# ReelWILawn Bewitched, Bluebank, Blue Note KBG Renovation



## ReelWILawn

Long time reader, first time poster. I am currently in the process of renovating 6,300 sqft in SE WI to a 100% KBG blend of Bewitched, Bluebank, and Bluenote. The plan is for the entire lawn to be reel mowed. This renovation has been in the plans for over a year and my wife and I have spent pretty much most of our free time since April preparing or completing projects outside which is why it's taken me so long to get everything written down. I plan over the next few days to get caught up with the current situation of the reno but in the meantime I will share and cover everything we did over the course of this season. I hope this can bring at least some value for anyone considering a renovation next year or in the future and learn as I have from the many other members and journals on here. Thanks for reading!

We bought and moved into our new home in April of 2020. Included with the home was a seeded lawn of contractor grade NoMix. With COVID impacting many things at this time, I knew this was going to be temporary. The most important thing for us was not to have a mud yard as we needed a full lawn for our two Great Danes. Over the course of the spring and summer our NoMix came in pretty well and at this time I was maintaining approximately 8,500 sqft of turf.

















Knowing that a full renovation was planned for Fall 2021, I still needed to maintain a halfway decent lawn for a little more than a year. I made the decision to bring in addition topsoil (15 yards) in August 2020 and proceeded to spot level areas and overseed with SeedSuperStore's SS1100 KBG blend and SS9000 Rye blends to help fill in the bare and thin spots. This was a great opportunity to try a few things out as well as start procuring equipment and experiment. If I learned one thing, while spring/summer renovations are possible, it was difficult and needed more attention than fall. Overall, by the end of October of 2020, we had one of the better lawns in our neighborhood. 

















Proceeded to spend the rest of the fall and winter months getting ready for our upcoming projects and planning the fall renovation. If all went according to plan the timeline was going to be:

April- garden bed
May- adding additional plantings, buried downspouts, deck project, define new beds/concrete curbing
June- irrigation install, glyphosate lawn mid June
July- add additional topsoil, level, fallow, target seed down July 31st
Aug-Nov - grow in


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## Wile

I look forward to following your journey. Pup looks mad like what are you doing to my yard &#128514;.


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## ReelWILawn

Wile said:


> I look forward to following your journey. Pup looks mad like what are you doing to my yard 😂.


Thanks for following along! Yes, the dogs have gotten confused many times over the past year as to when it's ok to be out on the lawn and when they have been banned


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## ReelWILawn

April 2021 was all about getting back on the lawn after a long winter. We had what seemed like snow cover for the entirety of the winter which caused some snow mold damage like many others in the Midwest. In the meantime, I was getting out there for the first few mows and doing what I could. By the end of April, I had large sections of the lawn starting to look really nice. This was probably the first time I questioned myself, do I really want to kill this?









Also, built the garden bed for my wife, had it filled and the surrounding area of lawn sectioned off for her gardening









The other thing we learned last year that moving 15 yards of dirt in in just a wheelbarrow and Gorilla Cart wasn't going to cut it. Based on what we had planned for the year and the future, I purchased a John Deere X354 at the end of April to be used mostly as a utility vehicle. Decided on this model for a couple of reasons. First, I had heard good things about the 4 wheel steering and based on the size of our lot and some tight corners we have I figured this would be useful later on. Second, I was torn about the transmission. I thought I needed the more heavy duty K58 or K57 found on X370/X380's. However, I really wanted the 4 wheel steering and I just could not justify the X384 for the size of my yard and what I was ultimately going to use it for.








Happy to report that this has been a wonderful machine. We put about 25 hours on it so far, and could not be happier. Our yard is relatively flat and I have been careful to not overload anything I have towed or pulled. So far this has seemed like the correct choice for my needs and property. Now if I lived on a 1/2 acre or more, sure the X384 or really the X500 series would probably be better suited.


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## ReelWILawn

May 2021 is when some of the projects really started kicking off.

weekend of May 8th & 9th I started to define the bed at the back of our property lines. For this I created what hopefully will be a hedge of boxwoods and arborvitaes. All in total, I dug and planted 14 boxwoods and 9 arborvitaes.









I also planted another tree in the front yard. Our HOA has a minimum requirement of 3 trees in the front (not sure why with the size of our lots) so I tried to select what would have the least negative impact on the new turf in the long run. I was looking for something that did not grow too tall, not provide too much shade, and did not have an invasive root system. I selected a Tina Crabapple with a average size at maturity to be only 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide. I was able to select this from a local nursery and dig the hole and have it planted just before it it blossomed.

















That following Monday, May 11th all of our downspouts were buried and the contractors arrived to begin construction on our deck. With everyone doing projects, this was difficult to get this squared away let alone get people to talk to and receive initial quotes. Our deck project actually started in October of 2020









and was completed by end of the week









Week of May 17th I purchased treated 4x4's, stained them dug two post holes and installed Eley hose reels. Yes, these are expensive, but they are as good as everyone says they are and based on my use so far I don't think I will ever need to buy another hose reel at this property.


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## ReelWILawn

May 26th
another round of leveling all the buried downspouts









weekend of May 29th & 30th

rented a sod cutter and started removing areas of turf around the house and further define future landscape features

























followed by paver preparation around the deck


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## ReelWILawn

1st week of June 2021

Had 5 tons of 3/4" traffic bond delivered as our base for the pavers and surrounding deck area. With our back yard sloping ever so slightly, about 8 inches from the house to the front most corner of the deck, we had to bring the grade up to make for a smooth transition yet at the same time making sure everything sloped correctly away from the deck and the house. Struggling with absolute perfection made this as mentally challenging as it was physically challenging. During this first week, our contractors arrived and completed our concrete curbing project around the house and our newly defined beds.

































finished moving the rest of the traffic bond, filled the remaining space between the deck and curbing to make a smooth transition from the deck/pavers onto the lawn.


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## ReelWILawn

June 16th

The day I've been waiting for since last fall. Good bye hoses and above ground sprinklers, hello in ground irrigation 

This process started in September/October of 2020. I spoke with many different contractors, asked a lot of questions, had a list of expectations, and ultimately received a number of quotes. This ultimately helped compare apples to apples and decide what was the best decision for me. I was honest with myself and realized I would not have the time nor the equipment or experience to do it myself. I did gain a lot of experience on what to look out for and specifically a list of questions to ask. Happy to help anyone who might be deciding to hire out their irrigation install.

Fast forward to now (November 5th 2021) I am still happy with the decision I made and the overall irrigation install. Sure, there were a few things I might have done different or asked for in hindsight but no (or very few) irrigation systems are 100% perfect or efficient. At the end of the day I now have a reliable automatic watering system and just having the ability to water in product with the touch of a button on my phone has been a huge help and a time saver. Having an irrigation system was absolutely critical for this lawn reno

*High level specs*
Hydrawise Pro HC controller
Total of 7 zones - 5 lawn and 2 drip zones 
23 RainBird 5004+PCSAM
1 RainBird 5004+FCSAM
10 Hunter Pro Spray MP Rotators (for the narrow sides of the house)


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## ReelWILawn

*June 19th*
sprayed urea at .25lbsN/M
This would be the No Mix's last fertilizing and by the following weekend everything was looking pretty good

*June 27th*- the day of no return. From here on out we were on the clock and it was non stop reno.
With all the work we had done this spring the yard was not in a good place. One of the reasons for the complete reno is that I felt it was actually going to be a littler easier to completely start over instead of trying to level the yard out again from the irrigation install without smothering the grass and probably multiple seasons of overseeding. But at the end of the day I was never going to be happy with the No Mix and I think many can relate to that.

Anyway, I used the Compare N Save concentrate weed & grass killer (41% glyphosate) for the No Mix kill.

-2.5oz/gallon / per 300 sqft 
-because I was going to do many backpack refills I also sprayed the yard in two directions
-2.5 oz AMS/gallon
- 1 tbsp NIS/gallon
-3oz/gallon blue dye

two weeks later I repeated the same process and put the same app down again

be warned, this stuff using the label rate is a very slow kill. It probably took 7-10 days before the lawn started to look a little off. By the time I put the second app down (12-14 days) I started to get a lot of weird looks from the neighbors. All said, it took close to three weeks before there was no longer any green.

Good thing to keep in mind during the renovation is that time can be your friend. We tried to plan for everything and ultimately felt really good about the plan. In hindsight, both my wife and I said we probably could have and should have started even earlier. Where we live in the upper midwest (WI), It's probably better to start early. Things are going to come up or you are going to want to spend more time on other things especially if you are bringing top soil or sand in.


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## ReelWILawn

*Early July 2021*
working on a few items while waiting for the NoMix to die.

All the beds around the house filled with landscaping rock

















followed by a scalp and a heavy dethatching in multiple directions









last but not least many trips with the pull behind aerator. My original plan for aeration did not work out so we came up with plan b. Based on the specs, we targeted around 7% affected surface area. I was busy doing other things so my wife helped drive the tractor around all afternoon each time marking off sections completed along the driving route.


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## Jeff_MI84

Very nice.


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## ReelWILawn

new to me mower was obtained during this time period. The goal has always been to reel mow the entire lawn and I knew at some point I was going to purchase something, but I was not expecting it to be this summer. I just happened to find this in FB as I was looking for aerators. The price was pretty good, but even better was that this was local to me and it was relatively easy to go and pick up. If it wasn't for that I probably would not have gotten this

*specs*
2014 JD 220SL
Hours unknown*
11 blade reel

so the story goes, these were purchased new from the dealer by a guy who put in golf greens at his kids' houses and was maintained by a local golf course. It is in pretty good condition and just seemed to not have been used for a while. I'll be sending it to my local JD golf & turf dealer soon to have the reel sharpened and give it a once over since it's there. Overall I have been very happy with it. I am getting by with the 11 blade reel at this point and it does a pretty good job especially if you double cut. My future plan is to replace this with a 220e 7 blade mower. Until then, the addiction is reel


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## ReelWILawn

*July 2021*

knew we had a lot of leveling work that needed to be done as well as the opportunity to add topsoil back in. Brought in a total of 29 yards of screened top soil. Shipments were brought in loads of 5-8 yards at a time and all of it was loaded and spread by my wife and I via the wheelbarrow, Gorilla Cart, and the X354. If I wasn't committed before, I certainly was now. Took about a week or so to get this done and we were in a good rhythm of hauling topsoil, spreading, rolling, and watering. Goal was to have seed down by the first weekend in August.


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## ReelWILawn

been a little busy the last couple of weeks. I'll try to get this finished and posted.

*August 4th - seed down day!*

Was originally planning for the last weekend in July, but decided to spend some time to address a few areas and get some last minute details ready. It rained anyway (I should have seen this as some bad foreshadowing). Anyway, the following week, everything was ready and the upcoming weather outlook looked great - sunny, mid 80's....

*the great debate - KBG monostand vs blend*
Originally, I had thought and planned about doing a monostand of Bewitched; however, after more thought and research I decided to add Bluebank and Blue Note. After more time reviewing the NTEP data from KBG trials in Madison WI, both Bluebank and Blue Note were top performers in my general area. I also wanted a cultivar of A-List approved varieties. The thought of added something that could be sustainable with reduced inputs, more heat tolerant, and decreased water use was something that I became very interested in. While I really liked the idea about uniformity I ultimately played it safe and I personally valued additional disease resistance and the traits that each cultivar brought. I thought about all this over the course of the past year but I ended up with a 3 way blend of compact varieties. With Compact, Compact Midnight, and Compact America covered they should have similar characteristics and blend nicely together. Time will tell and I'll maybe give an update on this after next year's season. With that being said, of course I've questioned myself wondering if I made the right decision. There are tons of lawn journals on here with really outstanding monostands. At the 11th hour I just said, 'hey if a majority of sports fields are blends why not.' I also wanted to do something different. Who knows, maybe my next lawn I will do a monostand. For those trying to decide between a monostand vs a blend, good luck! At the end of the day many of us are using super elite cultivars. With the correct mowing, watering, and fertilizing it should all look pretty good regardless.

Bewitched, Bluebank, and Blue Note were mixed evenly by weight and each cultivar represents about 33%. I ended up spreading 15lbs of my KBG blend over the 6,300 sqft. This came out to 2.38lbs/M as my seeding rate. Why 2.38lbs/M? Just because it was easy to mix everything and that's what it came out to. No reason to really add more than 2.5 or 3lbs. I would recommend, as have others, to stay around the 2lbs/M.


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## ReelWILawn

As for seed down day, it was a long day.

The previous couple of days I sprayed RGS at 6oz/M & Hydretain at 9oz/M
as mentioned above, my KBG rate was 2.38lbs/M and I spread this in my drop spreader with Milo and a little bit of Kinder Blend Starter from Seed Super Store all mixed together. Knowing I was not going to be walking on the newly seeded area for 3-4 weeks I liked the idea of using slow release/methylene urea as my nitrogen source. I also wanted to make sure there was enough phosphorus and potassium for the new seedlings. Having done a soil test earlier this year, the correct amounts of what my soil needed in terms of phosphorus and potassium was planned for and targeted to be used at seed down and during the grow in. Seed moist was also added to my KBG mix at double the rate .32oz/1lbs.

















Once the seed was down, I rolled it in and sprayed Tenacity at the 6oz/acre rate or .138oz/M

peat moss was also spread over the entire lawn with my peat moss spreader. I also had a number Seed Aide bags that I used throughout the lawn. The plan was that this was to be hand spread near all the irrigation heads and any areas with a little slope. My next door neighbors had sod installed earlier this summer along with hardscape work. The contractor ended up raising their grade a little bit and with no vegetation cover in my lawn, their watering had to run somewhere. Because of this I put down the Seed Aide along the entire property length. But how to evenly spread the Seed Aide? I ended up putting it in my peat moss spreader and it worked pretty good. It might have been a little heavy, but it was even and much easier to do then by hand.

















after all the cover was down, I triggered the irrigation and started to soak the lawn. The dirt was very dry at this point and was drying very quickly. Watching and playing with the irrigation over the next few days, I noticed it probably took at least a full day, maybe two, of watering before all the dirt was completely saturated. I ended up running all the zones 6 times a day but only for 2-3 minutes at a time. Any longer seemed to create an excess of water. This watering schedule worked for me and my application. Best advice is start low, watch, and adjust. The watering schedule will also need to be adjusted based on a number of factors.


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## Jeff_MI84

That's some really nice progress. Nice dogs too!


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## ReelWILawn

thanks @Jeff_MI84 ! Lots of hard work for sure. The dogs love being outside so it was challenge to keep them off the lawn for a few weeks.


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## ReelWILawn

*The Washout(s)*
up until seed down day on August 4th, pretty much everything went according to plan. Everything from early March to early August went more or less exactly how it was planned with only a few minor setbacks. Checking the long range weather, everything looked good on August 1st. That all changed, +3days from seed down. With little rain the entire summer, we received about 5" in 6 days. Unfortunately, this was not the all day drizzle, but the very heavy 1" in a half hour kind. Luck had been our our side the entire Spring & Summer. Now, with everything planned to near perfection, we got hit with the center of every thunderstorm over the next week

















For the entire week, it was a major storm after another. After the first one on August 7th, there was major damage to the entire seeded area. By the second storm, everything was gone. There was absolutely nothing left. The worst part is the forecast was calling for these type of storms every other day so there was no point in attempting to start over and re do everything. I just had to wait and watch everything washout until it was all done - not to mention wait a day or two after it was all over for the dirt to firm up before I could walk on it.

*Aug 7th*









*Aug 10th*

















What the winds were like in and around the surrounding areas









Original seed down day was August 4th. It would be +10days (August 14) before I would be able to get back to repairing everything and starting completely over. This was a major set back. Anyone growing KBG knows how important those first couple of week are and I would be playing catch up by about 2 weeks for the rest of the fall.


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## The Lawn Monk

Aw man. I dove right into this journal, kept scrolling and reading, got to the end. Said to myself, "ok, page 2...". No page 2? That's it?! What a cliff hanger! Hope all is well, can't wait to hear more about this reno!

I have a dog and I'm a little weary about spraying glypho to properly nuke my yard. Any advice? How long did you keep 'em off it right after spraying? Did you water it in the next day? Did you fallow? I'm fighting poa, so I'm planning on hitting it a couple times. Thanks!


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## ReelWILawn

The Lawn Monk said:


> Aw man. I dove right into this journal, kept scrolling and reading, got to the end. Said to myself, "ok, page 2...". No page 2? That's it?! What a cliff hanger! Hope all is well, can't wait to hear more about this reno!
> 
> I have a dog and I'm a little weary about spraying glypho to properly nuke my yard. Any advice? How long did you keep 'em off it right after spraying? Did you water it in the next day? Did you fallow? I'm fighting poa, so I'm planning on hitting it a couple times. Thanks!


Thanks for reading @The Lawn Monk ! Sorry, the cliff hanger was not meant to be intentional :lol: I was much busier than I thought, but I am planning on getting this journal up to date hopefully by next weekend. I have everything documented and it was a rollercoaster... still is.. (now that's a cliff hanger).

I ended up doing two rounds about 14 days apart and the dogs were not allowed on the lawn for 48 hours after spraying which was probably overkill. I took a quick look at the label this evening, but did not see a restricted entry interval. The label does say that it's completely waterproof after 24 so I used that as the REI and just doubled it to be safe and made sure everything was dry before I opened everything back up. Now what did I do for those 48 hours and during the whole reno? Well, we are pretty lucky. First we live in a developing neighborhood that is almost 100% complete at this point; however, there were still a number of open lots and areas that were not sold or behind on digging schedules. Our neighborhood and developer also greatly prioritize open greenspace. In total, I think there is something like 100 acres of open space to enjoy which includes five miles of walking paths. Our dogs really enjoy walks so they did a majority of their business on those walks. The walking paths are also arranged so that they go through open areas and around the neighborhood - no one's personal property or grass goes right up to the paths. We are also in the process of training our dogs to go to the bathroom on the landscape rocks around our deck area. We specifically made these areas a little larger just for this purpose. As of today, one of the dogs is really good about going there.

Yes, I did fallow, but only for a about a week. In hindsight, I would have liked to fallow for two maybe even three weeks and done as many gly apps as needed. I think I mentioned this in an earlier post, but If I had to do it all over again, I probably would have killed the lawn 2-3 weeks earlier instead of at the end of June. My main problem was after the major washout, I am sure all or most of the Tenacity washed away. I put down Tenacity at the 6 oz/acre rate or .138oz/m and there was no way of telling what, how much, or any tenacity was left. As a result, especially in the area where I had major problems with running water is where I saw the most weed pressure. Once I could start walking on the grass - If I was not mowing, fertilizing, I was hand picking anything that did not look like KBG. The second app of Tenacity did help, but I spent a lot of time hand pulling weeds and there were some very small poa plants in there


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## g-man

The REI is 12 hours. I would avoid the dogs walking after any dew just to be super safe.


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## The Lawn Monk

Thanks for all the info! I'm definitely gonna be doing what you were doing with the double waiting period. I'm always iffy when I spray things down around my fur son, but like you said, just add a little extra time and no worries. I'm gonna be using your advice as a guide this spring/summer. I wanna fallow completely and leave little to chance weed-wise... it would be ignorant to think "leave nothing to chance", especially in lawncare hahah. Thanks again!


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## ReelWILawn

g-man said:


> The REI is 12 hours. I would avoid the dogs walking after any dew just to be super safe.


Thanks for the comment and confirming the the REI. I was looking it up just as I saw your post. We can never be too safe for our four legged friends and avoiding walking on the dew is a good recommendation. This is essentially what we practiced subconsciously.


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## ReelWILawn

I am in the process of updating everything. Had a busier winter than originally expected. Anyway, this is what I was dealing with 3 days after seed down for a week and a half. As the weather and forecast drastically changed, I just had to wait it out.... for 10 days. Storm #3 on 8/10/21. Looking back now, to come away from this without a mud pit this spring I am pretty happy. More to come soon.

[media]https://youtu.be/NIy_a8xKnP0[/media]


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## jskierko

That video definitely triggered my PTSD from my reno last fall, such an anxiety inducing situation!


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## ReelWILawn

jskierko said:


> That video definitely triggered my PTSD from my reno last fall, such an anxiety inducing situation!


I feel like I re live this every time it rains. This whole renovation had been planned for close to a year out and until these storms, almost everything went perfect. Even with what I thought was pretty good preparation, there were still something out of my control.

From a supply standpoint, I was pretty good. I had planned for some washout, but was not expecting a week plus of heavy storms that would require me to start pretty much from zero. Now, I had applied a little amount of slow release starter fertilizer, a little Milorganite, and tenacity originally with the first seeding. Most likely, nothing remained; however, there is now way to know what got washout out or exactly how much. Respecting labels, I moved forward with only putting seed down.


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## ReelWILawn

*August 13th 2021*
After a week of unexpected T-Storms and heavy downpours plus a few extra days for the dirt to dry out I spent the whole day inspecting, releveling, and getting the base ready for seeding #2. I bought seed early last year and some may not have that luxury this year but I would strongly encourage you to obtain more seed than you think. Understand that sometimes the scale of the property makes this financially difficult. With only about 6,300 sqft I had enough of my KBG mix to re seed 3x plus a little extra for future repair. I did not have enough seed cover so I spent the days lead up to that to get more peat moss and seed aide.


























*August 14th*
Seed down day #2
Another long day. Kept the same seed rate of a little over 2lbs/M of my Bewitched, Bluebank, and Blue Note mix. I did not add any fertilizer or tenacity with this second seeding. Because of my availability, I could not start until later in the afternoon. Spent the rest of the afternoon and evening doing any final prep work, seeding in multiple directions, lightly raking the seed in, rolling, and cover the seed. Finished just after 10:30pm.


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## rookie_in_VA

Awesome to read your story. Keep it coming.


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## ReelWILawn

rookie_in_VA said:


> Awesome to read your story. Keep it coming.


Thank you! :thumbup:


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## ReelWILawn

starting the counter over again on August 15th 2021: +1 Day from seed down
It's been a stressful two weeks. A beautiful mid August morning watching the irrigation run from our deck and enjoying a doughnut with a mimosa- we earned it


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## ReelWILawn

*Day 7*
.61" of heavy rain received. Once again a heavy pocket hit our area Most things stayed in place and it was short lived.









*Day 8*
started to see grass pop up in areas that were protected from washout out a number of days ago; however, Day 8 is the day I woke up and saw the green fuzz!


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## joec-ct

Hey @ReelWILawn , great journal you have going and love the high quality photos. One of the things I learned _after_ the reno process was the importance of preparation and having all the necessary tools available to you. You seem to have checked that box twice.

You definitely triggered my woes from my fall 21 reno (peat moss waves!) Growing KBG on a _*hill *_was/is a nightmare, even with erosion control. I was hit with the most rain we've seen in 5+ years just 3 days after seed down (one of the storms I logged 8 inches) but I didn't have the courage or resources to start again (and with erosion blankets already staked town).

I'll be following this journal for sure, cheers and good luck!


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## ReelWILawn

joec-ct said:


> Hey @ReelWILawn , great journal you have going and love the high quality photos. One of the things I learned _after_ the reno process was the importance of preparation and having all the necessary tools available to you. You seem to have checked that box twice.
> 
> You definitely triggered my woes from my fall 21 reno (peat moss waves!) Growing KBG on a _*hill *_was/is a nightmare, even with erosion control. I was hit with the most rain we've seen in 5+ years just 3 days after seed down (one of the storms I logged 8 inches) but I didn't have the courage or resources to start again (and with erosion blankets already staked town).
> 
> I'll be following this journal for sure, cheers and good luck!


Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I can not state enough that preparation is key. You can never be too prepared. My renovation was this past fall 2021 and I am in the process of finally getting around to posting the whole process here. I was so busy during the reno, that I could only take photos and write notes. Even now, I remember those first 60 days very vividly. I hope I can share something I've learned or experienced to someone who might be planning a renovation this year or in the future.

Regarding erosion control, I am planning on addressing that shortly with a dedicated post. Until then, unless your yard is perfectly flat peat moss does very little to protect beyond a light drizzle. And those peat moss waves I'll show why it's important to rake them out.


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## rookie_in_VA

Can you please describe how much you had to water in the first few weeks?


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## ReelWILawn

rookie_in_VA said:


> Can you please describe how much you had to water in the first few weeks?


Yes, great question! I feel like I spent a lot of time researching this last year through many other journals. I can share what I did as a reference point; however, everyone's location/soil texture/sun/shade will play a factor. I still needed to trigger the irrigation manually at times or spot water areas with the hose from time to time.

First, I experimented with the irrigation and got everything adjusted to the best of my ability regarding nozzle selection and basic distance/radius. I could have spent more time if it was available.

Second, up until the first seed down in early August we had little rain and the soil was very dry. It probably took a day or two of short frequent watering before the soil was saturated. So the first day or two I would recommend really watching how fast the areas dry out. For me by day 3, I could get into a more regular schedule. My initial watering schedule was 6x per day but for only 2-3 minutes at a time from about seed down until day 14ish when I saw more widespread germination. For my situation, anything longer than 5 minutes on the bare dirt started to create pooling or too wet of conditions. My times were 9am, 1130am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm

Day 14 -21: I cut out the 7pm watering unless it was a really hot or windy day. Still only 2-3 minutes at a time.

Day 21'ish to first mow: I changed the schedule to 2-3x per day. I also increased the watering to 4-5 minutes and the schedule was late morning, early afternoon, and early evening

After first mow (day 30'ish) - 45 I moved to 1x daily late morning once the dew burned off. I watered to 100% of ET value.

Day 45- every other day or third day to 100% of ET value.

By day 60 - this was mid October for me and I was only watering when I needed to.


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## ABC123

ReelWILawn said:


> I feel like I re live this every time it rains. This whole renovation had been planned for close to a year out and until these storms, almost everything went perfect. Even with what I thought was pretty good preparation, there were still something out of my control.
> 
> From a supply standpoint, I was pretty good. I had planned for some washout, but was not expecting a week plus of heavy storms that would require me to start pretty much from zero. Now, I had applied a little amount of slow release starter fertilizer, a little Milorganite, and tenacity originally with the first seeding. Most likely, nothing remained; however, there is now way to know what got washout out or exactly how much. Respecting labels, I moved forward with only putting seed down.


did you put more seed down after the first application? I seeded once and still had decent germination besides what washed out from the downspout areas. 30 days is totally needed to see germination from kbg


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## ReelWILawn

ABC123 said:


> ReelWILawn said:
> 
> 
> 
> I feel like I re live this every time it rains. This whole renovation had been planned for close to a year out and until these storms, almost everything went perfect. Even with what I thought was pretty good preparation, there were still something out of my control.
> 
> From a supply standpoint, I was pretty good. I had planned for some washout, but was not expecting a week plus of heavy storms that would require me to start pretty much from zero. Now, I had applied a little amount of slow release starter fertilizer, a little Milorganite, and tenacity originally with the first seeding. Most likely, nothing remained; however, there is now way to know what got washout out or exactly how much. Respecting labels, I moved forward with only putting seed down.
> 
> 
> 
> did you put more seed down after the first application? I seeded once and still had decent germination besides what washed out from the downspout areas. 30 days is totally needed to see germination from kbg
Click to expand...

I re seeded after the initial 4 storms of high winds and heavy downpours. In that case we received 4.7" of rain. At the top of this page is a short example of storm #3 of 4. There was absolutely nothing left.

After starting over again and re seeding again on Aug 14th I did not re seed after receiving about .61". I got lucky and the peat moss and probably more import the higher amount of seed aide I used the second time just barely kept everything together… for now(then).


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## ReelWILawn

*Day 14 - August 28th 2021*
Two weeks now since having to start over. Over the past week I was paying close attention to the lawn, nightly flash light checks on areas that did not have germination or very little, and started to notice the trouble areas that seemed to be the most impacted with heavy rain. All summer we did not have this type of rain so it was hard to gauge how the property really drained until now when it was just dirt.

Some of these challenge areas had little to no germination where the rest of the lawn was just starting to sprout. I gently walked into these areas and applied a very small amount of seed. In the past week I also purchased a few rolls of erosion control blankets. At this point (mostly due to the time of the year), I could not afford to start over. What I used were American Excelsior Curlex blankets. I had urgently attempted to find Futerra netless blankets, but neither Reinders or SiteOne carried them. In the end the Curlex blankets did a pretty good job (more on that later).


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## ABC123

Looks fantastic, when I planted my last lawn it took almost the full 30 days to see and sprout all the bluegrass seeds.

Have you done any treatments of tenacity?


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## ReelWILawn

ABC123 said:


> Looks fantastic, when I planted my last lawn it took almost the full 30 days to see and sprout all the bluegrass seeds.
> 
> Have you done any treatments of tenacity?


Yes I did. With the original seed down I applied Tenacity at the 6oz/acre rate or .138oz/M. It's my understanding that tenacity can be mobile in the soil especially with heavy rains. Most likely very little remained after the first week of heavy downpours. Not knowing how much remained in the soil and not knowing for sure how much I could reapply I had to respect label rates and went ahead without any for the second seeding.

I did get some unwanted broadleaf and grassy weeds, but a large majority of them were taken care of when I sprayed +4 weeks germination on September 23rd at the 4oz/acre rate. I also spent *a lot* of time hand picking weeds. It was a lot of work but I was left with a very clean stand.


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## ABC123

Sounds fantastic, you should be able to do a 3rd tenacity application with your long duration pre-m just to make sure you have them under control. With how much rain you've had id believe it would be appropriate.


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## ReelWILawn

thanks everyone for following along and I will keep going with this unorthodox post reno recap. I just never had time to upload this all 'live'. I am excited to share the end results and get this journal up to present day. I did have some unexpected challenges pop up in January this year that will need to be addressed this spring.

Anyway, hope I might be able to share a thing or two during my whole experience with anyone thinking about doing their own renovation this fall or sometime in the future.

*Day 21 - September 4th *
Great weather within the last week, but time is ticking. At this point, with our weather, there really was maybe only about 6 weeks of good grass growing left and I was starting to get a little worried. The early washout put my timetable almost two weeks behind schedule. Best advice I can give someone in this situation is to get mad, then get over it. I just focused on what I could control and made sure I was ready for any next possible issue. I was tired of dealing with heavy downpours so I went and purchased more curlex blankets. I put the blankets down everywhere grass was struggling, was just starting to sprout, or was completely bare. The baby KBG that just sprouts is so fragile that any heavy rain just rips the newly sprouted grass right out.


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## ReelWILawn

*Day 23 - September 6th 2021*
-watering has been reduced the past week to 4-5 x per day still at only 2-3 minutes per cycle.
-Looking like the first mow could be a week away at this point. 
-testing out the manual reel mower on the side of the house that has been growing the best as it's most protected from washout
-started to pull back the blankets after they have been on for about a week.... and of course a rain shower approaches


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## JerseyGreens

Great work on the backyard landscaping and Reno - this is going to turn out amazing!


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## joec-ct

ReelWILawn said:


> -started to pull back the blankets after they have been on for about a week.... and of course a rain shower approaches


You were able to pull out your blankets without disturbing the area? Assuming you did this before germination. Did you leave any of them on?

I ask because I too, have used Curlex blankets, they saved my renovation and I would use them again. I left them to bio-degrade as suggested by many including the manufacturer. My issue right now is that the blankets are still around, 8 months later....have not biodegraded, and I'm left with patchy areas. I pulled the blankets too tight in some areas, causing the fibers to bunch up. As to not take up space and steal your journal, what the blankets look like now are  here . Near bottom of the page.


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## ReelWILawn

joec-ct said:


> ReelWILawn said:
> 
> 
> 
> -started to pull back the blankets after they have been on for about a week.... and of course a rain shower approaches
> 
> 
> 
> You were able to pull out your blankets without disturbing the area? Assuming you did this before germination. Did you leave any of them on?
> 
> I ask because I too, have used Curlex blankets, they saved my renovation and I would use them again. I left them to bio-degrade as suggested by many including the manufacturer. My issue right now is that the blankets are still around, 8 months later....have not biodegraded, and I'm left with patchy areas. I pulled the blankets too tight in some areas, causing the fibers to bunch up. As to not take up space and steal your journal, what the blankets look like now are  here . Near bottom of the page.
Click to expand...

I had to very carefully removing the blankets. What worked for me is to leave the blankets on for at least a week after the seedlings germinated. The newly germinated seed are so fragile, if you look them wrong they might just jump out :lol:

I kept them on for a little while to protect the seedlings from any additional heavy downpours. There is a fine line between not waiting long enough and waiting too long before you pull the blankets off. I would check different sections every day, lift corners up and see. If you wait too long, the grass will start to get imbedded in the netting making it difficult to remove the blankets. It was a tedious process as some blankets were very easy to remove (caught it at the right time), while others I had to use scissors and a utility knife to either cut long grass or the netting to be able to free the blanket.

If I was not reel mowing, I probably would recommend leaving the blankets. They say these nets bio-degrade, but it has to take years (exaggeration)! If the blankets are used on bare ground, the netting will start to sink into the soil and the grass roots wrap around the netting. When I was preparing our ground and cutting sod from the original developer seed, there were lots of places where the netting was still in tact

I too would recommend using some type of blanket if you have even the slightest slope. Really, even on flat ground it's probably easier than spreading peat most or seed aide. Thanks for sharing your journal! There could be a number of reasons, but like you said it's possible that the blankets were too tight or possibly overlapped with another blanket causing too much material.


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## joec-ct

ReelWILawn said:


> I had to use scissors and a utility knife to either cut long grass or the netting to be able to free the blanket.


That's true dedication. Having those mats still intact 'years' later is not ideal, perhaps I'll dethatch them out if they linger. With grass in place I'll have enough erosion control.

Your approach is a good idea for my side lawn project. Mother nature however will end up being the judge. Thanks for the replies!


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## ReelWILawn

*Erosion Control*

I've talked about a few different methods that I used during my renovation recently so I figured now might be a good time to list some of the pros & cons from a 30,000 foot view and my personal experience using them. This is just my experience in this specific reno. Use cases and results may very from project to project.

*Peat Moss*
-obtained the 2.2cu ft Sphagnum Peat Moss from Fleet Farm. Prices listed today (4/18/22) are $9.99 each; however, I remember them being $7 and change

Pros - fairly inexpensive. Easy to spread using a peat moss / compost spreader. Does an ok job of holding water moister from light irrigation cycles. I experienced some of the better germination from areas that did not washout when the peat moss held together

Cons- even with a peat moss spreader, it's still messy and dusty. There will be larger pieces of sticks, bark, or clumps you don't want to put on your lawn. Biggest con is this does very little to protect seed from washouts. Anything more than a slight drizzle, it will wash away with your seed.

*Profile Seed Aide*
-obtained 50lb bags from Reinders at a cost of around $40 each.

Pros - can be spread via a spreader, by hand, or hydrospray. Also seen near the bottom of page 1 on my journal:Seed Aide applied via peat moss spreader
easy to toss by hand around areas you may have trouble. Works great to put around irrigation heads. Does a much better job of holding seed together vs peat moss. Works on slopes (review product guidelines). Germination is also pretty good when the correct amount is applied

Cons- expensive. Minimum coverage should be roughly around 750-1500 sqft per bag if spread dry. Probably more effective if used when hydromulching.

*American Excelsior Curlex blanket*
-obtained 4'x112' roles from Reinders at a cost of around $35 per role

Pros - seed free blankets with barbed, interlocking fibers. Works on slopes very well. Can be mowed over with a rotary mower. Holds soil and seed in place. Can save your renovation!

Cons - expensive , covers only about 450 sqft. Will need staples to hold these down. If you're reel mowing, you will want to pickup and remove the blankets. This is a trial and error process to see when your seedlings are ready for this - too soon and your seedlings could be damaged from future weather. Too late, then the grass starts to get tall and is caught in the blanket's material. After picking up all the blankets, you will need to make sure all those metal staples are also picked up if you are reel mowing.

*What would I do differently next time?*
I still have nightmares about the massive amounts of rain I experienced. I also remember the sleepless nights and worrisome days along with what seemed like non stop stress. Once I put the blankets down, and saw how effective they were in both protection but also how areas seemed to preform that really helped settle some of the anxiety. Once again, I have what I think is a small lawn, and the cost and labor required to place blankets over an acre may not be cost effective for most. But, if I did another renovation at this property I would certainly cover most or at least the sloped areas of the lawn in some type of blanket. My preference would have been a netless blanket, but these Curlex blankets worked well.

I did an experiment where I covered some areas with a blanket in my back yard and left only peat moss and seed aide.









*Day 25*


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## rookie_in_VA

I read your journal every evening soaking in all the knowledge. Hopefully I'll be able to parlay your shared insights into a small renovation this fall.


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## ReelWILawn

rookie_in_VA said:


> I read your journal every evening soaking in all the knowledge. Hopefully I'll be able to parlay your shared insights into a small renovation this fall.


happy to hear you are finding it useful; that's ultimately the goal. I continue to learn more each day, and I felt really prepared for this renovation. With that being said, there were absolutely lessons learned along the way.


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## ReelWILawn

*Day 28 - September 11th 2021*

This was a big day in the renovation. 28 days from starting over /2nd seed down and about 14 days from germination I gave the lawn its first mow and feeding. Germination coverage was not great with the few other short heavy rains we experienced since starting over. Blankets have all been removed and was happy to see good germination in those areas, but lagging behind other areas. I felt for the first time in over a month that maybe this renovation would be successful or at least not a mud pit. Still plenty of work left to do

*a few other details on where I was in this process*

approximately the last week, water had been reduced to 2-3x daily at 4-5 minutes each cycle. Schedule was late morning, early afternoon, and early evening

grass was cut with my manual reel mower at just under 1"

.48lbs N/M & .24lbs SOP/M were applied via granular. Of which 20% was slow release nitrogen. Original plan was for this first app to be two weeks early

followed up the next day (day 29) and sprayed AMS at .10lbs N/M

after the first mow and feed, water schedule was again further reduced to 1x daily late morning. Watering was done to 100% ET value. This watering schedule would remain for the next 2 weeks


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## Jeff_MI84

What kind of manual reel mower do you have?


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## ReelWILawn

Jeff_MI84 said:


> What kind of manual reel mower do you have?


the 16" Earthwise 7 blade


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## Jeff_MI84

Oh okay. Is it by chance with the American Lawn Mower Company grass catcher?


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## ReelWILawn

@Jeff_MI84 yes it is :thumbup:

I purchased it from Amazon maybe two years ago. https://www.amazon.com/American-Law...0512782&sprefix=american+lawn+,aps,110&sr=8-4


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## Jeff_MI84

Thanks for the info.


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## ReelWILawn

*Days 29 and 30 - September 12th and 13th 2021*

.... more heavy rain :x 
9/12/21 .97"
9/13/21 .96"

more damage. Lost some baby grass on a few slightly sloped areas. In this specific area it was going to be a problem as water naturally runs this way. I know it sounds crazy, but I felt mid September was too late to put more KBG seed down. In SE WI, we usually get our first frosts by the second week of October. At this point, I was running out of time to fix these troubled areas. Anyway, I had nothing to lose so I put a little more seed down and recovered this spot with left over blankets. Blankets would remain in place for the next 4 weeks.


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## ReelWILawn

*Day 35 - September 18 2021*
-mowed the day before with the manual reel mower at 7/8"
-3rd app via Andersons Humic Coated Urea 44-0-0 urea sprayed at .25N/M
-problem areas in the back yard starting to slowly fill in


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## ReelWILawn

Post reno recap continues!

*Day40 - September 23rd 2021*
started to see weed pressure and breakthrough the last two weeks. Not surprised after the heavy rains I initially received and did not reapply Tenacity for the second seeding. Spending time hand picking any weeds and waiting until 4 weeks since germination. Applied postemergence Tenacity application at 4oz/acre rate.

*Day 42 - September 25th 2021 First Reel Mow!*
The day we all wait for... that first mow with our powered reel mower. I had hoped to start using my 220SL sooner, but with all the rain and fragility of the baby KBG, I just did not want to risk causing any more damage. HOC .875"

























Reel mower's starter pack (photo take 9/26/21)









*Day 43 - September 26th 2021*
sprayed the 44-0-0 HCU at .25N/M
Weekly lawn photo update. Can't stress this process enough...take weekly photos from the same spots around the lawn. When we look at it all day long we only see the bad areas. Taking a look back at the last three weeks and the improvement I was seeing made for a very happy time in this reno. There are going to be setbacks, chin up and look how far you've come.


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## ReelWILawn

*Day 44 - September 27th 2021*
What a difference in 44 days looks like  
















*at this point in the reno, I realized I should have taken the front yard photos from the street... The aerial shot I was taking never shows the stripes due to the time of day and the sun location I took the photos.


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## ReelWILawn

*Day 45 - September 28th 2021*
The month of September was perfect temperature wise in the low to mid 70's. About now the grass really started taking off and filling in. At this point, I also cut the watering back to about 1x every third day (if needed) to 100% ET.


















*Day 47 +7 days post emergence Tenacity app*
weeds and undesirables started to bleach along with a small portion of the desirable KBG. The KBG recovered just fine, everything else did not :nod:


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## ReelWILawn

*Day 49 - October 2nd 2021*
Mowing height reduced to .800"
KBG growing strong and continuing to fill in


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## ReelWILawn

*Day 52 & 53- October 5th & 6th 2021*


applied granular 13-0-13 AMS/SOP at a rate of .45N&SOP/M

second app of Headway G fungicide at a rate of 2lbs/M

I originally applied my first app of Headway G just as the grass was sprouting using the higher rate for a 28 day interval as disease pressure was high at the end of August. For the second app we were coming up on another stretch of unseasonably warm and humid October. I had just enough left to use for the shorter 14 day application interval so I went ahead to be safe. These were the only two fungicide apps I applied

Also that time of the year for the fall and Halloween colors to come out


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## ReelWILawn

*Day 56 - October 9th 2021*
Felt really good about getting into October. We had been experiencing the perfect temps and it's been fairly mild for this time of the year. As a result, the KBG just started to grow and thicken up very fast. At +60 days from seed down, pefect temps, and responding to the .45lbsN from AMS I felt like I was finally making some gains.

double wides - HOC lowered to .800"




























The usual spot location shots


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## ReelWILawn

It's been a busy early May 2022.... but the unorthodox recap of the Fall 21' reno must continue. We are so close :lol:

*Day 62- October 15th 2021*
We have yet to receive our first hard frost and with all the poor luck i've experienced, October has been mild and the KBG was thriving.


last substantial feed via the AMS/SOP granular = .46lbsN/M & .46lbsK/M

HOC .750"


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## Wiley

I'm digging following along with the recap. Pumped to see what it's looking like to date.


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## gregonfire

Fantastic journal, loved reading it. I think the best thing to take out of this for those who are new to renovating, is to not give up. Things will work out in the end as long as you take the proper actions after a washout. Congrats on the awesome job.


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## ReelWILawn

@Wiley thanks and I appreicate you following along. This Spring has been a challenge but I am looking forward to getting caught up and sharing what i've been up to.

@gregonfire Thank you, appreicate the kind words! Absolutely, I think it's important to understand that not everything is going to go to plan and you only fail when you give up. I've had some challenges this Spring, but I also knew a KBG renovation takes a whole year

Happy to hear some are enjoying the journal. It's been fun looking back on all my notes, picutres, and re living everything. If just one person finds something useful, or If I can help someone with a future renovation I think this journal recap was a success.


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## ReelWILawn

By October 15 (2021) everything just started to look different. All the hard work and stress was starting to pay off. I could literally see the progress almost every day at this point. Sure, there were (still are) some areas that I am not happy with and will require more work. But I couldn't be more happy with how a majority of the renovation was turning out. At one point, I just didn't want to have a mud pit and doubted I might be able to pull this off.

My advice, hang in there and try to plan for as much as you can the year or spring before your renovation. There have been some renovations with lots of luck, and others with no luck. Most likely, something with not go according to plan and your reno will not be perfect..... and that's ok :thumbup:

*photos taken October 16th 2021


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## MNLawnGuy1980

Looks fantastic, great work! Nice and clean looking.

Anything fun in the gardens in the back corner?


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## Ben4Birdies

Fantastic results! I remember reading your reno troubles and feeling your pain with those struggles. How are things shaping up in 2022?


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## ReelWILawn

MNLawnGuy1980 said:


> Looks fantastic, great work! Nice and clean looking.
> 
> Anything fun in the gardens in the back corner?


Thank you! Still not happy with everything, but one year at a time.

The garden has been a lot of fun. This year we have planted some basics such has tomatos, zuchini, carrots, oinions, lettuce, an d jalapeno. Last year we tried growing cantaloupe but that didn't work out too well so we're giving it another go this year. We also have pumpkins started in small seed starters and we have a separate raised bed dedicated to stwarberrys. Should be a fun year!

Our Great Danes absouletly love fruits and vegatables so sometimes they are our biggest pests.


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## ReelWILawn

Ben4Birdies said:


> Fantastic results! I remember reading your reno troubles and feeling your pain with those struggles. How are things shaping up in 2022?


Thank you very much and for continuing to follow along.

As for 2022, it has been a very cold and wet spring. As such, we are easily 3-4 weeks behind from last year or a typical year. I also received a 'surprise' right around Christmas that I plan on documenting - as if I did not have enough bad luck or setbacks I was given another just as the new year started... more on that to come shortly. Other than that, no where near where I want the KBG to be but I knew this was going to be a minimum of a year process just to get established.


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## ReelWILawn

*Day 64- October 17th 2021*
Took the final blanket off an area that had bad washout back on September 13th. I had zero expectations that I would be able to repair this area from the two strong storms in the middle of the month. The grass was so fragile and the pownpours were just too heavy.

September 13th 2021 - damage to most of the back yard, with this lower portion being the most impacted









October 17th 2021 +34 days later
really happy with the results. Put a lot of work into this areas with releveling, seeding, and spoon feeding. Not perfect, and this spring this area still needs more attention (had some winter kill here as well).


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## ReelWILawn

Lawn reno recap coming to an end... only a few more posts I wanted to make

Last apps of the year and the reno

Day 67-October 20th prodiamine at the 5g/M rate

Day 70 FeAture at 2oz/M & AMS at .04N/M

With Halloween quickly approaching..... what it feels like waiting to mow the KBG for the first time :lol: 









and the KBG was still growing...but was absolutely slowing down


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## ReelWILawn

During the fall of 2020, I decdied I was going to undergo a full renovation one year later. I would spend the next year acquiring supplies, preparing, and gaining as much knowledge as I could. This forum has been an important tool for me researching topics, questions, and following along the many lawn journals. I may not have ever posted until this year, but i've enjoyed the process and learning as much as possible.

