# GBest Lawn Journey From weeds to salad to celebration bermuda



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

May 2019 moved into a new property with obvious drainage issue immediately mud was a real issue. With two german shepards and a lab in 1500sq foot yard our sparse weedy lawn soon became no lawn. 
In August 2019 I attempted a renovation on both front and back yard. I laid down a Combination of Kentucky bluegrass and Golden Glove bermuda i even overseeded shaded areas with creeping red fescue. Soon I had a almost full lawn then a combination of weed killer and dogs killed all my hard work I attempted to lay home depot sod as an act of despiration in the area of shade. Realizing the Mulberry tree had to go if I ever wanted a lawn and not mud I began taking my chainsaw to it. Took me a few months but the tree was finally down to a stump drilled holes and sprayed round up. I also decided to roundup all my beautiful bermuda while it was still actively growing. Then scalped with a weed eater sprayed roundup again. Then just for good measure hit everything with a flamethrower.
December I finally rented a stump grinder and removed the concrete curbs. Goodby replaced the area with 4 blue point junipers. I took a shovel to the area under the elm and mulberry and over the course of a couple days removed most the roots. 
I moved the dirt from the fence line to closer to the patio to help with grading issues. I rototilled 10 cu ft of manure/compost into the ground and began to fix the grade. Several days of leveling and grading. Dogs ran on the ground and soon it had holes ruts and bumps I rototilled again hoping to lay sod late march. I decided not to lay sod and another act of desperation with having broken sprinklers. I threw out the rest of my bermuda seed while we still had rainfall. 
March 2020 after working on my dirt patch for countless hours and deciding not to lay sod I had given up. Common bermuda was shooting up. 
End April 2020 My wife and I look upon our patch of dirt and she is pissed at me for killing the lawn. We break down and finally purchase two pallets of Celebration Bermuda sod. 
Over the last weekend my wife and I spent hours raking up lava rocks I put in one of our garden bed and building our bog/shade garden. Mondo grass, ferns, lilies, japanese eunoymeus, maple bamboo, horsetail reeds and some fescue and other perrenial grass plants in the lighted side. (Rock Gardens +dogs = bad idea) 
I continue work on the yard laying soil topper and raking it in after removing all the garbage. I remulched the beds on the fence line. 
Finally the day had arrived Monday April 27th 2020, sprinklers all fixed yard mostly level and finally graded away from the patio. My excitement wakes me up around 4am I have no idea when the sod will be here but I'm ready. Playing with my leveling rake in the yard in my little fenced off area. 5:30 I walk out front to look at the front yard and a fairy, an angel, a genie, perhaps God? Two pallets of celebration Bermuda have magically appeared. 
I started picking up peice by peice and methodically laying them down. My wife wakes up for work drinking her coffee and watching me work. She calls out of work. I guess my excitement must have been contagious. By 9am we have laid around around 200sq ft. I finally muster up the courage to ask my neighbor to use his wheel barrow and the jobs becomes much easier. But I realize the area I'm working on is far from level. Carefully for the next hour I move dirt and level while my wife sits and drinks more coffee and plays with the dogs since she thinks I have gone crazy and the yard is level. Finally I decide good enough 10 am we resume laying sod. Then I stop her and proceed to level some more. Noon we continue laying sod and water again. Now we just have to cut end peices but we realize we have almost half a pallet too much. I realized I only need around 800sq ft not 960. Wife texts her friend and she would love to put some sod down. Finally we have our yard down and wifes friend picks up half the sod. We load the other half in our car and drive over and help them lay amost 200 sq ft of sod in a bare spot in her yard. I laid the extra cut peices on my side yard as an experiment. 
Tuesday I'm looking at reel mowers and buy one on amazon. The next day I find a push mclane on craigslist for $100 cheaper than the one on amazon and better. I soon realize when I get home Its broken. The wheels are falling apart and the reel is not adjusted properly. Couple days of trying to figure it out and ordering parts. I get new wheels and a front roller and a backlapping kit. I'm invested over $300 in this damn thing I could have bought a used california trimmer with a motor for that much. Oh well I'm starting to love this mclane. 
Two days ago I cut the lawn at .5 inch and sprayed liquid also top dressed the seems that were tight but now have spaces and adjusted sprinkler height and replace a few sprinklers. Cut again today at .5 Seams are barely noticeable. after a year in this house the yard is completely different and my wife and I are in love. Waiting for the celebration to be about six weeks old before allowing the dogs on the grass.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

When we first moved in


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)




----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)




----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Above my first attempt at something


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Beautiful common bermuda and before and after of tree


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Roundup!


