# Terrible backyard - Late summer renovation preparation



## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

I'm currently babying my front yard after a full kill and reseed this spring. https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8945

Even though it's been a bit of a battle I really wanted to do it this spring because my backyard is in desperate need of a renovation, I'm very new to lawn care and didn't think I'd be able to redo both at the same time in the fall (also I didn't want to be "that neighbour" who has the terrible front yard that people here complain about haha)

It's honestly a very embarrassing backyard, might even be the worst ever posted on this site?










Nasty, but I'm looking forward to redoing it this late summer/fall. I think it has potential as it's a fairly flat area with full sun, has in ground irrigation, I'm armed with a few things I've learned from my spring project and of course all of the great advice I've received from forum members.

I'm also going into this project with more preparation time, this means I can do some research and order products ahead of time. There's a few things I'd like to do differently than my front yard. I'd like to step outside of the big box store seed and get something a little higher quality. I'm going to order some Tenacity from across the border. And I should have the results from my soil sample in the next week.

Over the next month or two, I'd like to order all of the products I'll need, plug away on the weekends with cleaning things up, bringing in soil/leveling and killing weeds. I'd really like to find a great seed for my climate (7a), dry, hot and sunny summers with moderate winters. I'm leaning towards ordering from Brett Young https://www.brettyoung.ca/professional-turf-and-reclamation/seed/turf-seed or https://www.seedworldusa.com/ as they've been recommended by fellow Canadians here.

Important qualities for a seed for me are drought tolerance and durability, as I have two kids and a German Shepherd.
I'm thinking about maybe the KBG Bedazzled: https://www.brettyoung.ca/professional-turf-and-reclamation/seed/turf-seed/kentucky-bluegrass/bedazzled

I've never bought seed outside of Canadian Tire before lol, so of course I'm always welcome to your suggestions or input on this project.


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## jessehurlburt (Oct 18, 2017)

That photo will make for an awesome "Before" picture when that becomes a lush green carpet. You can do it!

I think your plan is good. Follow recommendations on the soil test results to establish a new lawn. Since there isn't much there, I would roundup the whole yard, then run your sprinklers like you were growing grass and encourage and other weeds to sprout. Then spray roundup again at whatever is left over. It's really all about good preparation. You want a nice seedbed to plant into without weeds. Buy a sod quality, weed free grass whatever you decide. It's hard to establish a lawn with a dog running around it, so you will want to keep the dog out of the area this fall until it establishes. For this reason I would suggest a KBG/TTTF mix. I like to very lightly cover seed with peat moss to help with seed to soil contact, water retention and keep the seeds hidden from birds. It also changes color as it dries out letting you know when to water. Looking forward to seeing your transformation, it will be awesome!

Jesse


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

I'd consider something else than bedazzled KBG. IMO there are better choices to use. Also don't know if I'd jump right into a monostand. I agree with jessehurlburt that a TTTF/KBG mix might be a good choice for your area. I believe brett young has a couple TTTF you can choose but they don't have a large selection. If your able to order from the states and pick up that might be your best decision.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Also you might need to look into liquid aeration and core aeration. Your soil looks incredibly compact.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Thanks Jesse, its pretty ugly, on the bright side it can only get better haha. Will definitely take your advice and dial in my irrigation far ahead of time and get all those weeds to grow. And good advice with the dog, we are working on an area for him, luckily this is only about 1/3 of our backyard area, the rest I am xeriscaping, so the dog will have plenty of space to run and not damage the grass.

Thanks for the input Snowbob, I contacted a sales rep from Brett Young, he handles a few of the golf courses in my area. He recommended 3 different products:

T2 Premium turf blend:
40% Elite Kentucky Blue Varieties
20% Babe Kentucky Bluegrass
30% Aberdeen Creeping Red Fescue
10% Dominator Perennial Ryegrass

T9 Drought Tolerant Blend:
35% Aberdeen Creeping Red Fescue
25% Heathland Chewings Fescue
20% Sheep Fescue
20% Hard Fescue

T6 All Purpose Blend:
40% Kentucky Blue Grass
40% Creeping Red Fescue
20% Diploid Annual Ryegrass

Some of the characteristics of each blend can be found here: https://www.brettyoung.ca/professional-turf-and-reclamation/seed/turf-seed/stock-blends

Price difference between the different blends is negligible for the small area I'm dealing with. I'd probably lean towards the T2 blend as I'd like to overseed my KBG front yard with it as well this fall. But honestly I don't know enough about these blends to make an educated decision. I am open to ordering from the States, but I'd prefer to stick with a Canadian supplier when possible.

And yes my soil is pretty compacted, not sure what options I'd have in Canada for liquid aeration, will definitely look into it.


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Definitely don't get the all purpose blend. Imo there is no reason for annual rye... the premium blend looks to be the best choice unless you won't be able to water..


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Ok, thanks for the input. I think I'll order the premium blend.


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## Baretta (Apr 8, 2019)

I bought an electric Sun Joe tiller for part of my Reno last fall. Tilled it down to about 6 to 8"... I was really impressed with it. I did 1500 sqft in 1.5 hours. Might be easier to deal with raking out the old grass/weeds and getting it level.


