# JoshKaptur's TTTF Journal - (Maryland)



## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

----------- easy reference Earthway spreader settings --------------

- bioadvanced insect - 10 = two full passes main yard... try 12
- grubex - 13, one pass main yard
- sevin insect killer =14 just shy of full main yard including beds one pass concentric circles
- ironite = 15 one pass
- soil mastery (andersons) = 14 two passes main yard

- grey nozzle low pressure 4 gallons slow walk entire main yard including hillside.

------------ start of journal -----------------

2019 recap:

Bought a new waterfront home on the Bird River in MD in 2018. After a major hardscape project in 2019, nuked the whole lawn with two rounds of glyphosate in late summer / early fall 2019. Brought in 16 loads of dirt to re-grade the back yard, and spread between 2-8 inches of screened topsoil on top. TTTF sod was added and watered in well until the growing season ended. I did not apply any fall fertilizer as I was concerned with hurting the new sod (probably a mistake).

Lawn is roughly 6000 sq ft with mix of full sun and partial shade.

On March 1, 3 separate soil tests for each zone of my yard, each comprised of 3 samples mixed together:
1) side yard... mostly original soil with a very thin layer of topsoil for leveling before sod
2) patio/swing area... 1-3 inches of topsoil over old clay before sod
3) back yard... 4-8 inches of topsoil over fill dirt used for grading.

2020 lawn plan in the works based on soil results.

March 1 pics attached.



(yard to the right is my neighbor who allowed me to cut his weed patch twice last year but otherwise receives no care)



(the greened-up hillside currently has a red clover + annual fescue cover crop and is going to be seeded with wildflowers shortly instead of turf so I have less mowing on the hill)



(dormant TTTF)


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

Welcome to TLF.

Your home next to the water looks like one of those HGTV Dream Homes. :thumbup:

It'll be curious what your soil sample test results will be.


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

Welcome to TLF! That is a beautful home and a beautiful view. I can't wait to follow along this year!


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Thanks both for the welcome.

March 14, 2020 was day 1 of my 2020 lawn/yard care...
- I'm pretty confident I have poa triv... I assume the culprit is the 16 loads of topsoil I had spread over my yard last year, not the sod. I nuked about a dozen single plants with glyphosate today. I have extra sod that I planted in the fall in a spot that will become a mulch/plant area and plan to transplant.
- also applied glyphosate to hillside with red clover and annual fescue cover crop. Didn't treat areas where 200 tulips are just breaking ground... hoping in another week I can spray around them. Area will be planted with 2 pounds of wildflower seeds once we are past frost risk.
- applied 200 pounds of XSoil DIY from Carbon Earth (this is biochar + composted chicken manure)
- wanted to apply prodiamine but FlowZone sprayer was shipped without fan nozzle. Will get it down as soon as I get it next week.
- applied holly tone to hydrangeas, sky pencil hollies, and camellias
- applied plant tone to boxwoods and perennials (ferns, hostas, heuchera, bleeding hearts). Need to get another big bag for 40 arborvitaes / junipers.
- "late winter" pruning of paniculata hydrangeas and boxwoods... removed old foliage from perennials.

Still awaiting soil test results from soil savvy (which is annoying... it is overdue) before I finalize my fertilization schedule. Looking to make a first application soon since I didn't put anything down in the fall after sod was established.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

3/21 update: 
- covered ~100 tulips with solo cups and ~30 evergreen shrubs with pots and applied heavy glyphosate to hillside (to kill off cover crop of red clover + annual fescue which did not die off over the winter). Most tulips have been chewed to the ground by a beaver and deer.
- trimmed grass along foundation that has definitely started growing due to being slightly warmer. Still no growth in main lawn to require a mow.
- sprayed 48 oz N-Ext Humic 12 on lawn/plants (did not do hillside)... approx 6000 sq ft (rate = 8 oz / 1000... higher than I wanted but was my first spray with new battery operated flo-zone and I didn't realize how fast it would put out material but knew to try with something I couldn't overdose).

Note:
- still waiting on soil savvy test results... been 21 days due to COVID 19 (supposed to be 7-10 days but they are in Washington State).
- Very disappointed in the amount of poa triv and poa annua I have in the lawn. No large patches but a couple dozen single plants. I believe this came from the topsoil that was brought in last fall to re-grade my whole yard. I hit all of them with a second hit of glyphosate today at 2x the recommended concentration.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

far back yard near hillside that is 100% new topsoil from grading:



--------------------------------

close backyard near patio that is roughly 50% new topsoil from grading:



---------------------------------

side yard that got only a very small amount of new topsoil from grading:



Interested in anyone's thoughts on takeaways. Anything you see I should fix? How do I target NPK applications when the different sections of the yard are not starting at the same point?