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

December 2019 Removing stump and rototilling the ground.
My wife is pissed I removed our beautiful lawn.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Ready for sod! Friday April 24th


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Bog Garden


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Application of Kellogs topper 16 cu ft. Adding organic material raked and leveled not tilled sadly.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Laying sod


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Moved my blue poing juniper away from the fence line


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

After the 7 days 2 mows with mclane manual push 5 blade reel, lots of water, and one application of ironite.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Update week two.
Some scalping in two areas where there are high spots. Pretty solid rooting thinking about taking down dog fence and letting them on it. Also thinking of switching from twice daily watering to watering once in the morning.


----------



## hurricanewolf (Apr 22, 2020)

Nice work! I bet the dogs can't wait!


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

hurricanewolf said:


> Nice work! I bet the dogs can't wait!


Thanks it was a time in the making, I am so happy with celebration. The color is so unreal. Dogs are almost scared of because we are trying to train them to go to the bathroom on artificial turf on the side yard.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Update week 2: 
Sod feels pretty firmly down in the ground. First 100 degree High on friday. Have a strange dead circle that is already filling itself back in. Raised the HOC to about 3/4 inch because the lawn has a couple raised spot that scalp. 
Need to level but not sure how long to wait it may have to wait till fall. I may overseed with HGT with RPR in the fall so I think I will do some leveling, dethatch, and aeration then.
I took down the Fence for the weekend but may put it back up when we are not able to watch the dogs.


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

Your yard is really coming along. Nice to see another Fresnan. I also just put in Celebration. I had tifway 419 in my last house but I have too much random shade here and the Celebration is really nice. Congrats on fixing up your landscaping. You look like you are in one of those 60's Wathan neighborhoods. I love those. My grandparents lived in one of those for many years off First/Bullard area. Those houses are great. Built to last.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Bermuda_Newbie said:


> Your yard is really coming along. Nice to see another Fresnan. I also just put in Celebration. I had tifway 419 in my last house but I have too much random shade here and the Celebration is really nice. Congrats on fixing up your landscaping. You look like you are in one of those 60's Wathan neighborhoods. I love those. My grandparents lived in one of those for many years off First/Bullard area. Those houses are great. Built to last.


Yea I am super happy with it. Dang you are spot on. I live right behind SAMC in the Bonnedelles. I think I had some 419 originally that had been abused and too much shade. Solved the shade, killed the common I seed and the 419. The celebration grows so fast the seams disappeared in a little over a week I have to mow it every 2-4 day. It loved the 99 degree temps last week.


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

I thought those houses looked familiar. My grandparents lived right next to Awahnee middle school. The had strange low fences inbetween their neighbors that looked a lot like your back yard. I do love those houses. We looked at some off of Bullard/Sierra before we bought our last house. They are super well made and also versatile. You can remodel them into anything you want.

My celebration is growing pretty fast but it's only been in a month. I need to start my new lawn journal. We are redoing the whole back yard. I'm hoping it spreads well because I'm sprigging about 3000 sq ft of it in a few weeks.

What's your height of cut?

If you need any suggestions on where to get lawn stuff locally, I can help with that. There's another guy on here that has some info too that's from Fresno.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Bermuda_Newbie said:


> I thought those houses looked familiar. My grandparents lived right next to Awahnee middle school. The had strange low fences inbetween their neighbors that looked a lot like your back yard. I do love those houses. We looked at some off of Bullard/Sierra before we bought our last house. They are super well made and also versatile. You can remodel them into anything you want.
> 
> My celebration is growing pretty fast but it's only been in a month. I need to start my new lawn journal. We are redoing the whole back yard. I'm hoping it spreads well because I'm sprigging about 3000 sq ft of it in a few weeks.
> 
> ...


