# Darrell_KC Lawn Journal



## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Hello KC neighbors! I stumbled across the board today while researching seed. I have read a few posts and found FORT's awesome journal. I have to say, its nice to know others have had successes and failures when it comes to lawns. I live down in Gardner, south of Olathe off of 35. This year, Ive dedicated myself to really trying to do the lawn right, and this board so far has been a great source of studying material.

I am, from what I gather, a tier 1 guy here. I am a new homeowner, bought a new construction in 2015. My lawn is a mix of fescue, a bit of zoysia from a failed experiment, and K31. To keep things short and sweet, Ive had one failure after another. The lawn I started with had to be the cheapest sod imaginable, and had a lot of cracks and places it didnt take. I didnt mind, I planned on learning how to take care of a lawn on my own. To sum it up, i have a 1/3 acre lawn. My house faces almost due west, and gets a ton of sun and very hot in summer. On the southwest side, I have had big issues with the grass getting scorched, and I believe its due to the heat also reflecting off the brick on that side of the house.

in 2016, I had a huge outbreak of clover. Wanting to take care of weeds the "right" way, I hit them all with roundup, and proceeded to kill large sections of lawn. I just went with weed killer, hey what could go wrong? Ugh. Major holes and lack of coverage followed. Plus, when summer hit my grass started stressing, and some spots died out and went to dirt.

In 2017, I read that Zoysia is a grass that can tolerate extreme heat, doesnt require a lot of water, and doesnt grow tall so it doesnt need frequent mowing. The fact its carpet like, and holds up to heavy traffic was music to my ears. I have 4 dogs. 2 smaller terriers, and 2 larger dogs. One is a Beauceron (doberman mix) and the other is an extremely energetic German Shepard, whose love of chasing his tail and his toys, gives the grass a nice tilling :lol:

In 2018, I tried to get a fast start, and I cut the lawn super short, you know to encourage growth and get the leaves/debris up. Well, I cut it TOO short... And stunted the whole lawn. Before i realized what happened, the hot summer hit, and my poor lawn didnt have a chance... I lost a ton of coverage in the backyard, and turned it into a hilly mudpit. Every time the dogs go out to play, they end up bringing some backyard in the kitchen. I got so frustrated I literally gave up on the lawn. I stopped mowing it and just let it do whatever the hell it wanted. A funny thing happened next... My partially dead lawn started greening up. It even started growing back a bit, and getting thicker. I had a eureka moment, and realized I have been cutting the grass too short! I was able to get some growth and coverage back in fall, but still have a lot of open dirt areas.

2019 is a new year, and Im focusing on a lawn restoration. In addition to a seeing project, I am also going to be doing some topsoil and trying to build up some areas with poor drainage. My ground is mostly clay, since during construction they stripped all the nice soil away. I had debated about maybe trying to plant some bermuda since its supposed to be good for dogs and highly tolerant to heat and heavy traffic. I even debated about trying a combo of bermuda, tall fescue and rye grass, but after seeing the pictures FORT posted, I have to say maybe I am looking at things wrong. I hate the look of fescue, but maybe my issue is I hate the look of the fescue that I was left to start with.

At any rate, I can post some pictures I took the past weekend, but I wanted to say hi to everyone and thank them for posting their pictures, and Ill be reading to get up to speed as fast as I can. So far, Ive tossed down some milorganite last week, and have an appointment for a good lawn areration to get some plugs and holes opened up. I know spring isnt optimum for seeding, but Ill be doing my best to try to get the lawn going and get some lawn food in the ground. Im hoping to get a soil sample soon and really get a gauge as to how bad the ground truly is.


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## FORT (Oct 26, 2018)

@Darrell_KC Hey neighbor, welcome to the forum! Glad you found my lawn journal, hopefully you can learn from my mistakes. Sounds like we have/had some of the same issues, new build with cheap sod, direct sunlight, etc.. Read through my journal and if you have questions just let me know. My biggest takeaways from my trial and error are:

1) Soil test first to see what you're working with. It's important to get the soil deficiencies corrected before seeding.

2) Consistent watering habits. If you spend time and money to aerate and seed but don't plan to water consistently, you're results are not going to live up to your expectations.

3) Quality of seed matters. Do some research on seed before buying. I bought some seed from Grass Pad and it was okay but for my reno I bought some seed from Seed Super Store and it was even better!


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Hopefully this works. Here is a link to my gallery.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/ihhnnsu6/

The first 5 pictures are the front yard area. The last 4 are the backyard, where the real work needs to happen.


This is the side that scorches in summer. It faces southwest and gets 100% sun






This picture, you can see the bright yellow Zoysia I got to grow from a few plugs










This last picture is the north side of the front yard. It gets moderate shade from the house, so I think Fescue is my only hope here

I have wondered if I might be able to do like a Latitude 36 bermuda in both the front and back yards. I have never done a soil sample, so i will find out how to get one done and get the results posted

Last night, I fired up the new TimeMaster mower for the first time. I got it Monday to help shave down mowing time, and my God, I may end up loving it inappropriately. It normally takes me a solid hour to mow the lawn, and I did the entire front area in about 20 minutes. The back didnt have a need for a trim, but i did cut about half a bags worth from the front area. The goal was to trim up some of the dead shag since in just the past few days I am seeing some greening pushing through


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

@FORT Do you mind if i ask you some questions about your lawn in relation to the pictures? I did post some pictures of my lawn for reference. Im really torn up on a few things.

What I am most curious about is, when your lawn turned south on you in May-July 2018, do you know what actually did it in? How much milorganite were you using? Im asking, because I saw a video of a guy who put milo down every week, and showed it really helped nor hurt his lawn any more than a 1 per month application. He did a test of weekly, bi monthly, monthly, and none at all on the rest. The milo areas all greened up nice, but no real difference between the more excessive feedings.

i have wondered, it i might need to go the nuclear option myself. Reason being, a lot of my lawn is lumpy and uneven. This is one of my concerns about even attempting a bermuda lawn. Knowing it likes to be cut short, if i cut it short its going to exemplify the lumps and bumps. If i let it grow longer, it will look more shaggy, or so Ive read. For instance, in the front yard there is a small "valley" where Im guessing the drain pipe extends out where the ground sunk in a little. In the backyard, the back right corner floods in heavy rain. The drainage for my yard is actually just behind the fence in the middle of the backyard. So, water should be flowing down from the hill and right side, towards the center of the yard and then down the storm drain.

When it came to glyphsating the entire lawn, how much did you have to buy to cover everything? Once it was nuked, did you use topsoil to level the lawn before putting new seed down? I have looked at how much topsoil it would require for my 12k property, and its well over 1k for just the soil. That wouldnt be possible for this year at least.

Sorry for the very wordy posts. Once I can get some education to make up a good plan, I should keep things a lot shorter and sweeter!


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## FORT (Oct 26, 2018)

@Darrell_KC These are all great questions and I will do my best to answer them.

1) At the time my lawn started heading south I thought I knew what was causing my problems but I really didn't. It wasn't till I joined this forum and started reading about other's experiences and how to identify issues did I realized what caused my issues.

2) On the milorganite website they have a plan on when you are supposed to put it down and I was just following it. I just got my soil test back and I am super low on P & K so I will not be using milorganite this year.

3) Not sure about bermuda here in KC/Gardner area, might have better luck with a TTTF & KBG mix.

4) I just went to Home Depot and picked up a bottle of their glyphosate concentrate. I just followed the label, I didn't use the whole bottle. I did not bring in any top soil. I did rent a roller and rolled the lawn which seemed to help with some of the bumpiness.

5) I don't have dogs so I am not sure what to do to help out there, might be worth creating a new post in Cold Season Lawn forum (or just copy and paste what you put here) to get more eyes on your current situation. When I first joined the forum, I posted all my questions there before I started my lawn journal.

https://thelawnforum.com/viewforum.php?f=9


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@Darrell_KC Welcome to TLF

I split your post into your very own Lawn Journal. 

