# Jeff_MI84's Side Reno and Lawn Journal



## Jeff_MI84

I'm a little late to the game in regard to starting the reno on the front side of the lawn. I did it last year and did not like how it turned out.

Rookie mistake, I seeded Scott's 100% KBG. I didn't take into account how much shade I got. Not only that, but I did not use Tenacity or any other pre-emergent weed killer and found out the hard way why it was needed.

As you can see here, the difference in seed is extremely noticeable.



Last fall I put down some Lesco Tuf Turf 90/10 TTTF and KBG seed. It did okay, but there was low spots that I missed. I am planning on using more of the Tuf Turf with a little bit of Lesco Shady Mix mixed in.

So today, here is what it looks like.



I cut it lower then sprayed Roundup. There is only about 135sqft to do. I'll check in a few days, spray again then pick up some topsoil before raking out the dead grass.


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## Jeff_MI84

I would like to reno the rest of the front and eventually the back within a few years and this is my big trial run.


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## M32075

Good luck nice little area for your first renovation totally manageable


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## Jeff_MI84

@M32075, when I did it last year, I used a manual sod cutter and put down new topsoil. Never again. I'm going to take my time leveling. When I had the lawn slit seeded, I guess it caused bumps all over, they aren't really bad but I can tell when I mow. So this area is my practice run for the big show.


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## Jeff_MI84

One day post glyphosate. Some areas were hit harder than others.


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## Jeff_MI84

Busy day today. I scalped and raked the flowerbed extension in the backyard. Still more to do with it before I do the same to the side reno. 


I cut the front and back today at 4". Thanks to a nice week long layoff at work, I'll be able to possibly mow three times this week. Seems like the front has a lot of fine fescue or PRG dying off. Pictures weren't the best quality due to time of day. 






The backyard sod for the most part is pretty thick. I'm thinking about going into mostly KBG in the future.


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## Jeff_MI84

Yesterday was just starting to put mulch into the new flower bed. I had intended to remove the lamp post with a Hackzall I just purchased. I guess I should have read, battery not included. By the time I realized that, the store was closed.


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## Jeff_MI84

Finally removed the lamp post. Only took me 6.5 years to do it.


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## Jeff_MI84

Cut the front at 3.625" before it got too dark.


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## Jeff_MI84

Flower bed extension is almost finished. I ran out of mulch and had to "acquire" some from my parents. I wanted to mow the back but getting a crown at the dentist derailed any motivation I had.


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## Jeff_MI84

I finished the flower bed in the back, mowed the back at 4" then put down 5lb of Cleary's 3336 DG Lite granular fungicide in the front. Lastly, I used my Groundskeeper II rake on the side. Hope to use my dethatcher there in the next few days.

I was hoping to mow 3 times this week, but that did not happen. I only could get it in twice. But I felt in the zone today mowing the back. I was "supposed" to remove the rest of the edging stones in the back, IOT trench edge, but am saving that for a later date.


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## Jeff_MI84

I watered in last nights front yard fungicide application. Afternoon rainfall derailed my plan to dethatch the side of the house. So I spent some time screening topsoil down to 1/4".


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## kdn

Flowerbed extension looks great. What do you plan to put in there?


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## Jeff_MI84

@kdn, thank you. I'm hoping it settles a little bit more. I had it about 3.5" thick and would like to see it level with the surrounding bed.

Nothing is going in there this year. My number one idea is to put in coneflowers. After that, maybe a spring bloom such as candytufts and perhaps daylillies. I might see what other types of flowers are good for full sun.


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## Jeff_MI84

Busy day today. I put down the Cleary's fungicide in the backyard (watering in the am). I don't know why, but I walked too fast and out down less than I should have.

Cut the front yard at 3.625", changed out my edger blade too. Finally got around to dethatching the side reno project too. It was my first time using the Greenworks, did a pretty good job.


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## Jeff_MI84

Tamped down the soil from the lamp post removal and did another round of raking and dethatching on the side of the house. I put down a small about of topsoil just so I could pull out my leveling rake. I don't know why, but using it is always a fun time. 


Quite a drop in regard to how level I thought it was last year.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the backyard today at 3.625", two cuts in the past four days. I'm starting to keep the HOC below 4", so it will be easier to get it low in time for the sprinkler install at the end of the month.

I got off work before I could pick up my topsoil for the front. Maybe tomorrow. The flower bed extension had to be raked to lower it, not enough settling.