I was trying to do 1/2 inch got some scalping in like three part of my lawn so I brought it up to 3/4 to an inch but its not level unfortunately. Also I am only using a push reel Mclane. I bought a backlap kit and reel roller for it, but its yet to be shipped. 
I tried to fix some grading by making mounds which look pretty cool but they need to be leveled more. Also AG sod had some inconsistency in sod cutting and the sod drying out resulted in some material falling off the root. 
I wanted to do sprigs but AG SOD only sold huge amounts of sprigs. So I think I'll verticut my backyard and use the sprigs on my front yard if I can find a verticutter. Or I'll just overseed Barenbrug HGT with perrenial rye RPR on my front yard which is a fescue mix I overseeded with common bermuda and blue grass. I feel like blumuda would do super well here @dmouw has a great journal on his celebration he overseeded and its beautiful. 
Its a good older neighborhood many of neighbors are original owners in their 60's and 70's. I have 6 foot fences, but they appear lower because of the raised foundation. I got a really good deal on the house it was a rental. Like 240k. Most the neighborhood is 280-300k. I've done about 15k in renovations but still needs lots of updating. Paint stucco and fencing are my next project. 
Thanks. Your celebration looks beautiful if I could convince my wife to get a swardman I would but the money would be better spent on the house. Maybe at the next house. I'm only 24. Your place looks north of herndon. Very pretty.


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

Good for you on the price of your house! Homewoner at 24 is impressive. In Fresno it's sometimes cheaper than renting and it builds a ton of equity. I hear ya on the better places to spend money. I bought the Swardman last summer and then we moved into a fixer upper in December and I've thought many times how I could have spent that money differently. I love it though. It's like having a push mower in terms of quietness and ease of just grab and go (I leave it on my porch) but it's got the power of a greens mower. Safer around kids too so they can be outside when I mow. My only regret with it is it was bought with a small suburban yard in mind so I got the smaller width. My new house is on a county island and I could have used the larger one. Oh well!

The pics on my journal are out towards Clovis North. That house had an amazing front yard that just needed some nice grass and sprucing up. I'm having to literally clear-cut trees in this new house and start from scratch. I may hire a landscape designer at some point.

I had the same issue with AG sod. Their pieces were thick on one end and thin on the other. Sanding makes a huge difference. I sanded my other house two years in a row and it was almost perfect. The difference in the mowing was super noticable. I can't afford to do sod for the remainder of my lawn which is why I'm attempting sprigs. I have a verticutter attachment for the swardman so we'll see how it goes. Home Depot rents a detached for $50 if you wanted to try sprigging. I personally would not do any sort of fescue. Been there done that, can't afford the water bill. You also need a whole different method for taking care of it and a different mower. Unless you have extensive tree coverage, Bermuda does better in this climate and doesn't die off every summer. Unless you don't mind reseeding every year for the dead spots. It was just not my cup of tea.

You should check out craigslist for a CalTrimmer. They are all over the place and you can get one cheap. The step up from a push power is huge. That's what I did. Started with a fiskars push reel and then moved to a trimmer. I still use it when I need to scalp or after leveling so I don't damage my swardman. Much less washboarding with the trimmer and you can mow lower. Much better in the heat too.


----------



## Jimboslice (Apr 8, 2020)

@gbestemt What an amazing transformation, it brings a tear to my eye. Thanks for documenting the renovation and posting. It looks great.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@Jimboslice Thanks been at this house a year and its basically a whole new backyard. Still needs some work but getting there. 
@Bermuda_Newbie I absolutely hate the Fescue (thick blades and hates to be mowed under 2 inches) in the front yard but the KBG and PRG are actually doing really well. But I will have to overseed this fall with better cultivars. Even though fresno has outlawed KBG I'm gonna do it anyway. KBG has showed excellent drought recovery due to its rhizomes and with the heat tolerant strains its a no brainer. Especially combined with bermuda (no winter dormancy in transition zone).


----------



## MrMeaner (Feb 21, 2017)

New sod and backyard improvements look awesome!! Congrats on all your hard work. Save up for a powered reel at some point...will make the chore of mowing that much more enjoyable.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@Bermuda_Newbie IDK how long to wait to level but I want to do it ASAP. I'll invest in new mower when the lawn is level probably by next season but its a very good push reel. It'll cut to 3/16 inch.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@MrMeaner The lawn is about 800 sq feet takes me maybe 35 minutes with the push reel. Not so much of a chore but I'm sure it will be when the celebration gets thick or I have to scalp it.


----------



## MrMeaner (Feb 21, 2017)

Sod Solutions recommends Celebration Bermuda be cut at 1/2" or higher...

I have 27k of Celebration sod and have been keeping it at 1/4" right now and looks great but does no have that super dark green color cut that short. May move my triplex up to 1/2" soon.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Sprayed super juice new formula with added iron. I have to say this stuff works lawn is noticably darker green with much more consistent color after just two days


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@MrMeaner that mower is absolutely beautiful. Your posts I actually read a lot of prior to installing this lawn One day hopefully I'll have enough yard to justify getting a beast like that . Its good to know it can go lower I'll probably try that next year just for fun at the beginning of the summer and gradually raise HOC to 1". I'm keeping it at 3/4 of inch but plan on eventually probably going up to an inch to inch and a half.


