# NC Transition Zone: Trying out KBG (and Zoysia)



## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Hi, First time, long time.

I am in Zone 7b in North Carolina (Triad). I have a lawn of mostly TTTF, Creeping Fescue, Common Bermuda and Nimblewill (haha). Tried some of the supposedly spreading via rhizomes TTTF a few years back (I don't remember cultivars but was a mix of fancy stuff from Oregon...I want to say a titan mix, but not sure). Looked pretty darned good back then after last renovation, but has lost a ton of ground since (~3 years). The creeping fescue is spreading and doing fine but not overwhelmed with the spreading ability of the TTTF (to say the least).

I have a small test area of some Zenith Zoysia that I plugged a few months back (todd valley farms...plugs were in great shape btw). I was planning to switch mostly over to Zoysia to fight the common Bermuda and other weeds a little better, but I think I am going to try some SPF-30 bluegrass (and maybe some other KBG varieties) in the rest of the yard first. I also want to watch the Zoysia for a while to see how long it lies dormant in this area.

I would really prefer a cool season lawn if I can make it look decent without a ton of extra work. It just seems preferable to have the lawn look rough/dormant during july and august than to have it brown from October until middle of May. I personally much prefer cutting and working on the lawn in the spring and fall to mid summer anyway.

I purchased some SPF-30 seed from outside pride. Planning to try and pre-germinate some of the seed prior to throw down in September.

Put some seed in trays outside (some with humidity domes, some without) with potting soil on 08/14. Have seen zero germination so far (soil has remained moist from my observation; humidity dome and lots of rain and water for uncovered trays). Hopefully, it didn't get drowned or rotted or something. I am almost to the point of doing a paper towel test to make sure the seed is ok, but maybe it's just a KBG thing.

I hit the nimblewill and crabgrass, etc with tenacity. It's white and looks like it is not long for this world. Some of the common bermuda turned a bit white too. Going to light a bunch of wire grass and weed areas up with gly this week.


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## 01Bullitt (Aug 31, 2020)

Cool project! I will be following your progress. I'm also in NC & I am doing a test plot of Bluebank KBG. I planted some of the KBG seed in a few containers on the back deck and have seen low germination. I have some but not a lot, I'm hoping it is due to this 90 -95 degree heat & not bad seed. I bought mine from Swell Seed which is owned by Landmark Seed Company.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Still zero germination of seed in trays from 08/14. Wondering if they rotted with all the rain or got smoked with the 90's and lack of my venting the humidity domes or something. I did two trays with no vent and two with the vents half open (and two with no dome).

Going to try paper towel test. Hopefully, "this is the way": wet paper towel; added a few SPF-30 seeds; folded over; put in ziploc bag (mostly closed but not all the way); left in window sill. Started 08/24.

Edit: Also waiting on results from soil test sent in to NC Dept. of Ag.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

01Bullitt said:


> Cool project! I will be following your progress. I'm also in NC & I am doing a test plot of Bluebank KBG. I planted some of the KBG seed in a few containers on the back deck and have seen low germination. I have some but not a lot, I'm hoping it is due to this 90 -95 degree heat & not bad seed. I bought mine from Swell Seed which is owned by Landmark Seed Company.


Hey, thanks! I was reading your journal too. You are much better at growing grass than I am! You're right we did get hit with the heat and humidity (though the Zoysia is doing just fine with it haha).

I was toying with the idea of just growing a ton of "plugs" through the fall and winter (maybe get a grow light going in the basement or something) but if I can't get the seed to come up in jiffy potting soil with humidity domes...maybe I better just roll with the "wire grass" and nimblewill. :lol:

I will be sure to post if the SPF-30 turns out to be "magic beans" for the NC piedmont.


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## 01Bullitt (Aug 31, 2020)

You're welcome. I bought a pro plugger tool off Amazon as I was thinking about pulling plugs in the test plot next year after it is mature and transplanting them in certain parts of the yard. I'm interested to see if the paper towel test yields better results.


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

Cool season in Charlotte here.

