# GA Fescue Man's 2019 Lawn Journal



## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

I just wanted to document my process for 2019 and hopefully help some others out along the way. Very thankful for this forum and I appreciate everyone's contributions.

Background:

*10/03/2018*
- After regrading most of my front yard, I did a full renovation on the front and back with GCI TTTF seed (Escalade, Falcon III, Rendition) at 8 #/M.
- Applied Hybrix Lawn Fertilizer (old formula: 14-4-24) at the full rate of 8 #/M. Applied Hyrbrix Pasture Fertilizer (old formula: 10-9-10) at the half rate of 6 #/M.
- Applied Air8 at 9 oz./M, Humic 12 at 6 oz./M, & RGS at 6 oz./M. 
- I had a slight grub issue in August & September of 2018, so I put down Dylox at seeding as well.



*11/01/2018*
- Because of some of the flash storms after seeding and the amount of rain, the grass seed had some trouble establishing, and was a little thin in the newly graded swale valleys. I reseeded the swale valleys with Ewing Irrigation's King Fescue Blend (AST7003, AST5112, & Falcon III).
- I also put down another half rate (6 #/M) of the Hyrbrix Pasture Fertilizer.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

Here is what I am starting with for 2019. Excuse some the photos, as I need to pressure wash the house and clean up some things left over from the grading/paver sidewalk installation. (These photos are after I cut the grass on 02/14/2019)


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*02/02/2019*
- Took soil samples of my front and back yard before any applications were applied and sent them to Midwest Labs. I just wanted to get a baseline of where things stood from a deficiency standpoint. My soil report is here: https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=7531

- Applied 100 pounds of Hybrix Lawn Fertilizer (old formula: 14-4-24) at the full bag rate of 8 #/M. This application supplies 1.12 #/M of nitrogen, 0.32 #/M of phosphorous, & 1.92 #/M of potassium. My goal is to be around 2.5 to 3 #/M of annual nitrogen. 
- Also applied a mixture of Prodiamine, Air8 at 6 oz./M & RGS at 6 oz./M. Watered everything in with about 1/4 inch of water.

*02/09/2019*
- Applied Triplet SF & GCI natural adjuvant. I noticed some ryegrass (I think?) and henbit. (These photos were taken around 02/14/2019. About a week after the Triplet application.)





*02/14/2019*
- First cut of the year. Cut the grass at 3.75 inches. It took off some of the browning tips that had developed over the winter.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Looks great!


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

Thanks @Green. My main goal this year is to get the PH up some. The back is 5.5 and the front/side is 6.1. Hopefully I can slowly get there.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*02/26/2019*
Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. It has been raining a good bit here in the North Georgia area (right at 4 inches in the past 12 days) and the high temps have been in the high 50's and low to mid 60's most days, so some of the grass blades were up to 6.5 inches tall. The backyard has a couple of spots that didn't fill in all that well due to some puddling in those areas from the large amounts of rain last fall.





The Triplet app took out some of the henbit/dead nettle, but there is still a good bit hanging around. My plan was to only spot spray Triplet during the Round 2 app, but I may need to blanket spray them once again. We'll see. Also saw some poa annua starting to pop in places. :?


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*03/07/2019*
Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. I cut off a little more than a 1/3 since my last mow, 9 days ago. I got about 1.25 inches of rain since the last cut. We also had a cold snap where the temps got down in the mid 20's on a couple of days.

*03/10/2019*
Decided to transfer some daffodils to a different landscape area around one of my evergreen trees.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*03/14/2019*
Cut the grass at 4.25 inches and edged everything out. We had about 0.25 inches of rain since the last cut.

*03/20/2019*
Cut the grass at 4.25 inches and edged it again. Had about 0.55 inches of rain since the last mow. Haven't really had to use the sprinkler system at all, except to immediately water in the Round 1 application. My plan is to only water when the leaf blades start to curl up. The low temps have been in the high 30's to mid 40's and highs in the 60's for the most part. The grass is really starting to thicken up. I will try to get my Round 2 app down this weekend. We'll see. The photos below were taken on 03/21/2019 and the lighting in some them make the grass look a lighter green color, but for the most part it has nice dark green color to it.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Very nice! I see that you have your supervisor and turf quality tester helping you out. It looks like you have an upcoming project with the block stored under the tree? Is that a Japanese Red maple?


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@Chris LI Thanks Chris. Yeah man, the little one's making sure things are under control 😁. I had to regrade a big chunk of the front yard last year. All the rain we got exposed my drainage issues in some areas. When we did that, I put in a 4' paver sidewalk and those are the leftover pavers. I've got to move those to the shed 😁. Here in the next couple of months, I am going to put some stone around the foundation beds and some hardwood bark mulch in the Japanese maple and dogwood landscape bed. After that, hopefully start to paint the house. I'm a one man show and some days it would be nice to have a clone of myself 😄. Thanks again man. I appreciate the support. Have a good one.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@Chris LI By the way, that is a Japanese maple.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

GA_Fescue_Man said:


> @Chris LI By the way, that is a Japanese maple.


I grew up with them and fell in love with them as my Dad did. They provide a nice accent to the front yard, and I think they contrast nicely with the green turf. I think the placement is perfect for your corner property.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

Chris LI said:


> GA_Fescue_Man said:
> 
> 
> > @Chris LI By the way, that is a Japanese maple.
> ...