I'm starting to identify some areas where the soil has settled, but it doesn't dip too badly. I don't want to overdo myself this year. So it's on the docket.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the front yard at 3.625". I can tell a full front yard reno is in the cards next year, I'm starting to get annoyed by the unevenness (2 years post sod install). It is starting to look a little rough, I can't wait for it to green up a little bit. In need of some N.


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## Jeff_MI84

I started topdressing the side of the house. I used a 50/50 blend of topsoil and compost.


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## Jeff_MI84

More leveling and then some rolling today. I might need to get some more compost. My neighbor's driveway is a little uneven, thus making it hard to level along one of the slabs. Spilled some water out of the roller after I was done. 😒


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## Jeff_MI84

I managed to cut the backyard before sundown. HOC 3.625". Didn't have time to edge everything though.


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## Jeff_MI84

Quick cut in the front at 4" today. The side reno got some fallowing in from the rain lately. I would like to put seed down this weekend.


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## Jeff_MI84

Thanks to nearly 2.5" of heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours, I found some uneven spots in the side reno. More compost and sand to re-level and re-roll.


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## Jeff_MI84

Nothing at my house today. I top dressed the side of my parents house. They had some pretty drastic dips, especially along the foundation. I have to roll it in tomorrow.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the front and back today at 4". Might mow at 3.625" tomorrow because we had a potential for 3-4 days of rain and I need to get the HOC down for the irrigation install in a few weeks. 




The boulevard strip is looking atrocious. I really do not like fine fescue. Some spots are looking so bad right now.


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## Liquidstone

I'd say it looks pretty dang good for summer time! Fine fescue just hates the heat and wants to check out so bad. I have some of it in my spring Reno mix and it is struggling for dear life at the moment. It doesn't help that I haven't had any substantial rainfall all summer.


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## Jeff_MI84

@Liquidstone thanks. I hate looking at brown stalks. Back on June 28th, it looked so much better, then we got more rainfall this summer than in a long time, with a lot of disease pressure. The month of June there was 8.36" followed by 5.84" in July.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the backyard at 4" today. I would have gone lower, but really wanted to enjoy a nice quick cut. Since Sunday evening's mow, I took off around .25". The color difference in the backyard is something I'm not really too happy about, which is another reason why I want to do a monostand in the future.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the front tonight at 4". I didn't want to take more off since I am getting an application put down tomorrow. From overhead, the discoloration looks like a wacky smiley face that is taunting me.

I suspect some brown patch is forming. With tomorrow's application and watering it in first thing Saturday morning, I plan on lowering the HOC Sunday down to 3.625" then early next week to 3.25" where I will keep it until it's time to drop seed.

The boulevard I will scalp and add a small amount of compost, maybe hand aerate for the shady seed mix. The area closest to the driveway I am scalping and reseeding. I can hit it with the oscillating sprinkler. That or I will dethatch the whole thing and spot seed a few areas by the sidewalk and the middle. The side of the house fallowing is going good, no weeds have germinated. I plan to put seed down there next weekend after fixing any last minute dips or imperfections. That way, I will be about a week ahead while the rest of the lawn is recovering from the work I'm having done. The backyard I will not scalp and dethatch until the beginning of September.




I got the Shade Mix in from Seed Super Store today. I am using this on the boulevard.


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## Jeff_MI84

I had 11.52 Lbs - 28-0-3 20% PolyPlus 35% Bio
and 6.91 Fluid Oz - Momentum FX2 applied today.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the front and back today at 3.625". I'm still a few weeks out from putting seed down. Pictures tonight are of lower quality as I was battling the sun.


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## Jeff_MI84

I mowed the front at 3.25". Downspout burying started just as a storm rolled in.


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## Jeff_MI84

Cut the back at 3.25" yesterday. I have my three downspouts buried. Overall I wasn't too pleased with the finished presentation of how the sod was placed back down. Since the installed wanted to use a tamper to put the grass back, I had to get my leaf vacuum out a few times to carefully bring the blades back up. That and there are clumps of smashed dirt in the lawn now. I will just end up scalping those areas and putting seed down. One downspout outside my bedroom window, I may have to top dress it, as it looks like it is not level.

It's not really a big deal. The whole reason I wanted to do downspouts and sprinklers right before overseeding, was so I wouldn't have to look at a messed up yard for very long. Next summer, when I do a full reno, I plan on having them come out after putting topsoil/ compost/ sand down to make sure it will not alter the pop ups or anything. This company is also into sprinklers, but due to lack of manpower, they handed that off to their sister company (coming tomorrow) and they handle maintenance and turning off/ on the system.


