# Lust4Lawn Fall 2021 Mazama Mono Backyard Reno - NJ



## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

My backyard has always been a bit of a struggle. Old cultivars of unknown origins, shade from mature trees, sinking areas from either tree trunks decaying or buried wood…. I've gone the overseed route many times and the results have always been hit or miss. My wife is sick of it which means it's RENO TIME. Getting the timing right with the wife arguably is more important than the seed down date!

Past journal for this area: https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=22966

The original backyard is about 3800 feet. I'm done with the garden due to tremendous deer and groundhog pressure so we tore out the fence around that area and will be converting this to grass and bringing the area up to ~4500 square feet not counting the compost pile area.

7/18 - Glyphosate at 2.5oz/300 feet per gallon, Ammonium Sulfate at 2.7 ounces(weight)/gallon, 2 tsp NIS and 1oz BASF Turf Mark

8/3 - Started pulling fence posts from the garden. Pulled up a bunch of nice tomato plants and sprayed glyphosate on the remaining vegetation in the garden. Sprayed FAS on areas that had moss.

8/2 - Trim back all of the trees to get more light into the yard while preserving some shade for the kids' playground. I also wanted to remove the apple tree at the left of the yard that was old and tired with many battle wounds. This was the last original fruit tree from when this property was part of an orchard. I hated to take it down but it was time. Ironically she produced the biggest fruit in overwhelming volume in an attempt to dissuade her from the inevitable. The hordes of deer will miss you but hopefully, this removes a major deer attraction from the property and lessens the pressure on other plants.

8/7 - I rented a jackhammer to remove old footings that were ~12-14" square. I recessed them ~6-8 from their original level and will likely have an extra +2" of new topsoil giving me ~8-10" of soil depth in most places.

8/10 - 18 yards of topsoil delivered

8/12 Glyphosate at 8oz/K feet per gallon, Ammonium Sulfate at 2.7 ounces(weight)/gallon, 2 tsp NIS and 1oz BASF Turf Mark

8/13 Harley rake, Spread 18 yards over the area and raked level.

8/29 Glyphosate at 5oz/K feet per gallon, Ammonium Sulfate at 2.7 ounces(weight)/gallon, 3 tsp NIS per gallon

9/3 Glyphosate at 5oz/K feet per gallon, Ammonium Sulfate at 2.7 ounces(weight)/gallon, 3 tsp NIS per gallon

9/4 Seed down! Mazama 2.5 lbs/K, DiseaseEx 2lbs/K, 0.8 lbs of N & P via Starter Fert, Tenacity 4oz/Acre.

9/11 I have some decent germination in some spots.

9/12 I am going to set this as my germination date since I have seedlings everywhere now.

10/16. Spread .25 N via AMS

10/23. Spread .25 N via AMS

10/30 Spread .33 N via AMS

11/20 Sprayed Prodiamine @ 5g/K


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

Before the glyphosate and tree work. Photos taken around 12 Noon








Footing Removal:




18 Yards of Topsoil delivered, Harley Rake and spread:


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

I did not get a soil test of the topsoil as of yet. Should I get one in the mail?

I'm targeting seed down either 8/29 (16 day fallow) if I can get time or I will, unfortunately, have to wait until 9/3-6 (3 weeks fallow) as I just can't get time. I guess that I will see what comes up from the new soil and if it is bad I might just give myself the grace period of a few more days for a more complete kill.

Seed down plan:
2-3 lbs of Mazama seed per K (9-13.5 lbs for 4.5K)
2 lbs of Disease-Ex per K (9lbs for 4.5K)
4 oz/acre rate of Mesotrione (12.3mL for 4.5K)

As for the increased light with the tree work, I am happy. My goal was to keep the playground shaded and to get more light into other areas, especially the former "garden" area. These photos were shot at 1pm.

This specific area was completely shaded by 11am before the trees were trimmed.




This was the same area at 3pm before the trees were trimmed.


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## Liquidstone (Mar 31, 2021)

Nice work on trimming up those trees and keeping shade in the play area. Sad deal about your Apple tree but I'm sure that it will help with alleviating your deer pressure. Looks like you've done a great job thus far. Keep up the good work, I'll be fallowing along.


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## Mark2 (Jun 3, 2021)

Liquidstone said:


> Keep up the good work, I'll be *fallowing * along.