@FORT I moved the conversation here.


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## FORT (Oct 26, 2018)

@g-man Thanks!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Milo at those rate will drive nitrogen to the lawn. Nitrogen does push for the lawn to grow and could make it look really good with all the nitrogen. But doing so in the summer means that the lawn will need more water (to grow), otherwise it will dry out faster. I dont recommend pushing any nitrogen in the summer if you dont have to.

Bermuda in KC area, sure. I think the Arrowhead is bermuda. It is possible, but it does have it's issues. 1) it will turn brown in the early winter until late spring. Ugly brown. 2) it could get some winter die off. There are some bermuda varieties that are more cold tolerant. I think tacoma is one.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

g-man said:


> @Darrell_KC Welcome to TLF
> 
> I split your post into your very own Lawn Journal.
> 
> @FORT I moved the conversation here.


Thanks Gman. Stupid newb question. On the board, how did you guys do the direct reply "@username"
I tried it manually but looks like i missed something


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@ the name of the person. Then a blue name will pop up. Click it. It will add something like this [ mention ] g-man [/ mentions].

Use it to let someone know to read your post.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

@g-man

Thanks again!


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## Guest (Mar 22, 2019)

g-man said:


> Bermuda in KC area, sure. I think the Arrowhead is bermuda. It is possible, but it does have it's issues. 1) it will turn brown in the early winter until late spring. Ugly brown. 2) it could get some winter die off. There are some bermuda varieties that are more cold tolerant. I think tacoma is one.


Excellent points G-man. I admit as a KC native I doubted Arrowhead stadium was bermuda, google proved this correct.

I really wonder if they spray paint it to keep it nice and green for fall/winter games. I would have assumed it was KBG/Rye.

I used to live in SW MO and visited family in the Springfield area last weekend. Visited grandma and ran a few miles through two nice neighborhoods there with well maintained houses. Out of about 150 houses I ran past I noticed partial bermuda invasions in all but maybe 10 houses. Basically looked like this in parts, clear brown areas and clear green areas, super easy to see in March as the cool season parts green up - 




Took a couple pics on my run I can post later (about to go to bed). I do think if I moved back there I would go 100% bermuda and spray paint it green for winter. Best of both worlds that way.

In KC/NW MO I haven't seen any bermuda invasions around here, and I think 100% cool season is best in this area. A lot colder up here, as evidenced by our winter this year. I wouldn't want a brown lawn 8 months out of the year. If you are looking for low maintenance, KY31 or KY32 are the answer. If you are looking for looks that will depend on taste but I love a turf type tall fescue lawn and it tolerates heat waaaay better than KBG. I don't think KBG is a good grass type for KC summers unless you have in-ground irrigation and are pretty dedicated. I know some people in STL have good KBG lawns but I think they have a little less heat and a little more rain than we do on the western side of the state. Just my .02


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Thanks guys!

I feel like Im learning a little more all the time here. There's been some really good "real world" results and proof I can go off of and not just try to read stickers.

First and foremost, Im waiting for my soil sample kits to arrive, and then Im sending a front yard and back yard sample out to see what exactly Im working with. I figure that will probably be a few weeks, which should get me into soil temps pushing 50's and better seeding time. I am seeing some greening popping through already so some of the grass is finally waking up.

Im still doing my research, but my early thought process is, I will probably do a good spot seeding and treatment in the front yard, and try to keep it looking pretty. I will have to exterminate that zoysia stuff as well. I still have some leveling to do in the front so I can get a good base growing in a few areas that have minimal coverage.

In the backyard, I am thinking about trying out a combo of the bluegrass/bermuda. My thinking is, the backyard needs something thats super tough, and Im not so concerned about looks there. My front and back is going to need a full reno at some point, including leveling as well as a kill off to get rid of these crap fescue. Depending on which grass seems to take off, I should have a good idea how I want to go when fall starts getting closer. Basically turn it into a survival of the fittest, and Ill get to compare the full fescue front vs the experiment in the back and see overall how everything looks, whats working and what isnt. Then, once I know whats what, I can nuke it, give my lawn a proper reno and start over with a high quality, consistent seed.

Feel free to let me know if any of this thinking is flawed!


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

@Darrell_KC 
Sounds good! It's your lawn, and you can manage your lawn as you wish to do so. I'm a serial experimenter (seeder) by nature and always looking to find the best seed cultivars to survive shade, drought, insects, disease, weeds ([email protected]#$^& zoysia), etc. I once had a custom blend of kbg made (7 cultivars, I think) and named it Darwin's kbg blend-yeah, I went a little nuts. Enjoy your hobby and learn from any mistakes that you make (or learn from mistakes made by others).

I agree with Connor Ward's philosophy, that you should find what works for you, and that it's ok to do things differently than others, if that's your desire.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Allright, we are off and running. Finally finished raking out the entire lawn. Wow... I can't believe all the construction materials I pulled up. First, it was 3 full bags of yard waste that was just dead grass and leaf litter. You can actually see the dirt again, and some new growth underneath. I also pulled up nails, shingling bits, a cut electric cable that was simply tossed aside, and some other debris.

I have soil samples sent out today to the lab from both the front and backyards to see exactly what I am working with, and what additives are needed.

I did a nice trim on the lawn to bring the height down a bit more and remove more of the dead tips that didnt rake. I have also ordered 25lbs of HGT Bluegrass and 25lbs of Yukon Bermuda. I should have those next week. Ill be hitting up the store this weekend to load up on top soil and peat moss, so I can start working on the areas of complete bare ground and see how things go.

Ill get some pictures up later, I do have some new grass that has started growing in that I dont believe is fescue, but might be some old rye or bluegrass? We will see


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Here is a 2 week update on progress so far

On 4-5, I tore out 3 dead trees and spent the weekend filling in the holes with topsoil and compost, and leveling as best as I can. Then on 4-6, I tossed down the first batches of my HGT Bluegrass and Yukon Bermuda. I bought them in 5lb packages, and then mixed the seed together 50/50 in a large Home Depot bucket. The Bluegrass seed is yellow, and the Yukon is white so its easy to tell them apart and when the blend is good.









Today, I took some extra pictures to show the lawn progress from the 3/27 where it was just starting to green up. I think things are coming up nicely

















While taking the pictures, I noticed something in one of my small patches I seeded...


How about that! Too bad temps have went from upper 70's-80s, do 50's and upper 30's at night for the next few days...


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Curious how the KBG/Bermuda mix will look. Anyone else got a mix like that, seems like an odd one but hopefully it works out.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Check out @dmouw 's lawn journal, he has a full bluemuda lawn already grown in!


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

It looks like those areas are closing up nicely, in the front yard. Once the sun gets to a higher angle in the sky, the backyard should perk up even more. I find this Bluemuda phenomenon quite interesting. Good luck!

FYI- there is some info (and I think management practices) on Sports Turf Online magazine. I have work e-mails with links, if you're interested.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

sure, send them over. Also, I havent really gotten started on the back so much. I got through some spots on the front because it gets optimal sun. Now that the weather temps dropped, im holding off on more seeding for now. Once the temps go up, ill get some more soil and organic mix and start covering the bare spots and dropping more seed. I bought a couple of sprinker timers, and have been practicing using and configuring those so i now how much coverage i have


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Ok. When I'm back in the office, I'll dig them up. FWIW, the turf is showing nice color for this time of the season.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Found it and read the Bluemuda thread going. His lawn looks pretty good. I've heard of sports teams overseeding their Bermuda fields with PRG but hadn't read of the Bluemuda mix.

Think it will be interesting to see which variety becomes more dominant. Going to guess it's a little cold still to get germination from Bermuda seeds, will also be interesting to see if KBG can get established before the summer heat gets to it.