I have nimblewill issues too. You'll likely need 3 apps of Tenacity, every 2-3 weeks. I've been on a few rounds and still getting some green growth in it as of today:
* 15-June: Pylex + Triclopyr,
* 4-Jul: Pylex + Triclopyr, <- This app stressed and killed the surrounding fescue. Sprayed when it was 90F out.
* 20-Jul: Tenacity,
* 14-Aug: Tenacity.

I'm going to give it another hit of Pylex+MSO later today, and then it will see 2x more Tenacity apps during the overseed process. It's a heavy handed, and I probably started too early. Second year treating (started in Sep last year) and it is significantly reduced from last year and next year hopefully will just be some sprigs here or there.

I am going to be sowing 15% KBG into my lawn via overseed this year, and also going to see if I can maintain at 2-3" for the year.

I'm planning to seed Labor Day weekend to give the KBG plenty of time though still a bit early to see how much it will be cooling off. Last year I was the second weekend in Sep and that worked fine.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

@stevehollx Thanks for the info! I think I'm going to hit as much of it as possible with the gly as my seeding plans are growing on me (and also this KBG is taking forever/or I'm having problems so maybe I should be generous in clearing it some elbow room). Most of mine is ghost white like a week or so out. I'm going to try the granular tenacity + starter fert so hopefully that will actually kill some. I only recently figured out that it wasn't common bermuda. haha!

@01Bullitt I got a pro plugger too. Saw it was coming from Waxhaw, NC, so I had to give it a try. It worked like a charm in some little tests. Planning to use it to spread KBG and/or Zoysia throughout my nimblewill.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Got my soil test results back from NCDA. Looks like no lime recommended; pH is 6.1 in front and 6.3 in back. I threw down a ton of lime maybe 4 years ago (across a few seasons, after getting soil test recommending same).

Humic matter is .27% in both. That is interesting because I mulch grass and even mulch up leaves to a large extent (I get them off when they are so thick they are smothering the lawn). Guess I need to pump that up.

CEC is 10 and 12 in front and back respectively. Phosphorus index is 103 and 105. Looks like they are recommending fert with no phos. I suppose I won't be applying starter fert with tenacity as I had planned.

Still zero sprouts in the trays. Potting soil looks amazingly moist with humidity domes. Paper towel germination test ongoing.

The Zenith looks good to me. Looks a lot like TTTF imop (at least how I would mow it). I accidentally had some tenacity over spray on it. I can definitely roll with it if the dormant phase isn't too long (but it probably will be). I'm going to try the Zoysia in one large section of the lawn with sort of thin soil and lots of sun.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

I have one seed germinating so far out of the 10 seeds in the paper towel test started 08/24. We will see how it goes for a few more days. Maybe the seed in my trays/domes got cooked by the heatwave. I got my seed via OutsidePride's Amazon shop (was materially cheaper including shipping versus buying direct from them as a prime member...but maybe it got cooked in Amazon's hands....tag/test date is good to go). If this seed is indeed bad and there are not any other good options, I may throw down the Scotts "heat tolerant bluegrass mix" with the "Thermal Blue" cultivar, but that one has TTTF and coating and whatnot.


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## 01Bullitt (Aug 31, 2020)

@CorpRaider check out Twin City Seed, I learned about them from another member on here. They have decent prices and free shipping. I wished I would have known about them before I bought my KBG seed. https://www.twincityseed.com/kentucky-bluegrass-seed.html

I just noticed you are in the Triad area, Pete (GCI Turf) is in Reidsville off business 29. He has a blend of Midnight, Everest & NuGlade KBG. You can email or call to get pricing as it will be cheaper than what is advertised online because of shipping. He was out of stock when I ordered my seed 2 months ago or I would have picked some up from him.
https://gciturfacademy.com/collections/gci-grass-seed/products/gci-turf-blue-heat-grass-seed?variant=39270137102525


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Thanks @01Bullitt , those are some good options. I will think about it. I had kind of set my sights on trying the hybrid KBG. If those Texans can grow it down there it should be a cinch up here in the NC Piedmont, right? haha! But it's not like I've tried KBG before... I don't want to put in something that's going to require a bunch of artificial watering to keep it alive (although I am thinking about doing some rain barrels). I guess I could try some Barenberg HGT.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Go for it with those cultivars! I would save the hybrid kbg, if you have a total fail. If you use all the right cultural practices and baby it along, you should be able to get kbg to grow on your area, if you nurse it the first year.

