# MMoores Yard Journal



## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

2018 Lawn Journal Below.
2019 Yard Journal *2019 Start

TLF,
Been a busy spring/summer for our family and I have been describing my process a few times in different areas on the forum so I figured I should make a journal.

The backyard reno I've been doing is quite a bit more involved than your typical roundup/seed. It took about 2-3 months of work to get it this far, so im extremely happy and proud of the work. Its not done by any means, keeping it up after the substantial work is going to require a high level of effort for the first few years. All of the work was done by myself other than the pool installation.

Work done:
-New fence
-Pool
-Re-grading of the whole yard
-Patio and play areas
-Sod with 3d KBG
-Raised planter bed with stone retaining wall
-Plastic garden shed

The lawn at the time we had moved in. (pool layed out)

























Rented mini-ex. Did fence posts with the MINI EX for a new fence. Because of the rockiness in my area a post hole auger would have been useless. While I had the excavator I used it for some stump removal and to pull the root bulbs of the substantial lilac trees. What a job it was to get rid of all of the old fence and lilacs. The lilacs were 20-30' tall and there was ~300sf of them!

















Major pile of brush and destroyed lawn.









Fence coming along.









Shed pad setup, shed built, fence done.









Pool ex started

















Pool walls put up

















Backfilled and pool apron poured. Rough grading by pool company complete.

















Somewhere in here they dropped in the liner, filled the pool and then it was up to me to finish the landscaping/lawn. I took a week off and did a ton of work in the 35c heat.

Set-up a nice interlocking patio with small retaining wall. 1.5yards of stone dust and 4500lbs of interlocking blocks.

















Doing the install myself. I rented a small plate tamper and a hydraulic drive Barreto tiller to till the yard because of the unbelievable machine compaction of the yard and to level the yard out.

















Spread 10 yards of a fine compost topsoil mix (food waste product, virtually no large organics to settle) in the yard, 3 yards of mulch in the back for a kid play area and put another 2.5 yards of compost soil with larger OM in the flower beds and topped with 2 yards of black mulch once the flowers/shrubs were planted.
















Sod went down the next day. It's a 3D KBG. 

























I've been good about watering it in even though I planted the sod mid june in a 35c heat wave that didn't let off all summer (as you all know)

Now im getting into some lawn leveling because of the settlement of the yard with all of the disturbance we did. I will be correcting it for a while, but the lawn is great for now.

The front of the house has a ton of weeds and had a tree removed, so I am experimenting with it before I take on a full reno with seed this time.

Cheers
Matt


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Dude! Talk about a transformation. That's beautiful!


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Thanks! it was a ton of work (or more like few hundred tons)


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

a little on my front yard "project"

its been a hard summer to get the lawn to do much, besides just survive.
The front I contracted a local business to take hold of to try to reduce my weeds. In Ontario they are basically limited to a "Fiesta" lawn product that is just a heavy dose of chealted iron as well as putting down a fertilizer.

The iron does turn the weeds black and the lawn seems to green up with the applications, but the product really only "kills" the dandelion heads. Pretty much everything survives below the canopy to come back next year.

When I did have time, I hand picked and removed as much of the problem areas as I was able to amid the back yard renovation and the normal moving in unpacking and upgrades we were doing (I basically do all of our house updates too). There used to be a HUGE pine tree in this yard. Fortunately the previous owner removed it and the stump, but a lot of the roots were still in the ground and very close to the surface. It was making lumps and was making raking difficult so I basically destroyed the lawn pulling them out after one of the big rainfalls we had at the end of august.

here is where we were Sept 11. you can see lots of weeds, some of the patches of new grass where I cut out what was there and planted fresh.









Here is where it is at as of yesterday, Sept 27. In this time, I've ramped up with the fall N blitz.... and have spot treated some of the weeds with PAR3.









I haven't taken photos between the road and the sidewalk because its terrible. 99% weeds. Its a bus stop as well, so its going to be hard to deal with. I have been throwing good seed at it all year in hopes that even a single seed grows. The fiesta stuff does seem to help keep the weeds slow so the desirable grass can compete.

The lawn could probably use a reno. this area I cut out, seeded and put some peat down.... its the nicest part of my front lawn.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Im getting some powdery mildew under my tree on the KBG, i expect its partially the shade, partially the wetness we've had and partially the extra N ive been throwing down with the fall blitz. i ordered a basic fungicide to get the mildew.

coincidence or not, this is the area that also struggled a few months ago?


