# 2021 Bewitched (Fall 2020 Reno)



## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

OK... here's my follow up to my very first reno from last fall (2020).

I seeded about 10k sq ft of my front and side property with 100% Bewitched KBG in September. It was a big project including regrading, irrigation install, and complete landscaping redo.

Here was the start...





And here is where we are today...













Been mowing on the lowest setting my toro rotary super recycler push mower will go.

Have some good areas and some less than good. Been dealing with powdery mildew, moss, and poa. Also got a crazy chickweed infestation in north side of lawn. The crowded areas from seed pile ups due to washouts are noticably thicker but also noticeably yellow especially when mowed low. The biggest mistake I made was not doing a late fall prem app thinking it was too late for weeds ...not having knowledge of how poa works.

I just started spoon feeding N last week and am waiting for some warmer temps to try out Tenacity for the first time.

Excited to see how things go this Spring. I appreciate all the help from the site especially being able to learn from people's mistakes without having to make them myself. I hope I can contribute as well by documenting all the stupid $#%! I do.... hahaha


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Put down a blanket app of weed b gone cco I had leftover from several years ago to try to kill the chickweed. It said 1 gallon of mixed product per 200 sq ft which seemed really heavy, so I went lighter mostly because I didn't have enough. 60 deg f today and threatening 2 inches of snow on Tuesday 

I am waiting for warmer temps to try out the generic tenacity I bought for poa and other Grassy weeds.

I may put down a spoon feeding of N using Scotts Green Max granular that I already had on hand ahead of the snow. Seems like perfect way to water it in, since it will be melting almost as soon as it stops.

Debating on doing anything about the moss or not.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

OK ....contemplating going reel low  think my lawn will lend itself OK to reel mowing?

found this for sale... what does anyone think?


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Pictures didn't post...


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

@bf7 ...just noticed your signature says you have a JD220B. I assume this is what you have been using on the reno? What HOC's have you tried and what did that entail you had to do to the 220B? I'm worried how low I will be able to go. Never done this before ...lol


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## MarineOh3 (Feb 26, 2021)

Man the bewitched looks fantastic. Get that reel mower on it and don't look back - I would think, though, with young grass you'd want to get rid of the groomer on the front. Really impressive renovation. Well done.


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

Looking good! The Bewitched looks dark despite all that poa mixed in.

Absolutely go for the JD. I love it. How much are they asking? I paid $1,000 for mine.

Fortunately mine came from a high end golf course so it was well maintained. I didn't have to do much to it. All I've done really is change the oil, grease it, and backlap to sharpen the blade. Works like a champ.

I started out around 1 inch but ended up going lower. My current HOC is 13/16 inch. The 220B comes with an 11 blade reel which should do better at lower HOCs. But I haven't had any issues. It's a super clean cut. There are definitely some stragglers but if you double cut it should take care of those. Plus it will help to burn in the stripes.

Let me know if you have any more questions about the mower!


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

This Grassy weed is all over in a shady section of the lawn...


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Ok because of all of you bad influences look what I just brought home.....



I have no idea what I am doing .....at ALL!

Seems ok shape, considering 2005 model. I don't think the parking brake works, and there is some oil collecting on it, but I think it was just a mess from where the guy checked/filled it quickly.

Next thing to figure out is what all I absolutely need to check before using it the first time so I don't break it.

Also figure out the strategy of how to start out. The *** is sitting at about ~2 inches right now. Rain in the forecast for tonight. I'll probably chicken out at just use the rotary quickly before the rain.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Took the 220b for its first spin in half the lawn...

Adjusted it to its highest HOC and checked to see if it cut paper, which it surprisingly did  and took off while there was still light.

Ended up with this:



The color is definitely off compared to before the cut:



I am happy with this hoc, so now I need to decide if I do a cut even lower to kind of scalp the grass so it hopefully grows back to the intended hoc with nice green leaf growth..... or just keep cutting at this hoc and see if the grass eventually adapts

The yellowing is pretty much all the places where the turf grew in really thick ... maybe from too much seed , idk

I am also deathly afraid of damaging the reel so I didn't get any where near the driveway or curb :lol: 
If anyone has opinions of what I can due to ensure I'll be fine running the mower right on top of the concrete let me know so I can get over my fears......below won't be a good look. Haha


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Looks good overall. By the way, that grassy weed in the shady areas may be Poa Triv. Glyphosate 3x between now and mid May, and then reseed or move plugs in.