Developing deep roots and wetting agents will help. Maxing out your HOC after grow-in will help with root development. Softening up the soil with BLSC or liquid aeration products and using biostimulants will also help, not to mention a soil test. I have my preference on products, but don't want to insert any bias. My journal lists products and my opinion, if you're interested. There are several options out there.

If you're not a color junkie, the hybrid kbg should be a little easier to grow, if you don't want to put the effort in. I tried some once or twice, and I didn't notice any better results with heat/drought.

One last tip; do not let the Zoysia any where near the kbg. It will take over faster than you realize. Don't ask me why I know this.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

@Chris LI Haha, yeah I will keep the Zoysia away but I've already got common bermuda in the lawn (and in the park across the street) so I'm kind of SOL. I went ahead and ordered a bag of the scotts heat blue mix. Since it has that coating, I can throw that in a section that is a bit of a PITA to water and on the parkway to see how it does.

I've still only got one seed germinating in paper towel started 08/24. So I am disinclined to just buy more SPF-30 seed from outside pride. I might try to return it (bought via amazon) or something after a few more days. I might try some midnight (from another vendor) in a shady section in the front or something.

As long as the bluegrass is as green as fescues like titan, wolfpack, tarheel, and the rebels cultivars (I know I've put all those down in the past), I should be fine with it.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

I haven't used it (no Bermuda here), but a Pylex/Triclopyr cocktail seems to take out Bermuda. I think it needs multiple apps, but is doable. Some folks will rake to pull up the Bermuda runners for more surface area to coat the leaf blades better.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

@Chris LI Thanks man. I will check into that. I will need something selective because I know it will come back. If I do go with the Zoysia in the main sunny section, I imagine I will be burning and glyphosphating the "front line" to cover the advance of the Zoysia and maybe dropping some milo and other fert only on the Zoyisa.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

You're welcome!

Yeah, zoysia is a killer. I'm not aware of a selective herbicide that kills it. Some herbicide labels note possible injury, but the only way to take it out that I know of, is multiple glyphosate applications with fallowing. I need to do a reno.  IMHO, cut your losses and take it out, before it takes over. I tried beating it back with cultural practices and herbicide "injury" to no avail. I think it is worse than the devil weed, because you don't have to nuke everything with Bermuda.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

@Chris LI Ok man you scared me off from the Zoysia...for now. I will really try and make the KBG mix work all over the yard and just keep my plugged area of Zenith for observation (I plugged it really tight together and it was only two trays, but it DOES look good. Zenith looks almost exactly like Fescue to me).

Also, I now have two (!) sprouts in my SPF-30 paper towel test and several more seeds look promising on day ~8. So that's good. I still want to get a good stand going in my trays before I go to all the effort of throwing this seed down. I will likely restart the trays with humidity domes in the basement or something. Going to mow today and then do some more glyposphate after a couple days. Pylex or MSO in areas with a lot of good fescue. Planning to fill in some low spots over the weekend with some sand + compost with at least 33% compost to sand mix.

I ordered a single "full spectrum" led grow light for the basement. Fits in normal socket. We will see how that goes.

P.S. got my scotts heat tolerant blue mix. Has only about 3% of the Thermal Blue. Rest is Fescue. Has some Rhambler SRP (supposedly) rhizomatous fescue.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Going to spread sand and compost mix this weekend and spray again. Pylex in areas with a lot of good fescue and gly in others.

I've got three sprouts and a couple more "good candidates" on day 10 of paper towel test of the SPF-30, so that's probably ok. Here's the tag for the Scotts mix. [Potential bias: I own a little $SMG] Some of the TTTF cultivars seem good...never heard of Kizzle. Don't love that "other crop," line probably all Poa:



I also grabbed a small bag of this wyatt & quarles mix from local independent garden center...good to try and keep those local small retail folks in business, though they seemed busy (it was only ~$3.50/lb.):



It has Kelly *** and Fahrenheit 90 hybrid KBG mixed with some good TTTF cultivars. I am thinking I will do 5K with the SPF-30 and 5K with the scotts (2lbs and 4 lbs psf respectively...half the scotts is coating) in a couple of weeks and then maybe hold the W&Q mix in reserve in case I need to hit spots that don't come in. Wish it didn't have creeping fescue. I am really going to keep these other mixes in only half the yard so I can hopefully get a good area of SPF-30 only to plug from.