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Little update for 2019. pretty low key with a new addition to the family and with some of the other work I have been doing around the house.

The front is starting to look more even. That said, its not as dark as I would like.
The rear is doing pretty well but the areas that were affected by the powdery mildew thinned out pretty severe in the fall.

The side yard between my uphill neighbor and I wasn't graded well and I had some flooding in the spring thaw. ive ripped the grass out and regraded and seeded. im going to have to work to keep that area alive through the summer, but being a side yard it is in the shade for the hottest part of the day.

Here is the front yard. Surprisingly I haven't used anything in it up until I took this photo. (no fert, no pre-E, nothing). a huge change from this time last year so im pretty optimistic I can make this nomix look "ok" until I get over it and rent a sod cutting machine... but I want to learn with this grass first. lowered HOC means a few spots are yellow. going to lower again and do some leveling.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

I built a DIY levelawn and leveled the lawn with a sandy loam. the tool does a pretty good job but its pretty hard to push, a very good workout. Im hoping that the dirt isn't too thick in some areas... the lawn was pretty lumpy.










PRE scalp and leveling.

























post scalp and leveling.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Massaged the soil into the grass so I don't kill it, spread a light app of Urea to push the grass through the leveling soil.

Bought true sand for the front because the divots aren't as bad as the rear due to the disturbance we did last year in the back. I didn't want the holes in the rear to be sand 1-2" deep in spots next to an area that is sandy loam (the base they use for the sod). maybe next year I will be able to sand the rear. I hope to get done the sand this weekend, because if I don't I think it will be too close to summer heat.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Lawn is recovering pretty well in the back from the leveling. the front is still struggling through it... I probably need to do a bit more work on the front to encourage it to fill in.










































Tenacity is killing it on some areas. pretty low weed pressure with the Barricade.
taking it easy.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

No real updates with photos.
Tenacity is going to town.... its lit up some of the grass in the front yard but the weeds are really smashed.
The front is struggling this year... I should aerate it but wont bother right now.

I was up at the cottage this weekend starting to spread out some of the 20 yards of dark soil we had delivered up there because the soil is mostly sand. understanding its pretty late for that im only doing areas that don't get foot traffic - the majority of the grasses up there died and only weeds remained so we seeded knowing we will only get a few that survive the summer if any. The seed mix we are using is the Quality Seed Estate mix which is a mix of 40% Arygle Kentucky Bluegrass, 40% Creeping Red Fescue, 20% Perennial Ryegrass. The delivery rates for soil up there were high so we wont be doing the whole 20 yards in one go, its an 8,000ft lawn.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

threw down a light urea app on the front/side yards to pump it up a bit. will be throwing down some HH fert later this week on everything for summer but wanted some quick push in the front while its still thriving.

brought the HOC up to 3.5" and the rear yard with the fresh grass is looking great.
Still quite a bit of clover in the hell strip. will need something to finish it off, there is some grass in there lol.

I need to grab some photos.

Havent had to irrigate it yet. saving me some time and $ that way.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Rear yard filling in. there are still some spots where the topdressing was thick that I decided just to let it be deep and kill a few grasses for the greater good.

Cut at 3" last night, mulched in. I didn't use the string trimmer though, i had to clean and balance the pool so it was ready for the weekend. Will be cutting/trimming again Monday morning for a backyard bbq for Canada day.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Had some heavy foot traffic on the weekend for Canada day.

stood the grass back up with the leafblower before the rain came later last night.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Threw down Home Hardware organic fert. Full bag over the full lawn. ~1lb N per M. heres to hoping its slow release enough to prevent any pushing through the dry that is coming.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

The HH fert is doing its job. lawn is thriving, lush and by far outperforming the neighbors lawns. no burning.

not sure if its my lawn or something else... but over some of the hot and humid days we have smelled a farm smell. lol.

I have an appointment Friday to get a full look with my preferred choice of sprinkler company to talk about an in-ground irrigation install.

With the large tree in the back yard I do get an area that is more wet (the area with the mildew problem last fall) so im going to have two zones there even though they could be adequately covered with 1. also pulling pipe to flowerbeds for the wife.
Thinking about going with a Rachio but not sure that I really need the flow meter or to get the rachio 3 vs the 2.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

@MMoore it's definitely the HH fert! Sweet smell of success!!