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

3/28 update:

- about 1/3 of the lawn has woken up based on how much sun it's getting. Did first full mow 3/27 but got less than 1 bag of clippings. I am bagging all clippings until weeds are a little more contained.
- applied 6oz/m of Air8 3/27 using hose end sprayer (was also a calibration exercise). Looks like I can do my entire lawn with a full reservoir (48oz) on the 3-4oz setting. Will calibrate again next weekend with RGS since I started lower this time and Air8 (soap suds) may have skewed things.
- finished slow release fert of all shrubs 3/28
- I have missed my ideal Prodiamine window due to backordered sprayer nozzle, slow shipping due to Coronavirus, and then the ground being completely saturated since then. Weather looks better this week and I am going to use Dithiopyr instead as soon as we dry out a bit since it is a pre-emergent but also has some post-emergent effect on crabgrass. 
- Also needs a broadleaf spray ASAP for clover... just waiting on my weather window.
- the poa battle continues in my brand new (fall 2019) sod... annua I am pulling by hand being careful not to drop any seeds. Triv I am removing the sod and replacing with sod from other areas that will be planted this spring. I have done more than 30 of these so far (as you can see we got a lot of rain saturday ). I guess I'm glad it's individual clumps rather than broad areas and hope this strategy pays dividends.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

4/1 pictures:

starting to green up...




2 hits of glyphosate applied to hillside... to be seeded with wildflowers as soon as frost threat is clear...


broadleaf weeds are getting 2DQ this weekend (basically a 3-way with quinclorac as a cool weather kicker)


poa annua strategy is for me to keep pulling it by hand and then fall pre-emergent. 


poa triv strategy is for me to dig it out and replace with sod being stolen from sections of lawn that are going to become planting beds


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

The weeds look like ground ivy. Triclopyr ester might be a better herbicide for it.


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

My ground ivy is also coming back with a vengeance this year. What I fear more is the wild violet...

Like @g-man suggested if its ground ivy triclopyr is better. Spike it with some trimec if you have other stuff. I dont see why you need quinclorac? Do you have mature crabgrass?


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

other than the poa annua/triv, it's just clover and dandelion for the most part. I selected 2DQ based on a youtube video by "the grass factor" where he talked about temperatures, anime vs. ester formulations, adding a "kicker", etc... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tIIcZCR_wE

Was looking for a broadleaf post-emergent that would be most effective in cooler night temperatures we are still having.

Will look at triclopyr... thanks.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

4/4:
- 24oz RGS

4/5:
- 24oz microgreen 002
- 8 pounds 25-25-4 Scotts Starter Fertilizer (had on-hand and decided not to go out to store given COVID stay at home order, plus all my soil tests had low P). Application would have provided .33 lb/m of N. Based on how I spread it it was closer to .25 in already greened up/growing areas and .5 lb/m in still dormant areas. The bulk of my back yard is not really growing yet, and that is the area that was re-graded with what seems to be pretty sterile topsoil.

We had our driveway re-done (and enlarged) this week and I have not re-calculated my square footage. I estimate I am down to about 5500 to 6000 now (calculation above was using 5500)

Have confirmed last two sprays it takes 8 gallons (2 fills) of Flowzole on high pressure with Grey Tzone nozzle to do my entire lawn. Really wanted this dialed in before starting herbicide sprays. This week I will be doing broadleaf (2DQ... was too windy or would have done it today) and preemergent (dithiopyr, right before our next scheduled rain).


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

4/7 - Dithiopyr 40wsb @ just shy of max rate (between program 2 and 3) with surfactant... rain expected overnight.

Note - max rate ("program 3") is 4 bags on 10,900 sq ft. I put 2 bags on 6,500.

4/22 Edit - I screwed up reading the label and applied WAY more of this than I should. Should have been roughly 60% of a bag and I did 2 bags.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Update 5/15 after expanding planting beds... closer to 6000-6250 ft2

finally got property map done...


6500 square feet
Counter-clockwise areas:
- 392
- 180
- 770 this area had planting bed expanded in May 2020
- 440
- 1170
- 2175
- 100
- 865 this area had planting bed expanded in May 2020
- 440 this area had planting bed expanded in May 2020

4 gallons flowzone sprayer @ high pressure, grey tzone tip, 4 gallons goes from mailbox to west patio pillar; or from west patio pillar to east boundary.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Now mowing 2x a week to abide by 1/3 rule.

Poa battle continues... I'm pulling Annua by hand and continuing the sod swap as each new Triv appears.