----------



## dmouw (Jul 17, 2018)

I wanted to do sprigs but AG SOD only sold huge amounts of sprigs. So I think I'll verticut my backyard and use the sprigs on my front yard if I can find a verticutter. Or I'll just overseed Barenbrug HGT with perennial rye RPR on my front yard which is a fescue mix I overseeded with common bermuda and blue grass. I feel like bluemuda would do super well here @dmouw has a great journal on his celebration he overseeded and its beautiful.

@gbestemt 
@Bermuda_Newbie 
my front lawn is common Bermuda overseeded with BarenBerg TURF BLUE HGT. I love the look of the TURF BLUE but I did not have a great stand after my first summer and had to over seed again this last fall. I'm hoping that keeping it at a lower cut with less thatch and using Plant Growth Regulator I can have the two lawns co exist.

My back lawn is the same but I added RPR RYE into it. I have a big oak tree in the back lawn so I have a fair amount of shade where the Bermuda doesn't always fill in great.

I really want this experiment to work so I can have green lawn year around so I am going to give it another go this year. I do struggle with KBG die off patches once the heat starts and take a bit for the Bermuda to fill in. also the color and blade size looks good blended but i do sometimes get patches of one or the other were the color and size difference are more noticeable but not bad.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@dmouw I literally just used Scotts KBG and Bermuda and somehow it is actually looking pretty decent. I'll either harvest sprigs from my backyard and put them up front or overseed with yukon or blackjack next spring and this fall overseed front and back with RPR and HGT turfblue.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@dmouw your experiment was somewhat successful I found your lawn from space. You have the greenest lawn in riverdale. I thought all the KBG died when I scalped but It started coming back. KBG just takes a long time to fully establish. But I feel like you start seeing the difference this fall. The Blumuda experiment is so interesting and if it can be done successfully w/o overseeding anymore I would love to see it.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

3 weeks superjuice and ironite


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)




----------



## Chuckatuck89 (Mar 28, 2019)

gbestemt said:


>


so you just laid this about 25 days ago? Seams are completely gone and looks incredible. Any idea how many hours of sun it gets? any shade from that tree in the corner?


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Chuckatuck89 said:


> gbestemt said:
> 
> 
> >
> ...


Yeah. Celebration grows super fast. 
Within two weeks I wanted to take down the dog barriers and the sod was very firmly rooted still have the barrier fence up for precaution for about another two weeks. 
The spots where I have scalped or the dogs have killed with urine repair themselves within a week or two. There are spots of the yard that only get 3-4 hrs of sun which was my immediate concern that area under the tree actually gets around 4-6 hrs from morning till about noon. The area with the most shade next to my patio cover also used to get muddy it still has a little but of low spots to it but I lowered the surrounding yard to try and help. But overall the areas with the most shade seems to be thriving.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

This is the the dead spot I posted ten days ago before and after. The speed this stuff recovers is amazing



Unfortunately, I have two new dead spots from the dog jumping the fence and peeing.




I applied Humichar and PGF complete last week. And will probably spray super-juice again this weekend.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

New yard

Old yard 1 year ago


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Not sure what happened here, but I cut back on watering due to some rain fall. I applied Humichar a week ago. Applied PGF complete two weeks ago. Probably forced too much growth in young sod. Huge dormant spot. I didn't cut for 9 days (they opened up OT at my work again and I have been working 60-72hrs a week). Grass grew to 2-3 inches and 4 inches in some areas. I cut down to 1.5" with rotary and took it down to 1" with my manual reel.
I did some spot leveling today to sort of even things up even though I need to do a full level. The home depot bagged leveling mix sucks. I cut again today. Grass needs some more love. Think I should spray PGF complete on wednesday or friday for the 4% iron and it'll turn that blue-green again. I'm just not happy withe color compared to a week ago maybe its just a little stressed worried about spraying something with more nitrogen though.


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

The lighter color could be from it being long. I also let mine get about 3-4" and when I cut it down to a little less than an inch, I have some light green spots. I think it will take care of itself if you keep mowing it short. At least that's what I'm doing with mine.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Alright took the plunge 4 tons of washed screened "plaster trap" sand coming friday. Oh lord what did I get myself into.


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

Good luck! I've done 3 yards before in the front and back and it was quite a thing.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@Bermuda_Newbie i think I ordered too much sand. I'm aiming for a 1-2" depth. I ordered from rosenbalms any experience?