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Harts said:


> @MMoore it's definitely the HH fert! Sweet smell of success!!


two or three weeks later?
lol


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Likely the humidity


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## Sinclair (Jul 25, 2017)

MMoore said:


> The HH fert is doing its job. lawn is thriving, lush and by far outperforming the neighbors lawns. no burning.
> 
> not sure if its my lawn or something else... but over some of the hot and humid days we have smelled a farm smell. lol.
> 
> ...


The HH fert is really great stuff!

Whatever you go with for the controller, there's one part of the system that should not require a second thought, and is worth the extra cost, and that is Hunter MP rotator heads.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

yes.
this contractor is one that priced me out last year with MP rotators (without me knowing to ask) when I was hoping to do it but ran out of time, energy and money to do it after the move, pool install and setting up the inside of the house.

they give me a good feeling and they are basically just pulling pipe anyways.

the only "iffy" I have is that they said last year that the site super sets the head location day of and then they give you the shematics after. how hard should I push to have a design beforehand to make sure I get a well designed system? I have used the Orbit online configurator and I am getting my free rainbird design next week (its overdue, I called them on Tuesday and they committed to next week). 
I also have CAD, put my property into it and im playing with sprinkler head locations and radius. I know I wasn't priced out with as many heads as im designing and when I stand in the back yard it would look like a ton of heads. ~10 heads for something like 800feet just because of the odd shapes I have, though I was using the rainbird rotators in my design... im not sure how different the MP's are.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

I noticed some weeds popping up in the yard and even more in the beds that I put prodiamene down in mid may. am I ok to put another app down to protect it again or is that a bad idea with the heat stress?

im also wondering if I will be putting the irrigation system in if I should do it at all... in case I need to put down some seed.


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## Vtx531 (Jul 1, 2019)

I did irrigation a couple years ago. If I could so it over again, I would use it as an opportunity to tear up all the grass, level, and reseed. After irrigation you will have ruts in the trenches, bare spots, highspots where the dirt piled up.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

thanks.

I may do that in the front, but im more likely to just put in the work in the back... the back is doing pretty well.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

put Aneuw PGR down on the rear yard on Sunday. Trying it out in the back because the rear isn't showing as much heat stress as the front (though there is an area that is taking a ton of water).

Put barricade down on the flower beds and put barricade/par3 mix down on the mulch area at the rear of the yard to knock out the few weeds that were coming up and prevent new ones.


















The irrigation installer should be getting back to me in the next day or two and is booking into the first week of September.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

hard to tell the cause (be it the temps dropped a bit this week or the PGR) but the rear lawn is looking great this week. im hoping while the temps are cooler that the one stressed area recovers.

im patiently waiting for my rainbird irrigation design. the contractor send me a sketch of what they were thinking and its definitely not good - I will be dictating the head placement it seems. just have to confirm what that will cost me lol.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

I'm getting dollar spot. I see the webs this morning.

What is the best course of treatment? I currently don't have fungicide and getting some will take a week or two.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

The best thing for DS is a preventive program. You will need to push for growth to mow away the damage.

A few things that prevent DS damage: 1) better cultivars, 2) fungicides, 3) foliar iron, 4) rolling, 5) remove dew


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

yeah the dew has been nuts here the last week.

@g-man Would dropping the hoc and throwing a light dose of urea be a good solution for now? Is treatment with a fungicide at this point worth it?










I was considering paying the $100 shipping to get fungicide ASAP but if curative is too late I wont bother.

it must have been what I was seeing in my "dry" area that I posted earlier. FWIW, it was definitely heat stressed and under watered a few weeks ago.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

oh, and this is in my PGR area. lol great.

but I did see some of the tell-tale webbing in the front lawn too so its not limited to PGR areas.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Dropping the hoc makes it look worst. Urea or AMS would be great. If you can do foliar nitrogen, even better.

Syngenta made a webpage of the DS prediction model. I also have it in my Log file. Do one of the techniques when the % goes high. Enter your zipcode to see: http://www.greencastonline.com/dollar-spot-solutions/

I dont think you should rush order fungicides. DS is mainly a visual thing, not a long term damage.

