# Dan's 'POA made me do it' Lawn renovation



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

This is not really a journal, but a recap of my renovation this year. I’m never good at keeping up with journals, but figured it would be good to document here in case others have a similar situation in the future.

I didn’t plan for a renovation this year, but I grew frustrated with the amount POA in my yard and decided to start a renovation in the spring to get the most effective kill. I also took the opportunity to work on some mulch beds and remove stumps, rocks and roots in the yard. Did not document it, but also did about 4 yards of top soil for leveling and filling holes from rocks and roots. 

Lawn stats:
7,500 square feet
Previous grass: TTTF
New grass: TTTF – Seed Superstore Blend of Avenger II, Raptor III and 4th Millennium (then spot / overseeding with United Seeds TTTF Blend)

Lessons learned:
Pay closer attention to water. I had plenty of sprinklers going, but had some poor coverage areas and too low runtime with the weather. Should have made adjustments sooner.

Buy more grass seed upfront – I put down 75 pounds total (10lbs / 1k feet) and only bought 25 pounds extra of Seed Superstore Blend. I ended up needing more than the extra 25, but Seed Superstore was out and had to get United Seeds mix. I think it will all blend together fine as they are all elite cultivars, but I would have preferred knowing I was using the same blends

Plan a reno when grass seed and peat moss is not at all time high prices 😊

Patience! It was a slow process and took me about 6-7 weeks to feel satisfied with the state of the new lawn. 


Here’s the lawn on April 10. Looking pretty good, but the fresh cut hides the POA from this view. 












Started the roundup process in May. 3 rounds of 50% roundup left everything brown as of June. Got to stare at this for the next 3 months:












In July I started to thin the dead grass out. I found an older post here where someone recommended a dethatching blade. I ordered one for my 22” Toro and it worked pretty good:












Also worked on the mulch beds in July. The beds were lined with rocks that I always wanted to remove them and refine/reshape the edges:
































Seed finally goes down on August 23! I broadcasted the seed and then used a slit seeder rental from Home Depot to work it in. The slit seeder was having issues and kept cutting out on the slight slopes in my yard. I gave up on it and ended up using the garden weasel on the remaining 1,500 square feet. I then rolled and applied starter fert with tenacity.

Couldn’t get the peat moss down that day, so didn’t start watering. Peat moss went down on August 24 and ended up finishing up in the dark, but wanted to get it completely down to start watering the next day. 












Finally started watering on August 25! 












The weather was not helpful at all and had about 7-10 days of blue bird skies and high 80s / low 90s after I started watering. 

First signs of life August 30 – 7 days after seeding in areas that get the most shade











September 5 – 13 days after seeding
More widespread germination – but thin with open spots


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## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

September 8 - 16 days after seeding

The view from the street looks much better than the overhead view from the house. Was hoping it would be further along at this point



















September 9 – First mow with the manual reel mower at 2 inches!











September 10 – 18 days after seeding
Broadcast more seed – some spots got extra treatment with the garden weasel and peat moss

September 15 – 23 days after seeding
Mow #2 with the reel mower











Around mid-late September I was applying fert and more seed.

I believe this was the 1st or 2nd cut with the toro rotary 22” on October 6. Things are started to come together:










Followed up on October 9 with the first cut with the Timemaster at 2.75” where I’ll maintain for the rest of the year:










In advance of a rain storm I cut again on October 12 and applied more fert. After a very slow start in September and 50+ days after seed going down I’m finally pleased with how its turning out:


















I’m thinking about cutting this weekend with the roller on and seeing how it turns out.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Looks like it turned out great.


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## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

Put the roller on the Timemaster and mowed on Oct 15. The stripes turned out great.

Debating on more fert or not. My heart says yes, but my mind says time to slow down. Lows in the mid 30s for the next 3 nights and highs in the 40s for the 5 nights after that.


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