# Stevehollx's Lawn Journal 2020-2021



## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Starting this late if we consider seeding the start of a new season, but looking forward to documenting the process this season. Looking forward to applying what I've learned the last half year here.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

First, let's rewind a bit.

Apr 2018: The year we moved in, and the inherited weed lawn. Tons of mature trees, Carolina heat on fescue, and a torrential flooding that Fall in hurricane season. And I have as 60 lb dog that loves to chase squirrels in the back.

Seller's photos:





Did nothing to the lawn this calendar year other than let the dog tear the crap out of it and track muddy paws inside.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

16-March-2019, right before a spring seeding as the lawn was just a mud pit after being distracted with the move until now.





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26-Aug-2019; just before fall seeding; still a mess. My oh my look at all that crabgrass. No wonder the winter was just mud:



2019 was basically just the same strategy of seeding, thinking I should seed twice to repair turf.

I added Scotts Weed & feed before the company came in to aerate and seed.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

11-Apr-2020

Green-up? *Discovered this forum and obsession around this time*. Learned my lesson here on Fall weeds and started to research processes more seriously due to chickweed infesting in a lot of spots:













*Highlights of the 2020 season:*
* Did everything myself. Bought a backpack sprayer and now have a shelf of liquid chemicals in the garage..
* Was a fool and laid seed in the spring to thicken turf again. Scott's Southern Gold.
* Laid Tenacity in April twice across 2 weeks to control spring weeds while seed germinated and also addressed the spring Poa A. It lit up some nimblewill or bentgrass, first time noticing that.
* Addressed big clover patches with Triclopyr. These seem to have been in the lawn for 10+ years. No more.
* Laid prodiamine in early May.
* Rigged a seasonal hose timer system that let's me get water to 85% of the lawn when I need to.
* Hand picking a lot of weeds. Stayed ahead of crabgrass by hand. All the time...regretting seeding in the spring and not laying a prem down in Feb.
* Learned to identify: henbit, chickweed, poa annua, crabgrass, wild violet, liriope, nutsedge. And nimblewill/bentgrass/bermuda. Pretty sure I mostly just have a Nimblewill problem, but to me it's all almost the same
* Fungicide rotation across the summer. Azoxy, prop, clearys being rotated individually accordingly.
* Got made fun of by the wife when I paintbrush weeds with glypho. All wild violet or ivy returning got the glypho brush treatment.
* Looked forward to seeding in the Fall 2020 and executing my full strategy.

*(Some) lessons learned*:
* Identification makes a difference. Crazy how much better Crossbow works on Liriope than glypho! Nuked part of the lawn spraying everything on that section EXCEPT 24-d.
* Don't seed in the spring! (okay, I may need to seed some bare patches this spring still, but will lay prem and flag the areas and use tenacity there)
* Address Nimblewill in July. This is a big next year goal. Started to address this fall but probably too late.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

*Fall 2020* - Getting Serious begins...

* Aug - Glypho'd some spots that I thought may be Triv. Added top soil to start to level some recessions from where the prior owner had trees that are no longer there.
* 3-sep-2020: Applied procp to slow down the fescue.
* 6-sep: Scalped at @2". Watered, seeded 6lb/1k with local Sod Superstore's TTTF which is three variants of Rebel relabeled from Pennington's. Next year I will go with Hogans/United and a more elite blend. Rented a roller and rolled the seed in. Applied Tenacity. Learned that filling that even 66% of the way stinks on a sloping lot. Added peat to the bare areas.
* 11-sep first germination
* 20-Sep: Sprayed urea at .2 lb/M. Hit some Nimblewill patches in the front with Pylex, and reseeded and seed wasn't taking in this spot due to competition and a ton of dead matter from scalping the nimblewill sections and not raking out well during initial seed.
* 2-Oct: Sprayed urea at .2 lb/M
* 10-Oct: Tenacity, fert, azoxy

Since then, continuing .2 lb/M of urea weekly and watering it in.

Mostly happy with the weed suppression during germination. A once bare lawn is now 85% covered in fall. There are some thin spots where the dog runs a tight loop around the shed (this is fenced off for the season until spring) and where the current sprinkler positions don't irrigate well (think I can fix this next spring.)