I saw it mentioned on the bigger thread but how do you manage a mix like this as far as fertilizer schedule goes? Since I have TTTF yard I haven't done a lot of research on Bermuda but I know May-August is it's main growing season and when you want to fertilize it and that's opposite of KBG. Can't wait to see how it works out.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

This is from one of the online resources. My initial plan is to do a milo run, once a month just to start, and keep researching and observing.

Fertilization. Applying fertilizer at the right time is as important as using the right fertilizer. Fertilization should be determined from a soil test analysis. Bluemuda fields should be fertilized when the turf is actively growing throughout the season to promote an even growth pattern.

Bluemuda fields should be fertilized in a manner that does not allow one species of turf to dominate the other. Slow release nitrogen sources and organic fertilizers are preferred for a base. If you need to give the field a quicker shot of N early in the spring, I recommend a product such as ATS 22-0-4 w/Armament, a 50% polymer sulfur coated urea (PSCU). Foliar applications on a 3-4-week basis also have been proven to provide excellent results.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Darrell, if you want you signature to say Darrell_KC with the link, do this without the spaces [ url=http:xyz]Darrell_KC[ /url]


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Damn you Darrell, I've spent all night research bluemuda turf lol. I might have to make another test plot area on my property lol. And what height do you plan on maintaining yours at?


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Right now honestly im just hoping for growth but recommended mower height is .75 to 1 inch. Ill probably go 1 to 1.5 to start. My concern is the bluegrass getting too much of a jump on bermuda right now


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Yeah its still a little cool for bermuda grass to probably germinate or do very well.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@ksturfguy be careful with bermuda experiments. Getting rid of it is expensive.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

g-man said:


> @ksturfguy be careful with bermuda experiments. Getting rid of it is expensive.


Haha true, maybe I'll just let Darrell have all the fun. I did try to plant some Zoysia last summer with 0% germination rate lol. I'll admit it was a very weak attempt, basically just mowed really short, threw seed down, watered once or twice and let mother nature take it from there and nothing. Was probably a good thing in the end but I dont think Zoysia is as invasive as Bermuda.

My biggest fear with doing that was would mowing bermuda grass with my mower make it spread to other parts of my yard. Not sure if that's just a myth or if it can actually happen.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Im figuring that one way or another, Im going to have to do a renovation, probably this fall if finances swing it. It would be a fall reno, and doing it properly. Right now, as my pics show, my backyard has a lot of open areas. This was largely due to very poorly laid sod on the hill, and then my own ignorance and lack of knowledge.

Since the backyard is where the dogs do most of their playing, I figured if theres any way I can get bermuda growing, that borderline indestructible plant could help keep some coverage down. If bermuda wont grow, then hopefully i get the bluegrass growing. Right now its mostly tall fescue, which looks pretty solid at times, but with my German Shepard who plays hard, I want a grass that can stand up to abuse and also spread to fill in spots. Ill try to keep up with pictures to see how things are growing in.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

@g-man

Thanks for the Journal link help!


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## dmouw (Jul 17, 2018)

I'm loving my Bluemuda turf. I'm in my first year so I worry how my season transition will go but so far so good. the HGT KBG did take forever to sprout and grown in.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

@dmouw Have you found or seen that one strain of grass has started faster than the other? Our temps dove down, so Im going to hold off on more seeding for a couple weeks. I was just starting to get germination on some bluegrass and everything stopped. Right now Im working on some more soil prep and leveling, and then seed down at the beginning of May


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## dmouw (Jul 17, 2018)

I hydroseeded my Bermuda about 3 years ago so it was already established. I dethatched/scalped/ overseeded in late September. It took until February/March for the kbg to fill in. It really started to look good once my Bermuda kicked in this spring. I have some color variation but when mowed regular around 1"-1.25" it looks pretty sweet.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

I just got my soil samples from 4/3 posted online by soil savvy. Ill make a post over at the soil board for some advice.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Finally time for a one month update! I gave the lawn a nice mow and trim and grabbed some pics as the sun got lower.

















So far I think things are coming along nicely! The 2nd to last picture is my test planter. It has Yukon Bermuda on the bottom and KBG on the top, so I could see which one is which. The Bermuda has exploded in the past week with temps hitting 80s. I was just getting bare minimum coverage, and then the next thing i know, its now covering and growing taller. I dont notice it in the yard as much, but Id assume soil temps in the planter are a bit warmer in a smaller space. I am starting to see some bermuda in the patches Ive filled in, and i even had to trim down the KBG as it was beginning to shade out a little too much

Ive got a couple close up pics of the holes I had to fill in and their progress, as well as the overall front yard. The very last pic is the backyard which hasnt been changed yet. This is the dogs side. Even this grass is looking nice and thick, except in the bare spots. I just seeded this week the other half of the backyard, and will keep posting pictures of that as it begins growing.

Right now, the KBG seems to be doing very well. I even had some spots I gave up on or didnt plant well that started slow, but Im still finding seedlings popping up. Im a little concerned about the bermuda portion, but i also know that prime bermuda season is upcoming and Id expect things to really change in the next month.

Hope you guys enjoy, and please feel free to share any advice.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Any updates on ur bluemuda?


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Its going well. Ill try to get some more pics later. Id have to say overall, the kbg got too much of a head start. It looks tall and nice and i have a newfound respect for kbg. That stuff grew in places i gave up on. The bermuda is taking awhile but the last 2 weeks im seeing more growth. I just started 2 new planters a week ago today and i already have germination. Ive began using planters and using them as plugs as they grow in addition to the bare ground. The backyard is proving more of a challenge, i want to keep it wet but then the dogs drag mud in. I think im going to keep at sections and block them using construction fencing.

Overall im learning a lot. Id have told you 2 weeks ago that id stick with kbg, but now that june has hit, im seeing a lot more bermuda seelings sprouting in the backyard than i did in my front yard when i seeded in April


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

@ksturfguy

Hey just wanted to mention, Ill try to get some pictures up later today after a quick cut. Overall while I have been satisfied with the blue-muda mix, I think Im going to opt for a full reno this fall and go straight with Yukon bermuda. My biggest concern was if the bermuda would grow from seed, and if it would grow in the backyard with the shade from the house. Not only has it grown, its thriving. The grass I planted originally in the beginning of April has already reached mow height in spots, and its popping out runners. The KBG is doing well, but I can already see it wants water and yellows up pretty fast if it doesnt get it. Just in terms of looks, Im more partial to the bermuda. Then add in the fact it takes over bare spots and can handle the dog traffic.

Its been a good experiment. I can tell you Ive learned all about why spring seeding is so hard. Ive had numerous setbacks and mistakes, but its been a good labor of love. I love working on the yard, waiting, and then seeing those seeds start popping up into grass seedlings, and growing together to form a lawn. I went into this project knowing a full reno would be coming at some point. In addition, it looks like we will be installing a large patio in the back yard to add on to the existing smaller one. Thats going to involve some heavy duty construction equipment and I know a good portion of the lawn will get torn up. Once thats done, Ill go with the full scale reno


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

If you want Bermuda, you need to grow it now and not in the fall.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Do you think August is too late? Thats when the patio work should take place. I was hoping 2 warm months should be solid to do seeding and then using a plugger to spot fill


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Darrell_KC said:


> Do you think August is too late? Thats when the patio work should take place. I was hoping 2 warm months should be solid to do seeding and then using a plugger to spot fill


August would really be pushing it for our area. I think you would get pretty good germination but won't fill in as fast as it would if you seeded in May or June. You seed in August and it really gives it a couple weeks of good warm season growing weather.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Thanks for your feedback guys. From what youve all said, i think im going to opt to start sooner than later. Whatever gets killed during construction, ill just handle it after the fact with fixing the ground and plugging/seeding.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Tahoma 31 will be a better Bermuda to use in our cold climates. I don't think you can seed Tahoma 31, only sod or sprigs. I think you are already late for seeds and it might be pushing it with sprigs.

