# Captquin's Journal - Coastal Virginia



## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Tidewater/Hampton Roads Virginia

Front & Sides:
Some direct sun with filtered sun throughout the day, Mixed turfed. Looks like TTTF and fine fescue. Also has some wide-blade grass that is unaffected by selective herbicide. Possibly Kentucky 31 fescue. Left side yard next to the house is moderate shade and doesn't grow grass well.

Back:
~4 hrs full sun, then filtered sun. Removed Tr 7 trees March 2018 and seeded with TTTF. Took well and looked good but did not last. Built new porch addition spring 2019 and grass went from fair to very poor. Sparse fescue, weeds (goosegrass?), and bare spots.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

8.1.19 - Front: started several rounds of Image herbicide from Lowe's for general weed control.

Back:Started several rounds of Round-Up for lawn reno.

8.25.19 - Front: Removed flower bed and monkey grass in middle of yard. Leveled low spots with soil/compost blend, rolled, seeded with Rendition Rx TTTF, covered bare spots only w/ peat moss. Irrigation by hand and/or oscillating sprinkler. Minimum twice per day. Germination in 7 days in areas with peat moss, shaded areas germinated first.

9.1.19 - Back: Leveled with compost/soil blend, seeded w/ Turf Blue HGT (from Stout Seed) @ 3#/M, rolled, covered with peat moss. Applied Scott's New Lawn Starter with weed control.

Installed irrigation and installed drains for downspouts to prevent washouts. Irrigation is 15 mins per zone, four times daily. First germination in 5 days. Two cloudy, light rain days from hurricane Dorian likely helped.

Font: - Applied Scott's New Lawn Starter w/ weed control.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Spring 2018. Backyard reno after tree removal. Looked good for a minute:









Late Spring/Early Summer 2019. Lot of traffic during screened-in porch build. Showing signs of thinning:





August 2019. Decided to start over:


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Front Yard Before Pic:





9.8.19 - Front Yard germination at one week in areas leveled with soil/compost blend and covered with peat moss. Area where bed and monkey grass was is coming in nicely. Possibly due to being more shaded and retaining more moisture. Pics after two weeks:


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

9.8.19 - one week after seed down in back yard. Germination was 5 days. Pic after one week:


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

9.13.19 - Day 12 after seeding.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

9.12.19 - seeded back half (heavy dense shade)of back yard with 50% mixture of Hogan's Links and Hogan's Par 5 Shade Mix. Watered twice daily for 15 mins each.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

9.24.19 - Back half of back yard: Returned from vacation to discover one spray head was not rotating. As a result, only the left side of this area has started to germinate. Replaced spray head and changed to watering 3 times per day as it's mid-80's with no rain in forecast.

Front Yard: Some areas are not showing any signs of germination, primarily where there were lot of dead weeds. Assuming poor seed to soil contact and possibly seed dry out as the shaded area where the flower bed was is doing great.

Began top dressing the dead/bare areas with soil/compost blend, seeding with Rendition TTTF, and setting up irrigation on timer like for the back. 4 times @ 20 mins daily. These areas have NOT been covered in peat moss.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

9.29.19 - first mow of back yard


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

11.2.19 - two months after seed down.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

3.29.20 - spring green up. Kinda clumpy. Possibly due to dog urine.

2nd half back yard filling in. Moderate to heavy poa annua though. May need to seed with creeping red in fall. Hogan's deep shad mix.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

4/1/20 - applied screamin green to back and Prodiamine w/ fert to front.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)




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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

6.26.20: Probable dog urine spots in back yard. Could be fungus.


Raked up the dead grass to give the KBG a chance to fill it.

Treated the entire lawn with Scotts disease ex fungicide as a precaution since it is hot and humid anyway.

Increased irrigation to 3x a week at 5am. One hour per zone w/ rotary sprinkler.

Lowered HOC to ~2.5".


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

How many dogs you have? 10? That was fungus. How long ago this start?