Found this neat "climate appraisal tool" today on paceturf to help finalize a fert schedule based on my weather...


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@JoshKaptur fyi, the logfile I posted in the cool season guide calculates the growth potential based on the current weather. It is an even better prediction.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Thanks. I'll look into it.

Neighbor domination pic from today:


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## wino_tim (Jan 3, 2020)

g-man said:


> @JoshKaptur fyi, the logfile I posted in the cool season guide calculates the growth potential based on the current weather. It is an even better prediction.


@g-man, forgive me if I am being an idiot here, but where is this logfile? I don't see it.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

g-man said:


> Start a log. Write down what you applied to the lawn and when. It helps understand mistakes and keep track of nitrogen levels. I use an online excel file that I could access from the phone. Here is an example of it:  Log + Tenacity + Prodiamine Calculator


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## wino_tim (Jan 3, 2020)

Thank you.

@JoshKaptur , sorry for jumping into your journal.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

JoshKaptur said:


> Thanks. I'll look into it.
> 
> Neighbor domination pic from today:


Wow! I think that's the straightest, most defined, domination line that I've ever seen! I don't think your neighbor would even try to do anything with his lawn. Definitely a candidate for LOTM!

Just curious, did you use mason line, laser level, etc. to set it the first time? It's impossible to lose that line now. Lol.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Applied 14.5 lb of grub control today (Bio-advanced complete insect control @ 2.25 lb/m) right in front of a thunderstorm. Targeting ants, ticks, and preventive grubs. Earthway spreader = 10... allowed me to go over the entire lawn twice.



wino_tim said:


> Thank you.
> 
> @JoshKaptur , sorry for jumping into your journal.


No problem at all. We're here to learn from each other's posts.



Chris LI said:


> JoshKaptur said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks. I'll look into it.
> ...


The domination line was originally established with sod last year after a property survey and re-grading of my back yard... my neighbor does absolutely nothing to his "lawn" (it is 100% weeds). No mowing, no fertilization, no weed control. I scalp it for him every 3rd or 4th mow when I have time just to keep the height down. So it's really a lawn vs. no lawn line.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

4/25:

N-Ext Microgreen and Humic 12 - 20 oz each (roughly 3oz/m).


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

4/29 - FINALLY got the application window for broadleaf I've been looking for - no wind, no chance of rain, slug of warm days ahead (we've had an unseasonably cool April).

Applied tank mixed 2DQ+Triclopyr 4:
- 2,4-D
- Dicamba
- Quinclorac
- Triclopyr

6 oz 2DQ (just shy of 1oz/m)
5oz Triclopyr (just north of 0.75oz/m)
16 tsp of surfactant
8 gallons of water

Applied in 2 separate applications each covering half of yard (3oz 2DQ, 2.5 oz Triclopyr, 8 tsp surfactant, 4 gallons of water).


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

5/1 - 25 lbs Carbon X 24-0-4. Just shy of 1 lb/m of N (27 lbs would have been 1 lb). Hit it hard because grass on the graded areas of my yard (shit topsoil brought in) has greened you but is thin and not growing. Most of my mowing once per week is not cutting anything I. Those areas, whereas side yard Is thick and green (where no more than 1" of dirt was brought in)


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

5/2-5/4...

- sprayed about 10 Poa Triv spots with glyphosate :-(
- planted 1 japanese maple, 3 hydrangeas, 4 camellias, 4 encore azaleas, 2 carex/sedge.
- moved 3 hydrangea paniculata (2 bobo, 1 quick fire) to sunnier spots.
- reseeded hillside with annual/perennial wildflowers after first seeding got mostly washed away
- removed enough sod for planting the above... total sq ft probably closer to 6K now


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

5/13... grass on the sides is lush and needs mowing 2x wk. Continue to be disappointed in thickness and growth in the main back yard sections that were graded with several inches or even feet of fill dirt, then topped with "screened topsoil" - I'm convinced that section of soil is basically sterile. I have trouble telling when I've mowed because I'm barely cutting anything off of it. It's deep green but thin, slow growing, and prone to weeds. This is despite the Carbon X application 2 weeks ago which was no light.

Some pictures of where things stand...

Unfortunately I've got about a dozen of these glyphosate spots where I continue to fight poa triv outbreaks:





--------------------------------

Here's another that I'll spray this weekend...


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Hillside wildflower seeding is coming in nice... I've been watering by hand religiously...





----------------------------------

The last of the sod I've removed and saved (from creating new landscaping beds)... continues to be used after I've sprayed each poa triv spot 2x (then I cut out the dead spot and replace it with these... sod with about 3" of dirt in tact).