Lastly, make sure it is not spiderwebs.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

its not spiderwebs.

far too many of them for that in areas of brown damaged grass. @g-man

I thought dollar spot would really damage the lawn. killing all of the grass permanently?

I can melt the urea and do it foliar. I was thinking that dropping the hoc one notch might help it grow out faster and prevent spread?


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

DS isn't the worst fungus you can have. Foliar spray urea or AS like g-man says and it should improve. Even with the PGR the grass will grow fast for a while after you spray the urea so keep up on mowing.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

yeah its probably only grown ~1/2" since its last cut @3" hoc. so it could use a cut but its not that bad.

I will do some more reading re: foliar N because I haven't done it before and cant remember timing WRT mowing.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Doesn't look like irrigation will happen this year. Flaky contractors.

Threw down some pre-e now that I won't need to fix trenches and put down a second app of aneuw pgr but on the whole lawn this time. 
The cooler nights are really helping the lawn out the last week or so.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

I've also been using my levelling take to pull across the lawn in the morning to dry the leaf. I'm not certain it's doing much but it's not hurting the lawn.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Ah contractors. So reliable!

At least you got your pre-e down. Mine is going down within the next week.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

yeah, I don't think I used enough in the spring to get me this far. ive had to hand pick some weeds so the pressure was there to get this down.

I watered it in with a quick sprinkle over the lawn so it should be good.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

I spread dimension in my backyard only this Spring and it made a huge difference. It wasn't until the last 2 weeks that I've noticed 6-7 weeds pop up. I ended up spraying my 4 way the other day - my first herbicide spray of the season. Last year was a much different story.

I am hopefully going to aerate tonight and level tomorrow - although rain might spoil those plans. Then pre-em will go down this weekend.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Are you using Greenkeeper app to track GDD?

As of today, I'm at 323 GDD - exactly 14 days since my app went down. I still have some suppression but I do see signs of faster growth.

I know the label maxes out at 350 GDD.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

@Harts nice, yeah the prodiamene makes a big difference for me. I threw mine down even though I hope to do some more leveling in the next month or so.

im using greenkeeper app to track GDD. last time I did around 300GDD but I forgot to change it this time around from 282 that it defaults to. I wasn't really seeing a rebound at that but I knew it was coming.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

headed to the cottage this weekend. I lowered the hoc one tick last night and cut even though it was wet (and tonight was calling for rain - yet to be seen)

the back yard is really thick. The areas I had the fungus after the dry is coming back but still struggling.

Front yard is not suppressed to the amount the rear is w. pgr. that cut took a whole lot longer in the wet. If I were around this weekend I would be cutting it again... but I will probably just do it Monday now.

I haven't started the blitz yet. will wait until my next PGR app I think.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

im at 89GDD out of 280-300 for a reapplication... we will see where that falls for blitzing.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Based on my first app, I was at 280 at the 2 week mark. I'm at 345 now! I'm going to let it go since I'm top dressing with sand. But I'm still interested to see when it goes into full rebound.

Have a great weekend.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Looking at the weather last night I threw down my first fall blitz app.

highs of 25c going down to 15 at night for as long as they forecast.

my wife was asking what I was putting down last night...
me:"fertilizer" 
her: "over the whole lawn?"
"yep!"
"didn't you just do that a few weeks ago?"
"it was a month, I have that on an app" *shows app*

lol. im lucky shes able to see how well the lawn is doing to justify the stuff I have been doing.

and I still have 3/4 of a urea bag from last year... so it makes things easier when you tell her your just using a product you already have.

I really need some photos... the lawn in the front is doing pretty well. I have some patches of a different grass that I need to glypho and seed... I think I might be late to the punch there though. will get some transorb to shoot this weekend.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

oh, a different irrigation contractor is coming to look at the lawn next week. there is a possibility I can get it in this fall, but they said it would be late fall early spring. im fine with that.

preferably before winter even if we just test it and then winterize, right? that way the trenches can settle? or would it be better to wait for the spring and deal with it then and avoid winterizing all together.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

At 120% on the aneuw and it was springing back. 321gdd. 
New app of pgr tonight with a cut in the morning.

Still haven't used surfactant with it. I really should write that on the bag. Lol


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## Sinclair (Jul 25, 2017)

@MMoore winterizing an irrigation system is a pretty minor deal. Turn off supply, hook up compressed air and blow each zone empty a few times. It's not something that should be a deciding factor.