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Raked up more dead grass. Applied remaining Disease Ex (back lawn only). Sent pics and request form to VT Pathology Lab.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Pathology Report:



Soil Tests:


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

7.27.20 - applied LimeLite Pro @ rate of 10 lbs/M. 60# to front, 40# to back.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Back yard starting to revive. Sprigs of green coming up in dead grass spots. Plugged a few spots to test Pro Plugger

Spread BioAdvanced Fungus Control (Propiconazole) in entire lawn.
Spread Grub Ex in entire lawn
Sprayed Round Up for lawns in entire lawn

Received 3.5" of rain from hurricane Isaias immediately after the above


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)




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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Started leveling low spots in front and back lawn using "conditioned topsoil" rather than soil/compost blend. Peninsula Hardwood Mulch.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

Captquin said:


> Peninsula Hardwood Mulch.


Good company :thumbup:


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Powhatan said:


> Captquin said:
> 
> 
> > Peninsula Hardwood Mulch.
> ...


I agree! Always polite and helpful. I live right by them on Lakeside. Easy to pick up a load of dirt, mulch, rocks or whatever and not worry about being on the highway.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

8.23.20
Scarified using rented overseeder and spread 11 lbs of Turf Blue HGT w/ Yellow Jacket (Stout Seed) and SPF-30 (Outside Pride via Amazon) at 1:1 by weight.

YJ coating makes up 50% of the weight of the HGT, so seed ratio is .5:1 in favor of SPF-30.

Irrigation set to 4 cycles. 10 min ea in front, 15 mins ea in back.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Re-seeded thin areas with HGT/HBG blend.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Applied Tenacity as pre-em over the weekend. .5 tsp/gal per 5,000 sqft (2 tsp in 4 gal sprayer). One application for right side yard and front, another for left side yard and back. Watered in for 5 mins per zone.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

9.20.20


Transplanted peat pots to front side of ditch near road

Discovered this area has heavy gravel in the soil extending about a foot from the street

Used proplugger to plug the area where we did the most leveling. Heavy rain after filling but before seeded left this spot with a lot of sand. Seed never really seemed to take off despite raking afterwards.

Created potted "sod area" and 2" pots for future plugs


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

9.28.20 - cut grass and applied ~.30 N per 1000. Used quart cup to scoop 46-0-0 urea. 1 scoop is 1.6 lbs. 4 scoops is 6 lbs * 46% = 2.8lbs N. Set new Agri fab spreader to 2 1/4. 
Did not water in as it is supposed to rain in the morning.

Areas by road are coming in. Tenacity bleaching is fading with mostly weeds being white now.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Applied .4 lb N/1000. Trimmed some trees up to allow a little more light.

Sod pot coming along.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Rained all weekend from remnants of Hurricane Delta.


Applied 40lbs/M of pelletized dolomitic lime from TCS. Total of 60 lbs/M since soil test (20lb calcitic, 40lbs, dolomitic)

Applied .30 lbs N/M to back (2 scoops)

Applied .40 lbs N/M to front (3 scoops)


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Irrigation Guide: https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19653

Irrigation Requirement / ET = Days between watering

Soil type is fine sandy loam. Factor = .13 
Irrigation Requirement @ Root depth of 4" and allowing to 50% of capacity: 4" x (.13*.80) x 50% = .208" 
Irrigation Requirement @ Root depth of 6" = .312"

https://digital.weather.gov/mobile/index.php click on the cloud thunder and pick Daily or Total Weekly FRET


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## Cdub5_ (Jun 12, 2019)

@Captquin Whew, you have quite the battle on your hands!
I, too, am using SPF-30 in a semi-sunlight backyard. I know you mixed it with HGT, but how has yours come along in the shady areas?


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

@Cdub5_ Definitely a challenge, my friend. My house faces south, so the back yard gets even less sun this time of year. That will improve somewhat when the leaves fall. The shade doesn't seem to big of an issue. It's actually filling in ok farther under the tress than I expected. Also, my test pots are in the back and they are rocking right along. They shade is a blessing the summer, though I learned I still need to water 

The main issue with the shade for me is the dogs. The ground is soft enough that a squirrel chase results in uprooted turf. I really should have seeded there as if were a reno instead of an over seed. Thicker turf would hold together better, but there is definitely spreading going on. Little sprigs all over.

Front yard is doing great. A bit less shade and less traffic. I'll get some pics up this afternoon.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Filling in nice and slow. The area to the left of driveway (2nd pic) is doing the best. The top of the pic on the right should be rotated to 90 degrees to the left for comparison.