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## Butter (Nov 14, 2017)

I like your approach to the Poa triv


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Butter said:


> I like your approach to the Poa triv


That IS a nice technique, using your own sod farm!


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Chris LI said:


> Butter said:
> 
> 
> > I like your approach to the Poa triv
> ...


Thanks. Better than a sod farm because I'm digging out about 3" of dirt instead of 1"... makes the grass survive transplant much better with less attention to watering.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

5/22... 3oz/m each of RGS & Air8 before rain. It rained more than anticipated and I don't know if it got watered in well or washed away. Had pooled water on several sections of lawn.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

Last year I bought 2.5 GL of RGS & 2.5 GL of Air-8 the "Compaction Cure". I've sprayed them together five times now, twice last fall and three times this spring. Maybe my soil is really bad, but I haven't seen a noticeable difference yet using the Air-8. At least the Air-8 has humic and potassium goodness. I'm debating if I should buy some more or just broadcast more organic fertilizer and compost.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Powhatan said:


> Last year I bought 2.5 GL of RGS & 2.5 GL of Air-8 the "Compaction Cure". I've sprayed them together five times now, twice last fall and three times this spring. Maybe my soil is really bad, but I haven't seen a noticeable difference yet using the Air-8. At least the Air-8 has humic and potassium goodness. I'm debating if I should buy some more or just broadcast more organic fertilizer and compost.


Yeah my current thinking is "it can't hurt" but my soil is rock hard unless soaked as well.

I may just use baby shampoo next year to improve water penetration and spend my money on food and disease control.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

6/2 - 1#/m N via Carbon X 24-0-4. Applied 24# to 6K ft2... still unhappy with growth/thickness in the main back yard area but side areas that get more shade but had less "topsoil" added are lush. I think soil in this area doesn't absorb water well and is in full sun and I may have inadequate water vs. shadier sections of lawn. Looking into hydretrain in areas of poor growth... although I have pooling water immiately next to it when we get more than 1/2" of rain.
6/3 - 2oz/m 3336 + 0.6oz/m armada for 3 modes of action (group 1, 3, 11) fungicide. Applied in two 1/2 applications treating 3000 ft2 each. Reapply 6/24-28.

... Note for next application split into 1/4 doses and apply in 4 applications rather than 1/2 doses and 2 applications (3336 wants 2-4 gallons of water per 1000, and my sprayer is calibrated to 1. 25g/m). I sprayed a 3rd tank of just water over the whole lawn to attempt to soak some of it down but leave some on the leaves as well.

Note for next purchase of fungicide... "cheaper" fungicide purchase may cost me in the long run...
- 3336 dose is high... they want 2-4oz per 1000.
- armada wants a 14 day reapplication
- consider switching to propiconizole + azoxystrobin when current fungicide runs out... only get 2 modes of action for roughly the same price but last much longer and less spray interval.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Caught up on some overdue lawn treatments yesterday (6/28)

- 1 32# bag of milorganite, approx 1/3 #/m of N.
- 15 # bioadvanced insecticide
- 4.5oz/m RFS, 4.5ozoz/m Air8, 9oz/m mircrogreen007, 9oz/m humic acid.
- 12oz 3336 + 4oz armada in 4 applications (16 gallons of water)
- wildflowers got 12 tablespoons (4 gallons foliar @ 3T each gallon) of monopotassium phosphate.

- watered everything in with tractor sprinkler
- got HEAVY/sustained thunderstorm around 8pm which has me worried about products washing away... particularly fungicide which I need.

Notes: earthway spreader setting for milorganite @ 1/3# N per 1000 good at #12; bioadvanced spreader setting 9 was good for a double N-S + E-W application.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Pretty happy with how cool season grass was looking on the 4th of July party... it's been brutally hot here for a few weeks. Honestly, not to get too sentimental about it, but a year ago I decided with a property like this I wanted a yard that would drive people outside. With COVID this year and construction/renovation all last year, this is the first "fruits of my labor" moment where a bunch of people really got to enjoy it, which I enjoyed immensely.

Really appreciative of everything I've learned on this forum. Special shout out to @thegrassfactor whose youtube videos and Sunday evening livestream Q&A's have been invaluable (not to mention the results of XSoil and Carbon X applications).

Happy with my grass...


Pre-fireworks festivities...


Nightime grass...


Prepping the barge... 1014 booms... I lit 1 fuse and had 90 seconds to get back to the dock 


Kids from our circle of friends getting ready for the show to start


Me and my youngest watching the show...






Here's the 1 minute finale... total show was ~13 minutes.
https://www.facebook.com/1265318231/videos/pcb.10222931568138775/10222936237855515/

Feels really good to make a goal, follow through on it, and realize the results. I can tell you that between my lawn chemical shelves and fireworks shelves, and increasingly long corona-beard... I'm definitely giving off some unibomber vibes!!! 

