# Jimmy's Fall 2017 Front/Side Renovation



## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Hi All!

I'm currently planning a renovation of my front and size yards. They are currently a mix of old *** and fine fescue with patches of creeping bentgrass, nimblewill, quackgrass, and tall fescue. In general, I probably have one of the nicest lawns in the neighborhood, but I still want pure ***...plus it sounds fun to me. Also, there is currently construction on my street, where they replaced water/sewer and gas laterals, meaning there are areas of my front lawn near the sidewalk that were dug up and will need seeding anyway. I'm also going to have my overhead electrical service buried (hopefully in the next few weeks, schedule still pending), resulting in a trench in part of my side and back yards.

The construction guy I talked to indicated a hard completion date of August 24th. The energy company person told me it could take three weeks from next week (when my electrician comes and does his stuff) until they can come trench, so it might not mean a seed-down until September. :|

The other possible hiccup is that I sprayed what I think is a ~4 month rate of prodiamine around the 10th of April. At that point I didn't have a reno planned, so I wasn't being dumb. I don't remember the exact dosage, only that I used less than initially planned because I walked a bit faster than I did on my trial run with my new backpack sprayer. I planted some fast germinating bean and lettuce seeds in small areas of my lawn to test the germination potential of my soil. I'll know in a few days if they grow. I'm guessing everything will be fine, since we've had a super rainy spring/summer and hopefully the prodiamine has degraded/washed away.

If all goes well, here's the schedule:


 Aug 2-5: targeted kill (depending on weather and a couple other factors).

Going to scalp/bag a few days after

After scalping, I'll setup my temporary irrigation (I don't have any interest in permanent irrigation due to my location, trees, mowing habits, and conservation interests)

I'll set my sprinklers to run as they would after seed down and fallow until seed down

Do the very small amount of grading work

(hopefully) August 23 or 24: Seed down, depending on scheduling of the electrical trenching. Going to do one bag-rate app of Milorganite, followed by Scott's starter w/tenacity, followed by seed at ~2lbs per 1000 sq ft with light raking, followed by peat moss topdressing (spread with a rake).

I got a 50/50 mix of Bewitched KBG and Award KBG from seedsuperstore. I started some pots a couple weeks ago and germination began this week. (Baby grass!)

I'll try to get some photos up soon.

Because of the many factors, I'm torn between trying to squeeze it in this fall and just trying it in the spring, which I know isn't ideal. I'm not opposed to a spring renovation, it's just that fall is better and more consistent in SE Wisconsin with weather, and I want it done in fall. Do you guys think I ought to wait, or deal with a possible early September seed down date? How much does frost affect seedlings?


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## Redtenchu (Jan 28, 2017)

I'd go with fall, if you for some reason fail or have issues there is always spring for plan B


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

I wouldn't sweat it. Drop the seed when you can. The earlier the better because it gives you second chances on problem areas but even September is fine. It will still grow after frosts. I wouldn't worry about the Pre-em at all.


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## ales_gantar (Apr 13, 2017)

In my experience I'd say seed down as soon as possible after the last heat wave. With spring seeding you have all sorts of shallow roots, fungus, and other problems. You can seed over the trenches in spring, if you have to, but I wouldn't wait with the whole lawn just because there's a trench digging pending.


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Thanks for the replies! My test areas with random bean/pea/lettuce seeds germinated and sprouted just fine, so my spring prodiamine should be mostly gone.

I'm going to do my initial glyphosate app tonight. Also going to take some "before" pictures as well.


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

I finished my glyphosate app just as it was getting dark, so I didn't have enough time to take some photos. I'll take some in the morning.

I didn't use tracker dye, but I'm was methodical and the sides of my house are narrow, so I should have good coverage.










P.S. I was able to talk to both of my neighbors and neither of them called me crazy, so that's a plus.


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Here are some photos from this morning. I had a decent lawn...some mixed undesirable grasses and some minor fungal issues from the rainy summer, but it was ok.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

jimmy said:


> Here are some photos from this morning. I had a decent lawn...some mixed undesirable grasses and some minor fungal issues from the rainy summer, but it was ok.


Yeah, your front yard has a very nice color from a distance.



jimmy said:


> Thanks for the replies! My test areas with random bean/pea/lettuce seeds germinated and sprouted just fine, so my spring prodiamine should be mostly gone.
> 
> I'm going to do my initial glyphosate app tonight. Also going to take some "before" pictures as well.


Exciting times!!


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

jimmy said:


> Here are some photos from this morning. I had a decent lawn...some mixed undesirable grasses and some minor fungal issues from the rainy summer, but it was ok.


You've got soil that can grow grass pretty decently so that's a big plus. Good luck to you on your reno.


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

social port said:


> Yeah, your front yard has a very nice color from a distance.