Test pots are showing solid top growth and tillering.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Applied .5 lb N/M and irrigated.

KBG spreading way in the back by mulch. Ordered some deep shade fine fescue "Links Mix" from Hogan.

Shady near deck continues to be thin. Grass is spreading but still easy for dogs to damage. Added seed and covered with peat moss. Hope to get more germination to hold soil together and maybe peat moss will keep the it from being muddy.

Basically can't do a pre-emergent In the back until after the first of year now. Poa A may be a B.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Received Hogan's Links Mix. Will seed area behind trees and apply peat moss tonight.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

Captquin said:


> Received Hogan's Links Mix. Will seed area behind trees and apply peat moss tonight.


The soil surrounding pesky pine trees to me always seems to be zapped of nutrients, must be a combination of tree roots sucking up moisture and @#&% :x pine needles carpeting the area that I have to frequently remove. Doesn't appear in your pic you have many pines, that's a plus for you.

It will be interesting to see how the grass shade mix works for you.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

@Powhatan Lots of sweet gums, and that's after I took SEVEN of them out! I was thinking about the moisture more yesterday. I have an above ground irrigation system w/ three zone from left to right. It's clear however that the moisture needs are way different under the trees. Once I decide to bury, I'm thinking the zones might make more sense going front to back.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Spot sprayed weeds with Bioadvance. Clover near neighbor and a bit of creeping Charlie (I think). Front looking pretty good otherwise. Areas with crabgrass killed off with round up (front slope of ditch and spots between middle and right pine tree) filling in with over seeded KBG.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Sat 10.24: Dropped 22lb of 14-0-7 w/ .43% Prodiamine to front yard and .50lb N/M (total) to entire lawn. Prodiamine application rate was based on 1lb/ksqft per month of coverage: 4 month coverage x 5.5M = 22lbs. Believe the app rate is therefore .0172 lb/M of AI.

Mon 10.26: Germination on backyard KBG re-seed.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Fine fescue Hogan Links Mix germinated about 7-10 days after seed down and filling in well under the trees. Leaves all over from remnants of hurricane Zeta, but trying to delay raking a little bit to keep from pulling up the baby grass.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Your experience here is all too familiar to me. Fall seed, looked great all fall, winter and spring. Then the summer collapse.

Looking at your plugs, it looks like even your live plugs have pretty shallow roots. I think one of the mistakes I made was seeding too heavily and thereby having too much competition for water and nutrients per any given space. Granted that there is a lot of room for improvement for my soil too. I think I also underestimated the time it takes for new grass to mature. I'm thinking in this fall's seeding, I will need to baby that grass for at least its first summer as in giving it plenty of supplemental irrigation before "turning it loose".

Your soil is definitely very acidic. Keep in mind that even though your P is very high, it is unavailable to plants in such low pH soil. P is essential for deep root growth, but the plants are unable to use what is there due to your acidic soil.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Captquin said:


> Received Hogan's Links Mix. Will seed area behind trees and apply peat moss tonight.


Those are top rated cultivars in that seed! How much does that stuff cost?


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

@Deadlawn I'll have to take your word for it!

Believe it was $45 for 5lbs plus shipping, which wasn't bad. They sell by the pound I believe, so you don't have to make a huge jump from say 10 to 25 lbs if you only need 15. I believe the seed rate is 4lbs/M.

It's coming in really well. I really would like grass back there to keep it from being muddy when wet and dusty when dry.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Captquin said:


> @Deadlawn I'll have to take your word for it!
> 
> Believe it was $45 for 5lbs plus shipping, which wasn't bad. They sell by the pound I believe, so you don't have to make a huge jump from say 10 to 25 lbs if you only need 15. I believe the seed rate is 4lbs/M.
> 
> It's coming in really well. I really would like grass back there to keep it from being muddy when wet and dusty when dry.