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## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

@crazymas0n I think it's great you get to start with a blank slate. I don't know if you want that much creeping red fescue in your lawn if it's full sun. I think TTTF with some KBG would perform better.


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

How did your backyard get that bad in the first place? Especially with having irrigation? Not trying to be a jackass, just genuinely curious because it looks like weeds are even having a tough time in that soil.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

jrubb42 said:


> How did your backyard get that bad in the first place? Especially with having irrigation? Not trying to be a jackass, just genuinely curious because it looks like weeds are even having a tough time in that soil.


That's a fair question, this is our second year in this place, we moved here from a cool climate to a semi arid desert climate. The previous owners were quite old and the lawn was already in pretty rough shape. I will take responsibility for not fertilizing it or taking care of weeds last summer.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Been working on the backyard last couple of days, got things cleaned up a bit. Picked up some new irrigation heads and getting my sprinklers dialed in. Watering every morning for 20 minutes to get my weeds to grow. Picked up a 10L bottle of Roundup Transorb and a fancy new rake.


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

That roundup transorb is awesome... I love how one if the methods of deployment it provides instruction for is out of an airplane! I call it turquoise death


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

@Stuofsci02 It's a pretty high concentration compared to the big box store stuff. Should last me a looong time.

Spread some nitrogen and gypsum around the yard tonight and watered it in. Pretty happy with the irrigation setup (fired the zone up for the first time today). I want to replace a couple of nozzles as there are still a few dry areas. Still looks like shite, but getting better. Need to flatten some areas out and still lots of small rocks to clean up.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

So after a Roundup, gypsum, fertilizer treatment on the weekend and lots of watering I've got clover popping up everywhere. Planning to continue watering and do another Round Up round this weekend.


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## weed_wizard (Apr 18, 2019)

Good work!


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Sprayed another application of Roundup yesterday, did a bunch of leveling and rock removal today. Planning to seed in two weeks.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

What are your plans with the tree on the right?


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

I think I'm just going to spread black mulch around that tree. It looks pretty healthy, don't want to kill it, not really sure to what else to do with it.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It has a lot of leaves. The leaves will provide a shadow and nothing will grow. Trim it and make a mulch trench.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

I will do that g-man, thanks!

Got my seed delivery today...getting excited lol


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## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

@crazymas0n when you putting your seed down? I'm putting mine down tomorrow.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

@cfinden I was planning on seeding Sept.1'st, hopefully that's a reasonable date. Still some warm weather in the forecast.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Well done!


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## gregfromohio (Aug 14, 2019)

That should be a nice mix. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

So I'm planning on spreading seed(obviously), starter fert, tenacity and peat moss. Which order do I use the fertilizer seed and tenacity, or does it matter?


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

Does KBG mix well with Creeping fescue? Ive never seen such a blend before. Still seems like a quality KBG mix for Canada. I see all the forum posts about people not being able to source elite varieties and this has many of them.

The order doesnt matter, but Seed -> Roll -> Fert -> Tenacity -> Peat. So you have minimized walking on it after Tenacity, then water it all in.

Personally i found having the ground nice and wet before starting the process helped roll/push the seeds into the dirt a lot, so much that peat was probably just overkill other than to keep birds away.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

@FuzzeWuzze I'm not sure if KBG mixes well with creeping fescue, I'm still very new to lawn care. This blend was recommended to me by the rep that works in my area for Brett Young, they supply all the golf courses around me and apparently it does well here.

It's been a really busy last two weeks with work and a mini vacation mixed in. I've been working on it for a bit every evening after work. It's almost there, so far I have removed 1.5 pickup trucks of rocks and other crap. Been doing some leveling as well. Still hoping to seed either this Sunday or Monday, still some more leveling to do over the next couple days.


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Looks good... most northern mixes are similar to your seed although yours are nicer cultivars of bluegrass and higher percent...creeping fescue is often part of the mix..


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Spent yesterday leveling and removing rocks, wasn't really happy with it so didn't get seed down until today. Roughed up the dirt this morning, seeded, raked it in a bit, went over it with a roller, starter fert down, sprayed tenacity and covered with peat moss.

Everything went fairly smooth except I struggled a bit with the correct mix for the tenacity, I had to pick up the pace quite a bit with my spraying near the end as I was running out. I mixed about 8mL to about 6L of water and some blue dye. Ended up having to go back to the store to get more peat moss, used 6 3.8 cu.ft bags for my 1700 sq ft.

Post rolling:










Now we drink IPA and pray


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## Baretta (Apr 8, 2019)

Quite the transformation...looks awesome. The logo on the glass however.:no: Good luck!


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## gregfromohio (Aug 14, 2019)

Wow! You've already succeeded in making it 100% better and haven't even got to the good part (seeding) yet! You will be finding rocks for a long time unfortunately. They seem to surface out of nowhere every time it rains.


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## Global Threat (May 16, 2019)

Looking awesome! And that glass adds a nice touch


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## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

Looks awesome, flat enough for a reel. Dunno about the cup tho...


