# Alex's 2020 Lawn Journal



## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

A little late but wanted to get my journal going! This is the first year post renovation for my Bewitched KBG mono-stand.

3/15 - .25lb ai/ac Dimension; 3 oz/k RGS; 6 oz/k Air8 
3/22 - Started plugging bare areas. 
3/24 - .5 N/M Carbon-X 
4/7 - .5 N/M Carbon-X; Grub-Ex down; 4 oz/ac Tenacity 
4/20 - .5 N/M 46-0-0; 2 oz/ac Tenacity; .4 oz/K Azoxy
5/7 - .25 N/M 46-0-0; .25 oz/K T-NEX
5/14 - .25 N/M 46-0-0; .4 oz/K Azoxy 
5/17 - .25lb ai/ac Dimension; 3 oz/k RGS; 6 oz/k Air8 
5/22 -- .5 N/M 46-0-0 
5/27 - .5 N/M 46-0-0; 2oz Feature; .4 oz/K T-NEX
6/4 -- 1.25 K/M 0-0-50 
6/13 -- 2oz Feature; .4 oz/K T-NEX 
6/20 -- 1.75 oz/K Thiophanate-Methyl; Milo .25 N/M 
7/15 -- .77 oz/K Azoxy; .185 oz/K Prodiamine (2 month rate) 
8/13 -- 1 oz/K PPZ 
9/13 -- 1 oz/K PPZ; Urea; .25 oz/K T-Nex; 2 oz/K Feature

2019 Reno -- https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=11290 
2018/2019 Lawn Journal -- https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3736


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@Alex1389 pictures? How is it looking after the winter?


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

@g-man It's slowly waking up. I'm itching to throw some nitrogen at it soon.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

That looks great. You should start the spoon feeding.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

g-man said:


> That looks great. You should start the spoon feeding.


I was wondering if it's too early. Was going to hold off until 4/1. Here's how we're looking over the next 10 days:


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I don't think so. Soil temps above 40F?


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

@g-man for sure above 40.

I dropped .5 N/M CX just to get more even prill coverage for now. I'll see how it responds.

I could hit it again next weekend if it really greens up (.25 N/M Urea), or wait another week at that point.

I don't really mind mowing every two days while locked down anyway.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Nothing like fresh mulch!


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Looking good man! Can't wait to see how it all looks once things get moving.


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## ericgautier (Apr 22, 2017)

Beds/mulch area looks awesome! I really need to start getting some beds/mulch area around my property too.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

+1 on the compliments on the beds! I'm still in the process of weeding and need to get it done, too. Thanks for being a motivator. I like the brown mulch the best, too. I changed over from the red about 3 years ago and think it looks more natural than the black.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

@gregonfire @ericgautier @Chris LI Thanks!!

We're going to have a lot of time to mow and work in the yards over the next few weeks!


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

Yeah, I really love the beds too. They have nice shapes and look super clean. Driveway is nice too!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

First mow today. Greening up well. Some spots really need to fill in a bunch this spring.


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Looks good man, don't worry about the spots filling in, just spoon feed fert every week or two and it'll fill in in no time.


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## ericgautier (Apr 22, 2017)

Alex1389 said:


> First mow today. Greening up well. Some spots really need to fill in a bunch this spring.


What's the HOC?


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

ericgautier said:


> Alex1389 said:
> 
> 
> > First mow today. Greening up well. Some spots really need to fill in a bunch this spring.
> ...


1.75". Going to try to stay there as long as possible.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

She's awake now. Sticking with 1.75" HOC. Not seeing fungus pressure. Sprayed Tenacity and Glyphosate on Tuesday - seems to be very, very slow to work this time. Wonder if the cold weather is messing with the app.

Got a lot planting to do tomorrow as well.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Tenacity + glyphosate? Why the gly?


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

g-man said:


> Tenacity + glyphosate? Why the gly?


Ha! That would be interesting, right?? To clarify, Tenacity blanket spray; gly spot spray.


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## Wolverine (Jan 17, 2018)

Really like your privacy tree plantings. Lawn looks great too!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Thanks @Wolverine!