Lol can't decide if on purpose, or an accident..


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

@Liquidstone Thanks! Ultimately it's the kids' yard, not my sod farm so their needs/wants come first, right? I had mixed emotions for the apple tree, primarily based on her history, but the potential for deer ticks has also been reduced significantly. I don't know how long she had left but all of the apples that were still on the tree went to the deer so there was no waste of the fruit. Removing the apple tree also brought in some light right in front of the playset which I really needed. Thanks for "fallowing" along.

@Mark2LOL. Paging Dr. Freud.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

So after a week of being away I came home to the fallowed topsoil with the expected weeds but the unexpected amount of nutsedge.

I was planning on spraying glyphosate in the morning and seeding later in the day. Now I'm wondering if I should add and NIS to the tenacity that I was planning during seed down.

I would love some input on this.


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

I would put down NIS with your glypho app. It may not kill the nutsedge off completely but you can always take care of it later. Nutsedge isn't that big of a worry IMO.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

@jrubb42 Thanks. Yes, I was planning to use NIS with the glyphosate.

Any thoughts on the timing of spraying glyphosate and seeding within a few hours?


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

Sorry I read that wrong. You may as well add the nis to the tenacity also. You have nothing to lose. It won't affect your soil application.

Give the glyphosate like 3 or 4 hours and you should be good to go with seeding.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

Yesterday I blanket sprayed with glyphosate at 5 oz/K with NIS and 2.7 ounces by weight of AMS per gallon of spray to help with my hard water.

I checked the weather again and Hurricane Ida is forecast to drop 4-5" of rain here on Wednesday/Thursday so it looks like this weekend will have to work.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

I finally got my seed down on 9/4! After 2 storms in 2 weeks totalling ~18" of rain combined, it was finally time. My fresh 18yards of topsoil had fallowed for 3 weeks and a bunch of nutsedge and some rogue grass has popped up. I applied two rounds of glyphosate a week ago and the day before seed down.

Reno Area: 4500 square feet
Mazama KBG 2.5 lbs/K
15 lbs of Starter Fert 24-25-4 (.8 lbs of N & P)
DiseaseEx 2 lbs/K
Tenacity 4 oz/acre
I'm skipping peat moss on this reno

Here is my seed tag from CD Ford (Blue Tag Mazama): https://www.cdford.com/lawn-and-garden-1/mazama-kentucky-bluegrass-10


After 3 weeks of fallowing, running irrigation and 2 hurricanes/tropical storms the ground was pretty hard-packed. I ran my irrigation to soften up the soil and ran my SunJoe scarifier over it in one direction which helped knock the high spots off and give me a decent loose soil bed to receive the seed. The area on the left is the before and the right is after scarifying. 


Here is what the soil looked like after running the scarifier over it.


After seed, DiseaseEx & starter fertilizer I used my Groundskeeper II rake perpendicular to the path that I ran the scarifier to help mix the seed with the soil with the hopes of better seed to soil contact. After this, I rolled the area. Here I am about halfway done rolling.


All done! I sprayed tenacity on the area with NIS to see if I could get the nutsedge but most of it was thrashed from the scarifier. The area in the back corner did accumulate some water during the last 9" storm. The darker ring is from the compost that was in the mix.


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## MJR12284 (Jun 21, 2020)

Love the look of a freshly seeded lawn on seed down day! Nice work and good luck!


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## MJR12284 (Jun 21, 2020)

Ps. I got hit very hard by Ida and dropped a second round of KBG seed on my front reno this past Thursday. I was worried people will say that is too late in the year for KBG here in NJ so I will be following your progress closely.


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Was waiting for an update here! Great prep man. Hard work pays off. Can't wait to see this come along!


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## lbb091919 (Apr 26, 2020)

Prep and seedbed looks great. That three week fallowing is really gonna pay off!


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## kman6234 (Jul 29, 2021)

Looks great! Good luck and here's to no more storms hitting us in Bergen county!


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

I've got some decent germination in spots. I had my first babies yesterday but today 7 days after seed down I have some solid spots.


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

We are Reno buddies. My seed down day was 9/3.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Congratulations on the grass babies! I'm seeing more and more Mazama renos, which is really cool.


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

&#128079;. Looking good.