Remember, Bermuda will start to turn brown around Sept. and be dormant until around May. You will have winter kill with the cold temps and the dogs walking over it will not help. It will recover once the temperatures warm up.

Do you have an irrigation system?


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

That was part of the reason i went with an early seeding in my planters. I wanted to see how long it would take for bermuda to grow in a kansas spring. It was slow until April, but it did green up. Once may hit it really started to go.

I dont have in in ground irrigation. I do have a fairly good above ground irrigation system with timers and splitters. It will need refinement for sure. Theres going to be a lot of game planning involved and ill probably hit the backyard first just to start out with a sizeable area but not nearly as exposed as the front yard would be


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

I think Yukon will be alright for you. 2002-2005 Olahte, KS had an NTEP test for Bermuda and Yukon ranked very high. It also only had 21.7% winter kill which was 3rd behind Riviera and OKC 70-18 what ever that is called now.

In the 2014-2017 test in Indiana and Kentucky only Tahoma 31 had less winter kill than Yukon so I think you will be alright with that but I would definitely seed ASAP.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Yeah i ordered my power sprayer today. I still have a bout 10lbs of yukon seed left in my bucket. My plan is as soon as i get the sprayer, to start hitting the backyard with glyphosate and going from there. Its going to be an ongoing battle and project for sure, but the amount of yukon growth ive gotten in some of the bare areas I yanked the trees out of has me very encouraged.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

It has begun!!!

The full transition to Yukon Bermuda is officially on. Today was the big day, I just spent 3 hours nuking the entire front yard. Ill get pictures up later and try to keep the journal as updated as I can. In the middle of this, Ive been powerwashing my perimeter fence so that it can be sealed. Two major time consumer going at the same time, but it must be done!

The glyphosating is one nerve wracking process. The fact there is no going back is scary enough, but doing my damnedest to keep this away from my neighbors lawn was brutal. I went with a large card board box and tried to stay a few feet inside of the property line to be safe. I wanted to wait until after the 4th, but based on your guys advice and all the 90s coming I jumped in with both feet. Im sure there are some areas I might have to go back over again but I think I did as good as I could for now.

The wife is skeptical as you can imagine, but I showed her an area down by our fence i had seeded with some yukon about a week ago. I seeded and covered with some topsoil and seed mulch. That night, we proceeded to get a full night rainstorm with 5 inches of rain. I was sure the ground was all washed out. I didnt bother to water or try to fix any of this area as I was sure it was wiped out. Low and behold, yesterday while walking the yard i noticed bermuda seedlings poking through. Considering the front yard gets full sun and is gererally hotter than the back, and the back yard bermuda has been thriving, Im confident Im going to see good results. I believe I have a good sprinkler coverage plan in place, so I think i have all the initial bases covered.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Guess we'll have to move your journal to the wamr season section now lol. Good luck with the reno! Did you talk to your neighbor at all about what your doing? As much as Bermuda spreads they might be pissed if it gets into their yard, if they even care about that sort of thing.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Nope. He is an older guy. We are somewhat friendly but mostly keep to ourselves. He has a kid who comes over and takes care of their lawn. His grass is mostly KBG and has bled some over into my side, but since his kbg is pretty well established we should ve fine here. The other side is a new construction that doesnt have sod yet. It was nice nuking the giant weeds that invade my lawn every year from that lot. I have no idea what its name is, but it will grow every bit of 6 feet tall if left alone. Im guessing its a kind of native field grass, thats been a yearly problem since we moved in.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Here are some pics from where I am at right now. This was pre roundup from this morning
The first 4 pics are of the front and side areas that got sprayed today. The last 3 are my current backyard and what really started the whole project to begin with. The last pic, the back half is where I did my overseeding project and was able to get some solid turf growth while the dogs were using the side thats still mostly bare ground.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Here we are 8 days and 2 sunburns past the glyphosate killing spree. I see a few clear stripes I missed, but overall I did pretty well. Outside of the areas needing a new application, would you guys think the grass is dead enough to be scalped at this point? The dead areas look pretty dead, but theres still some weeds that look like they have a bit of green. Should I hit these again with a 2nd application in addition to the missed spots?





On Tuesday, I ran a glyphosate run on the backyard. Whats funny is, on Saturday I was disgusted because the lawn didnt even look phased. Bermuda, KBG, Fescue and weeds all just sat an laughed at me. What a difference a day makes. On Sunday, the lawn looked completely different. I wished I had taken pictures, but there was no contrast at that point so I didnt keep them. The lawn went from 0% affected, to probably 50%. The grass is wilting, the weeds are orange, and you can see major stress taking place.

Im not sure what an Un-Domination line is called, but I have one....


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Here are some updated pictures. The first group are as the lawn is dying from the glyphosate run on 6-30. These were taken on 7-2 and 7-3. The pictures with the green stripes are areas I missed and hit with a 2nd application on 7-9. Complete with an anti-domination line (dominated?)

The last 5 pictures are before and after shots of the scalping job with the mower. When I did the first spray run, I mowed everything to 3.5 so I could get an even application with leaf surface. I figured with most of the grass dead and thin, that it would be easy to scalp. Noooope! Had to take the mower to 2.5 inches, double cut mow. Then 2 inches, repeat, and finally 1.5 and repeat. 6 full yard waste bags plus 3 trash bags of dead grass, and I havent even touched the side on the left of the house. Hoping I can get back at it tonight and finish the front yard.

Ive lived in my house for 4 years, and this is the first year neighbors have stopped by to visit and chat. They are all curious about my lawn, and my powerwash/seal job I did on the backyard perimeter fence. I have pics if anyone is curious of that. One of my neighbors asked what happened with great concern. He didnt understand why I was doing a reno.

Oddly enough, I learned my next door neighbor DOES care a lot about lawns and was quite knowledgeable. He stopped by this morning and said "Someone is doing a renovation!" He asked what I was planting and if i had a company coming in to do it. I told him I was going with Yukon Bermuda, and he groaned a bit. Earlier in the year I commented here that my neighbor had some mismatching yellow spot and then grass. I dont pay too close attention to his lawn, but he then told me he has bermuda growing and I was free to take it off his hands  I walked over and sure enough, he has what started as about a 3 foot circle of common bermuda is now closer to a 30 foot circle. You can see it in the last picture, the lighter green grass in the top right. He was talking about he may have to kill it off and I offered to let him use my sprayer and leftover concentrate. He was fine with it though and said looks like he is getting a bermuda side yard no matter what. We were laughing about the runners he has beginning to climb over his driveway. He said he has always been partial to KBG and we talked about the experiments I was running in front and back. He said my backyard had really grown well and I showed him my test areas where my KBG struggled but the yukon thrived so I went with that option. Was a pretty fun chat, and funny that Ive apparently gathered some attention with my yard work this year.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Quick update. After what seems like endless delays and work taking far longer than usual, I finally finished clearing all the dead grass out of the back, and have to give major credit to the Sun Joe dethatcher. That thing is a major time saved, and i love the nice grooves the scarifier added to the bare ground. Im hoping those prove to be nice seed catchers.

Yesterday was officially seed down day for about 1/3 of the yard. Tonight I will start the 2nd side, and then see how the back yard goes. It took a bit to get maximum sprinker coverage and I flagged a couple of areas that will require hand watering. They are sodding the house next door, so Im getting a little bit of help in terms of watering on that side. I believe the worst of the physical labor is over, now its on the the prayer and faith mode along with nitrogen and weed maintenance


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Finally.... Seed down has been completed!

I woke up at 8am today, and finished raking out the side yard, tossed down the milorganite and seed and then hit it with a bit of seed mulch in trickier areas. Moved to the backyard, and gave the ground one more raking since i dethatched it. Ended up pulling out another 5 full bags of dead grass and debris. Used the rest of my yukon seed covering the back. Between the front yard, side and back I used about 35lbs of yukon seed for about 12k square feet.

