# Grasshopper's journal



## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

First off, thank all you grass lovers on this forum for making it so amazing!!

I'm a new homeowner in Mississauga, Canada and have been addicted lawn care since last fall. It's a great way to relieve stress, grass makes me happy and green has always been my favourite colour.

This year I plan on overseeding the front and back. 
My pictures are deceiving and make it look thicker and better than it is, but there are a lot of thin areas that have been annoying me and need to be addressed. 
Also would like thicker turf overall.

I would love to reno but with a 4 year old, 4 month old & crazy work schedule, I just don't have the time right now. Also no harm in being better equipped to tackle a reno next fall with another season of experience under my belt.

Plan is to scalp, power rake, level dress, seed, tenacity, peat moss, starter fert after germination, reapply tenacity at 28 days, dimension at 60 days and spoon feed urea till the end of the season.

Here are pictures of the grass currently after cutting down to 2.5" after cutting 3.5 all Summer.

Front



Back





Thank you all again!

I'll continue to post pictures with updates.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Shipment arrived from seedworldusa as well as a watering timer. They also accidentally added a bag of clover seed lol :lol:




Now just awaiting my seed, starter fert and urea from Brett young.

Also power raked into two directions at the front which bought up two yard bags of thatch... Didnt realize there was so much under the 3.5" hoc all summer.

First dethatch


Second pass


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Now I'm actually considering nuking the front of 700sq feet as it's pretty small...

Just worried it may be pushing it too late in the season here...

Could a tenacity pre em app replace a fallowing period after roundup?

Am I also right in thinking that roundup will be less effective now after detaching so heavily and there's less foliage to absorb it?


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

I'd recommend dropping your starter fertilizer at seed down instead of after germination.

What type of seed are you going to be using?


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Ive decided to drop the overseeding and just reno front and back.

As I want KBG (B.young T8 Executive Blend) it just makes more sense. Pretty much just adding the nuke step to what I originally planned.
Luckily my work schedule turned less busy for the rest of the August. Perfect timing!

Would it make sense to throw down some N now and irrigate like crazy for a few days to encourage growth before I nuke?

I originally thought for overseeding, starter fert sometime after germination as to not push growth on current grass.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Cool. Yes to dropping some fast release N to encourage growth. Try and get that round up down as soon as you can.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Finally got my grass seed and fert.

Interested to see how fast this jumpstart germinates. Anyone have any experience with it?

Will be saving the back reno till next year so I can put all my efforts to the front yard.

Glypho goes down this weekend.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

19th August - Glypho, let it work in for two days, water 5mins x 4/day, started 4 trays of "sod" 
27th August - Scalp
28th August - glypho round 2, water 5mins x4/day
1st Sept - Spot glypho on few weeds, reclaimed 100sq feet of garden bed, power rake, top dress & level
2nd Sept - more leveling, Seed down, starter fert, tenacity, peat moss, humic acid, water, water, drink, drink

Man am I hurting. The things we do for our lawns! 
New found respect for those on larger projects, mine was just a measly 700sq feet. Worst part was removing 2 billion rocks from reclaiming 100sq feet of garden bed, tamping it to prevent too much settling and incorporating top soil to reduce compaction.

Let my 4yr boy help me sprinkle peat moss at the end, he had an absolute blast. While putting him to bed he gave me a huge hug and told me he had "so much fun covering seeds with u"... 
Made my week and best part of the reno by far!


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Thunderstorms forecast for next 4 days... 
Fun times....


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

We have germination!!! 
:banana: :banana: :banana:

Not fun waiting for KBG to sprout... 
Spotted first couple of sprouts late on day 4.

This morning, day 6


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Looking good. Where abouts in Miss are you?


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Cheers Harts.
I'm in Lakeview, right off the QEW & Dixie, how about you?


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Winston Churchill and 403 (closer to Eg and Ninth line).


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Harts said:


> Winston Churchill and 403 (closer to Eg and Ninth line).


Ah right by Erin mills town center? We're there all the time for my son's haircuts


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Day 10:

Some more germination, started more pots as pesky squirrels are loving digging up patches of seedlings everyday.



Got almost 2 inches of rain on Monday, hand watered very lightly just once yesterday and noticed about 6 tiny patches of what I think is dollar spot? this morning along with the heavy dew. 
Should I be concerned and doing anything other than letting things dry out more and cutting back on watering?