I've been aggressively adding seed in spots that are less full. Some is hit and miss. Noticed bare spots from the dog directly for the first time. Nitrogen burn. Must be due to the fall fertilizing schedule. I threw seed on the bare spots and half are now germinated, but there are still some ones that are new or won't take. Going to try to retrain him to go in the pine straw-we will see...I can't keep up with it at that rate.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

*Goals for 2020-2021*
* Full fescue coverage everywhere.
* Deep green, weed free lawn.
* Conquer Nimblewill patch on front side strip.
* Minimize dog wear through fall. Get Charlie-dog to pee not in the lawn (urine seems less of an issue in the spring/summer than this fall).
* See if fencing off the shed loop in the winter allows for establishment that holds up to daily squirrel chasing loops.
* See if my driveway corner grass holds with the wife always cutting the corner and squashing the grass. I planted this in that corner this year before seeding, like what grass driveways use, essentially: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072KFB6Y8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

I've been mowing at 2.5" since late Sep.

Now in weekly .2lb/M fertilization.
Added some kelp/humic and iron two weeks ago and again this weekend. Done for the calendar year, but plan to do a few apps next spring. I do seem to have a lot darker of a lawn now, as that was my first real Iron app.
Mowing twice a week. Lawn still growing. But I'm mostly mowing because I have a really bad leaf problem! 

This is 3 hours after blowing two passes earlier in the day, and catch mowing yesterday:


But happy with the lawn overall. I think the best it has looked in the fall but I don't have many photo references of this time from the last two years:


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Two things on my mind lately.

I have a spring garlic issue to a small extent. Been digging it out and filling with seed. I recall seeing this last spring. Thought it was triv.



Done pulling it for the season but next spring I'll hit it with trimec after mowing it.

And I think I do have some triv spots. Contemplating if these get glypho in the spring and then sodded...


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Lawn still growing down here! Still mowing twice a week. Laid some AMS and iron to see how long I can hold the color through the winter. Getting some rain the next couple days with soil temps staying around 55F.

Third round of seeding some bare patches a few weeks ago took hold with this last weeks soil temps.

Work next door spilled hydraulic fluid at the edge of my lawn near the street last week. I sprayed some detergent and dawn mix to try to cut the oil, but it is starting to die. About a 6'x5' spot at the edge, so not too bad. Expecting I will need to dig the soil out this spring and considering laying sod there if I can find a small quantity of elite TTTF locally.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Though I don't have a big winter weed problem, I did see some small wild violet coming up in some thinner spots. I've been hand pulling everything that I see. I blanket sprayed some quinclorac this week, since temps hit about 55F for the last couple days, hoping to take back some small winter seedlings and be in a better position in spring for anything under the canopy that I am not seeing. I did have dandelions pop up a bunch last year (didn't learn proper lawn regiment until this spring...) and caught a few trying to sprout this fall that I've pulled.

Also been chopping the wild garlic bunches that I see and spot spraying them with 24d. A bunch from last week turned yellow this week. Caught a few more new ones today that I treated. I also recall getting a ton of these sprigs shooting up in early spring earlier this year so another thing I hope to have a better leg to stand on going into next Spring's green up.

Got .75" of rain yesterday. Mowed at +6 days from the last time. Still growing. Going to spoon feed another round of AMS tomorrow then..


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Put some seed and peat moss down last week on the area that was killed due to the hydraulic fluid spill from the neighbor's contractors. Figured dormant seeding would be best for it.

Been getting some days tickling highs in the high 50's and low 60's. Thing's may just about start waking up, but with the polar vortex, holding off on doing anything else yet. Probably going to drop first round of nitrogen next weekend.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Got a soil test back.

Put down some lime and phosphate in the front to correct low levels there, and added some potassium sulfate as that is still also a bit low.

Put down prodiamine, trying to avoid some of the bare spots where I put some dormant seed down. Accidentally sprayed a bit on my front patch of seed where an oil spill killed the grass so worried that part is going to be bare all summer…doh!

Also put down first round of AMS in anticipation of the week warming up. Ready for things to wake up!


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## jskierko (Sep 5, 2020)

stevehollx said:


> Put down prodiamine, trying to avoid some of the bare spots where I put some dormant seed down. Accidentally sprayed a bit on my front patch of seed where an oil spill killed the grass so worried that part is going to be bare all summer…doh!


