# Cole's Lawn Journal - 2021 - Western NY



## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

Intro: I thought I'd make a journal to track my progress and maybe get some comments and critique along the way. I purchased my first home in Oct '20. Little village home on roughly 1,400sf.



Fall '20:

-Fall clean up and major landscaping, trimming, more cleanup 
-2x WBG hose-end on ~1,400sf
-Thanksgiving Milo at bag rate on ~1,400sf with a broken Scott's spreader (my leaf blower had a better spread pattern)

_Before_


Spring '21:

-Soil test by Dairy One Agronomy Services
_Recommendation was N but no P/K or lime. Macros/micros all came in high. Probes were taken from entire yard excluding bare dirt/stump grinds areas. Who knows. Trust the data_



*Front yard:*
-Remove a 55"x50 (oak?) tree
-Remove 85% of stump grinds and left over roots





_March 21, 2021_


*Backyard:*

-Remove 5 stumps from old perimeter bushes
-Spread 15cf of the cheap stuff (Timberland Premium) over ~500sf


I will be trying to grow grass here. My neighbor offered to let me use his sawzall to hack down the rest of those bushes - I'll probably take him up on it...



_March 23, 2021_

Bed along the backside of the house is going to be reshaped/turned into grilling station - more to come

Near future plans:

-Fill in stump area - thinking of bringing in 3cy for ~200sf but undecided
-Prodiamine + CCO + 1/2 bag Milo (because) on ~700sf of existing lawn that will be seeded/reno in the fall - major garlic mustard problems 
-Dormant overseed + peat backyard
-Seed + peat ex-stump area
_Both of these areas will get Scott's starter + meso at or before germination_ 
-Figure out fert plan
_Looking at Lesco 18-0-3 +2_

So here goes nothing. First lawn, spring reno, hose dragging, GCI TTTF @ 4". Target :shock: date: Spring '22. Let's do this.


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

Reserved...

Finished in the dark last night so I took some progress pics this morning. Getting another 5cf down tonight then final rake/clean, seed and maybe starter fert. Going a little off script here, but with the weather we are getting I don't want the existing grass/weeds to outcompete once we do finally get that first flush of growth. I am seeing considerable green up around town and with the rain we're getting now it is only going to help.

Getting seed down in the back early also allows me to focus on water, and other parts of the yard that need attention.

_March 24, 2021_


If I don't get PreM down tonight, I will tomorrow night. Probably ordering top soil this week as well. Also looking at Bender Board (~.5" below grade) as my landscape edging. Still looking at Lesco 18-0-3 +2 as my fert for the season but I'm at least a month or two away from fertilizer, even though the lawn desperately needs N based on color test (very yellow/dormant looking still compared to other lawns around - wonder if the 2 apps of WBG last fall has anything to do with this?).

More to come...


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

*Backyard:*

-GCI TTTF @ 8#/1k on ~500sf 
-Milo @ 0.3#N/1k on ~500sf
-0.2" water

The deed is done. Put down another 5cf of top soil, dropped 4# of seed and few pounds of Milo (practice run with the new spreader). Gave it a light rake and .2" of water. Held off on starter fert and peat for now. Not expecting germination for 2-4 weeks.

EDIT:

*Backyard:*

Dropped 0.05" of water this morning since we will be seeing 70+ and sun today. Will put down another 0.05" on lunch and again this evening. I am targeting 1.05" of water/week, or ~.15" of water per day.

_March 25, 2021_

_Replacing this downspout 'contraption' is one of the first things on my to-do list_

*Side yard(s)*

Flush of vegetation growth. This is my neighbors "garden" on the side of their house. A little sneak peak at what I get to look forward to managing here (major weed infestation). Prodiamine + CCO + Trimec going down tonight. I'm gonna give ~700sf of my lawn hell tonight. _If it dies, it dies_ :bandit:


_I have ~3'x56' strip here - the property line is my neighbors landscape edging. The dandelions are mine..._

And I have what looks to be cress growing in what I thought was just an old garden/mulch bed next to my driveway. I was going to rake this, fill it and seed it (~3'x7') but I might hold off and see what comes up this spring. Can anyone confirm if this is cress or a weed?