Was happy to read environment Canada predicting a warmer than usual "summer like" October, hope this holds true!


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

I'm 5 mins from Erin Mill TC - Off Ninth Line.

Germination is looking great. I am having a similar issue with the ground being over saturated in the back yard. I took my sprinkler set up down and am just hand watering now. Day 17 for me on the over seed.

It going to take a while for the ground to dry out from the Monday rain fall and the cooler temperatures last weekend. Continue to monitor the moisture every day and hand water as needed.

If the disease pressure becomes stronger, you can look at propiconazole. Not sure how this affects seedling so early in the germination period but I do know it can help with seedling vigor once it reaches the 2-3 leaf stage. Seed World is probably your best bet.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Thanks for the info harts.

I've been leaning towards mainly hand watering also as It allows better control of moisture levels in differing shadier/sunnier areas.

I also find it very therapeutic but I'm sure its making me look even more insane to the neighbours!


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

14 days: sprout & pout...


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Excellent coverage for day 14. I'd consider starting light apps of nitrogen. Should help things start to fill in even better.


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## iowa jim (Jan 22, 2018)

The sprout and pout phase was the hardest part of my reno, it seems that your not getting anywhere. Hang in there it doesn't last that long and its looking really good for 14 days.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Looks really great. Your pouting should end in the next couple of days. Mine came out of it around day 17ish.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

SNOWBOB11 said:


> Excellent coverage for day 14. I'd consider starting light apps of nitrogen. Should help things start to fill in even better.


Yes, I am considering starting .2lbs/m urea weekly once growth resumes. If I go by my test patches (a week ahead) it should be later this week. Leaving a few bare holes dug by squirrels to see how well the KBG can fill these in.



iowa jim said:


> The sprout and pout phase was the hardest part of my reno, it seems that your not getting anywhere. Hang in there it doesn't last that long and its looking really good for 14 days.


Thanks jim. I think the wait for germination was a lot harder for me and I'm happy with the progress so far so makes s&p phase eaiser.



Harts said:


> Looks really great. Your pouting should end in the next couple of days. Mine came out of it around day 17ish.


Cheers Harts, yours is looking great also!


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Day 21:
Finally out of s&p and growing well. Still patchy but looking forward to seeing how it fills in. Bought a manual reel mower and will be giving its first cut this week and starting .25lb/m urea weekly. Dialling down the watering going deeper & less frequent.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Backyard update:
Was planning to reno the backyard next year but after a long frustrating season of battling quackgrass, I just had enough and nuked it. It just seemed the easier option and I was planning to overseed anyway. However seed went down September 9th which I know is late but it's done and just hoping for the best.

Germination overall has been a lot faster, more even and higher than the front was at this point. Luckily the squirrels aren't digging up patches here.

My only concern is I seeded at a higher rate of 4lbs/m. Coverage in the front seemed ok with this rate but the back seems a lot denser at 14 days. Maybe too dense? I hope it doesn't lead to long term fungal issues.

Should I try thin it out slightly with some light raking or just let it do its thing?

Day 14:


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## ken-n-nancy (Jul 25, 2017)

Grasshopper said:


> Day 21:
> Finally out of s&p and growing well. Still patchy but looking forward to seeing how it fills in. Bought a manual reel mower and will be giving its first cut this week and starting .25lb/m urea weekly.


That looks fantastic!

By the way, I presume for weekly fertilizer applications, you meant applying 0.5lb/m of urea, which is about 0.25lb/m of nitrogen? Young KBG will be tough to satisfy with just weekly apps of 0.25lb/m of urea, which is about 0.12lb/m of nitrogen.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

ken-n-nancy said:


> Grasshopper said:
> 
> 
> > Day 21:
> ...


Cheers K&N! Been following your reno also and it looks great. The tenacity fescue thinning is particularly interesting.

Yes, I meant to write .25lb nitrogen not urea, equating to 1lb per month. Thanks for pointing that out!


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Looking great. Don't be worried to go to 1lb urea (.46lb/k N) weekly. You won't burn your grass and the KBG will respond well to it.

I'm interested to see how the back does with the late start. I'd say you'll probably be ok. Should be fun.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Another pic with the view from across the road... 
Starting to resemble a proper lawn! 