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## Jeff_MI84

I bought a drag mat the other day. It came in the mail yesterday and I wanted to give it a try today. The 3'x5' is wide enough for the side of the house if I drag towards the street.


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## Chris LI

It fits like a glove!


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## Jeff_MI84

Chris LI said:


> It fits like a glove!


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## Jeff_MI84

Sprinkler install is about halfway done. I'll have fun messing with the Hydrawise app. Thankfully I have about two weeks until I drop seed. Any other time I'd be anal about how the lawn looks, but it's worth it.
Before and after.


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## Jeff_MI84

Sprinkler install is complete. Three zones in front and three in the back. On the plus side, I can't mow for about a week. Ok the negative side, I'll be doing a little bit more repair than I anticipated. 

I got to see a Dingo in action today. That was pretty neat.


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## Jeff_MI84

Parts of the lawn look terrible from the work that was done. I've just been watering and hoping that the dirt settles somewhat. I plan on cutting Monday, one week post irrigation install. I got more topsoil/ compost mix to fix any spots once I scalp in about two weeks. This weekend I plan on running a full 20 minute cycle and checking the amount that it puts out. I realize the lawn might still look bad at the end of the season. More reason to look forward for a full reno next summer.


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## Jeff_MI84

I ordered 4th Millenium, Valkyrie LS along with the Mazama I previously ordered from United Seeds. I should have it time for my overseed, doing a 45/45/10.

Monday I hope to mow and then spend the rest of the week lowering the cut, prior to scalping and topdressing with dethatching.


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## Chris LI

Looking good! Nice setup for the irrigation system. Those look like nice cultivars for your choices.


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## Jeff_MI84

@Chris LI thanks. I wanted to try something different prior to doing a full reno. Lesco seed is okay, but it seems like disease resistance is not as good as other varieties. I hope germination time isn't too bad.

I dropped seed today on the side of the house. I applied Tenacity and put down some peat moss (never done that before).


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the front and back today at 4" today for the last time of the season. Wednesday I start lowering to get to a scalping height. The boulevard is in the worst shape compared to every other area.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the backyard at 3.25" just before the rain started. It's getting easier to see the areas I'm going to have to fix before aeration next week. I think I will just lift up the turf that was cut for the irrigation and replace it with soil/ compost and roll it in. Same for the spots above the buried downspouts. I'm really annoyed by it, but oh well I guess. Some areas where they tamped the sod back down, there are huge clumps of dirt. I just cannot fathom that any business would find that to be acceptable.


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## Jeff_MI84

I put down some DiseaseEx at the curative rate earlier this evening and will water it in the morning. My order from United Seed is coming tomorrow. By Sunday I plan to have seed down in the front. Aeration in the backyard is next week. Tomorrow and Friday I am digging out the sod that wasn't replaced properly and backfilling it myself.

The SS1002 mix has germinated at day 5 in a flower pot which is good news. The Mazama germinated at about day 7 in another pot. It is interesting to see how it grows before seeding the lawn.

I found the culprit for the dying grass from earlier this summer. Some how this brick got under the sod.


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## Jeff_MI84

My order from United Seeds came today, 10lbs of 4th Millenium and 10lbs of Valkyrie LS. Today I am tamping down some spots in the backyard and filling in topsoil wherever necessary.


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## Jeff_MI84

Day six after seeding the side of the house, I found grass babies this morning. I was going to mow later this morning, but forgot to turn the irrigation system off last night. I thought it had rained at first. So I'll have to mow before dark.


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## Jeff_MI84

Since yesterday, I cut the boulevard down to 1.75", dethatched, added a little compost, applied Tenacity and rolled in about 3.5lbs of SS1002 seed. I topped most of it off with peat moss after.

There is a 40% chance of rain early in the morning, so I'm getting up early to seed if I need to water, or just wait until later in the morning. I was not able to level the soil like I wanted, so it will have to wait until the reno next year.


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## Jeff_MI84

Day 8 and I have some good coverage already.


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## Jeff_MI84

Yesterday, I managed to mow the front down to 2.125 inches before a storm rolled in.