OK, definitely not cheap, but you get what yiu pay for. 4 lbs/1,000 sounds reasonable. I just happened to see how densely you planted the seeds on those pots. I'm thinking as long as you have a rhizomatous grasses in the mixture, less is better since they will spread.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

@Deadlawn Hey, so the pots are only KBG. Rhizomatous for sure, but wanted to be sure we're talking about the same thing. Seeding rate on KBG was 2-3 lbs/M

They weren't really that dense. They were in 3" peat pots at first and I tried to seed about the same coverage as I saw on the ground after seeding at the recommended rate. I wiser man would have measured the seed, likely a teaspoon or something. Once they developed a little, I transplanted them into larger clay pots where they have thickened and spread on their own.

I wouldn't want to seed to clump or pile, but I would not seed below the recommended rate either. It will spread but be susceptible to weed pressure. Also, KBG and Creeping Red aren't like zoysia, St. Aug, or Bermuda. They spread, but not like that!


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

11.3.20 - Bought 18-24-12 starter fert and urea from Site One. Applied 1 lb starter then .7 lb urea per thousand to arrive at .5lb N/M. Applied to front yard only as back yard was already given straight urea over the weekend.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Applied 18-24-12 at 5lb/M.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

11.15.20 - put up a silt fence to give the new grass a fighting chance to establish against the dogs. So far they are content to chase squirrels in the mulch area around the perimeter. Fine fescue continues to fill in the very back under the shade.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Hell strip near the road coming along.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

:thumbup: :thumbup:


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)




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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Soil temp 52°. Applied .5lb N/M

Some yellowing in front. Seems to only be on the fescue. None on KBG and none in back at all. Areas near deck in back are still thin. Been letting the dogs out one at a time so they don't run around and tear it up. Doesn't take much though. One squirrel siting and it's over. Roots on KBG are just shallow. Plan to seed these areas with remaining SPF/HGT blend in early spring. Depending on how summer goes will likely overseed with SPF30/HGT pro/and elite TTTF (rizing moon, 4th millennium, etc.)

Picking up Christmas Lights Shot:


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## Cdub5_ (Jun 12, 2019)

Quite the transformation @Captquin !
Looks great!


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Aerated complete lawn. Spread soil/compost blend on bare spots in back, seeded w/ HGT, and rolled.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Cdub5_ said:


> Quite the transformation @Captquin !
> Looks great!


Thanks for the encouragement!


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Spread 40# of new lawn starter fert w/ meso from Lesco.

Spring green up. Filled in better than expected over winter from dog damage. Heavy Poa A. Missed soil temp window in the fall thinking 55° was the magic number. Note to self: that is for rising spring. Fall is ~70° on the way down.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

The fall preM does come in very handy to control poa annua. Last fall I put down two regular pendimethalin apps starting mid Sep when soil temp came down to ~70F, each app only lasts about 2 months, shorter residual than the other preMs. I did not see many poa a this year as the previous year; I hand-pulled the ones I've been seeing this year. Next fall I'll probably do prodiamine split apps.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Yes sir. Good to hear you had promising results. I completely blew it waiting on 55 mark. Rookie mistake. There's some in the front too. Less but still plenty. I'm digging those out. Probably wont in the back. At least with the poa there it's holding the soil together.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

3/29: Poppa got a brand new bag


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Applied 1 lb N/M


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Three weeks of drought kept alive with irrigation. Followed by 5" of rain over 1.5 weeks. All recovered and looking pretty good.

Little clover by the mailbox and some damage by the road where the construction crew is parking.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Couple of dog urine spots and a little thickening needed in some areas, but not bad for June bluegrass in the transition zone.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

I guess if it's bluegrass, it will eventually fill in................if you can keep the crabgrass from filling in first.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

So far so good. You can see in the pics how much it's filled in. Very impressed given the amount of shade. Prodiamine has done it's job. I missed interpreted the fall application temperature so had some Poa A toward the back. Won't make that mistake again!


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## SEKBrian (Jul 20, 2020)

I may have missed this in a previous post, but do you irrigate this?


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

@SEKBrian That's interesting question at the moment, but the short answer is yes. The pic above where it's mostly dead is from last summer when I didn't irrigate. Kept thinking it was dog spots, then fungus, but believe the main issue was lack of water.