Still nothing from the trays. Today is 3 weeks from seed down, they must have been cooked and/or flooded. I am going to dump them today and start new ones with the SPF-30 and grow light in the basement.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Nice cultivars for the two mixes. I didn't mean to scare you away from Zoysia, but you are attempting to grow cool season turf in your area, which will be overrun by it.

If the Zoysia does the best, with the least effort, it might be worth maintaining in your sunny areas. Being in the transition zone, you have a much longer growing season than where I live. Zoysia is brown 7 months of the year, which bugs me, and it's noticeably lighter in color. It is not appropriate for my area, although folks who want minimal maintenance in sunny areas will grow it. Some mow it once or twice a month and don't care for it at all.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

@Chris LI haha, yeah I just kidding, but that was a good point about the lack of selective herbs to hit the Zoysia. I planned to watch it for a year or two anyhow to see how long it is dormant, how it does in shade and most importantly how it puts the choke hold on the common bermuda.

I made a ghetto grow box with a cardboard box and some aluminum wrap and an LED light in one of the basement ceiling fixtures; restarting SPF-30 trays now.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Got some seedlings in SPF-30 tray 2.0 started on 08/30 in basement (in sealed container). It's only like 8 seedlings across the whole tray. I've got five more trays (restarted 09/04) to observe but if the germination rate is proving low I might double the bag rate (2lbs psf) and maybe grab some midnight kbg or something.

I've already got more seedlings than that in the tray of the Scotts TTTF/HBG mix started on 09/3 (noticed the seedlings on 09/6....crazy!).

Here's my rigged up grow house :lol: :


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Sprayed roundup ready to use pylex (crabgrass destroyer) yesterday; spot sprayed gly; spread more sand and compost.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Noticed on 09/09 that I have some grass sprouts in SP-30 trays started 09/04. Only a few per cell but that seems pretty fast. I might try to get seed down this weekend. Still some 90's in the forecast, but I'm a little worried about leaf pressure since this KBG takes forever to grow in.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Still not over whelmed with the SPF-30 germination. Here are some of the trays started 09/4. The one "beasting" is the scotts heat tolerant blue mix (09/03).



These have been in like perfect temperature with humidity domes (until visual seedlings) and hand misting ~five times a day...in potting soil too. I'm sure conditions are going to be much worse in my yard when I "throw'er down". I've got the fescue mixes, but I am thinking hard about buying some midnight kbg to supplement the SPF-30. Worried that I could have a weed fest in a couple of the heavily glyphosphate-d areas with this weak ~30-40% germination rate. Then again, I hate to overbuy seed right into a shortage and price spike (like a lemming). I was able to get some peat moss, so that's good. I have not seen any in stock around here at the big boxes.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed/scalped today. Lots of dust in crispy areas. Going to rake and try to get seed down tomorrow. I am also probably going to put down some "stress blend" fert (from LCN). Soil test said no phos. but I need N and K. I was maybe going to wait, but this blend has low nitrogen (7%) and it is all slow release, so I think I will probably go ahead and put it down. I suppose that will save me from having to walk the spreader across the wet seed bed or baby grass over the next couple of weeks. Might also put down a half app of milo. I also have some greenview seeding success paper mulch and peat moss to spread on top in certain areas. Maybe I had better wait until the weekend.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Got ~ 8 lbs of SPF-30 down and ~10 lbs of the Scotts heat blue (2% thermal blue HBG in mix); put the greenview seeding success/sticky paper mulch on slopes...seems a bit thin but I was scared of it plumping up and choking out the seedlings. I'm having a hard time putting down the seed at the recommended rates; seems like a ton. Still have to spread the wyatt & quarles mix out front (I'm going to do 2.5 lb per 1 KSF) and then spread peat.