Got some planting done today:


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## Wolverine (Jan 17, 2018)

Alex1389 said:


> Thanks @Wolverine!
> 
> Got some planting done today:


Looking good! Our great Governor has our entire landscaping/nursery industry in lock down.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Gave the lawn another mow yesterday at 1.75". I really love that height but don't think my mower will mulch well at that HOC - I've done nothing but bag to start the year due to weed pressure. Today I'll throw done my second app of Tenacity plus my first app of Azoxy and another round of nitrogen. Lots of rain coming this week.

Found some concerning weeds but not sure what they are. Poa T? 






Tenacity seems to have smoked this particular Poa A plant: 


Got some planting done and here's my good lighting money shot:


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Looking good Alex. Nice work.

Not sure what that weed is, but try using some glyphosate on a sponge and carefully apply it to the plant. I did that with some POA T and it worked well without killing anything desirable.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Thanks @gregonfire. Agreed it doesn't look like Poa T, but I imagine it'll get the same treatment Poa T gets.

In looking around the forum, I'm wondering if it may be Poa Bulbosa. @Green, looks like you've had experience with Poa B. Any thoughts on the above?


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

@Alex1389, I think you nailed it! That looks like Poa B. Great job!

I pulled mine. Had a lot, but never saw it come back after that one time. I believe it was early Spring when I had it.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Thanks @Green. Appreciate the confirmation! I've got a ton of it so I'll just spot spray with Gly.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Alex1389 said:


> Thanks @Green. Appreciate the confirmation! I've got a ton of it so I'll just spot spray with Gly.


Good luck. It's interesting that we both used Bewifched and had it. Of course I had 5 cultivars in my mix.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Green said:


> Alex1389 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks @Green. Appreciate the confirmation! I've got a ton of it so I'll just spot spray with Gly.
> ...


First year I'm dealing with it and am only seeing it in my backyard. Too many variables for me to try to pinpoint it. Brought in dirt last year. I'm also seeing it throughout the neighborhood, so I wonder if the deer can somehow be spreading it as well. 🤷🏻‍♂️


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

The .5 N/M of Urea seems to have helped clear out a bunch of red thread. Still have Tenacity bleaching everywhere though. Mowing like every two days at this point out of boredom.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Still spoon feeding, still mowing at 1.75". Quarantine boredom made my buy a drone:


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## ericgautier (Apr 22, 2017)

Nice! Which drone did you get?

My quarantine boredom got me into audiophile headphones/dac/amp.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

ericgautier said:


> Nice! Which drone did you get?
> 
> My quarantine boredom got me into audiophile headphones/dac/amp.


Figured I'm saving so much bar money that I may as well! I picked up the DJI Mavic Mini.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Need a little bit of help. I have a bunch of areas that just don't seem to grow properly. I'm wondering if this is still an issue from last year where rain moved seed into certain areas and it's just having a tough time establishing (still)? Here are some pics:





Been throwing the drone up here and there. At ground level with my sun angles, I can't really see the difference between Bewitched and my neighbor's NoMix. From the air it's a different story:


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## Wiley (Dec 2, 2019)

Landscaping looks great and I'm liking the overhead shots from the drone!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

In that drone image you can see a pattern of green and more yellow areas. What have you apply this year?


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

@g-man Yep, you're right! I noticed that as well and noticed it from ground level pics I posted earlier this season as well. See below for those from March. I have a feeling in trying to dump low amounts of N with the Scotts broadcast spreaders, it wasn't spreading very evenly. My last two N apps I dissolved urea and sprayed, so I'm hoping that makes a difference in the coming weeks.





Product applied so far this year:

3/15 - .25lb ai/ac Dimension; 3 oz/k RGS; 6 oz/k Air8 
3/22 - Started plugging bare areas. 
3/24 - .5 N/M Carbon-X 
4/7 - .5 N/M Carbon-X; Grub-Ex down; 4 oz/ac Tenacity 
4/20 - .5 N/M 46-0-0; 2 oz/ac Tenacity; .4 oz/K Azoxy
5/7 - .25 N/M 46-0-0; .25 oz/K T-NEX
5/14 - .25 N/M 46-0-0; .4 oz/K Azoxy


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Long day in the lawn today. Hand raked some trouble areas. Mowed - still holding at 1.75". Dropped some N in trouble areas. Dropped RGS/Air8/Dimension cocktail.

