look like that much more area and the finished product will be that much better.


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

lbb091919 said:


> joec-ct said:
> 
> 
> > Knowing me, I'll probably end up gly-ing the whole side and starting fresh.
> ...


Agree. If you don't just go ahead and bite the bullet now, you will look at that section in the upcoming season(s) and kick yourself.


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## joec-ct (Aug 6, 2021)

True - and it's only like 400sq ft. OK I've decided!


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## lbb091919 (Apr 26, 2020)

400 sq ft!?!


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## joec-ct (Aug 6, 2021)

LOL - yea the upper area is like 4x10. The lower area I was planning on killing anyway since the grade needs reworking.


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## joec-ct (Aug 6, 2021)

Note: this area is North Facing. Need to look at growth over the spring and see if I may need to add more FF/Mazama to the mix. Area next to driveway gets full sun however.


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## joec-ct (Aug 6, 2021)

I've also decided since this area will be reno'd in fall, I'm going to use this spring and summer to test higher amounts of Sprayed Urea to see how the grass reacts. With a low CEC soil, my program will need to consist of smaller doses more frequently. I don't know how much N I'm actually leeching through and losing, so I'll be testing foliar apps of N at .25lb .30lb, leaving it on the leaves. If it burns, I won't care, and I'll know my thresholds.


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## joec-ct (Aug 6, 2021)

The grass on this side is really darkening up. Throwing down a balanced fert seems to have made a difference. Haven't done much with this area besides that. Just learning how the spraying .2N spoon-feeding in the front has much slower results.

This patch here looks better than the front, and I've done less. I don't get it! It's also north facing and gets decent shade. Maybe the front just takes such a beating in the hot sun, I need to water more often?

Side - 


Vs. Front


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## joec-ct (Aug 6, 2021)

6/9 - Side lawn is looking really good, it's my favorite area. Fairly flat, clean, very low weeds. Due to the drain pipe installation, leveling has to be done, especially in the lower area.



Lower Area of Side Lawn


Neighbor and I will split topsoil delivery this fall so we can finally have grass in between our yards.


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## joec-ct (Aug 6, 2021)

Considering a 50/50 blend of Mazama and After Midnight KBG monostand. Lower area gets full sun while the side of the house gets about 4-5 hours of full sun. Grass isn't suffering at all there now, and it's 60% kbg.

After Midnight scored the highest for KBG in CT according to NTEP 2020.


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## joec-ct (Aug 6, 2021)

Audible was called. I won't be reno-ing this year. Wife is hosting a party and I cannot have yardwork going on during the ideal window. Seeded the bare area in early July (completely not ideal) and here's where I'm at for now. Neighbor plans to bring in topsoil to blend our yards together this fall. I'm discouraged but this will have to do until things are established here in our neighborhood (sidewalks, driveway, aprons, etc).


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