Just use a cultivator or garden weasel in those bare areas and you should be able to break the chemical barrier from the prodiamine well enough to get seed to germinate before summer.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Started to notice some growth in the lawn today with the stretch of a few 65F days. Spoon fed some more AMS with Iron and kelp.

Thinking color will pop back this week and get the first mow in next weekend maybe.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Pulled the mower out yesterday. Did a cleanup mow with the bag, but it mostly just picked up leaves and didn't cut much grass. The lawn is about a uniform green now, though.


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## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

Don't wait on Triv. Early, aggressive, management is critical. Unfortunately that front lawn is fairly heavily shaded which will favor Triv. To make it worse, when you manage the lawn on a high maintenance program, Triv will spread aggressively.

There are not a lot of good options for large Triv infestations. I recommend multiple Glyphosate applications spaced 1-2 weeks apart for a month while it is actively growing (so not the heat of summer). The problem with that is that timing is bad for a fall renovation since it would put the kill time in the middle of summer when Triv is dormant and herbicides don't work on dormant grass. A late spring kill of the Triv when it is growing will mean establishing a lawn in summer which will take a ton of water and likely still only work OK at best. There really isn't a great option in regards to timing.

A truly aggressive approach to removing the Triv would be to pull up the top 2-4 inches of topsoil after a Glyphosate kill and replace with new topsoil. Then you seed/sod the bare dirt, but it is expensive.

The last option is to embrace the Triv and kill the Fescue. Yes it will be lighter green, but once the lawn is uniform in grass type it will look much better. Research Poa Supina and Poa Trivialis grass seed and lawns if you are thinking of going this route.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

I use the same seed as a sod farm nearby, so thinking getting sod would match the lawn pretty well.

How late could I lay sod down and have it take hold? If I glypho the triv now, wait 2 weeks, glypho again and dig out the next day it would put me at 55F in soil temp average and give me 5 weeks before getting into 70F+ soil temps.

Considering…
* Is 1 day for the second glypho before digging enough time to wait (balancing that time against suboptimal summer time) given that it will be 2 wk after the first application?
* 6 weeks of optimal temps enough for sod to take hold?


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## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

I would post this as a question in the cool season forum. It will get more traffic and likely some very good first hand advice. You do need to wait after the glyphosate for it to move to the roots/stolons with Triv. The other problem is that one application is generally not a full kill. It will regrow from the stolons, so multiple applications are needed. Digging it up should be a one and done, but if there are any viable stolons left behind it will regrow.

Even with all that, you can expect to have outbreaks in the new lawn. The best option for those is to paint them with Glyphosate to avoid killing the desirable turf.

As for sodding the lawn, you would want to do that before the summer heat. Ideally 4-6 weeks, but that isn't going to be possible if you want an effective Triv kill. I would say you are stuck sodding at less than ideal timing. The shade will help, but it is still going to take a lot of water, and you can expect to have some loss that will need a fall overseeding.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Well, now I'm committed. Decided it was better to address it now than look at it all summer and have it pop up worse in the fall and regret not taking action sooner. The wife is in for a surprise when she gets back from being out of town!

Will dig it out in a couple weeks after the glypho takes hold.

I'll probably try to seed it and keep it watered instead of sodding, and just overseed the area again in the fall as it thins out from the summer heat.


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## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

If you can tolerate a longer brown period, you should consider fallowing with another glyphosate application in 2 weeks. Give it some light fert in a week(~0.25-0.5 lbs/M) and water like you want it to survive starting now. That will help stimulate anything still living to start growing so you can kill it again. Give the second glyphosate application a week to get to the roots/stolons then dig it out.

I think your timing will be good on this, but you really want to have patience with the kill to get as much as possible. Good luck with the wife! Mine doesn't know I'm probably going to kill my entire front lawn this fall. :bd:


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Lawn has greened up fully, and all parts now growing. Looking pretty good overall. Some of the fast growing spots (Charlie's favorite 'business locations' ) got crowned a bit mowing at 3" but a lot barely got a haircut at that setting too. May need to mow those faster growing spots in the middle of the week independent of the rest. Will move to 3.5" next weekend and pull the striping kit out.