And a quick update on the front yard; not much progress. Did some more raking/shoveling of the ex-stump area but need to order my top soil. Weed control on pretty much all grass areas in this picture, tonight.



I will update the journal with the rates of product used tonight, but other than that there likely won't be much to update here over the next few weeks. Waiting game at this point, even more so since we still haven't officially come out of dormancy yet. More to come...


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

No PreM down yesterday (got out of work late, and it was windy). I did get out and practice on 500sf of driveway though, before spending the rest of the night hacking at a root 6" below grade in my front yard. I have one more to work at tonight. I am a little worried about PreM since 5-day average soil temps are now ~50.8f according to GreenCast, with the 24-hour average at 60.4f. This is very uncharacteristic of norms around here. Temps do look to be dropping slightly into the mid-50s with some cooler nights, and some approaching freezing temps, over the next few days and into next weekend, so hopefully that buys me some time on the PreM. Plan is now to get it down this weekend, weather depending. I am also hoping the TTTF does not germinate until after this cold snap rolls through. If it germinates before, it might be curtains on my backyard spring overseed, which is OK, I used 4# of grass seed...I will overseed or reno in the fall if I have to. I am less than 2 full days since seed down, so I'm kind of praying the temps drop quickly, as much as I've enjoyed getting out in the yard so far.

One thing I will note is that with the watering (0.05", 3x/day) + Milo app on the backyard the existing grass is starting to pop through the soil and it's *green*. Gives me hope that no matter what happens with the TTTF over seed/future spring reno on the ex-stump area, at least I'll have a few blades of grass to hit with N and water this season  The front yard is looking rough; yellow, patchy, shaggy, dirty (need to get out and rake it). It would definitely benefit from some N and water too, and probably a mow to get it standing up, but I'm holding off for now.

Edit:

Top soil delivery scheduled for next Saturday (for ex-stump area). 3cy screened soil for ~195sf. Big storm (cold front) rolling through right now. It has been raining on and off but so far no major rain. Winds upwards of 60mph possible. Hopefully the drop in temps pushes the TTTF germination back another week or two. More to come...


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## Togo (Jun 7, 2017)

@ColeLawn What kind of summer temps do you guys normally see up there in Rochester? Good luck with the reno, it seems you're weather hasn't been too far off the warm temps we've seen in the southern part of the state which seems surprising.


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

@Togo Heat of the summer will see mid-80s pretty consistently, with a few days that might tap low-90s. We have had an extremely warm spring this year and our winter was cold, but overall pretty mild. Very uncharacteristic of Western NY.

Thanks for the good wishes, I will certainly need them this season. Good luck to you as well! I'm new around here, but it's good to have you back  Love your TTTF front yard - I'm going to use it as inspiration.


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## Togo (Jun 7, 2017)

@ColeLawn thanks, the TTTF came out much nicer than I honestly expected to like. I really did it on a whim and glad I did so I'm sure you'll like yours too when it comes in.

The weather this year, especially compared to last year, has been all over the place I feel. Last year we got no snow down here really, and this year we got clobbered with it and yet the warm up this year seems earlier than last?! It'll be interesting to see how this summer is, I hope not it's not uncharacteristically hot 🥵


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

@Togo I feel like you guys were on the weather channel a lot this year for being in the path of some big snow storms. Meanwhile, I feel like we didn't even get an actual snow storm this winter, which is definitely strange. The last two summers have been hot and humid here, so let's hope the uncharacteristic weather patterns stick around and we get nothing but golf weather all summer (75f and sunny with a slight breeze)  Speaking of which, I'm looking forward to my annual late-summer pilgrimage to play the Black course! Got to whip the game into shape first though.


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## Togo (Jun 7, 2017)

@ColeLawn 75F, Sunny and a breeze sounds great. The humidity around here gets so bad I can barely take it.

Funny you mention the Black course, I was just talking to a fellow NYer on here about it yesterday. Part of me wishes I got into golf but I suppose it's never too late. I just don't know if I'd be paying more attention to the ball or grass at this point.


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

Not much progress to update.