We have lived in the house since 2012 and have finished remodeling most of the inside. Now I am working on the outside to get things looking a little better. The guy that owned the house two owners ago was a landscape architect. He had some really nice landscape beds with Chinese peonies, lilies, daffodils, azaleas, forsythia, dogwoods, Japanese maples, roses, crepe myrtles, etc. The previous owners let things go, so I am trying to nurture some of the stuff back. I really love the Japanese maple as well. Really cool trees. Hope things start to warm up soon for you guys up north. Have a good one man.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*03/23/2019*
- I picked up a 50 pound bag of Lesco fertilizer (5-10-31) at Site One and applied it at 4 #/M. This application supplies 0.2 #/M of nitrogen, 0.4 #/M of phosphorous, & 1.24 #/M of potassium. The fertilizer also contained 10% iron. My plan was to put down some 0-46-0 and later on apply some 0-0-50, but for whatever reason, Ewing Irrigation & Site One did not stock any of them, so this was the best quick option to get down some more P & K.



- I also applied dolomitic lime at 25 #/M to raise the PH of the soil. The lime contained 24% calcium and 6% magnesium.





*03/24/2019*
- Applied a mixture of Prodiamine, Air8 at 6 oz./M, RGS at 6 oz./M, & MicroGreene at 6 oz./M. Watered everything in with a 1/4 inch of water. The following day (Monday, 03/25/2019), we received about 0.2 inches of rain to help water things in a bit more.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*03/26/2019*
Cut the grass at 4.25 inches.

*04/02/2019*
Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. It has been pretty dry lately in north GA. It's been about 10 days or so since the last rain (0.2 inches), so hopefully the roots are driving deeper into the ground to find some water. The grass blades have not curled up at all, so the only time I have used the sprinkler system is to water in an application. I have some Poa Annua in a couple of spots, mostly in the back, with some along my driveway in the front as well. Hopefully the heat will take care of that soon, but I'm thinking about some options in the fall or maybe a post emergent application next year to hopefully lessen the amount that pops back up. The pollen has been crazy in GA, by the way!

The last time I used the sprinkler system I noticed a slight pressure drop over the entire system. I have hopefully figured out the problem and I'm working on the repair. Check out the irrigation thread here - https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8207.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

:thumbup: 
The lawn looks nice and thick. The Japanese maple leafed out nicely. Is that a Dogwood near it, towards the street corner? It's tough to tell from the photos.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

Thanks @Chris LI . Those are 2 dogwoods in the front. The bigger one has starting blooming pretty good. The little one always blooms a little later and seems to struggle more than the other. With everything starting to bloom, the pollen is starting to ramp up here in GA.


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## Budstl (Apr 19, 2017)

Lawn is looking great @GA_Fescue_Man. Your japanese maple and dogwoods in full sun? I'm curious to how well they hold up in the summer months.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Yeah, your fescue is looking very nice, @GA_Fescue_Man. I'm thinking that those trees are going to put in some good work for you during the summer. I've noticed that my fescue stays greener during the summer in shady areas.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

GA_Fescue_Man said:


> Thanks @Chris LI . Those are 2 dogwoods in the front. The bigger one has starting blooming pretty good. The little one always blooms a little later and seems to struggle more than the other. With everything starting to bloom, the pollen is starting to ramp up here in GA.


Wow! They contrast nicely with the Japanese maple. It reminds me of home. My parents had the Japanese Maple on one side of the driveway and a Dogwood on the other side. It would be really ironic if you had a flowering Cherry. We had a couple of them (one weeping, one regular). Good luck with the pollen. We're throwing the kitchen sink at them right now with the maple/juniper pollen (2 antihistamines, 2 corticosteroid sprays, homeopathic allergy relief, and homeopathic sinus relief).


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@Budstl @social port @Chris LI Thanks guys. The Japanese maples and dogwoods are in full sun. They help shade the grass some in the front, but the grass towards the main street is in the sun most of the day. The backyard gets a lot shade. The sunny spots are where I have the most problem with brown patch in the summer. I think it's because the grass is thicker in those areas and maybe it's easier to spread(?). I'm not sure. The shadier spots are greener and tend to shelter the grass from the heat better.

I do have a good bit of Poa Annua this year, so in the fall, I am going to try the Tenacity/Poa Constrictor regimen to hopefully control things a little better for next year. Is Poa Constrictor discontinued? All of the sites say that it is sold out.

I'm going to start my preventative fungicide apps around Cinco de Mayo. It's like getting ready for battle with Rhizoctonia Solani . Last year I was able to hold it off until the end of June, but there was so much rain, and even with preventative fungicide apps, it starting creeping in at the beginning of July. That's the biggest battle I have with the humidity in my area. I'm hoping the Azoxystrobin, Propicanizole, & O2YS adjuvant will help me get to the end of September. If I can get through July & August with no Brown Patch, I'll take it. Appreciate you guys. Thanks.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

Budstl said:


> Lawn is looking great @GA_Fescue_Man. Your japanese maple and dogwoods in full sun? I'm curious to how well they hold up in the summer months.


The maple and dogwoods hold up pretty well. I don't really do anything with them. They've been there for about 20 years or so (based on a Google Earth image from 02/1999). Probably even earlier than that. The house was built in 1988. I need to probably start feeding them some with a good liquid fertilizer every now and then. The little dogwood always looks to be struggling, but it holds up alright. I did put some hardwood bark mulch out last year in that landscape bed. I need to do it again this year and hopefully create some better soil over time. I'm eventually going to create a raised bed in that area, when I get some time or additional child labor .