I say "interesting question" because I just added some rainwater collection to the mix with two 275 gal IBC totes. We had three weeks of drought here, and I was irrigating like crazy. My system is all above ground Rain Bird rotors ran on electric timers. Getting enough water down takes about an hour. That's 1800 gallons and I had to run it twice per week to keep the grass alive. Not looking good, just alive, and that didn't include the flower beds and veggie garden. Had to do something. You can see the thread here: https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=29046

FYI: it's rained 5" since installing the system lol. But hey, every little bit helps.


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## SEKBrian (Jul 20, 2020)

Holy cow! That's definitely more impressive than a rain barrel! Your grass looks good now and I knew your university said it was lack of water in the past, so I was curious if you were pumping the water to it now. I will need to water this week with temps being in the 90's. It was only sunny 1 or 2 days in May with tons of rain and cooler temps. Now its going to be dry and hot.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Saw some discoloration in the lawn. Looked like fungus upon inspection. Dropped DiseaseEx at the curative rate. Watered it in late in the afternoon. Don't like doing that but thought it best to get it down quickly.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Captquin said:


> Saw some discoloration in the lawn. Looked like fungus upon inspection. Dropped DiseaseEx at the curative rate. Watered it in late in the afternoon. Don't like doing that but thought it best to get it down quickly.


Are you sure that's fungus and not just heat and drought stress? I had something that looked similar during that hot, dry spell we had in May. It's starting to green up again now that it's cooler and we're getting more regular rain.

See the thread I posted about this:

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=28536


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

That looks like fungus. The grass looks too long too.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

@Captquin you have brown patch. Along with your fungicide treatment(s) ... while disease is present - sharpen mower blade every time you mow to get a clean cut, bag mow highly recommended, and lower HOC a little to get more airflow on the grass canopy to dry quicker.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

@Powhatan Thinking BP as well. Agree on the HOC as well. I moved it down a notch Sunday (which is when I noticed it) and plan to do lower another notch today. It's trial an error between higher HOC in summer and promoting fungus. My lawn gets decent shade and I'd rather irrigate than fight fungus.

I'll bag today too. Good idea.

Any thoughts on if I should also apply a foliar as well like the bioadvance propiconazole after cutting??


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

@Deadlawn I think it's fungus given the lesions on the "not dead" turf at the edge of the discolored patches. Also think waiting last year because I thought it was heat stress & dog damage is what hurt the lawn. Not doing that again!


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Captquin said:


> @Deadlawn I think it's fungus given the lesions on the "not dead" turf at the edge of the discolored patches. Also think waiting last year because I thought it was heat stress & dog damage is what hurt the lawn. Not doing that again!


Hmmm. You situation and mine could be different. Looking at your pics again, I don't have those spots that you show in yours. Mine points to heat and drought stress which would explain why it recovered somewhat after cooler weather and more regular rain.

And I don't have a dog, so it's not that.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

Captquin said:


> Any thoughts on if I should also apply a foliar as well like the bioadvance propiconazole after cutting??


No experience with foliar fungicides other than using neem oil. I understand the liquid fungicide is usually better budget friendly than the granular. I use neem oil to smother the pathongens, no worry about developing resistence, but I can't apply it when air temps get too hot cause that will increase the chance of burning the grass blades.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

@Captquin lawn recovered from fungus? Are you overseeding TTTF this year? The KBG filling in?


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

@Powhatan For the most part. I didn't retreat again after the curative rate as we're heading into fall. There are some "faded" areas of the lawn that look like they have light fungus pressure. I don't plan to treat.

We did a home remodel this year. I basically neglected the lawn, especially in the front. Moles had a field day and some clover came in. Moles are hell on the root system. Outside of that, it did surprisingly well standing up to the dogs and whatnot. No plans to reseed the back but I may plug a couple spots.

Will start dropping fertilizer this week.


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

@Captquin thanks for the update. I was curious how you were doing.

The couple late season fungus spots I have now I don't plan to treat. Probably the temporary extra moisture for new grass seedlings contributed to the fungal appearance.

I have a mole tunneling in my front yard also. I stomp down the daily new tunnel and another one reappears the next day. Grass still looks green and healthy, knock on wood. I don't want to put down poison or traps so I'll just have to live with it until one of the natural predators takes him out or he decides to move on.