Now if I could just get rid of this poa triv this fall prior to aerate/overseed, I'll be set.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Neighbor domination line is still looking good...


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## rob13psu (May 20, 2018)

The TTTF is looking great. My sister lives in that area (Arnold) and hers is normally fried to a crisp this time of year.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

2 sections of lawn that are in full sun showing some signs of heat stress.. applied hydretain @ 80 oz yellow nozzle.Applied to whole lawn at roughly 9oz/m... problem areas closer to double or even triple rate. First Blanket application was 4 gallons of water and 64oz product. Then did 16oz more product in 2 gallons of water and for spot application of problem areas. Followed with light hand water since yellow nozzle does not put out much volume and then normal watering routine with orbit tractors on fast speed. Also mixed in 18oz RGS (no air8 since hydretain is already a major surfactant).


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Well of course I was happy with my lawn - jinxed it! Now facing a couple problems:

1) heat stress in sunny areas with poor soil, despite #2
2) 2 weeks straight of heavy evening rain/thunderstorms. Despite my preventive fungicide regimen with 3 modes of action, I've got brownpatch and/or dollar spot in the shadier areas with more fertile soil.

7/30 application:
- finished biostimulant pack except microgreen (18oz RGS, 24oz Air8, 12oz Humic 12, 18oz Microgreen 002)
- fungicide - armada @ max [curative] rate 9 oz (1.5 oz/m) and 3336 @ 4 oz total (all I had left - not even the minimum dose).
- 1 bag milorganite to push grow out of fungus damaged lawn (1/3#/m of N - spreader setting 10... try 12 next time)
- small dose of hydretain on dried out areas

Watered the above in with full run of orbit traveling tractor sprinklers. Hope it got in the soild because we had an overnight thunderstorm dump over 3 inches of rain


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

If you think the problem is absorption of water, look into a formal wetting agent. I think you will get more bang for your buck from a surfactant than spraying RGS and other products. If its humic and kelp you are looking for you can always look at Kelp4less.

I would get a plugger, like a proplugger and get a few cores around the property after a good rainfall. See how hydrated the soil is. It might be of some help.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Thanks. I use Air8 and I did a pretty concentrated application of hydretrain. Would you recommend something else?


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Pic of lawn after a morning mow and afternoon rain - I'd say about 50% improvement on fungus issues.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

@JoshKaptur any updates?


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

First update of 2021...

3/24 - tried to put down Prodiamine (first of split app) with forecasted 1/4 to 1/2 inch of rain to water it in. Ended up raining almost 2 inches and I had standing water in most of my lawn. It did rain gently for the first hour so I'm hoping most of it got soaked in before the flooding, but I'm probably going to put down my second app early (essentially making a full application within a few days of each other).


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Couldn't remember sprayer calibration so did a little experimenting with just water...
- yellow tip can do 4 gallons @ 6000 sq ft (whole yard) at a slightly faster than normal (in big boots) walk.
- red tip does 4 gallons @ 3000 sq ft (half yard) at a slightly faster than normal (in big boots) walk.

- 6/14/21 edit... grey tip ON LOW PRESSURE does 4 gallons @ 6000 sq ft (whole yard) at a slightly slower than normal (in big boots) walk. I don't know for sure but think the yellow/red notes above must be for high pressure pump setting.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Built steps up my hillside... lost about 200 sq ft of turf in the process. New yard area = 5800.

Have a grid of green ups in lawn where tree service injected root fertilization in the winter. Decided to add full bag of milo for the lawn to get it going. 32 pounds of 6-4-0 = roughly 1/3# N per 1000 sq ft. Used 10 on the spreader... try 13 next time.

Biggest frustration is the return of the poa triv. I have about 2 dozen new patches in the lawn. Despite all my glyphosate + sod efforts last year. I'm convinced at this point that the topsoil used to grade my yard had poa triv in it. I'm going to get after it again this year with anuew PGR + glyphosate/dig/sod... and going to skip the manual aeration this fall and see if that helps.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

4/10 - applied tank mix of 2DQ (3 way with quinclorac), triclopyr, and poa constrictor (targeting poa annua). The latter is recommended in the fall which I suspect means it's only effective during the early stages of development of poa annua, but I tried it as a kicker anyway.