We've had some bi-polar weather and that will continue into this week. Got out and raked the front yard and side yards. Pulled out another giant root from the ex-stump area. And got down PreM on ~700sf that won't be seeded until fall.

*Front yard and side yards:*
-Prodiamine @ 0.25oz/1k 
-Trimec Classic @ 0.75oz/1k

Embarrassing sprayer pattern that I think will be fun to look back on...

_March 27, 2020_ 


We got ~0.3" rain today so at least my lawn is an even shade of blue now :lol: rain timing was ~10 hours after app. I definitely have at least one wash out area in the backyard due to driveway run off. We will call this Problem Area #1 as I wash my cars multiple times a week so this spot is going to get hammered. Will reassess after germination.

Expecting 70f on Tuesday and 30f on Thursday, and then it warms back up into the 50f again. Hoping not to see germination for a couple weeks. Also hoping the cold weather stunts the growth of the existing grass in the backyard. More to come...


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

_March 29, 2021_
Sunny and barely 45f. Front yard looking less smurfy but I clearly used too much marking dye and I will never be using it again. Great product, not for me. Holding off on mowing or fertilizer as growth has stopped with the cooler temps. Not really sure what to do with the vanity strip and side "yards" since I plan to reno these areas in the fall. I'm sure I will need another Trimec app in 30 days and will likely mow and drop some Milo then.

*Backyard*
-0.15" water

70f tomorrow so plan is to keep the seeds moist. Not really sure how I will be able to do that only being able to water in 4 hour intervals, but I don't expect germination anytime soon so I should be fine. Back into the 30s for a few days after that.


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

Mid-day update:

70f and sunny today. Struggling to keep the soil moist on a 3x/day watering schedule. And I'm starting to regret not using peat and not buying a sprinkler timer. So I bit the bullet and bought two single zone B-Hive units, and will run two zones (1 front and 1 back). I am also thinking about running a DIY rotator head on the vanity strip this season. At ~25x12', one head should be able to cover the entire thing. Will worry about this later. Got a chance to hand water the entire rest of the yard on lunch today (mainly to try and wash away the marking dye).

Backyard washout is very apparent now that the soil had a chance to dry up a bit. Considering options here. One thought is give it a light rake tonight and spread some peat on the bare dirt areas. A second is give it a light rake tonight and hold off on peat for a week or so (not expecting germination yet). The third option is leave it alone and reassess once I officially get germination (if I ever do). And a forth is use some of the 3cy top soil being delivered on Saturday, and do another light top dress of the backyard. I'm leaning toward option three or four, but like I said, I kind of want to get down some peat for peace of mind. If I go with option four, I will also drop a light dose of Scotts starter + meso. Thoughts?

_March 30, 2021_



_I dropped 0.10" of water after taking these pictures - total water so far today ~0.18"_


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

Decided to give the backyard a light rake after work and walked all over it again to try to get some better seed/soil contact. It also gave me a chance to sift out some debris from the bagged top soil. I don't know if it's too little too late (I still think we're 1-2 weeks away from germination), but it's a little peace of mind. I've been watering 3x/day and targeting 0.15"-0.20" per day, but getting my sprinkler(s) on timers should help.

Image of the wash out spot after raking and watering it in. Much better in my opinion. We'll see if it's just time wasted. 




According to GreenCast
_Current soil temp: 62f_
_24-hour average: 45.1f_
_5-day average: 49.4f_


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

Congrats on the new home and welcome to the jungle of lawn care. Keep up the good work.


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

@M32075 Much appreciated! Expectations low, effort high; let's do this.

Not much to update other than I'm dealing with frozen hose problems. A small snowstorm rolled through yesterday, and today it's 30f and sunny. The backyard hasn't gotten any water other than snow melt and is now looking quite dry. _Most_ of the backyard has stayed cold and damp so we'll see what happens. 50f+ tomorrow and the foreseeable future. I now fully regret not using Peat.

Top soil delivery tomorrow morning as well.


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

Happy Easter y'all!

Only needed ~2cy of top soil for the ex-stump area. I have plenty left over so I'll probably use it throughout the yard. I won't be seeding these areas but it'll be early prep for fall.