I think I'm going to hold 1 lb of SPF 30 to grow plugs and hang onto half the scotts to throw down in thin areas in a week or two. The scotts stuff exploded after 3-4 days in my trays and it has the coating and whatnot so hopefully I will be able to basically just throw it down as we finally start cooling and getting some rain.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Did some raking today in the gly areas. Planted some Scotts mix "plugs." They pulled easy and had roots coming out of the bottom of the cells, etc...That stuff is legit. It rained twice yesterday and a bit of drizzle this morning. Watered some this afternoon.

I'm going to rake some more tomorrow and then throw down most of the remaining seed.

I feel like I should also mention that my tray of SPF-30 started 08/30 is exploding with baby bluegrass the last two days. So germination seems to be nice (in fact I may have added too much seed).


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Raked a lot and then put down most of the remaining SPF-30, Scotts heat blue, and wyatt and quarles mix. Spread a bail of peat. I think I would rather spread straw. That paper mulch stuff might be the ticket. I guess it is a lot more expensive given the coverage area. Installed the last of my 12 scotts heat blue mix "plugs" in holes left from soil samples taken with pro plugger a few weeks ago.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Started a new tray of 12 cells of SPF-30. I weirdly, really enjoy growing the "plugs".


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Today I saw a few seedlings in the scotts heat blue mix areas (gotta be the fescue). We have received a lot of rain over the last two days. Low spots filled with sand and compost mix seem to be doing a good job of eliminating standing water.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Baby blues! Of course I found the thickest groups of grasslings in areas where I used raked up dead grass as covering and thought it looked too thick/bunched from deluge last night. So, I removed to spread better and poof there are tons of seedlings. haha.

I gotta say the germination in the SPF-30 areas isn't much less than the TTTF mix with the coating and everything. I think maybe I've been more focused on watering the SPF. These are all SPF-30 (and weeds):


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## 01Bullitt (Aug 31, 2020)

Congrats, glad to see the SPF-30 germinated well for you!


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Thanks man! Looks like I have pretty good germination in the areas where I spread compost and sand and I see a few here and there in the dead (and returning) common Bermuda. But it's early. My trays didn't really get cranking until after a couple of weeks. I also saw a fair amount of new crabgrass out front, sheesh.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Applied a half application of Milorganite because my damned dogs tore the corner of a couple bags open. Got some seedlings in SPF30 tray started 09/19 in basement weird grow set up.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Maybe the dogs are onto something. Since you have decent germination, the seedlings could use some food, as soon as the Milo starts to break down.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

haha. I think they were just focused on that smell of success!

I got some Sunniland milo clone (man that stuff stinks) and some synthetics too (I am champing at the bit to hammer it), but I was planning to give it another few days.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Put out the sunniland milorganite clone at 1/2 bag rate, it actually doesn't smell as bad as the milo did this time. Had to mow a few portions of the lawn that I didn't glyphosphate.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

I think I'm going to start watering only once a day (for an hour) after today. Wife and dogs and everyone is getting annoyed with constantly wet yard. Got decent germination in most spots. Going to evaluate reseeding areas that didn't come in great in another week or so. The fecue areas don't seem to have done as well, but I didn't do nearly as good a job raking or watering those. I'll work on them some more and we'll see where we are in spring. Still hot (80-85) and no rain. Maybe October will be more favorable.

Just applied some 7-0-20 "stress blend" fert. (I know it's a bit expensive but I like the dude's content. Also it did smell a bit like milo.). Let's go!


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed at 2", didn't really hit the bluegrass much at all. Looks like a chance of a lot of rain with overcast skies and good temps this week. Trying to decide if I should throw down more seed in spots or wait until after. Got some spots where I didn't de-thatch/rake very well....could rough those up and throw down some of the remaining scotts mix.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Raked a ton and put down the rest of the Scotts mix. Was hot. Looking forward to some cooler temps and hopefully lots of drizzle this week.

Got some damn wild violets raging. I hit them with RTS triclopyr a few weeks before seeding and I think I hit some with glyphosphate but there are a good amount left and it looks like new ones coming up maybe with all the water. Saw some yellow nutsedge and those red thicker clovers in seeded areas too (edit...I think it is Oxalis).


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Trays started 09/04 are just now throwing out some fescue-like substantial grass blades, wow that takes a while! I will try and get those plugged out by the weekend. SPF-30 in lawn is starting to look ready to roll as well.

