# WizardStephen's Lawn Journal



## wizardstephen (Sep 21, 2018)

Hi all - first post. I decided to Reno my backyard this fall and start over. I put down seed (Jonathan Green Black Beauty Ultra) on 9/12 and got sprinklers setup on 9/15 and began watering. Today we are 10 days in after watering, and everything is going good. I would say seedlings that are around 2-2.5"" tall. Pretty good coverage, with a few bare spots. I do have some questions about mowing though?
-At what seedling height should i start mowing?
-At what height should i set the mower? How frequently should i mow?
-When should I throw down more seed to fill in bare spots 
-Should i water (the entire lawn) deep once a day or short and frequently?

I have read through @gregonfire post and tried to mock my reno based on his. I will also link some images below to show progress and current situation. Please feel free to comment/critique. I would love for this to be a successful reno experience. Thanks!

Dethatching and pulling up dead grass


After aerating (double pass). I don't have any images but after this image i spread starter fert, seed, and covered with peat moss.








Current state of things.


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## STL (Jul 14, 2018)

I nice job! I like to mow once it gets to about 2.5 or 3 inches, cut it to about 2 inches, and repeat that going forward for subsequent cuts. That looks like you could get away with watering once maybe twice a day. Just keep it from getting dry and adjust as needed. Generally, for TTTF you can reseed after the two or three week mark and after a few days go by and you don't see any new germination. Since it's getting late in the game, if you're going to do it, I'd do it soon. If the last pic is the worst of your thin spots, you don't need much reseeding imo. Each of those TTTF seedlings will tiller and thicken up quite a bit as it matures in my experience.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Welcome to TLF!
This looks great for 10 days! I agree with STL's suggestions. Very nice work.


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Looks great!! Nice work so far, you're going to love the way it looks in another month.


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## wizardstephen (Sep 21, 2018)

Thanks for the replies! Growth has really started to slow in the last week. I was trying to wait for the grass to reach an average of 3-3.5" before first mow/and then a feeding of .25lbs./m of urea, but i think i may start that this week. Grass is about 2.5-3" on average right now.


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## wizardstephen (Sep 21, 2018)

Just an update:

*After First Mow (10/2/18)* - I reseeded some areas and put down peat moss.

























*After Second Mow (10/10/18) *- Lot of rain so had to delay the second mow. Hope to mow again in a couple days going down half an inch, and then going go put down .25lbs/M of urea


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## jessehurlburt (Oct 18, 2017)

Looking good! :thumbup:


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## wizardstephen (Sep 21, 2018)

I need to do better at logging what I've done, but here's the back lawn as of 6/3/2019. I have plenty of work to do still, but it's coming along. Love the way it looks at night under the lights.


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## wizardstephen (Sep 21, 2018)

Just an update:

Leading up to 9/14/19
- Scalped Lawn to about 1.5" 
- Bagged clippings 
- Weed pulling

Saturday 9/14/19
- Slit seeded 25lbs. of Jonathan Green Black Beauty Ultra (TTTF & KBG mix)
- Slit seeded 5lbs. of Jonathan Green Dense Shade Mix (this was dropped along right fence and back fence. They are shady areas i struggle to have any grass growth in)
- 1 bag Scotts Starter with mesotrione
- 1 bag milorgainite
- Covered bare areas with peat moss
- Started watering 3x day for 45 minutes each until mother nature watered for me (been very lucky the last week and a half)

Below are pictures of the scalping:









Here it is 19 days later when i gave it it's first mowjob since the overseed:









Here are some test pots i planted for fun. they are the JGBBU.Both had scotts starter and milorganite added.


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## Mrotatori (Aug 13, 2018)

great job, everything is filling in well


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## wizardstephen (Sep 21, 2018)

Mrotatori said:


> great job, everything is filling in well


Thanks @Mrotatori! I'm hoping with a bit more nitrogen yet this fall it will fill in a bit more before the frost.


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