# Jay12645's Lawn Journal



## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

Starting the journal a little late but I figure i will fill in with whats been done to date. 6A lawn in CT with mostly KBG and some other grasses mixed in.

September 2018: September fall aerate and overseed with Scott's KBG (I know not the best seed, didn't have the seed knowledge then). Used Scotts starter fert at time of seeding. Results were so so. Application of Purely Organic Lawn Food at the end of November for the winter (finding now that this isn't as recommended as it once was...)

WINTER...

4/1/19 - Raked and blew out the whole front yard cleaned up debris. Noticed moss in areas that are not shady.

4/2/19 - Applied Lime @ 24lbs per 1k ph was low and to help with the moss

4/3/19 - Edged the driveway, street and garden begs, trimmed some plants

4/4/19 - Picked up 50# of Urea 46-0-0 to do a spring N push on the new grass and fill in tin areas, wont start these apps until May. This bag should give me two full apps of .5N @ 1lb / k

4/6/19 - Applied Moss out on some of the heavier and shaded moss areas, went a little lighter than the bag recommendation, results were mediocre but looks to have caused stress to some to the moss and killed other areas. Didn't rake this out yet also has a good amount of iron in it which i needed anyway. Pruned shrubs and cleaned out garden beds.

4/7/19 - Sprayed 1 of 2 split apps of Prodiamine 65 WDG at a rate of .2oz per 1K, should give about 2.5-3 months protection. Second app targeted for 6/15. Did a double pass pattern (left to right, top to bottom) using a 3 gallon hand can... ugh exhausting over 20Ksqft 21 gallons of water. Will be purchasing NorthStar Tow-Behind Trailer Boom Broadcast and Spot Sprayer - 21-Gallon. Anyone have experience with this or similar?

4/8/19 - Let mother nature water in the Prodiamine, .7 inches of steady light rain.

4/9/19 - Another .25 inches of rain

4/14/19 - Applied Preen to garden beds, cleared out vegetable garden raised boxes

4/16/19 - Picked up 2 50# bags of Screamin' Green from SiteOne. This will be my first app prior to the spoon-feeding of urea in May, targeting 4/23 for the application followed by two urea apps 1.5-2 weeks apart, then Purely Organic Lawn Food at the end before the heat of summer. Lawn is growing looking for first mow tomorrow since it will rain the rest of the week and the lawn needs to look good fir Easter.


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## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

4/17/19 - Right front tractor tire was fully deflated, pumped to proper psi and held. Checked all tires looked good. Greased fittings for first use of the year. Adjusted the striping brush to the highest height for now. Mowed the front yard only at 2.5 inches. Some spots were still too low but most got a trim. The back didn't need it yet and is not as full anyway.


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## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

This will be a two part entry, one for the overall state of the lawn and then the second for some issues/weeds.

My goal has been to restore the lawn through overseed, proper practices, and balanced fertilizer program. I did not want to do a full nuke reno. The lawn has already come a long way but still has a very long way to go. Here are some shots.

Front lawn, improving not bad looking from afar



Two large areas I killed off clover in the fall that the overseed didn't take. There are a few springs or KBG so it should close a little during the spring spoonfeed





Shine shots of the back and other thinner areas where I killed off weeds last year.











Lots of work to go, next up some weed ID help...


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## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

I don't think this is crabgrass yet but it's still unwanted...









I have no idea what this frizzy stuff is, any ideas?
It's only growing right on the edge of the driveway.







Next up is a ground cover that seems to fill in anywhere there isn't grass, not quite a moss Or an algae but not a grassy weed either.

EDIT: I think maybe chickweed







No clue with this one...







Last one, I think a clumping grass, a rye?









Any help in identification and best ways to control would be helpful. I have other weeds too but know what they are and how to get rid of them.

Thanks for checking in!


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## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

4/22/19 - applied 2 50# bags of screamin' green right before/during the rain. Scott's elite spreader setting 6 was to slow 8 was to fast if I use again 7 should do it. Didn't have enough to cover the last 10% of the lawn about 2500 sq ft. I did a calibration but was rushed due to rain. Need to mow tomorrow or Wednesday once it dries out.


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## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

4/23/19 - second mowing if the year, first mow on the back. HOC 2.5, noticing a lot of patches in the back where the overseed didn't take. Pulled about 8 dandelions as I mowed. Vast improvement over last year. I think I noticed some seedheads could be poa... I'll take a closer look tomorrow.


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## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

4/24/19 - Fixed Scott's elite spreader, axle pin had sheered in half when spreading the screaming green. Replaced the pin with a nail works perfectly. Sprayed a few weeds in the front with OWBG. Need to do a large blanket application of 2-4-d in the back on a large wild violet patch ~1,500m.