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## Jeff_MI84

The front yard is overseeded. HOC 1.75". I was always afraid to go that low, but glad I did. I put down a little more seed than I originally anticipated, not realizing how much dead grass I dethatched from die out and fungus. I cracked open a Mountain Dew and smoked a Black and Mild to celebrate. 
2.75lb 4th Millenium Fescue
2.75lb Valkyrie LS Fescue
.50lb Mazama KBG
.36ml Tenacity at 1.25gal
Peat Moss


The side reno is looking good. 10 days after I put seed down, most of the grass is sitting between 2-1/4 inches!


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## Butter

Looking good! How do you like the Hydrawise controller? That's what I have.


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## Jeff_MI84

@Butter I haven't used the controller itself, just the app. It lags sometimes but is simple to use. As far as I can tell, I cannot set different durations for multiple cycles a day, which stinks (Ex. 3x5min ea.).


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## Butter

You should be able to set up a program to do exactly what you're wanting to do.


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## Jeff_MI84

@butter. Good to know, thank you. For right now, I have it set to go of at 4am and 3pm, with enough morning dew, I opted to cancel the midday watering as the soil is still pretty moist.


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## Jeff_MI84

Mowing the backyard low in preparation for aeration and overseeding tomorrow. HOC 2.125" and my mower is bogging down pretty bad.


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## Jeff_MI84

I finished dethatching my backyard, as well as my parent's front yard, as well as cleaning up. Tomorrow after aeration and overseeding I plan on putting some peat moss down and any last minute topdressing. I want to collect the cores and save them for later. On the plus side, I get to take a break from mowing for a while.

Between yesterday and today, I filled 9 yard waste bags! Looks like I got a lot of the sod thatch and diseased/ dead grass out.


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## M32075

Sometimes it's shocking how much thatch/ dead grass comes out. What I noticed year to year it changes from weather and fungus pressure I guess.


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## Jeff_MI84

@M32075 my backyard was hit hard with melting out, possibly from last fall when I accidentally watered too much. At least 5 bags were from today alone. The fun part will be seeing if waste management will take all 9 bags at once.


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## Jeff_MI84

Aeration and seed down in the backyard. The boulevard strip has germination already, since I seeded this past Sunday!


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## Jeff_MI84

Checking out some germination this morning.


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## M32075

Congrats stay patient keep it moist


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## Jeff_MI84

Thanks @M32075. The watering schedule I started seems to be working.


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## Jeff_MI84

Pretty decent germination around the sprinkler heads and some bigger bare spots.


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## Jeff_MI84

More germination in the front yard from seeding last Wednesday. I am really impressed with 4th Millenium and Valkyrie LS. I don't think I will ever go with different tall fescue.


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## Jeff_MI84

Rainy day almost of today, tonight and tomorrow. I got home and the first thing I did was walk the yard looking for more grass babies.


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## Jeff_MI84

In the early stages of 24+ hours of continuous rainfall. The last seed went down on 9/17 in the backyard. I'm hopeful that it isn't a total washout. On the plus side, I don't need to turn the sprinklers on until later this week.


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## M32075

I doubt a washout on a over seed unless you get tremendous amount in a very short period and even then I doubt. After a few days of rain then a few days of full sun expect a big blast of germination.


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## Jeff_MI84

@M32075 that would be pretty sweet. There's something about rainwater that makes seedlings POP! I'm just concerned about the larger bare areas filling in at this point.


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## Jeff_MI84

My annoyance of the day, when I have a mail carrier that fills in, they cut across. It really only annoys me in the winter or while seed is growing. I roped off two of the sides and he didn't figure out why. It's the type of thing that irritates me enough to either find an expensive neighborhood with cluster mailboxes, move out in the country or bribe the carrier.


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## Chris LI

Arrrrggggghhhh! Just seeing this gets my blood pressure up. He walked right past the sentinel flamingo with no respect! I guess you need to add stakes and rope.


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## Jeff_MI84

@Chris LI I spoke to my normal carrier, who is acting Post Master for my city. I told him if he's able to prevent it from happening for the rest of the year I'd give him a very generous tip (couple hundo's). I had a carrier card filled out before, but most fill-ins don't care. Last week, I was checking out the side reno when a different guy was cutting thru. I stopped him and politely explained about the carrier card request. He said okay and kept walking thru.


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## M32075

Chain link fence is your only hope


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## Jeff_MI84

@M32075 can't do that. The regional mail office and I came to an understanding this morning and it should be a non issue going forward.


