# Quattljl's 2019 "Re-renovation" Thread



## quattljl (Aug 8, 2018)

Last year I killed off my entire lawn after a failed spring seeding (surprise surprise), put down 8 yards of top soil to level low spots, and seeded with United Seeds Super Turf I blend. I had my share of issues, but overall I had fantastic results. Spring time came around and the lawn really thickened up and it was looking great.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=15Vb1UK1RpMfL5ZMOyTMhjjgUlqrnaiQEjQ

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VJWAouPz5veQ3cXWnGedjco4yHNSgz7cog

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1FDopOX3HAkYgaBAmAcUHYSbHg6FmxlVPhQ

https://drive.google.com/open?id=18BSj3bepQ9uMewNMG23NIKR2wVS7zG74FA

But that's pretty much where the fun stopped. We got hit with 4 straight days of late afternoon/evening rain around Memorial Day that left everything hot and humid. Afterwards, my grass started melting out and I was noticing lesions on the grass blades. I tried 2 applications of Scott's DiseaseEx and the Bayer Propiconazole stuff to no avail. Looking back, my application timing probably needed some adjustment for better results although I'm not sure if it would have ultimately helped. I stopped watering altogether because I couldn't get rid of the disease and it just seemed to be spreading. Between the disease and the extreme heat/humidity from June until now, I've lost nearly all of my grass from last year. This is what it looks like as of 8/11.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=12q_d9PzrrS7Ofwz0q0LOsD_jmniPI_YW

https://drive.google.com/open?id=12Va7hBtDOlvlsEdT6OsazRzZkjysebCS

https://drive.google.com/open?id=12HQVe5ciTKlqCzs_XgqigVdJ_8iQgjZr

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1288f3j1rKNQxx7GNUv9keUakGvYlLHd3

Due to the thinning grass, I've had a LOT of weeds develop, mostly creeping charlie and wild violet but also some crabgrass and other broadleaf weeds. I do want to keep as much of what has survived as possible so I blanket sprayed Tenacity (rather than glyphosate) to try to knock down the wild violet and creeping charlie. I also noticed I have at least 2 spots of THIS growing now as well. Uggh.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=12PdJQBEarrqzb3b8OkBCHmirS9sN5MVd

This likely would not have been an issue if my TTTF had remained thick and dense through summer. If the Tenacity doesn't take care of it, I'll follow with glyphosate before seeding.

While I wait for better soil temps and cooler weather to arrive over the next several weeks, I'll rake out all the dead grass and better prepare the soil for seed. My target date for seed down is somewhere around 9/8/19.


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## quattljl (Aug 8, 2018)

My seed arrived in the mail yesterday, but I was so busy I didn't get a chance to even open it up to see what I got. I went with United Seeds Super Turf I again this year. I'm pretty happy with the cultivars in the blend. They should hold up well to the heat and humidity we see here in Charlotte (assuming I step up my fungicide game next year).
https://drive.google.com/file/d/139W8zfyVAt6G0ukPlXJf0v5NtxEGUH_i/view?usp=drivesdk


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## quattljl (Aug 8, 2018)

Update: I am STILL waiting for temps to break. With the exception of maybe 10 days randomly spread throughout the summer, I feel like we have had highs of 90+ degrees since basically May 1st. Soil temps are still around 80+. It's getting ridiculous. Maybe this weekend I'll finally be able to put seed down.

EDIT: To further drive home how hot it's been. I heard on the radio that Friday 9/27 was the *79th* day of 90+ degree weather this year for my area. And it's not done. At least one more week of this crap.


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## quattljl (Aug 8, 2018)

So I'm on a serious time budget nowadays with a 6 month old baby. I just don't have as much time to go out do what I want, when I want in the yard. For that reason, I have no pictures to share (yet!). But this past weekend, I did finally bite the bullet and put down my grass seed along with some Scotts Starter w/ weed preventer and a little bit of MIlo.

Last year, I did a complete reno with absolutely 0 grass to start with. This year, it looks pretty thin thanks to the temps and fungus but I do at least have some grass to build off of. That said, I completed that reno with only 2 sprinklers for 6ksqft and moved them by hand when I got home from work. Albeit, I had much more favorable weather by this time last year. This year, I have really beefed up my irrigation equipment and schedule. I now have 5 sprinklers to cover the entire yard and I've also invested in two Melnor 4-way sprinkler timers to help get everything watered correctly and keep the soil moist. As long as I can get through this first week without losing too much seed to the heat, everything should go well once temps start to drop into the low 80's next week.


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## quattljl (Aug 8, 2018)

I've done a terrible job keeping up with this journal. I didn't get any pictures of the lawn after I first put down my grass seed. It wasn't until day 10 after seed down and approximately 6 days after germination that these pictures were taken (10/9).
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LhW0VHM9Sm-pZfkj3otxZrfJHp_6WfBc

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Lirwhgf8TjgAMqlKh3Jq2zUtqNpgrf5l

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LzN1p1l3GIrgZncK7aSVhqSsn7OWqBKj

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MxzK_x6LXmhLTZPXRuKd5ti5J1C1MM7p

On Friday 10/11, I snapped a couple quick pics as I was heading out to work. It's awesome to see what 2 days difference can make at this stage.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1N19UpxJ-G7img_laqC9cdVxXcXGoBG9z

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1N1J72TXsl7CrDw2gemtq0serbpG1Z2oY


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## quattljl (Aug 8, 2018)

This past weekend was two weeks since seed down and the lawn was due for its first cut. I mowed on Saturday 10/12 but, once again, didn't get any pictures. It rained all day Sunday (FINALLY, some good rain) so I didn't get any pictures then either. The pictures below are from this morning and I can tell the grass has already grown out some as my stripes don't look quite as defined.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1N8WegPviu0DEJ2VbWSt2-1Bv1MNSZlaD

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NDZILN2P1Kj0eCthpZBu-2OQ1YylnbCl

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1N3-xg4Lhm2irf-SBUXE2BwR81KM1dJj-

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1N8ImvwwrwUvIMK7id6IetEXyZ2K6R3wg

Overall, I'm extremely happy with the way the grass has come in so far. Its been very uniform in germination and not overly heavy or bare in certain areas. It's also been much drier this year, which puts more on me to get the irrigation correct. But compared to last year when we had two hurricanes dump a ton of rain on us while my seed was still trying to establish, it's been a world of difference. Last year I had 3 big problems, mainly due to the hurricanes: 1) lots of my seed got washed out 2) what didn't get washed out gathered in certain spots resulting in bare spots or heavily germinating areas 3) pithium blight due to all the wetness.

There are still a couple of bare areas that you can see in the photos, but those are all due to lack of water. Even with 4 sprinklers to cover the front yard I still have some areas where I don't get good coverage so those spots are lagging behind. Now that I've got widespread germination, I am moving my sprinklers around more to try to get those areas to catch up.


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## Mtsdream (May 2, 2019)

I read your original reno around the beginning of the year when I found this site and it was one of the reasons i decided to do my reno this year. Glad to see it coming back in!


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## quattljl (Aug 8, 2018)

Thanks. This past summer was frustrating but happy to be back on track with grass coming back in. Glad I could be a source for inspiration/motivation for your own reno!


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