# TheSwede 2021



## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

*The base facts:*
A Stockholm suburbs (about the same latitude as Juneau, AL but located in Sweden, Europe) 100% KBG lawn, reel mowed @ 16mm (5/8") with a 2007 Toro Flex21.

*The past:*
2019
2020

*Progress (and proud moments) 2020:*

Started the season like this:


Ended the season like this:




Again. Cannot stress how helpful this forum has been in achieving my 2020 results. Could not have done this without the knowledge and willingness to share tips, tricks and war stories from all the knowledgable people in this stellar community!

*Goals 2021:*

Persuade wife that it is a good thing to do a full reno the back yard.
Do a full reno of the back yard.
Put down edging stones to define the lawn areas better and make it easier to mow.
Sand level the front lawn to make it smooooth.
Build a greenhouse in the front yard.
Get a new job.
Work my way back to playing golf in the 70s.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

OK, so let the games begin...

First thing is to service my Flex21. It leaks oil from the transmission, and the 11 blade reel will have to be replaced. It is worn down and it's not really a good match for my 1/2" HOC goal, let alone the 5/8 HOC I mowed at in 2020.

So, I insulated the garage last summer but it has really filled up with junk during the winter months. I've been looking for a decent 2nd hand workbench that is built like a tank, but I ended up buying a new one. A bit more expensive than I would have liked and perhaps a little smaller too, but it is sturdy and it was in stock so I bought it.

Next step was to assemble the darn thing (it weighs in at 230lbs so I had to ask my neighbour for help holding the parts in position).

After that I spent 2 hours making room for the workbench and paving way for the Toro, and then again asking the neighbour to help me move the workbench into its final location. Did I mention I borrowed my neighbours trailer to get the workbench home? No? Good thing I also aksed him to help move the refrigerator to its final position in the garage (in very close proximity to the workbench). As it happens it was full of beer, and now it is pretty much empty. But I can borrow that trailer whenever I want. 

So, the idea is that the Flex21 will arrive through this canyon of junk, and be positioned somewhere between my 4 golf bags and the treadmill, for disassembly:


Then I will (actually I'll ask my neighbor ) lift it onto the workbench for disassembly. I'll have to pull the gearbox apart almost completely to be able to replace the worn out parts... After that I will charge on with replacing the reel. Going from a worn donwn 11-blade to a brand new 8-blade will complicate things. I'm planning to remove the groomer assy initially and use the extended HOC kit for the first mows. Plan is to start with high HOC (+1/2", and then mow the lawn @ 1/2" and groomer attachment).

Anyways, there's lots of parts that I have ordered to convert from groomer to High HOC, and at the same time fix the leaking gearbox, and I realized today that I am missing a vital part that will cost me an additional 50 bucks...


Besides that, I've invested in a grow tent for cannabi chilli... Anyways the chillis are sprouting and growing as well as some pumpkins and herbs.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

OK, so planned to work on mower sunday night, but got stuck watching The Players instead (=golf!).

Fast forward to today -let the games begin...removing the gearbox:





After about 1 hour of ample amounts of penetration oils some heat and the use of impact drivers I managed to dislodge all the screws and thread the gearbox and then some out of the mower and put it onto the workbench.



Need to take a step back and figure out if this little fella actually needs to be removed for what I need to do with the gearbox -I tried to remove it, but this guy is stuck. Real stuck. If needed I will escalate tomorrow with a torch and another try with the impact, but for now, I will leave it marinating in penetrating oil over night hoping I can convince it to loosen up tomorrow.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

So, this is the state of the lawn right now. Frost that melts away with the morning light. Beautiful!



When it comes to lawn mower service, the short shaft is done... The shaft bearing hadn´t siezed but it has not been properly fixed to the shaft so the shaft has been worn down. So anther $100 needs to be spent...


Otherwise i handed in my resignation today (a 90 day notice (!) as is common up here). Landed my my dream job yesterday. It ticks each and every box on my list and then some. The process started over a year ago but due to COVID and an aquisition it wasn´t agreed upon until today so it has been an excrusiatingly long process. But now it is done.


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## Wiley (Dec 2, 2019)

@TheSwede those end of season pics were on point! Good luck this season.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Wiley said:


> @TheSwede those end of season pics were on point! Good luck this season.


Thanks, @Wiley -it was lots of hard work, good climate, this forum, and some luck, but with the result I had last season I am absolutely pumped for the coming one!


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Quick update:
I was a bit slow ordering parts for the mower due to another project I'm planning so I am still waiting for the shaft, bearing and some small parts needed to put it all together.

So, the other project...well I guess it is time to build a pool in the back yard! In a way it is a stupid, stupid project, because I really do not need to take on any more economic risks right now, but having resigned from my current job, I need something to focus my energy on in the following months or I will mentally implode!

Pool projects where I live are fairly expensive investments -very expensive, compared to most other countries, actually. The digging is expensive if you need to get rid of the land fill (which I need, since the guy that built the property in 1978 did a perfect job of filling out the property to pretty much ruler flat).

Pools aren't really that common up here (even if they are gaining popularity, especially last year with covid preventing us from travelling to warmer countries) so the total volume of pools sold is fairly low which keeps the price for the material at a premium price point. The cool climate and short summers means you'll need external heating, insulating the pool, and materials that can cope with the low winter temperatures. There are regulations on enclosing the pool area and covering the pool to prevent accidents, and since the market volume is low, it is *insanely* expensive to get even a simple pool cover that fulfills the regulations.

There are still some things that needs to be sorted, like finding someone that can do the digging, and making sure I can get the material needed for the pool before the end of the season. The plan is to pretty much go all in and do a fully insulated 13x26ft concreete pool with air-to-water heat pump and swim jet, pray that the digging will be smooth, and then somehow miraculously find a buyer on the russian black market for my retinas and my good kidney so I can get the pool cover I really want. If pools are expensive up here, pool covers that are approved from a regulatory standpoint and that are designed to cope with the typical snow load we get up here during the winters, are *insanely* expensive. We're talking the equivalent of a pretty decent car. Anyway, this is pretty close to what I aim for (of course I won't be able to see it when it is finished because my retinas will have been "donated" to some russian oligarch, and I'll spend the rest of my life on dialysis :lol: )m but the size of the pool, the deck and the cover is pretty much spot on what it will look like, I guess:


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Some progress on the Flex21...

Got the parts I needed, disassembled the gearbox, pulled out the differential assy and replaced the worn out axle. Cleaned everything



Then it was assembly time. Got the new shaft for the diff assy sorted real fast. No problems whatsoever.


