# jskierko's 2020 Lawn Reno- Bewitched Front



## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Background/Intro: Long time lurker, 1st dedicated thread. Moved into this house in 2012 (house had 1 prior owner, built in 2011). Yard was likely seeded with contractors mix or simple northern mix. I have overseeded a few years back with a Scott's Sun and Shade mix, so right now the lawn is a good mix of bluegrass, rye, and fine fescue (with some nasty clumping tall fescue mixed in). I turned into a true lawn nut last year (2019). My previous practices were cutting the yard (mostly bagging) once a week with disregard to the 1/3 rule and spot spraying weeds when areas exploded in the yard. I have become more diligent with pre-emergent applications, fertilization, and reacting to what my yard is displaying. Last year I installed a 14 zone irrigation system, top dressed entire yard with compost to add OM, followed Milorganite holiday applications, and went through fall nitrogen blitz. This year I added a preventative Serenade regimen, conditioned soil bi-weekly with Kelp/Humic/SLS and have experimented with PGR and foliar iron applications.

Overall my NoMix was probably one of the nicer lawns in the neighborhood due in part to a lot of the work I have been putting in over the last 1-2 years, but I wanted to take things to the next level. I have been renovating my front/side yard, deciding on a Bewitched monostand. I have read through several renovations threads on various sites and looked at previous years NTEP results, and the overall look, texture, and compact growing height appealed to me. The total area encompasses ~8000 sq ft of turf.

*Aerial shot from May 2020
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*Aerial shot after 1st round of glyphosate outlining reno area
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Timeline of events:
7/26: Glyphosate blanket app #1
8/1: Scalp mow and bag #1
8/6: Glyphosate blanket app #2
8/10: Scalp mow and bag #2
8/12: Glyphosate spot spray
8/12: Top Dress with top soil to level/fill low spots
8/13: Seed Down @ 2.7lbs/k with Bewitched KBG, Roll, Scott's Starter w/ Tenacity, top dressed w/ 0.25" peat


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Area #1:
*Day 1 (8/14)*


*Day 15 (8/28)*


*Day 22 (9/4)*


*Day 30 (9/12)*


*Day 42 (9/24)*


*Day 52 (10/4)*


*Day 66 (10/18)*


*Day 84 (11/5)*


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Area #2:
*Day 1 (8/14)*


*Day 15 (8/28)*


*Day 22 (9/4)*


*Day 30 (9/12)*


*Day 42 (9/24)*


*Day 52 (10/4)*


*Day 66 (10/18)*


*Day 84 (11/5)*


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Area #3:
*Day 1 (8/14)
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*Day 15 (8/28)
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*Day 22 (9/4)
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*Day 30 (9/12)
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*Day 42 (9/24)
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*Day 52 (10/4)
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*Day 66 (10/18)*


*Day 84 (11/5)*


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Area #4:
*Day 1 (8/14)
*

*Day 15 (8/28)
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*Day 22 (9/4)
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*Day 30 (9/12)
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*Day 42 (9/24)
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*Day 52 (10/4)
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*Day 66 (10/18)*


*Day 84 (11/5)*


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Area #5:
*Day 1 (8/14)
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*Day 15 (8/28)
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*Day 22 (9/4)
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*Day 30 (9/12)
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*Day 42 (9/24)
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*Day 52 (10/4)
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*Day 66 (10/18)*


*Day 84 (11/5)*


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Area #6:
*Day 1 (8/14)
*

*Day 15 (8/28)
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*Day 22 (9/4)
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*Day 30 (9/12)
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*Day 42 (9/24)
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*Day 52 (10/4)
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*Day 66 (10/18)*


*Day 84 (11/5)*


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Area #7:
*Day 10 (8/23)
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*Day 14 (8/27)
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*Day 22 (9/4)
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*Day 30 (9/12)
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*Day 42 (9/24)
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*Day 52 (10/4)
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*Day 66 (10/18)*


*Day 84 (11/5)*


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Area #8:
*Day 10 (8/23)
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*Day 14 (8/27)
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*Day 22 (9/4)
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*Day 30 (9/12)
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*Day 42 (9/24)
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*Day 52 (10/4)
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*Day 66 (10/18)*


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## zeus201 (Aug 30, 2017)

That filled in really nicely, especially Area #7 which appears to have a decent slope. Once this matures, it is going to look amazing!


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

zeus201 said:


> That filled in really nicely, especially Area #7 which appears to have a decent slope. Once this matures, it is going to look amazing!


Thanks! I threw down some Pennington Slopemaster in a few areas and was really impressed with how it held everything in place. I had one bad downpour on Day 5 and I only had about a 5 ft section of washout/runoff that looked rough. I have been very impressed with its ability to fill in, even in this short amount of time! Held off on doing any re-seeding/spot seeding and just played the waiting game and it's turning out nicely.

I have been mowing as low as possible with my rotary (1.75"), but hopefully will train it down next year once I get my hands on a reel mower.