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## Jeff_MI84

Thankfully I'm seeing signs of germination in the backyard. This is despite getting 4" of rain in about 48hours or so.


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## Jeff_MI84

I'm glad to see the bare spots my the sprinkler heads filling in nicely. It is supposed to rain tomorrow morning. I plan on making the first cut on Sunday on the side reno, then again by Tuesday. The boulevard has some newer seed germinating, so I won't make the first cut until Tuesday/ Wednesday. The rest of the front won't be cut until next weekend. The back will follow after that.


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## Jeff_MI84

First cut on the side reno at 2.75" with the manual reel mower. It wasn't super clean so I decided to pull out my Toro 22" Recycler. I regret not pulling the seed mat up once I had germination. Now I have some bare spots. I might throw some seed down and see if I get any germination by next weekend.


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## Jeff_MI84

These are some spots in the boulevard strip, filling in so nicely. I can't wait to mow it.


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## Jeff_MI84

On the left, the new fescue from this year and on the left, seed from last year (Lesco's Tuf Turf).


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## Jeff_MI84

The boulevard turned out real nice. On Wednesday I'm switching to watering once a day and hopefully mowing this weekend.


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## Jeff_MI84

First aerial shots in a few weeks. Prior to the first cut, the irrigation line damage isn't really visible, I'll see how it looks after mowing.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the front today at 3.25". I would have gone lower but it was too wet, despite not watering for over 24hours. The boulevard on the other hand was dry enough for 2.875". I'm cutting again Saturday at a lower HOC. I found an area that seed had washed out and some dethatched grass wasn't collected, hence the brown. I threw down 9oz of SS9000 PRG Blend, to see if I can get any last minute germination.

Other than that, the boulevard looks great and other areas in the front filled in nicely. I like not really being able to see where any of the sprinkler heads are, since it filled in. The spot where the lamp post used to be, is not visible either.


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## Jeff_MI84

I should have mowed at a lower height, but the backyard was too damp. I tried at 2.875", but after one turn I had to raise the deck to 3.25". I'm mowing again tomorrow.

The Tuf Turf 90/10 overseed was mediocre at best. I had two washouts along the back by the taller arborvitae. The spots where I threw Valkyrie LS and 4th Millenium, however filled in decently. I found out the hard way that some mulch sunk down in a few spots. Along the trench edges, I have about a third of the mower in the flower bed. I cannot have the outer tires on the edge, as I always lose control and scalp. Maybe using a string trimmer along all those edges would be best? I also missed some thatch and seed didn't germinate along the edge by the side of the garage. Oh well, next year I will "hopefully" have Mazama back there.

For anyone who sees this, how does it look compared to post sprinkler install?


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## Jeff_MI84

On 8/30 I seeded some Mazama KBG and on 9/3 some S1002 TTTF blend in flower pots. The fescue filled in nice, but the Mazama is taking its time. I accidentally left them out in the open during a heavy storm. Minimal fertilizer.


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## Jeff_MI84

Weeks ago along the neighbor's driveway, I tore out the poorly tamped down soil (irrigation guys) and back filled it with 50/50 compost and topsoil.
Monday:

This morning:

The spot where the lamp post used to be, you can see some blue paper mulch:



Now for the spots I missed in the front and threw down some last minute PRG seed. I hate football, so to use a baseball analogy…
Bottom of the 9th, two outs and I'm down by a run with a runner on first. Nobody left on the bench so I have a relief pitcher pinch hitting and he hasn't had a single hit since Little League. 😂


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## Jeff_MI84

I added some extra protection around the buried downspout. You can never be too careful.


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## Jeff_MI84

The rain came before I could get another cut in. I'll have to wait a few days, especially with a lower HOC and the amount of rain we will be getting.


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## Jeff_MI84

Due to the rain, I was only able to the the side of the house at 2.50".


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## M32075

Everything looks really good considering you have been getting hammered with rain. Hopefully it stops get a good week of full sun that will definitely help move everything along. Stay the course cut as often as you can to get it to tiller and thicken. Spoon feed it nitrogen you still have time. Come late spring it will be more mature thick and will look fantastic


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## Jeff_MI84

@M32075 yeah all this never ending rain is getting on my nerves. Huge fungal pressure and less chance to mow low, but helping the PRG germinate and less sprinkler time.

I threw down a little bit more of that SS9000 PRG seed. I saw some more of it germinating since Thursday.


