# Washington State California Trimmer Lawn



## 1982caltrim (Jan 17, 2018)

How Goes It,
New here, but I wanted to start a thread for anyone who is in Washington State, or similar climates. My goal is to share what I've learned, and learn as much as possible form others. I have a 5 year old lawn. It has SR-7150 colonial bent, Ph.D. Perennial Ryegrass. The total lawn coverage is about 1,700sqft. I use a 1982 California Trimmer, and a Tru Cut Edger.

It's January 17th 2018. The grass is doing well. The Pro Turf slow releasing fertilizer I put on has done it's job. ONE SMALL PROBLEM, I didn't lay down any moss preventative fertilizer, so today that will get done. Walking the grounds it appears I will have my work "cut out" for me at the beginning of this season.

Here is are a couple summer pictures. I will post more pictures as things progress. Have a good day.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Welcome to TLF!


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Welcome to TLF!!! What HOC are you maintaining your lawn at?


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## 1982caltrim (Jan 17, 2018)

Thank you for the "Welcome."

Right now I'm just letting it grow. At its shortest I get around 5/8 - 1/4 inch, it depends on what I see in the forecast and the current performance of the grass at the time. I'm planning on getting a Toro Greensmaster 100 soon. It rains so much that the damage I do if I do mow it, is a bit too costly from a rut perspective. 
Yes........, I have to start the season at a higher cut height than I would like, but every year I 
scalp/thatch/aerate/seed/sand/sandy loam it in about month and a half time period. Therefore I'm not worried about training the grass all over again for its height. 
If I lived somewhere else, I most likely would not be so harsh. Though, Washington States grow period is so short, I've found the most success doing as much as possible every year.
This last year my wife and I had triplets, and I've done my best but only aerated, sanded, and seeded. Examining my lawn now, I see the lack of proper maintenance. What do I mean? The lawn is thick, dense, does not drain well in some places, has low spots, the bent grass has taken over a bit too much in places, red thread, and various other things.


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## 1982caltrim (Jan 17, 2018)

Mightyquinn said:


> Welcome to TLF!!! What HOC are you maintaining your lawn at?


5/8" - 1/2" I think, never really measured.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Welcome to TLF. Congrats on the triples.

I think you guys in the NW have it fairly easy. Remember seeing pictures from GeorgeH property in Seattle and it was equally nice. I like the look of the rocks along the fence (plus not having the trim). (GeorgeH lawn: https://aroundtheyard.com/forums2/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14139&sid=d1bb3681a672b93cb946950ef773b9bd)

Around the moss, have you ever sent a sample of your soil to be tested? Moss love wet weather (NW) and acidic soils. The best way to address moss long term is to deal with these. The grading in your yard looks pretty good until it gets flat at the back of the backyard.


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

Looks good, you dont see a lot of us WA/OR people west of the cascades posting about their lawns. Most people just let the weeds and poa take over.

I reno'd my back yard this last Fall with the PHD blend from ProTimeLawnSeed here in Portland(only place i could find that sells it nearby?) and it turned out great.

Other than the fact I have some poa popping up in a few spots after my Tenacity app ran out its dark and gorgeous now, even with our cold/wet weather...everyone elses lawn is turning yellow/diseased and its still chugging away.

Since it was such a success i plan on throwing it down in all 5 of my front yard plots this next Fall, along with some bewitched for shits n gigs.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

Welcome! I'd love to see a pic of your trimmer


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## 1982caltrim (Jan 17, 2018)

g-man said:


> Welcome to TLF. Congrats on the triples.
> 
> I think you guys in the NW have it fairly easy. Remember seeing pictures from GeorgeH property in Seattle and it was equally nice. I like the look of the rocks along the fence (plus not having the trim). (GeorgeH lawn: https://aroundtheyard.com/forums2/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14139&sid=d1bb3681a672b93cb946950ef773b9bd)
> 
> Around the moss, have you ever sent a sample of your soil to be tested? Moss love wet weather (NW) and acidic soils. The best way to address moss long term is to deal with these. The grading in your yard looks pretty good until it gets flat at the back of the backyard.


WOW this is great. I've watched this lawn for a while. It is what sent me down the SR7150 path. The moss is a drainage problem more than anything. I will be trying to fix it this summer.


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## 1982caltrim (Jan 17, 2018)

FuzzeWuzze said:


> Looks good, you dont see a lot of us WA/OR people west of the cascades posting about their lawns. Most people just let the weeds and poa take over.
> 
> I reno'd my back yard this last Fall with the PHD blend from ProTimeLawnSeed here in Portland(only place i could find that sells it nearby?) and it turned out great.
> 
> ...


Your lawn looks great. I went with Protime as well. I will getting a bunch of the PHD. The bent grass was nice, but I don't have the right mower set up. My Cal trimmer doesn't have enough blades, so I end up going over it 4-5 times just to get the cut even, and keep it low. The color isn't what I am shooting for either. I think if I seed heavy with PHD, it will be a bit easier for my set up. Unless........... I get a Toro Greensmaster 1000.

Does anyone have a suggestion on where I can sort one?


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## 1982caltrim (Jan 17, 2018)

SGrabs33 said:


> Welcome! I'd love to see a pic of your trimmer


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

1982caltrim said:


> SGrabs33 said:
> 
> 
> > Welcome! I'd love to see a pic of your trimmer


Very nice!


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## 1982caltrim (Jan 17, 2018)

The California Trimmer was a family members that I rebuilt. That's why it has a new engine. I'm thinking of going to a greens mower of some kind. I like the Toro Greensmaster 1000.


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

1982caltrim said:


> FuzzeWuzze said:
> 
> 
> > Looks good, you dont see a lot of us WA/OR people west of the cascades posting about their lawns. Most people just let the weeds and poa take over.
> ...


Yea wish my yard looked like my sig still, my front yard is still full of shitty varieties of grass planted in the 90's so it thins out really badly this time of year. Soon it shall all be nuked and fixed though in Fall.

PHD is some really nice looking seed, although i had a lot of germination issues. Unknown if it was user error or what.

All i can think is how crappy and my lawn looks this time of year, then i drive down the street and realize its really not that bad.


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## 1982caltrim (Jan 17, 2018)

That's funny you mention the germination issues. I had the same issue, I'm going to call them. I'll let you know how is goes.


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

They said to put 10# down per 1k, i ended up doing that twice to get it to a reasonable density.


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## 1982caltrim (Jan 17, 2018)

Well it seems to be up to an "opinion". I just got off the phone with them, and it seems like one of two things happened. 1.) I was too early, and a frost could have killed the germination. 2.) The seed was not in enough soil. (I say this because the best results came from the aeration holes filled with sand.)


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