----------



## Meximusprime (Jun 21, 2019)

The celebration will bounce back and you will be fine on the leveling. I just finished doing 2 yards on my celebration this past weekend in this Houston weather. Also did my front yard last month.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@Bermuda_Newbie i kinda guessed it was a result of cutting soooooo much off at once. I'm just used to the brown color when you cut too much off celebration just has this light green color which is great. Might have to reset HOC. I'm just gonna mow about 0.5" and hit it with superjuice and then level with sand see if I can't maintain 0.5" again without it growing away from me.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@Meximusprime 2 yards on what? Looks like about 1000sq ft from your photos. I have a little over 800 and I'm doing 5 yards. Drag mat comes Wednesday. Sand on Friday probably scalp soon.


----------



## Meximusprime (Jun 21, 2019)

gbestemt said:


> @Meximusprime 2 yards on what? Looks like about 1000sq ft from your photos. I have a little over 800 and I'm doing 5 yards. Drag mat comes Wednesday. Sand on Friday probably scalp soon.


Wow 5 yards on 800?! My backyard might look small on pics but it's actually around 2K. I could of probably done 3 yards but did not want to go too heavy on first round. Typically the ratio is 1-1.25 yard per 1K of yard. Good luck!


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@Meximusprime I'll just be pretty liberal in the back and whatever is left over I'll throw on the front yard. I only cut the front with a rotary right now but if I got it smooth I could see doing it with a reel. Just concerned about seeding in the fall when I decide to put down HGT on top of my bermuda.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@Meximusprime I was reading some posts of doing 2-3 inches of sand and Bermuda was recovering through it. So I ordered enough for 2 inches to cover the whole back some areas need 2 inches some areas only need a 1/4 inch.


----------



## tcorbitt20 (Aug 31, 2018)

It'll probably grow through 2" eventually, but that's gonna take quite a while. If you've got somewhere to store the sand, you could probably do a few lights coats a lot easier. Your call, though. Good luck. It's looking great!


----------



## MrMeaner (Feb 21, 2017)

2" of sand will be way to much and take to long to grow through. You won't kill it but less sand over a multiple leveling projects over longer period of time will give you better results. Meaning you can bury it with a half inch of sand and water it in.. you will be back to mowing in a week or so.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

The only area that needs two inches is around the curb of the garden bed with roses and only in small areas. I'll be cautious about being too liberal with the sand. I just want it to be semi-smooth specifically there are 3 spots in the yard that have a bowl shape that will require about 1 inch of sand to level. A small area about 6 inches wide will have 2 inches of sand. I'm not just going to blanket 2 inches over the entire backyard although that could have really cool results almost like a putting green, but require a lot of patience to fill in. I still have a front yard that could benefit from sand leveling. But you guys definitely have more experience with this though. I was only going to use 3 tons of sand for both the front and back but I figured better to have too much on hand than run out. I can alway level out my sideyard if I have too much sand.


----------



## tcorbitt20 (Aug 31, 2018)

If it's just a few small spots that are that deep, that's no issue. It'll fill in from the sides before it grows through.


----------



## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

Great transformation. :thumbup:


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Update 6 weeks. Opted to topdress with a screened sandy loam and not sand because I may be overseeding PRG and KBG for the winter. Ordered 4 tons still had about 8cu ft left over.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

cglarsen said:


> Great transformation. :thumbup:


Thanks. Still a work in progress.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

tcorbitt20 said:


> If it's just a few small spots that are that deep, that's no issue. It'll fill in from the sides before it grows through.


Surprisingly there are a lot grass blades still poking up even though I mowed at 1/2 inch before leveling.


----------



## Nklawnnovice (Jun 4, 2020)

Hi, WOWZA what an amazing transformation! Suggest planting some colocasia between new hedges for a fast fill in for this season and the next and lush tropical feel. The "bones" on your little wonderland are amazing, so cute. I do have a question around the mowing of a yard that small, Why not use a hand push reel mower the small non mechanical kind? I would think having 2 wheels less chance of scalping and that space is relatively small. You did a great job, and now its time to have a beer and watch it grow.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Nklawnnovice said:


> Hi, WOWZA what an amazing transformation! Suggest planting some colocasia between new hedges for a fast fill in for this season and the next and lush tropical feel. The "bones" on your little wonderland are amazing, so cute. I do have a question around the mowing of a yard that small, Why not use a hand push reel mower the small non mechanical kind? I would think having 2 wheels less chance of scalping and that space is relatively small. You did a great job, and now its time to have a beer and watch it grow.