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*04/09/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches.

*04/15/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. We got about 1 inch of rain on 04/14 in my area.

*04/23/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. Got close to 3 inches of rain on 04/19 during some heavy thunderstorms that came through. There is still a good bit of poa annua in the shady areas of my yard. The heat should get rid of that pretty soon and I will prepare for that next year with some pre-emergents this fall.

I planted 2 tomato plants (Cherokee Purple & Celebrity) and 2 sweet pepper plants (Orange Blossom & Gypsy) in 5 gallon buckets on 04/21. This is my first time in the buckets, so hopefully things go well. If anyone is looking for food grade 5 gallon buckets, you can get them at Firehouse Subs for $2 and the money goes to local firefighters. They sell their old pickle buckets.



*04/27/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches.


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## jackallis (Apr 15, 2019)

i also have same lawn situation as yours - some part are shady and some deep/moderatre shade. 
what type of grass blend did you use? you said fescue, but do you the company/type you bought?


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@jackallis Yeah man. I regraded the front yard last year and created two swale valleys to get the proper grade. I put down GCI Turf seed (Escalade, Falcon III, & Rendition) at 8 #/M when I renovated. After 4 weeks, with all of the rain, etc., the swale valleys were not coming in well, so I seeded those areas again with Ewing Irrigation's King Fescue Blend (AST7003, AST5112, & Falcon III). I have been pleased with GCI & Ewing's blends so far. They're about to get tested here in GA in a month or two! Hopefully it well hold up well.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*04/29/2019*

- I jumped the gun a little early with my fungicide application, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Later in the week, the temps and humidity were looking to break the 150 rule, so I decided to go ahead and put it down. We'll see. Applied a combination of Strobe 50WG (0.2 oz./M), Propicanizole 14.3 (0.5 oz./M), & O2YS adjuvant.

*04/30/2019*

- I ended up finding a deal on some Milorganite from Home Depot and decided to put some down to get me through the summer. They had 5 bags with small puncture holes in them and sold them to me for half price ($7 a bag). These were the new 32 pound bags of 6-4-0. I applied it at the full rate (12.8 #/M). I figured this will help my P levels a little and also help get a little more organic material in the soil. This application supplies 0.77 #/M of nitrogen & 0.51 #/M of phosphorous.



- I also put down Acelpryn G at 2 #/M for grub control. It was a little less than the max rate of 2.3 #/M, but I did not want to cough of the money for an extra bag. This product will hopefully provide season long control. Grubs took out part my yard last year and just wanted to do something preventatively.



- In addition, I put down RGS & Air8 at 6 oz./M. I watered everything in early Wednesday (04/31/2019) morning with about 0.5 inches of water from irrigation.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*05/02/2019*

- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. We did not get any rain since the last cut and I noticed some heat stress in an area close to my front door. A lot of dirt was removed from this area last year, taking away much of the top soil and leaving the area pretty compacted. I ran the sprinklers to put down about 1.5 inches of water and the area came back to life. This section of my yard will definitely be a trouble spot once the summer heat gets here. I'll have to keep an eye on it and hopefully it can make it through summer.

*05/08/2019*

- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. There is a good bit of rain expected over the upcoming weekend.


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## JDgreen18 (Jun 14, 2018)

Wow looks great


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@JDgreen18 Thanks. I appreciate it!


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## FORT (Oct 26, 2018)

Very nice! I always enjoy seeing your pics and progress.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@FORT Thanks a lot man. I really appreciate that. Things are about to get real here in north GA. There is no rain in the forecast for the next 2 weeks or so, and high temps are going hit the 90's next week, with the lows consistently in the high 60's to low 70's. I'm going to need all the support I can get the next couple of months.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*05/14/2019*

- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. We got about an inch of rain late last week and over the weekend. Things are doing alright for the most part. We had a slight cool spell the past couple of days with the night time lows in the low 50's. Looks like things are going to start heating up this weekend and into next week, with the night time lows in the high 60's to low 70's and highs in the upper 80's and low 90's.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

Looking smooth :thumbsup: and the JD too :wink:


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## jabopy (Nov 24, 2018)

:thumbup: Some great looking grass GA. nice finish with the JD. :mrgreen:


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@Powhatan @jabopy Thank you fellas. I had to give "old girl" some love. She's been doing all of the heavy lifting lately.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

Like a lot of other people in the Southeast, the heat wave and drought has been brutal here in metro Atlanta. Yesterday was the first time it has rained in 3 weeks (my house received about 0.04 inches ). The temperatures have consistently been 90+ during the heat of the day, with the highest temps around 96 or so. I've been running the sprinkler system 3 days a week, putting down about 1.5 inches of water per week.

For the most part the lawn is looking pretty decent, but I do have some heat stress in certain areas. It's that same spot as before on the right side of the house, just outside the front door. This area was re-graded last fall and a good chunk of the top soil was removed to get the proper grade. I've had to hand water this section some in-between sprinkler intervals. Let's see how things go this summer, but I will most likely need to aerate and put down some compost in the fall, or look at other ways to improve the soil in this spot. There is also a dry spot along the edge of my driveway where the sprinkler system cannot reach.

*05/21/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches.

*05/25/2019*
- I put down my 2nd fungicide app of the year. Applied Strobe 50WG (0.2 oz./M), MicroGreene (6 oz./M), & O2YS adjuvant.

*05/28/2019* 
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. All of the photos below are from 05/28/2019.













