# 2019 Sunset Review



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

We are finally past the winter solstice and spring is just around the corner now that we start to get more sunlight. 2019 was a great year, but a challenging one. Most of us had a very wet spring and then a drought/hot fall. Feeding the lawn in the fall was barely possible. The extra warm months in the fall did help renovations/overseed with more growing time.

As we did in previous years, let's take a minute to type a few sentences (not a dissertation) of what was the biggest lesson you learned this year.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I did a renovation this year and managed to drop seeds in early august instead of the more traditional time of mid august. The extra weeks meant more watering to keep the seed moist, but the extra time allowed for a more established lawn by fall. I think it was worth the expense.


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## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

Years of past neglect leads to a lot of future work. You don't know what you don't know.

Next year will be fun &#128513;


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Striping is even more fun that I thought it would be and really makes the lawn pop.
Mowing low with a manual reel is hard work. New to me Toro Flex 21 for 2020 will be a big help.
Taking a more scientific approach in 2019 yielded better results.
Measure twice when it comes to liquid applications...

While the days getting longer is a great thing, spring is a long time out for me. My last mow was 51 days ago and my first mow for 2020 is a predicted 124 days away.... The halfway point for winter for me is Jan 30th


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## MassHole (Jun 27, 2018)

Attack your POA triv and orchardgrass in steps. One section at a time, and doing a bit every week you can let your KBG fill in.

PGR is strong but must be used carefully... Use fungicides early and consistently, and don't use PGR when the grass is going to seed.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Be realistic about your expectations and know your limitations.

Without having a proper irrigation system, I kept my HOC at unrealistic heights this past summer to maintain density at 2.5", since I loved the density at 2", but should have gone to 3", for the dog days of summer.

I pulled back on my biosolids use this year and regretted it. I will be adding more back into my plan for next year (and maybe PGR).

I've seen the results from other TLF members who used FAS, and will be trying foliar apps next year with FeATURE and AS.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Just around the corner? Lol. I was thinking the same thing. Yes the sunsets are getting later now by a few seconds a day, but the days themselves are still shortening in many places, and it's still getting colder. Still about 3 months to go before mowing again.

Biggest thing I learned this past year is that grass takes a few years to really mature. But even after it does, it can start to become susceptible to new diseases that it wasn't before (like my 6-year-old stand getting hit hard by rust the last three years).

Also that Poa Triv can take many different-looking forms. I guess there are different varieties of it.


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## bosox_5 (Jun 20, 2018)

Don't fertilize when the lawn is wet. Chicken pox lawn is not cool


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## SumBeach35 (Jul 11, 2019)

Tenacity bleaching sucks...calculate and measure correctly


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## Kissfromnick (Mar 25, 2019)

.,


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## NoslracNevok (Jun 12, 2018)

Be patient with applications. Be conservative with applications. Double the HOC in the summer.


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## Jfarm_13 (Sep 22, 2019)

Don't overseed the day you get 1.5"'of rain. Just dipped my toes in this year. Much more of in the yard experiences to come next year.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Less is more until it's not. Then fungus kicks your @ss.


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## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

Use peat moss and/or rake seed into existing soil when seeding. I have 8lbs of dead seed in my soil to prove it.


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## Rig2 (Sep 3, 2018)

Write down how much of product was used and when it was applied. I always forget what I did last week.

Mistakes will be made. Good thing the grass usually grows back.


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## Rile78 (May 14, 2018)

Mother Nature wins again. Sept 2018, 11th wettest on history with 10.8" of rain and my $150 in seed was washed away. Sept 2019 set the record for the driest month in Kentucky history. We also had 16 days in the 90's at the same time and I just couldn't keep up with the water. Hoping for a somewhat normal fall overseed in 2020!


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## Jayray (Aug 8, 2018)

MassHole said:


> Attack your POA triv and orchardgrass in steps. One section at a time, and doing a bit every week you can let your KBG fill in.
> 
> PGR is strong but must be used carefully... *Use fungicides early and consistently*, and don't use PGR when the grass is going to seed.


We are on the edge of a high desert here and I have always kept my lawn over 2 inches or never had a nice enough lawn to even notice fungus issues. But now with going sub 1 inch and taking lawn care up a notch it is apparent that I need to get on the fungicide train. I should have started last year. I definitely had brown spot issues that I didn't want to believe was fungus or had difficulty 100% identifying. I can't wait for spring to start posting pictures.


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## Butter (Nov 14, 2017)

2019 was a bad fungus year for me. I learned that if you're gonna fight it you gotta go all in and fight to the end. I gave up about 3/4 through the summer and it turned out very bad. I'll have a better plan for 2020 and try to stick with it.


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

After my first full season after my reno, I learned that it is possible to grow KBG under some pretty dense shade trees, with few takeaways.... Proper seed selection is a must. At present, mazama and bewitched are essential. And even then the lawn will thin a bit in late summer/early fall after the trees have been leafed out for a few months. I am looking forward to seeing how this holds up next season.


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## Teej (Feb 27, 2019)

Mow, mow, mow and don't sweat imperfection. Also, a healthy lawn is the best defense against weeds.