Looking forward to mow and fert this weekend. I think maybe I will throw down the Lesco 30-0-10 at 1/2 bag rate (~.5 of N per s.f. but some is slow release) and some milo clone at full bag rate then get some lilly miller ammonium sulfate from lowes and start doing half a lb of N every two weeks after I use up the lesco.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Applied LESCO 30-0-10 @ full bag rate ~.8 lbs N per 1M s.f. Pulled some GD nutsedge (just to keep it from shading out grasslings). Need to cut some areas and mulch some leaves.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed on 10/10 @ 3" to knock down the existing fescue and some newly seeded fescue areas (and to chop up some leaves....so it begins!). Went over the SPF-30 but I don't think it cut anything. Gonna' try to get out there again in the next couple of days and drop it down a bit.

Cut "plugs" with scissors. They seem basically ready to transplant (started 09/04/21). Going to try and get them all out this week and get some more trays started. I guess I will plan to put those down through December.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Watered once today. Bluegrass really needed it. High was only like 75 and there was cloud cover until like 3:00. Wow it's some delicate grass huh? Fescue looks ready to move out and go to college and bluegrass isn't even really ready to mow.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

CorpRaider said:


> Fescue looks ready to move out and go to college and bluegrass isn't even really ready to mow.


It's a real eye opener when you experience kbg "sprout and pout" the first time. It's time to grab an adult beverage, sweets, or whatever your poison is, to get past it. Just keep spoonfeeding, watering and mowing. It will be a long fall, but it will start to get up and go before you know it. Hang in there!


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Seeing some black medic, ground ivy, fking wild violets, and yellow nutsedge. I've got some ready to spray spectricide weedstop with quinclorac, 24d, etc and some roundup for lawns northern (same stuff I think), and some tenacity. Only about 4 weeks from seed down IDK man, but the black medic is getting kinda' dominant/shading out my babies in an area or two.


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## 01Bullitt (Aug 31, 2020)

I know what you mean about the weeds. Henbit and hairy bittercress were giving me a fit. I blanket sprayed my reno with weed b gon at 1.5 ounces in a gallon of water at day 28 after germination. Before I blanket sprayed I sprayed a small test area a couple of days before to make sure it wasn't going to harm the young grass. You might have to wait on the wild violets until next year in the spring. An herbicide with triclopyr is what you want for those. I used Crossbow herbicide and had to spray them twice to kill them. My local Home Depot is where I purchased it. If you can't find it there then Do My Own or Amazon sells it. I have also used the proplugger tool recently to pull a few up and put potting soil in the hole with some grass seed.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Thanks man. I've got some unopened crossbow (I've used for trees/wisteria/ivy). I didn't even know I could use it on the lawn.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed at 2.5". That took a little off the top of the Bluegrass as well. Hope to get the plugs out tomorrow.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Got the rest of the plugs out (that's kind of a PITA, but pro plugger worked well). Sprayed some areas with round-up northern RTS. I started 5 more trays of SPF. The last trays seemed a little overly wet and all the roots didn't run through the bottom. Going to focus on watering these a bit less, bottom watering, and bringing them in when it rains and whatnot (after they get established).

Lawn is probably ready for another mow, I'm going to try and hit it tomorrow. I guess I will hold off on fertilizer for a bit, I can't be mowing every other day with my family and work commitments/demands.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed fescue at 3" and bluegrass at 2.75" (too uneven to go very low without scalping). Seeing a ton of chickweed. I'm thinking about applying....a....weed.....and.....feed. It should crush chickweed, right? 

Took a couple of pics but yard looks pretty crappy so deleted. Maybe I do need more fert...

Got some white fungus, tips of some grass dying, in last tray started several weeks ago. Stopped watering for a few days. Might be a lost cause on that tray.