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## Jeff_MI84

No mow again today, as I had misty rain all morning long. I was able to replace and sharpen the mower blade and buy a cordless leaf blower. Tomorrow is fertilizer and fungicide. The new grass has some decent roots judging by the tug test.


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## Jeff_MI84

The last several days, it has been very cloudy that's preventing the morning dew from drying off. Plus more rain. I was only able to cut the boulevard strip today, at 2.875" just before a storm came.


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## Jeff_MI84

13.83lbs of Headway G and 11.52lbs of 28-0-3 20% PolyPlus 35% Bio, followed by some rain to water it in.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the front and back at 4". The back could have been cut shorter as it didn't grow much since the last cut. I'm just hoping that they let me kill their lawn so I can do it properly.









The side reno is lookin' all sorts of good, I just haven't edged it yet. Here is my side reno, what I seeded, vs my parents' side reno that the lawn company insisted on seeding. They also aerated it, which I told them not to since I top dressed and leveled. I put Tenacity down after using two rounds of Round Up, there were no weeds after fallowing the soil. Plus there was some weed seed in the Tuf Turf 90/10. My side reno had one small/ thin weed and nothing since.


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## Jeff_MI84

Changed the edger blade on my Echo PAS-250 and edged the side reno for the first time. My squirrel friend was super nice, digging a very noticeably sized hole over there too.


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## Chris LI

Jeff_MI84 said:


> Changed the edger blade on my Echo PAS-250 and edged the side reno for the first time. My squirrel friend was super nice, digging a very noticeably sized hole over there too.


Yeah, those buggers are driving me nuts, too! (Sorry for the Dad joke). They keep Swiss cheesing my backyard overseed! I don't see them burying acorns, just tearing up my turf. My wife asked me a couple of weeks ago what I was doing to the area that I seeded. :shock: She must have thought that I was doing some lawn nut thing. :crazy:

They keep chittering at me from the trees, as soon as I walk outside. It might be war! :evil: I may break out my extra hot ground chili pepper from the Indian store, if they keep digging!


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## Jeff_MI84

@Chris LI most of the time, I see it get an acorn out of someone else's lawn. This is what I get for being nice to the squirrels. Plus it doesn't help that they nest in both of my trees. I might try the Irish Spring soap shavings, or ground cayenne pepper if it won't harm the lawn. They also chitter at me from above. The same buggers leave food on my windowsills, on the hose reel and even on my truck.


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## Chris LI

I doubt the pepper would hurt the lawn. I've placed "a ring of fire" around my tomato cages with no harm to the plant or adverse taste in the fruit. A nose full of pepper might change their tune.


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## Jeff_MI84

@Chris LI good to know. Thankfully the deer that roam the nearby neighborhoods have stayed away. I live in the suburbs and that is a newer problem.


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## Jeff_MI84

I had the day off today, and once the Motrin kicked in (post dental work) I decided to take my time mowing. The front and back are down to 2.875".


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## Jeff_MI84

It's been two days since I mowed. I cut at the same height, 2.875" and I took off about 1/4". I enjoy mowing sideways. To quote Ron Swanson, "Straight down the middle, no hook, no spin, no fuss. Anything more and this becomes figure skating."


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## Jeff_MI84

Got in a cut for the backyard before it was too late. HOC 2.875". I'm noticing more that I wasn't aggressive enough dethatching the back, especially around the edges and corners.

The backyard doesn't stripe as nice as the front.


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## Jeff_MI84

My annoyance on another rainy day.


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## Jeff_MI84

It is six weeks after seed down on my mini reno. This looks much better than when I did it last year. I kept it at 3.25" for a while and have since lowered it down to 2.875", then 2.50" today. It doesn't look like I will have to seed much next year after the seed blanket fully disintegrates. Surprisingly, the edges filled in for the most part. I'm pretty happy with it.


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## jimmythegreek

That looks great it came a long way. Filled in nicely


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## mowww

6 weeks out looks tremendous!


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## Jeff_MI84

@jimmylewis1 and @mowww thank you. I'm glad I didn't put down more seed than I did.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the front at 2.50" today. The back seemed too wet, so that's happening tomorrow. I wonder how much better the stripes would look if I actually used the Toro striping kit.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the back at 3.25" as it has been a whole week. I think I hit a sprinkler head with a tire on the lawn mower, so I did a quick zone test. It seems fine. Another head in that zone, is slightly off it's axis (straightening next spring).