- Here are some the heat stress spots mentioned above. These areas tend to get that blue haze that can be seen from a distance. It's hard to pick up on in the photos. They also tend to yellow and brown out much faster than other areas of the yard. All in all, it's hanging in there alright!


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## Budstl (Apr 19, 2017)

Yard is looking great. Has some good color.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@Budstl Thank you sir!


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

looks like you are keeping up with the heat and lack of rain really well. I've got a few spots next to the road that I haven't been able to recover. I hope you get some of the rain that is going to be in Tenn over the next several days. We need it!


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@social port Thanks man. Things are hanging in there OK. We finally got about 0.5 inches of rain last night and it's raining as I am typing this. In the Atlanta area, looks like it will rain most of the weekend and into next week. I'm thankful to have irrigation. We went about 25 days or so without any significant rain. Hope you guys up in Tennessee get some relief as well.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*06/05/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches.

*06/12/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches.

*06/16/2019*
The fungus finally arrived! I started to notice some gray leaf spot in the compacted areas in the front. Those areas have browned out a little bit and the grass is not growing as quickly compared to other parts of the yard. I will post some updated photos later this week.

- I decided to put down some D-Thatch at 9 oz./M to hopefully help breakdown the thatch a little bit in the compacted areas.

- I put down my 3rd fungicide app of the year. Applied Strobe 50WG at the preventative rate (0.2 oz./M), Cleary's 3336F at the curative rate (2 oz./M), & O2YS adjuvant.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

GA_Fescue_Man said:


> - I decided to put down some D-Thatch at 9 oz./M to hopefully help breakdown the thatch a little bit in the compacted areas.


I'm curious to know what you think about the results you get from this application.


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## jhov415 (Dec 21, 2018)

Not sure if you found another source for Poa Constrictor or not but here is a link. Love this stuff and it did wonders for me this past fall and spring.

https://www.seedranch.com/Poa-Constrictor-Herbicide-75-Gallons-p/poa-constrictor.htm



GA_Fescue_Man said:


> @Budstl @social port @Chris LI Thanks guys. The Japanese maples and dogwoods are in full sun. They help shade the grass some in the front, but the grass towards the main street is in the sun most of the day. The backyard gets a lot shade. The sunny spots are where I have the most problem with brown patch in the summer. I think it's because the grass is thicker in those areas and maybe it's easier to spread(?). I'm not sure. The shadier spots are greener and tend to shelter the grass from the heat better.
> 
> I do have a good bit of Poa Annua this year, so in the fall, I am going to try the Tenacity/Poa Constrictor regimen to hopefully control things a little better for next year. Is Poa Constrictor discontinued? All of the sites say that it is sold out.
> 
> I'm going to start my preventative fungicide apps around Cinco de Mayo. It's like getting ready for battle with Rhizoctonia Solani . Last year I was able to hold it off until the end of June, but there was so much rain, and even with preventative fungicide apps, it starting creeping in at the beginning of July. That's the biggest battle I have with the humidity in my area. I'm hoping the Azoxystrobin, Propicanizole, & O2YS adjuvant will help me get to the end of September. If I can get through July & August with no Brown Patch, I'll take it. Appreciate you guys. Thanks.


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## Grass Clippins (Apr 30, 2018)

GA_Fescue_Man said:


> @Grass Clippins
> I usually try to target Cinco de Mayo as the start of my fungicide apps, but I started a little early this year because the temp+humidity were projected to get around 150 at the start of May. An older route manager for Turf Masters introduced me to that 150 rule awhile back and I try to follow it loosely, it doesn't have to be exact. You may already know this, but basically if the temps+humidity equal 150 and stay that way for about 12 hours or so, that is prime brown patch/fungus conditions. That normally happens when the night time temps are around 65+. So I try to get down my first fungicide app before those conditions exist consistently. I usually track the conditions on this weather site (http://www.georgiaweather.net/), as well as Weather Underground. There's probably an app or a more technologically advanced way to do it, but this works for me.


The 150 rule sounds like a good strategy. Next year I'll keep a closer eye on it.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@social port I will definitely keep you posted on how the D-Thatch is working. I am hoping the claims are true and the molasses/enzymes can break down some the dead grass/thatch layer, essentially putting those nutrients back into the soil and feeding the plant. It would save me a lot of time compared to doing it manually . I plan on putting out 1 or 2 more apps spaced about 6 weeks apart. I am leaving for vacation on Friday and will be gone for 10 days. I'll post some pics on Friday and then, when I get back.

@jhov415 Thanks for the link. I have not purchased any of it yet. I will definitely get some soon, as I plan on trying this with Tenacity this fall to help cut down on Poa next spring.

@Grass Clippins Sounds good man. I spoke to soon about being fungus free in my yard ! Right after I made those comments, I started noticing some gray leaf spot in those regraded areas. The rest of my turf is holding up pretty well, but those regraded spots are giving me trouble. I will need to work on them a good bit this fall to improve the top soil over time.


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## jhov415 (Dec 21, 2018)

@GA_Fescue_Man Image is from 2 falls ago and you can see all the POA i had. used the Poa Constrictor and got rid of 90% this past fall. I will use again this fall along with tenacity. No more lime green poa in my yard!


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@jhov415 That gives me some hope for next spring! I had two areas where the Poa was pretty rough. It seemed to be worse in the really shaded parts of the yard. Hopefully this mix will wipe some of out this fall. Thanks again man. I really appreciate it.