Thanks @g-man for the assist!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Got my hands on some Feature that I'll be spraying tomorrow + PGR. Loving the Bewitched!!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Feature, PGR and final N app (for now) seem to have helped.


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Nice color pop!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Stuofsci02 said:


> Nice color pop!


Thanks man!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

The application of Feature continues to impress. I'm in maintenance mode through the summer now. Nothing but fungicides, PGR, Iron and maybeeee an organic N source.

Just wanted to give a huge thanks to the TLF peeps in general for the help through the Reno and over the years. I've got some spots that need to fill in from Poa A/T but all in all this is the best, most uniform turf I've ever had. @g-man @ken-n-nancy and countless others. Thanks all!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Lawn is on cruise control for the summer. Been waiting for my new Brinly spreader from Amazon for over two weeks now. Once it gets in I'll apply another round of SOP and some light Milo for the summer.


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## ken-n-nancy (Jul 25, 2017)

Alex1389 said:


> Lawn is on cruise control for the summer. Been waiting for my new Brinly spreader from Amazon for over two weeks now. Once it gets in I'll apply another round of SOP and some light Milo for the summer.


Looks awesome!



Alex1389 said:


> ... all in all this is the best, most uniform turf I've ever had. @g-man @ken-n-nancy and countless others. Thanks all!


Glad to see the results! Great work!


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Looking great man. Congrats on the successful reno.


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

Dude looks great! You've done an awesome job on the entire property!

Have you sprayed some Air8/RGS around those green giants? Not sure why but they seem a little leggy, thin at the bottom. Is the soil very compact and their roots aren't spreading out thus neither are they branching out?

If i remember I planted mine a year before you in 2018 and they are busy as heck at the bottom.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Jconnelly6b said:


> Dude looks great! You've done an awesome job on the entire property!
> 
> Have you sprayed some Air8/RGS around those green giants? Not sure why but they seem a little leggy, thin at the bottom. Is the soil very compact and their roots aren't spreading out thus neither are they branching out?
> 
> If i remember I planted mine a year before you in 2018 and they are busy as heck at the bottom.


Thanks man! Have you topped your Green Giants? All I've done is fertilize them with Holly Tone. I was going to let them grow another few feet then top them so they fill in.


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

No haven't topped them yet. I watered them a ton during the first 2 years with a soaker hose, and regularly use liquid fish fertilizer around them. Not sure what else but they love where they are.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Jconnelly6b said:


> No haven't topped them yet. I watered them a ton during the first 2 years with a soaker hose, and regularly use liquid fish fertilizer around them. Not sure what else but they love where they are.


You have a pic? I have noticed a lot of other green giants are more full than mine at the bottom now that you point it out. Mine seem to be reaching for the sky instead of spreading.

Maybe I'll start hitting them with a little more Fert as well. I had a drip irrigation station put in for them, but I've backed it off to watering every 3 days now.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Snapped a pic of them on my way out today @Jconnelly6b


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

I took one of mine this evening while spraying for you lol



I believe they are about 14'-16' tall at this point.

I'll get one in the morning when the light I sent behind them


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

@Jconnelly6b Yours look like what I'm seeing around my neighborhood. I've only been hitting them with Holly Tone once in the spring. I wonder if I'm also going too light with that app. When the temps cool down again, I'll hit them with some more slow release N for the fall. Thanks!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Dropped some Thiophanate-Methyl as a preventative over the weekend. Also applied a very light dose of Milo. Hand pulled weeds. Edge, Trim, Mow. Holding steady at 2.25". My neighbors are trying to keep their lawns low over the summer as well, but they're quickly dying off with these drought conditions.

I'm finding that my iPhone takes "truer" color pics than my drone, but the way my property and street slope it is tough to get good images that capture large parts of the lawn on my iPhone. First pic below from my iPhone, second from drone:


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Dude, looking great. You're doing a fantastic job, keep it up bro!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

@gregonfire thanks man!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Spent a ton of time in the yard today. Weeding the flower beds and re-cutting the edges back in took up the bulk of the time. Trying to get a checkerboard pattern going but not looking too good so far.


