# Newby questions



## DeliveryMan (Mar 1, 2018)

Please excuse my questions on this forum if they seem too elementary to you guys.

I have been reading the forum for a while to get bearings on my first lawn (lived in NYC for a while and now live in Raleigh, NC)..

We have a new contruction house with "Tiftuf" Bermuda in the front and back -- I am really excited to mow and take care of a lawn for the family (two boys are 4 and 2yo and love being outside) for my first time, but am a bit intimidated and don't want to destroy it on my first spring/summer on it..

I got a used TruCut mower on craigslist for $300 and had a tractor supply place not far from me sharpen the reel -- it looks good and seems to run fine..

My questions really revolve around "scalping" -- it makes me really nervous about cutting it so low (I think one poster said they almost cut it down to the dirt) before the lawn seems to be growing at all.. So how low do you really go with this "scalping" before you damage the lawn and its just dirt..

2nd -- on the TruCut there are no markings for me to check the heights of cut on the height adjuster -- because I got it used, I don't have a manual and trying to download one from the TruCut website is pretty tough. There is a mention of a "high setting" and "low setting" but I figure out which one it is set on.

Any help is much appreciated.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

DeliveryMan said:


> Please excuse my questions on this forum if they seem too elementary to you guys...


Welcome to TLF! And don't worry one bit - we all start somewhere! :thumbup:


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

DeliveryMan said:


> My questions really revolve around "scalping" -- it makes me really nervous about cutting it so low (I think one poster said they almost cut it down to the dirt) before the lawn seems to be growing at all.. So how low do you really go with this "scalping" before you damage the lawn and its just dirt..
> 
> 2nd -- on the TruCut there are no markings for me to check the heights of cut on the height adjuster -- because I got it used, I don't have a manual and trying to download one from the TruCut website is pretty tough. There is a mention of a "high setting" and "low setting" but I figure out which one it is set on.


How old is the new sod? Many of us scalp as low as we can to get rid of the dormant plant material and make room for new growth, but there is no hard and fast rule for how low you should go. You just want to take it down somewhere lower than the HOC you want to maintain.

@SGrabs33 probably has some insight into the HOC settings on a Tru-Cut.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Welcome to TLF!


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

DeliveryMan said:


> We have a new contruction house with "Tiftuf" Bermuda


As a fellow Tiftuf owner, be advised that if you don't stay on top of the mowing, you're going to end up with a scalped appearance in terms of discoloration, and it's more likely to occur with this cultivar than some of the other Tif family Bermuda cultivars.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Has the sod rooted yet/Can you pull up the sod by hand? If no, your pre-em plan may be different.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Welcome to TLF!! Don't be afraid to ask any question you may have as we have all been where you are now.

When was the sod installed? The good thing about bermuda is that it can take a beating and be just fine in a few weeks. I think once we know how old the sod is we will be able to give you better advice on how to proceed.


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## Wes (Feb 15, 2017)

Welcome DeliveryMan! I hope you stick around and post some pictures... you're off to a great start with Tiftuff and a TruCut. If you haven't read it already, the Bermuda Bible is a must read. You will also want to check out the TruCut thread.

Although a TruCut can't go quite as low as a greens mower, nor are there predetermined settings for HOC (height of cut), there are a multitude of ways to tweak it. You have the height adjustment handle that will raise or lower the HOC in 1/8th inch increments. In addition the mower can be setup in the "high" position or "low" position by taking the roller off and remounting it.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

@DeliveryMan As everyone else has said, welcome to the forum. Especially glad to have a fellow Raleigh reel mower owner!

Most important question is what others have already said, "how old is the sod?" That will Let you know if it's rooted enough to be able to scalp it as low as possible.

@Wes got the TruCut question covered. There are top and bottom holes for the casters which will allow for the wide height range.

Did you get the TruCut a few weeks ago. I saw it posted on Craigslist I think. $300 should be a really good deal. Where did you take it to be sharpened, Revels? The other main thing to make sure you have is a grease gun to lubricate everything. Do you have one of those yet?

We love reels here and you can pretty much find the answer to any question you have. Just let us know!


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## DeliveryMan (Mar 1, 2018)

Wow -- thanks for the quick reply guys -- I really appreciate it

The sod was laid in November (which I thought was odd -- but the builder wanted to show the house while it had landscaping).. It is still really brown and you can see the borders where pieces of sod are bordering eachother. Some corners of the sod are pretty dried out, but we have had a ton of rain lately so I am not worried about the sod drying out. I seem to have a bit of a Poa Annua problem (as best I can tell its Poa Annua according to looking it up on google) but I have been pulling it up by hand when the kids are playing outside.

@SGrabs33 -- I got the TruCut in Atlanta (my sister lives there and I was down visiting), but brought it back up here and had it tuned up at Revels in Fuquay -- they were super nice guys and they sharpened the reel and bedknife and greased all the stuff they said needed it -- how often do you grease that thing (zerks? i think they are called)..