The hardest physical labor is done, and now I am on to watering, monitoring, moving sprinkers and most importantly, prayer. I planted the 2 planters I had in a couple bare spots in the backyard, and gave them some water to get going. It looks funny as hell, seeing 3 small clusters of green grass, but its hope for the future! The potted bermuda already has runners forming which Im sure I will be borrowing from once they begin growing after transplanting. I had 4 clusters of grass but one completely tore apart while I was planting it. I decided to plant it anyways with some dirt, tamp it down and see if the bermuda can recover and start growing again.

I already know I will have a few areas that will provide a big challenge. Just this week, the day after I laid my seed, the brand new house next door got sod delivered. The sodders must have taken pity on me, they actually sodded over the area by my backyard fence. Fortunately, I did not seed this area. They did a nice job, so Ill let it stay for now. Its about a 2 foot walkway and 20 feet long. They also crept over the property line a few times and put down some extra bits of sod to fill in some holes. While I appreciated their effort, these were quickly removed and have been seeded with yukon. Due to the neighbors now running sprinklers for a long while, parts of my backyard are flooding a bit. Thats going to be a problem for growth I know, but it is what it is.

My goal originally was to be done with seeding by August. Mission accomplished. Thanks to everyone whose been helping me through this, its been a bear and its hurt having a completely dead yard but hopefully happier days are on the horizon!


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Here are the pics from seed down, and today I noticed I have germination in the front! I caught a few seedlings sprouting up while picking out some nutsedge thats trying to get going. Nothing has started on the side and backyards yet, although those were seeded on the 27th and the front was done on the 25th.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Be careful about hand picking nutsedge, it can actually cause it grow more.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Ok, ill have to scale back on that. Ive been trying to keep it from establishing since it can grow tall and cause shade. I didnt want to spray anything on new seedlings, so should I just let the sedge grow out a bit and deal with it after the seedlings start coming in?


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

You can either deal with it or have you tried Tenacity? I believe it will kill nutsedge and it's safe on seed and new grass. I've never used Tenacity so someone with more expertise like @g-man might be able to help.


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## samjonester (May 13, 2018)

Tenacity is for cool season lawns. I believe there have been studies about using it to control Bermuda (thought not very successfully). I think the label also says that Bermuda is sensitive to it. You seeded Yukon, right @Darrell_KC?

Also funny story about your convo with the neighbor about the reno!


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

I believe thats right on Tenacity, that it hurts Bermuda. Correct, I seeded Yukon.

The neighbor's bermuda is going nuts. His circle he turned into about 30% of his side yard is bermuda. The bermuda has actually begun creeping and running into my lawn. I pulled out some runners to keep them from anchoring in, but i know that will be a constant deal. He is far more disgusted about it than I am!

If, i have problems getting the backyard going, I already asked and the neighbor would be fine with me stealing plugs from his bermuda patch and starting them in the back. I dont think i should need to, my test Yukon plots did very well on their own. Ive even got 2 spots that were tilled, that bermuda has popped back through and started growing on the surface again


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Pull it this year. It will come back, but deal with it next year once you have your lawn established.

Your neighbor might not be too happy to have a Bermuda lawn next to his.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

He isnt overly thrilled, but he is fine. He told me he prefers the KBG because thats what he grew in Colorado, but he already has a full scale bermuda invasion of his own. I dont really know where it came from, my guess is an accidental seeding judging by the pattern of growth. Its just straight common bermuda, but its having a blast in his side yard!


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Duh sorry about the tenacity suggestion. Forgot it wasn't good for warm season lawns. I need to stick to my cool season threads lol


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Dont worry about it! Ill always take suggestions. Im still very much a rookie.

Im excited about the germination in the front. Ive even seen a couple babies popping through in the back which is only 5 days past seeding, but still very early to gauge anything. This 6 inches of rain nonsense... ive got spots underwater still. I like the rain but not all at once!


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Here is a 2 week update for pictures


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Adding in some pictures of the backyard taken last night. This is 16 days past seed down. The last picture is my favorite. Thats Cockroach. After I had glyphosated and tilled the backyard, about a week later I saw this little guy somehow had survived. This is Yukon that survived and sprouted from the epic washout that happened in May, and then survived glyphosate and a tilling. He is now sending out runners.

Pictures 1-3 are of the area thats been borderline swamp since the day after seed down thanks to runoff from the neighbors sod sprinkling. This area is so wet, I cant even walk over there. I had to throw seed by the handful about 6 feet out just to get something down. I had no hope for this area whatsoever. As you can see in pics 2-3, theres still standing water in this area. The neighbors are finally cutting down on watering some, and the area has gotten drier at times which Im sure has helped because this bermuda just started popping about 4 days ago and is growing in fast.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

There is not a lot of germination and coverage there. As temps start to drop, you will see less germination or spreading. I think you should consider dropping some PRG later in September to provide some ground cover for the winter unless mud is ok until May. At May you might need to add more bermuda seeds to improve coverage and address winter kill. Crabgrass will be an issue next year.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Here is my week 3 update, and after the first cut. We had some good storms roll through Saturday night and even though it looked like it had dried out, some parts on the bottom I sunk in some. I cut at 2 inches, primarily to keep the tops of weeds from creating shade but I also ended up with about 1/2 a bag of weeds and grass. Some parts are looking really good, and some spots still a bit sparse for my liking. Im planning on hitting it with some nitrogen this weekend, 1 month past seed down


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Week 11 update from the final mow of the year. Lawn has come a long ways!


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

It's a new year and time to update the journal. With Kansas temps starting to hit the 60's and creeping near 70 Sunday, I decided to get ahead and get a scalp and pre-emergent in. Wednesday I worked for 3 hours doing a scalp down to 1 inch, then raking to make sure to get as much debris up as I could. I finished with about 4 full yard waste bags of clippings, and then my raking efforts still produced another full bag of grass and debris.

Even while dormant, while raking it was clear to see that the grass has held up very well over winter. I will still have a few areas in need of plugging. I will worry about that once I start getting to green up. For now, I think I am in as good of shape as I can be for probably the next month. I do still have some spots where Im guessing poa managed to survive, I had a few random patches of green grass. I've debated hitting them with glyphosate or just waiting it out.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

I am finally updating my lawn journal. A cooler than normal spring, in addition to a disappointing amount of die off in my back yard had given me second thoughts to posting an update. Even up to 2 weeks ago, I still had a lot of yellow grass showing up. Fortunately, a quick chat with @Tellycoleman talked me off the ledge a bit and gave me some encouragement, and I have to say the last 2 weeks have been night and day for the yard.

Now that tomorrow is June 1st, and we are expected temps to hit the middle 80's to low 90's for a week solid, I am kicking the lawn maintenance into top gear. I have been growing seed in a few planters due to using pre-emergent in February. I did plant a bit of seed in some open spots as a test, and it turns out the pre-emergent is still effective. Today I mowed the lawn at 2.25, and busted out the pro plugger for the first time. I started harvesting plugs from my southern end of the yard where the bermuda is doing excellent, and transplanting some plugs into a few areas that I still have open spots in the front, as well as beginning to transplant some plugs over to the northern side of the house where I still have some open space. I tossed down my June application of 29-0-3 fertilizer and am resting while watering it in now.

I will work on getting some pictures up tomorrow. The backyard is still looking fairly hideous. I probably had at least 60-70% die off back there. The spots that stuck around seem to be doing quite well, and I was nearly considering forgetting about the back until 2 weeks ago I finally noticed bermuda poking back through and is now forming a wild network of runners. While it doesn't look pretty, seeing the runners now snaking their way around is encouraging.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Here is my project update with pictures. I will start with the worst and end with the best. The first 2 pictures are the backyard. Believe it or not, this area has finally started showing signs of life and I am seeing a lot of runners beginning to work their way around. I have 2 areas where the bermuda held strong and is growing well as full turf. Other than that, its either clay or patchy clumps of bermuda starting to pop up.