Put all the newly cleaned parts back into the gearbox and started to put the right cover in place. Did not close. Lots of shafts that needs to be seated and I struggled for a while before I discovered I had put the friction band on backwards. Doh! 
After correcting that blunder everything slipped nicely together. Then I discovered a little washer on the workbench that looked very much that it was supposed to be on the inside of the now assembled gearbox... It was the thrust washer for the reel drive shaft that I had forgot to put in place before closing the gearbox covers. So, I had to pull everything apart again (wasn't easy) and put the thrust washer in place and then close the thing up again:



Yesterday and today I spent working in the garden. Parts of the hedge surrounding my property needed to be replaced, so I spent the last two days digging the old hedge out and replacing it with new plants. Hard work, but now 80+ hedge plants are in the ground and hopefully will grow up and blend in with the rest of the hedge in the next few seasons.

Lawn is starting to wake up. and it wakes up fast. Need to put down the first spring app of prodiamine tomorrow because temps are rising fast now:


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Wow, it is so clean that it looks like it is new.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

g-man said:


> Wow, it is so clean that it looks like it is new.


Well, I was a bit concerned about the wear on the moving parts considered how much the gearbox leaked, but the parts inside the gearbox was pretty much mint condition. It was the bad bearing that had done the most damage it seems. Anyway, the gearbox is back on the mower:



Need to remember to fill it up with oil, though.... 

Next thing is to rebuild the cutting unit:


New 8 blade reel instead of worn down 11-blade means I need to remove the groomer assy and put in a High HOC kit to be able to cut higher than 1/2", which I need to do, at least in the first part of the season. So, groomer assy removed and old reel disassembled:



Hope to put the new reel in place tomorrow, when kids and wife are asleep...


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

OK, so what about that Prodiamine app I was planning? Think I can safely hold off a day or two with that,,,,



Regarding the cutting unit rebuild I did get the reel out but the wear sleeves that I planned on reusing (they are actually pretty expensive) are absolutely stuck on the old reel. I just cannot get them to move no matter what I try, so I'll bite the bullet and order two new ones instead. Also, one of the seals on the side plates was cracked so I'll order one of those as well.

I did manage to mount the new bedknife, though. The screws holding the old bedknife was in really bad shape so I was a bit worried I would not get them out but they all unscrewed nicely.





Cleaned up the bedbar to get the new bedknife to seat properly...



The bedknife that was mounted was a 115-1880 microcut optimized for 1/16-3/16" HOC which is way shorter than what I aim for, so I will mount a low cut suitable for 3/16-1" (4.8-25.4 mm), With an 8 blade reel to compliment the low cut bedknife I think the after cut appearence will be way better than last season with the 11-blade and microcut bedknife. Notice that the microcut is shorter and much much thinner than the low cut:



Bedknife mounted. Now waiting for the missing parts so I can assemble the cutting unit, remount it on the mower and get everything diled in for 2021 season:


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Did the first spit app of Prodiamine today, and started up the irrigation system for the season. There's no rain forcasted for the next 10 days and I need to water the Prodiamine in. Will do the other app in a month or so. Lawn looks good and is greening up way faster than my "lawn-ignorant" neighbors´ lawns:



When it comes to the other projects there are some major setbacks. Wife got Covid-19, so we're all in isolation. Wife is barely noticing any symptoms which is very fortunate, and I tested negative (which is kind of mindboggling since I've spent pretty much 24/7 with her the last couple weeks). Little guy can´t go to daycare so he's with us 24/7 and he is getting seriously boooooooooooored now, so it is a bit of a challenge to juggle his needs for attention and stimulation between two full time and then some, jobs.

I must say both our empolyers have been very understanding and supportive of our situation. You kind of know that you're working for a truly great company when your managers directors boss (!) devotes well over 5 minutes of an executive Zoom meeting that your little one happens to bomb out of boredome while dad is holding a very important presentation, and the managers directors boss encourages the little guy not only to demo the latest lego build but also wants to watch him hit some golf shots in the back yard.

If everything goes as planned, we'll all be back to normal tuesday morning when the isolation period (hopefully) ends.

The Flex21 parts have arrived, but I can't pick them up due to the covid isolation restrictions, which sucks. The pool project is on hold since I can't find anyone to do the digging, which also sucks. However, none of that matters. What matters is that my wife, I and my son is still doing OK in this pandemic. Stay safe.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

The Flex is back together! Just hoping I didn't mess up the assembly of it. Next step is to double check everything, Then check everything again, and then start it up to see if it will actually cut.

Anyways, assembly went pretty smooth. It took me about 3,5 hours to pull out the side plate bearings and seals, clean them up and check them, pack them with grease, put them all together (with new seals), mount the new reel and bedbar w. new bedknife, mount high HOC kit and get the cutting unit back on the mower.

The most confusing part of the assembly was that I removed the groomer assy and I had to reuse some nuts and bolts from the groomer, but also a few new ones I ordered, so it took me a while to figure it all out. Maybe the beer I enyoyed while assembling it had something to do with it beeing a bit more confusing than it needed. I don't know. 

Side plates disassembled and cleaned up:


Sideplates assembled, bearings packed and new seals mounted:


Wear sleves allready on replacement reel, and soothing beer opened:


Bedknife about to be mounted:


Bedknife and reel mounted:


Everyting assembled including new bushings for the frame link assy:


Cutting unit back on the mower. Fingers crossed I havn't messed up  :


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## nikmasteed (Apr 30, 2020)

Hope your wife and the rest of your family are doing okay! Wishing a speedy recover with few/no symptoms for her.

It's been neat to see the disassembly/reassembly of the mower!


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Thanks @nikmasteed! We're all feeling well and since about who hours we're officially not in quarantine anymore.

Only had a little time for the Flex21 today but I have checked everything and it seems to work as it should. Didn't have time today but tomorrow I'll hopefully adjust the bedknife, back lap and set the HOC. Lawn is actually growing now so can't wait to try it on the lawn!


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

OK, so the baby is lapped and ready to go! After closer inspection the 8-blade reel from R&R is both spin- and release grinded from the factory. It seems they paint it after the grind so it only needed a slight backlapping with fine lapping compound and it cuts *perfectly*.

Too bad the mother nature has put spring on hold up here with temperatures close to freezing, so I'll have to wait another few weeks before doing the first mow...


On the lawn care equipment side I decided to go a bit bananas yesterday. It all started with the leaf blower I bought last fall. I have a lot of Makita equipment so I bought a Makita leaf blower that takes 2x18V batteries. Turns out that my batteries where pretty much done after the house reno, so all I got from my 3Ah batteries was a 6 minute window of leaf blowing.