Really need to water lawn(last time was Saturday, except for some hand watering of one most recently seeded area), but I really don't want to water in the evening. I have to give a talk tomorrow morning, but I'm going to plan to water before hand. Should help be awake if I get sprayed by the sprinkler while I'm setting it up.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Watered yesterday. I guess I will go to watering every third day for a while. Dew is hanging around for a long time now, especially in shady areas. I'm going to throw down a half application of milo clone (today is plan...so stank can dissipate a few days before weekend) and then do a bag rate/full application of LESCO 30-0-10 Sunday (total about 1.25 LBS of N). Only a bit over 2 weeks from last application (.85N). That would be about 2.75LBS of N so far. Then I guess I will just let it roll until ~ Tksgiving.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Debating whether to go ahead and try and throw some sand on a couple of spots to try and level a bit (we're talking like three bags of sand here) or wait until spring. Also thinking about maybe going ahead and starting to tear out (or start spraying) the couple of trays of zoysia. Has not looked great since around labor day.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

I didn't take any before pictures, but pretty much everything was glyphosated in the relevant areas before seed (you can probably tell that based on areas that are still nuked haha). Here are some current pics. Meh. I'm going to mow later today, so if I get any better pictures I will share.

These two are of the area where I used 100% SPF-30. You can see the transition to Titan/Bermuda/Salad:




Here are some of the SPF tray "plugs" after "installation":



Here are two pics of the primary area where I used Scotts Heat Blue Mix. This was kind of an afterthought/spontaneous expansion of the seeding. I didn't do as well prepping or watering. Touched it up a couple weeks ago with some more seed (and raking). We will see how it looks in the spring:




Here are a couple of shots of the front sections where I used only the Wyatt and Quarles Shady nook (already had a lot of creeping red fescue...like three norway maples and a dogwood are in play here):




Finally, a section of the front that gets more sun and is harder to water. I used shady nook originally and then touched it up with the Scotts heat tolerant:


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## 01Bullitt (Aug 31, 2020)

Looking good man! Keep us updated on the tray plugs and how much they spread.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Got a fair amount of seedlings in trays started 10/17, I strongly retract any besmirching of the SPF-30 seed I got from outside pride. Stuff is good to go.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Man I sprayed a test area of chickweed and black medic with some of the rountdup RTS for lawns with 24d and quinclorac and it seems to have really hammered the grasslings (and hit the weeds too).

Maybe I'm going to have to just hope that the baby grass can hang with these weeds. If so, I guess I will wait till spring and hit bermuda, violets, ere-thang with triclopyr/crossbow. Or I could try some meso/tenacty. I wonder if that would be gentler (and effective).


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

CorpRaider said:


> Man I sprayed a test area of chickweed and black medic with some of the rountdup RTS for lawns with 24d and quinclorac and it seems to have really hammered the grasslings (and hit the weeds too).
> 
> Maybe I'm going to have to just hope that the baby grass can hang with these weeds. If so, I guess I will wait till spring and hit bermuda, violets, ere-thang with triclopyr/crossbow. Or I could try some meso/tenacty. I wonder if that would be effective gentler (and effective).


Triclopyr can be rough, even on established turf. Meso is more gentle, IMHO, but you have to deal with whitening. I've had breakthrough from my Tenacity app at seed down but have not been willing to deal with more whitening, after a later Topramezone app, so I'm probably not applying either Tenacity nor Triclopyr this fall. I might put some Prodiamine down to reduce what I have to contend with in the spring.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed low(ish) and applied LESCO 30-0-10 @ .80 LB N (bag) rate.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed and blowed(~2" and 3" depending upon how level). Man that took like 3 hours. Took some pictures of the back seeded areas. Have a lot of chickweed and wild violets. Planning to spray crossbow like first week of December (60 days after last seed down). Noticed some common bermuda that is still green/blue AF.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed and blowed. Some of trays are looking pretty wilted, not sure if too much or too little water or what. Seedlings not just pouting but laying over. Got a freeze warning later this week. Supposed to get cold for a few days but warm again next week.

Took a few pics of one of the Scotts heat blue mix sections after mow.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed the last two days and wow it actually appreciably grew between mowings. Planning to apply more 30-0-10 this week.