The front yard is a massive improvement compared to the back. I have some thinner areas that I am working on leveling with topsoil/organic mix, and the bermuda is working its way into it. The 2nd side of the front is still a work in progress. I am seeing a lot of thin spots, but also a good amount of recovery. You cant see it well but the area closest to the fence is most still yellow old grass or clay.

The last picture is from my healthiest stand. This is also the area I am using for my plugging project. The bermuda here is so thick and looks perfect.


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

Not bad the lower you can cut the better bermuda looks and spreads. Keep up the work.
How much Fertilizer did you put down. When tryig to do a grow in you can go HEAVY!!!
As long as you have plenty of water it can handle it.
My grow in year i put down about 2 lbs N per month. Yeah i was mowing alot but it was spreading alot. I do not like to do all the entire application on fertilizer at once. you hit it hard and by the end of the 30 days its starving. I do split applications every 2 weeks . Let me see your progress in another 2 weeks


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Will do @Tellycoleman. I'm going to be honest, I don't know how to figure out how many lbs per K I am using. I have been dropping 1 full bag of 29-0-3 fertilizer at the beginning of every month. I've been using the Ace brand fertilizer which is 42lbs and treats up to 15k square feet, which is just a bit bigger than my lot but pretty close. I have the lawn marked off in 5k sections, and I use 1/3 of the bag, walk the 5k section until its empty, then pour in another 1/3 and run down the second section, and finish up with the last 1/3 of the bag. My last application was June 1st, and the one before that was May 15th. I didn't fertilize at the beginning of May because the weather turned sharply cold and I didn't want to risk pushing growth into the teeth of freezing temps at night.

Let me know if you think I should toss down fertilizer in a different amount or frequency. Thanks!

Today, I spent 4 hours sprigging the backyard. I started pruning runners from the driveway/sidewalk/street, and tossed them into a bucket 1/3 full of water to keep them wet, and then went around barespots in the backyard and planted them with a shovel.

I am also starting to notice a bit of weeds beginning to pop up in the front and back. That tells me my pre-emergent treatment in late February may be wearing off, and I might be able to try seeding some bare areas and see how that goes. I have 3 planters in the front yard I seeded 2 weeks ago, that are just now growing seedlings. I also started 2 new potted planters in the backyard that I seeded Sunday, and they are already growing seedlings. That's how much heat makes a different, the first planters were done in the 70's, and this week we've been hitting upper 80's and low 90's every day.


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## Tellycoleman (May 10, 2017)

Look at Allen Hayne Youtube "Lawn Care Nut" he really talks about how to measure fertilizer. Its to much to go over here.
I typed up all the calculations but then deleated it because in lawn care this is something you need to know how to do.
Long story short that entire bag wont deliver 1 pound of nitrogen to 15,000 sq ft.
I want to tell you but you need to know how to do it..

Best thing with the runners you get from the sidewalk is to get a screwdriver and plant them with that. Poke a hole stick it in deep - step on it- and water it alot
I have actually made 2 holes with the screwdriver for one runner. Put both ends in a hole. (like a rainbow) DOuble the chances of it rooting. HINT just because it will turn brown doesnt mean to give up. Keep watering it


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Thanks @Tellycoleman


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

June 20th update

Finally seeing some real spread and progress on the back. A week of 90's, fertilizer and water has some real results showing up.

This picture was taken 6/7


This was taken this morning. Both pictures are mowed at 1.75


Here are updated pictures of the yard. I have some yellowing in heat spots that I haven't been able to focus on, but 3 days of rain and storms should help. Also, I have some dark yellow stripes where I sprayed what I think was an overly hot batch of weed killer. I think I didn't mix enough water in as I used my old batch for a 2 gallon sprayer, and the sprayer I have this year is only a gallon. That's what happens when you rush and don't double check.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

July 4th update. The lawn is doing as good as I could've hoped for. On June 3rd, it was impossible to walk and avoid stepping on dirt/clay. Now, for most of the yard, you can walk on grass from one end of the yard to the other.

I am still fighting the drainage issues in the back right corner you can see in the last picture. I have been planting a combination of new seed, plugging and sprigging and holding an open contest over which wins and figuring every little bit helps. I am finally getting new growth and spreading there, which I figure as more grass takes over, it will help absorb the water that pools up and I can then continue to sand to level. Right now, sanding just turns the area into muck and the dogs end up tracking through it anyways.


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Looking a lot better. Also not sure if you wanted to do 2 apps of pre-em or not but if you were only wanting to do 1 then wait until Mid March or later next time. Feb is really early to apply pre-em in the KC area.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Thanks @ksturfguy! 
I will be doing another pre-em in fall for sure. I did a fall pre-em last year and a spring one this year which appears to be wearing off as of June. My first pre-em did make a huge difference, and I noticed the only area in my lawn that developed any crabgrass whatsoever was the flowerbed where I didn't use any pre-em. It definitely helped a lot.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

I am posting some before and after pics, from the beginning of June until the end of July to show my progress so far. I am pretty proud of myself and the results. It's also fun seeing how fast bermuda really grows and how quickly it takes over.

June 3rd - starting point


June 20th


July 4th


July 12th


July 25th


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## ksturfguy (Sep 25, 2018)

Looking good, Man that filled in fast. About the only good thing about Bermuda haha jk. What HOC are you maintaining it at?


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Thanks @ksturfguy! Right now it's at 2.75. I will probably maintain it here. My lawn is too hilly and not near level enough to go below 2 inches. My mower starts at 1.75, and I scrape the deck on the ground in spots at that height. 2.25 works pretty well. I bumped it up to 2.75 since it's been hot and I wanted to see how it would look. One thing I noticed right away, mowed at 2.75 looks fine, but as it grows lets say past 3 inches, it starts popping seedheads and looks sloppy. I last mowed Monday at 2.75, and put down fert on Tuesday. By today it had already grown seedheads and was thick enough I was leaving clippings, which was the other reason I opted for a double cut.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Wow, what an improvement


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Thanks @jayhawk 
Since we were getting a ton of rain and cooler temps this week, I spent 2 hours Tuesday working on lowering the HOC back down to 2.25. That was a beast. Even though I just mowed Saturday at 2.75, the lawn was already over 3 inches again so I couldn't take it down in one shot, it was a clippings mess. So I mowed twice at 2.75, and then took it down and mowed twice again at 2.25. Even then it wasn't the cleanest mow. Once it was all done though, I do think I will maintain the HOC at 2.25 unless we get another run of temps in the upper 90s.

I am seeing great progress in my last 2 trouble spots. For the backyard, my combo efforts of sprigging/plugging/seeding in the swamp area is finally beginning to fill in. Quick recap, this has always been a low drainage area and the dogs of course love to play in the mud for some reason. I originally tried growing seed here, but couldn't get it to take and fought washout. I then tried planting plugs but the constant flooding I am sure made for poor growing conditions. So this year I poured in 12 bags of play sand, and mixed in some topsoil, and dumped it into the area to help with leveling and drainage. This helped some, but really the sand/topsoil now would become an area of quicksand that if you stepped in there, you could sink in a good half inch or so and lose a sandal, which happened more than once.

I then tried a fairly radical strategy, letting some weeds grow. Nutsedge in particular likes this area. My thinking was, if I can get SOMETHING to start soaking up the excess water, that would help growing conditions for bermuda as well and then I could push growth and deal with the weeds as the bermuda takes over. This battle plan has really started paying off. An area that was 100% dirt in June is now I would say 80% covered with bermuda. It's still a bit too marshy for my liking, but there are spots you can now walk across and you don't sink in. As the bermuda keeps rooting and growing, I know I can add more sand/soil as needed and the established bermuda will just grow right through it.