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

Alex1389 said:


> Spent a ton of time in the yard today. Weeding the flower beds and re-cutting the edges back in took up the bulk of the time. Trying to get a checkerboard pattern going but not looking too good so far.


Still looks great.. and dark! I've noticed whenever I've tried to change my pattern it looks terrible at first. Takes a couple mows to "burn" it in and have your other pattern disappear. Again good work man!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

jrubb42 said:


> Alex1389 said:
> 
> 
> > Spent a ton of time in the yard today. Weeding the flower beds and re-cutting the edges back in took up the bulk of the time. Trying to get a checkerboard pattern going but not looking too good so far.
> ...


Thanks man! Yeah, you're right, it takes a while to burn in the stripes, especially without a reel mower. I've got the Toro striper on my Timemaster but it just isn't the same as the weight of an entire reel mower on the grass.

The Bewitched seems to be loving this super hot weather. It hasn't skipped a beat and definitely looks better and darker than it did in the spring.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Posted this in the Cool Season Forum and figured I'd post on my journal as well.

Finally got a reel mower (for real this time). Picked it up from a local wholesaler, and I can't wait to use it. Here she is:





So in preparation for this, I was mowing my lawn at 2.25" and brought it down to 1.75" this morning. The JD 220B will cut at 1.25" max. Ideally, I'd be able to take my lawn from 1.75" to 1.5" then to 1.25" slowly; however, I don't trust my Timemaster not to scalp my lawn if I mow any lower than this setting. Here's the lawn this morning after hacking it to 1.75" from 2.25":







It honestly doesn't look that bad at 1.75" IMO but it's definitely a bit stressed. The lower HOC helped to uncover some fungal issues as well.

I dropped .125 N/M and a full rate of T-Methyl today.

What would you guys do from here at this point? Here are my thoughts:

Option 1: Just go from 1.75" to 1.25", water, feed, watch for fungus. It will pull through but look awful for a while.

Option 2 (I'm leaning this way): Hold with rotary at 1.75" for 7-10 days, then drop to 1.25" with the JD. Water, feed, watch for fungus.

Option 3: Hold at 1.75" until weather cools then hack it to 1.25". This is probably the safest bet, but the odds of me not playing with my new toy are slim.

Option 4: Hold at 1.75" for a week or so. Find a 21/22" rotary to bring it down to 1.5" for another week or so. Then go at it with the JD.

Appreciate any insight!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Option 2 but wait until the weather improves a bit so you can push some N for growth.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Thanks @g-man. Probably looking at late July at the earliest in that case. I may at least test it out on some areas that don't get scorched by the sun (side yard only gets about 4 hours of morning sun).


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

Any other summer in the past few years I would say option 2, but dang it's been so brutally hot and dry up until a week ago. I worry that lower HOC will expose too much dirt and your new-ish lawn will be too stressed to fill in and cover those spots, and then really dry out.

I vote for option 3, but you won't be able to do that too much waiting, so do some option 2 in the coolest/shady part of your yard.


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## Vtx531 (Jul 1, 2019)

Id say 3. Definitely the safest. You may well kill it going low in the summer but what do I know, I never mowed low before. Just thinking after being scalped, the grass will attempt to regrow new leaves with everything it's got and possibly deplete all the carb reserves.

It sure is hard to wait though when you got a new piece of equipment to try out. At the very least, I would give it some time to respond to what you have already done and then see how it looks.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

@Jconnelly6b and @Vtx531 thanks! I'm holding off on dropping the HOC as long as I can bc of this weather. That said.......... I did mow the side yard this morning with the 220B because I needed a test plot to make sure she was working fine.

Overall, the leaf blades had plenty of green on them at that HOC, but man did I uncover a TON of fungus issues down there. Seems like the taller HOC was hiding problems under the canopy. I'm going to very slowly and systematically expand beyond the side yard. The other side yard is pretty shady as well so that will be next.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Went ahead and used the JD for the first time. Cut the back and two side yards down to 1.25". The weather seems to be in the lower 80s this week (after today), so I'm hoping this helps. If you guys see me delete my TLF profile, just know that my lawn probably died. :lol: :lol:

One thing is for sure, I need to get better at striping with this thing. Having a tough time judging where the last row of grass was cut when I make my turns and how much overlap to use. Definitely will take some getting used to.