2DQ 4 oz (3/4 oz/M... recommended rate is 3/4 to 1.1 oz)
Triclopyr 3 oz (1/2 oz/M recommended rate was 3/8 to 3/4 oz)
Ethofumosate 4 oz (3/4 oz/M... recommended rate was 3/4 to 1.5 oz)

Current state of affairs...

unhappy with the large patch in the middle which was a low spot last year that pooled water. I brought in two pickups of topsoil in the fall and then seeded with seedsuperstore shade mix (a premium grass seed... 4 varieties rated very high in NTEP studies). You can see it right at the base of the patio entrance too. Really hoping it darkens up. Considering plugging it with existing turf from a planting bed I am creating.

You can also see the grid of early-to-wake-up (taller/darket) grass from the tree root fertilization we did over the winter. Especially on the top/right of the picture... fert was injected every 3 feet.

Can't see it easily in this pic, but I have dozens of poa triv patches to battle again.

Neighbor domination still on point.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

4/18 - a good portion of my lawn is still not growing tall/vigorously (except where tree root fertilization took place). My mower is not touching 90% of the grass, but fertilized spots and area along the house foundation that warmed up earlier is thriving. Going to hit the whole lawn with a small amount of quick release N.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

4/20 
- added .4 pounds/M of N via a 29-0-5 Sta-Green fertilizer from Lowes (urea). Still seeing very irregular growth in unfertilized areas vs. the grid of injections that got tree root fertilization over the winter. Trying to force everything to wake up and grow to 4" so I can start using PGR. Forgot to record earthway spreader setting on new product (my gut was too low... need to open it up)
- added 18# of Scott's grub-ex... just at 3#/M. Recommended rate was 2.87 but I overspread into beds so should be good. 
Forgot to record earthway spreader setting on new product (my gut was too low... need to open it up).

Torn between hitting poa with roundup and seeing if Anuew PGR will knock it back enough to tolerate it, but don't feel good putting down Anuew until I have a lush green growing lawn.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

5/20 
- 2 bags of milorganite including flower beds (roughly 7000 sq ft). Spreader setting 15 on first pass, 11 on second pass, enough left over for 1 full hand spreader on hillside. .54 #/M Nitrogen.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

5/28
- 45# Andersons 5-0-0 soil conditioner (carbon/humic). Spreader setting 15 on first pass, 13 on second pass (2nd pass only in back yard where we brought in topsoil 2 years ago). Also did plant beds by hand spreader. Do 13 next time for 2 passes of whole yard, or try 17 for single pass of whole yard. (0.375#N/m)

- bioadvanced insect killer... last years notes say spreader setting 10 for whole yard 2 passes. Did 15 this year and just took expanding laps starting from permimeter of house outwards... got 2 full laps. Drop to 13 next time and see if I get an extra lap. Using grubex on whole yard... this was meant for greater insect control around the foundation of the house, particularly ants trying to keep them out of the house.

- Sta-green 29-0-5... used spreader setting 11 and one pass to get 13 pounds (0.6#N/m).


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Bought my neighbor's property - the one I've been dominating. Other than mowing it, not going to do much for the lawn for now as we plan to grade in the near future. Here's the day 1 of ownership pics (before and after I hacked back the yard and bushes).


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Overdue fungicide treatment - "homemade headway" - have several days of cooler temps forecasted so hopefully low rate propiconizole won't be too hot. If hot next time may decrease propiconizole rate but increase azoxystrobin rate.

- .75 oz/m Azoxystrobin x3 in sprayer with grey tee jet tip and low pressure pump... total of 0.38 oz/m (low rate) (azoxy wanted 2-4 gallons per thousand).
- 1oz Propiconizole x3 in sprayer with grey tee jet tip and low pressure pump... total of 0.5 oz/m (low rate) (prop label just said use enough water to get even coverage).
- splash of non-ionic surfactant x3 in each tank mix.

Note on spraying... grey tee jet nozzle on low pressure pump setting = 3.5 to 4 gallons in one pass of my entire yard if I walk just a hari slower than normal walking pace and do tight overlaps. I used this setting to split the dose into 1/3 increments... spraying the yard 3x allowed for me to get enough water down per label recommendations (roughly 2 gallons per thousand square feet).

NOTE - still not treating new property... this application was for roughly 6000 square feet main yard.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Gotta stop dominating myself this fall...


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Ive used less than the 2-4g/ksqft with azoxy but running the irrigation after. I think their goal is to get it to the soil. Just FYI.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

6/27 - going for 4th of July Party dark green up...
- 2 bags of milorganite (iron) including all flower beds (roughly 7000 sq ft). Spreader setting 15 with wide passes and hand spreader #3 on front garden, rain garden, and hillside. .54 #/M Nitrogen.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

*[edit, reading this over in 2022 dosing doesn't make sense... do not rely on this in future]*

Did the @g-man approach - 2.5 oz azoxystrobin ~(.8 oz/m) and 3 oz propiconizole (1 oz/m) in a single application and then watered in the whole yard with the hose to get it down to the crown/soil. Grey nozzle, low pressure, 4 gallons was perfect - slow walk with tight overlaps.