So, turns out one of the dads at my sons preschool, that I have connected with, is a Makita key account manager...and boy is he good at what he is doing :lol: , so now I kind of upgraded with 6(!) new 18V, 6Ah batteries, a dual quick charging station, a DUX60Z multi trimmer with all the accessories (I mean all of them -the cord grass trimmer, the edger, the cultivator, and the hedge trimmer attachment), Got a *really* good discount, but still way more money that I had planned to spend (but I don't care :bandit: ).

Just to complete the lawn care equipment buying bonanza in a grand way, I decided I needed the "IDECH Power Rotary Scissors" attachment as well. So it is on its way... :smile: :ugeek:


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

It's cool for the season but I can't hold myself. I just gotta mow, and so I did...







Realized the reel did not engage fast enough, it took several yards before it got up to speed... The play in the linkage to the reel clutch is significant since the unit is old, but after I tensioned the wire and some lubrication of the wire i think we're good. Will try again in the next few days.

Pool project is not progressing the way I want it to and I think I am going to pull the plug for this year and come up with a more realistic plan for next year. I probably could get it done this year but the demand for pools is so high right now that the contractors can pick and choose at their will and the rates are high. Way high... I like it the other way around so I'll bide my time and see how they respond later in the summer or in the fall...Kind of sucks not to get a pool this year, but it is a decision I am more than willing to take, considering the cost and availability.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

The makita DUX60Z arrived today together with the 6 batteries and the dual charger. Compared to my current trimmer it is a beast. I attached the IDECH Power Rotary Scissors to it and...man...I'm in trimmer heaven! The DUX60Z has three power levels and at the lowest power level it ran for a few seconds and then stopped. Middle level, however works wonderfully. Higest level is a bit too fast I think, but it actually runs perfectly on that setting too. Still waiting for the edger and the hedge trimmer attachment, but they are on their way according to the shipping company.

Since the pool project is on hold, wife figured out a way to prevent me from being able to relax this summer as well. We're building a greenhouse!?! Still not sure the greenhouse she has selected is available but it is not looking as bad as the pool, for sure. Just to make it complicated she wants one of those greenhouses that are not glass all the way down, but have a say 2 ft brick wall and then glass. I love the look of it, but it is just soo much more complicated for me to buld (but I mean, it looks soo good I just cant resist building one ):


So, with that said, greenhouses also seem to be hard to get these days...time will tell...


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Looks like a good start to the season!!


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Stuofsci02 said:


> Looks like a good start to the season!!


Thanks @Stuofsci02 -it has been a great start of the season. Spring had a minor setback today with 3C temps, heavy rain w. snow (!) and 20+ m/s winds in the gusts, but otherwise the lawn is doing great and I have the backlog filled up nicely.

Personally, however, I *really* whished that I had read the weather forecast before I booked season's first golf round for this morning :lol: . Fingers like popsicles after first hole, rain starting to seeking its way in under my raingear after 15 minutes, on one of the more exposed greens by the sea the ball literally blew off the green due to the wind gusts, and when we finally made it back, the restaurant is closed due to COVID...

Regarding the greenhouse I have now ordered it and they say it will be delivered in 3 weeks. So, now I am trying to source rustic looking bricks for the dwarf wall my wife wants. It turned out much harder than I anticipated -it the southern part of Sweden the climate is good for using concrete, stone or bricks for building houses. Further north, where I live, wood is the natural choice nowadays so bricks are hard to get, and with most opting for the typically strict, clean, minimalistic swedish design language, rustic is simply not available here, it seems...

However, have a collogue that is based in the very southern part of Sweden and he said his brothers wifes husbands cousins family (or something like that) has been in the brick making industry since the early 1700 and they have a massive amount of unused hand made vintage bricks done in the early 1900 that I might be able to buy for a really good price.

Fingers crossed!


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## SeanBB (Jul 11, 2020)

@TheSwede mango growing time!


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

TheSwede said:


> Stuofsci02 said:
> 
> 
> > Looks like a good start to the season!!
> ...


We also have crap weather here.... Grass is growing well though, just no fun to mow and freeze.. It's the price we pay for living north.. Our grass with thank us in July


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

SeanBB said:


> @TheSwede mango growing time!


Something like that!


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Stuofsci02 said:


> We also have crap weather here.... Grass is growing well though, just no fun to mow and freeze.. It's the price we pay for living north.. Our grass with thank us in July


Mine has just started to grow now. The cool weather is gone and in the forecast it looks like pretty decent temperatures from now on.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Last week ended in disappointment and this week started with new hope. Last week I got a message from the company supplying the greenhouse that due to high demand and supply chain problems they changed the delivery date from this week to february 2020 (!). So, no greenhouse this year :evil: .

Fast forward to today and the pool company called and said that all parts for my pool had arrived. He actually explained he had ordered all parts for my pool when I talked to him over a month ago despinte me not having signed the contract because, as he explained, the demand was so high that he knew he could sell it to another client if I pulled out of the deal. So, basically he called to see if I was still interested. The main problem for me was that he could not commit to build it. I asked him if he could commit to build it for me for a reasonable price and he said that he probably will be able to get mine done pretty soon since several of his current builds can't be started or are on hold since they are waiting for parts.

The only uncertainty is when the digging can be done, but he said that his subcontractor probably can do the digging in time for the slab to be poured in three weeks. Then the walls can be poured about a week after that. 4 hours after he called me, a massive amount of pool building material was delivered to my house so I think he actually will get it done after all!

So, there are still some ifs and buts and the time plan still feels a bit sketchy, but it seems like the pool project is officially back on!?! And maybe, just maybe, if the pool project does not kill me, I'll be able to get the irrigation in the ground and reseed the back yard late this summer. That would be sweet, since I originally planned the back yard reno to be done in 2019, and I really hate how bad the back yard looks compared to the front lawn...


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Temps are up and the lawn is picking up pace real fast. Decided to lower HOC to 5/8" and turn on irrigation that will run this night:


Walking the lawn this morning I saw a bit of Poa A (way, way less than last year so I am not that bothered but will keep it under observation the following weeks -this I can easilly handpull). Cut out 8 fist size areas of unwanted grass from the lawn. Looked like PRG, but I could be wrong. Not that worried right now about that either.