Back and side yard doing well:





Other side yard struggling a bit:


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Looks awesome!

Pretty sure you aren't going to kill that. Already looking mature and it hasn't even turned a year old yet!


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## Vtx531 (Jul 1, 2019)

Looks good with a lot more leaf area and greener than I would have thought too


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## ericgautier (Apr 22, 2017)

Nice!!!

Did you purchase it locally?


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Thanks @JerseyGreens and @Vtx531!

@ericgautier Cutting Green LLC in NJ! Definitely not a steal price wise based on what I see on TLF, but it was delivered, sharpened, serviced and ready to mow. To me that was worth the extra few hundred bucks for sure.


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## ericgautier (Apr 22, 2017)

Alex1389 said:


> Thanks @JerseyGreens and @Vtx531!
> 
> @ericgautier Cutting Green LLC in NJ! Definitely not a steal price wise based on what I see on TLF, but it was delivered, sharpened, serviced and ready to mow. To me that was worth the extra few hundred bucks for sure.


Ah, I've seen and contacted them before also. Good to know! :thumbup:


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

ericgautier said:


> Alex1389 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks @JerseyGreens and @Vtx531!
> ...


He's got a bunch left over if you're looking to make the transition 😁. I plan on picking up a backup later this year as well. Maybe a GM1000 or Flex 21.


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Looks good man, congrats on the new purchase. Wish I could cut low, but my yard is definitely not flat. Plus trying to go low without good irrigation seems like a deathwish. :lol:


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Back and side yards seem to be doing okay at 1.25". Just dealing with a lot of disease at the moment in the side yard. Of course, it doesn't help when a storm that's 1-mile in diameter just happens to hit my area at 10pm at night. Can't win. Azoxy is down.

The funny thing is that the front yard seems to be struggling more than the other two yards, even though it's at 1.75". I attribute this to the rotary cut vs the reel cut.


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

You're going to love mowing low man. I thought I was addicted to lawn care before mowing low. Not the case. It's so addicting and the compliments are non-stop. Glad you joined the dark-side! :lol:


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

jrubb42 said:


> You're going to love mowing low man. I thought I was addicted to lawn care before mowing low. Not the case. It's so addicting and the compliments are non-stop. Glad you joined the dark-side! :lol:


Yeah man! I already love how clean it looks at 1.25". I can only imagine what it will look like when I start dropping towards .75" with the cooler temps. The neighbors have definitely noticed the change in HOC as well -- I get more and more stopping by to ask how this is being done. :lol:


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Def looking nice!

Can't wait to train my KBG to be low cut out of the gate. Pumped to join the reel low club.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Slowly starting to reel mow the front yard at 1.25" section by section. So far not too bad. This weekend when the temps drop out of the 90s, I'll switch everything to the reel at 1.25". Backyard is doing great. Side yard is struggling a bit. Everything needs N - I'm going with a heavy CX app this weekend. Hoping the temps stay in the 80s moving forward.


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Back looks boss.

Is the side yard mostly sunny all day and back yard shaded?

Looks good just some normal heat stress on the side.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

@JerseyGreens I think I underestimated how much sun that side yard actually gets, but it also got hit with quite a bit of brown patch, especially in that far corner in front of the Green Giants. I think I've got the BP stopped for now -- just need to feed the lawn out of it.


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Still looks on point for being so young.

Are you reel mowing all 12k sq feet you have? How is that going? I'll only be reel mowing the front reno...but I'll catch the bug for sure and start thinking about other parts of my property...


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

@JerseyGreens tonight I'm going to switch the front yard over to the reel also. That's my last holdout. I figured this is my opportunity with the better weather incoming.

I know my yard is going to look rough for a few weeks though. Hoping I have an @jrubb42 type of recovery!


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

@Alex1389 easy peasy with the fall coming. You'll be sitting perfect in no time!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Took the front down to 1.25" last night and dropped some urea as well. So far so good...


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Looks great!!

Once you go reel low you don't go back I'm hearing!