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## weirj55 (Apr 13, 2020)

The mowing reel isn't likely going to hit the driveway or the curbing unless you have a significant change in height. Maybe where one section of concrete has raised or lowered. Otherwise, the front and rear rollers are keeping the reel at your height of cut. You should be able to rest one side of your reel mower right on the curbing/driveway and go to town. I do and I haven't ever had any problems. Depending on the difference in height from your driveway to your lawn and your desired direction of cut, you may wish to do a trim pass around the exterior of the lawn so you do not have to turn around on the driveway. Having a drop may cause you to scalp the lawn.

Good luck with the reel and looking good!


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

It's very interesting to me the drastic leaf width difference of the Bewitched in areas where the grass in thinner versus where it is thicker. In my case I think this is most often in areas where the seed got piled up during washouts in the reno (which is all over  ) ...I'll try to post pics, but first attempt capturing this on camera was a fail


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## MarineOh3 (Feb 26, 2021)

You are absolutely fine running along the curb or sidewalk. I even have an uneven flagstone walkway that I run my Greensmaster over and the reel and bedknife are perfectly fine. What does scare me though is when I encounter the tree roots on the yard. I avoid those...


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## Biggylawns (Jul 8, 2019)

As long as the reel doesn't hit the concrete you'll be fine. If you're really concerned do a test run with the reel not spinning. Also, you should look into pgr now, unless you want to mow every 2 to 3 days.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Ok ....I lowered the hoc to I think just below 3/4 ". The lawn looks like crap. Hopefully this is the correct method ... scalp and let the leaf grow back. The areas where the bewitched grew in thick look almost dead.... lol

I really haven't figured out this greens mower yet either. The lawn is definitely bumpy, and now it is pretty hard and packed down. I may just live with a low rotorary cut until I can do some better leveling in a year or two ....we will see.. I just don't really like wheel tracks and prefer the look that is left by the reel mower without the wheel tracks, 2 inch hoc doesn't bother me really

These pics look way greener than in person. It is much more yellow and brown in person.


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

I'll be sad if you give up on the JD! When I first got it, I accidentally did one cut at 1/2" and hated the color loss. I recently raised it a bit to 15/16" and think it looks incredible. It's crazy how much difference a half inch makes.

Are you getting scalping because the grass was long before? I have some fairly big ruts and I haven't experienced anything like that. But I agree on the wheel tracks from the rotary - not for me. Don't go back to the dark side!


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Hmmm... I guess it is common in UK to have a rotary push mower with inset front wheels and a rear drum like a greens mower has. Toro prostripe 560 is one model and can cut down to 0.5 " ..... anyone want to trade for one. :lol:

Sorry just frustrated cause I didn't realize how much of a learning curve it was going to be to maneuver the greens mower and how much trim work is going to be left. .... but still interesting, I'm sure it won't have a good a cut, but seems more flexible if grass growth gets away from you


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Definitely seeing seed heads now.

Here is a piece of sod I cut out in December to dig a hole for basketball hoop install. It's been sitting in an unfinished bed ever since not mowed this year.



And here is in the lawn...


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

psider25 said:


> Sorry just frustrated cause I didn't realize how much of a learning curve it was going to be to maneuver the greens mower and how much trim work is going to be left.


One trick I learned - for the areas that the greens mower won't reach, I just run them over with the manual reel. Takes a few extra minutes for each mow but at least I don't have to string trim all those spots. And, I don't feel like I have to get super close to all the nooks and crannies with the greens mower because the manual reel will suffice there. I don't get stuck up against the house anymore or run the risk of the axles dinging something.

I feel your pain - It's definitely tough to maneuver at first but gets easier with practice. My front yard is small with obstacles and I'm still learning how to get decent looking stripes.


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## Biggylawns (Jul 8, 2019)

The color will come back and your grass will be thicker.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Well... I hurt my back and agrivated an old disc injury and have sciatica dowm my legs to my toes. Not sure if it has anything to do with manhandling that greens mower, but its going to make trying to keep up with mowing low interesting.

I mowed at 3/4 again today took off way more than 1/3 in just 2.5 days.