To finish it off, I took my Makita DUX60Z w. the Ideco Power Rotary Scissors attachment for a spin to trim down the hard to get spots for my Flex 21 and man, the Ideco is just friggin amazing when trimming @ reel short HOCs! I love this thing! In fact, I love it so much I did not even bother taking a photo of my setup. I just let it cut until i ran out of battery for the DUX60Z . Still waiting for the edger attachmen to arrive so I can clean up the lines around the pathway...

BTW that lamp post just needs to go -it is just an ugly reminder from the 70s and it is in the way of my reel mower. If I get inspired I'll remove it tomorrow, but right now there's just too many decisions that has to be made regarding the pool area so I'll probably leave it as is until I feel the pool project is progressing the way I want it too...


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## f_l (Aug 11, 2020)

lawn looks great! how are the poa problems this year compared to last year? or did prodiamine apps work out well?


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

OK, lawn is really starting to grow now and this evening the weather was finally OK for spraying the lawn. I mixed in the second part of a split Prodiamine app, medium rate Tenacity app to light up the Poa A so I can see how much is left to handpull, and then a half rate app of Prohexadione-Calcium (Anuew) to start regulate the growth of the ***.

Will be interesting to see if The Prohex-Ca will do what it claims -longer supression times, more even supression beween cultivars (one of my *** cultivars seem to be less supressed than the other two when I was using T-NEX), and of course if it actually has any effect on Poa A. Time will tell...


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Rain. Lots of it. It has been raining constatnly for 4 days now and it will rain for at least another day. Up here about an inch per month is normal. Last day we had 2 inches of rain and today and tomorrow we'll have another inch. Good thing I put down Prohexadione-Calcium (Anuew). The lawn is growing, but it seems like the Prohexadione-Calcium has slowed the growth a lot which is good since I don't want to mow in the rain.

On the personal level I am really struggling to keep up the facade of everything beeing great at work-I handed in my notice two+ months ago and I still have 3 weeks that I need to pretend I kind of care about things I do not give a ra*s *ss about anymore.

On the positive side of not caring about my job anymore is that I've been playing and practicing more golf the last few months than I have done in the last 5 years, and my 5yo son Alex (he's the main reason why I havn't had time to golf for the last 5 years...) has been tagging along to the range with me and we're just having so much fun out there, together. Priceless.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

First mow after the rain. Worms had a field day during the rain so there are lots of dirt spots but other than that it looks [email protected]/2" IMHO..


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## Chuuurles (Nov 23, 2020)

TheSwede said:


> First mow after the rain. Worms had a field day during the rain so there are lots of dirt spots but other than that it looks [email protected]/2" IMHO..


Looks great, any updates on the pool?


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## Tassoty (Oct 2, 2020)

TheSwede said:


> *The base facts:*
> A Stockholm suburbs (about the same latitude as Juneau, AL but located in Sweden, Europe) 100% KBG lawn, reel mowed @ 16mm (5/8") with a 2007 Toro Flex21.
> 
> *The past:*
> ...


The third photo looks amazing and it could be used as a desktop background. :thumbup:


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Amazing! Look forward to following your year. Another Flex21 journal!


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Chuuurles said:


> TheSwede said:
> 
> 
> > First mow after the rain. Worms had a field day during the rain so there are lots of dirt spots but other than that it looks [email protected]/2" IMHO..
> ...


Thanks @Chuuurles ! The pool project right now is nothing more than a big pile of styrofoam blocks in the back yard combined with mild frustration over the fact that the digger hasn't showed up yet and that decking is allmost impossible to get your hands on right now, and prices has gone up 80% in the last three months. Not sure how to do with the deck, maybe I'll just do a minimal, temporary deck this year and then order the quality I want in the off-season, but I havn't given up on a nice quality deck just yet. The extra cost for the decking is not really a huge problem since it is a relatively small part of the total budget anyways, but the quality of the wood they offer right now is just plain awful. Here's a pic of the "pool" right now:


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Tassoty said:


> The third photo looks amazing and it could be used as a desktop background. :thumbup:


Thanks @Tassoty! It was quite a lot of work to get to that level but it was also a fantastic year for the grass up here with almost perfect conditions in the late summer. Before I nuked the lawn, leveled it and put down the KBG seeds it looked like this (July 20, 2019):


Looking at that pic is just insane -I had totally forgotten how the lawn used to look like - :shock: :shock: :shock:

Pretty much exactly one year before the "desktop background pic" was taken the lawn looked like this (September 3, 2020):


If I am satisfied with the lawn reno so far? H**l yeah!  (September 11, 2020):


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Stuofsci02 said:


> Amazing! Look forward to following your year. Another Flex21 journal!


Thanks @Stuofsci02, and YEAH -the Flex21 with renoed gearbox, new 8 blade reel and bedknife is just *amazing* to mow with now. The 8-blade just cuts soooo much better than the 11-blade at my current HOC (1/2"). Probably will put the groomer back on soon...


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## Tassoty (Oct 2, 2020)

I have checked your journal from last year and I saw all your hard work. I even showed your lawn to my wife and told her that this is my favorite soccer field&#129349;. Realy amazing job.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Tassoty said:


> I have checked your journal from last year and I saw all your hard work. I even showed your lawn to my wife and told her that this is my favorite soccer field🥅. Realy amazing job.


Wow, I am humbled you showed your wife my lawn... My wife since 25+ years kind of knows that I need to do these kind of crazy projects regularly to stay happy, but this one was really pushing the boundaries of her ability to stay open mided regarding my "projects" :lol:.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

This weekend was all about catching up in the garden and with life in general... The plant bed behind the retaining wall is slowly progressing forward. Still a couple years before it will be finished since it is doubling as a temporary storage for plants that we will move to its final location, but it is slowly getting there... In regards to the lawn the relative absence of whitening mean that the Poa A problem is pretty much under control after last weeks Tenacity app. There are still a few spots that needs to be hand pulled but it seems like the harsh treatment regime last year really payed off:



I've also decided to transplant KBG plugs to areas that haven't really filled in, so today I probably did 20 plugs or so:


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## Tassoty (Oct 2, 2020)

TheSwede said:


> Tassoty said:
> 
> 
> > I have checked your journal from last year and I saw all your hard work. I even showed your lawn to my wife and told her that this is my favorite soccer field🥅. Realy amazing job.
> ...


I have noticed that many people here, me included, do these project and work on the lawn as part of our sress relief program. I have noticed that after stressful day I go out and mow even if is doesn't need to be mowed.... just to pick up some debries from the wind, look at the smooth grass and relax.


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

TheSwede said:


> Stuofsci02 said:
> 
> 
> > Amazing! Look forward to following your year. Another Flex21 journal!
> ...