4/25/19 - Hand pulled weeds in the front and garden beds, mostly wild onion and a few dandelions

4/27/19 - Mowed at setting 3.1 on the mower which should be 3 1/4" but height of cut is only 2 3/4". Need to adjust the deck prior to next mow. Top setting is only 3 1/2"

4/30/19 - Dug up evergreen growing at the edge of the wildflower garden and the dead butterfly bush. Will be planting the weeping cherry here. Been getting A LOT of rain about 4 inches over the past 10 days.

5/1/19 - hand pulled some dandelions, only a handful, better than most lawns in the neighborhood.

5/3/19 - Adjusted mower deck, front bar had no tension on it, must have not checked it last time the deck was off. Settings are now within 1/8" of the manual settings. Top setting is at 3 7/8" should be 4" but close enough. Lowered the front 1 full turn to avoid double cutting.

5/4/19 - Mowed HOC 3.5". Fertilized whole lawn with 46-0-0 urea @ 1#/M. Spread 25# at setting 5 had about 1# left over at the end and gave another edge pass. Took down 4 dead pine trees in the side yard wooded area and the Pine that broke over winter, need to clean up. Planted the weeping cherry at the top of the flower garden.


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## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

5/6/19 - sprayed broadleafs, only 30 hour period of no rain we have had in a while. Did a blanket spray over the wild violet and spot sprayed the rest of the yard. Used 4 gallons, @3tbs 2-4-D per gallon and 1/2 tbs MSO.

5/7/19 - monitored broadleaf weeds, some withering occurring, expecting thunderstorms. I hope the herbicide soaked in enough.

Some shots



I think the darker stripes was where I was using the extra screamin green, should have been more careful with the spacing. I like the dark part though


Apple blossoms



Wild violet patch I blanket sprayed, back yard still needs a lot of love



Shots of the new weeping cherry





Monitoring the spots that the seed didn't fill in last fall.


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## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

5/8/19 - Mowed HOC 3.5

5/11/19 - Mowed HOC 3.5, Sharpened mower blades after mowing balance seemed fine on the tester, sounded a bit funny on the mower, maybe just needs a mow

5/12/19 - Picked up more fuel, added 2oz stabilizer per gallon. 5 gallons.

5/15/19 - Sprayed more broad leaf weeds, used 3 gallons, 3 tbs 2-4-d per gallon and 1/2 tbs MSO, blanket sprayed the large wild violet patch, showed good damage but was beginning to recover. Spot sprayed the rest of the yard with what was left over.

5/16/19 - Mowed HOC 3.5, blades seem fine not indication if unbalanced blades. May be getting some red thread.

5/19/19 - Fertilized with urea @ 1lb/1000, 25# spreader setting 5. Rain was forecasted for .4 inches, got a T-storm overnight 1.5 inches not sure how heavy it was... Hope it didn't wash out the fert.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

Lots of hard work :thumbup:


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## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

5/21/19 - mowed at 3.5 the spring fert push is really helping the grass fill in. Still have a good amount of weeds in the grass, mostly chickweed. Hopefully the summer heat will kill it and the fall pre m will keep it at bay next year.

5/22/19 - planted the vegetable garden



5/24/19 - mowed at 3.5,did a second pass in the same direction to see if it darkens stripes. edged the entire yard need to go over a few more times to really establish the edges. Noticing it's tough along the driveway and curb due to the quality of the pavement.

5/30/19 - mowed at 3.75, grass was getting very long and was still damp from rain the night before. Didn't get any clumping a few small areas looked matted down but should recover. Wanted to wait for Friday since it would be drier but had to get it mowed. Lawn is looking better in some areas. Also tried reducing the amount of overlap each pass by riding next to the prior passes wheel mark, got a few mowhawks but it was good otherwise, will just need some more practice.











Weekend to do - 
Edge again
Trim boxwood bushes
Chip/shred all the cleanup branches, fruit tree trimmings, and pine branches
Clean up the wood from the fallen pine
Clear weeds in walkway paver cracks


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## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

Didn't get around to any of the weekend to-dos and still haven't...

6/1/19 - Mowed at 3.25 to clean up the last longer mow. Bought a half moon edger at Home Depot to create a better edge. Edged the front garden beds and the walkway hit a bunch of underground bricks from the previous owner in the front beds. I think it may have been an border that has sunk over time, I will be digging them out. I love the look I got now, hopefully it will be easier to maintain with the string trimmer. Having trouble using the edger on the driveway edges and I suspect the curb will be trouble too due to not having a clean edge to work with and years of not establishing a good one. I plan to repave the driveway at some point in the coming years. I think I'll just have to keep establishing the line for now until it gets stronger. Still need to clean up some of the dirt and grass clumps that were cut. I'm not too worried as it doesn't look terrible and I didn't lay new mulch this year.

6/3/19 - Watered about 1/2 of the front lawn with the new sprinklers. I can cover the whole lawn by setting them up in 4 places, total area of 7K sq ft. Watered for an hour each in the 2 major parts that get the most sun. Still need to test the output to see how much i get down.