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

@GA_Fescue_Man Came across your journal. I'm in Buford and seeded my front yard with Titan RX last fall. Things are taking a turn for the worse these past few weeks.. is yours the same??
Btw, I picked up a 1/2 gallon of generic poa constrictor (42% Ethofumesate - "RightLine ETHO 4SC") from PE Strong off McGinnis & Buford. It's a lot for my needs, would consider doing a split if you're thinking about getting some. LMK. 50/50 would come out to $50 for 32oz. At 1-oz/M that's 32k sqft (or 16K sqft of coverage if you do 2 apps). I like that it can be applied at seeding time.. and I plan to do so together with Tenacity. But hopefully I'll still have some lawn left at that point :lol:


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@corneliani Hey buddy! I'm just down the road from you in Suwanee. Hang in there with the fescue man! It can be discouraging this time of year for us cool season folks in GA. We probably have another 2 to 2.5 months before the heat and humidity starts breaking for the better. Feels like a long way away :?

My fescue is hanging in there OK. I'm having some trouble with heat stress/gray leaf spot in a compacted area of my yard that I re-graded last fall. Most of the gray leaf spot is gone. A small area of brown patch also popped up last week. Things have been really dry and crispy, but we did get some rain last night. I went on vacation for 11 days and trying to get back in the groove. I'm about to post an update here soon, so check it out when you get some time.

I will definitely do a split with you on the Etho. I will get in contact with you once it gets closer. I usually try to do the first fall app from 09/15 to 10/01. Also, keep me in mind for other group buys for fertilizer, bio stimulants, weed control, etc.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

Things have been busy and I went on vacation for a little awhile, so I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. I didn't cut the grass for 11 days while on vacation, so I came back to a hay field :lol:.

For the most part things are hanging in there. The gray leaf spot has mostly disappeared from the troubled (re-graded spots from last fall) areas of my lawn. There has been a little bit more browning (dead/dormant grass blades) in those spots due to the heat/compaction issues. I did start noticing an area of brown patch development around 07/05. It has been really dry, hot, and humid lately without much rain. I haven't used my sprinkler much because I'm trying to save some money on the water bill (if you use it a lot, next thing you know you've got a $200 bill) :lol:. Last night we received about 1.5 inches of rain in my area of GA.

All of the photos below were taken on 07/09/2019, after I cut the grass. It was pretty late in the evening and the sun had already gone down.

*06/18/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches.

*06/21/2019*
- Cut the grass again at 4.25 inches before leaving on vacation.

*07/02/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches after getting back from vacation. Some of the leaf blades where 8 inches long in spots. I had to use the blower to distribute the excess clippings.

*07/09/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. I also spot sprayed the areas of the yard that developed brown patch (For these areas, I applied Strobe 50WG at the curative rate (0.4 oz./M) & O2YS adjuvant). For the rest of the yard, I put down my 4th fungicide application and I applied Strobe 50WG at the preventative rate (0.2 oz./M) & O2YS adjuvant.







Troubled Areas (Heat Stress/Compaction/Previous Gray Leaf Spot Fungus Issues)






Brown Patch Spots


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## andy_barnhart (Jul 9, 2019)

Just browsed your journal. Your lawn looks great, especially that first page of pics. Makes me want a TTTF lawn!


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@andy_barnhart Thanks Andy. I appreciate it man. Just trying to survive the summer right now. I will be glad when mid-September/early October gets here.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*07/19/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. I went 10 days in-between cuts this time. I will post some updated pics later this week. It's been extremely hot and dry for the most part (highs in the 90's and very little rain, maybe 0.75 inches in the last 2 weeks). I'm trying to save some money, so I haven't ran sprinkler system at all. I have some heat stress in a couple of spots, as well as brown patch in one section of the yard. I plan on putting down my second application of DThatch soon and hopefully I can provide some feedback on that shortly after.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*07/27/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches.

*08/02/2019*
- Applied D-Thatch & Greene Punch (18-0-1) at 9 oz./M. I watered everything in with a half inch of water. This is the second application of D-Thatch and I also just wanted to put a little nitrogen down to help the grass get through August. This application supplied 0.133 lbs./M for the year (It's such a small amount it probably doesn't matter a whole lot).

*08/04/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. The turf for the most is hanging in there, except for the re-graded area. This area has struggled since the first heat wave back in May. It really shows how important it is to work on your soil (root cycling, organic material amendments, humic acids (maybe), etc.). Again, for the regraded area, a lot of the top soil was removed last fall (I hit the orange sub soil layer when taking my soil samples at a 6 inch depth back in February) and this area is really compacted (even after aeration last fall). It interesting to see the contrast between the areas in the attached pictures. All of the pics below were taken on 08/04, just before sunset.









Troubled Areas (Heat Stress/Compaction/Brown Patch/Etc.)


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@social port I should have started this before the first application of D-Thatch, but I will track it from this point forward. The photo below is 1 day before my second D-Thatch application (08/01). I applied the second app of 9 oz./M on 08/02. I will apply one more application around the beginning of September (at that time I will have applied 3 total apps for the year at 9 oz./M each). For the picture, I chose an area that had some die off and a larger accumulation of thatch. I will update the photos of this area going forward. Hopefully we will see if D-Thatch is really doing it's job or not. Sometimes it's just hard to tell, but I have not noticed a huge difference up to this point. Let's see over the next couple of weeks. I have noticed that the some of thicker thatch areas are a darker brown color now, compared to how light brown they were before. This is not a scientific test by any means, but hopefully we can see if the thatch is visibly decreasing or completely gone by the time I overseed at the end of September.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

I was able to get some used coffee grounds from a local Starbucks. My plan is to dry them out and apply them with my spreader. I'm trying to get some more organic matter down and I figured I would give this a try to see how it goes. The pictures below are the grounds drying out on my tarp. Once dried, hopefully they will spread through my Earthway 2150 somewhat decently.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

GA_Fescue_Man said:


> This is not a scientific test by any means, but hopefully we can see if the thatch is visibly decreasing or completely gone by the time I overseed at the end of September.