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

Looking great!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Thanks gents! @JerseyGreens @jrubb42

Can't wait to end up at .75" HOC.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Did my clean up mow post Isaias and cut it back down to 1.25". Dropped some CX to bring the lawn back to life as well. Took one of those low light shots that I see everyone taking.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

It's been a weird week. I don't think we got as much rain from the tropical storm as I initially anticipated then had a few weak storms pass through. Skipped a few sessions on my Rachio, but I'm starting to notice some drought stress. Giving the lawn .5" of water tomorrow.

Also, think I'll only be mowing double doubles moving forward.


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

The stripes look money. I feel a LOTM coming.


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Looks really good. You are cutting that low with a time Master?


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

I love fat stripes. I agree that it's looks much better than the singles you were doing. Looks like the grass is getting used to being cut low.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

@gm560 Ha! Thanks man. We'll see. The lawn isn't quite there yet though IMO. Still dealing with the stress of bringing the HOC down.

@Stuofsci02 Thanks! Nah, I picked up a JD 220B about a month ago. Cutting at 1.25" now and hoping to drop to 1" by end of August, then .75" by end of September.

@jrubb42 Thanks! The doubles are a bit more tedious but definitely worth it. Backyard is loving it. The other two yards are still giving me a bit of grief.


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Looks great man. You're killing it this year. Did you have the irrigation installed or was it there when you bought the house?


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

gregonfire said:


> Looks great man. You're killing it this year. Did you have the irrigation installed or was it there when you bought the house?


Thanks, man! It was here when I bought the house. I changed a few zones around to optimize things, but I don't think I would have bought this much property without irrigation. It would be way too expensive to install from scratch.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Weather has turned cooler here. Few days next week in the high 80s, then I'm dropping my HOC to 1" from the current 1.25". Overall grass looks okay. Dealing with a ton of dollar spot right now. Backyard is great - front and side not so much.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Double cut yesterday. Can't wait for this week's heat to pass so I can bring the HOC down to 1" and fertilize to grow out of the dollar spot damage.


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Very impressive to see your progress in such a short period of time!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

I won't lie, I've been considering giving up reel mowing. It takes much longer than mowing with my 30" rotary, I have to mow way more frequently because of this 11-blade reel, it's a really heavy, cumbersome machine. But man... today I dropped the HOC to 1" and I just can't get over the look. Next stop .75". I'll keep on reel mowing for now, but I'm sure the fall leaves will challenge my willpower once again.

Also, really hoping this dollar spot damage clears up quickly. This is not a good look right now. I'm seeing a ton of green shoots within the damaged areas though, so I'm hoping by end of September this will be in the rear view mirror.


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

Alex1389 said:


> I won't lie, I've been considering giving up reel mowing. It takes much longer than mowing with my 30" rotary, I have to mow way more frequently because of this 11-blade reel, it's a really heavy, cumbersome machine. But man... today I dropped the HOC to 1" and I just can't get over the look. Next stop .75". I'll keep on reel mowing for now, but I'm sure the fall leaves will challenge my willpower once again.
> 
> Also, really hoping this dollar spot damage clears up quickly. This is not a good look right now. I'm seeing a ton of green shoots within the damaged areas though, so I'm hoping by end of September this will be in the rear view mirror.


Your backyard is definitely loving the reel mowing more than the front. The dollar spot isn't helping much either, but the back looks super good!

Having a big yard does make it tough to reel mow. I'm just doing my front right now (6k), and am kind of dreading the day I decide to reel mow the back (4k). It takes a long time especially when you're double cutting. But to be honest I would never go back (your yard looked a lot better than mine with a rotary though).

When I went from 1 inch to 7/8ths. I loved the cut so much better. Going from 7/8ths to 3/4 was a game changer for me. Looks so much different/better by lowering it just 1/8th. It's crazy. I'm looking forward to 5/8ths this fall. Stick with it for the fall at least. Let me know what you decide to do with the leaves. I'm going to be in the same boat 😂


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Did you started PGR? I would not be able to keep up without it.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

jrubb42 said:


> Alex1389 said:
> 
> 
> > I won't lie, I've been considering giving up reel mowing. It takes much longer than mowing with my 30" rotary, I have to mow way more frequently because of this 11-blade reel, it's a really heavy, cumbersome machine. But man... today I dropped the HOC to 1" and I just can't get over the look. Next stop .75". I'll keep on reel mowing for now, but I'm sure the fall leaves will challenge my willpower once again.
> ...