_April 3, 2021_




Woke up early today to finish the job. My dad came over to help and since we had some extra time we raised and leveled the edging stones around the front mulch bed. I'll work on flowers and mulch in May. Ex-stump area is ready for seed.

_March 4, 2021_

This was about 2-4" of top soil hand tamped with a 10x10 tamper and then lightly raked.

Not much to update on the backyard. No germination yet but that's not surprising. Got down some much needed water and will use any left over peat/top soil on some of the bare areas. I'll probably work on this sometime this week. Considering dropping starter + meso at that time as well. Maybe 1/2 bag rate.

_
Current soil temp: 60f
24-hour average: 46.3f
5-day average: 43.6f_


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

Could it be? Are we officially *0DAG* in the backyard? Still plenty of seed on the ground and I'm only seeing baby sprouts in one small area - the back left corner of my backyard (which is ironically the washout Problem Area #1, but it does receive full sun). I will take a better look on lunch, but one thing I noticed is that the bottom ~1/10th of the sprouts are pink. Is this normal or indicative of anything?

_April 7, 2021_



I will stop home on lunch to get a better look/pictures


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

~3DAG - backyard 
~3DAS - ex-stump area

The sunniest parts of the backyard are seeing the most germination. I'm starting to see it more widespread, but the shadiest parts of the backyard still have little to no germination. To be expected. I think I might be overwatering a bit so I am going to dial that back. My next report on the backyard will be 10DAG.

_April 10, 2021_




"Side yards"/vanity strip 
- Charity mow
- Lesco 12-0-0 @ 3oz/1k on ~650sf


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

You should think about dropping some perineal rye seed in the front you could have a lawn in two weeks it germinates super fast. It will hold your soil together so no washout and keep weeds at bay. Then middle summer kill it off . Water for two weeks to sprout any weeds seeds and kill again. Then put down the seed you really want. Your working to hard to look at dirt this summer season .


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

M32075 said:


> You should think about dropping some perineal rye seed in the front you could have a lawn in two weeks it germinates super fast. It will hold your soil together so no washout and keep weeds at bay. Then middle summer kill it off . Water for two weeks to sprout any weeds seeds and kill again. Then put down the seed you really want. Your working to hard to look at dirt this summer season .


I guess this is a good time for an update on the front yard. I thought I made a post, but it looks not. And to answer your question, well, it's too late (and I'd rather not buy more seed).

I am actually 5-6 DAS on the front yard. I dropped 8#/1k of seed and 3.75#/1k of Scott's Starter + Meso on ~200sf on Wednesday. Topped it off with a healthy layer of Peat.

We just got almost 2" of rain in the last two days and this was my backyard on Sunday, which is now ~5DAG(?).

_April 11, 2021_




My front yard has absolutely no wash out, puddling or sinking yet. I walked on it last night to retrieve the sprinkler and it feels firm. I'm expecting germination any day now.

I am going to have to baby it with water this summer and likely overseed again in the fall. We don't have long, brutal summers here but I'm already committed to some level of failure. Thanks for stopping by and offering your advice!


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

ColeLawn said:


> M32075 said:
> 
> 
> > You should think about dropping some perineal rye seed in the front you could have a lawn in two weeks it germinates super fast. It will hold your soil together so no washout and keep weeds at bay. Then middle summer kill it off . Water for two weeks to sprout any weeds seeds and kill again. Then put down the seed you really want. Your working to hard to look at dirt this summer season .
> ...


Glad to see you dropped seed in the front should be fine with the mild summer weather up there


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

@M32075 I was going to try to hold off until May 1 but with the spring we're having I thought sooner the better. No germination yet as of today, ~5DAS.


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

April 18, 2021:

We are officially on *2DAG* on the "Ex-Stump area". and officially on *12DAG* on the backyard.