I am going to concentrate on the tenacity now that it's warmer trying to get rid of any poa a and other Grassy weeds ... may mean I can't mow enough with greens mower and have to go back to 1.5 inch with rotary. Nervous as this will be my first precision spray of anything ever


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

psider25 said:


> Nervous as this will be my first precision spray of anything ever


Use a marker dye. It fades relatively quickly and it'll give you the assurance that you are hitting everything without any major overlaps.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

...back to ~1.5 hoc for time being

It appears either the crown of the grass grew tall since the fall or I just have tons of brown dead stuff. Need to determine what to do about it.


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## mribbens (Jul 13, 2018)

Have you dethatched? I have had to dethatch an area of my lawn that is new to reel mowing, 2X, and with cutting at .70 HOC, and it looks ugly, really ugly, but, it is slowly improving. The dethatching has helped with the gross brown dead debris and allows for the lawn and soil to breath. This has been a weird spring, cool and dry with hot days mixed in, at least for me 50 miles North of Chicago. I have used the Sun Joe to dethatch and I have removed several mower bags full of debris.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Well .... missed tenacity opportunity again... 1.5 inches of rain coming.

Got another mow in with the JD220 at the highest setting. It's amazing how overcast makes the pics look so much better than in real life.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Finally got to the blanket (generic) tenacity app yesterday evening. Put down 1 teaspoon per 3 gallons of water with surfactant and blue marker die in my manual pump backpack sprayer. I aimed for 1 gallon per 1k sq ft application over about 12k sq ft lawn area. Had to mix up 4 tanks . This puts me somewhere between the 2 oz and 4 oz rate.

Got rain early this am but I think it had at least 8-10 hours to dry.

We will see how I did. I am learning I really dislike spraying chems.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

I have a bunch of below in a shady section of the reno. This was probably the slowest section to fill in as well. I'm worried that it could be triv so I have been hesitant to hand pull (the few in the pics I did hand pull). If it is I could round up and plant plugs? I would mechanically remove though if effective.

I have a whole tray full of plugs I planted last fall that I never used. Can't believe they survived winter just sitting out exactly like you see lol

I'm posting in weed Id thread and I'll see what the experts weigh in with


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

I'm no expert, but I see that nobody has bit here or in the weed ID thread. My guess: Quackgrass?


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Look at all that chick weed ..... either the scotts max with iron and all the rain darkened the lawn or the tenacity is starting to kick in


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## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

You definitely want to start PGR if you are going to maintain at 1/2-3/4 inch unless you like mowing every 1-2 days. I would also consider scarification to get the old dead stuff out of the lawn faster. The grass is already starting to look better at the low HOC. Keep it at around 3/4 inch and it will fill in quickly, you just need a bit more patience.

I can't help much on the weed ID, but Quackgrass has clasping auricles. I don't think that is what you have.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

thanks @bernstem ...you think the scarification will spread all my weeds? should I wait until I get them under control first?


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## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

I think you should be fine with a light scarification.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Tenacity is starting to work. It is lightening all the non bewitched nicely.

Especially around the edges of the reno I am seeing lots of this:



I still haven't figured out of it is triv ...I hope not.

I think this is the same thing in sunnier parts of the lawn. It has blades that have completely browned out and died... not sure from what.

I 


Here is a clump I pulled from the first section above (shady part of lawn)....


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

@psider25, I think that sample in the last photo is Triv. Look for long articles and boat shaped tips.


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

With bewitch I could mow every 3 days, 4 was okay but it was too much clippings to bring to the compost.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

So, it's official triv is all around the edges of my reno and has encroached pretty good in some spots. The tenacity really highlighted it. @$%#■!!

It is also all along both neighbors lot lines ....WTH are you supposed to do with that?













Here's where I got slap happy and started hand digging it out


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Also forgot to show off my copy cat stripes before it rained for 4 days straight and grass got too tall to use reel mower


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

I had a few weeds like that my first year. Sprayed what I could with a 3 way and the rest went away after winter. Just keep the pre emergent down, I found that more frequent apps helped more than two big ones.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Put down Scotts DiseaseEx today ...curative rate on south lawn and preventative rate on north lawn. It wasn't exactly what I would call even as I was trying to figure out the correct setting for such a small amount of granules on my lesco spreader ..oh well live and learn, hope I didn't over apply in spots on the curative side

Had some browning spots on south lawn that I couldn't explain from drought stress. Most of the brown was entire grass blades but did find some legions on the green grass blades in those spots, but I do wonder if it had anything to do with when I had the reel to bedknife adjustment messed up of the mower and it was hitting the tall blades of grass without cutting them.