Thanks! I mostly liked my lawn and was happy I could get this color by only mowing tall (no irrigation), but the details (quackgrass, Tall Fescue...and the fine fescue not being wear-tolerant) bothered me, and I enjoy landscaping and growing things.



LIgrass said:


> You've got soil that can grow grass pretty decently so that's a big plus. Good luck to you on your reno.


Thanks! I've lived here only 2 1/2 years, so the mulch mowing and Milorganite I've done have helped, but I suspect my native soil type the big thing. It is well draining, but not sandy (more loamy clay). It isn't perfect, but nobody's is.


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Grass is mostly dead at this point, I went through last night and spot sprayed the areas I hit too lightly or missed. I used the dosage for grass (1.5 oz per gallon) and it didn't get all my broughtleaf weeds or the tall fescue on the first pass, so I added an extra TBSP per gallon this time. I'm going to scalp tonight.

I'll get some photos up showing the grass now and after scalping.


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

I've been quite busy as of late, but yesterday the road construction started wrapping up and my power company finished. Last night I worked on some minor leveling and am shooting to get seed down on Saturday morning. I'll try to get my photos up from a couple weeks ago as well as some after seed down.


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## Pete1313 (May 3, 2017)

Exciting times! Take lots of pictures!


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Here are the pictures from about a week after the first glyphosate app (right after I scalped):































































I did do two more apps, hitting spots I missed or the weeds that grew up during the fallowing period (which wasn't many).


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Yesterday morning was seed down!

I first raked the few spots that were matted down. Then I threw down a heavy app of Milorganite (2 bags for my ~3500 sq ft), a bag-rate app of Scott's Starter Fert with Mesotrione, and I carefully weighed my seed (50/50 mix of Award KBG and Bewitched KBG from Seed Superstore) and put down 2 lbs per 1000 sq ft. I was ready to do 2.5 lbs, but 2 seemed like plenty: those seeds are tiny! I used my Menard's broadcast spreader on most of it, but hand-spread the median (the grass between the sidewalk and the road). Then I used exactly 5 bales (3 cu. ft.) of peat moss from Home Depot. I found that pulling it around with my our radio flyer wagon and hand spreading was easiest for me to get a nice very thin layer.

Here are the photos from yesterday, right after I watered for the first time:













































The random dark spots are where I filled in uneven spots with some topsoil... this was much more difficult that I thought it would be, but it is good enough ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


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## Pete1313 (May 3, 2017)

I can't wait to see the Award/Bewitched blend start coming in. I agree 2lbs/k is plenty for KBG as It will fill in. Nice job! :thumbsup:


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Currently getting heavy rain &#128531;... The only area I can see with puddling water is by my downspout. That spot was always a worry for me, it may be where my pots that I started in July get plugged in. Praying for the rain to let up.


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Update on the rain:









Has a little more puddling, but I don't think there was really any washout. I'll keep an eye on the germination and if there are some bare spots, I'll spread a little more seed. Otherwise, it doesn't look too bad. The peat moss seems to have moved around a bit, but I'm pretty happy with my well-draining soil and how it performed.


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## monty (Jul 25, 2017)

It has been raining all day in Philly...I'm a little nervous about what my Reno is going to look like when I get home from work


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## ericgautier (Apr 22, 2017)

jimmy and monty.. I'll drink one for you guys tonight. Keep up the good work!


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

ericgautier said:


> jimmy and monty.. I'll drink one for you guys tonight. Keep up the good work!


Thanks man! I'll drink one too :beer:


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Day 9: I got back from camping for the weekend and was greeted by some baby grass! It is pretty widespread, but it seems like it is mostly only coming in where the peat moss is heavier. In the spots that I filled in with topsoil, most of the peat moss was washed into a few spots when we had that heavy rain, and that's what you can see in the pictures:



















Where I didn't fill in the peat moss is more even, so I'm getting more consistent germination:


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Day 26.

Ok....I haven't posted in a while, but I was right about the washout that first week. I also have some places that don't get as consistent watering....and a few spots that I'm not sure about. I have some areas than are in need of the first mow, and many areas just germinated or in the midst of sprout and pout. I'm definitely going to have to redo the far back right side in the spring, it gets a lot of shade and my sprinklers don't reach there. The parts in the front are looking ok, so I'm happy enough. I know it will fill in.

The left side doesn't get enough water and isn't great soil in general. My neighbor took care of it for the previous owner of my house and he only ever bags the grass and he cuts too short in the summer. His lawn is rarely green. Plus there are some compacted and mossy spots near the gate to my fence.

Oh and my good camera needed to be charged, so I used my phone and it doesn't pick up the newly germinated baby grass and makes it look worse than it is. Most of the bare spots have tiny grass just sprouted.