Thank you, 
I'll take look into the colocasia. do they grow in zone9b? I've frequently looked into many ground covers never heard of that one. I love living mulch. Clover is the best I hate how it is treated like a weed. I love California Poppy. I wanted to replace my "hell strip" with asiatic Jasmine. I think I may plant some irish moss in my "bog garden" area thingy. 
I have a pretty nice push reel got it on CL for $100 and did some small repairs. Ordered a reel roller but unfortunately because of COVID they have none in stock and can't manufacture it.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

So My dog decided it would be a good idea to jump the fence and dig in the yard. Now I have to wait for the yard to dry out to re drag the yard (of course a cold front has moved in when I least need it to). I was watering everyday to get the ground to compact now this sets it back. But overall after 3 days the yard is starting to recover nicely.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

6 days after leveling. Went back over the area with a drag mat a couple times then watered really heavy. Its starting to come in.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

11 days after leveling. Front yard has nearly fully recovered. I applied PGF complete 3-4 days ago. 
Backyard should grow through in a few days hopefully.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

2 week progress update. Back to mowing at half an inch it needs to fill in/grow through alittle more. We've had highs in the 80's to mid 90's for the last two weeks. The next two weeks highs are in the 100's it should start growing very vigorous.


----------



## acegator (May 31, 2018)

Looking good!

Celebration can take a good leveling and dog pounding any day 



gbestemt said:


> 2 week progress update. Back to mowing at half an inch it needs to fill in/grow through alittle more. We've had highs in the 80's to mid 90's for the last two weeks. The next two weeks highs are in the 100's it should start growing very vigorous.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Almost 4 week update. Still not all the way filled in unfortunately but getting pretty close. I think probably about two more weeks


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

Are you fertilizing it? I threw down some urea (46-0-0) last week and it's growing like crazy with this heat.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@Bermuda_Newbie I fertilized 2 weeks ago. If I fertilize more it'll probably burn.


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

It'd probably be fine. You just have to water it in well. I put down maybe a half lb of nitrogen and it took off. I put it down in the evening before the watering day. What fertilizer are you using?


----------



## probasestealer (Apr 19, 2018)

@gbestemt did you purchase the McClane manual reel you posted above?

It looks interesting


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@Bermuda_Newbie I decided to try PGF complete it worked pretty well. I also have some 46-2-8 bandini fert but its a weed and feed. I know I should just pick up some ammonium sulfate but I want to run through the stuff I have first. 
@probasestealer I found it used for $100 had to put $40 into new tires it works great for a small lawn. I need to backlap it though. With school and work I haven't made the time to get out there so I'm just mowing with a rotary at 1.5" also it being longer kinda hides the fact it hasn't filled in yet.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Not too sure what to do at this point almost a full month from topdressing, and ignoring advise to go lighter. Lawn is lumpy, clumpy, spotty and frumpy. 
I Really anticipated Celebration filling in quicker than this don't want to overfertilize. i just full lawn and it is not getting there.


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

My own experience with sanding has been wherever it is not quite as sunny, it takes a lot longer to fill in. I'm thinking that area in the corner of your yard that probably gets shaded by the fence more than the middle of your grass. I wouldn't worry about over fertilizing it. There's a lot of people that fertilize more to push growth. With Celebration, it can get thatchy but I think that's the only risk there. There was someone on here doing 1 lb of nitrogen a week for a month to push growth. It takes a while for it to fill in, There were spots at my old house that took over a month and probably a little longer and it depends how deep those spots were. I lightly sanded some spots in August and they never filled in at all until this spring. You should try mowing it low to encourage lateral growth. That might help as well.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

Limbed the tree in the corner up cut the lawn down to 1 inch and threw the remaining 8cu ft of dirt in some of the super low spots and spots that needed adjusting hit it with foliar last week gonna start pounding N and micros and mowing short hopefully it fills the rest in but over all it looks pretty good so far. 100degree temps all week plus N and water should grow alot in a week.


----------



## gbestemt (Oct 2, 2019)

@Bermuda_Newbie Taking all your advise should look completely different in a week or two. Limbed up a tree, cut down the grass, and gonna start throwing down fert.


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

Good luck! Looking forward to the results. Mine is growing like crazy so I'm sure yours is too. It's pretty warm to mow though. I aim for 7:30 at night on my non watering days. Supposed to be 106 this weekend.


----------