I would opt to get it in the fall, because you know "early spring" can and will creep into "mid June".


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

the other contractor was ~$4.5k to irrigate my lawn. about $1 per square foot of lawn.

will probably be doing it myself at those prices.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

here are some back yard photos now that im back to the computer.

(this is just before a cut... I didn't snap any after for some reason lol) you can see how some of the grasses aren't as affected by the PGR and outgrow the others. this is a KBG mix after all.

























the areas that died out earlier in the year seem to be pretty dead dead. its really thick right now still, a thatch rake would probably be of benefit to rip some of it out.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Just did a dethatch, mow and sprayed pgr/fas/urea. Let's see how it looks before/after. Will take photos of it after all that today and later this week.

I need a better scale for measuring urea. @Harts can you measure how many dry oz your using or urea to make a pound? Would be nice to use the aneuw cylinder to measure.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Oh ya. I did 1oz/m of fe and as. Will try low to start.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

I just use my kitchen scale (not one actually used in the kitchen!). I can measure in oz, lbz and kg.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

my photos don't show it very well but after 2 days of the liquid FAS app its way darker (in person).

easily a few shades darker than pre-app. you can notice how different the color is in the photos of the fence boards/pool to know how deeper it really is.

before









after


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

I can see the difference. It should still darken a little more.

FYI my last PGR rate was 0.12oz.....to low. I'm getting too much growth. I'm due for my next app later this week. I'm going back up to 0.18oz.

I assume 0.2 is the sweet spot for you?


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

I've been consistent at 0.2 and it's great aside from the one time I didn't mix it enough and had spots that were over regulated and others that weren't.

I now have a mixing bucket and a drill paddle.

Next time I will try the full-rate fas and see how that goes. I was worried about overdoing it with the loosely measured urea. Lol


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

I must have had some residual tenacity in my sprayer... some of the grasses in my front lawn are lighting up white. I will inspect a bit more and try to identify what type of grass it is.

I did some spot spraying on the 24th, it wouldn't be from that would it, because I notice more areas now white as opposed to the areas that were lit up before. I did clean the sprayer out... my cleaning usually means I clean the tank out with a rinse and pour it out... then fill the tank and spray out a quarter gallon and then pour the rest out and do that again. I don't use a tank solution though to clean it. (fortunately it wasn't glyphosate, LOL. knowing this I will use my cheap pump sprayer if I ever do that)


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Hard to imagine it would be the Tenacity given how diluted it would have been. If it is, it will grow out.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

I think it might have been hitting a "weed grass"

if that's the case I don't mind anyways.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Tenacity pressure in the front is minimized. I might hit the hell strip again to try to remove some of that junk.

The foliar urea was a bit much for my yard, I will hold off until I get an accurate scale to do that again. Im considering throwing some FAS down tonight over the yard even though my PGR is still holding on until mid next week.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

MMoore said:


> The foliar urea was a bit much for my yard, I will hold off until I get an accurate scale to do that again.


All the money you have spent on lawn products and you can't go to CT and buy a $20 kitchen scale??????

At least you have learned your lesson. :lol: :lol:


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

yeah I just did the safgety squint and dumped about 2 cups of urea in lol.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Put down urea/fas over the whole lawn. Added par3 in areas with some broadleaf.

Used the full rate fas this time instead of half rate. Let's see what it does.

Only just put it down at 6pm. It rained all night last night and a bit this morning so I didn't want to waste it.

Will I notice a difference tomorrow for the bbq? Maybe. Let's wait and see.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

lawns are looking pretty good.

photo of the front as I looked back at it on my way out the door today.









wouldn't mind a striping kit for the HRX sometime.... Ive been holding off but I think im at a point it could look better.


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## Sinclair (Jul 25, 2017)

Looking good! I hope those locate markings aren't a sign of an impending dig!


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Sinclair said:


> Looking good! I hope those locate markings aren't a sign of an impending dig!


They did it in the spring. The Bell had a crew in our neighborhood installing the piping for fibre. They did it the day or two leading up to when I leveled the lawn so it worked out ok.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Nice to finally see your front lawn. A Checkmate striper should be on your chirstmas list!


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Harts said:


> Nice to finally see your front lawn. A Checkmate striper should be on your chirstmas list!