I had a bad chickweed and henbit problem last year around this time (peaked by 15-apr) but this year no real issue so far. The Tenacity apps in the fall during overseeding and the November quinclorac app probably may have helped. No dandelions in the front yard like I had last year, too. May be early for those still, but pretty sure now that I know what I'm doing that won't be a problem. ;-)





The Triv farm is slowly dying. This is +7d after glypho+fert. I hit it with glypho and tenacity again on Thursday. Been watering it 2x a day. Had some good rain on it too. Will give it another app on Tuesday (so +10d and allowing for 5 days of the second app to sit), and rake and third glypho app on Saturday before seeding it Sunday.


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## nikmasteed (Apr 30, 2020)

Is your triv dead yet? Still planning on your seed this weekend?


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

nikmasteed said:


> Is your triv dead yet? Still planning on your seed this weekend?


I scalped the Triv Farm™ today, and there are quite a bit of green stems still and I can't really get a rake through to expose bare dirt well yet.



In hindsight I should have scalped at +7 days but didn't think to do it until today. I am going to glypho it again today and move to planting seed next weekend on this spot.

Back smaller patches are progressing better:



So I plan to seed the smaller areas tomorrow, at least.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

The lawn in other spots is looking great!



Raking the triv wore me out so I didn't feel like striping. Couldn't mow at 3.75" just yet. At 3.3" right now and next week should be able to move to 3.75" Front yard is still growing pretty slow but the rest is all in full action now.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Amazing what just a few days of doing nothing can do.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Seeded the larger spot today, +17d from glypho. Nothing like rolling the dice on a spring Reno. Hoping starts now.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Stripes and socks.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

The largest part of the Triv Farm reno is starting to germinate as of this morning at +24d from glypho. Barely had any rain but have sprinklers on timers which is probably better than risking washout. I didn't spray Tenacity on the spot as I was concerned about slowing growth when I have a race against summer heat to get development. Going to put starter fertilizer down on the large patches this weekend.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Was going to post a picture that the Triv reno was germinating nicely, but came home from dinner to this. :-(



Most of it wasn't too compacted, so sprinkled a light bit of seed on the tracks and some peat moss and will see what shakes out. Didn't want to level it and make a larger disturbance this late in the season, so there's always fall to course correct the rest.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Update on the Triv reno. About at 2". Temps dropped a bit for a couple days so everything slowed down growing this week. Getting an 1" of needed rainfall this weekend. May give it a 2.5" initial mow next Wednesday. Looks like I applied some glypho the third time around to a spot I didn't seed that is dying without new grass coming through, so spread some more seed there and in other areas around the edge earlier this week.

Still waiting for dumbnut's tire tracks to fill in…


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## nikmasteed (Apr 30, 2020)

Looks like progress! Can't wait to be further along myself. Is there anything more annoying than a tire track in the lawn??? I guess maybe triv...


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Letting it dry out a bit to give it a first mow to 1.75" on Saturday. Getting a fair amount of maple trees coming up in it, since the maple dropped a ton of helicopters the week I was germinating the reno.

The transition areas between where the new grass is and the old grass is is now getting seedlings. I should have spread seed and peat moss over the barrier better from the start-lessons learned.

Also, spotted a 6" spot that had bleached turf. I sprayed tenacity with glypho on the second app, so it's lighting up some new triv at the boundary that snuck through. Today I hit it with some glypho and dropped a bunch of seed on that spot over the top. Low hope for that spot taking grass lasting through this summer, but will touch up in the fall. Tenacity at the boundary is a nice marker as good grass is coming in to catch early creeps of triv coming back though. May be a nice technique to spray it with a wider apron beyond where glypho+seeding is done when addressing Triv.

I could have glypho'd out a perimeter wider than I did, but I was hitting such large areas that I didn't want to take out even more. Not too concerned on some small observation of bleaching that may be some young triv-if I have some patches in the fall the tenacity with my fall overseed will highlight it, and I'll glypho+seed those spots as I detect them in the early fall.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Mowed the renno for the first time. Took it to 1.75". Probably will mow at this height for 2 weeks and then gradually raise up to 3.75" by the end of may.