The area on the side of the house is growing in as well, and my last seeding effort is showing up. I think that by the end of August, I will have 100% bermuda coverage. Then I will hit round 2 of pre-emergent for fall weeds, and be in maintenance mode for the year.

On a last note, I have to say this year has been especially satisfying. My lawn is absolutely killing it. I easily have one of the best lawns on my block. Last year, I had people coming up asking me what had happened, had someone taking a picture of my dead lawn and laughing, and had neighbors making cracks. This year, it's been compliments. More than that, for me I look out across the neighborhood and see that people who made comments about my lawn last year, mine is shining while theirs is either withered from heat, or overrun by crabgrass/weeds. Last year, I had a neighbor move in across the street. The neighbor before him was super nice and kept his grass well maintained. The new guy who moved in after him is kind of a jerk. My wife and I went over to welcome him to the neighborhood and introduce ourselves and he of course asked about what happened to my lawn and told me what I needed to do to fix it to look just like his. I just thanked him for the "advice" and left it at that. Fast forward to this year, and his lawn is a weed salad bar and the only turf left is severely stressed while mine is a nice uniform green turf.

My wife doesn't know anything about lawns, and I know she was nervous last year with all of the work but she left me to it. This year, she has been so happy with the results. Areas we never were able to grow anything are now fully covered turf. The dogs aren't tracking dirt in the house every single day, especially with these rainy days. My father in law last year was trying to hint to my wife that we REALLY needed to get trugreen or a lawn company to come out and fix my problems from last year, that it was too big of a job for one person. She showed him pictures of my lawn from this year, and pointed out that I did this all on my own. In addition, she came home and told me all about everything he was doing wrong with HIS lawn, and pointed out that the FIL had crabgrass growing in areas and if he needed help with that, that I knew how to kill it.

I've said it before and will continue to say it, the help I get from everyone here is tremendous, and I couldn't have done this without everyone's guidance.


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## kmw (Jun 27, 2020)

Spent the morning reading through this. What a ride! It's looking so good!!


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Thanks @kmw! I just realized today is one year exactly from my seed down update. What a difference a year makes! I also realized, I did some moving around of photos and apparently broke some links. I will work on getting these pictures restored, I still have them, they were just moved into monthly update folders to clean it up a little bit.


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## kmw (Jun 27, 2020)

@Darrell_KC: I was wondering why some photos weren't available. I'll keep an eye out for them!!


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Having grown up in eastern KS, all I knew of was fescue ...'broam' (sp?) for hay, and alfalfa  and I know how hot and dry it gets. If I ever moved back (not going to!), I'd immediately go to a warm season. 
Do you think any downspouts contributed or is it just the slope of the topography re: excess water?


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

jayhawk said:


> Having grown up in eastern KS, all I knew of was fescue ...'broam' (sp?) for hay, and alfalfa  and I know how hot and dry it gets. If I ever moved back (not going to!), I'd immediately go to a warm season.
> Do you think any downspouts contributed or is it just the slope of the topography re: excess water?


Do I think any downspouts contributed to what?

My yard, especially the back is pretty steeply sloped. The swamp area is just a low part that formed. I have a large storm drain just behind the back center of my fence, and I need to gradually build up the swamp area so water stops pooling, and instead grades and flows towards the back center area so water runs off and goes into the storm drain.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

kmw said:


> @Darrell_KC: I was wondering why some photos weren't available. I'll keep an eye out for them!!


Picture links have all been fixed now.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Mowed today at 2.25. Even though I like shorter, I think I may get stuck keeping 2.75 for now because there are places that look like they are getting scalped some due to uneven ground. I am going to give it some time and decide. Feel free to share thoughts and opinions!


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

I was too busy to post last night, but this week including yesterday was my last huge push for the lawn work. I made a mistake on my previous posts, I thought my lowest mower setting was 1.75, its actually 1.25. So when I thought I was cutting at 2.75, it was really 2.25. This is my sweet spot. 1.75 just scalps too much in places thanks to my hilly lawn. 2.25 keeps more of the lawn looking even and keeps all spots the darker green I want.

I skipped my normal weekend mow (hence no updated journal) as I wanted to let my last 1.75 mow grow out a bit, as well as let some weeds grow out so it would be easier to spot and spray. On Tuesday, I brought out the sprayer and walked around the yard to start nuking off the nutsedge and a few spots of spurge that have started to get a little too happy in the lawn.

Wednesday I spent a solid 4 hours on the lawn. I started with a run to Home Depot to pick up 10 bags of play sand to help fill/level my drainage nightmare in the back corner of my yard. Then a stop at Ace to pick up some 32-0-4 fert for my mid month run. I have been putting down just a shade under 2lbs per 1k of nitrogen every 2 weeks to push growth as much as possible during the warm season. I trimmed and then double cut the front and back at 2.25.

After the double cut, it was on to sanding. I dumped all 10 bags in sections and used the rake to try to fill holes and grade as best as I can. This should at least end the muck and mosquito factory and I still have about 6 weeks for growing. My efforts to get established grass in this area has finally paid dividends, and I have enough grass growing that I feel confident it can push up and through some sanding and fill in properly. Finally, I put down the fert on the fresh cut grass and gave the 2 sides I am working on some extra doses.

Today I went back through and hit some weeds that I either missed or felt needed a reminder of who was boss. Most of what I sprayed Tuesday is already showing heavy stress, so this weekend I am hoping for nice pretty pictures of the lawn for my mid August update.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

I trimmed and double cut to 2.25. Here are this week's updated pics.

The couple of yellow areas in the backyard are where the nutsedge I sprayed is dying out. In the 2nd to last picture you can see the new sand from Wednesday. This should hopefully be the end of the drainage swamp and now at least be serviceable. I will need to help grade this section to get water flowing towards the center of the backyard fence where the storm drain is.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Here are pics of my lawn from today's double cut and last fertilizer run for the season. Most of the yellowing is from spraying down 2 weeks ago, some nutsedge and crabgrass that I let get a little too established while working on other issues. It's already greening back up though.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Just got done with the last major lawn work for the season. I double cut at 3.25, first time mowing that high. Since dormancy is coming, I wanted to let the grass grow up a bit more since I think I left it too short at the end of last growing season. After the cut, I dropped some 32-0-12 Scotts fertilizer down at .85 lb per 1k. Next month I will put down the final pre-em for the season.

Here are the pics for this week. I am super happy with my results. My sanding project held up to it's first test of heavy rain, and the bermuda has already grown through and filled in most of the open areas. I am very happy with the coloring as well. The rain we got a week ago really woke things up.

Picture 2 is my favorite. It took a full season, but I believe its safe to say my domination line has returned!


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Lawn work 2021 has kicked off! I put down Dimension pre-emergent on 3/10, the last warm 70+ day before the rain and storms showed up. I was racing around in the near dark since work ran late and I wanted to get it down before the wet weather hit. I was hoping to let nature help me with the watering in process.

Since the weather cooperated yesterday, I went out and did some bigtime cleanup work. I left the lawn last year at about 3.25 inches in order to leave a bit of shag and leaf material to keep up with my dogs trampling it. This seemed to work out pretty well, but while walking the lawn I noticed some greenup starting to take place in spots. I got out the mower and went to work on the spring scalp. It took 4 full hours, but I got it cut down to 1.5 inches and picked up 14 bags of yard waste, as well as taking down an old flower bed that the bermuda has been running into anyways. For anyone doubting bermuda's creeping ability, the flower bed had 2 full length weed mat's on the bottom, then a stone border, and then mulch/dirt on top of it. After pulling up the weed mats, I noticed bermuda runners which had gone under the mats, and was popping up grass all the way next to the porch. Crazy! It's yellow due to receiving no sun, but the runners themselves are thick and strong. I will guess the grass will finish overrunning this with 2 months of summer heat.

