# Dan's overseed project



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

Way behind on getting the journal set-up and will have to add in all the prep work, but my seed is down and sprinklers set up and running.

In the end I think this got closer to a reno than an overseed. I might have gotten a little agressive with the power rake and scalping 

More details to come!


----------



## Pezking7p (May 23, 2020)

Looks like everything is set up and ready to go. Time to crack a beer.

What kind of seed did you put down?


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

Hey,

I put down a mix of 4th Millennium (66%) and Regenerate (33%). 75 pounds total. My front yard size estimate is 7500. I ended up putting it down a bit heavier than I wanted as I expected to have some left over.


----------



## Harts (May 14, 2018)

I think the prep work you did is perfect. I did the same in 2018 and had awesome results. You'll be really happy in about 4 weeks.


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

Here is all the prep work that lead up to my overseed project.

It actually started back in February with a large ash tree removal. The tree sat on the western side of the lawn and created a lot of shade to the immediate east of the tree along with the rest of the yard. This created some difficult growing conditions around the tree and believe lead to a lot of moss in other places of the yard as well.



Since the tree was along the driveway I did not expect any trucks in the yard, but only lead to some minor leveling work:



I had them remove all the debris, which ended up being a lot and would have been too much work for me.



A few years back I had a large ash removed from the eastern side of the yard, so a lot more sun is getting through now. The yard had some FF and I over seeded a lot with PRG in the previous years, which I believe was a mistake. This summer really put a beating on the yard and I think a lot of the FF and PRG died out and matted down in the yard.

August 30 I rented a power rake from home depot and it pulled a lot of dead stuff up:



Five bagging mows later I finally got most of the dead grass up!



My yard overall is pretty bumpy, but has some really low spots and dips in it that I wanted to correct, so I got 4 yards of screened topsoil to do some leveling. I had plenty of help in the process:



Addressed the worst areas by using the leveling rake and then a roller. Also re-leveled the area where the tree was removed earlier this year



Then on labor day weekend I mowed low (1.75") and rented the overseeder from home depot. It ended up pulling a lot more stuff up (think I went too low with it) and then I mowed 2 more times to pick up all the grass it pulled up.

After that I spread seed which was a mix of 4th Millenium (66%) and Regenerate (33%). I had 75 pounds and somehow went through all of it unexpectedly, but since the over seeder and scalping opened up a lot of areas in the yard I think it might be needed. I then went over it with the overseeder to get it into the dirt a little bit more and then rolled it.

The following day I covered in peat and set irrigation up. Now its just a waiting game!


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

Had some heavy rains last night, but woke up to this on day 5!


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

Quick update on the germination. It started on day 5 after seeding.

Here is a view on day 6 on 9/12:



By today, day 8 after seeding, it really started to take off:





Have some more seed on the way for bare spots, which I am waiting for another week or so to address. In about a week I'm thinking will be a good time for first mow, especially due to the leaves coming down already, some reseeding and maybe a light fert app.


----------



## Carlson (Apr 16, 2020)

That is coming in really nicely and evenly - and those fescue cultivars you picked are excellent.

I was mowing my reno at about 10 days after germination - I think your plan of mowing a week from now is on point.


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

thanks Carlson! I've been following your reno closely and has been good motivation for me as yours is looking excellent.

actually wanted to ask you a question on yours - will post that in your journal.


----------



## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

Looking fantastic. You have great germination looking like nice even coverage. Hold off on dropping more seed your still early in the game.


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

Day 10 after seeding and getting greener:


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

Still coming along nicely. Benefiting from some real nice weather here. Aiming for first cut Sunday and some Nitrogen


----------



## Butter (Nov 14, 2017)

I had TTTF germination today. Day 5. The picture I took looks exactly like yours. 5 days must be the sweet spot for TTTF germination.


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

Hey Butter,

Saw your pic in your journal and agree, could be a copy of mine. It pops on day 5 and just takes off from there!


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

Day 13 after seeding and Cut for the first time yesterday. Mower set at 2.5". Don't think I cut too much grass, but got a lot of the leaves off the lawn. Dropped .2 pounds per K of N. The browner looking areas were a bit then so I dropped more seed and worked it in with the garden weasel.


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

Second cut today! again at 2.5" It's looking pretty good. The thinner areas that I overseeded last week really haven't germinated yet. This is day 6 and I'm thinking the much cooler temps have it slowed down a day or two. I'm gonna check again Sunday and maybe add more seed. Even where it looks good its a bit thinner in spots than I would like, so I might give it a general overseed as well. Will put another .2lb of N tomorrow or Sunday.


----------



## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

Looking fantastic hard work payed off.The thinner areas you added more seed to hold off a little more it's still early in the game for germination. Keep cutting it will definitely fill in and thicken. In about a month it will look great, next spring fantastic


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

thanks M32075! gonna hold off another week or two and see what happens.

Got the 3rd cut in today after only 3 days since the last one. It is really starting to take off. It grew much more between cuts 2 and 3 (in 3 days) than it did between cuts 1 and 2 (6 days). Put another .2lbs of N/1000k down too. Mother nature has been cooperating and providing some rain recently, so have been able to keep the hoses off the lawn. We have another 1" or so predicted over the next day.

I've been cutting with my toro recycler to keep some weight off of it, but thinking in another week or two I can get the timemaster on there and put some bigger stripes on it!

I do have some Poa T I have to address. I neglected to hit it hard in the spring as I wasn't planning for such a significant overseeding and didn't want to create a lot of bare areas. I ordered some round up gel and plan to use gloved fingers to apply to individual blades. It's gonna be a pain, but have no desire to start spraying gly on the yard now. I figure its gonna be part of the routine in the spring and fall for next couple years.


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

Worked on an area today that I didn't address last month. It's about 500 square feet. Was thinking of waiting till spring, but figured give it a shot now.

Had left over top soil and did some minor leveling. Ruined this guys hibernation:



After leveling the soil, I had some help with the roller:





Put down seed and used the weasel to rake it in then rolled again:


----------



## Carlson (Apr 16, 2020)

That is coming out &#128076;&#128076;!

Lot of worm castings in one of those earlier pics... annoying for the low-cut KBG crowd, but easily hidden in tall fescue &#128516;. Not to mention a strong sign of healthy soil!


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

thanks @Carlson !

Was inspired by your journal and ordered the big league striper. came very quick and got the first cut in with it today. Gotta say its well worth the investment.


----------



## Carlson (Apr 16, 2020)

Dan1234 said:


> thanks @Carlson !
> 
> Was inspired by your journal and ordered the big league striper. came very quick and got the first cut in with it today. Gotta say its well worth the investment.


Beautiful! Was that w the timemaster or the recycler?


----------



## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

Wow! That looks so nice. If I was your neighbor I would stare at your lawn all day.


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

@Carlson - thanks! It was the timemaster. Figured it's ready for the bigger mower and the recycler can go back to it's normal job of handling the steep hills I have in my back yard

@Jeff_MI84 - thanks! Appreciate it!


----------



## Dan1234 (Aug 31, 2018)

More fun with the striping kit. This time single-doubles and also mulching up all the leaves for free lawn food.



Also, made an impulsive drone purchase on prime day and realized it takes great lawn shots:


----------



## PrisizhuhnRedNek (Sep 30, 2020)

looks awesome dan, you did a heavy seed amount like my self and also have 4th millennium in my mix. It's beautiful! Now I need to get a striper!


----------