I also switched to the 8 blade from an 11 blade over the winter. It really is night and day difference at the 1/2 to 7/8 HOC. Did you get the high cut bed knife too?


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Tassoty said:


> I have noticed that many people here, me included, do these project and work on the lawn as part of our sress relief program. I have noticed that after stressful day I go out and mow even if is doesn't need to be mowed.... just to pick up some debries from the wind, look at the smooth grass and relax.


For me, that is just who I am -what can I say, I am a restless soul, I guess. Probably have some sort of diagnosis -I jsut got to have a gazillion demanding things going on in my life and If I didn't I would feel absolutely miserable...

When it comes to stress relief, hell yea! Mowing is very therapeutic for sure! On the flip side of this lawn "obsession", I have to really work actively on making sure my (young) son understands that I actually see him, his friends, and all the great things he does, and recognize him for that. The great thing here, is that I feel myself nerding deep into how to be a great dad in conjunction with keeping a great lawn...


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Stuofsci02 said:


> TheSwede said:
> 
> 
> > Stuofsci02 said:
> ...


I actually ordered the Low Cut (.187 - 1.00) HOC knife -more than likely .187 is a bit of wishful thinking, to say the least, but that is what I have mounted on the Flex right now .


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## Tassoty (Oct 2, 2020)

TheSwede said:


> Tassoty said:
> 
> 
> > I have noticed that many people here, me included, do these project and work on the lawn as part of our sress relief program. I have noticed that after stressful day I go out and mow even if is doesn't need to be mowed.... just to pick up some debries from the wind, look at the smooth grass and relax.
> ...


Yep, the same here. If I am not working on the lawn I am working on the endless cartboard projects with the boys. :thumbup:


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

TheSwede said:


> Stuofsci02 said:
> 
> 
> > TheSwede said:
> ...


Interesting...


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Stuofsci02 said:


> TheSwede said:
> 
> 
> > Stuofsci02 said:
> ...


Not sure there are any significant differences in cut quality at say 1/2" between the two. At least the after cut appearance compared to last season using the worn down 11-blade reel and the tournament bedknife compared to 8 blades and the low cut is *ridiculous*. At 1/2" the mower cuts like a champ -still some stragglers but way way less than last season. I want to put the groomer back on now, but I don't have the time to do it right now due to other obligations. Come to think of it, It probably should not take me no more than a couple hours to get it put back on so instead of reading on lawn care forums I could just spend the time on...oh, damn!


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Mowed Sunday. Decided to do a combined FAS and PGR (Prohexadione Calcium aka Anuew) app this evening. This time i used a tiny tiny amount of citric acid to lower the pH from 7 to about 5 and the ferrous sulfate dissolved nicely with a blue-greenish tint rather than the rusty, sludgey tint that I have had before. First app of Prohex Cal was at half rate, but this time I went for full 0.37oz/1000sqft and it dissolved nicely as well so FAS and Anuew will mix (at least if the pH is about 5 ).

The weather forecasts right now are pretty sketchy and this evening was no exception. I think I'm OK but about an hour after the app it rained very lightly for about 20 minutes. The weather station didn't even register it so I'm pretty sure I'm good and the Prohex Cal and the FAS just got some extra soak time with the additional humidity.

The lawn looks a bit rough since I am still waiting for the edger and I haven't had time to mow it just yet and I think the PGR is wearing off, but tomorrow if weather permits, it will be reset to 12.5mm (1/2"):


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Nope, still havn't mowed since my only mowing window during the last three days, it rained, so lawn is still looking rough.

Next week will be my last week at the current company and my boss is really stressed out since the company I work for merged with another company a short while ago. and there's been a hire-freeze for a couple months. So, this week I spent pretty much all my time in Teams/Zoom/Skype meetings with a bunch of random people, trying to hand over a bunch of chores and tasks that I really do not care about anymore. Some meetings where pretty good, other where like "OK, so the Pilot is dead -do we have a piano tuner onboard the plane that can land the plane?" :roll:

But, I gonna try my best to do a great handover even if my work engagement has hit absolute rock bottom by now. To keep me going I reiterate what my father used to tell me ; "Son, just remember that the toes you step on today may very well be connected to the a**hole you have to kiss tomorrow". Wise words, indeed.

On the positive side my team and a few other collogues I've worked with during the years decided to throw a surprise BBQ for me yesterday. Very surprised and humbled. Ms TheSweed was of course in on it and had made up some horse shit story to keep my schedule open this evening... Anyway, apart from some really good meat from the smoker and a great time with the whole team present IRL for the first time for over a year, they gave me this little fella... Gonna save it for a special moment, I think (perhaps if I ever win LOTM... ):



One more week to endure, then 6 weeks off (!) before I climb back up in the ferret wheel again...


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

12.5mm. The power rotary scissor attachment...I just love it...it is amazing -the trimming just blends with the 12.5 mm HOC of the Flex21. No shredding just clippings with this one...


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## SeanBB (Jul 11, 2020)

Wow beautiful!


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

@SeanBB, thanks! Last few years was a bit of a struggle but now everything is coming together. If I could only get that edger attachment for the Makita so I could tidy up the edges...


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Mowed yesterday since we had a birthday party for the 5yo today since he's turning 6 in a few weeks. Lawn looks absolutely *insane* now. Deep green, thick, lush, and ruler flat. Temps have been really high for the last few days with 87F today which is very unusual this far north in June. Got a lot of comments from the other parents regarding the lawn. Felt almost embarrassed when they took of their shoes and started walking around on the lawn just "to feel the grass under their feet". Lol.

Anyway, it has never looked this good. I am just super happy with the result so far this season:


Regarding birthday parties for 5yolds... It's friggin' torture! I am absolutely mentally broken down after 2 hours of having 10 5yo, filled to the brim with sugar, just running around like crazy wreaking havoc with whatever they can find and make lethal weapons out of in places where they have the highest possible chance of inflicting lethal damage on themselves and/or on each other, while at the same time maximizing the chance of inflicting significant economical damage to expensive stuff or stuff that is of great emotional value to you or your wife.


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## M1SF1T (Jun 1, 2021)

Looks great!

You'll really like getting the edger for your Makita.

I'm nowhere near your lawn level, just starting out and a different league altogether, but the edger attachment for my Makita made a huge difference in my lawn presentation... in fact I think it brought me the enthusiasm to learn more and improve my lawn which led me to this forum and impressive journals likes yours...