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

I have to give a shoutout to @Pete1313, as his reno was a huge source of inspiration! I also liked seeing his progression pictures, which is why I committed to taking pics from the same spots. Seeing the reno on a daily basis makes it seem like nothing is happening, but when you flip through a progression of pictures its amazing to see the difference!


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Super results. Nicely done. :thumbsup:


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Put down 0.25 lbs/k of N via urea (which I have been doing weekly since day 30). Also got a new toy in and tested it spraying tenacity on an area of bentgrass (not in reno area). Such even and consistent spray compared to pump spraying!


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Dropped HOC to lowest setting on Timemaster today, 1.25". Only did this on side yard and kept front at 1.75" as the slight slope, I felt, would lead to a good amount of scalping.


Lost a little bit of color bringing height down, but still looks good for less than 2 months old.


Wasn't able to avoid all scalps... caught a few areas like this, tried to flatten them out as good as I could. Need a reel mower!






Loving the density!


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

New lawn just celebrated 2 months yesterday! 
Mowed down to 1.25" on the side and 1.5" on the front with the rotary. Lowest I can go without scalping like crazy. 








Some scalping was unavoidable :roll: 



Finished up by putting down foliar urea and some iron (Ferromec AC @ 2oz/k). Total N of 0.25lb/k. Watered in a few hours later. We'll see how it responds and see if we can darken it up a bit.


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Beautiful fall day in the Indy suburbs. Mowed to 1.25" on reno area and 2.25" on backyard mix.







Surrounding areas show the extent of the dry spell we have been dealing with for the summer/fall.


Love seeing the side by side difference of the northern mix vs the uniformity of the monostand.


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Cleaned up some much neglected mulch rings in the reno area and adjusted sprinkler heads back to "normal" operation. Had them overspraying big time to ensure adequate coverage after seed down.


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Day 66 pics updated for each reno spot at start of thread. Dropping the HOC caused some loss of color. Hoping getting accustomed to this HOC, the addition of PGR next year, and some time to mature it continues to darken up.

Some areas on the property lines remain thin, but have slowly been filling in. Not sure if this was a watering issue or due to overspray from pre-emergent application (neighbors on both sides have lawn services and I witnessed both lawns getting sprayed within the first few weeks of reno).


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Mowed at 1.75" today. Raised height of cut as ground was still a bit wet from the almost 3 inches of rain we've received in the last 3 days. That equals the total amount of rainfall that we had received since the beginning of August. I didn't want to mow as low as I have been as I felt my risk of scalping was much greater, mower sank in quite a bit in the wet areas. Deep and often muddy tire tracks made it a not so pretty mow, but with more rain in the forecast it needed to get done.




Had a few unwanteds popping up and hand pulled what I could see. Going herbicide free until spring as I don't have a lot of weed pressure in reno area (at least that I can see yet).


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Put down some single-doubles on the non-reno backyard mix. 




Found some areas of rust on the bewitched after a few days of rain. Was on the east side of the house, which only gets morning sun and is poorly draining. Didn't want to play any games with the reno so I put down some granular headway (propiconazole/azoxy) that I had on hand.


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Mowed reno at 1.75". Color looks good on this overcast day. Growth starting to slow down with temps dropping and no more N until winterizer app sometime after Thanksgiving.


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Unseasonably warm November weather, first mow in 10 days and not a whole lot of clippings generated, probably only 1 or 2 more left for the season.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

We are getting some good growing weather. We will be mowing until Thanksgiving.


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Day 84 update. Photos updated at each spot on page 1 of the journal. Has some filling in to do around the edges, but the spring season should take care of that.




g-man said:


> We are getting some good growing weather. We will be mowing until Thanksgiving.


Agreed! A few frosts and no N since 10/14 has really lightened my load in terms of mowing and growth. This time of year mowing gets tough for me as I am only home during daylight hours 2-3 days per week so I need luck on my side in terms of weather on my days off. I would keep the mowing season going as long as I could if I had the choice. I've pushed on into December once or twice since I've lived here :thumbup:


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

12-Nov-2020 (91 days after seeding)
HOC: 1.75"
Bewitched has slowed down, almost time to put it to bed for the year. I could honestly get away with only 1 more mow, as I went 10 and 8 days between my last two mows and didn't take off a substantial amount (backyard NoMix is a different story, southwest facing, full sun, faster growing- probably has a few more mows). More cold weather for the upcoming week.

Happy with the results of my first full reno. A few areas along sidewalk and property line are thin, but I'm just going to let spring take care of the filling in. Very little weed pressure, pulled maybe a few dozen Poa A plants, a few scattered broadleaf weeds, not bad for being herbicide free after seed down date.


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Dropped winterizer app of N today. Should get watered in over the weekend with rain incoming. Other than maybe 1 cleanup mow, the season here is just about finished. Amazing the differences that can be made with a little bit of diligence and a lot of patience. First image is aerial shot from end of 2017 season, second image from end of 2019 season. No renos during that time, just better turf management and practices.


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

Just went through the rest of your journal. Great stuff. I love the time lapse images in the same spots. I wish I did something like that.