Thanks man. I have a lawn service coming out this week to hit the yard with a dethatcher. $400 but I feel like there's no way I'm getting through 12k sq ft with an electric dethatcher. Hopefully that cleans up a lot of the brown areas from fungus.

Backyard -- yeah, just absolutely loving life back there right now. Are you going to try to stick with 5/8" through summer next year also, or will you adjust upwards a bit?

I have a feeling leaves will involve going over with my Timemaster, then coming back with the reel. Not looking forward to it!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

@g-man I haven't started PGR yet. At this point I'm mowing every other day to try to stick within the FOC of the 11-blade reel. Not fun. This week I'm going to dethatch and hit with a half bag rate of CX. Depending on how things look after the dethatch, I'm planning on starting PGR again end of this week/early next week.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

I am in fall blitz mode. .25 N/M going down via a weekly urea spray. Also adding .33 N/M XGRN monthly. Put down my final pre-m of the season yesterday. Already seeing some Poa A coming up. Can't win.

Front yard is recovering nicely from dollar spot. Backyard still looks good.

The foreground in the first pic below scares me a bit. I'm hoping it fills in and I don't need to re-seed that.


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## jrubb42 (Jun 20, 2019)

Did you drop to 0.75? I anxious to see it. Every time I drop the cut lower, I fall more in love with the new height :lol: I'm scared to cut any lower in case I like it.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

jrubb42 said:


> Did you drop to 0.75? I anxious to see it. Every time I drop the cut lower, I fall more in love with the new height :lol: I'm scared to cut any lower in case I like it.


Hey man, wishing you a speedy recovery and all the best with your health battle.

I did end up coming down to .75" and it just looks awesome. I'm continually impressed by the lower heights. Of course, overall my lawn has a long way to go right now from the stress and disease damage over the summer, but I'll get it back to tip top shape by next spring. I'll post some pics after I mow on Sunday.


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Been a long while since I updated here. Just been dealing with a ton of issues due to over regulation on the lawn. Thanks to @g-man for the assist in identifying.

Great color right now but going to need this to fill in badly in the spring.


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

Alex can you share a little of the over regulation symptoms? I think I'm dealing with that maybe after my overseed. Parts are yellowish and very slow to grow


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Jconnelly6b said:


> Alex can you share a little of the over regulation symptoms? I think I'm dealing with that maybe after my overseed. Parts are yellowish and very slow to grow


I probably wouldn't have a good answer to this. By the time I realized it was over-regulation, I had already misidentified it as dollar spot damage. My mistake was using Propiconazole along with T-Nex. If your overlaps on the PGR are fine and you aren't using a DMI fungicide, I wouldn't suspect over-regulation so long as you used the appropriate rate.


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

And if my overlaps were a little too overlappy, and I included 1oz per k of propicanazole in my tank mix?

:? :?


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Jconnelly6b said:


> And if my overlaps were a little too overlappy, and I included 1oz per k of propicanazole in my tank mix?
> 
> :? :?


I would suspect it is then possible. How long ago was this? What are you seeing in the turf? Are you still fertilizing?


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## JerseyGreens (Aug 30, 2019)

Hey man - just checking in here - looking good for end of season.

Did you decide on keeping up the the reel life? I love it but have to agree that the work is on another level. The quality of cut is just something else. Hang in there man!

Plus the extra steps are welcomed with the extra COVID weight. Ha!


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

JerseyGreens said:


> Hey man - just checking in here - looking good for end of season.
> 
> Did you decide on keeping up the the reel life? I love it but have to agree that the work is on another level. The quality of cut is just something else. Hang in there man!
> 
> Plus the extra steps are welcomed with the extra COVID weight. Ha!


Hey sorry man, haven't been checking in here as much lately. End of the season always saddens me a bit.

I'm going to keep up with the reel life through next year (I think). The fall is definitely a challenge with the reel mowing because of first cleaning up the leaves. Every time I say I'm giving up, I take a look at the lawn and can't get over how good it looks reel mowed.

Some pics from my mow last week:


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## Alex1389 (May 23, 2018)

Just one final post here as a post-winter update. The lawn looks pretty good for this time of year. Check out the line between my neighbor's NoMix. Hoping the new owners keep it up!


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