SNOWBOB11 said:


> Looking great. Don't be worried to go to 1lb urea (.46lb/k N) weekly. You won't burn your grass and the KBG will respond well to it.


After doing some reading on this, I will be following what you suggested after it's first mow and closer to 28 days. Look forward to seeing how it responds.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Looking good. Get that cut when it dries this week and start dropping that Urea!


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Day 31:
Mowed twice with the manual reel at 1.5". Ready for a third mow but waiting for things to dry up after two days of continuous rain. 
Dropped a couple split apps of urea, 1 lbn/k total so far. Bare spots look like they're slowly filling in and colour is getting slightly darker.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Looking good.

I've been waiting for the sun to come out this week and dry things up. Probably won't get to mowing until Sunday - that will be over a week since my last mow!

This weather is driving me crazy.


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## TravisH06 (Jun 17, 2018)

Looking good. Nice work.


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## coachpaul77 (Aug 17, 2018)

Harts said:


> Looking good.
> 
> I've been waiting for the sun to come out this week and dry things up. Probably won't get to mowing until Sunday - that will be over a week since my last mow!
> 
> This weather is driving me crazy.


Frost warning in my area tonight! Then 22 on Saturday. LOL


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Weather really has been nuts...
25 deg & sunny all day yesterday, followed by risk of frost overnight, down to 8 deg today and then there's next week....


Feels like 36? :shock:


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

You need to convert that to Fahrenheit for our American friends. They'll think it's really cold!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

309 Kelvin will sound too hot.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

"Kelvin" makes anything sound hot!

Looking forward the warmer weather (feels like 90s Fahrenheit) and sunshine, the backyard reno really needs it.

With the lower temperatures and lack of sun recently, it's just starting to come out of sprout & pout at 28 days. I think the heavier seeding rate @ 4lbs/m may have also contributed to the delay.
It'll see some urea soon, hopefully that'll help it along.

The front was seeded just a week earlier and got its fourth cut already today. Its really responding well to the urea apps, thickening and spreading.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Day 44: Front yard 
Started mowing with the rotary. Dropped .4lbs N from Scott's green max that I had leftover from last season, hopefully the iron will help with colour. Will be the last app of the season other than winterizing.

Got a couple dead spots from some kind of fungus, no idea what. With no access to fungicides and ordering from the US taking too long, I was worried itd spread so ended up digging up the patches and filling with transplant pots.




Backyard: Day 37
Backyard has responded really well to some warmer, sunnier weather last week but overall seems a lot more immature than the grass one week older out front. Hard to get decent pictures with the shorter days now...


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## NoslracNevok (Jun 12, 2018)

How's it coming along in '19?


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

NoslracNevok said:


> How's it coming along in '19?


Thanks for checking in Kove.

The KBG has been extremely slow to get going. Seems like it's a month behind the established nomixes in my area which have been dominating me. After a walk around the neighborhood a few weeks ago, seeing all the lawns in full spring flush mode, the wife looked at our front yard and confusedly asked me: "Are you happy with this?...." To which I asked her to be patient....

I guess I had no idea what to expect but looking at other members' KBG journals further north it seems that KBG is generally slower to wake up come spring.

Anyway happy to say that the lawns finally fully awake now and mowed for the first time just over a week ago and twice since then @ 2.5" but plan on maintaining it @ 3" for summer.

Dropped split apps dimension on 19th April & 19th May and been spoon feeding (3 apps total 1.38lbsN/M) with melt and spray stabilized urea through the Ortho hose end since may 16th. Also applied some liquid humic with the hose end.

Will get some better photos soon.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Looking very good. It would seem that you get a lot of sun on the lawn so expect the KBG to continue spreading as the year goes on and create a thick dense turf. By the look of it you don't seem like you have many thin areas.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Hey @Grasshopper!

have any of that t8 blend seed left? lol

how is your lawn holding off so far?


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Hey @MMoore I do, I'll send you a PM.

Front yard has started showing some fungal pressure in the thicker spots but doing well overall for my expectations.



Backyard isn't doing as well and has a lot more fungal pressure and is still a bit patchy.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

it looks like the different varieties of grass play well together though. do they grow out at the same rate or are some varieties outperforming the others.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

MMoore said:


> it looks like the different varieties of grass play well together though. do they grow out at the same rate or are some varieties outperforming the others.