How much N did you put down for your winterizer? Fast release?


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## jamesonw (May 3, 2019)

Great renovation, drool-worthy shot on that ground-level angle. Looks like some nice sharp blades too. Congrats on a successful renovation, and great property set up!


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

bf7 said:


> How much N did you put down for your winterizer? Fast release?


Going with the old school train of thought. I put down ~2 lbs of 46-0-0 per k or 1 lb N per k. I did this last season and the lawn held good color through winter and greened up substantially earlier than surrounding lawns. Image below is from 3/20/20. Whether the Bewitched (being a "late greener") will be greening up that early or not who knows, but I figured I'd stick with what has worked for me.


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Gave the back one final mow, edged the front, ran the mower out of gas and put it to bed for the year. Hoping I'll be reel excited come spring!


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## Wiley (Dec 2, 2019)

Beautiful reno and great pictures capturing your progress. Good luck this season!


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Wiley said:


> Beautiful reno and great pictures capturing your progress. Good luck this season!


Thanks @Wiley! And congrats on LOTM. Your lawn is looking great (and, as you put it, lush)! Ready to get back at it.


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## Liquidstone (Mar 31, 2021)

Amazing Reno. Great to see the time lapse. Thanks for sharing. How did the green up go for the bewitched this spring?

Edit: I saw your 2021 journal in your sig! Headed there now. Still, fantastic job.


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Liquidstone said:


> Amazing Reno. Great to see the time lapse. Thanks for sharing. How did the green up go for the bewitched this spring?
> 
> Edit: I saw your 2021 journal in your sig! Headed there now. Still, fantastic job.


Thanks @Liquidstone! Keeping time lapse pics really helps get a good sense of how far things come. When you see your own yard every single day you can't help but think the needle really isn't moving, but when you flip through pics of the same area it gives you some positive vibes.

The green up was mediocre this year. It has really hit its' stride here since the start of May. I did the fall N blitz, which helped it hold its' color better than most NoMix yards through the winter, but those yards greened up a lot faster than mine in the spring. Might be due to the fact that Bewitched is "late" in terms of spring green-up, or it could be due to the fact that I have bounced around with different HOCs and experimented in different areas (scalping certain areas, dethatching certain areas, etc.), trying to find what is best for the landscape that I have. I was new to reel mowing starting this year, so I am finally getting a grasp on things and learning a lot along the way.


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## Rule11 (May 5, 2018)

@jskierko I am always impressed by large scale renovations. Well done!


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## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

jskierko said:


> Liquidstone said:
> 
> 
> > Amazing Reno. Great to see the time lapse. Thanks for sharing. How did the green up go for the bewitched this spring?
> ...


Truly inspiring ! After viewing all of the gorgeous pictures of monostand 'Bewitched', I kind of regret going with Bewitched in a blend with Midnight and Skye. If I could clarify…so ALL of your areas (about 6) are ALL 100% 'Bewitched', right? Maaaan, that was a monumental, single-project work !
QUESTION: Looking back, is there ANY single variety that you would have preferred to go with, in retrospect?? Other than late spring-up and apparent stem rust, you seem very, very "good-to-go."😎
Thanks !


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

lawn-wolverine said:


> Truly inspiring ! After viewing all of the gorgeous pictures of monostand 'Bewitched', I kind of regret going with Bewitched in a blend with Midnight and Skye. If I could clarify…so ALL of your areas (about 6) are ALL 100% 'Bewitched', right? Maaaan, that was a monumental, single-project work !
> QUESTION: Looking back, is there ANY single variety that you would have preferred to go with, in retrospect?? Other than late spring-up and apparent stem rust, you seem very, very "good-to-go."😎
> Thanks !


Thanks! Everything from the reno last year (outside of the fenced in back yard) is 100% Bewitched. I honestly don't know if there is a different variety I would go with to be honest with you. I have seen Bewitched cut well under and inch and cut at 3 inches and it looks great at both lengths. I am a big fan of the darker cultivars, so maybe a Mazama or Bluebank would have crossed my mind. Maybe even a blend of one of those with Bewitched for some genetic variation. But I think the uniformity of a monostand is top notch and I don't mind the extra work and vigilance that goes into maintaining it. Not to mention with the right additives (see Pete) you can get your Bewitched as dark as about anything out there. And I will definitely have to give it another season before I can really call my stand "mature" and get a good gauge of its qualities. My stem rust was confined to about a 100 sq ft area that gets the least amount of sun. I need to start my preventative fungicide regimen earlier next season as I have battled some trouble spots. But I think with a more mature stand and some corrective measures for the soil I am as optimistic and pleased as can be about the decision.


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## lawn-wolverine (Aug 15, 2021)

Great info, so thanks again ! With all the water that I am tossing down with my overseed project, I preempted it by putting down (at the heavier curative rate) that SCOTTS "Disease X."
It is granular and matches up with my Scotts drop spreader…and it is systemic, which I like.
They say the budget buster in most any golf course is on fungicides (especially for the Bent greens).
Best wishes toward success.&#128077;


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