In June of 2021, my renovation would officially start to those around me even though this process had already been in the plans for over 10 months at that point. My neighbors, friends, family thought I was crazy. We've all heard it: Why are you doing that? You cannot grow nice grass here! You don't want to be mowing that short. You can't do that! My response, I would smile and say check back in October. I would get so many questions and people staring as they walked or drove by that I made a sign for my front yard-Ground Under Repair Don't worry I did this to my lawn on purpose, Check back in October.

People have been successful with less, but in my opinon you need 60 days of good goldilocks weather to get a full KBG lawn started from nothing but dirt to a full yard before winter. And I just about made it 

Here we are, these photos were taken at 63 days since seed down (October 16 2021). Nothing to hide. Some areas have exceeded my expectations and others will continue to fill in and get better in 2022. Having a plan and a little hard work goes a long way if you want it bad enough.


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## Ben4Birdies

That is quite exceptional for 63 days. The local golf courses may be coming to you asking what cultivars you're using for your fairways! 

How did winter treat you? Any winter damage you've had to overcome?


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## ABC123

Looks fantastic for 63 days. try to feed it with weekly foliar N if you can use a sprayer. To my eye it could use more nitrogen, but overall it looks super good.


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## ReelWILawn

Ben4Birdies said:


> That is quite exceptional for 63 days. The local golf courses may be coming to you asking what cultivars you're using for your fairways!
> 
> How did winter treat you? Any winter damage you've had to overcome?


Thanks @Ben4Birdies ! :lol: I would not say it's golf quality; however, I did just have someone walk by tonight and ask if I work for a golf course. I said no, just a very serious hobby


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## ReelWILawn

ABC123 said:


> Looks fantastic for 63 days. try to feed it with weekly foliar N if you can use a sprayer. To my eye it could use more nitrogen, but overall it looks super good.


thanks @ABC123 ! I'ven been happy with the results thus far, but not where I want it to be. Yes, absolutely it could have used more nitrogen. I was feeding it about .25N/M weekly but just ran out of time. Losing the two weeks to wash out I estimate I probably lost putting down .5-.75N/M. This spring it has been pushed once it's started to warm up which has been much later than normal.


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## ReelWILawn

Just as everything was filling in nicely, growth and color were good, it was coming to an end. The last two weeks in October were probably the peak for this lawn reno. The photos don't always do it justice, but I was happy with how everything came together. One of the final mows for the year on the 30th and had it looking the best I could for Halloween. Received numerous questions from trick-or-treaters and their parents: Is this real grass? This has to be fake! How did you do it? How do you cut it so low. Some even mentioned my yard sign and said they've been checking in regularly to see my progress.

*Day 77- October 30th 2021*


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## Wile

The yard is really coming along. I'm tired just thinking about all the work you did to get the beds, deck and everything else in. Looks superb!


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## ReelWILawn

@Ben4Birdies sorry I did not answer the second part of your question regarding winter damage. It was a strange winter in WI this year. A lot less snow than normal resulting in not having the snow cover we would normally see. The upside is that we had zero snow mold issues this year. The flipside, the grass did not look great coming out of winter. Areas that had little to no snow cover were very thin and have taken the longest to green up and those areas are just starting to fill back in.


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## ReelWILawn

Thanks @Wile ! Yes it has been a lot of work :lol: Everything was carefully planned and timed with the lawn renovation. And in the interest of getting this lawn journal caught up I decided to really only focus on the lawn portion. But still working on everything else. We had a few plants and arbs die that we are in the process of replacing.


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## ReelWILawn

I mentioned this before, I believe one of the important things to do during your lawn reno is to document everything. Who knows, you might be so busy that you dont get to posting your journal until the follwing spring :? But if you're anything like me you will be watching out your window what seems like every hour to see if anything changed. Having photos taken from roughly the same spot will help you see the progess and hopefully calm your nerves. Growing in KBG takes patience. If your reno doesn't go exactly to plan, hang in there.

*Day 1*








*Day 21*








*Day 42*








*Day 63*









*Day 1*








*Day 21*








*Day 42*








*Day 63*









*Day 1*








*Day 21*








*Day 42*








*Day 63*









*Day 1*








*Day 21*








*Day 42*








*Day 63*


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## ReelWILawn

The days grew shorter and colder. Received the first real frost on November 3rd. To be fair, the grass was starting to shut down for the year around Halloween but this would be it for the season. These would be the last weekly photos I would document for the season. There were challenges and a few areas that did not grow in well or were thin due to the heavy rains I received in August and September. But overall I was happy how everything turned out. Now I would just need to wait about 6 months before I could mow again.

*Day 84 - November 6th 2021*


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## ReelWILawn

November came and went. As we moved into the holiday Christmas season I had accpeted lawn season had long since finished. I was beginning to start researching topics, reading, and looking for new equipment and products for the upcoming year. About a week before Christmas, we received a "present" from the eletric and gas company...... 'extensive digging will take place in your property sometime in early January'

*January 3rd 2022*









Just when I was starting to forget about all the bad luck and misfortunes, it was decdided I had not yet received enough. How it works in my neighborhood, the gas mains are located on the non sidewalk sides of the street located about 10 feet front the street. The new house across the street needed to be hooked up to the gas mains. First unlucky thing I found out after I called the electric/gas company was that this specific proprety did not have an initial hook up to be accessed to on their side of the street. Second, their house buliding plans or more specifically what side their garage was decided to be built. All the homes in my neighborhood have their gas and electric meters on the non garage side of the house (second unlucky thing for me). So because their home did not have the initial gas line to tee into and what side their garage was on I was told they would need to access the main in my front yard..... If their garage just happened to be on the opposite side, the digging would have taken place in my neighbors' yard

*January 13th 2022*
Today was the day. Just like the washouts and heavy downpours, I could not do anything about it. Was I upset, mad, angry? Heck yes! But I also accepted what was going to happen. Maybe I did receive some 'luck' if you can even call it that. With the ground being frozen they use a different process during the winter months instead of an excavator and bulldozers. What is used to cut the hole and access the main line is what they called a 'vac truck'. Bascially it uses very high pressure water that pretty much disintegrates all the froze soil, dirt, rock, etc and then sludge is vacuumed back up into the truck. And with all the ground being frozen there would be little damage from people or equipment around the area.









































I will say that the crew was pretty good and they were as careful as they could be. I had met with the foreman a few days before and explained what they would be working on and all the hard work I went through. Not sure if it made a difference but they were respectful of our property. The hole was deep... easily 5ft and their initial plan was to fill the whole thing with non USGA spec sand :lol: I said no... so instead I asked if they could take topsoil from the home across the street to fill the hole which they did for me.


----------



## Jeff_MI84

Those are some great aerial pictures.


----------



## ReelWILawn

@Jeff_MI84 thanks!

I had debated purchasing a drone for a while and of course I finally decided on getting one in early November with lawn season coming to an end.


----------



## Jeff_MI84

It is a great investment for sure. When are you posting for what you've done this season?


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## ReelWILawn

Jeff_MI84 said:


> It is a great investment for sure. When are you posting for what you've done this season?


today, hopefully!


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## Jeff_MI84

Okay good. I've been looking forward to seeing the progress since your reno.


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## ReelWILawn

*Early 2022 Update*

I've moved on from the hole by this point. Winter in WI was strage. We only received 20.8" of snow which is about half of what we normally receive each year. While we typically had our cold January and February there was only 17 days with snowfall and a total of 63 days with snow on the ground. As I mentioned previously, there were no issues with snow mold. We did not have the typical snow blanket though to help insulate the turf against the cold winter winds. As such, the grass was very thin and not looking great coming out of winter.

We also received a few winter thaws and had higher amounts of rain totaling 6.68" between December and March. Half of that came in March which is about double what we normally receive this time of the year. Why is this important? Well, it was actually beneficial for the 5ft hole in the middle of my front yard. With the freezing, thawing, raining the dirt settled close to 12"


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## ReelWILawn

*Spring 2022*
It's been a cold and wet spring up until recently. We are definitely behind in terms of growth and temperatures.

GDD 0C base

Jan 1st-May 1st 2021 483

Jan 1st-May 1st 2022 261
*as of June 5th 2022 we are still behind GDD vs last year

*March 13th 2022*

























*April 1st 2022*

























April was too cold and wet to really do anything. Big purchase over the winter was the 80# Lesco spreader and the Gregson-Clark spreader mate sprayer. Spent the month practicing with water, nozzles, and rates. Also rearranged the garage to better utilize space for all the lawn equipment (picture taken before garage cleanup)









*1st lawn application of 2022 - April 22nd*

applied prodiamine at the 5g/M rate. It was a cold, wet, drizzling day


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## ReelWILawn

Since much wasn't going on in the lawn, we spent one of the few nice weekends at the end of April to start bringing out all the deck furniture and redo our cabeling and bistro style lights


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## ReelWILawn

*May 2022 Update*

*May 1st 2022*

































Because April and May have been wet and colder than usual, it was very difficult to obtain topsoil. Not that it mattered because conditions were poor to attempt to fix the hole. Weather did seem to start improving and I was able to get 3yd of screened top soil delivered May 6th.

It didn't really happen unless you manually screen the topsoil further :lol: The end result is topsoil screend to 1/4" and this perfect silty/sandy combination that I like to use. I would then spend the weekend filling the hole: a few lifts of dirt followed by light tamping. Repeat until filled and then final leveling.

























I also started to work on the grass around one of our pop up drains. With this one be located on a slight slope, it's been difficult to get grass to grow as the water is always draining. As the hole in the front yard settled through the first part of spring, some of the side started to collapse. As I needed to reseed that whole area anyway, I took the oppertunity to steal some of the good sod and repoose it here and with plugs around the yard. Still a work progress, but it's an improvement.

























*May 7th & 8th 2022*
After the hole and side yard pop up drain were addressed I put my attention back to the rest of the lawn


grub prevention EC Grow Acelepryn 0-0-7 = .27k/M

first mow of the year HOC .750"

ended the weekend with a soil application of AMS .10N/M combined with Plant Food Co FloThru wetting agent at 3oz/M

Not much growth yet, but it had been a long winter and I had been looking forward to the first stripes of the season


----------



## ReelWILawn

*Second half of May 2022 Update*

May 11th -Hydretain 3oz/M

May 13th - AMS granular .42N/M & SOP @ .73K/M
*starting to spoon feed the lawn regularly now around every 10 days or so depending on weather and growth I am seeing


May 15h - first herbicide app: Tenacity @ 4oz/a, Triclopyr .562 oz/M, NIS, AMS .05N/M
*started to see a few poa plants pop up. Tenacity used to help highlight these and Triclopyr for the clover


May 18th - RGS 3oz/M ... trying to burn through what I had left

May 21st- Plant Food Co Wetting agent 3oz/M

May 22nd - first 'fungicide' app Prime Source potassium phosphite 5oz/M

May 24th - UFlexx .146N/M, FeAture 2oz/m, and a pinch of citric acid

May 29th 4lbs Tiger 90cr elemental sulfur

I used the month of May to continue to dial in my spraying process. Some of it worked out by doing soil vs foliar apps but I also seperated things out to gain more practice. Especially on things that would not cause any damage if I over or under applied in an area. By the end of May I have my spray set up and technic pretty dialed and I am constistanty purging the last amount of water in the final few feet of my final section.

*May Total N-P-K*

N .712lbs/M

P 0lbs , not planning on using any this year

K 1lbs/M
*I had my soil test done in April prior to any product applied. I'll try to post the results in an upcoming post


----------



## ReelWILawn

I like mid May for one reason.... the crabapple produce their blossoms - the start of spring!. As fast as they come they usually only last for about 10 days. Unfortunately, this year happened to be very windy during this time and our blooms only lasted for about 5-6 days. Until next year.


































*May 15th 2022*

















*May 21st 2022*

























overall, large improvement over the last 21 days. Coming out of winter for the first time after a fall renovation, the KBG looks awful. Hopefully this shows that it will improve (slowly). I cannot wait to see how it looks at the end of June.


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## Jeff_MI84

@ReelWILawn I'm loving those drone pictures.


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## ReelWILawn

Thanks @Jeff_MI84 !

It's been a fun tool to use and see the progress over the last 60 days


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## Jeff_MI84

@ReelWILawn you're welcome. Plus it comes in handy when you need to see if the gutters need cleaning.


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## ReelWILawn

*May 30th & 31st 2022*


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## ReelWILawn

*June 2022 (we made it :lol:  !) *

Thanks to everyone for continuing to follow along










June 1st: Mini Reno on the hole, seed down Day 1! - Did everything you would for a full reno, but on 16 sqft

June 4th: First real preventative fungicide app- soil applied 14.3 propiconazole 2oz/M, AMS .10N/M, and a pinch of citric acid. Watered in right away followed by a very light rain to do the rest

June 3rd photos taken with the drone just before sunset.


















That's it, we are officially caught up! Everything moving forward should be current within the week.


----------



## ReelWILawn

*2022 soil & texture test*

Knowing I had a slight alkaline soil from last year's test, I selected the SW3 package from Waypoint out of their Memphis location. If you want this test, it needs to be done at this specific lab. Anway, the top Phosphorus is done via Olsen P and the Phosphorus on the bottom of the results was done via Mehlich 3. K, Mg, Ca, NA via Ammonium Acetaate.

overall, nothing too surprising. My pH went up a little bit so I will be in the process of addressing that. I did bring in 29 yards of topsoil for the reno. I've updated a prior post but wanted to share that I've put down 4lbs of Tiger 90cr elemntal sulfur to date. I plan to spread another 4lbs sometime in mid July. Why 8lbs and not 10 or another number? Keeping it simple..... one 50lb bag gets me two apps at 3.9lbs/M to be exact. I do have have municipal supplied water and this is what I use for irrigation. pH of the water is on the hard side with a pH of 7.5.

I would also like to start applying 1-2lbs/M of citric acid per month to also aid in lowering or at least keeping the pH in check. I have not applied citric acid yet, but I plan on applying it in my sprayer. With my 9 gallon tank I am spraying everything with brown Teejet nozzles with a carrier volume around 1.45g/M. I am thinking this should be ok enough to spray citric acid at 1lb/M and then just water it in right away. If anyone has had experience spraying CA, good/bad/the ugly I would welcome any feedback.

I am do for another spoon feeding fertilizer app this weekend and will most likely be making my first PGR app as well.

Last update, I've been having a little trouble with quality of cut lately or specifically shredded grass tips. Not sure what the issue is. My mower received a spin grind and we replaced the bedknife this winter. Reel to bedknife is good and is cutting paper. Anyone else experiencing this same thing this spring? I am hoping it's related to the seedhead flush that we went though and seems to be ending.


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## bf7

Nice work on the reno. Excited for the real time updates now!

Looks like we were both blessed with high Fe soils. It's a great perk :mrgreen:


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## ReelWILawn

bf7 said:


> Nice work on the reno. Excited for the real time updates now!
> 
> Looks like we were both blessed with high Fe soils. It's a great perk :mrgreen:


Thank you! Everything is currently up to date. All updates and photos should be within the current week moving forward.

Yes, no shortages of Fe. Just need to work on lowering that pH so that it's available.


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## rhart

Looking really good!


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## Wiley

It was awesome following along!


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## ReelWILawn

It's been a very strange last two weeks here in SE WI. We had a few severe thunderstorms pass through the area that produced tornadoes throughout mid WI. Luckly, no real damage here. On top of that, we are experiencing unseasonably high temps for this area and time of year. Typically, our average temps in June are in 70's which would normally translate to 100% growth potential


June 10th received .94" of rain in 20 minutes and received pea to quarter sized hail. Just a couple miles north, they received golf ball + sized hail


June 15th an even worse storm produced more hail and this time 1.48" in just under 30 minutes


Over the past week and a half we've had high temps in the upper 80's to mid 90's. Historical avg for only 8 days per year in the 90s....we have had 4 days already. 97 last week Tuesday and we hit 96 today (Milwaukee recorded 100 today which has happend since 20212

Summers in WI are typically warm and very humid, but we usually do not get long stretches of tempertature in the 90's and especially in June. Because of all the weather, this has changed some of my plans and approach to what i've been doing.


June 11th, after the storm I applied wetting agent Plant Food Co Flo Thru A Plus at 2oz/M

June 18th early morning, first application of citric acid to the entire lawn at 1lb/M. Watered in right after

June 18th evening applied my first large multi product tank mix for the season:
Uflexx Urea .146N/M

Citric Acid 1.5oz

FeAture 2oz/M

T-Nex PGR at my low first rate .125oz/M

Phite 5oz/M

Fungicide Thiophanate-methyl 3336F 2oz/M

*What's not going so great?*
Besides the weather...Well, I am still dealing with a very poor quality of cut. The grass tips are being shredded and not cut evenely resulting from an off color look to the whole lawn at a distance. I've been in contact with the service tech at my local JD turf dealer and we've been working on a few possible solutions. At this point we are a little stumped as the reel was spin ground and the bedknife was replaced with the high fairway cut option. They have a golf course customer cutting tee boxes at just over .5" and have been succesful with their 220SL using the same setup. i've attempted to backlap a few times already and cutting performance doesnt seem to last very long. Reel to bedknife is adjusted for no contact between .001-.002. This is all very stange and frustrating as this mower was cutting flawless last fall. I really enjoy mowing and what should be pretty straight forward has been a challenge. Regardless, I am extermely happy about the support i've been getting from my local JD Turf dealer. I have to be their smallest customer, but they have been extremely interested and invested in what I am trying to do at my home lawn. They have even supplied me with a 3" front roller at the start of the year and have already spent a lot of time with me since October. To the folks who are reel mowing, make friends with your local JD/Toro/Jacobsen dealers. I genuienly beleive they want to help, and in some case are more excited about reel mowing a home lawn than we are. More to come on this, and I hope to give an update soon that the issue has been resolved.


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## g-man

What is your paper test looks like on the reel?


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## ReelWILawn

g-man said:


> What is your paper test looks like on the reel?


Inconsistent. It seems like I to have the reel and bedknife really clean to cut paper cleanly. I am in troubleshooting mood and the latest thing i've done is to make sure all the blades and bedknife were clean the other day and tested again today. Clean, crisp cut along the entire length so we will see how the next mow goes. It seems like the issue has slightly improved lately, but this might be the last items I have not done yet. Are you hosing off the reel/beknife after every mow?


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## g-man

I'm not hosing it off.


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## ReelWILawn

About time for an update here. Overall, been busy with a number of things around the home. It's been a rather warm 3-4 weeks and the lawn as ebbed and flowed, but not terrible for it's first real summer. A year ago at this time we were in full renovation mode and just a couple of weeks away from seed down.

*2nd half of June update*

6/25 AMS at .42N/M & SOP at 1K/M (granular)

6/27 UFlexx Urea at .073N/M and upped the T-Nex to .25oz/M rate. Previous T-Nex app at .125oz/M lasted only about a week with the warmer temps

I also forgot to mention, that I have attempted a mini reno this late spring / early summer. The 16sqft hole from the utility company was seeded June 1st

*June Totals*

.74N/M

1K/M

two preventative fungicide applications

two PGR applications via T-Nex

1lb citric acid/M

1 wetting agent application

Photos taken 6/27/22
HOC 0.875"




























completed edging along all of the curbing


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## SNOWBOB11

The concrete curb edging lining the grass is looking tight. Very nice.


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## lawn-wolverine

ReelWILawn said:


> *June 2022 (we made it :lol:  !) *
> 
> Thanks to everyone for continuing to follow along
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> June 1st: Mini Reno on the hole, seed down Day 1! - Did everything you would for a full reno, but on 16 sqft
> 
> June 4th: First real preventative fungicide app- soil applied 14.3 propiconazole 2oz/M, AMS .10N/M, and a pinch of citric acid. Watered in right away followed by a very light rain to do the rest
> 
> June 3rd photos taken with the drone just before sunset.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That's it, we are officially caught up! Everything moving forward should be current within the week.


Thank you for posting all these very, very INSPIRING photos ! QUESTION; of your three (3) variety blend, is it possible for you to say which variety might be your "favorite?" (e.g. can you discern if 'Bluebank' is doing any dominating?
I know it is darn difficult to discern one variety out of a mixture of three !😵‍💫
But again, your work is inspiring to this mainly Class 'B' lawn guy in the U.P. of Michigan. Multiple things are conspiring against me!, i.e. very Sandy soil, I did not do a complete renovation last year but rather patched & overseeded a lawn likely 30 years old.


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## ReelWILawn

SNOWBOB11 said:


> The concrete curb edging lining the grass is looking tight. Very nice.


Thank you, much appreciated. I've been managing it with the rotary scissors and that's been working pretty well. Only 'trouble' I've had was this spring as the grass next to the curbing was growing out of control just because of the slight heat it generates even when we had a cold, wet spring this year.


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## ReelWILawn

lawn-wolverine said:


> Thank you for posting all these very, very INSPIRING photos ! QUESTION; of your three (3) variety blend, is it possible for you to say which variety might be your "favorite?" (e.g. can you discern if 'Bluebank' is doing any dominating?
> I know it is darn difficult to discern one variety out of a mixture of three !😵‍💫
> But again, your work is inspiring to this mainly Class 'B' lawn guy in the U.P. of Michigan. Multiple things are conspiring against me!, i.e. very Sandy soil, I did not do a complete renovation last year but rather patched & overseeded a lawn likely 30 years old.


You're welcome, and thank you for following along. Hope it's been somewhat helpful. I am planning on doing a full write up about my thoughts regarding the three cultivars and what I've noticed thus far sometime later this fall after I have given it more time. At this point, the lawn is not yet a year old and I feel like it's improving week by week, and month by month. The BlueNote is a lighter green color and a finer leaf texture. If you look closley you can see the difference slightly. Can't say yet if Bluebank is taking over, but it does pair really nicely with Bewitched. Overall it's a nice blend with each have some positive traits which was my original thought in selecting. Picture below is a close up I took last fall.


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## lawn-wolverine

^^^^Well, I see two particularly different strains in there…yea, I see that lighter green/thinner blades; and then a darker green blade that looks like a wider blade.


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## ReelWILawn

lawn-wolverine said:


> ^^^^Well, I see two particularly different strains in there…yea, I see that lighter green/thinner blades; and then a darker green blade that looks like a wider blade.


a lot of that is new grass as well that has not leaf'd out yet. I've noticed the same initial look during my mini reno this spring. The Bluenote is thiner, but once everything matures more it has blended pretty nicely. As with the photo you have to be pretty close on top of it to see the differences :thumbup:


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## ReelWILawn

@lawn-wolverine a better photo (taken yesterday) shows how the Bewitched, Bluebank, and Blue Note blend together the following summer after a fall renovation. You can still see the slight variations, but you have to be at ground level and pull the turf apart to really notice it. Personally, IMO the three with their different attributes actually form a pretty dense turf and seem to blend well together. Now, if absolute 100% uniformity is the most important factor you would probably be more happy with a monostand. As I mentioned, I do plan to do a larger write up sometime this fall on my overall choice with this mix and I can revisit my choices of a KBG blend vs KBG monostand.