I like the short look on it. Maybe next year I will keep the whole lawn cut in the spring to 2.75" and delay raising to 3.75" until June heat.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Getting some much needed rain this week-about 1" over the next few days. Sprayed some kelp and humic yesterday.

Sprayed some glypho on some spots at the edge of the renno that looked like some Triv creeping through, and then threw more seed on those spots.

I have a ton of maple seedlings still especially in the spots I've been watering for the Triv renno-the seedlings are growing almost above the grass line now with the rain, so hopefully will be able to mow those all off this week.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Seeing some rust. Thought about starting my fungicide program but it isn't wam enough yet. Waiting for overnight temps to stay above 60 before starting which may be a few more weeks. Assuming it will recover on its own.



Renno out front is looking good other than my crooked lines! Will probably give it some foliar iron next weekend along with the rest of the lawn since this spot will have had about 4-5 mows at that point.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Triv reno has filled in nicely. Put some iron and fungicide down a week ago.

But oh man-the heat! Need rain. We're going to be 3w+ without rain based on the forecast. Found some hot spots in the lawn that I needed to hand water. Most of the neighborhood is getting toasty grass. Backing off the mid week mow and will assess to mow this weekend.


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## gravely G20 pro (May 22, 2021)

Nice dark color and bright stripes in your front yard picture


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Got a mow in on Saturday after a quick 3" of rain finally.

Put some iron and humic on today in anticipation of a bunch of rain coming in starting Thursday. Irrigation iteration turns on tomorrow to water it in. Hoping to get some dark green back (most of the neighbors lawns are toasty brown from 3 weeks with only .3" rain).

Update on the Triv Reno. It is starting to blend in in height. Maple seedlings are still poking through a bit (maple tree dumped a bunch the week I seeded) but mowed off about 70% of it this weekend. Waiting another month and then will hit quinclorac on it to get rid of the rest of maple seedlings that haven't grown above mow height, and also to address any crabgrass that pokes through (been starting to see crabgrass in bare areas the last 2 weeks here):


Getting a fair amount of urine spots in the backyard from Charlie. Need to train him to go in the landscaping. Tried over Xmas break, but wasn't enough to hold on to it. Probably going to drop some seed in those areas before the rain to see if anything sticks. May be a lost cause before the summer heat but interested to see if the dead grass mat over the top of them shades them enough to germinate and stay alive before fall overseeding.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

I sprayed some Pylex in spots of the lawn that I know have some nimblewill (or may be common bermuda) that start to take over in the summer. Seeing it start to bleach. Will follow up with another app that includes triclopyr next week. I treated these last fall as well. By July last year it was a full takeover crowding out the Fescue, so we'll see what adjacent Fall and Spring treatments of pylex/triclopyr/tenacity do. I am hoping it is much thinner and controllable this year--so far it isn't bad.


Sprayed some quinclorac on the rennovated spots to address the maple seedlings and hopefully catch any crabgrass that poked through from the Spring reno (seeing crabgrass in landscape beds in the neighborhood now).

Also, getting a ton of rain this week! Got 3" yesterday, and looks like an average of .2" a day for the next week. I dropped some seed in the urine spots in the backyard form Charlie and they all look to be germinating through the dead grass, which did a good job holding moisture. The new grass may not make it through the summer, but those spots irrigate pretty well, so we will see.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Either the second Pylex app or the combo of Pylex + triclopyr and then Pylex 3 weeks later when it was 90F has made about 50% of the fescue turn brown. Haven't had much rain though--hopefully getting 1" tomorrow. Will see if any recovers. Not too concerned with the stress considering overseeding is about 7 weeks away. So the main goal is to hit the Nimblewill/Bermuda hard. I will probably refrain from triclopyr with the third app of Pylex though considering the damage..and also that the area will see Tenacity 2x in Sep & Oct when I overseed anyway.



The two other areas with the same treatment of pylex/triclopyr are doing better though. It's just that one small side strip above that took a total beating; looking better here but also less of a problem with the summer grass in these areas:



Edges of the Triv reno are not doing great with the heat. I'm not going to spend too much time trying to save the edges with hand watering at this point, given at that point what goes will only be brown or bare for a month tops.



90% of the spots being green through the summer is good enough for me with the main goal being to hopefully reduce Triv to just a few small patches next spring. Here's the big portion. Happy with that much green in a spring seeding, all things considered given the unideal timing for seed.