For the most part they seem to be grow pretty evenly especially when I was at 2.5" earlier in the season but I was mowing 2-3 times a week.

Having said that, I have noticed some thicker bladed variety (or more mature grass?) that has a more horizontal growth habit and notice it more now when it grows out to about 4" now that I'm at 3" for the summer.

Finally got some free time to do anything other than mow over the long weekend and edged, planted annuals and mulched around the oak and the garden bed.

Very impressed with the roots of this young KBG, almost 7" long in some sections cut out from the edges of the garden beds.

Seeing a lot more fungal pressure especially on the hellstrip and some weeds popping up mainly along the edges.

Will be irrigating .5" for the first time this season tomorrow morning.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

that looks great for not having put any water to it.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Yard got its first taste of organic fert,
alfalfa with kelp, 1lb/m in front and back yards along with liquid humic. Humic is almost done and will be switching to K4less extreme blend. Planning to go with alfalfa and cracked corn next spring and summer.

Attempting to mow as low as my rotary will allow this fall and have been lowering the summer hoc @ 3". Currently at 1.75" and the rotary was starting to struggle so dethached to thin it out and get rid of the yellowish lower layer and gave it .25lb/m urea. Looking pretty beat up right now and waiting for it to recover and will be seeing if it'll go any lower.
Hopefully will get some sand levelling going this fall if I have enough time.

Got FAS and look forward to applying and seeing it's effects.
Also got an angle grinder with 80 and 320 grit flap disks, what a game changer from using a manual file...
Pre-em going down later this week after risk of thunderstorms pass.

July 30 @ 2.25" taken 8pm




Same day - July 30 taken 2pm full sun
Had some fungal issues/heat stress mainly around lower right where it gets almost full sun.
You can see the overall patchiness in color and the lighter circular patch of grass on the top right that is reclaimed garden bed from last year. Hoping the FAS will help here.


Interesting to see the new blades from the rhizomes popping out in the garden bed edge start off with a mature darker green colour than some of the blades in the lawn.


Dog pee damage?


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

throw down the pre-em now. it needs to be watered in!
use the free water, imo.


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

MMoore said:


> throw down the pre-em now. it needs to be watered in!
> use the free water, imo.


I would but don't want to risk any runoff with thunderstorms forecast for tomorrow. Can't trust the weather in my area. Got 2inches in less than an hour once last month when they forecasted less than 3mm...

Edit: I'm using granular dimension.. not prodiamine


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

@Grasshopper hey I got directed to your journal after looking up information on Brett young's t8 executive blend of kbg since I'm planning on getting some for my new build property that I'm moving into this June. Just curious how you like it so far and how it's doing now?


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## Grasshopper (Nov 12, 2017)

Its been a while but checking in for the 2021 season!

@Lungal09 I am pretty happy with the T8 blend but the variations in blade width, colour and growth rate of the cultivars are becoming more noticeable to me and I regret not going with a monostand.

Ive been spoon feeding 1/4lb N per week and will start some iron and PGR soon.

Also planning on getting a "real" mower at some point this season... :nod:

Front @ 2"


Back @1.25"








Got rid of some raised garden beds and seeded. We'll see if I can keep these babies alive through the summer...


Decent roots


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

@Grasshopper That looks very good and a very clean stand. I see no lime green (other poa). Good job.


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## Global Threat (May 16, 2019)

@Grasshopper Hey grasshopper. Looking to overseed, possibly nuke my back yard, but because I work on projects out of town for weeks at a time, I'll probably go with overseed. I want to go with the KBG, and see that you went with Brett Young. Do you have any suggestions? That would be appreciated.


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## Lungal09 (Feb 19, 2020)

Grasshopper said:


> Its been a while but checking in for the 2021 season!
> 
> @Lungal09 I am pretty happy with the T8 blend but the variations in blade width, colour and growth rate of the cultivars are becoming more noticeable to me and I regret not going with a monostand.
> 
> ...


Looks great! Those pictures pretty much solidify my decision to go with the BY T8 blend.

I am also planning on getting a greensmaster or something similar within two years so I want to go with a cultivar that can handle the low HOC.


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