Until then, the obligatory TLF golf ball shots :thumbup:


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## ReelWILawn

*July Update*

July thus far has been about recovery. The last two weeks of June were pretty rough, and we experienced above average temperatures. While we are expected to see the temps rise this week (the next two weeks are our historical warmest weeks of the year), the last 18 days have been pretty good and the KBG has thrived. It's almost as if we had June in July.

*Inputs to date 7/1-7/18*

7/1 wetting agent 1.5oz/M

7/3 main summer fungicide app (planning for 21-28 day coverage):
Xzemplar 7ml/M
Azoxy 18.5ml/M
Phite 5oz/M

7/10 RGS 3oz/M - still trying to burn through this stuff

7/13 N & PGR mix
Uflexx Urea .073N/M
Citric Acid .25oz/M
T-Nex .25oz/M
Feature 2oz/M
NIS 2oz total











7/17 granular application
16-0-8 at 4.4lbs/M - contains 35% slow release and is my main July applicaion. Will hold off on N until blitz time in a few short weeks :shock: 
.71N/M & .36K/M

7/18 wetting agent 1.5oz/M early this am as the irrigation was scheduled to run

July NPK Totals: .78N/M, 0P, .36K/M
Current Year NPK: 2.24N/M, 0P, 2.36K/M

Sunday was a fun day out in the lawn and near perfect weather. Enjoyed a double cut with the 220SL North to South, then East to west. Hard to show in photos sometimes, but it's probably my favorite pattern. After enjoying the mow, I spread the above mentioned granular fertilizer and then ended the evening grilling salmon on a cedar plank and drinking an old fashioned.


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## CaffeinatedLawnCare

The hard work is paying off, nice to see some more Wisconsinites on here!


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## ReelWILawn

CaffeinatedLawnCare said:


> The hard work is paying off, nice to see some more Wisconsinites on here!


Thank you! Great to hear from fellow Wisconsinites!


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## ReelWILawn

Something else i've been working on the last couple of weeks. After much decision making, I finally went ahead and purchased and installed my own Personal Weather Station in our backyard. Besides generally liking weather I also enjoy analyzing data and I wanted a more accruate picture of our own micro climate for lawn purposes and weather interests.... do I need to wear a coat or not :lol: . This gives me a better view of what's going on and additional data to help make decisions.

This is a wireless Davis Vantage Pro2 Plus #6162 mounted on a stained cedar 5' (above ground) 4x4 post. The anemometer is mounted 10' high on an 1.25" piece of electrical conduit. Ideally, you would want the anemometer to be 33' high, but that's not really possible without being a total eyesore for all my neighbors. I probably bother them just being outside all the time. Either way, the data I have been receivng the past three weeks has been great and I have it connected to my Hunter Hydrawise irrigation controler. Davis also has a pretty nice web based dashboard or bulletin as they call it to review live data.


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## Jeff_MI84

@ReelWILawn that weather station looks pretty cool.


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## ReelWILawn

Jeff_MI84 said:


> @ReelWILawn that weather station looks pretty cool.


 :thumbup:


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## ReelWILawn

quick mid week maintenance mow last night
with one of the dogs. Nothing fancy. Bench HOC at .875" still. Actual cut is about 1/8" lower with the 3" grooved front roller. I am also planning on getting around to replacing the trees and shrubs in the back beds in the next couple of weeks.


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## JerseyGreens

Haven't checked into this journal in awhile and I'm glad I did - good stuff and Congratulations on a successful reno with the three Elite B's of KBG!


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## ReelWILawn

Thanks @JerseyGreens for following along :thumbup:


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## ReelWILawn

spent a little time this evening cleaning up the grass along the curbing and resetting the edge.


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## zeus201

Love the curbing!


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## ReelWILawn

zeus201 said:


> Love the curbing!


 :thumbup:


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## ReelWILawn

Great afternoon in the lawn today  
Temps have been in the mid to upper 80's this week and the lawn keeps improving week by week

double cut in classic checkerboard pattern: .875"
clipping volume yield 18.8 mL/m^2


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## Jeff_MI84

@ReelWILawn if my reno looked 1/4 as good as yours, I'd be happy. It's looking all sorts of good.


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## ReelWILawn

@Jeff_MI84 thanks for the kind words! The improvement in just the last month has been more than i've hoped for. Still areas to improve and work on, but for cool season grass in July I really couldn't ask for more.


----------



## g-man

Do you think you will ever have a house behind your backyard? If not, I would consider doing a couple of gly applications to kill all those weeds and then dropping some meadow seeds (perennials now and annuals in the spring).

https://www.americanmeadows.com/wildflower-seeds/midwest


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## ReelWILawn

g-man said:


> Do you think you will ever have a house behind your backyard? If not, I would consider doing a couple of gly applications to kill all those weeds and then dropping some meadow seeds (perennials now and annuals in the spring).
> 
> https://www.americanmeadows.com/wildflower-seeds/midwest


No, there will never be a house back there. That is apart of an outlot owned by the neighborhood and developer and beyond that there is a walking path. Areas like this (although, less weedy) and walking paths are all over the community. If it was up to me, I would absolutely gly the whole thing and plant grass or wildflowers as you suggested. Maybe not a bad idea for me to call and ask if I can do it myself.


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## g-man

I doubt anyone will complain with you spending money on wild flowers seeds. Fallowing with gly is important to limit the weeds taking over.

I would even do some tulips closer to your mulch bed and maybe some sun flowers rows in the back.


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## ReelWILawn

Thanks @g-man, all great ideas! We do have work planned in our back bed area to replace a few items we lost. As of right now we have blue point Junipers and knock out roses - which from experience require very little work and I enjoy the non stop blooms from spring until the first frost. I do really like your idea of also adding tulips (something my wife and I have disccused adding somewhere) and a back row of sun flowers. There is always something to work on  :lol:


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## ReelWILawn

*Maintencance Monday Update*

*The Hole*
Time for a dedicated update here. For those who do not know, take a look back on page 5 - What to do when the utility company digs an unexpected hole in your front yard.

To be absolutely honest, I had very low expectations. My first concern was to get what settled after winter, about 12 inches, level with the surrounding ground. Obviously there is a safety aspect here, but also just out of necessity using the greens mower around that area. If I could get grass to grow and somewhat cover most of the area (16sqft) during summer I would consider that a win. Moving forward, my wife and I joking refer to this as "The Mini Reno"

May 7th - first step done!









The rest of May was just to monitor the hole and see if it settled any more. It also gave me an oppertunity to properly fallow the area.

June 1st - seed down day on the mini reno!
All normal renovation processes were followed on 16sqft :lol: 









June 22nd - taking the cover off
For the last 21 days I took care of the mini reno to the best of my ability. Having an odd shape in the middle of an irragation zone while trying to take care of all the existing grass during above normal heat in June was more difficult and annoying than I originally thought. Beside the high temps, which isn't historically normal for WI in June, we also had a few very heavy rain and hail events. Want it to rain, attempt a renovation and you will get torrential downpours. Anyway, not surprised there was not much grass, and very little to no sprouts.









Decided to keep going. Took my manual edger, and sliced maybe 1/8"-1/4" grooves in a cross pattern. Idea here was something you would see done on a sports field or with a seed slicer. Applied a little more seed, rolled it in, covered with peat moss and the blanket.









June 28th- taking the cover off a second time.
Looking much better. The cover would stay off this time and I gave the mini reno its first feeding of less than .5oz of granular solugreen ammonium sulfate - by the way if you are looking for what I think is the best spray grade AMS look no further than APF Solugreen. Can't really spread it, but works well to toss it around 16sqft and water it in right away.









July 9th
still hand watering about 3x per day when I can and my schedule allows. Gave it another small amount of solugreen AMS. Really starting to tiller out, and lots of new sprounts from the second small seeding from two weeks prior. From a distance now, it's starting to look a lot less like a hole









July 23rd - current day
Treating this area like the rest of the lawn. Still hand watering the area if it looks like it needs it. Received the same 16-0-8 granular fertilizer the rest of the lawn did on July 17th. Very hard to see unless you are right over the area. Even then, it's now blended in very nicely with the rest of the surrounding grass. As of this past weekend, it's been now about 60 days since the original seed down date and I think it's doing alright. I bet by end of October, you probably wont even be able to notice this whole mess. To be fair, we can no longer see the mini reno, and it doesnt show up in any of the lawn photos unless you look very closely. 









and there you have it, all caught up on the mini reno :thumbup:


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## ReelWILawn

Just another quick maintenance mow this evening.
Bench HOC: .875"
clipping volume yield: 21mL/m^2

just surpassed my GDD to reapply my next T-Nex app. I've been really liking the .25 fl oz/M rate as it provides nice growth control but the grass never looks stunted and keeps my mowing intervals to every 3 days.


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## pennstater2005

Beautiful! @ReelWILawn!!


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## ReelWILawn

too kind, thanks @pennstater2005 !


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## ReelWILawn

7/28 - applied my second app of citric acid this year at 1lb/M. For items that need or should be watered inmediately I usually try to time those with a full irrigation cycle. I will split the full cycle into halves or thirds and wake up early just as those are ending. Then I attempt to spray what I need to before the irrigation kicks back on and water in the product. Sometimes it's perfect, and other times I play dodge the sprinklers :lol:

In all seriousness, overall i've been really happy with how the lawn looks here at the end of July. It's far from perfect, but I am looking towards the fall to see what it will look like. It's never ending and there will also be something to learn, improve or repair, but that's what makes it fun.


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## nikmasteed

ReelWILawn said:


> It's never ending and there will also be something to learn, improve or repair, but that's what makes it fun.


Truer words were never spoken! Your lawn looks absolutely incredible dude, fantastic job. 👏


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## ReelWILawn

:thumbup: Thanks @nikmasteed


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## ReelWILawn

7/30 afternoon: Mowed again at a Bench HOC of .875" in a single cut diagonal pattern
clipping volume yield has increased to 25.6 mL/m^2 - GDD target was reached on Monday this week

7/30 evening: spray time!

AMS @ .05lbs N/M

T-Nex @ .25 fl oz/M

Phite @ 5 fl oz/M

NIS 2 fl oz total





































photo taken around 8:30pm after I finished spraying without the direct sunlight


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## ReelWILawn

.....and the not so great. Corner off the back of the house, i've started to lose some areas of grass in the last 7-10 days or so. I've been spending some time attempting my best to diagnose, but this probably is the area i am the weakest to feel 100% confident.

I had a similar issue maybe 15 feet away earlier this summer, but it has mostly cleaned up and is back to being healthy maybe a week after I sprayed my fungicide app of Xzemplar and Azoxy on 7/3 it started to improve.

These new areas are almost identical to the above. Seems to be in patches, dead/dying grass is matted with very little root mass left. I took a soil probe today and the area appears to be well watered with the core being damp at a depth of 4" (last irrigation cycle ran Thursday am). Becuase other surrounding areas look healthy, and the soil probe appreas to show case adequate moisture I am ruling out a lack of water or dormancy as the issue

Where am I at now on this. Well, the spot/patches are yellow or straw colored and are irregulary shaped. No lesions on any grass blades This area of the lawn receives non stop full day sun and I know my soil's pH is above 7. At this point, i am leaning towards Summar Patch. I am due to apply my next round of prevenative fungicide; however, the Smith-Kerns dollar spot model is showing high risk for next week as we can expect warm humid weather. Debating if I want to or should try to treat this, or focus on dollar spot prevention - this will decide what product i apply and how (foliar vs soil).


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## Steely

This has been a great thread to read. Loved the content. I too am in SE Wisconsin and will be starting a 2,500 sq. ft. Renovation on my side lawn. I have steep slopes so will be using the Reinders Curlex erosion blankets. They now have a netless version so I ordered a couple of 8' x 90' rolls. Do you see any reason to pull these up if there are no nets?


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## Babameca

ReelWILawn said:


> .....and the not so great. Corner off the back of the house, i've started to lose some areas of grass in the last 7-10 days or so. I've been spending some time attempting my best to diagnose, but this probably is the area i am the weakest to feel 100% confident.


Try for billbug damage. Spray some bifethrin and carbaryl on, an a 2feet around the damaged area. Water down to the crowns but not more.
Have explained my struggles for 3 seasons in my journal. That recipe finally works. Acelepryn, imidacloprid failed the task.


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## JerseyGreens

I had areas very similar to those last summer. Someone advised that it was most likely somewhere I "violently" turn my reel mower due to shape of lawn. It was a similar curvature to the one posted in your pictures. I take it easy in that area now and the damage is a lot better this growing season.


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## ReelWILawn

Steely said:


> This has been a great thread to read. Loved the content. I too am in SE Wisconsin and will be starting a 2,500 sq. ft. Renovation on my side lawn. I have steep slopes so will be using the Reinders Curlex erosion blankets. They now have a netless version so I ordered a couple of 8' x 90' rolls. Do you see any reason to pull these up if there are no nets?


Thanks @Steely for following along and it's great to hear from from another person from WI! Hopefully I've been able to help somewhere in this journal- or at least help you avoid some of my mistakes.

Reinders is a great turf supply for us. That's usually where I get most of my supplies. Great idea thinking ahead and using those blankets. I don't have any experience with those new versions but they will probably work great. In terms of removing them I guess If it were me I might try to pick them up once there's good germination. My thought process would just be for them not to interfere with mowing and more importantly nutrients/water; however, if the slope is steep it's probably a good idea and leave them until the grass is pretty well established. Maybe wait for that and then make a decision. Hate to see one hard rain ruin 30-60 days of hard work. If you do remove them a couple weeks post germination just be careful not to pull the young grass out. I am interested in following along


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## Steely

It's great to have the Sussex Reinders about 3 miles from my house. Thanks for the advise. My Glyphosate arrived today and will be starting the process soon. Maybe I'll start my own reno journal.


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## ReelWILawn

Steely said:


> It's great to have the Sussex Reinders about 3 miles from my house. Thanks for the advise. My Glyphosate arrived today and will be starting the process soon. Maybe I'll start my own reno journal.


Nice! The Sussex and Waukesha location about about the same distance for me; however, I usually go to the Sussex location because they typically have stock of everything I need.

If you are ever looking to split product let me know as I would be interested seeing that you are in the area and would be an easy stop on the way home from Reinders. For some of those 2.5 gallon jugs or 1lb of WDGs would take me years to go through :lol:


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## Steely

I will keep that in mind, thx. I know I have not purchased the Main Event product from Reinders for the same reason… just too much product. I am going to make a run tomorrow and pickup my Curlex rolls and a 50 lb bag of soluble AMS.


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## ReelWILawn

@Babameca & @JerseyGreens Thank you very much for taking the time and providing feedback! I remeber reading about both of those issues you have mentioned in each of your journals from previous years and these items have also been on my mind. One or possible both of these could be the problem so thanks again for reaching out :thumbup: Gives me more to think about

For the billbugs, i really hope it's not the case. I have not ruled this out yet; however, since I used Acelepryn this year I have put it lower on my list of items to investigate. But like you mentioned from your experience it's not fullproff. Any specific product containing bifethrin/carbaryl you used? And how exactly did you confirm billbugs (i've been reading up on them since you mentioned this but would be curious to hear your experience)?

The mower may also be an issue or at least isnt helping that area. It's not an area I tend to turn around in much, but I would consider it high traffic. But good thing to mention and i've been more carefull in this area now.

As of today the area isn't getting worse. My plan at the moment is twofold. 1)continue to research and investigate. I may even send in a sampe to the Madison Turfgrass Diagnostic Lab but I am not crazy taking a cup cutter size hole out of the lawn. 2) in parallel, I am going to do the hardest thing in turfgrass..... do nothing. If i can't find an answer I feel confident on and as long as the issue isn't increasing or getting worse I am just going to move on and plan that it will repair by itself this fall. Might be the best idea, might be the worst idea.


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## ReelWILawn

Steely said:


> I will keep that in mind, thx. I know I have not purchased the Main Event product from Reinders for the same reason… just too much product. I am going to make a run tomorrow and pickup my Curlex rolls and a 50 lb bag of soluble AMS.


There are a number of things I would like to purchase because it would be cheaper in oz or lb per 1,000 or certain product only comes in larger 2.5 gallon jugs. For the soluble AMS, if you haven't decided yet I would recommend the American Plant Food SoluGreen 21-0-0. Extermely pure AMS that dissolves almost instantely even in cold water. I don't think this is spreadable though becuase it's so fine so if you go this route one bag will last a while. Looks like they have stock of this and I think the cost is less than $30


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## Steely

That's what I ordered. &#128077;


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## g-man

Madison Turfgrass Diagnostic Lab is a great resource and only $20.

When did you apply the Acelepryn?

I dont think it is summer patch. Maybe some dollar spot. But to me it looks like collar decline from PGR. It looks to be in a corner that could get too much spray.

I would drop some fert there to help it recover and check your irrigation in that corner.


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## JerseyGreens

^^^ I didn't even know collar decline is a "thing" but I bet you @g-man nailed it.



Left: Collar decline (love learning new stuff) plus maybe a bit too rough with the mower. This area is a right angle near my sidewalk and mulch bed. I have a high degree of confidence that it was due to PGR now.

Right: Recovery once I stopped PGR in late summer and took it easy with the GM in the area. Plus N of course.


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## Babameca

I've lived with this problem for 2 seasons. Diagnostics went down to elimination, trial and error. Also few symptoms prompting for infestation. Grass even if still somehow green was detaching from the crown. When a plug was removed, root mass was present.
Sample to a lab did not show any major fungus activity and was unconclusive.
Treating with straight Carbaryl a test plot, had an immediate effect to stop all and grass recovered within a few weeks, where untreated spot kept declining, until mod August, when larvae turns to an adult.
I used straight CARBARYL, but in US, you have a product called Andersons duocide. Seen this on YT.
Hope that helps.


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## ReelWILawn

@g-man thanks for taking the time to help review and offer suggestions - much appreciated.

Yes, the cost to test a sample is relatively inexpensive. I think they suggest not taking samples the end of the week as they will most likely sit in the mail or at their site for a couple days before they can get to it. I am planning on getting everything ready and pulling a sample on Monday. I beleive they test for both disease and insects so hopefully that might narrow the focus. At this point, I am looking at this as another learning experience and if this starts to show up again I have a much better idea of what it is and what to do.

Acelepryn was put down on May 7th and properly watered in. I was not confident it was summer patch which is why I have not targeted to attempt to try and treat for summer patch yet. You're right it could possibly be some dollar spot mixed in there as we have been above 30% on the SK model for most of the summer; however, I have not seen any leaf damage or lesions which has made me think it's not DS.

Funny you metion collar decline and I appreicate the potential spot. The area that is affected is an odd spot to spray and i've thought that i've had it figured out until recently when earlier this week I mentioned to my wife that in fact I beleive I could be over spraying certain spots of that area - especially where it seems the worst. I will be doing another audit of spraying that area. I've spent the better part of the last 24 hours reading up on everything I can find reargrading collar decline. Bill Kreuser has a lot of good information on this subject (not surprised) and they have even done tests with different PGR's, rates, and recovery. Even USGA posted on Twitter today about turf decline in the intermediate rough that certainly looks exactly like this. The more I am reading and watching, I think this might be the top of my list on plausible causes. Thanks for the information and sending me down another rabbit hole :lol: :thumbup: (This is why it's fun, right?)

@JerseyGreens exactly! There is always something to learn in trying to grow grass. Based on the suggestion and what I am seeing it could very well be it. Thanks for sharing your two photos! The what we suspect was collar decline is exactly how it looks in some of the worst areas to your example. The amount of information that is shared and can be learned here in journals is great. I couldn't even begin to thank the amount of people and items i've picked up here from even the smallest details reading other journals.

@Babameca Thank you for all the information. This is really helpful! I thought this might just be something similar to Sevin and I did not know about the product from The Andersons (Duocide). Having gone through this now for a couple of seasons have you found anything prevenentative that seems to help? Or have you mostly been treating from curative perspective?


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## Babameca

No. Not yet. As I mentioned acelepryn and imidacloprid failed. I upped my acelepryn rate to max this year, and started seeing symptoms mid June, so reverted to a spot carbaryl spray. Sevin is a brand and does not use carbaryl anymore, due to limited market for it. I prefer to use the active ingredients nomenclature, as companies tend to change formulas for a array of reasons....and still acelepryn is a brand name :lol:


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## ReelWILawn

*July inputs & totals*

.83N/M - we mostly had 'June' weather in July

.36K/M

One preventative fungicide app (Xzemplar & Azoxy)

Two PGR applications via T-Nex at the .25 fl oz/M rate

Two wetting agent applications - Plant Food Co Flo Thru A-Plus

Two potassium phosphite applications @ 5 fl oz/M each

1lb citric acid / M

*Current Year NPK*
2.29N/M, 0P, 2.36K/M

8/3 quick evening maintenance mow 
Bench HOC: .875"
clipping volume yield: 33mL/m^2
*clipping volumes started to increase. Surpassed PGR GDD on 7/26 and did not reapply until 7/30









8/4 - preventative fungicide app of TM 2oz/M which was next in the rotation
experiencing typical WI summers...warm and very humid. Was hoping I could not apply but did not want to chance it with high temps and high dew points, we have been in the 'High Risk' category in the Smith-Kerns model. Yesterday we had heat or THSW index of 115. Current temp is 78 with a dew point of 73 and 85% humidty. It's thick out there at the moment and disease pressure is real! Yet, last night on our dog walk.....people were watering

8/6 late morning double cut
Bench HOC: .875"
clipping volume yield: 17 mL/m^2 - lawn back under PGR









And just like that.... we are in August. Season has been moving fast, too fast. But with our climate in the upper midwest it's just about go time. With the grass here really starting to slow down by mid October it's time to start thinking about the fall nitrogen blitz. Depending on weather and hopefully lack of disease pressure I will most likely be starting this coming weekend in lower amounts. Amounts of N will be dependent of weather, growth curves, and how the grass overall is looking but I will be targeting to add about 2-2.5lbsN/M between now and Halloween. Also starting to look out at the end of the month or early September for sand top dressing. It's going to get pretty busy here on out. Thanks for following along :thumbup:


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## Jeff_MI84

@ReelWILawn the day after we got over an inch of rain, I had neighbors mowing and watering. One guy will use his electric mower after rainfall.


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## Chris LI

I love the sunset photo! I have a couple of questions/comments.

I looked up the label and sell sheet for Plant Food Co Flo Thru A-Plus, and it appears to be a "water mover" as opposed to a "water holder". Is that correct? The literature is very interesting about the uses as a soil penetrant to reduce LDS, and to release calcium to help flush sodium from the soil. Do you use it for both reasons? The sodium flush function looks like it would be helpful for many of us who experience over treatment of roads in winter with rock salt. Also, I recall some areas out in the midwest-mountain region who have natural high salt content in the native soil. Are you in that area?

I'm curious as to how you measure clipping yield. Do you mow a defined area and transfer to a graduated container (pitcher, beaker, etc.), to calculate volume and divide?

Thanks for all the info you include on your posts. It's very informative and useful.


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## ReelWILawn

@Chris LI Thanks for the kind words and for following along/asking questions. The amount of information I gather from reading and engaging in other journals is great! If I can help with that, even if it's one little piece of information or from a mistake i've made it's worth it.