I definitely have some fungus here and there but definitely suppressed from last treatment, a whole lot of my yard got trampled by 50 people all day on July 4th followed by 4 really hot days in a row stress. But I think most of the worst spots I am seeing is the poa triv finally dying back after it got proper transition zone hot around here.

I leave for vacation at the end of this week and gonna do a PGR application since I won't have anyone to mow for 10 days. Hoping I can grow out some fungus between now and then.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

leaving on a 10 day vacation tomorrow and no mowing coverage plan... sprayed 1.8oz Anuew PGR (2x 0.9 oz @ 4 gallons of water each). Used non-ionic surfactant and some remnants of hydretain and microgreen I had left over from last year. Anuew says to use .18 to .37 oz/m... my dose is 0.3 oz/m. Applied with grey nozzle on low pressure... one full pass of yard per tank.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

God bless PGR... went 17 days in July, natural rain only and now mowing... and grass did very well. Mowed it today and did not break the 1/3 rule.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

1 bag of milorganite - spreader setting 12 nailed it (enough for 1 hand spreader in all flower beds and hillside). Roughly .27 #/m (across 7K ft2)... maybe a tad higher in turf.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

lost track of this...
8/20 update:
- 1 bag of milo spreader setting 12 grass and flower beds... roughly .25# N.
- 4.5oz ozosy + 2oz propiconoloe @ 4 gallons grey tip, with light watering in by hose afterwards
- 2x 0.9oz anuew @ 4 gallons each gey tip plus surfactant

grass is doing really well except where I graded/seeded last year. I had used seed superstore shade mix but supplemented with some pennington seed and I'm pretty sure the topsoil I used plus the pennington seed brought in some hard to kill grassy weeds. Going to bite the bullet and spray it out and renovate just that section in the fall.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

9/18 - sprayed out the grassy weed section with glyphosate.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Damn you poa triv and grassy weeds from Pennington seed


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

10/2 - partial lawn renovation + overseed:

- mowed down to 2.5" over several mows in week prior

Tank mixed the following in 2 applications for grey nozzle which does my yard in 1 pass (so 8 gallons of water):
- 2x anuew 0.9oz... 1.8oz over 6K ft2 total (sprayed renovation areas too rather than recalculate)
- 2x ammonium sulfate 0.9oz (to lower pH of water per anuew instructions)... 1.8oz over 6K ft2
- 2x poa constrictor (ethofumisate) 2.25oz... 4.5 oz over 6K ft2

Final application in renovation areas (roughly 1200 sq ft in back and side yard)... 2 gallons of water containing:
- max dose glyphosate (plus a little extra)
- tenacity @ rate for 2 gallons of water on syringe

- 24 lb 14-24-4 starter fert - approx 1#P, 1/2#N

- 30 pounds of Newsome Seed 90% TTTF and 10% ***. Same mix as the sod farm my original grass came from.

Anuew to limit time until I have to mow again to allow for germination of new grass.
Plan is to do 3 poa constrictor apps to hopefully reduce poa annua in spring
Covered new seeded areas with 1 gag of peat moss (left over from another project) and with my own deyhdrated grass clippings that I saved all week (basically straw that I know is weed free).
Will water entire lawn 3x per day lightly until germination... watering by hand (ugh).

First H20 on new seed was sunday night.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Day 7 mandatory progress pic



I cannot get this squirrel to stop doing this... cayenne pepper had no impact. He goes to town on this exact spot every day:


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Have had a terrible overseed/renovation experience.

I'm not sure what has happened but here's what I do know:
- really struggled with fungus... will never overseed again without spraying fungicide despite cooling temps
- something I sprayed put a hurting on existing grass... has to be some combination of ethofumisate and/or PGR. I'm thinking fescue rate of poa constrictor may have been too much for the *** in my lawn. I discontinued after one spray even though I was supposed to do 2 more.
- I had very inconsistent germination in my renovation.