I understand. I used d-thatch last year, and my thinking was similar. If I can detect a difference, that is good enough for me. I'm not practicing as a scientist to determine causes.
I did not notice much of an effect last year with my applications, but I tried using it on dead grass rather than thatch. I don't know how much of a difference that might make.

Thanks for the update. I really appreciate it. All considered, I'd say that the fescue is looking good, by the way. I'm counting only 6-7 weeks left before we can watch our grass really thrive again :mrgreen:


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@social port No problem. That's a great point about dead grass vs actual thatch. The picture above is a patch of grass that died off due to heat stress. I was thinking the die off would contribute to a thatch buildup and the D-Thatch would help break down that dead grass in a sense, putting those nutrients back in the soil. I usually run a tow behind dethatcher over the yard before I aerate in the fall to remove some of the dead grass and thatch. My goal is to eliminate that step and help the dead stuff decompose a little better. Let's see how it goes.

I can't wait for the cooler temps to arrive. Things started off with a bang back in May and it hasn't let up too much. It looks like it will be pretty hot this week in Atlanta (mid 90's or so) as well. The nice thing is that it's not nearly as wet as last year, so there's fewer fungus problems to deal with. Hang in there man. See ya.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

Just wanted to post an update and document a couple of things. Trying to show the good and the bad of growing fescue here in Georgia. There has been a lot of bad lately and just trying to hang on until the temperatures break. Things have been absolutely brutal lately here in metro Atlanta! For the most part, the highs for the entire month of August have been between 92 to 97 degrees with very little rain. It looks like the heat wave will continue on for a couple of more weeks.

The yard has taken a hit in a couple of spots, mainly in the front of the house where it's full sun. My regraded area is continuing to struggle and has basically checked out. Other parts of the front, and the back, are holding up OK. Around 08/13 or so, we got a little bit of rain and a portion of the front yard started to develop some gray leaf spot. The grass has died off some in that area (check out the 3rd pick below). I decided to let it go and put my effort into overseeding around 10/01. Just trying to hang in there guys for a couple of more weeks :?. All of the pictures below were taken yesterday, 09/05/19.

*08/11/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. Put down four, 5 gallon buckets of dried coffee grounds.

*08/19/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches.

*08/27/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches.

*09/05/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches. Put down a 50 pound bag of 0-45-0 to help correct some the phosphorous deficiencies in the soil and to get ready for overseeding. This application supplied 1.8 lbs./M.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@social port Just wanted to post an updated pic of the "D-Thatch spot". There is definitely less thatch/dead grass in that spot than before. I'm just not sure if it's from heat stress or the D-Thatch . I decided to wait on putting down another application of D-Thatch and I will just run the pull behind dethatcher over the yard before I overseed this fall. I have a good bit of dead grass in spots that I need take out. Hope you are hanging in there man! Hopefully only 2 to 3 more weeks to go.

- 1st D-Thatch application was applied 06/16/2019. 2nd D-Thatch application was applied on 08/02/2019.

08/01/2019 Picture.


09/05/2019 Picture.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

GA_Fescue_Man said:


> Things have been absolutely brutal lately here in metro Atlanta! For the most part, the highs for the entire month of August have been between 92 to 97 degrees with very little rain. It looks like the heat wave will continue on for a couple of more weeks.


I hear you loud and clear.

Thanks for posting that follow-up on the d-thatch. For about a month of separation, I think I see quite a bit of change in the target areas. That looks like exposed soil in the picture from 9/5. That is exactly the kind of effect that I would be looking for in using that product.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

This application supplied 1.8 lbs./M.

Why so much P? This is above the started recommendation of 1lb/M of P.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

Hey @g-man.

For this application my goal was to keep the applied amount around 2 lbs./M. There's a couple of different reasons for that number. (A) The price per bag 0-0-60 is a good value for the amount of P going down, but they only sell 50 pound bags at the local farm supply spot. That's the smallest amount I could buy for a good price. (B) I like to do double pass (2 runs perpendicular to each other) applications for my materials to get an overall even application. I have the Earthway 2150 spreader and the least amount that I can put down for each pass is about 25 lbs (depending on SGN prill size). For whatever reason when I use a lower setting, the material does not flow out as well. A lot of the time I have trouble getting it to flow properly with 25 lbs. per pass. With getting down smaller amounts of nutrients evenly with double pass applications, I really need smaller prill sizes (greens grade type materials, etc.) or materials with a lower NPK percentage (milorganite, organics, etc.) so that I can put more pounds on the ground essentially. (C) Based on a couple of different resources, that was the max amount I was comfortable going with. (D) I wanted to experiment a little bit to see if this application (along with the others) would actually increase the P numbers on the soil test next year. When not tilling in your application or applying it when aerating, I'm curious how much P actually gets down into the soil profile. After I applied it, I watered it in with about 0.5 inches of water. The next day I applied another 0.5 inches of water as well. There is no rain in site for awhile, so I wanted to be cautious about a downpour coming soon after I applied it. I will probably apply another 0.5 inches of water this week as well. (E) Wanted to get some more P down for overseeding that is coming up in a couple of weeks.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@g-man Just pulled the quote below from the "Low P and K in Soil test" thread. In that thread, you stated 2 lb/M for triple super phosphate. Just trying to understand the proper amount for P applications. Can you help me better understand the 1 lb/M recommendation per application referenced above? Is that recommendation due to the potential effects of runoff or possibly the adverse affects of a higher salt content? I appreciate the feedback.