Yes, the Flo Thru A-Plus from Plant Food Co is an intersting product, or 'wetting agent'. I have a loam soil texture that can be heavy and can hold a lot of water....until it dries out. This is a reason why I cannot irrigate for long stretches of time previously and it's better for me to utilize soak features with my irrigation controller. I also experienced last year after heavy rains that the ground just seemed to be saturated for long periods of time. I have been using this product since early April and I think there has been a big improvement with water infiltration and limiting LDS (which I have not had any this year). I would not say I have high sodium levels at 25.6 ppm but I do have high Cal and Mag (especially Mag). With this product being acid based this should help penetrant and help disolve [or reduce] some of those soil carbonates/bicarbonates. At least that's what the hope is. Second, I needed something that was a penetrant that helped push the water down and through the soil. Overall, i've been very happy with this and I believe I have been seeing results from using this product. On areas that used to stay wet, soggy, and saturated for a long time now completely pull water within 15 minutes after a heavy rain and I no longer have ponding or puddling issues. Overall, the soil remains somewhat firm and there is faster water penetration into the soil which also helps with run off. I think all of these add up to limit LDS or in my case not really experience them this year. A word of warning with this specific product, and I think it's called out on the label. It works really good at pulling water through the soil..... almost too good. If you apply at a higher rate and there is no rain it seems to quickly dry out the soil. I used a high (3oz/M bi weekly)rate in the spring and since then i've only been using about 1.5oz/M every two weeks.

measuring clipping volume and what to do with it?  This is a topic I wanted to address, share what I've been doing this year, and hear what others are doing. Dont want to do this, but I want to put some thought into this and allow enough time to discuss this topic. I will write a separate post about this tomorrow.


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## Wile

Great detail! The season is moving really fast. Kind of sad thinking about the blitz already. I would love to mesure my clipping volume, but that would be a lot of work&#128517;. So I just mulch them back in for the nutrient return. I hate paying for yard waste too. I would love to know what other options exist.


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## Chris LI

Thank you very much for your detailed explanation. I started using wetting agents some last year, and stepped up my game this year, but am still learning about how they work and how to properly use them for the type of soil. This is the first time I've seen this product, and it piqued my interest. From following your journal, I guessed you picked this for a specific purpose, and your analysis gives good insight on how/why to use it. Thanks again!

P.S. I have to read the explanation again, as it's thorough and informative, and I will now need to go back and look at my last soil test for the Ca-Mg ratio. :thumbup:


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## ReelWILawn

Wile said:


> Great detail! The season is moving really fast. Kind of sad thinking about the blitz already.


Thanks! It's always fun talking about grass and sharing information. Feel like I am always one conversation away from picking up something new or seeing something in a different perspective.

Yes, it is sad to think that we might have only 8-10 weeks left of prime growing conditions. And I feel like I have only gotten to half the things I wanted to try or work on this year. But the blitz season is approaching. Currently for August we are averging just about 80% on growth potential with the next 10 days forecast increasing that to 97%. Most likely I will be making my first app towards the blitz season this weekend.


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## ReelWILawn

Chris LI said:


> Thank you very much for your detailed explanation. I started using wetting agents some last year, and stepped up my game this year, but am still learning about how they work and how to properly use them for the type of soil. This is the first time I've seen this product, and it piqued my interest. From following your journal, I guessed you picked this for a specific purpose, and your analysis gives good insight on how/why to use it. Thanks again!
> 
> P.S. I have to read the explanation again, as it's thorough and informative, and I will now need to go back and look at my last soil test for the Ca-Mg ratio. :thumbup:


You're welcome, thanks for asking the question. I think wetting agents are a good thing to experiment with and there is enough evidence to show their benefit. Correct me if I am wrong, but weren't you using Tournament Ready this year? I would be curious to know how that's been working.

But yes, you are correct I picked a specific wetting agent to address how I noticed water and my soil interacted. Like I said I was interested in trying something that was more of a soil penetrant vs a water holding agent. Plant Food Co has a good explanation of their wetting agents, but I think it's good general advice that can probably apply to most products in the category;
"Wetting Agents from Plant Food Company are described as a Water Holding Agent, a Soil Penetrant, or a combination of the two. Each product is unique and greatly beneficial withits own specific purpose. However, they are all generally used to reduce standing water, improve saturated soil and allow water to flow evenly through the soil profile without producing destructive water channels. " - Plant Food Co Wetting Agents

So far, I've been happy with the one I have been using :thumbup: but I would be interested to try something else in the future as well.


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## Chris LI

I agree completely about the benefits of using wetting agents. After many years of frustration with chasing LDS and hydrophobic soil with generous amounts of water, I wanted to try some. Last year (or maybe 2 years ago) I experimented with Hydretain, which helped a little. I don't think I got it down early enough, before it got hot/dry.

You are correct about me using TR this season. I also purchased H2O Maximizer, and have used both. To my understanding, TR is a combo product, and will do both. The H2O Maximizer is a water holder. I was initially looking to break the surface tension, and then maintaining moisture in my sandy soil. I think both have helped more noticeably than the Hydretain, and i like the delivery method of the Underhill Pellet Pro.


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## Johnl445

@Chris LI ive interested in the pellet pro applicator. Do the tablets dissolve as slow as I've been reading. Would it be under 10min per k for application time?


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## Chris LI

Johnl445 said:


> @Chris LI ive interested in the pellet pro applicator. Do the tablets dissolve as slow as I've been reading. Would it be under 10min per k for application time?


Yes, they are quite slow in dissolving, so it is a little time consuming. However, I see it as an advantage for me. This ensures that I apply enough water to soak it into the soil and not leave it on the leaf blades. Also, my DIY irrigation system has coverage gaps, and I can treat LDS better than a blanket spray with a pump sprayer and irrigating with my system. I would have to hand water several areas anyway. I didn't time the application exactly, but it took 45 minutes to an hour to apply my ~5k worth, so 10 minutes/k is in the ballpark. I found the best price for the applicator on Drip Depot.com.


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## Johnl445

@Chris LI ok, thanks pal


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## ReelWILawn

8/9 mow at a bench HOC .875"
clipping volume yield: 22mL/m2 --> 20 to 30 seems to be a good spot for me mowing about everything 3-4 days

8/11 Tiger 90cr Elemental Sulfur @ 3.7lbs/M. Lesco spreader setting #10 This is my second and final app for the year. Year total: 7.7lbs/M

8/12 wetting agent Plant Food Co Flo Thru @ 2 fl oz/M early am during a break in the irrigation cycle. Finished just as zone 1 was turning back on  

















8/13 mow at bench HOC .875"
no clippings collected. I typically will not collect clipping for the first mow following an application of any granular product
double cut in the checkered pattern. Hazy and cloudy all day so it was difficult to get good photos

























After mowing, it was a full trim and edge around all the concrete edging with the rotary scissors. Once that was done, switched over to the stick edger for the driveway and street curbing. It's been over a month since i've done this and it's amazing how just this small detail really makes the lawn look a lot nicer.

















And before all that I spent some time this morning with the mower checking everything over. Took off the side covers for the first time and I don't think this thing has ever been cleaned (until today). Everything looked in good condition.


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## jskierko

Agree on the edging! I would edge every week if time allowed, love me some nice crisp edges. Just not enough time in the day! Looks great.


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## steffen707

Wow, i scrolled through all the photos, what a makeover! Awesome handling of that winter/dig your yard up issue. That mini-reno came out amazing. Can't even tell there was a hole there once.
i'm subscribed now.

Where did you get your 220SL?


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## ReelWILawn

@jskierko Thanks! agreed, it would be nice to edge more often but time or weather doesn't always allow. For the clean up on the concrete edging, I tend to try to do that the day before I am planning to mow just so there is one less thing to do.

@steffen707 thanks for following along! It's been a journey that's for sure :lol: ! Still lots more work to do I feel and I am loooking forward to seeing how it ends up by Halloween. it's been said many times, but a KBG reno really needs a full season following initial seeding. Actually, yesterday August 14th was the 1 year milestone for the 2nd seeding after the major washout I had. I've been trying to put some photos together to show how much everything has changed since then or really even since this spring.

My 220SL I bought from someone in the Lake Geneva area. It was too good of a deal to pass up and it was somewhat local and easy to get. It's a 2014, so the story goes, some guy bought new 220SL's for his adult children from JW Turf (now Revels) where he also paid for golf greens to be built at their homes. All of them were in pretty good conditon other than you could tell they had not been used for a while. I am looking towards purchasing either a 260SL or a 220E; however, I would like to find something with a 7 blade reel. It's been difficult finding anything even available. Until then the 220SL has been working pretty good.


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## steffen707

ReelWILawn said:


> @steffen707 thanks for following along! It's been a journey that's for sure :lol: ! Still lots more work to do I feel and I am loooking forward to seeing how it ends up by Halloween. it's been said many times, but a KBG reno really needs a full season following initial seeding. Actually, yesterday August 14th was the 1 year milestone for the 2nd seeding after the major washout I had. I've been trying to put some photos together to show how much everything has changed since then or really even since this spring.
> 
> some guy bought new 220SL's for his adult children from JW Turf (now Revels) where he also paid for golf greens to be built at their homes.


I just looked back at my reno from last year. 7.65" in 36 hours. my 2nd seed down day was August 29th!!! So glad I pre-germinated this year and got it down yesterday morning after 6 days pre-germinating. I'm like, WAY WAY ahead of last years start time.

Point being, i'm also coming up on my 1 year mark. Can't wait to see what next spring will be like. I'm fairly certain I have overcrowding as I put down a ton of seed last year.

Wish my dad bought me a 220sl and installed a putting green. I don't even play golf, but that would be fun to putt with friends. =)


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## ReelWILawn

Fall Nitrogen Blitz officially started last night. Plan moving forward will be some level of Nitrogen every 7-10 days for the next 8-10 weeks. I will continue to review weather, growth potential, and clipping volumes and adjust as required but I would target adding approximately 2.5lbsN/M before the end of the year.

last night's spray:

Uflexx urea .25lbsN/M

Citric Acid 1.5oz total

Feature 1oz/M

T-Nex .25 fl oz/M

Phite 5 fl oz/M

NIS 2 fl oz Total










I was also planning on making a prodiamine application this morning; however, it seems I have run out and do not have enough. I will most likely be getting a 5lb bag/jug in the next day or two so if anyone is looking for small quantities I will be planning on splitting this up for sale. Stay tuned, message me if you're initially interested. 1lb for myself will last me about 4 years using max yearly rate.


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## ReelWILawn

Just another quick maintenance mow this evening:

Bench HOC: .875" - I will start slowly working this down over the next few mows. I would like to be around .750"

clipping volume yield: 51 mL/m2 -lots of clippings this evening and a few things I believe contributed to this
-->I was about 4-5 days late on my T-Nex app target GDD of 504 (32 degree base temp) actual GDD was 634
-->It's been 4 days since the last mow and I really have been trying to target every 3 days
-->Growth Potential has been really heigh. At the moment our Aug avg is 88% with the last 5 days being 99%

Still did not take too much off the top this evening; however, it needs to be double cut. I may try to do that tomorrow night if I have time. Anyway, grass is looking good as we head into what should really be peak season here the next 8-10 weeks. I will also probably need to possibly mowing every two days if this growth continues


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## steffen707

Woah those look straight! I wonder what my kbg will look like when i start reel mowing it.


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## Wile

That looks awesome. I see most people on here use a base temp of 32F for their GDD over 50F or another. Curious on your thoughts on both?


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## Wile

steffen707 said:


> I wonder what my kbg will look like when i start reel mowing it.


We are wondering too


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## ReelWILawn

@steffen707 @Wile thanks! I try my best to keep the lines as straight as possible. Sometimes the work week mows aren't as clean, but these were pretty good.

Before you know it you will be reel mowing that renovation and it's going to be great! Can't wait to see this progress over the next few weeks.

Ok, GDD. For cool season grass base temp should really be 0c. Using Fahrenheit, there is a risk in applying PGRs too frequently. There is some minor differences when you convert C to F, but since we almost never land perfectly on GDD reapply targets I always wait to at least a day beyond my reapplication target. I could be wrong; however, I think the intended purpose of 32F base temperature is for poa annua seedhead control while using Proxy on greens (don't quote me on that, I would have to double check that).

Anyway, I use a base temp of 32F out of simplicity. All of my weather data comes from my PWS, and while I can change the data I receive from it to read in celsius, I dont becuase I prefer Fahrenheit for daily weather monitoring and growth potential. So I am collecting all my data in Fahrenheit to measure GDD. Could I just manually convert this over to Celsius......sure. If you use a base temp of 32F you will need to change/calculate the 0c base GDD targets to 32F base temperature targets - i.e .25 fl oz/M T-Nex would have a reapply target of 280 GDD base 0c or 504 GDD base 32F. Just make sure you are using the same temp unit of measure for both the actual temp and GDD base temp.

Dr. Bill Kreuser is one of the leading individuals around all things PGR's/GDD. There is lots of research and free information out there from him and others on this topics. Included are many of this own presentations If you are like me and really want to nerd out on grass :lol: , this is a good topic for that. This is one area I plan to do additional reading on over the winter.


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## ReelWILawn

8/18 I would have liked to double cut the night before, but ran out of time so I mowed again last night in the opposite direction

Bench HOC: still .875" I will most likely drop this to either .850 or .825 this weekend

clipping volume yield: 9mL/m2 --> decent amount of clippings from just mowing the night before. I will review increasing my mowing here shortly to possibly every 2 days if this growth continues during fall blitz time

8/19 Prodiamine 65 WDG app @ the lower rate of .185 oz or the 5g/M rate. I would have probably like to applied this a week or two prior but just did not fit it into my schedule. I am also planning on making another fall app probably in early October just to make sure I catch any of those late poa seeds that might try to germinate or whatever else from my neighbor (which is just mostly crabgrass and barnyard grass so it shouldn't be a probably this time of year) Anyway, woke up early this morning and delayed my irriagtion to start at 6am. Product should be pretty well watered in but there is rain in the forecast for this weekend so it should work out pretty well.










one of my favorite parts about reel mowing is just how flat or smooth the lawn looks all at the same height

















on the way to walk the dogs just as the sun is setting around 8pm and just had to get another photo in for the day.


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## ReelWILawn

Little bit of a long one today, hopefully you can get through it. Current lawn photos this morning :thumbup:

8/20 - spent some time cleaning up around the in ground pop up emitters as they have started to grow over the cover. Not too much else to do on a rainy saturday

8/21 - mow, double wide diagonals 

Bench HOC: still at .875" and it's really starting to grow. Will try to slowly start taking it down and mowing at a frequency of every 2 days

Clipping volume yield: 44mL/m2. Grass is officially 'actively growing'

rortary scissors and edged around all the concrete lawn edging and then the stick edger along the driveway and curbing
photo taken right after I fished mowing around 7pm

















8/22 - maintenance monday. I like to walk around the yard on Mondays and check in on certain things or make a plan for the week.

Couple of updates around the pop up emitters that are on a slight slope that had poor germination last year along with the back corner that had some of the worst washouts.
Front south side yard pop up
6/20








7/10








8/22









Back south side yard pop up
7/10








8/22









Back corner - bad washout area
6/20








7/10








8/22









Possible over application of PGR - collar decline and or mabye dollar spot
*I had the best intention on sending in a sample to UW Madison's turfgrass diagnostic lab. Unfortunately when I had time it was the end of the week (on two seperate times) and they recommend not sending in samples over the weekend. Work and life got in the way and I have not been able to send in a sample. Either way, it's not gotten worse and it's improved.
7/30








8/22









And then some current pictures around the yard today with the dogs :thumbup:


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## Ben4Birdies

ReelWILawn said:


>


Did your spectacular lawn inspire your neighbor to do a reno?


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## ReelWILawn

Ben4Birdies said:


> ReelWILawn said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Did your spectacular lawn inspire your neighbor to do a reno?
Click to expand...

 :lol: Thanks, but no. More so out of necessity


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## ReelWILawn

Forgot to mention last night's app

8/22 - second fall blitz app of the season

pinch of Citric Acid

Uflexx urea @ .25N/M

Xzemplar @ 7mL/M

Azoxy 2SC @ .63 fl oz/M

NIS 2 fl oz total

We've experienced nice, cooler weather with high growth potential the last 7-10 days. I was planning to stay fungicide free for the rest of the year; however, the 7 day forecast for an increase of temps along with rain which has increased the Smith-Kerns Dollar Spot model. Add that to turf that is growing like crazy and applying weekly nitorgen the recipe is there for potential trouble. This is also typically a time of year were we can get a week or two of high disease potential with hot, humid weather and plently of rain. Usually the time of the year I start seeing disease among the lawns around the neighborhood. Based on that I went with the above fungicide prevention to play it safe and should cover me for the next 28 days and by then we should be out of disease pressure for the year.

Tonight, I also spent time getting the aerator out, checking the oil, and making sure it starts. Did a couple of small passes with it in the lawn as well and we should be all set. Confirming sand delivery for possibly the end of next week.


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## ReelWILawn

8/24 - mow last night

bench HOC: lowered to .812"

clipping volume yield: 77mL/m2. Not surprised the large increase. Grass is growing fast and the HOC was lowered. 
Plan will be to mow again tomorrow and then possibly Saturday at another reduced height

In other news, it's been warm and humid today after we received +2" of rain last night. High rain rate captured was 5.24in/hr. This would have washed out lots of little seedlings a year ago.


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## lbb091919

Looks amazing. How are you measuring your clipping yield? Scale?


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## jskierko

This looks like carpet! Looks like you are in tremendous position going into fall.


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## ReelWILawn

jskierko said:


> This looks like carpet! Looks like you are in tremendous position going into fall.


Thanks so much! Some areas do look pretty good and others have taken up until now for me to be ok with them. The joy of a full year KBG reno! I am planning on doing a few things this week that will make it look a little rough for a few days


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## ReelWILawn

8/26 - evening mow

Bench height reduced to .796"

Clipping volume yield: 65mL/m2

8/28 - wetting agent application: Plant Food Co Flo Thru A-Plus @ 3 fl oz/M. This is the high rate, but applied just prior to the days 1" of rain

@lbb091919 @Chris LI @Wile 
I am planning on posting about clipping volume here shortly as I've been meaning to answer your questions. Want to share how I measure, why, and maybe start the conversation on what we can do with it. Feel this needs its own non-lawn update poste. Sorry for the delay.

Photos during Friday's mow.
I try not to cut off more than a 1/3 but even this perimeter pass almost fills up half the grass catcher with the HOC change


















The sides of my house are fairly narrow (6-9 feet) so I am limited on how I mow this area or how much I want to fight the mower. Tried something different this week with the 50/50 fairway mow.


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## lbb091919

Looking forward to the clipping yield info. I do that same pattern almost exclusively on my side yard and just reverse the directions occasionally.


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## ReelWILawn

8/29 - quick maintenance double cut tonight

Bench HOC: lowered to .750".

clipping yield: not recorded

plenty of work planned for the rest of this week. Bringing down the HOC slowly then I am planning on lightly scarifying to thin a few areas as well as open the canopy. After that, planning on core aerating later this week followed by sand top dressing. Yard is nice and soft after yesterday's rain (maybe even too soft) so it might be good to have the soil a little dryer prior to aerating.

As I have been reducing the HOC over the last two weeks I forgot how nice 3/4" is. Pictures dont always do a great job, but it feels like a very soft carpet at the moment. Anyone going through a KBG reno this year, dont worry if it's thin at the end of the year or even next spring/early summer. These two photos were some of the thinner areas and with a good fertilizer plan this year and PGR, it's an very think and dense piece of sod.


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## Chris LI

Thank you for the update on clipping yield info. I'll be following for further updates and will be drawing a comparison to what I'm seeing at my higher HOC. I don't know if there is a way to separate clipping length vs. density when measuring clipping yield, but I am interested in any data that you are able to collect.

With beginning PGR use this year, clipping length and mowing frequency obviously decreased significantly, but clipping yield reduced not as much, because I saw a significant increase in density. I'm curious as to any observations or data, that you may have in your discussion of clipping yield, and if this area of interest is included in what you are studying.

Thanks again. &#128077;


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## mribbens

Looks fantastic, we got 1.35 inches of rain from Sunday to Monday, about 30 hours, so my lawn is popping today with the sun and low humidity.


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## steffen707

Where do you monitor the Smith-Kerns Dollar Spot model? Fungus has kicked my 2021 Renos butt last year and then earlier last month. Its very frustrating when everything is looking good and then it doesn't. I need to up my preventative game more I guess. I was only doing 1 app per month, but I should probably do 2.

Then its fricken enfuriating that 3 of my neighbors water their lawns at 11pm everyday and their lawn never seems to develop fungus issues.


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## ReelWILawn

steffen707 said:


> Where do you monitor the Smith-Kerns Dollar Spot model? Fungus has kicked my 2021 Renos butt last year and then earlier last month. Its very frustrating when everything is looking good and then it doesn't. I need to up my preventative game more I guess. I was only doing 1 app per month, but I should probably do 2.
> 
> Then its fricken enfuriating that 3 of my neighbors water their lawns at 11pm everyday and their lawn never seems to develop fungus issues.


With last year's reno, I budgeted a preventative fungicide program for this year. Being a new reno, and history of how our WI summers can be I decided to play it safe this year. I have neighbors asking for help and I usually just saw fertilize correctly, mow correctly, and water correctly (early morning only, avoid late afternoon to evening waterings)..... guess what they do. I also have a neighbor with an irragation system who probably waters 5-6x a week and always twice a day starting at 7am and 7pm. The 6" to 1' on our lot line struggles becuase it's always so saturated. I understand your pain.

easy button - google greencast dollar spot. Same website many use for local soil temps. This works pretty good

slightly more difficult- you can manually download the modeling file from Dr. Paul Koch at UW-Madison. This is nice because I have my PWS and I compare that data to the gernal data I get for my zip code from greencast
https://tdl.wisc.edu/dollar-spot-model/

more difficult - It's mentioned in the link above, but there are files developed by Jason Haines that will atuo download and calcuate this for you. I believe @g-man used this file from Haines to develop his Log+GDD google doc file. I would really like to use what he developed, but I cannot seem to get it to work right and have given up unfortunately so i've restored to manually entering and recording data.


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## Kiza

Have you considered replacing urea for AS to produce a darker shade of green and slightly reducing pH?


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## Wile

Looking forward to the clipping yield info. +1 to granular AMS. Leaning this route with SOP in the same SGN and just spreading it vs spraying. Also, thinking about mesa or another slow release for the first part of the season.


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## lbb091919

ReelWILawn said:


> With last year's reno, I budgeted a preventative fungicide program for this year. Being a new reno, and history of how our WI summers can be I decided to play it safe this year. I have neighbors asking for help and I usually just saw fertilize correctly, mow correctly, and water correctly (early morning only, avoid late afternoon to evening waterings)..... guess what they do. I also have a neighbor with an irragation system who probably waters 5-6x a week and always twice a day starting at 7am and 7pm. The 6" to 1' on our lot line struggles becuase it's always so saturated. I understand your pain.


See it everyday in my neighborhood too. Most actually have fungus issues but dont know it. My neighbor does the same as yours and it adversely affects my property line. He mulch mows the same height whether the grass is 4 or 6+ inches tall. I'm constantly picking up clumps on my side. Yet, he has zero dollar spot or fungus problems from what I can tell. It's infuriating.