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## Liquidstone (Mar 31, 2021)

This looks awesome! We have the same lot # of Mazama


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

@kman6234 It was a big delay but it helped me not rush my fallowing.

@uts The headlight shot on your journal looks great. It's so funny how we all rely on nighttime illumination to put our minds at ease and confirm that we are on the right path. I literally just came in from a flashlight walk and I feel like I am doing well. I skipped peat moss entirely for this reno and so far not missing it.

@Chris LI It's true. We are either headed down the wrong path or the lure of a shade-tolerant KBG is the siren song we all are listening to.

@JerseyGreens It's coming along. I just went outside with a flashlight and I have some nice germination almost everywhere at this point.

@Liquidstone Oh, that's cool. This is like the DNA test for being Mazama brothers.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

I came home 3 DAG at night to this headlight shot:


Today I am 5 DAG:


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Game. Set. Match. You got great coverage.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

JerseyGreens said:


> Game. Set. Match. You got great coverage.


Thanks! I skipped peat moss for this reno and so far I don't think that I miss it. I definitely don't miss the effort or expense. With all of the delays from the multiple storms dumping 8-9" per storm I have little to no reserve for a misfire. I still might get out there later and hit a few spots with a little extra seed as needed. I've got more worm castings than I ever could have imagined.

Me putting a little extra seed down:


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

I'll never use peat moss on a future Reno again. Good call on your part. Causes more headaches during washouts which from my knowledge everyone gets in late Aug/Sept with cool season lawn Renos.

(Someone name me one Reno with no washout the past 2 seasons).


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## livt0ride (Jan 10, 2021)

JerseyGreens said:


> I'll never use peat moss on a future Reno again. Good call on your part. Causes more headaches during washouts which from my knowledge everyone gets in late Aug/Sept with cool season lawn Renos.
> 
> (Someone name me one Reno with no washout the past 2 seasons).


Hahaha right here. I will always be able to use peat. I need the moisture. I live in the desert.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

Yesterday I added a little bit of seed to some areas that were not showing growth. Overall I think this is doing very well.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

15 DAS, 7 DAG.


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## Liquidstone (Mar 31, 2021)

This is looking great. Congrats on the stellar coverage!


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

Looks fantastic


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## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

Fantastic ! Looks great…AND in a shady area ! Keep updates coming.
Another 'Mazama' fan !


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

This reno has been a real challenge for me. Business travel requirements compounded with heavy illness truly stifled my ability to be as hands-on as I wanted with the growing phase. Luckily my wife is incredible and learned a bunch from last year's reno of the front yard and was willing to help out.

Today I am 30 DAG and my wife has been pushing the manual reel mower around the 4.5K sq ft reno multiple times to keep the grass reasonable. :shocked: Talk about a keeper! Thanks to her efforts the grass really started to thicken up and I think we are looking really good for 30 days.

Some of the shots below are from a second-story deck and others from the ground. Overall the coverage is amazing. I have one area near the left side of the yard near the cherry tree that is thin. There are grass plants there, but just not in as heavy a concentration. I think it's still going to be good enough to thicken up with some N and time.

I'm due for a second round of Tenacity and I'd really like to spray that tomorrow but I just don't know if I will have the strength so it may have to wait. I really know I don't have the strength. 

****My biggest question is about N at this point. I applied granular starter at seed down knowing that my business travel would impact my ability to feed the reno. I dropped .5 lb of N at seed down (10 lbs of 24-25-4 over 4.5K ) What should my next steps for N be?*


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Looking great. Agreed she's a keeper...

0.25lbs N per K via granular Urea or AMS weekly in a hand spreader. I don't like spraying grass babies.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

Yesterday I spread .25 N via AMS. I got some nice rain (.5") nice and slow over about 12 hours and things are looking nice.

My wife mowed everything at 2" with the Honda Rotary just to get the dumping of leaves and maple helicopters cleaned up while I am still recovering from being sick. Very limited grass cutting but overall everything is so much cleaner.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

No more N for this season with the last app around Halloween (.33 lb N of AMS)

The shorter days and the Fall track of the sun has really limited how much direct sunlight this area has been getting for weeks now. As soon as that started happening things started slowing down.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

I got a nice mow and cleanup in the other day and woke up to this nice shot the next morning. HOC is still 2".

I do have some areas that didn't take well that I will need to spring seed with Tenacity and the other areas will get prodiamine.


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