Anyway. Have a great break off work and keep up the good work on the lawn!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@TheSwede you don't really need an edger since you have the landscape blade. I hold mine sideways so that it is perpendicular to the floor and edge like that. I walk backwards since I find it easier to see/maneuver walking backwards.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

M1SF1T said:


> Looks great!
> 
> You'll really like getting the edger for your Makita.
> 
> ...


Thanks, @M1SF1T! It's on its way now so hopefully I'll get it before the weekend. Having 6 weeks off between jobs is just amazing. For the first time in years I can truly relax during the summer vacation. No workphone, no work email, not having to worry about having to sort out a huge mess when I get back from vacation and so on.

Good luck with the lawn, this forum is a gold mine of great information and knowledge to tap into.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

g-man said:


> @TheSwede you don't really need an edger since you have the landscape blade. I hold mine sideways so that it is perpendicular to the floor and edge like that. I walk backwards since I find it easier to see/maneuver walking backwards.


Thanks @g-man . Yes, I've seen it used as an edger and the original plan was to use it for edging as well, but but then I started to worry that I'd run it into something hard hidden under the surface and damage it. There's only one store in the country (a tiny web shop) that sells it and it was fairly expensive, and I'm not even sure I can get spare parts from them, so I'll stick to trimming grass horizontally with it for now, just to be on the safe side.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Seeing signs of what could be heat-stress in the lawn since the last week has been exceptionally hot, dry and windy for the season so the soil is very dry. Adjusted irrigation to go every 3 days instead of every 7 days, but temps will get cooler in the next few days so I will probably adjust it back to say every 5 days or so depending on the weather.


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## Wiley (Dec 2, 2019)

@TheSwede the lawns looking great! How are those chili peppers doing?


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Wiley said:


> @TheSwede the lawns looking great! How are those chili peppers doing?


Thanks for asking, @Wiley! The chili peppers are doing decent, I would say. Seeded late this season for various reasons but the grow tent and the LED lights I bought worked great and all 24 survivors are now hooked up to the drip irrigation system in the two mini greenhouses I have. It's a bit crowded in there and I haven't had a lot of time to care for them this year so we'll se how it turns out, but there are baby chilies on most of the plants so it's looking pretty good, considering the late start and general lack of care.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Edger in da' house! Weather has been great for the lawn but not for mowing so I could just barely find a slot to mow today, which is the day after "midsummers eve", one of the most prominent national holidays up here, celebrating the summer solstice with traditions dating back to Pagan times. Heavy drinking, eating massive amounts of weird food and staying up late are some of the traditions but I try to keep the eating part and especially the drinking part under control so I felt pretty energized this morning, despite a few drinks and staying up way to late for my age yesterday.

Anyways, after mowing the lawn (still at 1/2") it looks stunning. Deep green, flat, dense, lush. Icing on the cake today was trimming the edges with the new Makita edger attachment -the new, sharp lawn edges against the stone paving, still a bit rough since I had to dial in the edger as I edged the lawn, just brings it up one more notch, IMHO.

After a double pass with the Flex21:



[email protected] And yes, I gladly let my 6yo take divots out of this lawn any time he likes, and sure he does :


Relaxing with a bottle of beer after a job well done (patting myself on my shoulder):


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Today I am just enjoying yesterdays effort with another beer in my hand, watching the sun go down. Still looking good ...


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## Tassoty (Oct 2, 2020)

The grass looks stunning and this is good way to relax, cheers&#127866;.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Thanks @Tassoty! This is my new favorite chill-spot, actually. Only problem is the mosquitos in the evening -the wet spring and early summer was great for the lawn, but it also brought an absolute insane amount of mosquitos just waiting for the wind to settle and the temps to lower in the evening to find some beer infused lawn-nerd meat to feast on, so ample amounts of bug repellant is advised when having a cold one or two in the lounge area in the evening...


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

That's not half bad Sir!


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Stuofsci02 said:


> That's not half bad Sir!


Thanks @Stuofsci02!


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

It's finally happening and the minute the cavalry invaded the back yard yesterday morning both me and Ms TheSwede are starting to second guess our pool plans... :lol:

Anyways, the digging part is actually quite expensive (or rather, getting rid of the landfill is), hitting bedrock and having to blast it is über expensive. Permits, inspections of surrounding properties, Insurances and so on will cost a fortune, so when "The Patch" (direct translation of this master-operator's Swedish nick-name) started to dig his way into the dirt I just went into a wierd state of flip-flopping between severe anxiety for hitting bedrock while watching in awe, a "yoda-level" digger at work in my back yard.

Knocking down the trees (gonna miss them):


Trees are gone, peeling of the top layer:


Some of the big *ss boulders in this insanely rock-infested ground revealed:


Trying to beat the *huge* boulders into submission with the hydraulic hammer;


Good thing is that he says there will be no bedrock. Bad thing is that the boulders in the pit are still on the very limit of what he can crack with his 10 ton machine:


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## BBLOCK (Jun 8, 2020)

Yep that's a small machine for that job. Good luck with everything. Nothing like hidden costs (literally)

I'm sure it will all be grand when done!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

The soil profile on the last image to the right looks interesting. Is that a layer of crushed rocks?


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

@g-man, the soil type in this area is moraine, basically a mix of fine sand, pebbles and rocks up to the size of school busses that the glaciers brought with them and deposited here during the ice age.

The guy who built the house in the 70s leveled the whole yard, so apart from moraine, there's a bit of crushed rock and other material here and there that he brought in for the leveling before they added about a foot of topsoil.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Plan B, since the hydraulic breaker did not manage to break the largest boulders in the pit: Over here we call it "snail dynamite", I think you call it rock cracking compound or something like that. Today, the big *ss boulders in the pit got a bunch of holes drilled in them and the cheapest option was to pour expanding rock cracking compond into the holes to crack the boulders in a day or two. "The patch" will be back monday to remove the by then, hopefully cracked boulders.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Potent stuff, that rock cracking compound. This is how the three boulders that was to hard to crack with the hydraulic hammer looked in the morning after pouring the rock cracking compound into the holes:



"The Patch" is fantastic -one of the hardest working guys I've seen in a loooong time, actually. This morning he came by to "tidy the pit" and we had some coffee before he started. He asked my son how old he was and he replied that i am almost 6. "The Patch" said to him that he got to operate an excavator for the first time when he was 6 years old. The he asked me if it was OK if he showed my son how to operate the machine and after he finished the coffee, they both climbed into the digger and "The Patch" showed him how to operate the machine, digging, loading the truck, flattening the pit and so on. First time ever (I think) that I've ben jealous of my son...  Anyway, best day ever for my son (and the "The Patch" left the keys in the machine so maybe later tonight... :twisted: :bandit: :nod: ).