No signs of fungus right now though! I guess when we don't get much rain there isn't much of a concern of that....been preventing with fungicides though too as there was some sign of it about 3 weeks ago.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Here's some pics of the pylex/triclopyr damage; note that all of it is grass that was newly seeded last fall:







I raked it out before mowing today to get airflow in it and mitigate any fungus. Most of the bermuda/nimblewill seems controlled pretty well considering last summer this area was pretty much fully overgrown with it.

Nothing fall seed can't fix, and hopefully next year I can be less aggressive and just spot spray the sprigs of it that show up later in the summer than a more proactive blanket over the whole section.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

overall the backyard is looking quite good for this time of year.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Happy with the backyard holding up in the spots where I am not aggressively treating Nimblewill. Last year the backyard had about 40% of it on the thinner side, and now there is really just about 5% that is still thin. It's lost some color due to lack of rain, but still growing and healthy.



The spots from the Triv reno are starting to struggle with the heat. I think Aug will be tough on it even with irrigation getting it., About half of it has lost color. Given it was spring seeding, my prime goal was just to get green cover most of summer, which I got. Overseed coming soon, and if I eradicated the Triv by a majority, it is a win.



The Nimblewill spots from pylex+triclopyr are struggling. Since the nimblewill was still green at the base of the stalk a week ago, I spot sprayed tenacity on them. Spots getting toasty and will need heavy overseeding.







I think it was too early to spray, and pylex+triclopyr was too strong for July heat. I'm okay with the aggressive approach right now to minimize the nimblewill issue, but If I get spots of Nimblewill next year then I think I will try just Tenacity apps every 3 weeks starting 15-Jul. I spot sprayed a nimblewill patch in the border of the neighbor's lawn and the fescue seems to be handling a lot better there while still doing it's job on the nimblewill, so I think starting later, being more simple with just Tenacity, and extending apps through Sep/Oct would do better.

Overall, 1 month of heat left to wrap up a pretty aggressive year treating some hard to control items in the lawn. Probably 5 weeks before seed down. Going to put 20% KBG in this year.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Sprayed another app of tenacity on the Nimblewill spots. Other than the spots I missed (or weren't there in July) the rest are pretty toasted and not seeing any green stalk left. Though, as seen above the grass around it didn't fare to well either! But here's to thinning out the nimblewill spot. Hopefully next year I'll just be down to random sprigs here and there of it, and anything I see I can just lightly brush with Tenacity.

Also started to see some leaf lesions. Can't see any issues from a far. Been 95+ and humid the last week and a lot of dew on the lawn every morning. About 2 weeks after azoxy went down at max rate. Not going to worry much about it as in 3 weeks or so I'll be applying prop, scalping, and overseeding.


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## kevreh (Apr 3, 2018)

Steve,

Did you ever mention what TTTF seeds you used? If you haven't done so check out Pete's GCI Turf youtube channel. He's in Greensboro. BTW, what kind of dog do you have? Looks similar to one we might get.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

kevreh said:


> Steve,
> 
> Did you ever mention what TTTF seeds you used? If you haven't done so check out Pete's GCI Turf youtube channel. He's in Greensboro. BTW, what kind of dog do you have? Looks similar to one we might get.


I've only renovated the Triv spots, but the rest was pretty bare save for some clumping fescue I pull out when I see it.

2019: Scott's southern gold, which was some generations of Tarheel and Wolfpack and maybe one other I can't remember.

2020 and spring 2021 triv reno: sod super store tttf seed. It is three generations of rebel mixed, which is OEM Pennington blue tag seed. This seed only seemed 50% resistant to my summer nimblewill spraying and the spring seeding. Doesn't seem to do too well in stress if it hasn't had a full year starting from a fall to establish.

2021 fall: Going to be using GCI Cool Blue. Will see how it goes with some KBG but Pete is doing 100% this year so giving a blend a shot for dog spot repairability.

My dog is a bernedoodle. Technically he is a mini, but 60-70 lbs. amazing dog. Loves to cuddle and have human affection. A b it skittish around other dogs or new humans for a bit but a great family dog. Highly recommend and want another like him.