I had a long reply typed but it went away lol.

there used to be a tree there and the previous owners remo,ved it. the turf was struggling. its only now getting acceptable imo. I do still have a large clump of clumping fescue I want to pull out but probably in the spring.

im at 140% GDD on my PGR. will be putting down the last pgr this Thursday. I last put urea down on the 14th foliarly with the FAS so I will be adding that stuff this time around.

might even get a scale for UREA this time. :lol:


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

MMoore said:


> might even get a scale for UREA this time. :lol:


That's a novel idea.

I just did FAS and Urea this afternoon. I'm currently at 107% and will likely do my last app the first weekend of October with Urea. I don't have enough Ferrous Sulfate left.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Put down urea/pgr/fas and it rained 2h later. Total waste?

Should I spread granular urea now?


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Put down what I expect is one of my last apps of urea last night as a granular.

Front lawn is looking as great as a nomix can.... back yard KBG is pretty thin. The bluegrass has never really been as thick as I wished our lawn could be... not sure why.

Will be doing soil tests in the spring before I put down any fertilizers. I haven't done this yet so maybe that will be an indicator.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

How many apps, what amount for each, and what frequency? Sometimes, we expect too much to happen too quickly with urea. I caught myself thinking in the same vein as you on Saturday. However, when I mowed today (only 3 days later), the grass exploded! Keep going with your urea apps until your average first frost.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Chris LI said:


> How many apps, what amount for each, and what frequency? Sometimes, we expect too much to happen too quickly with urea. I caught myself thinking in the same vein as you on Saturday. However, when I mowed today (only 3 days later), the grass exploded! Keep going with your urea apps until your average first frost.


average first frost is this week.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

I can see half my lawn from under the snow and have some grey snow Mold.

&#128557;

Best course of action? Ground will still be frozen for a while.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Is it worst than @wardconnor lawn?






That lawn then looked like this:


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

g-man said:


> Is it worst than @wardconnor lawn?
> 
> That lawn then looked like this:


yeah its pretty bad.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

That's not too terrible. Give it a rake when it dries out a bit and get some air flow. It should be fine when it warms up more.


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

That is not as bad as my lawn was. It will be fine. Go out there and rake it right away. Just rake the areas sooner rather than later and it will be fine. It may take a few mows after it starts growing rapidly. Fert water and mow...


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

wardconnor said:


> That is not as bad as my lawn was. It will be fine. Go out there and rake it right away. Just rake the areas sooner rather than later and it will be fine. It may take a few mows after it starts growing rapidly. Fert water and mow...


When do you do the first fert?

Ground and the canopy is still frozen so raking is a bit early still I think.


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

MMoore said:


> wardconnor said:
> 
> 
> > That is not as bad as my lawn was. It will be fine. Go out there and rake it right away. Just rake the areas sooner rather than later and it will be fine. It may take a few mows after it starts growing rapidly. Fert water and mow...
> ...


For me it will be late April or mid May. In years past I have gone heavy with the fert in the fall in hopes that it would store in the roots and jump start me in the spring. I was not as aggressive this last fall with my renovation. I do plan to hit it hard this spring with fert when the grass starts to gro. I want it to fill in and thicken up as I am still in the infancy of my lawn in terms of the renovation.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Not knowing the real type of kbg in my mix, what other type of grass seed should I use in shaded areas?

Right next to my deck isn't doing so hot.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Cross posting from the weed ID thread.

I have a few hundred of these guys poking out in the back yard. What are they?
Internet only had one hit and said maple tree. Kind of makes sense being that I have a maple tree.

How do I get rid of them?


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

MMoore said:


> How do I get rid of them?


Mow


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Mowed it.

They are still there (lol) But hopefully not once the grass starts growing in.

Lawn seems to be growing pretty well so I put a light N app down.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Lawn seems to be in full grow now.

Considering taking the sunjoe to do a scarify.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Scarified the front lawn, going to do the back today. looks a little beat up but it does look a bit flatter after that for some reason.

I have a bag of chicken poo and a ton of urea, should i be putting one of those down with the scarifying?


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Urea will help with recovery. It's still too cold for organics (chicken poo).


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Put down a light urea app and did a pre-e in the beds/most of the back yard where it is strong and i dont need to seed.