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

Most of the poa I get comes in around the property lines. I can't stand it.

How's the JD treating you?


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

bf7 said:


> Most of the poa I get comes in around the property lines. I can't stand it.
> 
> How's the JD treating you?


I think I am going to dig a moat along the property lines.

The JD is pretty good once I figured it out. I got it cutting paper consistently and had been using it at the max HOC ~1 inch. It did require a double mow though with the 11 blade reel to get a cut without stragglers. I had to take a break from it recently though because of all the rain we got I couldn't keep up and the grass got too tall ...so back to the rotary for the moment until I can commit to cutting more frequently.

I have been looking into Toro ProStripe560 and Masport Rotarola a bit as I am worried how I will keep up with the mow once fall comes along with lots and lots of hickory nuts, acorns, sticks, and lots and lots of leaves (most which blow into my yard from everyone else's). We will see how things go and whether or not the ol' JD goes up for sale.


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

It is tough to keep up with. Even with PGR I'm mowing every few days.

I'm replacing the original reel with a 9 blade soon so I'll let you know if it helps get the stragglers.

Would hate to see it go!


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Put down another 3oz per thousand-ish  blanket spray of genetic tenacity. 2.5 weeks since last app.

Almost all of the white from last time was gone and most weeds had rebounded along with the poa. This time any Grassy weed that turns white is getting hand pulled. Hopefully this second app does in the chickweed. I really dislike spraying chemicals.

Otherwise the bewitched has been looking pretty good lately. May do one more spoon feed of N before summer really takes off.


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

Looks awesome! Seems like you had a great month of May. Your hard work is paying off.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

... so I have been noticing a non- uniform spot in my bewitched mono stand

It is a very DARK green that was very noticeable today. ....no these are not shadows or lighting affects.

Continplating if this could be another type of grass, but I have no idea how it could have gotten there in such a large spot.


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## kdn (Aug 26, 2020)

It looks stressed in those spots. Pull a plug from there and check if the soil is dry or if there is anything else obvious.


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## bf7 (May 11, 2020)

+1 my kbg turns a blackish color before going brown with drought stress. Flood it with water for a few days and do a screwdriver test.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

bf7 said:


> +1 my kbg turns a blackish color before going brown with drought stress. Flood it with water for a few days and do a screwdriver test.


I think you guys may be correct. I flooded it a couple days in a row and seems to have made a change in color.

So next thing to do is a sprinkler audit and start using the sprinklers regularly (we hit 90 today). I have a rachio 3 and want to try out their flex schedule but first need to determine how much water they are putting out to input into the system. Precip rate. I have low flow rate so a lot of zones, not sure how much that will complicate Calculating precip rate. We will see.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Looks good from afar.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Put down preventative rate of granular propi (bayer) ... it was so humid outside dang stuff kept clogging in spreader and was out in the dark trying to get it down before rain. I'm sure it was quite un even.

We got 4 inches or more of rain this week and crazy humidity.

I'm noticing yellow blades of grass mixed in all over the thick spots of my lawn (mostly the full sun areas). Looks like disease up close and not drought pressure. I may get some more axozy ...idk yet. Really want this new grass to make it through summer as strong as possible.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)




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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Ok ....irrigation audit to dial in the settings for the rachio flex watering schedule


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## Vtx531 (Jul 1, 2019)

That bright white concrete really makes the lawn pop and I like the curved edges.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

No post in a while.... been battling rust and brown patch since returning from vacation the first week of August.

Put down first app of fert since end of spring ...0.25 lbs per thousand N

Also put Down lesco stonewall for pre m ...I think I accidentally did double what I intended slightly exceeding yearly max since I put down first half in spring maybe it will act like a pgr lol .... hope it didn't do damage though

One of the most curious things for me now is this area of the lawn that has complete dead spots since returning from vacation first week of August as well.







So this spot has been first to show drought stress all summer long even though it gets most coverage from irrigation. It did fine last fall during reno and fine all spring. Interesting thing is this spot always had trouble previous years prior to renovation and most summers some die off. For reno I did some major tiling and a little re grading in that section so soil was definitely mixed up some and pushed around with other parts of yard.