I'm liking the color on the baby SPF (excuse the weeds):


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed @ 2.5", cleaned up ton of leaves, there's a ton to fall. Applied LESCO 30-0-10 at bag rate, didn't get to the fine fescue area in the back. Last planned fert for the year.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed and cleaned up leaves, definitely still growing on top, took off about 1/4". Notice I didn't cut any top growth in the back section that is mostly fine fescue, but then again that section didn't get the last application of fert.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

I have to admit, it looks like my Zenith Zoysia test patch still isn't dormant. It looks like hell compared to the cool season stuff, but still has maybe 1/3 green blades.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed and Mulched leaves yesterday. Definitely took off a bit in the SPF area but not much in some others. It has been bone dry here. I think I saw November was like the 12th driest month on record. I've been debating getting out the hoses and sprinklers and putting down some H2O.


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## Angler (Apr 9, 2021)

I live in Winston Salem and pulled out the hoses today. You're right, this November was really dry. October wasn't much better for us. My lawn is still pretty green; the tttf is starting to fade but my Mazama KBG isn't dormant yet.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Thanks for the info. I guess I'd better get on it. I don't want it to die after all that work in the Fall. haha

Mine is still green too but fading some in the TTTF area. Totally dormant with the Zoysia patch now. I do like the gold a lot better than the strands of "white" common bermuda that I now see in in my cool season grasses. We will see what it does in the spring.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Applied Lesco granular prodiamine at the bag rate (I think 3lb per 1ksf) on 03/8/22. Got a ton of rain (1.5"+) over the next 24 hours (I thought the forecast was for a light shower I swear). I can still see some/a lot of prodiamine granules in the yard.

Zoysia test area is maybe 60% green. I could maybe live with this, if the KBG mixes are too high maintenance/totally fail. It would nice to be able to just blast everything that is green with glyphosate during the late winter/early spring.

Going to apply crossbow + generic mesotrione (because that's what I got) to ample weeds and to hopefully discourage common bermuda once the bermuda greens up (I can see the dormant patches/threads). Got a fair amount of poa annua, pulling some but it's probably going to take fall pre-M to do any good. Should be cool, not planning on seeding. I have to say the area with the Scotts heat blue mix looks kind of amazing (relative to the rest of the yard/other seeds/mixes I tried out).


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Applied crossbow @ 2 oz per gallon and generic Meso @ 1 tsp per gallon. Saw some crabgrass. Guess I got my prodiamine down a bit too late.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Mowed this weekend. Snapped a couple of shots.

This is the SPF30 area. A fair amount of wild violet. Need to hit again with triclopyr/crossbow. Also planning to do a prodiamine app and granule insecticide (had a couple of ticks).



Here is the area with mostly Scotts Heat Blue Mix. I swear this stuff has impressed me the whole time. I guess that's probably because of the greater % of fescue and the fact that it has not gone through summer yet.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Got some fungus that I think is powdery mildew (and some brown stuff) in spots under trees on the SPF30. Applied propoconizole @ curative rate on 05/09/22.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

The heat blue mix and the SPF-30 are both hanging fine in my evaluation. I had a lot of dormant areas a few weeks ago but with rain there are only a few now (I do not irrigate. If he dies he dies).

Sprayed some roundup RTS with several active ingredients (not gly) on some nutsedge and some crabgrass. Last night I saw some nimblewill and common bermuda. I need that Shatner GIF. KHAAAAAAAAAAAAN! haha

I can't even pick out my circle of zenith zoysia. Wasn't even distinct when things were going dormant.

I'm going to spray crossbow and generic meso a few times this fall, as part of ongoing efforts to retard the bermuda and nimblewill (and kill violets).

Also looks like highs only in the low/mid 80s this weekend. BYE BYE JULY.


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## CorpRaider (Aug 23, 2021)

Here are some September 3rd pics of areas where I'm messing around with KBG. Here is the section where I tried the SPF-30. It looks quite dead/dormant to me. Sedges and common bermuda are doing great though! No irrigation and very hot and dry summer. I'm not going to seed this fall (just applied prodiamine this week) but will just try and see how it comes back and if it will fill in with a good amount of fertilizer:





Here is a shot of the main section with the Scott's heat blue mix (with that other texas HBG variety in there):



There are a few other spots like this throughout with dormant/dead sections. I plan to drop a full rate of milorganite this week and spray with some mezo and triclopyr to hit the common bermuda and other stuff that is thriving right now.


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