Since you're not overseeding, don't forget to put down a fall preM. Average soil temps are lowering to 70F this time of year.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Roger that. I don't want to put out a general poison like garubex either. Need to be more diligent about tunnel smashing. My leftover fertilizer has prodiamine in it. Plan on using that up then maybe just prodiamine afterwards if needed.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Added Leaf Eater to rain harvesting system. In line filter of window screen was getting clogged. This is self cleaning so far.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Mixed some lawn soil and left over KBG and seeded thin areas in front. A little late but we'll see how it goes. Also applied urea at .5/M


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## Grizzly Adam (May 5, 2017)

I just skimmed your whole blog and have a few thoughts.

-Your lawn seems to be thin at the beginning of every year and fill out over the summer. Is there something causing this?
-You seem prone to mold and disease. How much water are you actually putting down per week, and are you doing it too often? Maybe you could water deeper less often and at maybe adjust the time?
-Were the picture of live plugs ones that you pulled from the lawn or ones that are going in? If they are ones you pulled, it looks like you may have shallow roots.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Good info:


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Thanks for taking the time and chiming in! I enjoy working in the yard and don't want it to be in vain.



Grizzly Adam said:


> -Your lawn seems to be thin at the beginning of every year and fill out over the summer. Is there something causing this?


Not sure. The back is the north side and therefore less sunny in winter. It's also part moderate shade to begin with. Always figured it was a natural part of "spring green up." Thoughts?



Grizzly Adam said:


> -You seem prone to mold and disease. How much water are you actually putting down per week, and are you doing it too often? Maybe you could water deeper less often and at maybe adjust the time?


Fungus has been a huge issue in the back ever since I moved to KBG 2 years ago (front is predominately TTTF). At first I didn't realize what it was, blaming it on dog urine. I was on guard last year, but didn't put down a preventative app in May/June like I should have. It was better but still thinned a good bit.

Soil is fairly sandy. In summer, I water every other day for an hour (2 zones) from 5-6 am. Need to verify, but I bet that's less than 1/4". Did so because of soil and thinking KBG is "thirsty." I could certainly back off and see how it goes. Also seeding in TTTF this spring and likely fall, depending on how spring goes.



Grizzly Adam said:


> -Were the picture of live plugs ones that you pulled from the lawn or ones that are going in? If they are ones you pulled, it looks like you may have shallow roots.


Yes, all from the back yard. It's young lawn after the die off, but I thought they were shallow too. I was told KBG roots are generally shallow, so I'm not sure. I think that's why it doesn't hold up well to the dogs too. They just rip it up. Grows back, but it's not bermuda or anything. Hoping the TTTF will grow deeper and help knit everything together.

Thoughts?


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## Grizzly Adam (May 5, 2017)

If your roots are shallow, it is typically evidence that you are watering too often and that the roots don't have to dig down (literally) for water. The conventional wisdom is that you should offer 1" per week except in the hottest conditions that it should be put down in 1 application. With your sandy soil, I would be interested in what you would find out with and infiltration test. Have you ever done one of those? Do yo know your percentage of sand?

Adding soil organic material like compost, humus, or peat might be a help for you too if you are truly that sandy.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Testing early spring seeding - some pre-mixing with soil and some pre-germinating. Below are the spots with seed and soil mixed and spread on bare/thin spots. Pre-germinating is also mixed in soil and in the garage. Soil temp is 50.7 degrees.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

@Grizzly Adam Haven't heard of that test but will look into it. Won't hurt my feelings to back off watering. I was thinking too that I may keep my grass a little too high as well at 2.5". In trying to fight the heat I may be inviting fungus.


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## Grizzly Adam (May 5, 2017)

Captquin said:


> @Grizzly Adam Haven't heard of that test but will look into it. Won't hurt my feelings to back off watering. I was thinking too that I may keep my grass a little too high as well at 2.5". In trying to fight the heat I may be inviting fungus.


I haven't heard of a correlation between height and fungus. I keep mine at 3 with no issues, would like to go higher but need to figure out issue with mower first. I think I have something bent in the suspension.

Remember, not necessarily less water-- just not so many small doses.

Perc/coffee can test

Mason jar test


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Height can restrict air circulation and trap moisture. I'm sure it depends on your specific situation.


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## Grizzly Adam (May 5, 2017)

Captquin said:


> Height can restrict air circulation and trap moisture. I'm sure it depends on your specific situation.