I guess I should get a soil test since I have not just can't get motivated to do it.


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

How deep did you till? I would stick in a screw driver, the longest one you have.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Are you sure that's not fungus damage? It's hard to tell from the closeup photo's resolution, but it looks like there might be lesions on the leaf blades.

I have similar looking patches each year and it may be overcompensating with water, which keeps the leaf blades wet too long.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Chris LI said:


> Are you sure that's not fungus damage? It's hard to tell from the closeup photo's resolution, but it looks like there might be lesions on the leaf blades.
> 
> I have similar looking patches each year and it may be overcompensating with water, which keeps the leaf blades wet too long.


Checkout post above from June where you can see these dead spots used to turn very dark almost black at first sign of what I could only attribute to drought stress


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Did you put down any insecticide? I had an issue like that before, pretty sure it was chinch bugs.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Great point! I believe you are correct. I think it may be competition with tree roots in full sun exposure. Does that area receive full or near full sun? I have a section in my backyard that struggles every year due to near full sun and competition with surface tree roots from a Red maple. I would try the screwdriver test to make sure there is no debris below the surface. I've been using foliar N apps which have helped, but the area still struggles a bit.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Got the mower bag out of the attic to mow until the rust goes away  I hate bagging, but man does it look much nicer.
Mower and bag are covered in orange dust.

Put down just under 0.5 lb N using Scotts green max granular and ran irrigation to put down about 0.4 inches.

It's been high 80s and low 90s but weather is going to break tonight and we should see possibly highs down to 69 degrees this week.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

The rust is finally gone.

I got the greens mower out again and mowed the yard and it's highest setting. Yard looks crappy now as all the dead from a rough end to summer is now very visible.

We've had a lot of rain lately and yard is kinda mushy, so once it dries out again I'll apply some more N and iron before irrigating.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

No posts since last year.

Well lawn was looking really good last week.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Had really wet weather and had to wait almost a week to mow and since then color of off quite a bit with lots of dead in lawn.

Maybe I need to do something to get all the dead out? Is that OK to do any time of year is what I need to figure out. We had 2 days of 90 this week which is not normal but summer is pretty much here now.

So the decision is to use a dethatcher or not. Would be worried about both spreading poa a and poa t.

Was apparently cutting with my reel not sharp for a week or two cause poor cuts and lots of wapping grass blades but not cutting that is maybe the culprit for all the dead? Or could be leftover from all the fungus damage last year ??? Not sure but it is in there none the less.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

It's best not to stress grass before summer heat. I'd hold off on de thatching.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)




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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Crazy how 1 days growth brings so much more color



I prob need to get into PGR


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

So ... the dead and yellowing in the lawn is spreading and its not looking great.

We had a couple high 90 days last 2 weeks but I thought I was staying on top of watering.

Is it too early for grub damage? Definitely looks worse in full sun areas.

@jskierko how's your bewitched holding up in this early summer heat?


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

You are on a fungicide schedule?


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

No, but I did put down granular lesco eagle preventative 1.5 weeks ago. I have scotts disease ex ready azoxy leftover from last year if needed


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## Wile (Sep 17, 2020)

You're probably looking at dollar spot. Your post from last year had textbook hourglass lesions. Too little water can enhance DS pressure. Don't make my mistake of over regulating the turf under a pgr. That made DS damage really bad. Yard looks great though!


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Last year I definitely had brown patch ... frog eye patterns .... maybe some dollar spot but not that much. A lot of rust in early fall.

I have never used pgr yet .... maybe having to mow every other day is hard on the lawn?


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## lbb091919 (Apr 26, 2020)

Definitely looks like DS. I've got a handful of spots in my Bewitched at the moment too.


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

bro foliar N makes this grass pop. I want to help because the slow growth of bewitch is absolutely astronomically underrated. for real weekly or bi weekly foliar nitrogen will make this pop like you can never dream. Look at my previous lawn and it will show you this grass cultivar has the possibility to be a canvas on the wall of an gallery. when I mean Gallery If done right an lawn forum cool season hall of fame.


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## psider25 (May 4, 2020)

Last set of stripes for the season. Snow tonight.


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