Here are some pics of the scalp







Overall comparing last year to this year, my lawn is MILES ahead. In March 2020, I had lost easily 80% of the backyard to die off. This year, I am starting with almost full coverage. I still have a few problem spots. The green grass is spots where the old fescue has held strong. I will get those cleaned up, but not too worried about it at this point. I also have a few spots of poa needing to be fixed up. All in all, I am very happy with where the lawn is starting at, and I know this year I will have one of the best lawns on the block for sure. I was already trending that direction towards fall.

My goals for 2021 are to add some sand to a few low spots I couldn't completely fix last year, and to finish fixing up 2 drainage spots left over from last year. Much tamer goals in 2021 than I had in either 2019 or 2020.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

A rain out for most of May, and a busy work schedule has been keeping me from posting many updates. I am finally updating the journal today with some new before and after images. A few weeks ago, I dropped 20 bags of topsoil on some of the bare areas to see if it might help the bermuda establish and provide some nutrients to the ground. These efforts appeared to be paying off, I saw runners beginning to creep their way in and seem to be anchoring well. This week, I threw down 40 bags of topsoil on some of the bare areas. One of these is the low marsh area, one is by the patio where the dogs have heavy traffic, and one area on the side of the house that gets shaded a decent amount from the garage.

Since the start of the year, I have been maintaining what I call 1.5 inch HOC. My mower jumps from 1.25 to 1.75. 1.25 scalps in too many of the uneven spots, and 1.75 looks ok but I want the bermuda as low as possible to let the sun warm the ground, and it looks nicer. In addition to the 60 bags of topsoil project, I did throw down 10 bags of play sand on the established front yard to help fill uneven spots by the mailbox, a water trench that runs up the middle of the front, and another lower spot on the side. I did this a little over 2 weeks ago, and the bermuda has almost completely recovered in all areas.

Here are some pics of the after mow, and my topsoil project. I will keep updating these as I can over the summer.

Pre sanding









1 Week after sanding









Today









Here are the full pics from this week.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Had a crazy busy day with the lawn. The lawn got a bit longer with all the rain a couple weeks ago and I moved the HOC to 2.25. I decided this weekend I would knock it back down to 1.75. I tried moving my mower to 1.75, but it was bogging down, so I resigned myself to one cut at 2.25, then lower and move to 1.75 on a second pass. The first cut was still leaving clippings everywhere, and bagging isnt an option as I already have 5 bags of yard waste for trash day. While in the middle of the 2nd pass and mowing up next to the house, the blade cable somehow snagged and caught on the gas meter bar and snapped the cable. I checked online, and it will take days to get a replacement. I can't leave my yard a mess, so I decided to say screw it, and bought a 21" Super Recycler. I wanted something that can mulch, and is small enough to maneuver in some of the hard to reach areas, like between fences which I've been just using my trimmer to somewhat cut.

After I got the mower home from HD, I set it up and spent the next couple hours finishing up the front yard. For grins, on the back, I just left the mower at 1.75 to see how it would handle it. It worked great. While it still left clipping due to sheer length, it did mow down the grass while walking at a normal pace, and I did a 2nd pass which all but finished off the clippings I had left behind.

I will work on getting the TimeMaster serviced, I already needed help getting the blades changed so now I can let the shop have it and have something to use in the meantime. While I do love the wide cut, I am getting a bit annoyed at the maintenance. One thing I've forgotten, is just how hard and heavy that mower is to move around. While I save time in straightaway cuts, I think I lose some of that time by fighting the mower in tighter corners, having to trim more because I can't get close to certain areas, and for sure because of the bag mouth not fitting well in any yard waste bag. I will admit, I have had a thought about selling the TM once it's been serviced, and sticking with the Super Recycler, but I will have a few weeks to decide there.

I am seeing great results so far from my sprigging project in the 2 bare areas I worked on 2 weeks ago. Almost all of the sprigs have greened up again and are growing. I am also seeing long runners galore in other spots in the yard. @andymac7 made a post about possibly skipping pre-em next spring to just focus on growth. I have wondered some if pre-em, while extremely important, might be slowing down spring growth. I noted the runners galore, and I have also noticed that some very small weeds have begun popping up in open areas. It's clear my pre-em has worn off, and I am wondering if that's why I am also seeing a surge in runner growth in addition to the few weeds. I will see how the rest of summer goes, but this summer hasn't been nearly as hot for Kansas and has been a lot rainier. I will work on getting more pics today for some updates.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Here is a long overdue update. 2 weeks ago, I did put down some 13-13-13 fertilizer, as well as some Ironite. Now that September is here and growth will slow down, I wanted to start getting some P and K going instead of just pushing N. I also raised the HOC to 2.25 to start getting some extra top growth in and prep for winter.

Here are some pics.









































































I have to say, I think the lawn hasn't looked better. I've gotten more compliments from neighbors. I still have a couple eyesore spots, 1 along the garage which I believe is just a shade issue and will need another turf type, or another plan. The second is my drainage area which has gotten better. This will be another focus for next year, but a lot of bermuda has begun filling in this spot. I think next year this fill finally be finished.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Copying the post I made from the KS thread so I can update my journal:

Yesterday I finally took the time to take some pictures of the lawn. This year I've been busier with other projects so I haven't kept up with a lawn journal, I basically get in, do what I need to do and get on to the next task. I am still putting in the time to try to keep things in good order. I also experimented with a SPF30 KBG seed project and a new way of sprigging my chronic eyesore spot.

Front yard 


Side yard


Side yard where shade stopped bermuda from growing. I planted SPF 30 KBG here. If you look you can see the brighter green grass growing up along side the house. That's the KBG filling in. All of this was bare dirt a month ago, I am quite happy with that progress. Still some thin spots but it's too hot to continue seeding there now. 


Back yard left side


Back yard right side. In the back right corner where the swing and chair is, this is my sprigging experiment. For years, this area becomes a drainage pit and I cannot get anything to grow there. My experiment this year was to collect a butt ton of sprigs, and instead of digging and planting them, I just laid them on the ground and spread them out, then covered them with dirt/potting soil, and watering. You can see a lot of bright green grass on the left side of the pit, this is nutsedge that I am allowing to grow to help soak up water. The right side, you can see is bermuda FINALLY taking off and now growing and beginning to spread. Now that I am finally getting some roots and coverage in this area, it will take off quickly and the grass roots will stop it from becoming a marsh.



Diagonal pic of full backyard


Longways pic of full backyard


If you look close in the first pic, I do have some bags of topspoil/planting soil on the driveway. After I took a break for these mowing pic, I did proceed with spreading more top soil with peat moss in the thinner areas up by the porch, and down in the pit area so now all of that has nice black dirt for the bermuda to grow and anchor in.

I will say this year, I feel like I am having massive success with the lawn. I did try something that I know is controversial, but this year I did not spread any pre-emergent. I wanted to see if it was possible if pre-emergent was stopping the bermuda from spreading, especially into some of the hard to reach places. So far, I've had to deal with very little weed pressure, and anything that has come up is an easy handle for post emergent. Every year I've dealt with good summer and fall growth, then winter die back, and I am going back to fill in bare spots but it felt like it was taking forever for growth to start spreading. Once it finally did, it was basically July and August only.

That being said, the grass is spreading at a much higher level than I've seen in the past. I know part of that is health, and its getting more and more mature, but I do think the pre-emergent does affect the runners rooting in. Areas that were chronic barespots due to the drainage issue, or the dogs tracking over it, are now disappearing. I really feel like by the end of August, I am going to have complete coverage in my backyard. With 4 dogs running on it, that's more than a minor miracle. Areas that I had just assumed will always be dirt spots, are nearly gone and the grass is finally pushing in and runners are taking over.

Hope you guys enjoy the pics. Let me know if there is something you want to see a close up of.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Darrell, did enjoy the write up. Crushing your neighbors it appears....

If weeds get out of control...ronstar for pre-em, avoiding the root pruning moa.

Have ever considered running your downspout out under ground? It's a ball breaker but helps keep from growing moss


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