I hate having to rush. My lines were all sorts of wavy today.


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## Jeff_MI84

The most important advice I received today. 


And a gratuitous picture of a golf ball on the lawn.


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## Jeff_MI84

Irrigation system is getting winterized on Monday. Made sure to turn it off at the controller.


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## M32075

Your patience paid off looks fantastic. I don't think you could of asked for any better.


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## Jeff_MI84

@M32075 patience is definitely not my strongest suit but thank you. I however, could have been more proactive in regard to fungus control and missed/ washed out areas in the overseed. Next year is the real test, as I am doing everything on my own and not relying on paying a company. The only thing I will not do (yet) is blowout the irrigation.


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## Jeff_MI84

Some surprise rain delayed today's cut. It's a real shame that I have maybe 4-5 mows left this season.

The front was cut at 2.50". I had to use my manual reel mower on the boulevard. My squirrel was nice enough to dig a baseball sized hole in the front.


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## Chris LI

That looks really good! It thickened and darkened up evenly. Did you get to try any ground hot pepper for your digging crew?


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## Wile

Color is banging! So thick and lush. The side yard makes me want to pull up a pillow and blanket and take a nap in it looks so soft.


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## Jeff_MI84

@Wile thank you! The new seed I picked out really makes the front pop compared to other houses on my street.

I have been known to go to the side of the house just to feel the grass, day and night. I decided last night that the front reno will be put off so next year I can focus on the backyard, while only spot seeding the front (side mostly). Undoubtedly on Halloween, I will presumably have lots of neighbors comment on the lawn who would have normally ridiculed my obsession. Here is a pot of 4th Millenium and Valkyrie LS that I seeded on 9/3, next to the Mazama test. All I have done was throw in a little bit of Lesco Starter Fertilizer two times.


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## Jeff_MI84

@Chris LI I have not done it yet.


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## Jeff_MI84

I really wanted to cut the backyard, but because of the frost and dew, along with 24hours of coming rain, I will have to delay until Tue/Wed. Spending my time deadheading finally.


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## Jeff_MI84

I got hit hard with rain. 1.82" since I dumped my rain gauge around 7pm last night. Monitoring for fungal pressure and spraying this weekend.

At least this view pleases me. I'll need to kill the grass that germinated by the hostas.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the front yard at 2.50". Basically a charity mow. When my neighbor's car isn't in their driveway, I thoroughly enjoy going nice and slow.

The backyard was cut at 3.25", as I haven't been able to get back there lately due to the rain. I didn't have enough time to edge or trim. In my opinion, the back is looking a bit rough. Next spring I'm more or less focused on cleaning up the edges, getting the flower bed heights back up and working on my turns. The middle back of the yard I did a D+ in regard to dethatching and I was a bit tentative dethatch close to the edges. The higher whole yard shots appear a bit darker as I did it later. Still more yard cleanup in the back. All in all, I had a lot of fun this year with much room for improvement.

Would you say this qualifies as a Tier 2 lawn yet?


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## Chris LI

Definitely Tier 2...looking solid, sir! :thumbsup:


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## Jeff_MI84

@Chris LI thank you, that is good motivation to hear.


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## Jeff_MI84

I sprayed 2.16oz of Eagle 20EW earlier. Low and behold there is a light rain that wasn't supposed to happen, a few hours after I sprayed. Some drone shots after raking the leaves.


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## Jeff_MI84

I'm in the home stretch now, cutting the front at 2.50" this afternoon. Once more this weekend and hopefully early next week if the temperature holds up. Northern Michigan got snow last night and sadly winter is coming. I didn't edge today, will when I mow again.

I've noticed that I really need to keep up on clipping around the sprinkler heads, that way I don't forget where they are at when I cut.

On a side note, my Mazama experiment in the flower pot is looking good. This is with very minimal work. Three of the arborvitae I planted last spring along the side fence are almost fence height already.


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## Wile

Color is still holding like a meme stock. &#128200;&#127769;


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## Jeff_MI84

@Wile yes it is. I'm anxious to see how it looks in the spring.


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## Butter

Your lawn looks really good! Color is awesome!


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## Jeff_MI84

@Butter thank you. Same color as my Pepsi shares at the moment, very green.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the back at 2.50", first time at that height since the initial cut after the over seeding. Whenever I cut diagonally, I always drift from straight to curvy.


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## M32075

Nice lawn and Cadillac I like your style


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## Jeff_MI84

Thanks and that Cadillac is my neighbor's car. I'm a Ford guy.