I took a soil test back in February, and I'm trying to make corrections to the P and K over time, as well as PH. The Bray1 & Bray2 at that time (for the front) were 9 & 13 PPM, respectively. The back was a little higher. My goal is to get the available P levels up to around 60 PPM. At the end of the year, my annual P lbs./M that I have applied will be 3.35 lbs/M. Based my calculations, I still have a long way to go. Hopefully the humic acids that I have applied this year will unlock some the P tied up in the soil. I will retest in February 2020 to see where I am at. Just wanted to give you a little more background. Thanks.

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=13178


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

2lb of TSP/M = 0.92lb of P/M since the product is 46% P by weight.

Going above rates can have a localized effect(eg pH, salts) on the soil until it moves thru the soil profile. Frequent applications reduce these risks.

Lastly, don't chase numbers. If your soil is not deficient, adding more P is not going to give you a better looking lawn. Increase your levels so that it cannot reach deficient, but take your time.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@g-man Gotcha. After I posted, I started looking back at other threads to make sure my calculations were OK. I just came to the same conclusion you posted above and realized that I misread what my target number should be and pretty much doubled up on my P. The calculations were right, but I misread the "apply 2 lbs. of TSP/M" to mean "put down 2 lbs/M of actual phosphorous". I appreciate your help and your advice. Thanks.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

It's been awhile since my last post. I've been busy with the kiddos and painting the outside of the house. Just wanted to document my fall applications so far and my overseeding process. Weather wise things have been crazy here in north Georgia, going from dry and hot (mid-90's) in early October to wet and freezing to start November. :?

*09/12/2019*
- Cut the grass at 4.25 inches.

*09/20/2019*
-Cut the grass at 3.75 inches.

*09/22/2019 through 09/28/2019*
- Gradually lowered the height of cut to 2.5" and used a manual dethatcher & lawn sweeper to remove most of the dead grass.
- Since things were so hot and the ground was really dry, I watered every other day to soften things up in preparation for the aeration process.



*09/29/2019*
- Aerated the entire front yard in one direction. 
- Applied Solu-cal lime at approximately 6 #/M to the front yard (10,000 ft. 2) and 16 #/M to back (2,500 ft. 2). 
- Applied Hyrbrix Lawn Fertilizer (old formula: 14-4-24) at 4 #/M. This application supplied 0.56 #/M of nitrogen, 0.16 #/M of phosphorous, & 0.96 #/M of potassium.
- Seeded at approximately 4 #/M with Ewing Irrigation's King Fescue Blend (Falcon III, AST9002, & AST7001). Some of the bare areas needed more, so those spots were seeded a little heavier.
- Came back and aerated the front yard in the opposite direction.

I wanted to experiment a little with the back yard, so I did not aerate that area. After everything was applied, I ran over the back with my lawn mower (approx. 550 pounds) to press things into the ground for good soil contact.

After I finished up everything, I watered about 0.25 inches per day for the first week. It was so hot, I would also water some in the evening after work, depending on how moist the soil was. The second week, I started watering about 0.25 inches every other day. During the third week, I went back to the normal 0.5 inches twice a week, if needed. I saw some germination on the 5th day.

All of the pictures below were taken on 10/01/2019.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*10/13/2019*
-Applied one bag of Hyrbrix Lawn Fertilizer (old formula: 14-4-24) at 4 #/M and one bag of the new formula (22-7-7) at 4 #/M. This application supplies 1.44 #/M of nitrogen, 0.44 #/M of phosphorous, & 1.24 #/M of potassium. Approximately 70% of the nitrogen is slowly available from encapsulated urea.

*10/19/2019*
- First cut after overseeding. Cut the grass at 3.75 inches.

*10/24/2019*
- Cut the grass at 3.75 inches.

*10/29/2019*
- Cut the grass at 3.75 inches.

My father-in-law and I have been painting the house, so I took advantage when I was painting the front of the house, close to the roof gable. The photos below were taken on 10/28/2019 about an hour before sunset.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*11/01/2019*
The temperature dipped close to 32 degrees this morning. It has been raining for the past 2 days and a storm came in yesterday that blew a ton leaves from the trees. The grass is coming along well. I have a couple of spots that I will need to spot seed/dormant seed, but overall it's doing well. I have some type of clover (white clover maybe?) that is popping up in some places, but I will let the colder temperatures hopefully take care of it for now. All of the pictures below are from today. Some of the photos were taken with the sun towards the lens and the turf appears to be a lighter green color. It's a nice dark green color in person.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*11/03/2019*
- Cut the grass at 3.75 inches. Spot seeded some of the bare areas and used the garden weasel to get decent seed to soil contact. I wanted to experiment a little bit to see if late season/dormant seeding would really work.