[media]https://imgur.com/a/mHDTY[/media]

My plan is to mow on Saturday and put down the rest of my starter fert (~1/2 rate, based on what is left in the bag). I might also put a 1/2 rate of Milorganite, since that's slow release. I want to encourage as much rhizome action as I can before it gets cold. Depending on how it goes in the spring, I'm also leaning toward getting a ProPlugger and helping it to fill in with plugs. It seems to work well for GrassDaddy, though he got his for free since he's a YouTube star :ugeek:


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

*Day 30*

I did the first mow on day 28 as well as the half app of the Scott's starter and a 3/4 app of Milo. I've also been hand picking the crabgrass that's standing out. There isn't too much, but enough that it annoys me.

And today I got some pictures with my good camera:

[media]https://imgur.com/a/hRxNS[/media]

I'm looking on Craigslist for a reel mower, but didn't get one in time for the first mow. I did spend some time sharpening my mower blades, so it would cut better.

Every day I feel better about this reno. The washout is real from day 3 or 4, but this is why I picked KBG...it fills in.

And it looks so good.


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## monty (Jul 25, 2017)

Looking good!!


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Looks like it is slowly spreading and filing in. Good job!


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Day 39:

Third mow today after work. Definitely getting thicker and darker green, but still patchy. I've also included a couple pictures of the pots I planted in July and finally transplanted a week and a half ago. I was already seeing some rhizome-action less than a week after transplanting. I'm definitely going to get a ProPlugger and do some plugs in the spring.

I'm also easing off the watering to only a couple times a week except for the left side, where I threw down some more seed.

[media]https://imgur.com/a/ZoEAR[/media]


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

One other thing I did last weekend was another half app of Milorganite. I'm going to keep throwing down half bags of Milo every weekend for the next four weeks.


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## Pete1313 (May 3, 2017)

It's making progress! :thumbsup: 
Patience.. It's going to look awesome and be worth it!


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Quick Day 48 no-photo update:

I've been mowing about twice a week at ~2" to encourage rhizome growth. It is working. Looking back at my photos from the middle of last week, it is still filling in nicely. I'll get some photos up in the next day or two, depending on the weather.

One minor issue is due to the rain we've been getting and the cooler/overcast weather not really drying it out: there is some powdery mildew in some areas. I want to keep mowing at 2" (for lateral growth and to keep it lower* for the fall), but everything I've read about powdery mildew says to mow taller than 3". Any opinions/experience? Also, should I be bagging it?

*I'm not a low HOC person, I don't irrigate generally so I keep it at 3.5" in the summer to keep it green.


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Day 53 Update:

Last night I put down my last bag of Milo, at 3/4 rate. It's getting cooler here at nights (mid to upper 40s), but this week has us in the upper 60s to low 70s for daytime highs. Grass is slowing down a little bit.

I still didn't take any updated photos, but will in the next day or two. Also, the powdery mildew is starting to subside with the sunny/dryer weather and I raised my mower a notch to about 3" HOC.

Looking forward to the future, I'll mostly be mowing to mulch the leaves, not really cutting grass.


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## jimmy (Jul 25, 2017)

Nearly 10 months in. I figured I'd post an update. Most of the patches have filled in in the main front yard. The way back side yard that gets the most shade didn't really grow last fall so I seeded this spring. It is starting to get out of sprout and pout, but the weed pressure is rough. I'll probably lay down the weed and feed I have laying around from a few years ago after a couple more cuts and go from there. I'm not too concerned.

The other side yard was filled with quack, so I brushed on glyphosate with a cheap foam paintbrush....twice. The first time I went heavy and have some big dead patches. I was more delicate the second time, since there wasn't much quack left. The patches from the first time are filling in, but there is a ways to go. I might move some plugs in the fall.

Overall I'm pleased and I don't think the camera is doing the color justice. It is quite dark green and the texture of elite KBG is awesome. The dying seed heads are affecting the uniformity, but it still looks great.

[media]https://imgur.com/a/BxhwwDi[/media]

The only problem with my yard I might need to solve is the bumpiness. I don't need @wardconnor-level levelness, but just so my lawn mower isn't flying around when I mow. I keep it tall, since I don't have irrigation and it keeps it mostly green throughout the summer...so using sand to even out the bumpiness will be a challenge. I have some other big projects I'm working on (finishing my basement), so I doubt this would happen until a couple years from now, but anyone have any other tips on fixing a bumpy lawn? Something simple I can do that is cheap and not time-consuming?


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

@jimmy most of what I know about leveling/smoothing comes from wardconor, and I really don't have much experience. 
I'm going to fix a few low spots in my lawn this fall, and I think that this video from @lawntips is a great intro to the various techniques.


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