True, but it doesn't just sit on top of the soil. It soaks deep in, watering via the roots. If I'm not mistaken, the foage being wet for excessive periods is what causes most lawn molds.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

First mow. Light snow forecast for tomorrow. Back starting off better than last year but still very thin from winter shade and dogs. Applied remaining 40lb lime per thousand for a total of 80lb/M for the winter.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

It should be no problem this Spring on the areas you're not currently seeding to hold the irrigation until at least sometime in April, and Maybe May if you get good rain. And, it should be able to handle backing off to 1-2x per week for the Spring, except where you're seeding. Monitor how much rain you get, and put down enough water to give around an inch total per week counting rain and irrigation. After a week or two, evaluate if it looks/feels too wet or dry and readjust accordingly. In June/July/Aug when it's hot out, you can increase to 2-3x per week and go for 1-1.5 inches total water per week (with rain) if needed, especially in sunny areas. In a humid climate, 6 irrigations in a 14-day period is probably the most you'll ever need, in hot weather, providing you're getting at least 0.37 inch per watering. Seeding and establishment is of course a whole different thing.

I would definitely fertilize at least a couple of times in May and possibly as early as mid April, and possibly into June this year to thicken it up and get better rooting. Up to 1/2 lb of N every 7-14 days as needed. You won't need as much every year as this year as it's still not fully established. Then resume in September and October, starting conservatively while it's still warm and ramping up as temps cool.

Btw, that Scotts Speedy Green spreader is a good one. Not sure if it's yours? Whoever owns it should hold onto it. It's an older model that doesn't fall apart like the current ones.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Spread pre-germinated seed in thin spots by back deck. Noticed what looks like mycelium on the top layer of when I took the cover off the wheelbarrow. Plenty of sprouts when I dug down. Shoveled out and spread with level lawn. Also put some in big spreader and opened all the way up. That seemed to work pretty well too. Covered with a little peat moss left over.

Applied Screaming Green with .37% prodiamine to front yard only at 3lb/M.


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## Grizzly Adam (May 5, 2017)

Are those cotton seeds?


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Haha. I need a dislike button.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Captquin said:


> Applied Screaming Green with .37% prodiamine to front yard only at 3lb/M.


That amount of Prodiamine should work for about 4 months. I've used that exact product before.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Starting to see seedlings, likely due to the warm up and rain. Slightly more in the pre germinated areas.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Sprouts coming up from previous spot seeding. Applied remaining seed in back yard and topped with peat using new Landzie spreader.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Off to a solid start. Cold snap the last couple days. Plan to drop a little N before it rains and warms back up.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Plugged some thin spot in back yard. Applied .5lb N.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Green said:


> Btw, that Scotts Speedy Green spreader is a good one. Not sure if it's yours? Whoever owns it should hold onto it. It's an older model that doesn't fall apart like the current ones.


Good stuff! Everything filling in as you can see from the pics. Still some thin spot but they're coming. No idea when I got that spreader but with some WD40 from time to time, it keeps on going. I use for the smaller stuff and a big Agri Fab "salt spreader" for bulk material like lime.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Applied 3lbs/k of screaming green with prodiamine to back yard. Should be 4 month coverage.

Applied .5lb N/k to front.

Thin area coming in nicely.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)




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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Roots depth


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Captquin said:


> Roots depth


What type of grass is that and how long since seeding?


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Deadlawn said:


> What type of grass is that and how long since seeding?


SPF-30 KBG. Seeded 18 months ago, fall of 2020. There are some other plug pics further back in the journal.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)




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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

8.28.22 - Sprayed Propi 14.3
8.30.22 - Spot sprayed T-Zone


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Finally some rain in the forecast. Much needed.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Sprayed Tenacity as pre-em. Soil temp plunged over the last few days but hopefully I prevented some of the poa. Will overseed this weekend.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Applied overseed. Here’s this year mix:


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Things ticking along in 7b


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

Bravo Zulu Capt. 

You think you’ll have to mow a few more times this year? My new grass growth is practically nil now.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

Thank you sir! I’ll keep spoon feeding for a bit longer. Likely mowing too for leaves and pine needles if nothing else. Helps it look tidy


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