Anyways, the pool is ready, just waiting for a flash flood so we can start using it  :



Then back to reality, a lot of work figuring out all the details of the pool project and when things realistically can happen. I will be anoter crazy summer for me if we are going to get the pool project wrapped up before I start my new job...

The front yard, however, looks amazing. Still a few small spots that still has to fill in but other than that is is close to perfect. Today I mowed at 12mm, trimmed the edges and parts where I can't reach with the Flex21 with the Makita DUX60Z w the landscaping blade. Then I switched to the edger and while I am still a bit of a noob when it comes to edging, it actually looks pretty good, despite of a few slips. Finally, I applied my second full rate app of prohexadione calcium (aka Anuew). This prohexadione calcium dosn't work the same way as T-NEX, so I am still learning. With T-NEX, you got a massive rebound, and I have one cultivar that did not respond as much as the two other cultivars to T-NEX so the growth was a bit uneven. With prohex cal I notice a more even regulation of my three cultivars, and the regulation seems to hold up much longer and have less pronounced rebound:


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## Chuuurles (Nov 23, 2020)

Very exiting times for you mrSwede! Love the progress shots of the pool and lawn looks fantastic


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## Alowan (May 25, 2021)

That looks amazing. And so cool for your son to get that experience - cant wait to see more.

Interesting With the Anuew that it regulators diffrently.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Chuuurles said:


> Very exiting times for you mrSwede! Love the progress shots of the pool and lawn looks fantastic


Thanks @Chuuurles ! It is exciting times indeed -just whished that the pool was finished already! At the current progress rate I'm lucky if we get to try it out before end of August, and the back yard reno will have to wait until 2022.


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## Chuuurles (Nov 23, 2020)

If I were you I would try to enjoy the build phase as much as possible, which I might add you most certainly seem to be doing.

Your son getting a shot at the digger takes me back to when my parents built the house I am living in now and getting to do something similar. It was an experience I had 20 years ago that I will never forget.

You will always have a pool but it will only be built once


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

Your edging??? You nailed it! Lawn is at point.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Alowan said:


> That looks amazing. And so cool for your son to get that experience - cant wait to see more.
> 
> Interesting With the Anuew that it regulators diffrently.


Thanks, @Alowan, the lawn is holding up nicely in the warm weather. About Anuew vs T-NEX it is more of a feeling than hard facts, sine I do not compare them side-by-side in a controlled experiment, but Anuew works great on my lawn, at least.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Chuuurles said:


> If I were you I would try to enjoy the build phase as much as possible, which I might add you most certainly seem to be doing.
> 
> Your son getting a shot at the digger takes me back to when my parents built the house I am living in now and getting to do something similar. It was an experience I had 20 years ago that I will never forget.
> 
> You will always have a pool but it will only be built once


Thanks, @Chuuurles, I try to enjoy it but it is a quite a bit of stress ordering the material for the decking and trying to find a pool cover -in europe right now, several of the manufacturers of pool covers are fully booked until spring 2022, but I have a few leads that looks promising. Son is 110% digger now and wants to go to Digger University when he is older, he says...


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Babameca said:


> Your edging??? You nailed it! Lawn is at point.


Thanks, @Babameca - I can't wait until late August when the temps are more or less ideal and the lawns up here usually look the best.

The edger attachment wasn't exactly cheap, but tidying up those edges brings the overall appearance up another notch, and using the edger attachment I can do it in a couple of minutes, literally, so it was totally worth the investment, I think.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Pool project is progressing, which is a great feeling. However, with the current pace, I am worried I will not be able to finish the decking before I start my new job, and that will mean even slower progress having to finish the decking on late evenings and weekends, which is not ideal. But it is what it is and in the current market I should be glad I have found a contractor that is actually taken on the job...

Anyway, "The Patch" showed up a few days ago in the *very* early moring in his dumptruck, and unloaded the digger and a bunch of drainage pipes and parts from the bed of his truck (it's a pretty damn cool dump truck so he can unload the bed with the digger on it completely onto the ground for super easy loading unloading of the digger), he then loaded up the two trees he took down that has been lying in the yard and took them to the compost facility. Then he came back with truck load of gravel, put down the drainage system and in total two truckloads of gravel (28 tonnes) so about 16 hours later, just before 10 in the evening I had a levelled, compacted, drained gravel bed with inspection well. Then he loaded up the digger and went to the next job...



Now I am waiting for the pool-builders to show up to poor the insulated slab. If the pool-gods are on my side they will magically show up Monday morning to do the frame for the mold, the insulation and rebar work, pour the slab on tuesday morning so walls can go up thursday and pour the walls on friday... Realistically, it will probably take two more weeks at least... :|


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Heat wave. Not nearly as bad as for some of you guys, but still pretty extreme with day temperatures in the high 90s and night temps way way way above average. Lawn is doing OK. It is a bit stressed but nothing to worry about:


Pool project is slowly progressing. I'm a bit stressed out since the parts I planned on doing to keep the costs reasonable are being pushed forward. Plan now is to rent a small (tiny) digger, tear down the old retaining wall, dig out the space behind and try to get a new one up the coming week. The 40+ years old retaining wall has moved quite a lot over the years so I will have to dig out say a foot or two of dirt behind the old wall to be able to put up the new one on my property (right now the wall has been pushed onto my neighbors properties).

A few days ago they built the mold for the slab, put down the insulation and rebar and cast the slab. Next week they'll put the walls up so I really need to get that retaining wall project going now...





Summer evenings also means hot air balloons in the sky. Sometimes they sweep by inches from the rooftop (literally), and yesterday two balloons tried to land on the grass field nearby but was swept away when the wind picked up, and they had to do a massive burn to gain height and reset for the next landing site about a mile further west. I just love watching the balloons soaring quietly over my house in the summer evenings:


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Borrowed a tiny digger (800kg) today and managed to dig out the old retaining wall and all the material behind it to prep for the new one. The retaining wall is a bit complicated since there is an incline, but this morning I decided to bet that I will have a stepped mold finished before the pool guys have stacked the Styrofoam blocks and brings the concrete truck and pump station in ("later this week", according to them). If I don't finish in time, I'll have to either mix a pretty significant amount of concreete on my own or pay for a truck delivery, which is expensive. So tomorrow is hammer time!


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Finished the mold for the retaining wall today with good help from my neighbor -the wall is facing his property and he wanted the same material in the wall as his other retaining wall and also put some downlights in the wall and in return he's helping me with the foundation and the wall build, which is exceptionally nice of him.