*11/11/2019*
- Applied one 50 pound bag of 34-0-0 (consists of urea and sulfate ammonia) at 4 #/M. This application supplies 1.36 #/M of nitrogen. My yard received about 0.48 inches of rain early this morning (11/12/2019) to water things in pretty well.


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## rclark227 (Aug 20, 2019)

Looking good @GA_Fescue_Man, Keep up the good work! :thumbup:


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@rclark227 Thank you sir. I appreciate that. The air temperatures dropped down to the mid 20's early this week, but things will be back in the high 50's to low 60's next week. The 4 inch soil temps are hovering between 45 to 55 degrees right now. I hope I can get another couple of weeks out of the growing season!  You never know with the weather. We'll see. Take it easy man!


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

*11/17/2019*
- Cut the grass at 3.75 inches. It has been exactly 2 weeks since the last cut, so the grass growth has slowed down slightly. I still had a good bit of clippings discharged from the mower, but normally I've been cutting about once per week. We dipped into the high 20's on 11/12 & 11/13, but the highs are currently in the high 50's to mid 60's and projected to stay that way for awhile. The 4 inch soil temps are ranging from the high 40's to high 50's, roughly. So things are still growing here in north Georgia. I have a little bit of clover that has popped up in some spots, but I will worry about that in the spring and let mother nature take it's course for now (3rd from the last picture). I also have some thin spots that were reseeded a couple of weeks ago (the last two pictures). All of the photos below were taken on 11/18/2019.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

If not for the "fall" leaves, your pictures look like it's still summer where you live. :thumbup:


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@Powhatan It's going to be 71 degrees tomorrow. That's wild. It looks like the high temps will stay in the low to mid 60's for another 5 days or so, then, around the first of the month, the temps will start dropping to the "normal" ranges for this time of year (mid 50's during the day and mid 30's at night). The grass has slowed down a lot and a big chunk of leaves have fallen the past couple of days, so I think the growing season is slowly coming to a halt. It's been a good run. Thanks man. Hope you have a nice holiday!


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## Grass Clippins (Apr 30, 2018)

@GA_Fescue_Man Happy New Year. When do you plan on your first prodiamine application? I'm thinking about starting early this year and doing 0.46 oz/# applications early February & 0.37 oz/# July early July. 0.37 should get you 5 months, which may butt into my early December Seeding, but I feel like the heat last summer cooked it off a little quicker than advertised.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@Grass Clippins Hey man! I'v been away from the forum for a little bit. Been busy with the kiddos. Hope things are going well.

I haven't put down my Pre-M yet. I'm kinda pushing the window a little bit with it. The soil temps were definitely over 55 degrees in the afternoons/evenings for a couple of days last week (02/02 to 02/06). The low temps were in the 30's or 40's for most of those days, with the exception of 02/04 & 02/05, where the low's were about 52 & 59 degrees. I'm hoping there weren't enough consecutive days of optimum weather for the crabgrass to germinate. We'll see. My plan is to put it out this coming weekend. Looks like there is a good bit rain coming in the next couple of days. It's going to starting warming back up tomorrow again (high's in the 60's)until the weekend, then looks like it will be around freezing on Friday & Saturday mornings. This weather has been wild. 

My plan is to put down about 0.38 #/M this weekend. Then around 04/01 to 04/15 put down another slightly heavier app at 0.45 #/M. That's roughly what I did last year and things turned out well. I didn't have any crabgrass, but I did put the first app out around 02/01/2019. Just a little late getting to it this time around.

Did you get snowed in this past Saturday?  We had about 3 to 4 inches in Suwanee.


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## kylecopeland10 (Oct 14, 2019)

What pre-emergent will you be using this year? I am in Cleveland, TN so our weather is pretty much the same. Been a crazy winter with temps.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Got 0.82 inch of rain last night and today (liquid equivalent from rain and snow/slush).

Tomorrow and the following day are supposed to be quite cold, with highs likely below 30F, windy, and night-time temps likely going into the single digits at least one of those days (that hasn't happened much or at all this season yet).

@Powhatan, thanks for the info. I'll look into it.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

@kylecopeland10 The temps have been wild. I will be using Prodiamine 65 WDG in two separate applications. If the rain holds up, I will be putting the first app down today at 0.38 #/M (I'm pushing the window here a little bit. Should have put it down last weekend or so, but life got in the way. My forsythia plants have bloomed a little bit in a couple of spots, but the flowers have not fallen off yet.). Then somewhere between 04/01 & 04/15 I will put down the second app at 0.45 #/M.


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## GA_Fescue_Man (Jan 7, 2019)

Just wanted to let everyone know that I will not be maintaining a lawn journal for 2020. I have two young girls and time just gets really tight sometimes. I will still be around, so you can send me a message! I really appreciate everyone's comments/insights/recommendations for this past year. I truly learned a lot. I hope this journal has been able to help out some of the fescue folks in the southern end of the transition zone and hopefully it will give people an idea of what it takes to maintain this type of grass in Georgia and the surrounding areas. I truly appreciate it. Hope everyone has a nice season!

Just to send things off on the right foot, I've attached a couple of pictures from two weeks ago (02/17/2020). It was the first cut of 2020.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Already looks good! I understand about family commitments. It is difficult to find time for everything and everyone. Hope you can keep that cool season turf beautiful this summer and have a great season!


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

It looks like a great start for 2020. I completely understand time/family constraints and keeping family first. I went through a similar period, and sometimes just getting a mow in seemed impossible. I used that experience to learn about maintaining a decent lawn with minimal inputs. Good luck!


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