# Koozies Celebration Bermuda



## Koozie (6 mo ago)

Learned a lot reading others journals and thought I would start one as well. Will be nice to have the journey documented. Sorry for the long post but want to get caught up through today. Will do my best to update as I go.

Purchased home in December of 2020. Lawn is in pretty bad shape. Had drainage issues in the back yard with about 1k feet of lawn under standing water for days after a good rain. Back was mostly dallis grass with big dirt spots and a little centipede and common bermuda. Front had large holes and humps and was a mix of St Augustine, centipede and common.

We had quite a few other projects the first year and didn't spend a lot of time on the lawn. I did dig most of the dallis grass in the back by hand, got frustrated when the seeds left behind germinated and finally started spot spraying heavy doses of roundup.

Got a slow start to the spring with work and kids. Pre emerge went down late and had a fair amount of dallis grass come back. Been spot spraying glyphosate and have been pushing the bermuda with weekly N.







Started filling in nicely and finally picked up the Trucut that I bought off of craigslist.



Added catch basins and connected gutters to 4" pipe that runs to the street. This has taken care of the drainage issue. Received 6" of rain last week and it backed up but completely drained in an hour after the rain stopped.



After spending most of my free time rehabbing the backyard I was finally able to turn my attention to the front. Sod is the my only option this late in the year and I really want to get a jump on the spring. Debated between Zeon Zoysia and Celebration but ultimately picked the bermuda. I get plenty of sun and really like the dark green color of the celebration.

Before.



Ended up spraying the front with 3 rounds of glphosate over the past month. Really started getting some attention from the neighbors at this point. Scalped and bagged everything to prep for the dirt work.



Managed to remove 10yds of dirt before a pop up thunderstorm made any more work counterproductive. Should be dry tomorrow and plan on finishing up dirt work. Will give me a week to get it all leveled and smooth before the sod arrives.


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## littlehuman (Jun 10, 2020)

Welcome to lawn care, it looks like you've already got a few doses of the inherent frustration that rain brings during a reno 

You're going to love how Celebration stands out in contrast to surrounding yards.

Excited to follow along with your progress!


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## Jacob_S (May 22, 2018)

Nice, will have to remember to come peak in here as you progress. I miss my celebration at my old place.


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## Koozie (6 mo ago)

littlehuman said:


> Welcome to lawn care, it looks like you've already got a few doses of the inherent frustration that rain brings during a reno
> 
> You're going to love how Celebration stands out in contrast to surrounding yards.
> 
> Excited to follow along with your progress!


Thanks, I am trying to roll with the punches at this point. Clean up will be fun!


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## wilsonline (Dec 18, 2021)

Following. That house has a lot of potentials. I can already see this is going to look epic! Do you know the soil pH? That is the perfect time to add soil amendments. And it's always easier to level it to perfection before the grass. Yes, the sod will mess the level a little bit, but that's much easier to fix than a bumpy lawn. And it's easier to fill a depression than cut out a high spot.


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## Koozie (6 mo ago)

wilsonline said:


> Following. That house has a lot of potentials. I can already see this is going to look epic! Do you know the soil pH? That is the perfect time to add soil amendments. And it's always easier to level it to perfection before the grass. Yes, the sod will mess the level a little bit, but that's much easier to fix than a bumpy lawn. And it's easier to fill a depression than cut out a high spot.


pH was a little high at 7.22. Used 2/3 yd per 1k of mason sand on final level and think that may help lower the pH. Going to do another soil test in the spring. I spent close to 30hrs this week leveling and dragging to get it as smooth as possible.


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## Koozie (6 mo ago)

Update.

Been a long week prepping for sod to arrive. I ended up with a couple of high spots after settling so we went back and tilled those spots and removed some more material. Brought in a load of mason sand and spent a couple of days dragging and watering until it was perfectly smooth.



Sod arrived around 9am yesterday.



Couldn't have done the job without the help of some really good friends!



Took right at 12hrs to get 3800sf laid.



Lawn this morning.



Going to spend the weekend cleaning everything up. My OCD really kicked in and I am sure that I made this project more difficult than it needed to be but I think it will show in the end result. Forecast is good over the next week with highs in the low 90's and a lot of sun. Going to pour the water to it and get it rolled in.


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## DFWdude (Aug 28, 2020)

Great work with the sod and leveling!


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## Koozie (6 mo ago)

DFWdude said:


> Great work with the sod and leveling!


Thank you! I am very happy with how it turned out.


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## Koozie (6 mo ago)

Trimmed beds and removed excess on day 5 and could barely pull the sod up. Some roots measured 4.5".


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## Koozie (6 mo ago)

Day 7 since laying sod.

Couldn't help myself and had to get in a mow. The side yard is pretty hard so I wasn't worried about the tires leaving ruts. It wouldn't matter a ton because the lawn is pretty bumpy. I am planning on renting the roller from HD again in a week or two.

First mow. Just clipped the tops at 1 1/8" and picked up some dead grass. Going to wait until Sunday to cut the rest.


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## Koozie (6 mo ago)

11 Days since laying sod. Temps have ramped up to high 90's and haven't received any rain. Currently running sprinklers at 6am, noon and 2:30pm. I do have a couple of spots that are slower to grow than the rest and have started hand watering those throughout the day. Loving the color of celebration! It really stands out next to the Tif419 and centipede yards next to me.


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## WillyT (Jun 26, 2019)

Looks great! The color will continue to be darker and stand out compared to 419.


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## littlehuman (Jun 10, 2020)

Looking great!


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## Koozie (6 mo ago)

WillyT said:


> Looks great! The color will continue to be darker and stand out compared to 419.


Thanks @WillyT! I have been following your journal since you are just right up the road from me. Looking to sprig my back yard next summer after seeing the success you have had with yours.


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## Koozie (6 mo ago)

littlehuman said:


> Looking great!


Thanks @littlehuman ! Your journal was a big source of info and motivation for me.


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## littlehuman (Jun 10, 2020)

Koozie said:


> littlehuman said:
> 
> 
> > Looking great!
> ...


Good to hear! I'm glad someone was able to wade through my constant complaint posts about the rain lol.


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