*Front/Side Yards:*

-Pulled ~2.5gal of dandelions 
-WBG CCO (hose-end) on ~650sf


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

April 25, 2021:

Got out and pulled more weeds, gave the existing lawn a charity mow and give it the first fertilizer app. You can kind of get a clue of the dandelion farms I have growing on either side of my yard. I have pulled 10gal of taproots so far out of ~650sf. What I'm left with now is lots of clover, ivy and other grassy weeds, but holy cow what a difference it makes getting broadleaf weeds out of a lawn. It's not saying much, but I've already established a domination line and all I've done is pull some weeds... *Follow the cool season guide!!!*

*Front/Side Yards:*

-Pulled another 5gal of dandelion tap roots
-Mow @ ~2"
~.8# N/1k via Scotts 'Triple Action' 21-22-4
_My plan was to spray .5# N/1k of Urea, but it was too windy and I wanted to get the first app of fert down. And these areas can certainly use the Mesotrione._

*Ex-Stump Area:*

-Re-seeded the major wash out area (picture)

_GCI TTTF - 9DAG_

You can see the washout along the driveway in this picture

The backyard is coming along, but it's not pretty. I need to get out and re-seed some bare areas/washout, but I'm going to wait until at least May 1st to do anything back there. I'm trying not to walk on it at this point, plus due to the amount of shade it gets it's going to be "behind" in terms of growing season. Half of the existing grass back there isn't really even long enough to be mowed yet, while the other half is standing ~6" right now :shock: I will probably mow at 3.5" and drop of light dose of Urea within the next 2 weeks. It has had no fert since Milo at seed down almost a month ago. I'm worried about dropping fert because of the existing grass.

Anyone know how long after seeding you can put down Mesotrione (Scott's Triple Action)?


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

_April 28, 2021_



Domination line has been established. It's not pretty, but it's there if you look close enough. Itching to get out and mow again, but decided to pull more dandelions tonight instead. I'm happy with the progress so far. Some people have recommended I smoke it off now and prep for fall reno, but I've decided to follow the cool season guide (for now) on the "existing lawn" instead. So far I have pulled 10+ gal of dandelions :shock:


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## Baretta (Apr 8, 2019)

Are you going to reno again in the fall? Looks ok to me so far. :thumbsup: Keep feeding and cut often. See how it looks in July and make your decision then. As far as Meso goes, Tenacity is roughly 4 weeks after germination started. So same thing I would imagine.


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

@Baretta That was/is the plan, yes. I have the top soil, seed and fert needed to do it. For now, just practicing and trying to get the yard "presentable". I will also be tearing up the backyard to build/shape some new mulch beds, so I will be likely doing some more seeding back there again this fall as well.

Speaking of which, I am seeing quite a few weeds pop up in the backyard as of this morning (probably due to poor germination coverage and no PreM or Tenacity at seed down). First time seeing any real weed pressure back there this spring. That's the reason I ask about the Mesotrione (Scotts Triple Action). And to be honest, the backyard looks like crap so far. Plain and simple. I think we are *21DAG* back there, but I'd say it's more like _14DAG_ progress-wise. I'll get some updated pictures this afternoon, but it's ugly.

EDIT:

Updated pictures of the backyard. It looks bad. I'm really not sure what to do at this point... Like I said, I will be building/shaping some beds and removing some of those arborvitaes this year, so it's going to get torn up again anyways. I could try mowing around the bare spots and then blanket spraying Urea to see if that helps at all...thoughts?





Also, these pictures make me realize that I am in desperate need to run some new downspouts. Embarrassing... I cropped out the one in the second picture because it's even uglier!


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

Post weekend update:

_*Backyard:*_
-Mow @ ~3.5" - 1st mow since over seeding in late March!
-.25#N Urea

_*Front/Side-yards:*_
-Mow @ ~2"

As of today we are *~26DAG* on the "Backyard", and *~17DAG* on the "Ex-Stump Area".


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

Long time no check up, TLF.

Here's an _unknown DAG_ update. Mowing at ~3" every 2-3 days. Gave the "Ex-Stump area" it's FIRST MOW today as well  Then dropped 1#N/1k of 10-10-10 on the entire lawn for Memorial Day.





Also started a reno this week on ~60sf along the driveway. This area is very rutted out, patchy and annoying to mow. I sprayed Gly today, plan is to seed (GCI TTTF) within the next week. Late spring reno, let's send it.





Happy Memorial Day, TLF!


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