Pushing it all hard to grow out fungus damage and fill in renovation thing spots with 1/4# of ammonium sulfate every weekend.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

10/9 - nothing
10/16 - 7# of ammonium sulfate (1/4# perM)
10/23 - 7# ammonium sulfate
- 1 oz propiconizole + 3/4 oz azoxy 
10/31 - 7# ammonium sulfate (decided not to reapply poa constrictor (ethofumisate) due to prior damage)


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

2022 so far:
- skipped PreM on purpose to give renovation area better grow-in... have had some weed pressure of the same stalky grass I had renovated last fall to get rid of 
- Pro-Peat 13-5-8 in April... 50#s roughly 1#N/m

- 6/4 big day (rates added end of day)... all applied in the morning and then watered in deep with orbit tractor sprinklers most of afternoon.
- grub-Ex (Chlorantraniliprole)... both properties, spreader setting 13 just right. Roughly 10K ft2 guestimate.
- Sevin insect (0.029% Zeta-Cypermethrin and 0.115% Bifenthrin) bag meant to treat 5000 ft2 treated most of main property in concentric circles going away from house. Spreader setting 14 just right (i.e., ran out just a hair early).
- ironite 1-0-1 micronutrient - 15# bag meant for 5000 ft2, spreader setting 15 to treat 6000 just right main property only. Large granule... N=0.025#/M.
- andersons soil mastery 5-0-0, 50#... spreader setting 14 = two passes main property only... N= 0.4#/M

- homemade headway right before dark - 4 gallons of water, low pressure, one full pass of main property on grey nozzle. Azoxy 4 oz or 0.5 oz/M (.38-.76 oz/M recommended dose). Propiconizole 6 oz or 1 oz/M. Also big squirt of duo-stick select adjuvant (methylated soybean oil + surfactant).


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

6/30:
applied to very wet (dew) lawn first thing in morning... 4g water 1 pass low pressure grey nozzle... 26 days since last fungicide treatment...
- 40oz chelated iron for July 4 greenup
- 4oz azoxy
- 6oz propiconizole
- big squirt adjuvant


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

8/1/22 applied just before dark
- 4oz of azoxystrobin (.77oz/m max rate x 5.5)
- 10oz of cleary's 3336?(2 oz/m max rate x5.5)
- 3 oz of propiconizole (finish the bottle... well under intended rate)

Thunderstorm overnight unsure whether it was watered in or washed away


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

9/13 update:
- ran out of fungicide for the year and pushed my luck on what should have been a late August application... areas of original sod faired well... areas of last year's renovation took a hit. 
- property next door has had house come down, dead trees removed, and grading due any day. Seeding will be on it's heels hopefully this weekend but likely next. Will also overseed main lawn especially fungus-damaged area.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Before, during, and after this Fall's project:
As a reminder, we bought this house a few years back and completely transformed the backyard:





































Unfortunately, as you can see in the last picture above.... there was nothing we could do about the neighbor:




























I mean, I could mow the "lawn" when I coulnd't take it anymore... but not much else.









Until we had an opportunity to buy the place and knock it down (see next post).


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Bought the place from the owner, commencing nearly a year of eviction proceedings, demo permits slowed by asbestos hassles. Knowing I wanted to do a complete renovation on the lawn this fall, everything was t-minus labor day for demo, grading, tree removal, etc.

Go away eyesore:



















Now let's make this look like one property:




























I spent 3 days going through the new dirt getting every last rock and stick out, uncompacting, and leveling out high/low spots. Then seeded, topped with peat moss, and commenced 2x daily watering by hand:



























also overseeded the existing lawn and patched up some areas that had weed problems this past year:


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

Renovation details:


Glyphosate, growth regulator on existing turf, and prep dirt - Sept 17-19
Seed down - Sept 20
Germination - Sept 26



















Washout - Oct 4




























First mow - Oct 14












My new lawn... now 10K square feet.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

10/22/22:

50 lbs of pro peat 13-5-8. Total N = 6.5 pounds over 10k ft2 — .65/1000.
spreader setting 15 just slightly under for a double pass throwing feet to wheel stripe of previous pass. Try 16-17 next time. I’m guessing closer to 20 if I want to do it in one pass. Took extra lap on thin areas and clover so actual N/1000 may be slightly less.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

10/30/22:

opened spreader to 16/17 hoping to take a single pass of PRO-peat... targeting ~.25% N but ran out of product and ended up using 33 pounds not 25.
35 lbs of pro peat 13-5-8. Total N = .45
total N over last two weeks = roughy 1# of N.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

11/12 - 70 degrees and been warm… cut to 3” and definitely still cutting growth. Double pass to mulch leaves.
Also 30 pounds of pro peat 13-5-8, spreader 15 and a hair. N = 0.39#/1000


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## Ben4Birdies (12 mo ago)

Beautiful results! Looks like all the hard work has paid off 👍


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## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

Quite a lengthy and successful project. Great job.


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## JoshKaptur (Mar 2, 2020)

I suspect last mow this year… very happy with seed results, but original property has a bunch of poa triv again. Gonna do another round of spray/sod in the spring.


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