6/5/19 - Mowed at 3.5 HOC

6/8/19 - Dug up some of the bricks bordering the beds, only the ones that were shallow enough that i hit with the edger, not sure if there are others or not... Cleared some overgrowth coming up in the burning bushes, Virginia creeper and choke cherry. Watered the 4 front yard spots for 1.5 hours each got about 1/4 inch of water in the tuna cans.

6/9/19 - Mowed at 3.5 HOC

6/12/19 - Mowed at 3.5 HOC the lawn is looking the best overall since i have owned it but i am seeing what looks to be dead blades of grass mixed in with healthy grass. They are completely yellow, not clumps just individual blades scattered throughout. I didn't see any fungus that looks like this, do some grass blades just turn yellow? Not sure it is red thread, I will try and get some pictures soon.


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## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

6/17/19 - Mowed at 3.5 HOC

6/22/19 - Mowed at 3.5 HOC, Cleaned up the downed trees in the wooded side area, stacked logs of 5 pines. 3 had died 2 came down in a storm. chipped and shredded branches. Used about 2 gallons of gas in the shredder. Still a good amount to clean up but great progress

6/24/19 - Applied 4 50# bags of "Purely Organic Lawn Food" .5lbs N per 1000. Rain was forcasted for 6/25, got about .25 inches. Should be good enough

6/27/19 - Mowed at 3.5 HOC

6/28/19 - Cleared all driveway cracks with the string trimmer, it was getting bad. Will burn anthing that comes back sooner. Edged the driveway and pavers on the front walk. Started clearing pavers with string trimmer, only about 1/3 done. Trimmed a dead branch on the apple tree, and a few low branches on the pear tree that made mowing difficult.

6/29/19 - Trimmed the mums (read to always do this no later than 7/4) trimmed the ornamental plum, trimmed the 2 tiered boxwoods out front, trimmed the two round bushes (not sure of the variety, similar to boxwood), trimmed the rhododendron, trimmed the weeping pine, trimmed the round evergreens on either side of the front entrance, trimmed the ground height evergreen.

6/30/19 - Trimmed the 4 round boxwoods in back, began sculpting the large lone boxwood into a mickey mouse head topiary for the wife(a little sad right now but shows promise), trimmed the 2 boxwoods near the water faucet, and the 2 near the garage. Trimmed all the burning bushes (at least 10), did a heavy prune to try and get them back to a manageable size. Trimmed the lilacs bushes, weeded and pulled saplings. Then began the cleanup... Raked and stacked all the trimmings and prunings from the last three days, chipped and shredded in the cleared wooded area, crazy how much it reduced everything. Overall about 15 hours of cleanup the last few days, still a little left to do...


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## jay12645 (Apr 2, 2019)

Way overdue on an update...

7/4/19 - Mowed at 3.5, watered front for 1 hour

7/5/19 - Watered front for 1 hour

7/14/19 - Watered front for 90 minutes

7/15/19 - Watered front for 1 hour

7/16/19 - Mowed at 4.0

7/26/19 - Sprayed nutsedge killer on a few patches

7/29/19 - Mowed at 4.0, front was very overgrown, did a double cut

7/31/19 - Bought 4 bags of Carbon-x

8/6/19 - Mowed at 3.5, calibrated tow behind sprayer, 14 gallons took about 2 minutes

8/8/19 - Ordered 1 gallon of PBI Gordon 2,4-d Amine from amazon 46.47%

8/9/19 - Sprayed 16 gallons of 2,4-d (16 oz), covered most of the back and side yard near driveway, also did the sopts in the front for reseeding.

8/11/19 - Sprayed 3 gallons of glyphosate (6 oz),made 10oz chemical measuring cup. Mostly near mailbox and on the thick dark green grasses around the yard (Clumping Fescue?). Weeded the flower beds out front, weeded vegetable garden and part of blueberry patch. Wasp sting

8/12/19 - Ordered 4 yards of lawn soil for leveling and filling spread 2 yards of soil

8/13/19 - Mowed at 3.0, taking down height of cut before overseed. Rode over dirt spots to compact

8/14/19 - Spread the other 2 yards of soil

8/15/19 - Bought 50# bag of Professional Lawn Care - Sunny from Hart seed 
29.91%	Quratz Kentucky Bluegrass
29.69%	Rockstar Kentucky Bluegrass
29.62%	Blue Devil Kentucky Bluegrass
9.92%	Line Drive 2 Perennial Rye Grass
0.79%	Inert Matter	
0.00%	Other Crop Seed	
0.07%	Weed Content - None noxious

8/16/19 - Mowed at 2.5, compacted dirt patches

8/18/19 - Sprayed 20 gallons of 2,4-d Amine blanket spray on back and most of front, Sprayed 3 gallons of quinclorac covered most spots in back and all of front, 3 gallons of glyphosate on patches

Plan on over seeding 8/23-25 weekend.


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