ReelWILawn said:


> more difficult - It's mentioned in the link above, but there are files developed by Jason Haines that will atuo download and calcuate this for you. I believe @g-man used this file from Haines to develop his Log+GDD google doc file. I would really like to use what he developed, but I cannot seem to get it to work right and have given up unfortunately so i've restored to manually entering and recording data.


I'd be happy to help you with this. I modeled my Google Sheet off that one and it's working well with my PWS connected to Wunderground.


----------



## steffen707

lbb091919 said:


> ReelWILawn said:
> 
> 
> 
> With last year's reno, I budgeted a preventative fungicide program for this year. Being a new reno, and history of how our WI summers can be I decided to play it safe this year. I have neighbors asking for help and I usually just saw fertilize correctly, mow correctly, and water correctly (early morning only, avoid late afternoon to evening waterings)..... guess what they do. I also have a neighbor with an irragation system who probably waters 5-6x a week and always twice a day starting at 7am and 7pm. The 6" to 1' on our lot line struggles becuase it's always so saturated. I understand your pain.
> 
> 
> 
> See it everyday in my neighborhood too. Most actually have fungus issues but dont know it. My neighbor does the same as yours and it adversely affects my property line. He mulch mows the same height whether the grass is 4 or 6+ inches tall. I'm constantly picking up clumps on my side. Yet, he has zero dollar spot or fungus problems from what I can tell. It's infuriating.
> 
> 
> 
> ReelWILawn said:
> 
> 
> 
> more difficult - It's mentioned in the link above, but there are files developed by Jason Haines that will atuo download and calcuate this for you. I believe @g-man used this file from Haines to develop his Log+GDD google doc file. I would really like to use what he developed, but I cannot seem to get it to work right and have given up unfortunately so i've restored to manually entering and recording data.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I'd be happy to help you with this. I modeled my Google Sheet off that one and it's working well with my PWS connected to Wunderground.
Click to expand...

Wow, these hit home! Neighbors always watering at night. Two do it at like 11pm every night, yet their lawns look great.....UGH!

What doc and calculation are you guys talking about? Is this somthing to do with forcasting when fungus will be an issue? If so, can you point me in the right direction to learn? I use a GDD calculation built into lawntrack to tell me when to apply PGR, but i've read recently 4-5 people on TLF saying their "fungus model" is showing XYZ fungus is likely. Fungul issues have made my reno look poopy late last fall, and about a month ago this year.

Thanks!


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## ReelWILawn

@Kiza thanks for the suggestion! I use both urea and AMS througout the season. For foliar spray applications I typically use urea as I can comfortably use slightly higher rates and I usually tank mix this with whatever else I am spraying (PGR, potassium phosphate, Feature, fungicide, etc). For granular applications, my preference is AMS as it works quickly and for the acidifying characteristics you mentioned

@Wile I promise clipping volume topic is coming soon. It's been a busy couple of weeks and I have not had the time to sit down and have a conversation with everyone. I am excited to share what i've been doing as well as hear what others do.

granular fertilize, here's the thing. I really want to like it. I've done a few granular applications this year thus far and I am planning on the majority of my fall blitz to use granular AMS. Here's my personal dilemma (and maybe I can learn what others are doing) but I really like using low SGN prills. 150sgn seems to be the sweet spot as it spreads nicely and disperses well into the short cut turn. This stuff can be hard to find in the formulations I want. I really like using a 2:0:1 ratio and would prefer it to be AMS and SOP. The problem is it's almost impossible to find low sgn prills of 100%AMS. Most of the AMS I find are prills that are 200+ in size and from my experience it cheetah spots my low cut turf. Second, in most blended fertilizers it's usually a combination of mostly urea, some AMS, and either MOP or SOP. Like I said, I am picky and would prefer SOP as my potassium source. Third, I really do not like using slow release fertilizer. I understand how fast release works, when it works, and when it's time to reapply. High % of slow release just cause more variables for me to think about and I would rather not. Just when you think you've found a good bag of something it contains a whole bunch of micros you may not need. Other personal challenge I have is my lot size at about 6,500 square feet and attempting to put less than .50N/M of granular product. Large prills, and attempting to spread 6-13lbs over 6.500 square feet usually results in poor coverage. I have yet to try the hand spreader approach, but not sure that will improve much. Put this all together and with my spreader mate, spraying is just easier. But I would really like to use granular AMS for it's acidifying characteristics as mentioned and it's efficiency in cooler weather.

From a granular perspective, what does everyone use? What's your go to fall blitz product? for those with smaller yards, what have you done to be successful with granular product. I will say though, that one of my favorite granular products is Country Club 16-0-8 from Lebanon Turf. Peferct SGN 150 prills, their MESA source combines AMS and methylene urea (slow release) into a small homogeneous prill. This specific product is only 35% slow release so it's perfect to put out .5N/M per month during the summer and spoon feed with smaller liquid amounts. Only issue is it's expensive and the only places i've seen carry this is from two "influencers". I am trying a product produced locally that is for golf course fairways in a 23-0-8 formulation. 70% of the N source is a DCD nitrogen stabliizer with the rest being AMS and SOP. I just put down an application on Monday so we will see the results in another day or so. Same issue though, applying 13lbs over 6,300 square feet is a challenge.


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## santhony1231

Completely agree on the lot size + prill size. I often just default to spraying. I have just about exactly 4000 sq ft of lawn, so if I can get away with just doing one 4 gallon tank, I try to do it for convenience. I'd rather do it more frequently at lower rates than split it up into multiple tanks at higher carrier volumes, too. It just seems easier.

Also the front feels restrictive and wasteful for granular with all the sidewalk/driveway maneuvering.

Do you look for premixed product just for convenience? I have this bag of straight AMS, but I can never seem to find a nice 50lb bag of SOP.


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## ReelWILawn

santhony1231 said:


> Completely agree on the lot size + prill size. I often just default to spraying. I have just about exactly 4000 sq ft of lawn, so if I can get away with just doing one 4 gallon tank, I try to do it for convenience. I'd rather do it more frequently at lower rates than split it up into multiple tanks at higher carrier volumes, too. It just seems easier.
> 
> Also the front feels restrictive and wasteful for granular with all the sidewalk/driveway maneuvering.
> 
> Do you look for premixed product just for convenience? I have this bag of straight AMS, but I can never seem to find a nice 50lb bag of SOP.


agree on spraying. somethings it's just easier. For nitorgen, i melt down urea or AMS and spray those. I dont really use any premixed product. For SOP, go to Reinders. That's where I get the most of my items from. They have a location in Plymouth,MN. This is what I use for straight SOP. It's from EC Grow and it's small prill size: 125-150SGN. This 50lb will last a long time on 4k sqft
https://www.reinders.com/products/ec-grow-0-0-50-100-percent-sop-mini-50-lb-bag/


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## ReelWILawn

@lbb091919 thank you very much for the offer. I will have to take you up on that. My PWS is also connected to Wunderground and would love to have all it's data auto download into a Google Doc. Just need to figure out how.

@steffen707 We are talking about the Smith-Kerns dollar spot model. This is a model that looks at weather and forecasted weather to help predict the risk or probability of dollar spot. I beleive there are more complicated disease modeling out there for other lawn diseases, but the Smith-Kerns model is pretty easy to use. Now it is really only good at helping predict dollar spot outbreak; however, IMO, if conditions are good for dollar spot chances are there is risk for others

here is the super easy one to use from greencast. Just input your zip code.
https://www.greencastonline.com/dollar-spot-solutions#dollar-spot-model

I also provided a link about dollar spot modeling from UW above. Check that out. Some good information on how the model works and how you can manually cacluate your own data. There is a link to an Excel file with the formulas already added- just need to input your own weather data.


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## lbb091919

ReelWILawn said:


> @lbb091919 thank you very much for the offer. I will have to take you up on that. My PWS is also connected to Wunderground and would love to have all it's data auto download into a Google Doc. Just need to figure out how.


Sure thing. Send me a PM whenever you're ready


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## steffen707

Wow, thanks for the detailed explanation @ReelWILawn!


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## ReelWILawn

*Early September Update*

It's been a busy two weeks here on the lawn and would like to get caught up on what i've been doing. A large rainstorm is making it's way through most of the upper midwest (received 2.20" so far today) so figure it's a great time to give an update. Thanks for reading if you make it all the way through. I think I might give a 'lessons learned' take on my first sand leveling/top dressing later this week.

Since my last lawn update on 8/29, I had been working the HOC down for more aggressive maintenance. August had been a good month with the average Grow Potential being 91%.

8/30 I scarified the lawn. I was pretty shocked on how much material was coming up. Personally, while the lawn started to look really good I also thought it could use a litting thining out. After the lawn was scarified, from my perspective, the lawn just looked more heathly overall. Prior to scarifying, the HOC was lowered again to .650"

























9/1 - finished cleaning up any remaing debris, and lawn mowed at .625"

























9/2 - mowed again at a Bench HOC of .600". Actual measure cut was closer to .500. The larger 3" groved roller seems to get the mower lower and cut the grass about 1/8" lower than the Bench HOC. Once mowing was complete, I went ahead and aerated the entire lawn. I have been looking to either buy or rent reciprocating style aerators since before last years renovation. Couple of challenges for me 1)no rental place even remotely close to me carries any of these types of aerators. 2)even if I wanted to rent the standard drum style aerators I do not have any access to a truck/trailer to get it home and two I think they would rip up my yard too much . This makes renting any type of equipment for me almost impossible. I also don't like having to deal with rental equipment if I dont have it. I always seem to have trouble with the equipment not working properly or being so rushed to get the job finished and the equipment returned that it's hardly an enjoyable experience. With that being said, I had looked almost daily for something like the Billy Goat Plugr. Last November, I found this smaller DR Power lawn aerator being sold by a one man lawn care operator who was getting out of the business at a great price
. With limited use, within a 2 hour driving distance, and the ability to remove the handle and load it into the back of the Subaru this solves a lot of my challenges. Now, I can aerate anytime I want and I never feel rushed about getting it all day in one day.

This aerator is also perfect for my yard size. It's very easy to move around and the specs are really good and even better than some of those drum style aerators. It operates with only three reciprocating tines. The tines are 7/8" diameter and produce .844 holes / 9 holes per square foot resulting in about 3.5% affected surface area. I did do double passes in areas that are slow to drain next to my neighbor and other areas that seemed like it could benefit. Even though this is fairly gentle on the turf, I am not sure I would want to do the entire yard in multiple passes. I think I would be better off to aerate multiple times per year instead. All cores picked up with snow shovels


































9/2 - 6.97 tons of USGA spec sand delivered :thumbup: 









Let the sand further dry all day Friday & Saturday. Took it easy, and spread all 7 tons on Sunday & Monday (9/4 & 9/5). Had a pretty good process of only loading the gorilla cart halfway and then either flingling it with the shovel or dumping it and spreading it with a landscape rake. After doing an enitre width of the yard I would come back with the level rake and further rake the sand in. After all the sand was spread, i hooked up my drag to the tractor and drove around until pretty much everything was worked into the turf canopy. 7 tons over about 6,300 square feet resulted in about a .25" sand cap. I had done a pretty good job of leveling out the soil prior to last year's reno so there are only a few places where the sand was heavy. 
















































Finished off Monday evening, by spreading .49lbsN/M & .17lbsK/M of EC Grow 23-0-8

9/6 +1 day of the top dressing aerial photos


----------



## jskierko

You did more in one week than most people do in a season. Talk about putting in the work!


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## steffen707

How many hours did everything take you for this scarify, Mow, plug, spread sand project?

Also, great find with the Dr aerator! That snow Shovel is also the best one around.


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## ReelWILawn

@jskierko Thank you! It's been a project i've been looking forward to all season, yet I still wish there was time to do more. Compared to some of my neighbors, all you have to do is mow regularly and fertilize more than once per year and you certainly do more than most 🤣

@steffen707 Depends on if you count the increased in fequency of mowing I did prior to bring the grass down slowly to about that 1/2". I just tried to do a little bit each night over the course of a few days. These are my estimates:

reel mowing to bring down HOC 5x about 45minutes each mow (3.75hrs)

scarify: over the course of two nights after work and including mowing with the rotary mower to bag everything (4hrs)

aerating: over two nights including picking up all the cores (4hrs)

hand manual aerator along all the curbing and along the dog fence (2hrs)

Sand top dressing/leveling: over the course of two days, including clean up- 6hrs each day (12hrs total)

fertilize: 30 minutes
*Total: apprioximately 26 hours *

riding time in the tractor alone was exactly 5 hours (hour meter now at 30 hrs - 25hrs was from last year with all the projects and lawn reno). I have yet to ever engage the blades on the X354

I am really lucky to have found that aerator. It works really well. And that snow shovel is the best! It works so well, I hardly use my snowblower


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## rhart

It's a lot of work, but it's also very rewarding. I have really enjoyed watching your journey.


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## steffen707

ReelWILawn said:


> @jskierko Thank you! It's been a project i've been looking forward to all season, yet I still wish there was time to do more. Compared to some of my neighbors, all you have to do is mow regularly and fertilize more than once per year and you certainly do more than most 🤣
> 
> @steffen707 Depends on if you count the increased in fequency of mowing I did prior to bring the grass down slowly to about that 1/2". I just tried to do a little bit each night over the course of a few days. These are my estimates:
> 
> reel mowing to bring down HOC 5x about 45minutes each mow (3.75hrs)
> 
> scarify: over the course of two nights after work and including mowing with the rotary mower to bag everything (4hrs)
> 
> aerating: over two nights including picking up all the cores (4hrs)
> 
> hand manual aerator along all the curbing and along the dog fence (2hrs)
> 
> Sand top dressing/leveling: over the course of two days, including clean up- 6hrs each day (12hrs total)
> 
> fertilize: 30 minutes
> *Total: apprioximately 26 hours *
> 
> riding time in the tractor alone was exactly 5 hours (hour meter now at 30 hrs - 25hrs was from last year with all the projects and lawn reno). I have yet to ever engage the blades on the X354
> 
> I am really lucky to have found that aerator. It works really well. And that snow shovel is the best! It works so well, I hardly use my snowblower


So a tool to help you sand top dressing/leveling would be helpful with 12 hours spent on that alone. =)

Great work BTW, lawn looks fantastic. When you did the top dressing, how much of the sand do you think ended up with valleys in the yard vs ended up in the aerator holes, or does it not matter, because both are important to the overall lawn badassery?


----------



## lbb091919

Welcome to the DR Aerator club. Although I'm not much of a member since I haven't used mine yet. Looks like it pulled some nice plugs. I also noticed you left a little spacing between each pass to avoid smashing down the cores. Amazing work as usual.


----------



## Thenenk

Wow great effort! Really cool to see all the pictures along the process.


----------



## ReelWILawn

@rhart Thank you! Appreciate you following along :thumbup:

@steffen707 yes :lol: some type of top dresser would help limit the hours. Anyway, thanks for following along, asking questions, and for the kind words. 
I've been really fortunate that the ground has been really smooth to begin with. Knowing that I would be reel mowing full time I spent a lot of time prior to and during the whole reno process to get the existing soil as soomth as possible. In 2020, I brought in 15 yards of top soil and manually screened it to 1/4" to start the leveling process. I also used that as a practice run to obtain materials and gain additonal skills prior to attempting last year's full renovation. With last year's reno, I brought in 29 yards of top soil and spent a considerable amout of time further leveling and smoothing anything out so I wouldn't say that I had a lot of valleys or big low spots to fill in with sand. With exception of this year's 'Mini Reno' needing a little work and a few spots near the bottom of my front yards where I had some washout/erosion from last years washouts. Overall, it is important for me to fill all the aeration holes with sand to slowly (and I understand this doesnt happent after one or two times) but to start changing the structure and incorporate more sand into the soil. Based on my sand vendor's calculator, with everything being perfect and the amount and size of my aeration holes it would have taken just over 2 tons of sand to fill all the holes. Now, I know this was not perfect and I do have aeration holes that are only filled half way or 3/4 of a way, but if I had to guess at least 1 of the 7 tones I received went into the aeration holes.

@lbb091919Thank you! 
I am really happy with the Dr aerator. It takes a little practice on when to lower or pull up the tines (make sure you're moving first prior to lowering the tines), but it doesn't beat up the turf too badly and produces nice cores. Yes, I originally did about 1k sqft with zero spacing and I was smashing plugs all over the place - more so with my feet. On my machine at least, there is a rubber flap at the back that sort of pushes the plugs together and a little more in the center. I also found if I just spaced the machine slightly off by a tire width I wasnt riding over plugs and the hole spacing between passes remained the same so I didn't feel like I was losing anything.

@Thenenk Thank you, much appreiciated. I enjoy the work, and it's fun having conversations here on TLF. I am always learning something new and I hope I can share even one little bit advice from time to time. Thanks for following along.


----------



## bf7

Nice work man! Judging by those drone shots, you really got it down into the canopy. Mine still looks like a dang beach. 1 ton per k is not easy.

Jealous of the USGA sand. Seemingly no one carries it in my area.


----------



## ReelWILawn

bf7 said:


> Nice work man! Judging by those drone shots, you really got it down into the canopy. Mine still looks like a dang beach. 1 ton per k is not easy.
> 
> Jealous of the USGA sand. Seemingly no one carries it in my area.


Thanks! Took some work but the sand was somewhat dry to slightly damp which helped and I just did small piles at a time. Between raking, the level rake, broom drag, and hand brushing a few area most of it sank into the canopy right away. Now when you're walking on top of it, some of the heavier areas look thin but I think the grass should continue to grow through or spread and fill in any areas. If it will ever stop raining I'll take another set of drone photos to show +8 days.

USGA spec sand can be a challenge to find. I was able to get my sand contact from my John Deere Golf & Turf rep.


----------



## steffen707

bf7 said:


> Nice work man! Judging by those drone shots, you really got it down into the canopy. Mine still looks like a dang beach. 1 ton per k is not easy.
> 
> Jealous of the USGA sand. Seemingly no one carries it in my area.


hey @ReelWILawn , what do you think is your success for getting the sand deep into the canopy? I know you just listed several things you use, but what is the most important part in your opinion? Can you talk a bit about it? did you make it, or buy it? Looks like maybe both.

You mentioned broom drag, but this looks like a mat, are there brooms at the front?


----------



## JerseyGreens

Beautiful work and it will definitely pay off in the long run!


----------



## ReelWILawn

@JerseyGreens Thanks so much. I certainly hope so. The grass is definitely thined out and there are still a few heavier patches of sand but I am just trying to be patient and understand it's going to take a few weeks to recover. If not, there is always next spring.

@steffen707 What did i do to really work the sand into the canopy? Most of it was just down to having a plan and being persistent. But a few items helped:
1)Maybe letting the sand dry as much as possible. I planned to have the sand delivered on a Friday and knew I really would not be working with it until Sunday morning. The sand was also covered at night. If you and any house members can deal with a pile of sand for extra day or two, this helped
2)My process seemed to work pretty well. Only filling up the gorilla cart half way and either slinging it with a shovel or dumping and spreading with a landscape rake. After a few piles I would work everything into the canopy with the leveling rake. Doing smaller sections at a time allowed me to see how far I could get with that sand. This really prevented from over applying sand on the lawn
3)the leveling rake - Probably one of the most important tools. You might be able to see it in action in a couple of photos I posted, but just making a back and forth pass pushed a large majority of sand evenly into the canopy
4)the JD X354 - just really nice to have something pulling the sand around the yard in the gorilla cart. Saved a lot of energy that way
5) the broom drag - most of the sand was already in the canopy by the time I started to use this. And my main purpose was more to help stand up grass blades and work any remaining sand it. Did a great job, but honestly I was probably 90% there prior to doing this. With a smaller yard, I was able to spend more time with the leveling rake.

*The drag design is off of Pete's drag he created a few years ago with just a couple of modifications - mostly how and where the rope attaches. Just a couple of photos to share the brooms on the drag. The metal drag was purchased, but I put everything together. Was really important in last year's renovation but does a great job with sand too.


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## steffen707

@ReelWILawn sweet drag! i'll have to check into Pete's thread. Where did you buy the metal drag? Thanks for all the other tips, should come in handy when I do my first top dressing!

oh, and have you ever tried putting some weight on the drag, does it help/hinder?

Lastly, i wonder if putting the broom portion at the end of the drag would work better. The rough mat moves the bulk while the broom finesses the remainder into the canopy? I'll be testing this out when I do my first top dressing hopefully next fall.

There's a place 12 miles away that supplies USGA sand and topdressing mixtures to golf courses all over Wisconsin. Minnesota and Michigan. https://woloseks.com/golf-course.html

They'll even let me drive to their secondary location to get a load put into my trailer at no additional cost, just have to make sure somebody will be there first. All of their golf stuff isn't held at the "normal residential place".

I know you and most others use pure sand, but what do you think about this, I was wondering maybe one of these blends would be better for me.

"Topdressing Mix-Dry Premium Grade-

Available in premium blends of 90/10, 80/20, and 60/40

A blend of Reed Sedge Peat and No Fines Brand Dry Topdressing Sand

Uniformly mixed to add organics and moisture control

Used for topdressing native soil greens and approaches"


----------



## ReelWILawn

@steffen707 I purchased the drag off Amazon. This is similar to what i purchased (the exact one I purchased was 3'x4' and is not available at the moment)
https://www.amazon.com/All-Steel-Dr...fix=3'wx4'+steel+drag+mat,sporting,137&sr=1-7

Yes, I have applied weight to the drag and it help to really keep it on the groud. I used weight to break up dry dirt and plugs last year during the reno. Without the weights, this this is actually kind of heavy and for most situations I dont feel like I need to add more weight. The drag can hold 3 suitcase weights (each one being 42lbs)









The brooms in the front help break up any material and spread it out just before the material hits the angle iron and drag. Worked great last year during the reno and did a great job of help stand up and the grass and push extra sand into the canopy; however, if there was a way to also attach brooms on the back I dont see why that wouldnt also help. Good idea! I'll have to look into that for maybe next year. Something like this would be really awaseome, but for a home lawn not realistic





Looks like you found your sand source! That's the hardest part. No problem using the peat/sand mix. I had considered using an 80/20 mix, but after speaking with my sand rep he mentioned this is good at retaining water. For me that's, the problem i want to get away from and why i use a penetrant wetting agent. I don't need my lawn to retain any more moisture.


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## ReelWILawn

update over the last week

9/10

wetting agent applied at the higher rate of 3oz/M prior to all the rain we would receive

2.5 oz/M of Simple Lawn Soultions Soil Hume. Found this bottle decided to use up what was left

Massing amount of rain through WI 9/11-9/13. It rained non stop for almost 36 hours (no exaggeration). Received 7.74". No sand washout and the areas that are prone to small pooling during hard rains saw a significant improvement. Most likely a combination of the aeration, sand, and wetting agent.

Mowing - I have mowed twice since applying sand. Both times were at .750" and using my manual reel mower. The first time was +4days and I was definitely kicking up sand. The second time was yesterday +8days and I felt there was little to no sand contact. I think next mow I will probably bring out the 220SL maybe this weekend.

9/14

.10N/M spray AMS

5 oz/M Phite
aerial photos take this afternoon +9 days from applying sand. Things are improving day by day and it will probably take another 2 weeks to recover from the aeration and top dressing.


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## steffen707

For $2800 this could be yours.. Maybe there are softer bristles.


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## steffen707

This one looks so good. Only 9 days later..... Wow!