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## Jeff_MI84

This morning it looks like the first hard frost.


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## Jeff_MI84

Today was presumably the penultimate mow on the front yard. Slow charity mow, I took my time. 2.50" HOC with minimal clippings.


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## Jeff_MI84

Quick mow in the backyard at 2.50", saving the edging for tomorrow. 






Some nice lawn mower flair.


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## Jeff_MI84

Finished edging from last night's cut. I then decided to let one of the family dogs run around the backyard.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the front at 2.50". Some slight discoloration (lighter green) in the boulevard. I see where I hope for the lawn to thicken up by the sidewalk. It's obvious where the darker new variety is, compared to seeded areas of the past.


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## Jeff_MI84

Last mow of the backyard at 2.50". The clippings were 1/8" if that. At this point, I'm just blowing leaves off. 






Some aerial motivational shots as well as the spots where I missed dethatching in the back. 2021 had its challenges, with fungal issues and excessive rainfall, not maintaining a good cutting schedule during the summer, but I learned a lot. Next year I need to clean up the flower beds and straighten out the edges. More importantly, put mulch down sooner before the flowers bloom. I need to fix some low spots and lower the bed by the rear arborvitae to reduce rain overflow. I tried my best and hopefully 2022 will allow me to continue to dominate and improve.









Some non drone shots of the front. It held off after the overseed. Next year I plan on just dropping a little seed on the side of the house, where the seed blanket is currently deteriorating. Possibly a few spots where the irrigation lines connect and split off, I had to try some last minute PRG to fill it in. Maybe level the boulevard a little more, but hopefully more mowing and fertilizer will fill it in. Next year is more about the back reno.


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## Butter

The lawn looks great! You did a lot of good things this season. You're gonna have a great 2022.


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## Jeff_MI84

Thank you @Butter. I look forward to not waking up super early to water. The hardest part will be figuring out the ratio of nitrogen to put down. The lawn company always had the weight per application but never broke down front vs back amounts.


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## Jeff_MI84

Little bit of snow. I spent over an hour after work yesterday in the front yard with the blower and leaf vacuum.


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## Jeff_MI84

Last application of fertilizer today 11.52lbs of 
28-0-3 20% PolyPlus 35% Bio.

I've been tracking rainfall from once the temperature warmed up above freezing and I started raking the lawn in the spring. From March 25- today, I measured 36.77" of rain! That is an insane amount. I use the Lawn Journal app to track everything. I'd have to go in and add the total of irrigation, but I haven't written down the amount per minute for every zone since getting irrigation installed. However, I did my best to get at minimum of 1" per week.


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## Jeff_MI84

My soil temperature is 42°. I ran the push reel mower over a few inconspicuous spots and not enough blades were cut to warrant any further cuts. However, Thanksgiving should be 50°, if it is dry I might go for one last cut. Just blowing/ vacuuming leaves at this point. The last cut was 2.50" and it is less than 2.70-2.75" now.


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## Jeff_MI84

I cut the front at 2.50" this afternoon before a pop up shower came out of nowhere. The yard waste bag was like 99% leaves. My city has a leaf sucker that comes by, but I enjoy the hard work of raking/ mulching the leaves myself. It was still fun to get out there one more time. The side reno still looks good. I thought I had fungus, but alas the lawn was just going dormant.


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## bf7

Still looks super dark man. The drone views all throughout your journal are killer. I need to get my hands on one of those before the spring.


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## Jeff_MI84

@bf7 thank you. Color wise it looks greener than this time last year. Probably because of superior seed. Yeah having a drone is a lot of fun. I have some great aerial shots.


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## Jeff_MI84

For the first time in seven years as a home owner, I decided to put up Christmas lights. I might line one side of the driveway with lights tomorrow.


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## Wiley

Spent some time going through your journal and you did a great job this season. I really like the overhead shots. PS the Christmas lights are looking great!


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## Jeff_MI84

@Wiley thanks for the encouraging compliment. I hope to at least replicate what the fertilizing company had been doing the last several years. I have to decipher their application rates on several things by spring time.

I don't know why I've always been intimidated to put up Christmas lights in the past.


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## hobbyaddict1

The hard part is taking them down... I managed to take mine down in January this year  I still see some folks have lights up. We are now into March.


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## Jeff_MI84

@hobbyaddict1 I took mine down in January as well.


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