Once again thanks guys -- the pictures you guys have up are a bit intimidating, but I am looking forward to learning some stuff and having a yard that I can be proud of and looks good.. My neighbors seem to keep their yards up nice and I don't want to be "that yard"


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

@Ware Wasn't it you who said, "If you can grow finger nails, you can grow Bermuda." :rofl:


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Ridgerunner said:


> Ware Wasn't it you who said, "If you can grow finger nails, you can grow Bermuda." :rofl:


I don't think so, but I like it. :lol:


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

@DeliveryMan very nice, glad to know Revels was nice to you. That's about the only place that will service the reel locally. I've known a few people that have used them in the past with good results.

Yeah, it's been very wet here recently. Others here will have a better grasp on wether the sod has been down long enough to do a major scalp. I would guess no, but that's not my expertise. When everything starts growing fast some sand will be all you need to fill in those gaps.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

My lawn was laid in the Winter also when the house was built and it did just fine. Just be sure to keep the sod moist and don't let it dry out too much. You shouldn't have to worry too much about that right now but once the temps start to rise, just make sure you are checking on it and seeing if it needs water. It should start greening up here in another month or two. Are you able to easily pull a piece of sod up by hand? That will let you know if it is taking root or not.

You will probably just have to deal with the weeds for now as it isn't recommended to spray anything on fresh sod. Once it's rooted and growing together you can revisit the idea of spraying the weeds. You also will not want to put out any PreM either until it is established. Just keep pulling the weeds for now.

Just keep checking in here with any questions you may have and your lawn will be in great shape come later this year.

I wouldn't go too crazy with the scalping right now. How high is the grass right now?


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## DeliveryMan (Mar 1, 2018)

@Wes -- that bermuda bible is frigin awesome -- thanks so much -- lots of good info

now I need to just find a place around me that sells those herbicides

--Also, if I have new sod (laid in November 2017) -- probably not a great idea to lay down any herbicide for this year, but maybe pre-Emerge next fall ??


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

DeliveryMan said:


> @Wes -- that bermuda bible is frigin awesome -- thanks so much -- lots of good info
> 
> now I need to just find a place around me that sells those herbicides
> 
> --Also, if I have new sod (laid in November 2017) -- probably not a great idea to lay down any herbicide for this year, but maybe pre-Emerge next fall ??


If it has roots, pre-ems are fair game to my knowledge.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

DeliveryMan said:


> @Wes -- that bermuda bible is frigin awesome -- thanks so much -- lots of good info
> 
> now I need to just find a place around me that sells those herbicides
> 
> --Also, if I have new sod (laid in November 2017) -- probably not a great idea to lay down any herbicide for this year, but maybe pre-Emerge next fall ??


You will probably want to wait until Summer before thinking of spraying weeds as you want the grass to take root and start to spread before spraying anything. But, YES you should be safe to apply PreM come fall time.

I would just focus on feeding, mowing and watering right now(once it warms up) as that alone will do a lot at choking out some of the weeds and then later this Summer you can get what's left over with some herbicides.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

DeliveryMan said:


> now I need to just find a place around me that sells those herbicides


I'd be happy to donate to another NCer enough prodiamine to get you a few apps if you want. I have an enormous jug that will last a few decades. Do you have a sprayer yet?


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## Bunnysarefat (May 4, 2017)

Welcome to TLF! Your kids will love TifTuf, it's really soft and great to play on (actually they won't even notice and probably prefer bare dirt like mine)


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## DeliveryMan (Mar 1, 2018)

So guys -- I am kinda worried -- the sod was laid in November and I have seen one green blade of grass yet..

It has been kinda cold still here in North Carolina -- but is it possible all the sod didn't make it through the winter


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

DeliveryMan said:


> So guys -- I am kinda worried -- the sod was laid in November and I have seen one green blade of grass yet..
> 
> It has been kinda cold still here in North Carolina -- but is it possible all the sod didn't make it through the winter


Unlikely but possible. How are your neighbors yards looking in terms of green-up?


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## DeliveryMan (Mar 1, 2018)

I haven't seen much green on my neighbor's yards either -- but admittedly I see alot of fescue in the neigborhood

But I am pretty sure I have the only yard in the neighborhood with sod that is less than 6 months old..

This is my first yard and I am super pumped to take care of it -- maybe just need to calm down and wait


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## raldridge2315 (Jul 1, 2017)

DeliveryMan said:


> maybe just need to calm down and wait


Yep.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

Yep. All will be good. My yard is not green at all yet. Too cold lately.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

DeliveryMan said:


> So guys -- I am kinda worried -- the sod was laid in November and I have seen one green blade of grass yet..
> 
> It has been kinda cold still here in North Carolina -- but is it possible all the sod didn't make it through the winter


It's been unseasonably cold here near Savannah, and I seeded my renovation in the front last year around late July. I got just a few months of growing time during the later part of Summer before it went dormant for the winter. It's getting warmer every day, and when I look out across the lawn, it looks bare. You have to get down close, and you'll see bits of green coming up from the "dead" looking areas. Take a close look at the areas that were sodded, and if you see green, you're good.


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