Anyway, we decided to do a simplified foundation with just a shallow gravel bed under the concrete since the ground conditions are so good here (=dry). There where a couple of big boulders that we decided to just leave in place. The dirt behind the wall is really close to where the wall will be but since the digger will push a good part of that dirt away from the wall and up against the pool when it is finished there will be little to no pressure on the retaining wall from the dirt behind it so we're betting it will be OK. We'll see in a couple years if we where right or not . Despite renting the mini digger we actually had our measurements slightly wrong and had to do quite a lot of hand digging to get the mold dialed in so it has been two tough days, for sure, but now it is finally ready for the concrete:



Apart from the retaining wall, the little guy turned 6 and he wanted to go to the Sky Park to do some high altitude obstacle courses, so we did that. I whish I hadn't hauled 6 tones of dirt the day before because my arms and back was aching and I felt exhausted even before we climbed up the ladder for the first course... After 2 hours of doing harder and harder and higher and higher courses we did the "Blue 2" course. At this point my arms had filed for divorce from the rest of my body but the little guy just commanded me to do the course with him. It's 30-40 feet up in the air with some pretty sketchy obstacles to negotiate so I decided to do it on my own first to make sure I could help him through it if it was needed. 30 feet feels high even for me that has done a bit of climbing in the younger days, when your only support is a couple super wobbly, half rotten planks dangling from some ropes, so vertigo and people just freezing in the blue courses is not uncommon. A few obstacles was to far for him to reach so he had to cheat a little but other than that he just owned the "Blue 2". Daddy is proud, but absolutely beat :


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Finally got around to mow the front yard this morning. Must say that the lawn is holding up nicely and getting better for each week, even if it has some small areas that are showing ever so slight heat stress. The mow was several days overdue so I actually did four passes to get as many of the stragglers as possible. The original plan was to switch from the high HOC kit back to the groomer to get an even better cut during August and September but with the pool project going on I just don't have time to put the groomer back on the Flex21 right now. Anyways, to switch it up a little I decided to do diamonds this time, which I think turned out really nice so I'll most likely do it again, next mow...



The rest of the day I spent in agony over whether to risk overspending the pool budget by going for a more advanced swim jet or an automated chlorination/pH system and/or a pool cleaning robot. After talking to my two neighbors that both have hi end swim jets, pool robots and auto chlorinators I decided that I'll go for the basic swim jet, a little fancier automated chlorinator/chemical dispenser/pump control station and no pool robot. That puts me just at my budget limit, when I add some margin for unforeseen costs...

Most of the pool walls was put up today and tomorrow they will put in the last layer of foam blocks and finish putting in all the hardware (lights, inlets, outlets, swim jet, staircase...), insert the vertical rebar and finally secure the walls for "the pour", that will hopefully happen on monday...


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

It has been hot and humid last few days but rest of the week will be cooler and lots of rain, so I mowed, trimmed and edged the lawn and put down another app of prohexadione calcium (Anuew). I was tempted to put down some fert as well but I will do that Thursday instead. Lawn looks great, IMHO, and in a few weeks with cooler weather I believe it will be better than it has ever been. Standard view:



View from the lounge area:


Had a small set back with my Makita DUX60ZM4, the mount cracked when I was putting my edger attachment on. It sucks but warranty will take care of it:



When it comes to the pool, it is inching its way forward. All the stainless steel parts are now installed into the pool walls, and hopefully the concrete truck will show up tomorrow. Fingers crossed!


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Pool walls was poured thursday morning togheter with the slab for the retaining wall:



Since I started my new job today, and I had other engagements friday and saturday I knew it was hammer time to get the wall finished before climbing down the salt mine again, so we got home late saturday night and I got up early sunday mornig to get the wall up. Late sunday night it was finished (well, it is still about two yards wall left to build but I can't do that part of the wall yet because it's the entry point for the 10 ton digger. When he is finished I'll finish the last bit of the retaining wall.



The bottom layer of bricks has ben fixed to the concrete slab with rebar drilled into the slab and then conrete poured into the cavities of the bricks. The rest of the bricks are just laid on top and will be locked in position by the lip in the back of the bricks.

Still have to backfill with some gravel, but otherwise it is finished (I let the neighbor mount a couple downlights on the wall to keep him happy and his driveway illuminated). Personally I would have put them a bit lower, but since I don't see this wall at all from my property, I'm happy to let him install the lights in whatever way he wants):



Other than that, as I said, I did my first day at my new job today and I am pretty exhausted, but in a good way. Havn't had time to mow the lawn i almost a week now, but will try to do it tomorrow.


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Still absorbed by the pool project -lawn is looking fantastic but right now there's too many distractions going on with new job, pool project, new job, little guy starts school and new job. Did I mention new job? Anyways, the pool is progressing ever so slowly -today however, "the patch" showed up and backfilled in about two hours. Mesmerising to watch a master at work, The result:


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

Busy times...new job is fantastic, but intense. Just back from a two week business trip so lawn looked like a wreck when I got back. I definitely have some sort of problem with multiple pizza size areas in the lawn looking sick, most likely fungus ,

Pool project has been pretty much on hold. Decking is planned to start this week, and then it is pretty much finished, except for the landscaping around the deck, but is is now so late in the season that I'm just planning to make sure all the equipment works the way it should and then close it up for the winter and have an early start in the spring...


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@TheSwede Where is the 2022 journal?


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## TheSwede (Jul 10, 2018)

@g-man, thanx for thinking about me, man!

Well, this last year I have made some major changes in my life. I got offered my dream job, basically, combining three of my main passions (golf, technology and business development), and transitioning from my old job in a very mature, kind of sluggish high-tech industry segment into my new role in a young, super expanding tech company takes quite a bit of energy, as I am sure you know.

At the same time I also decided it was time to get back in shape so when I am not working I am spending a significant amount of time working out, and with family chores on top of that there is not much time left to write lawn journals. 

But, I am still trying to maintain the lawn at "competition level", it is just that I have not taken the time to write about it here. The winter was horrible to the lawn so it was quite damaged this spring, and the lawn is actually still healing, so this year it is all about just making sure it heals properly and prepping it for next season.

When it comes to lawns and lawn care, a really nice thing about my new job is that I have the opportunity to visit any golf tournament I like and see the finest golf courses in the world when they are at its best. It kind of skews your perception of "a nice looking lawn" but it is inspiring to feel that the lawn I have is not really that far behind the very best. Oh, god I love my new job, haha!


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