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## kevreh (Apr 3, 2018)

Yep, thats the mix we're looking at(!) If you don't mind I have a couple questions and will msg you directly.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Good stuff. Posting to follow.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Looks like the parts that were seeded this Spring for the Triv reno are finally starting to call it quits due to summer heat from not having enough maturity. Well, lasted about as long as I needed it to.





A couple other lawns on my street that seeded in Fall 2020 and have irrigation also show the same struggle. The spots older than Spring 2021 are holding out okay in my lawn, though.

Keeping an eye on weather but hoping to seed next week. Would like to get Prop down in the middle of this week in advance of seeding, but also looks like we may see some residual rain from the hurricane coming up from the Gulf.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Residual rain from Ida came through. Brought ~5". Needed it as everything in the whole neighborhood was starting to check out. Non-irrigated lawns are toast, and even irrigated ones that seeded heavily last year are 50% gone. Things looking good for me other than the spots where I am treating Nimblewill, and a corner by the shed that my dog runs a corner on and gets almost no sun.

Sprayed another app of Pylex on the Nimblewill today. Technically over my yearly limit by a spray, but wanted one final hit before scalping this weekend and seeding. Also got prop. down--final fungicide app of the year usually.

It is a bit warmer than I would prefer to seed, but want to go in a bit early with the 15% KBG blend. Purchased B-Hyve timers to replace digital (non-smart) hose timers. Will be fun to play with that toy this weekend and will appreciate the flexibility in programming times and remotely suppressing. Integrating it into Home Assistant.

Will post final season pics tomorrow before the final mow, and then open a 2021-2022 season journal for the overseed!


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Forgot to take pictures of the last normal day of the lawn for the end of this season before scalping. Here it is brought down to about 2.5" halfway to scalping before an overseed this weekend. Looks nice at this height, even without slowly lowering to this height. I may try to maintain 2.5" through the summer next year.





Reflecting on this season's goals and lessons learned:
* Coverage: Very happy. The yard is 95%+ filled in nicely; first time since moving in not having large thin spots in the backyard. Only a couple thin spots in some corners where I get no direct sun due to fenceline and tree shade. These are minor spots. Will try again this year since the spots are smaller than before. Probably will fence them off from the dog while they mature for a bit.
* Dog wear: Held up better this year. Still battered an area in the corner by the shed where he runs. Going to fence it off while seeding this year. I wasn't getting irrigation well in this spot but think I have improved that a bit now. I am also widening this path in hopes he takes alternate lines and reduces the stress on it, but overall, not a big deal if I need to always seed this spot every year. Still haven't gotten him to pee in the landscaping, but dog spots were more minimal this year. Probably ten 6" holes to fill in, mostly.
* My experiment to use grass driveway retainer on the corner of the driveway has helped. Kept grass growing there all year along despite when people drive the corner and cut off with a right hand turn. Nice invisible trick to prevent compaction there.
* Controlling Triv: Did the most aggressive plan I could by killing and seeding this spring, but jury is out. Stay tuned in the upcoming journal for results on if it returns in the fall or next spring. 50% of the spring seeded spots toasted the last couple weeks of August, but got me through most of the summer with a green lawn. Reserving 7 months before judging success of this initiative though. If not, there is always next year to repeat it!
* Controlling Nimblewill: Decent results, other than the summer Triclopyr spray damaging some surrounding Fescue. Realized I am most satisfied just using Pylex alone on it. Next time I will start treating 1mo later, starting in mid-July and keep the triclopyr out and just use pylex and switch to Tenacity during overseed time in Sep. Most of it is gone or bleached at this point. Every year seems to be minimizing and controlling better as it went from a full infestation 2 years ago to now just 5 sprigs or so every 15 sqft..
* Weed control has been good. Almost no presence of dandelion, ivy/violet, chickweed, henbit, and crabgrass in the yard. Will have a bit of clover to control in the spots that I did a spring reno, but the Tenacity with overseeding may alone take care of them as they are all very immature sprigs right now.
* No liriope problem in the lawn like last year. Last year's regular crossbow treatments has helped. Chance some will pop up this Fall, but didn't get any in the spring like I did last year.

Hop over to next years journal to stay tuned!


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Next year's Journal: 2021 - 2022 Journal


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