Im still debating wiping out the front yard and doing a full reno up there. there is like 10 types of grass, its very noticeable, especially since im cutting at ~1.25" right now but working my way up for summer.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Decided when I can see my kbg spots I have planted next to the rest of my lawn it's the year to full Reno the front.

Still trying to figure out how to diy sprinkler system easily.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

MMoore said:


> Still trying to figure out how to diy sprinkler system easily.


I have a bed that runs across the front and around the perimeter by the property line. I ran mine through there using hose with spike base sprinklers and switched them over to gear drives over time, since I can get better range with them. I use a similar setup in the backyard. If you can get large 3/4" diameter hose, that will help with pressure and distance.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Chris LI said:


> MMoore said:
> 
> 
> > Still trying to figure out how to diy sprinkler system easily.
> ...


Thanks for the suggestion. I don't have a bed around the perimeter to tuck it into the mulch or whatever.

Would be in-ground.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Second app of pgr/fas has met its gdd.

Lots of consistent heat and one one real rainfall in weeks. Still pretty green considering.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Wife just asked me when I was going to start my irrigation system.

&#128512;

I just need to put some sprays in for her flowers.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Any way to smash fine fescue In a mix lawn?

My front lawn I can't keep green. Not ready to Reno it.


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@MMoore No way except of glypho.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Babameca said:


> @MMoore No way except of glypho.


Tell me something else. Haha.

Won't be doing it this year. Too busy with studying for new job.


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@MMoore Sorry to be the messenger. Good luck with the new challenges!


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

No problem. I knew it was a Reno.

I will maybe try to get the irrigation setup in this fall and next year dial that in before I wipe the lawn out.

My kbg in the back is handling the heat far better than my front lawn.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Put down some pgr with surfactant and a light dose of urea today.

It rained 3h later. I hope that was long enough for the pgr to do its magic.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Letting the lawn come out of suppression for some heavy top dressing


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

I have some rutting from my mower weight around the perimeter of my rear lawn. Would topping and leveling be fine for ruts (around 3/4" deep, visibly noticable) if i used sand, or should i use some type of dirt like a sandy loam to fill the ruts?

Im looking to topdress/level the rear this weekend 

I need to get some photos up, but i have a spot in the rear thats struggling since the heat... and the front lawn is largely fine fescue which is starting to come back on with the cooler temps and has looked like crap all summer.


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## Sinclair (Jul 25, 2017)

MMoore said:


> I have some rutting from my mower weight around the perimeter of my rear lawn. Would topping and leveling be fine for ruts (around 3/4" deep, visibly noticable) if i used sand, or should i use some type of dirt like a sandy loam to fill the ruts?
> 
> Im looking to topdress/level the rear this weekend
> 
> I need to get some photos up, but i have a spot in the rear thats struggling since the heat... and the front lawn is largely fine fescue which is starting to come back on with the cooler temps and has looked like crap all summer.


This is what I used, and it worked nicely: https://picamix.ca/product/grass-grower-lawn-top-dressing


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Sinclair said:


> MMoore said:
> 
> 
> > I have some rutting from my mower weight around the perimeter of my rear lawn. Would topping and leveling be fine for ruts (around 3/4" deep, visibly noticable) if i used sand, or should i use some type of dirt like a sandy loam to fill the ruts?
> ...


looks like a good product.
My local landscape suppliers just have more standard products, "triple mix", "topsoil", "sandy loam", "sand"

I should look more for different suppliers


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Decided to try and smash my front yard weed problem today. It's driving me nuts to look at.

Wintergreen "essential oil" ft 2-4dicamba went down.


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## MMoore (Aug 8, 2018)

Another year, another raise of powdery mildew. its WET back there and with the blitz lots of N.

Tons of mushrooms again as well.

Fortunately I caught it early and stopped my N apps in the back so the PM didnt get too bad before subsiding.

Next spring I want to go pretty heavy with some sand in the back. Thinking about renting a core aerator even though the whole yard was tilled ~2 years ago so I can get some of the sand into the soil. Would I be wrong to core aerate, sweep the cores and then sand top? Or should I sand top and then use the scarifier to push the sand down for a bit less aggressive sanding?

Right now, when I turn or engage the self propelling on the mower its laying down some muddy skids because its pretty wet. This is largely limited to the areas that I put the sod down.


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