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## Wile

I really need to sand cap my yard. I just don't have the energy or tools to do this right. But I will spot fill a few areas. What's your native soil type?


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## ReelWILawn

@steffen707 thanks! The backyard was very level to begin with and as such didn't have too my low spot for sand to collect. The main front hard is probably the least smooth pre leveling due to all the rain and washouts last year. With that being said if you check out the photos of the front areas on the previous page they have started to recover well.

That front end brush is cool idea and might work if the bristles aren't too harsh. But for that money, I would put it towards some other piece of equipment I probably don't need.

@Wile 
I think if you're motivated you can do it, no problem. Best advice is give yourself plenty of time and don't feel like you need to get it done all in one day. A gorilla cart, a landscape rake, leveling rake, and a shovel is all that is really needed. And those are items that can be used for multiple yard tasks and projects.Parts of last years reno were more taxing and difficult than the sand.

I had a soil texture test performed at the lab this year when I sent in my samples for testing. My native soil is classified as 'loam' - 44% sand, 33% silt, 23% clay. I think I might have shared those results and this years soil test results back a few pages. The silt and clay percentages still make the soil feel heavy and can drain slowly. The wetting agent I've been using this year I believe to be helping with that


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## mribbens

Amazing work and recovery, and 7 inches of rain, unreal, I got just over 3 inches, so my 600 lbs of sand is worked in pretty well


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## Kiza

That's actually a good soil texture composition for a home lawn. Were you trying to get somewhere in-between the loam and sandy loam range? I know clay gets a bad rap, but it will naturally increase your CEC. And as great as sand is for structure, it's not the best medium to establish new growth. That being said, pro sports turf fields now have almost all, if not all, sand, and sand does really push your lawn visually to the next level. The USGA has some strict standards for sand, so that was a good find. Nice work!

I've heard that once you start sanding, you have to keep on sanding every year. Is this true? If so, why?

Also, I might have missed it, but what wetting agent are you using? Which ones have you tried so far?


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## ReelWILawn

Thanks @mribbens ! I have never seen rain like that before. But everything is in good shape and the ground absorbed everything no problem.

@Kiza Thanks for the comments and questions. I am trying to incorporate additional sand into the profile by filling the aeration holes but I do not have a specific target soil texture I am aiming for. A more sandy loam would be preferred to help improve drainage and to help make the soil less dense/clay like. Ultimately looking for a smooth somewhat firm surface. Agreed, attempting to grow grass in straight sand probably increases the difficulty, but it's possible and it's going to take years before I have inches of sand anyway. Do you have to keep sanding every year? Not sure I can accurately answer that for all solutions. It's probably a 'it depends' type of answer. The goal would be light and frequent top dressings throughout the growing season as a best practice. If my understanding is correct, there is potential for excess of thatch/organic material to build up thus creating layering in your soil profile if you were to stop. The build up of this organic material could inhibit water, nutrients, etc. When would this happen? How much sand would need to be applied and for how many years before stopping causes an issue. Sounds like a fun research study, but my plan is to continue with light applications moving forward.

for the wetting agent, I spoke about this earlier this year and why I think this product has been working for me:


> Flo Thru A-Plus from Plant Food Co is an intersting product, or 'wetting agent'. I have a loam soil texture that can be heavy and can hold a lot of water....until it dries out. This is a reason why I cannot irrigate for long stretches of time previously and it's better for me to utilize soak features with my irrigation controller. I also experienced last year after heavy rains that the ground just seemed to be saturated for long periods of time. I have been using this product since early April and I think there has been a big improvement with water infiltration and limiting LDS (which I have not had any this year). I would not say I have high sodium levels at 25.6 ppm but I do have high Cal and Mag (especially Mag). With this product being acid based this should help penetrant and help disolve [or reduce] some of those soil carbonates/bicarbonates. At least that's what the hope is. Second, I needed something that was a penetrant that helped push the water down and through the soil. Overall, i've been very happy with this and I believe I have been seeing results from using this product. On areas that used to stay wet, soggy, and saturated for a long time now completely pull water within 15 minutes after a heavy rain and I no longer have ponding or puddling issues. Overall, the soil remains somewhat firm and there is faster water penetration into the soil which also helps with run off. I think all of these add up to limit LDS or in my case not really experience them this year. A word of warning with this specific product, and I think it's called out on the label. It works really good at pulling water through the soil..... almost too good. If you apply at a higher rate and there is no rain it seems to quickly dry out the soil. I used a high (3oz/M bi weekly)rate in the spring and since then i've only been using about 1.5oz/M every two weeks./quote]


----------



## ReelWILawn

Back to reel mowing with the 220SL (+11 days post sand). No audible sounds of sand in the reel and no physical amounts in the basket that I could see.

*9/16*

Bench height raised to .875"

clipping volume yield 63mL/m2

*9/17*

mowed again. Lowered bench HOC to .750". I will probably stay here for the rest of the year

clipping volume yield 61mL/m2

applied granular EC Grow Prolinks 23-0-8 .23N/M & .08K/M


full yard trim and edge along street curb, driveway/sidewalk, landscape curbing

lawn is starting to look better each day and recover from all the stress I threw at it. Most of the areas are pretty good, but there are still some thin spots and visable sand. It's still going to take a little while. In terms of mowing with the JD 220SL there is an improvement with how level everything is. Not pool table smooth yet, but a big improvment on what I thought was already pretty smooth.

Change it up a little with a few photos from different vantage points


















































































ran the full irrigation cycle Sunday am. Always enjoy watching the irrigation early in the AM. Last zone running on the way to walk the dogs.









wanted to say thank you to @SNOWBOB11 for allowing me to ask a question on your journal regarding handheld spreaders and for your advice along with all the feedback from @Babameca @jskierko @LIgrass @g-man @JerseyGreens
@lbb091919 . I went ahead and applied my last application of granular via both the Scotts Wizz and the Spyker hand crank. Both worked really well, but I might prefer the hand crank version as you can really control how fast the prills are coming out via the crank. Really easy to apply in both directions and this was with a 150SGN product. Probably saved me time as I did not have to turn my Spreader Mate into spreader only mode. I can see why the Scotts Whirl would be nice with the arm support feature. Anyway, pretty happy with the process and unless I need to apply in greater volumes I think I am fully commited to handheld spreaders now. Thanks again!

In terms of granular fertilizers what is everyone using. I plan to switch to straight AMS for the rest of the season and I am still on the hunt for smaller prills. This is what I have in my arsenal (although I forgot to include my mini prilled SOP). Big difference in the two AMS products from APF. The Solugreen and Uflexx, I also melt down and spray those versions.


----------



## Babameca

I would spray the uflexx, should dissolve easily.
The AMS, if you consider spreading, 100sgn anytime. But if the regular pril is much cheaper, you may consider dissolve and spraying.


----------



## g-man

I spread any SGN right before I mow with the groomer on. This gets the prills below the canopy for me.


----------



## Babameca

steffen707 said:


> For $2800 this could be yours.. Maybe there are softer bristles.


This works great for tenth of the price, if you own ego tools.
https://egopowerplus.com/multi-head-bristle-brush/


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## ReelWILawn

@Babameca good to know. I have a Stihl Kombi unit and they make what appears to be almost exactly the same as the ego. I only ever spray the Uflexx. Usually my go to N source with PGR or whatever else I am spraying when I require more than .15N- works great, dissolves almost instantly, great long lasting color response. For the AMS, I've spread the larger prill product a few times this year with my Lesco but I'll give it a try with the handheld to see if spreading results improve. The smaller prilled solugreen AMS is fantastic stuff. I primarily use this in tank mixes as well. I would like to try spreading this but it's so light that I feel like I would need almost a windless opportunity. The solugreen is only $3 more a bag so if it works well spreading that might just be my main N product moving forward. Thanks for the feedback!

@g-man thats a good idea. I usually just do not collect the clippings for at least the first mow after granular but still have the larger prills sit onto of the canopy sometimes. Usually an irrigation cycle gets most of it down. Anyway, another reason to continue searching for a 220e with GTCs.


----------



## JerseyGreens

Gonna highjack your journal for a second whilst also giving recommendation...I've been using 100 prill AMS and I think a 200 Urea the past few years - no issues...I ran out of the 100 prill AMS and will be using something closer to 200...I'll let you know how it goes. For thick, carpet-like, short curt turf the larger prill sizes can become difficult to get down closer to the soil.

@Babameca - I have one of those but don't you find it too aggressive on the turf?

Lastly, your lawn is looking superb @ReelWILawn!


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## Babameca

Not at all. Had same concern before trying. I can brush my sand top dressing in under 1h with minimal effort.


----------



## bf7

Handheld spreaders are the best, IMO. I had 40 lbs of product to spread yesterday and opted to refill the handheld 7 times instead of filling my Lesco push spreader once. The evenness and control over the application are unmatched.

Recovery looks great! It really starts to look silky smooth after the first couple of mows.


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## ReelWILawn

@JerseyGreens Thanks! And feel free to ask whatever questions here. In fact, I encourage anyone to ask questions or start a conversation on my journal. There are tons of good advice, recommendations, feedback when we all get going on some deep dive / obscure topic.

@Babameca That's good to hear! I thought about it but was worried it might be too aggressive. Never too early to start budgeting for next year!

@bf7 unhooking my Spreader Mate to use the Lesco spreader was a minor inconvenience but I am kicking myself for not trying handheld spreaders sooner. Always here to learn and I am glad I asked. The evenness and control as you mentioned are great.


----------



## Jeff_MI84

I have a Lesco handheld spreader. It's my go to with granular fungicides. At the most I fill it twice. Plus, when there's only a little bit left in the hopper I use it with my fertilizer on the lowest setting.


----------



## steffen707

Babameca said:


> steffen707 said:
> 
> 
> 
> For $2800 this could be yours.. Maybe there are softer bristles.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This works great for tenth of the price, if you own ego tools.
> https://egopowerplus.com/multi-head-bristle-brush/
Click to expand...

I have a Milwaukee powerhead. I was going to try their brush when I try top dressing. This egos bristles look softer though, ego might be better.

Edit:woah, the ego brush is $220, the brush and power head is $270......powerhead for $50 is cheap. Maybe a Home Depot will have both ego and Milwaukee brushes so I can compare.


----------



## steffen707

Sounds like many of you are hand spreading, other than the Lesco, what other Brand/Models do you guys recommend?


----------



## ReelWILawn

Jeff_MI84 said:


> I have a Lesco handheld spreader. It's my go to with granular fungicides. At the most I fill it twice. Plus, when there's only a little bit left in the hopper I use it with my fertilizer on the lowest setting.


I have the the same hand spreader I think. I believe Spyker makes the Lesco handheld. Works pretty good! Even if you have to refill it multiple times it makes you walk in different directions which can only aide in even coverage

https://www.spyker.com/product/hhs100-spyker-handheld-spreader/

9/19 - mow last night. Bench height .750"
No clippings collected. I like to mow at least once without the basket following a granular application. Nice thing about using greens grade or in my case last time 'fairway grade' that product is pretty small and sinks into the canopy at application. Grass is really taking off and recovery is on the right path. +14 days from top dressing and there is very little sand to be seen. I would think in another week I wont be able to notice anything at all. Only other new development is that the grass is growing rather quickly. I am thinking about applying PGR at a lower rate here to help slow some of that top grow and push more roots / horizontal growth


----------



## Ben4Birdies

Beautiful looking carpet you have there! Do you ever practice any chip shots on it just for fun?


----------



## steffen707

ReelWILawn said:


> Jeff_MI84 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have a Lesco handheld spreader. It's my go to with granular fungicides. At the most I fill it twice. Plus, when there's only a little bit left in the hopper I use it with my fertilizer on the lowest setting.
> 
> 
> 
> I have the the same hand spreader I think. I beleive Spyker makes the Lesco handheld. Works pretty good! Even if you have to refill it multiple times it makes you walk in different directions which can only aide in even coverage
> 
> https://www.spyker.com/product/hhs100-spyker-handheld-spreader/
Click to expand...

Wow, figured you guys had fancy battery powered ones, $40 seems reasonable.


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## steffen707

Which looks like it would do a better job? The Milwaukee looks softer, but I don't know if that's better.


----------



## ReelWILawn

Ben4Birdies said:


> Beautiful looking carpet you have there! Do you ever practice any chip shots on it just for fun?


Thanks @Ben4Birdies ! No golf taking place anywhere on the lawn. I don't golf but I am fascinated by golf courses



steffen707 said:


> Sounds like many of you are hand spreading, other than the Lesco, what other Brand/Models do you guys recommend?





steffen707 said:


> Wow, figured you guys had fancy battery powered ones, $40 seems reasonable.


@steffen707 i think the majority are using one or a combination of the Scott's Whirl or Scotts Wizz (which is battery powered). Each are in the $20-25 range.

I used the Wizz for the first time last weekend and it worked pretty well. I'll give it another try however I may prefer the hand crack version. There's probably more options such as the Spyker which they make for a number of other companies such as Lesco but the Scott's are cheap, seem to work well, and are easy to get.

I also thought about trying a chest spreader such as the Solo 421 but decided against it. Curious to know if anyone has experience with those.


----------



## Kiza

ReelWILawn said:


> I used the Wizz for the first time last weekend and it worked pretty well. I'll give it another try however I may prefer the hand crack version. There's probably more options such as the Spyker which they make for a number of other companies such as Lesco but the Scott's are cheap, seem to work well, and are easy to get.
> 
> I also thought about trying a chest spreader such as the Solo 421 but decided against it. Curious to know if anyone has experience with those.


I'm not a fan of the Wizz. Don't get me wrong, I love automation, but a hand spreader is something you want to do manually, since the whole purpose is to get more control in a fixed area. I also feel the battery powered ones clog up a bit more.

The Scotts/Lesco/Spyker manual handheld spreader
This is my go to. It's not perfect, but it does the job.

Solo 421
I have mixed feelings about this. First, for a portable, it's huge/bulky and thus, you lose some control. That and the spread itself is wide (tho there is a flap). It's also tricky to remove material from the bin because of the design. The plus is that it is very smooth and it has such a crisp spread pattern. I dunno, if I needed to push out a large amount of material, at that point, I would just use a push spreader.


----------



## ReelWILawn

@Kiza Thanks for the feedback. I agree, the Wizz is ok but the crank/manual handheld spreaders are pretty nice. With that being said, I have also read people liking the Wizz. I guess whatever works.

Have you tried the Solo 421? What's your typical go to piece of equipment for granular fertilizer? I think everything you mentioned is in line with all the reviews and videos i've seen about it. Looks like you could control it's output well but what I found initially interesting is I think it only holds 10lbs of product and has a funnel like hopper. In theory it seems like it would be a good fit.


----------



## Kiza

I have used the Solo 421 to spread seed. It looks like it can hold a lot more than 10 lbs, but I guess that depends on what you're spreading. For fertilizer, I switch between 2 spreaders: the Lesco 80# and the Anderson Yard Star (50# bucket). Both have pros and cons, but overall, I'm happy with them.

Speaking of fertilizer, the 16-0-8 Country Club Humic Max (rubs eyes, $70) is back in stock.


----------



## ReelWILawn

about time for an update here!

Been pretty busy the last two weeks and have not had a chance to get caught up on my journal and been falling a little behind in what everyone has been up to as well. Finally addressed the back bed area yesterday by planting new rose bushes and relocated our remaining healthy (6) boxwoods. Still planning on making a few changes. Not sure if we will get to it this fall or if we will address it next spring. Far from what I want, but always something to work on.

Pretty high level summary to share. I would say +4 weeks (tomorrow) top dressing with sand the lawn is completely recovered and is doing really well. I have had a surprising number of visitors stop by over the last week to take pictures, wanting to talk to me, or to simply to touch the grass. My neighborhood has a lot of landscapers from different companies and they are usually the best to watch. From driving really slow to turning back around for a second look. I had one crew stop, get out of their trucks knee down and take photos last week. If my fellow neighbors would just mow properly, fertilize properly, and *water properly* some of their lawns might actually look nice. Anyone have a good lookie-loo story this season?

No major issues other than needing to replacing my one center full circle rotor that stopped rotating (kind of the whole point). Other than that, i've been just keeping up with the mowing and attempting to apply lower weekly rates of nitrogen. Week of 9/19 we had about a week's worth of poor weather - damp, cold, wet, windy, no sun. Difficult to keep up with the mowing that week and wasn't able to apply any fertilizer as the conditions never allowed for it. With what's been going on weather wise in the southeast, there is nothing to complain about here. My rotary siccors also stopped working the last week. Ended up completely disassembling the unit, thouroughly cleaning everything, sharpening the blades, and regreasing everything before putting it all back together (rember to take pictures). Was without them for about a week as I only had enough time to work on it sparingly. It was probably due for this type of service but they work like new now.


9/21 - last prodiamine app at the low rate of 5g/M
9/28 - foliar spray: .10N/M AMS, 1.5oz Feature/M, Phite 5 fl oz/M
10/1 granular APF AMS @ .25N/M
10/2 Citric Acid @ 1lb/M. Timed during this morning's full irrigation cycle. Probably will be my last CA app for the year
Because the grass is really starting to shut down around Halloween, we typically only have about the first two weeks of October with good growth potential. With that my fall blitz really starts early to mid August. Ending growth potential: August 97%, September 91%.

*Fall Fertilizer program to date*
N: 1.67 lbs / M
P: 0 lbs / M
K: .25lbs / M

*NPK Year to date*
N: 3.958 lbs /M
P: 0 lbs / M
K: 2.61 lbs / M

With this being a grow in year, I was targeting to get down about 4-5lbsN/M. As of now, I feel like I am right on track and plan to do two more .25lbs apps the next two weeks. With maybe one small foliar spray for Halloween week that should pretty much wrap up the 2022 season in the next 30 days. As always, thanks for reading!

*photos taken Friday September 30th







*


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## Ben4Birdies

Those stripes are stunning!

Gave me an idea… your checkerboard pattern is so on point, you could invent a new yard game… “Lawn Chess”!

Buy some huge chess pieces, or if there is a big enough local chess club you could have the kids pretend to be the pieces!!! 😃


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## Wile

The quality of cut looks so tight right now. Did you mow in several directions in one day or just switch it up every cut?


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## ReelWILawn

Ben4Birdies said:


> Those stripes are stunning!
> 
> Gave me an idea… your checkerboard pattern is so on point, you could invent a new yard game… “Lawn Chess”!
> 
> Buy some huge chess pieces, or if there is a big enough local chess club you could have the kids pretend to be the pieces!!! 😃


Thanks! The chekerboard pattern is probably my favorite to mow. I never thought about playing chess or checkers out on the lawn 😄! But I am always looking to find more ways to what I imagine are questions from my neighbors - "what is this guy doing now?"



Wile said:


> The quality of cut looks so tight right now. Did you mow in several directions in one day or just switch it up every cut?


Thank you!! Pretty happy with the cut at the moment. I've spent pretty much the whole season tinkering with the 220 SL to better understand how finicky the reel to bedknife adjustments can be & backlapping intervals. Still not totally happy with it to be honest (still looking for a 7 blade or any 220E's at a fair price). To be fair, I think this is either the first or second cut after I recently backlapped the reel. This mow was also a double cut in the checkerboard pattern which certainly helps, but I did not pick up too many clippings in the second cut. I do typically change up the mowing direction every time and my normal procedure is to only single cut during the work week and double cut on the weekends for the most part. My work week 'maintenance mows' while I still try to make everything as clean and straight as possible my priority is to just get it cut. On the weekends i'll spend a little more time. But what i've noticed what works the best in keeping everything flat/even/clean looking cut has been mowing on regular intervals all season. During the summer I was mowing every 3rd day and so far in the fall i've been mowing every 2 days. This certainly has seemed to help with that.


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## uts

bf7 said:


> Handheld spreaders are the best, IMO. I had 40 lbs of product to spread yesterday and opted to refill the handheld 7 times instead of filling my Lesco push spreader once. The evenness and control over the application are unmatched.
> 
> Recovery looks great! It really starts to look silky smooth after the first couple of mows.


Just came across this. Hsve you tried a drop spreader. I'm fairly certain you will really like it.


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## bf7

@uts I love using my drop spreader for large seeding areas. It's great if you don't want whatever you're spreading to go into mulch beds and whatnot.


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## ReelWILawn

@uts @bf7 Thanks for the suggestions! I do have a drop spreader, but I typically only use it for seeding. I have not used it for anything else, but I think that would work as well. So far i've done two applications of granular product using my hand spreader and this has worked really well. The accuracy and coverage is great. Apreciate all the suggestions and sharing best practices!


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## ReelWILawn

Week of 10/3 Update

overall, things are slowing down here in SE WI. High temps have been in the low to mid 60's for the most part and lows in the 40's & 30's. First frost for our area was early Saturday morning on 10/8 although no actual frost on the lawn here thanks in part to the short cut grass and with the aid of frost warnings on my PWS, a short irrigation cycle cycle ran just prior to the actual frost.


Enjoyed some time out on the lawn for one of the dog's birthday's. It was one of those final perfect fall days.



















10/4 single cut mow in diagonal pattern. Finshed just before dark - next mower will have a light to help with these fall mows. Clipping volume yield was 46mL/m2








10/5











10/6 Wetting Agent Flo Thru @ 2 fl oz/ M
10/8 double cut in checkerboard pattern. +4 days from last mow and less clippings. Clipping volume yield 39mL/m2. Bench HOC .750".The mowing every 2 days was a short interval that probably only lasted a week. Still getting good growth from the grass, but based on what I am seeing and my notes from last year we probably only have about 2-3 weeks left of good growing & mowing conditions. Just enough time for a couple more spoon feedings and a handful of mows.











10/9 full edge and trim around the whole yard today. Added some additional sand to the 'mini reno' area - aka The Hole. Not sure if i've gotten a litte more setteling the past month, the surrounding area is smoother, or both. Either way, this spot is going to take more work next year with more targeted and frequented top dressings to slowly work on this over time. Not a big deal, figured this was going to be the case.
10/9 cont. applied .25N/M via granular AMS


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## steffen707

The lawn is looking great! almost ready for a long winters nap.


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## ReelWILawn

steffen707 said:


> The lawn is looking great! almost ready for a long winters nap.


Thank you! It's doing pretty well at the moment, but probably only a few weeks left. Season recap and plans for next year should keep me busy.


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## Jeff_MI84

@ReelWILawn any big plans on the docket for 2023?


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## ReelWILawn

Jeff_MI84 said:


> @ReelWILawn any big plans on the docket for 2023?


possibly looking into some shade/covering for our deck, additional plantings in our back yard bed still tyring to piece that together, additional irrigation audits/nozzel adjustments, PWS integration, re think how i record lawn inputs into a journal, etc. Lots to do 😁... not enough time.


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## steffen707

ReelWILawn said:


> possibly looking into some shade/covering for our deck, additional plantings in our back yard bed still tyring to piece that together, additional irrigation audits/nozzel adjustments, PWS integration, re think how i record lawn inputs into a journal, etc. Lots to do 😁... not enough time.


I've been using Google docs. I plan out each application for the whole season, then add in additional stuff and change dates of when things really happened so I can look back at spreader settings and how much was out out when, ect.


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## ReelWILawn

steffen707 said:


> I've been using Google docs. I plan out each application for the whole season, then add in additional stuff and change dates of when things really happened so I can look back at spreader settings and how much was out out when, ect.