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## mribbens (Jul 13, 2018)

MassHole said:


> Attack your POA triv and orchardgrass in steps. One section at a time, and doing a bit every week you can let your KBG fill in.
> 
> PGR is strong but must be used carefully... Use fungicides early and consistently, and don't use PGR when the grass is going to seed.


Can you discuss why no PGR when grass is going to seed? Seedheads?


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## mribbens (Jul 13, 2018)

2019 started off great, included PGR into my arsenal and it was a game changer. I had a horrible fall, nearly 8 inches of rain in September near Chicago that led to fungus everywhere while I was under regulation followed by a crummy Oct, snow on Halloween, and cold and grey in November. 2020 will be less input besides PGR and preventative fungicide program.


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## MassHole (Jun 27, 2018)

mribbens said:


> MassHole said:
> 
> 
> > Attack your POA triv and orchardgrass in steps. One section at a time, and doing a bit every week you can let your KBG fill in.
> ...


Correct. The seed heads will stay below the HOC and you'll be stuck with a brownish look for 3+ weeks.


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## NewLawnJon (Aug 3, 2018)

Last year I learned less is more when it comes to PGR, and going reel low shows all the imperfections in the lawn and everything below it.


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## DiggingHoles (Nov 5, 2018)

Using cheap seed costs more in the long run. Buy high quality seed and don't expect perfection. Aerial drone shots will show ALL of the imperfections in your lawn. Also, the best way I've discovered to kill thistles is a product called Milestone. Worked perfectly on 50 acres of prairie land and my yard.


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## Vtx531 (Jul 1, 2019)

1. Spring preemergent is key to having my lawn look nice. 2018 I skipped and by the end of summer it was overrun by crabgrass. This year I did split apps Apr 15 and May 15 - no crabgrass.

2. Pick a mowing height and stick with it all season.


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## Gilley11 (Nov 3, 2019)

Vtx531 said:


> 1. Spring preemergent is key to having my lawn look nice. 2018 I skipped and by the end of summer it was overrun by crabgrass. This year I did split apps Apr 15 and May 15 - no crabgrass.
> 
> 2. Pick a mowing height and stick with it all season.


Why stick with a certain HOC?


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## quattljl (Aug 8, 2018)

I have both, cool and warm season grasses in my lawn. Here are some takeaways.

*Cool Season Lessons*

Spring time is great, minus all the mowing (which I wasn't used to)
Some type of automated irrigation is key when you live in the transition zone, bordering the warm season zone.
"Let it go dormant" isn't a good strategy for disease control, especially with almost daily afternoon/evening showers.
Pre-emergent isn't optional, but it's tough to get down when you must constantly reseed or over seed a patchy lawn.

*Warm Season Lessons*

Anything short of full sun makes it hard to grow Bermuda. There were some areas I actually saw regress in terms of coverage after seeding them this spring.
Crab grass is a pain in the *** to go after post-emergently, especially if it's been previously unchecked. Having to go out about once a week to spray the new sprouts got old after awhile.


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## Vtx531 (Jul 1, 2019)

Gilley11 said:


> Why stick with a certain HOC?


Last season, I would mow and think, gee it looked darker green and better before I mowed. So next time, I raise the height 1/2" and it would look good for a while then same problem. Raise the height another 1/2", etc. Eventually it gets too tall and shaggy, loses its density. So I think, I need to mow lower again. When I mow lower, it really loses its color. If you are too extreme, it cuts off most the green leaf blades and only thing left is brown stems. That takes months to fill back in...cant have the grass looking bad for months..so I need to raise the height again to keep it from looking brown and then I'm back at the same problem.

I think it comes down to a basic principle that the roots/leaf need to be in a proper ratio. The plant will do this on it's own and if you change the HOC it messes this up.


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

That if you dont deal with Poa Triv with the most aggressive means possible(Glypho) when its new, you'll pay for it in the end. I tried being cute with heavy and repeated doses of Tenacity, and it did die back but always came back. Now its probably 5x as large as it was Summer of 18, when i could have just glypho'd maybe 20-30 sqft now its so prevalent i need to just kill the entire 1k sqft.


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## Scagfreedom48z+ (Oct 6, 2018)

FuzzeWuzze said:


> That if you dont deal with Poa Triv with the most aggressive means possible(Glypho) when its new, you'll pay for it in the end. I tried being cute with heavy and repeated doses of Tenacity, and it did die back but always came back. Now its probably 5x as large as it was Summer of 18, when i could have just glypho'd maybe 20-30 sqft now its so prevalent i need to just kill the entire 1k sqft.


I was in a similar boat I didn't try to kill the POA T right away, I delayed the process and all it did was expand, which was much more work in the long run. I feel like I have much more of a handle on it than before. I finally have it under control. Will it go away completely? No way. But much more manageable for sure. Here are a few pics of all my kill zones from 2018. This was after 3 weeks worth/4 doses of glypho.


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

Even if nature can throw many things at you, renovation can still go as planned (mine did). The more options (plans) you prepare, the more the likelihood to hit the mark. Anticipate, anticipate, anticipate...


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