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

We have some germination!










Weeds coming up have turned white, looks like the Tenacity is doing it's job.










Thought you guys would get a kick out of my makeshift fence to keep house pests out (dog and kids :lol: ) They still have access to the side yard and patio. Wife works for a construction company and they were nice enough to let us borrow them.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Picked this up today for $60, it's no Swardman, but it's my first reel mower. Hoping to use it during the infant stages of the lawn when I need to be gentle. Cuts paper nicely all across the bed knife.










And obligatory slightly bigger baby grass and white weeds  Germination looks so much better today compared to yesterday.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Good morning, seed seems to be coming in nicely. Although there are quite a few purple strands, not sure what that's all about?


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Quick little update, grass is coming along nicely. Our German Shepherd got in there for a few minutes and did a little damage, but other than that, I'm happy with the progress so far.


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## CPA Nerd (May 8, 2018)

Looking great! This has the potential to be one of the best before and afters on this site.


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## Avalawn T (Sep 11, 2018)

This is awesome!! Been following from the start, night and day difference. Great work!! Keep it up.


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## Royale_with_cheese (Sep 10, 2019)

Awesome transformation!


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Thanks for the comments guys... Contemplating when I should cut this, it's still fairly patchy and fragile, some of the grass is at 2.5-3". Not sure what height I should start cutting at either to push maximum growth. I would probably let the ground dry out a bit and could be gentle cutting with the manual reel. Any thoughts?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Maintain 1.5in hoc.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

thanks @g-man, would you cut right away and first cut at 1.5"?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I cut mine to 1in with the heavy reel once it was 1.5in long. Your lawn looks leveled enough to handle 1.5in. Purdue University recommends 1.5in hoc for kbg / prg and 2in for TTTF for the first few mowings.


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## arj116 (Sep 7, 2019)

Wow! what a transformation! keep up the good work!


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Agreed on above.. Cut at 1.5", which should be the lowest setting on the Fiskars 17" reel that you have. Once you start cutting it should really take off.. Based on when you seeded this next week should make a big difference.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Good call, @g-man and @Stuofsci02 1.5" sounded pretty short in my mind, but it's a good height and looks pretty good except for all of the patches. You are right that the lowest setting on the Fiskar reel is right around 1.5". Would you guys spoon feed N, or just let it be?


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## dlucas589 (Sep 16, 2019)

@crazymas0n What a transformation! Looking forward to seeing this lawn in full swing next year


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## DonInTheLawn (Sep 10, 2019)

Great Reno! Love the progress, keep it up!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Yes to spoon feed N.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Picked up some new fertilizer, going to start buying fert from here more often, much cheaper than Canadian Tire. Going to start with 0.25lbs N per week. Works out to about 2.8lbs fertilizer. I have no idea what I'm doing so hopefully I don't eff this up haha


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

looking much better!

unreal what a little care and lots of work does.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Thanks MMoore, sorry for being a picture whore, but the sun's out and I had a super satisfying mow today lol


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## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

@crazymas0n Looks great man! I'm doing my first cut today, borrowed the neighbours manual reel. You still cutting with your manual reel? What HOC? Did you find it damaged anything?


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

thanks @cfinden, I'm still using the manual on it's lowest setting (1.5"), it works really well and is easy to turn without doing damage.


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## CPA Nerd (May 8, 2018)

crazymas0n said:


> Thanks MMoore, sorry for being a picture w----, but the sun's out and I had a super satisfying mow today lol


Give us another picture update!


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Not a whole lot going on back there, it's been really cold lately, thinking growth might be slowing down.


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## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

@cfinden Looks good, yeah I'm not sure how much more growth we're gonna get with this weather, hopefully you have a good sun angle still.

When you bought your seed from Brett Young was there a minimum amount (50lbs)? Do you need to get rid of any? I'm looking to buy 3-5lbs of KBG/KBG mix seed.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Might be one of the last mows of the season. I like the 1.5" cut height, think I'm going to stick with it for a while.


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

cfinden said:


> @cfinden Looks good, yeah I'm not sure how much more growth we're gonna get with this weather, hopefully you have a good sun angle still.
> 
> When you bought your seed from Brett Young was there a minimum amount (50lbs)? Do you need to get rid of any? I'm looking to buy 3-5lbs of KBG/KBG mix seed.


@cfinden They sold me 2 - 10lbs bags. I have about 5 or so pounds left.


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## Teelow (May 23, 2019)

Great lawn. I'm curious. Not sure if you remember, but how did you go about leveling and removing rocks from your lawn initially?


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## crazymas0n (Apr 19, 2019)

Lots of raking and watering. I used three rakes, thatch rake is good for tilling up the ground and bringing up the rocks, metal rake with long tines is good for collecting the rocks into piles and the landscape rake is good for leveling. I'd water heavy and then rake some more the next day. The watering seems to be helpful in exposing rocks as well as collecting in the low spots so you know which areas need more dirt.


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

Looks great! Huge transformation!


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## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

@crazymas0n How's your backyard looking? I had a ton of winter kill, and this spring is pretty terrible. Hope yours is looking good!


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