That's a good suggestion, and something i've done similar this year as well. Google Docs are nice as I can pull up any of the lawn information I have stored there while usually in the garage. I am looking to make it a little more detailed with information regarding timings, rates, cost per application, etc. along with weather data download from my PWS.


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## ReelWILawn

Week of 10/10 Update


Not too much to report this week. We had what will most likely be our last 70's degree day of the year on 10/11. Beyond that it's been a little colder than usual with highs in the 40's & 50's for this time of the year
10/15- double cut in diagonal patterns. Bench HOC .750". Clipping volume yield: 60mL/m2 (last mow was 7 days ago)
10/15 cont.- applied .25N/M granular AMS. This will most likely be one of the last applications of the year. 2.17N/M for fall blitz & 4.458N/M for the year

Weather seems to have been slightly colder than usual. It's been cloudy, rainy, and temps have been lower than usual. It's almost as though we've skipped October and moved into November already. Lawn is doing pretty well though. Color is actually pretty good and the grass is still growing but it's starting to slow down. At this point, I think I will probably only need to mow once a week for the rest of the season. We are due for cold air to move in tonight and are expecting to have lows from the mid 20's to low 30's overnight or early mornings over the next few days. This will really start to shut the lawn down for the season. Starting Thursday though, the weather forecast does have our area returning to what I think is more normal mid October weather with highs in the 60's and lows in the 40's. Only real concern for me is that the irrigation is not scheduled to be blown out until October 28th.... Normally this isn't an issue but I do have some anxiety for the next few days. I've done my best to protect the blackflow preventer and main pipes. Main water is turned off in the basement, and i've covered any above ground with pipe insulation, towels, and blankets. It should only drop into the 20's for a short period of time early in the morning and all I am trying to do is to keep the wind off and hopefully a degree or three warmer. Wish me luck.


















Lawn photos taken today on 10/16. Another dreary day.


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## jskierko

Have you considered running the system in the AM the days where it gets really cold? This is not an endorsement, as I really am not knowledgable enough to give irrigation advice, but I liken it to people leaving their sink dripping so their pipes don't freeze. Just the flow of the water and the water temp being warmer than the air temp preventing any freeze/damage to the system. That being said, we have lows dipping down into the 20's the next few nights so I blew my system out today. I felt that anxiety and didn't want to chance it. I have a 15 gallon compressor and it still took me a few hours, mostly time waiting for the tank to refill which I used to pull some weeds and grass in the mulch beds.


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## ReelWILawn

@jskierko thanks for the recommendation and that thought crossed my mind as it seems plausible. I think if it was going to get colder than 25° for long periods of time I might consider running the system a couple of minutes over night. As of now it just looks like it’s the next 3 nights that look to get below freezing before we warm back up. Soil temps are still in the mid to upper 40’s so I am not too concerned about everything below ground. Hope is not a strategy, but I am thinking what I’ve done might provide just enough insulation. Good news is that we warm up above freezing every day. I’ll find out on Thursday. I have a small 1.5 gallon air compressor, but that hardly removes the water from the garden hoses. I’ve thought about looking into doing it myself but the cost for irrigation companies to do it in my area is relatively inexpensive and the provider that installed my system will cover anything damaged in the spring for the first 5 years…. Pending they are the ones who blew the system out … so they kind of have me for the next 3 years.


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## g-man

Water temp in the lines is around 50F or higher at the moment. Running for a few minutes at 6am should warm up the pipes. The likelihood of getting a hard freeze inside the pipe are very remote when we are still above 25F. I went on vacation and did not blow my system, so I'm doing a 10min cycle at 6am and another one at 7am.

Another option is to get an electrical cord that you wrap around the pipe and plug it to a socket. It has a temp thing that turns it on once it gets to ~35F. Useful for the above ground sections.


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## g-man

Limited-time deal: VEVOR Pipe Heating Cable, 6-feet 7W Heat Tape for Pipes with Built-in Thermostat, Protects PVC Hose, Metal and Plastic Pipe from Freezing, 120V https://a.co/d/gp75O0G


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## ReelWILawn

thanks @g-man appreciate the suggestion with the warming electrical cord. I went to home depot today and purchased one. Honestly, maybe a good yearly practice to put one on the above ground sections in the month of October until the system is blow out as a precaution. Even in WI, this weather this time of the year is unusual. Just went out and checked and the cords and pipes are slightly warm (not hot) to the touch. Should do enough to warm the water in the pipes and the backflow preventer. Forecasted highs for this weekend is 70 degrees. Only in the midwest, right?


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## g-man

I need to add an extension to be able to plug one near my backflow. A project for next year. I'm in the Caribbean fall break with 85F weather this week and should return to that 70F Midwest warm up.


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## SNOWBOB11

g-man said:


> I need to add an extension to be able to plug one near my backflow. A project for next year. I'm in the Caribbean fall break with 85F weather this week and should return to that 70F Midwest warm up.


Have fun in Puerto Rico. I assume that’s where you are being you changed your flag lol.


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## g-man

SNOWBOB11 said:


> Have fun in Puerto Rico. I assume that’s where you are being you changed your flag lol.


I did not change the flag. I think it picks up the location closer to the IP address. Odd, i will need to ask our new overlords.


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## ReelWILawn

g-man said:


> I need to add an extension to be able to plug one near my backflow. A project for next year. I'm in the Caribbean fall break with 85F weather this week and should return to that 70F Midwest warm up.


I am lucky to have two outdoor GFCI oultets just around the corner and reachable by about 20ft of extension cord. If I was able to do it all again or have the ability to, (we purchased this house just as the pandemic was set to take off in April 2020) I would have outlets put in everywhere.

Enjoy the vaction! You will have missed 'winter preview' and return just in time for 'second fall'


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## BigRedGun

This weather is dumb. We always talk about the Halloween snow storm a couple decades back, but very unusual we have below freezing temps this early in Nebraska.


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## ReelWILawn

BigRedGun said:


> This weather is dumb. We always talk about the Halloween snow storm a couple decades back, but very unusual we have below freezing temps this early in Nebraska.


Yes it seems very strange and early. I was just looking at some reports from the national weather service and current freeze warnings and watches are across most of the central and eastern US.


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## ReelWILawn

Weekly Update 10/17

Slightly early for this type of colder weather here that seemed to impact most of central and eastern US this past week. Highs only in the 40's and lows near freezing. Low temp was early wednesday morning at 28 degrees. And then just like typical midwest weather, we left winter preview and headed into second fall. Last three days we were able to enjoy weather in the 70's. We should have at least one more nice today tomorrow (Monday), but i suspect it will be a long time before we see weather this nice again. Living in the upper midwest, you just learn to accept when winter is coming.

Concern last week was that my irrigation was still on heading into a cold week. Happy to report no issues and looks like I should be fine the rest of this lawn season. Irrigation is set to be blown out on Friday. We did get temps monday-thursday where the lows were between 32-28 degrees but they only lasted for a few hours early in the morning. I was never really concerned about the irrigation lines in the ground or any of the heads as soil temps were still +40 degrees and acted like an insulation blanket. I was more concerned about the copper pipes and backflow preventer above ground. On some great advice, I went to home depot on Monday and purchased an electric heating cable that I attached to the two water main pipes coming from the house into the backflow preventer and then into the ground. This has a thermostat that only turns on when temps reach 38 degrees or below and then turns off when the pipes reach 50 degrees. I went out at least twice a day during the week to check and it seemed to work as suggested. Turned off during the day, and then the cables started heating througout the night and into the morning. I was a little worried at first about the heating cable coming into contact with the plastic backflow, but the cable barely gets warm as do the pipes. Read the instructions as what you purchase may differ, but looks like these are ok to use on a variety of materials. Next year I think I will make sure to have some of the cable come in more contact with the backflow preventer. I also wrapped the pipes in insulation to retain some of the heat from the wind. All this seemed to work really well and I think a new procedure will be to install the heating cable every October. Having typcially needed to use the irrigation in the month of October I usually request later appointments to have my system blown out (original appointment was 9/29). This might help get through a cold night or two.









heating cable at home depot
Frost King 6 ft. Electric Water Pipe Heat Cable HC6A - The Home Depot

I also purchaed one of these backflow preventer covers as precaution incase I really needed it. It's multi layered and would seem to do a better job than just a blanket or towel. As we typically get a lot of winter weather I am planning on putting this back on just to keep the backflow preveter and pipes protected from the winter elements (I also cover our A/C unit every year).
https://www.amazon.com/Preventer-Insulation-Protection-Irrigation-Sprinkler/dp/B09NBJ2HQ2/ref=sr_1_8?crid=2TIC93HW9DHC&keywords=backflow+preventer+insulation+cover&qid=1666577752&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI1Ljk3IiwicXNhIjoiNS42NSIsInFzcCI6IjUuMzcifQ==&sprefix=backflow+,aps,299&sr=8-8

Are these necessary? It's debatable. In terms of insurance to help get you through a few nights at or slightly below freezing prior to having your system blown out, I think it's a realtively cheap option. And if they help you worry less (like me) totally worth it. It should be stated that any place that freezes you should properly have your irrigation system winterized and I would not recommed or suggest these be used as a replacment for that process.

10/22

only one mow this week (yesterday). HOC is still at .750"
clipping yield has dropped - not surprised with the weather. clipping volume yield was 17mL/m2.
.073 N/M uflexx & 5 fl oz/M Phite - both applied foliar.
N Fall blitz at 2.243N/M . Year N 4.531/M
10/23

full irrigation cycle. It's been a dry month, only recording .68" of rainfall
started the winter prep process. Cleaned up the X354 and parked it at the back of the garage


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## ReelWILawn

Weekly Update 10/24
Season is coming to an end. Last few apps in this past week and most likely only a few more mows the rest of the year.

10/25

Wetting agent Plant Food Co Flo Thru @ 3 fl oz/M timed with .58" of rain over 24 hours
10/27

.10N/M uflexx & FeAture 2oz/M - the end of the season Halloween tank mix. Our trick-or-treating was on Saturday and the lawn looked a little better today than yesterday. Next year i'll try to time this 3 days prior
N Fall Blitz at 2.343/M. Year 4.631N/M
10/28

Irrigation blown out
mow at bench HOC .750"
clipping volume yield: 34mL/m2. Following the early season cold snap the, we've had some late season warm weather this past week. We've lost a little color, but still getting good growth this time of the year. Have been mowing only once a week and will probably stop once the clipping volume is below 10mL/m2
10/29

full edge and rotary scissors
trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. absolutely perfect day, high temp 66 degrees and sunny all day. Had a small party with friends, handed out candy, and answered questions about the lawn

As we are coming to the end of the season I looked out at the lawn yesterday and felt really good on how far it's come along in the past year following the renovation. I will be the first to say what all the issues I still think I have and point out the imperfections; however, I am happy with the results this year and feel like it's better overall than last year at this time, and significantly better than two years ago prior to the renovation.


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## zeus201

Imperfections lol, I think your lawn is amazing. Lawns like yours makes me second guess my Mazama mono.


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## ReelWILawn

zeus201 said:


> Imperfections lol, I think your lawn is amazing. Lawns like yours makes me second guess my Mazama mono.


Thank you for the kind words  . There is always something to work on and that's what makes it fun and intersting. I try my best to show everything how it is, and I am planning on showing some of the improvements and areas that will need more work next year. Cannot go wrong with a Mazama monostand. There are a few journals on here with Mazama and they look great! I orginally was thinking about adding Mazama; however, I selected Blue Note instead for my compact America cultivars. At the end of the day,most elite KBG cultivars are going to look outstanding. Are you planning for a renovation next year?


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## zeus201

ReelWILawn said:


> Thank you for the kind words  . There is always something to work on and that's what makes it fun and intersting. I try my best to show everything how it is, and I am planning on showing some of the improvements and areas that will need more work next year. Cannot go wrong with a Mazama monostand. There are a few journals on here with Mazama and they look great! I orginally was thinking about adding Mazama; however, I selected Blue Note instead for my compact America cultivars. At the end of the day,most elite KBG cultivars are going to look outstanding. Are you planning for a renovation next year?


I've really enjoyed following your journal. A lot the things you did this season I wanted to do, but just lacked the time to get to it. Basically was in cruise control all season just maintaining the turf. 

There is one last section of lawn which I'll kill off next summer and everything will be Mazama mono. Agree, elite stands are way nicer, just only wish Mazama had more of an aggressive growth habit.


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## ReelWILawn

zeus201 said:


> I've really enjoyed following your journal. A lot the things you did this season I wanted to do, but just lacked the time to get to it. Basically was in cruise control all season just maintaining the turf.
> 
> There is one last section of lawn which I'll kill off next summer and everything will be Mazama mono. Agree, elite stands are way nicer, just only wish Mazama had more of an aggressive growth habit.


Thanks for following along, I really appreciate it!. Hopefully, I've shared a topic or two that was interesting and maybe some best practices on what to do or better yet what not to do. I know what you mean regarding cruise control in season. Sometimes we get busy and it's best to just do the normal maintenance tasks.

I look forward to hearing about your final reno next year. Mazama mono looks incredible. All the compact varieties seem to take a while to get going and it was not until this late spring/early summer that my KBG really started to take off and agressive grow and spread. Combined with small spoon feedings every 7-10 days along with being on PGR all reason seemed to help.


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## ReelWILawn

Weekly Update 10/31

Not a lot going on this time of the year. We've had some mild temps with a few days in the 70's and 60's this week which is probably above average for this time of the year. Because of that, the grass is still growing (slightly) and the color doesn't look too bad either for early November here in the upper MidWest. That will most likely change as starting next weekend it looks like we start getting to the time of year when the high temps are in the 30's - it's probably a few weeks early for that, but the lawn will most likely shut down by then and that's ok. I am already starting to think about next year.

Most likely all done with applications for the season as well. I may spray another wetting agent as I've been reading some research on late season applications of wetting agents that help the turf going into winter, through winter, and maybe aid in spring green up / overall health. I've also been thinking about applying a snow mold prevention; however, I am not sure I will. The really good chemistry is not labled for residential turf and I dont feel like I have done enough research on what to apply and when. I wonder if it's better to just conserve what I have for when it's really needed in the hot, humid summers. I have gotten snow mold before and the grass just looks bad from an aestetics stand point but to be fair all the lawns and grass areas look terrible in March and early April anyway. Grass usually just grows out fine come May. I would be interested to know who has done snow mold prevention apps in the past, what your process (apps, timing, chemistries) was, and what the results were. 

11/4 &11/5

received 3.17" of rain. Was just starting to run into a deficit prior to this but this should really help going into winter
11/6

What may most likely by my final mow of the year. Bench HOC .750"
Clipping volume yield 29mL/m2 over 9 days. Double cut in one diagonal pattern
rotary scissors along concrete lawn edging


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## bf7

I am interested in your winter wetting agent experiment. If you put that down along with your snow mold prevention, it would seem you'll be protected from both extremes - either a dry or wet winter.

Personally I've never had snow mold problems on reel mowed KBG, even with 2+ months of continual snow cover. Assuming that's because it's not as prone to laying over on itself. But it can't hurt to put down a little insurance.


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## mribbens

Amazing lawn, for your snow mold concern, I just sprayed Clearys 3336F, for my worm castings issue, but it also is a preventative for snow mold. I sprayed in Nov last year and had very little snow mold come March. We will still be mowing this week with temps to hit 70 again on Thursday, but then I bet we will be done. I just had my irrigation blown out this am, so maybe 2 more mows this week and I will be done.


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## Jeff_MI84

@ReelWILawn its been fun following along, especially reading the recap of last year’s reno.


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## Kiza

From the previous question, I never needed to cover my RPZ backflow and we have some harsh winters. I also never had any problems with snow mold. My biggest fungus issue was a small patch of white powder, which really wasn't an issue as it just goes away after a week.

Aside from mowing, do you do any cultivation practices? IIRC you have a JD 220 with a groomer? Do you scarify (tines to pull debris, little thatch), verticut (cutting, lines), or dethatch (pulling up thatch) as well? If so, how often were you planning, how low?


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## ReelWILawn

bf7 said:


> I am interested in your winter wetting agent experiment. If you put that down along with your snow mold prevention, it would seem you'll be protected from both extremes - either a dry or wet winter.
> 
> Personally I've never had snow mold problems on reel mowed KBG, even with 2+ months of continual snow cover. Assuming that's because it's not as prone to laying over on itself. But it can't hurt to put down a little insurance.


I did not have any snow mold this year from winter; however, we received less snow than we normally do. I've been reading up on some research regarding late season wetting agent applications and it's been pretty interesting. Now most of these articles center around bentgrass and ultradwarf bermuda greens and fairways. General consensus seems to be a good practice however it can be hit or miss. There seems to a lack of substaintial evidence explaining the how and most important the why. Many of the articles i've been reading also reference other strategies such as heavy sand topdressing or protective covers for overwintering protection. I am not planning on doing either of those. Like many things,it can depend on what type of winter we have. An article I was reading (linked below) from Dr. Bill Kreuser on bent grass fairways indicates by the results that turf on a wetting agent program throughout the year had much less winter kill than non treated ares and how important access to water in the fall prior to the turf hardening off (one reason why I try to keep the irrigation on as long as possible). Either way, interesting read.
Do Wetting Agents Help Fairways?

Other general information seems to highlight turf areas benefit from late fall applications as they can allow for maximum penetration from winter rain and winter thaws - both of which we seem to get even up here in WI. It looks like there is still more research needed for Spring results, but initial research suggest added infiltration and run off in early spring helping aid the turf for when it gets warm but the irrigation systems have not been turned on yet. We've all experienced that at one point or another where it goes from winter to 60's-70's in April or even in March from time to time.

My homeowner takeaway is this: While there is not yet a ton of research and supporting evidence, it seems late season applications have a plausible effect based on some of the initial research. Second, if your property is not very large and you can water in the application while the grass is still growing in late October/early November the actual cost of the application seems to be low vs potential gains. I can see how this could be costly for a golf course with acres of fairway.


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## ReelWILawn

mribbens said:


> Amazing lawn, for your snow mold concern, I just sprayed Clearys 3336F, for my worm castings issue, but it also is a preventative for snow mold. I sprayed in Nov last year and had very little snow mold come March. We will still be mowing this week with temps to hit 70 again on Thursday, but then I bet we will be done. I just had my irrigation blown out this am, so maybe 2 more mows this week and I will be done.


Thanks so much! I have 3336 and I did have a thought of applying here in November possible with or rotating Xzemplar(listed as suppression not full control) but wanted to look more at options. Crazy how temps have been above average and now we will be heading in the opposite direction. Thinking I might have one mow left, but at the same time I might just call it and be done for the year. Thanks for the comment, appreicate it!



Jeff_MI84 said:


> @ReelWILawn its been fun following along, especially reading the recap of last year’s reno.


Thank you very much! Hopefully it's been helpful with your reno this year. I do plan to do an end of the year recap on the whole process and focus on the first spring and summer after a fall renovation. I belive a full KBG renovation is really a full year adventure and it's not until the following fall 1 year from seeding that the renovation is completed. More to come on that. Anyway, thanks for following along and asking questions.



Kiza said:


> From the previous question, I never needed to cover my RPZ backflow and we have some harsh winters. I also never had any problems with snow mold. My biggest fungus issue was a small patch of white powder, which really wasn't an issue as it just goes away after a week.
> 
> Aside from mowing, do you do any cultivation practices? IIRC you have a JD 220 with a groomer? Do you scarify (tines to pull debris, little thatch), verticut (cutting, lines), or dethatch (pulling up thatch) as well? If so, how often were you planning, how low?


Thanks for the comment! I've left my backflow uncovered last year and it was fine. It's one of those things that now that I have a cover, it takes less than a minute to install so why not. Will it help provide protection from the elements, sure. Is it necessary, probably not. But as I stated in an eariler post, I have a general practice to cover items left outside during the winter. My wife calls me a worry wart.

I do have a JD 220SL; however, it does not have a groomer . I would love to find a 220E with a groomer but they are hard to come by. For cultural cultivation practices, I did hollow core aerate followed by sand topdressing/leveling this fall. I have not decided yet if I will be doing that twice next year or not (once in the spring/early summer & in early fall). For sure, my plan is to do this every fall and I would love to lightly top dress every 6 weeks but I need to find equipment that will make it a faster process. I did scarify this fall as well and that seemd to produce great results. I do plan to scarify lightly this spring and in the fall next year. As for verticutting, once again I would love to but need to find the equipment. I have thought about purchasing an Allett just to use their cultivation cartridges (scarifier & verticutter). This is something I have been pretty seriously considering. Thanks for the questions, these were good!


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## ReelWILawn

Week 11/7/22 Update

No lawn related tasks this week. It looks like my last mow was last week on 11/6. There has be very little growth it seems and if I mowed it would most likely have been a charity mow. Spent the week starting to move the garage into winter mode, blew the hoses out, covered the hose reels, moved all the lawn freezable items and my spreader mate sprayer into the basement. A few more items to clean up or prepare for next year and the season is coming to a close.

As the full year KBG renovation is coming to an end and before next year's journal I wanted to address a few topics and final thoughts i've had on this whole process. My hope is I can share a few more things over the next couple of months I thought went well, things I would do differently, and things that did not work out for those thinking about taking on a renovation in the future or who have shared similar experiences. My topics I am thinking about are, but not limited to:

Final thoughts on the renovation - the good, the bad, the ugly
What to expect in the spring after a fall KBG reno
Monostand vs Blend - the great KBG debate 
Reel mowing a home KBG lawn (my take on it)
Measuring clipping volume - I know, I know i've been meaning to talk about this for a while. I have not forgotten.
Wetting agents
Irrigation & PWS
Top dressing and leveling with sand, 1 year from seeding

until then, we actually have not received too many frosts yet. Today was on of the first heavy frosts the lawn received and it looks like we have winter weather coming in the next day or two.


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## mribbens

The look of a reel mowed lawn with frost is so cool!!


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## ReelWILawn

mribbens said:


> The look of a reel mowed lawn with frost is so cool!!


Absolutely, it has a very unique look that's for sure! A reel mowed lawn with a light cover of snow also looks very different than the other neighborhood lawns.

Snowed lightly all day yesterday (11/15) with it turning to a light rain late afternoon/early evening. Ending up with about 3" of snow and with that I think it's safe to say the lawn season is done here. It's going to be cold here in SE WI coming into the weekend with high temps the next 4 days in the 20's and Saturday's low planned for 10 degrees 🥶


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## Wile

We have the same thing going on here....still have gas in the mower. Time to catch up on journals and plan for spring.


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## ReelWILawn

Wile said:


> We have the same thing going on here....still have gas in the mower. Time to catch up on journals and plan for spring.


Still some winterizing left to be done here as well, but I am looking forward to a number of off season items. I spent a lot of time last year getting ready for spring and it helped a lot.


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## ReelWILawn

Week 11/1422 Update

Winter weather came early this year. Received about 3" of snow and the lawn stayed covered for about a full week with a majority of it melting yesterday and today. Couple of days looked and felt like one of our colder weeks out of the entire year that we usually experience in late January: high or 24 and low of 12 with that low temp dipping to 8 degrees early the next morning.... a low of 8 degrees in November!

Lawn still looks pretty good after being buried in snow and ice for a week. Last two days felt like March and unfortunately instead Spring just a few weeks to go we have the entire winter season to get through first. Great time to focus on a few projects and head over to the warm season journals


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