# Moebermuda's 2020 Journal



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

So, I have decided to keep a journal this year. I am a little late with starting, but here we go....

A little background: we built the house a year and a half ago, so this is the lawn's second full year. Last year, I had an old McLane I picked up on craigslist, and I kept the HOC around 5/8" to 3/4" all year. I did a light leveling in July, and it turned out great. I feel like I had a great first year of the reel low life.

My goals for this year:
- I got a JD220 greens mower, so I would like to stay sub .5"
- Level again middle to end of May
- Start experimenting with liquid ferts and spoon feeding the lawn more

Here is my starting point. I scalped late March at .3".



Here are a few pictures from this weekend. Everything is starting to green up nicely, but our temps have been inconsistent. Some nights are still getting into the 40's and our highs have only been around the mid 70's. Once we get into the 80's every day, I am going to start pushing N. Current HOC I am maintaining is .45".





Looking forward to a great growing season!


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

i decided to do an experiment last night on the front. I set the groomer on my mower at 2mm and dropped the HOC on the reel to .4". I ended up making 4 passes in different directions and pulled up a good bit of thatch and runners. I was a little disappointed that it didn't cut the runners. I was thinking about going through the yard and pulling or cutting them. Is that a bad idea??





I also got a double cut on the back at .75" with the McLane. This is going to be my project this year. I need to do a heavy level back here so I can start dropping the HOC. More on this when the temps start staying in the 80's.


----------



## GACory (Apr 13, 2017)

Following. I'm just up the road from you in Canton.


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

GACory said:


> Following. I'm just up the road from you in Canton.


Nice to see a local guy! How's everything going for you with the inconsistent temps?


----------



## GACory (Apr 13, 2017)

Not too well yet. We just bought a "new too us" house and the yard hasn't been taken care of for a few years. I've got a lot of work ahead of me, so we'll see. Thankful I found this site so I can get some help.


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

Put down .5 lb of N/M of quick release down this morning. Running the sprinklers now to water it in. I'm going to shoot for 1.5 lbs of N this month and level at the end of the month.


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

Had a tough day yesterday... tried to get a mow in, but the mower wouldn't start. Figured out the ignition coil went dead on me. No one had one locally, so had to order it. Hopefully it will get here quick and I can get back to mowing!


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

I had to break out the McLane today since the JD is on the bench for the time being. Set the HOC at just under 1/2" which ended up being a little higher than what the JD is set at. I dont know why, but the McLane was taking off a lot more than the JD does normally at a lower HOC. The color is starting to come back. Looks darker in person than it does on the pictures.


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

Got the front and back cut today. Front is at .4" and the back is at .6". Thinking about getting some sand ordered next week. Temps should start staying in the 80's by the middle of next week.


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

Threw down another .5 lb. of N per M this morning. Watering in now. I got the JD 220 put back together over the week. Glad to have the workhorse mowing again.


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

I put down some liquid iron on Thursday after I mowed. This iron worked quick. The grass is looking nice and dark. The picture doesn't do it justice.


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

Mowed this morning at .4. I am trying to change the pattern to double wide stripes. The grass is trained to show singles right now. I hope it doesn't take too long to adapt. I threw out .5 lb of N the last two weeks. The grass is loving it with the higher temps. I was planning on ordering sand this week to level over the weekend, but the 10 day shows rain every day. I don't want to wait to wait too much longer and end up doing it when it's crazy hot.


----------



## Tinsmith292 (Oct 2, 2018)

Man that looks wonderful. I'm up in the mountains in Mineral Bluff and temperatures have been all over the place. Hope to get mine close to yours in the next couple weeks at the earliest. Lawn leveling after Memorial Day. But again that lawn looks sweet


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

Tinsmith292 said:


> Man that looks wonderful. I'm up in the mountains in Mineral Bluff and temperatures have been all over the place. Hope to get mine close to yours in the next couple weeks at the earliest. Lawn leveling after Memorial Day. But again that lawn looks sweet


Thanks! I've been spoon feeding it N and some extra iron. I can tell that has really helped the color go to a darker green.


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

Got in a quick mow this morning before more rain comes in this afternoon. The Urea apps have the grass growing like crazy. I cut Sunday and was still able to get a full basket of clippings today. I really need to start Tnex, but I want to get the level done first.


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

Mowed at .4" on the front and .65 on the back. I decided to put down the first app of Tnex on the front. I have to go out of town in a week and won't be able to level before I go. I'm still going to level the back, but I can let it get longer while I'm gone and scalp before the level.


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

I mowed the front at .4". This is the second mow since I put down Tnex and I noticed less clippings. I may have one more mow before it kicks in and I can back off the mowing frequency.


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

I mowed this evening at .4". Only got about 1/4 basked of clippings. I found out over the weekend that I have dollar spot, so I had to apply a fungicide. Since applying, the color looks off. It's been a little upsetting, but hopefully by the end of the week it will bounce back.


----------



## MoeBermuda (May 9, 2019)

My color is starting to bounce back. I raised the HOC to .5" to give the lawn a break. It seems to be helping. I threw down some 10-10-10 a few days ago and we've had a little rain.


----------

