# growin' grass on the river



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Hey everyone, I'm Kyle 32 years old from Lunenburg Virginia. Lawn care never truly mattered to me until I built a new house. With new construction, naturally I wanted a yard to compliment the brand spanking new house and thats where my story begins.

August 2016, my girlfriend and I decided to buy a piece of land and build. (boy, I had no idea how much work this was going to be!) We bought a 52 acre track of undeveloped land in our hometown, Lunenburg County Virginia. Im talking no driveway, no cleared homesite, no electricity, no water or sewer, poor cell phone service and no internet connection in sight. The only access to the property was the barely passable, only if you own a 4x4 truck, "logging road" that consisted of more virgnia clay than stone. The majority of the property is soft rolling hills. The interior timber was clear cut by the previous owner leaving only a shallow strip of mature trees around the perimeter. The Nottoway River, which wraps completely around our land secludes us from the world. You can't see or hear a neighbor in any direction and that didn't happen by shear luck :rofl: . And you guessed it, we picked a spot right in the middle of the oxbow to build (hence my user name). It's our own private oasis. 

Grab a cold beer or like me, a glass of bourbon, and lets take a float down the river that has been my life for the past couple years.


----------



## dacoyne (May 27, 2018)

This is awesome, your own private lazy river. You can get on and off all on your own property! Have you started the lawn yet? What are you looking to do with the landscape. Curious as no one will see it but you


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

dacoyne said:


> This is awesome, your own private lazy river. You can get on and off all on your own property! Have you started the lawn yet? What are you looking to do with the landscape. Curious as no one will see it but you


Thanks for kind words dacoyne. Yep, when I found out the river flowed around the property, it became a must buy. As far as the lawn and landscape go, yeah I've got some things growin, stay tuned I'll show you my progress. Promise.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

A little more information on the "barely passable" logging road or as I like to call it, the 'Wanna Be Driveway." :airquote: The entrance from the state maintained road was so steep, it felt as if you were going to flip over backwards when driving up it. Mission one: Improve entrance. Luckily, I had a friend who thought enough of me that he let me borrow his heavy equipment (bull dozer, excavator, dump truck). And by borrow, I mean he came over to my property almost daily for three months and ran his machinery. Piece by piece he taught me how to operate his equipment. If it wasn't for him (thanks Bobby!) this project never would have gotten off the ground.



We cut the entrance down roughly 12 feet. Two separate cuts, almost 6 feet deep per cut. After moving dirt for a week it quickly because obvious one dump truck wasn't enough, so I purchased "Wiley" the green drump truck to speed things up. Bobby loaded the dump trucks, my dad who also pitched in a lot, hauled on bobby's drump truck, ol' red, and my best friend Colin hauled on my truck and I would then spread it out on the dozer. Oh boy we were going places now! :thumbup:



325 loads of Virginia red clay removed from the entrance and dumped in the low ground to build the level of the driveway up.



This is the low ground that ate 325 loads of clay. ha



There she is.



This is the week after thanksgiving in 2016. After three months of constructing a driveway, you could now safely enter and exit my property. The driveway turned out well, all 1800 feet of it, even though it lead to nothing. :lol: Now it was on to the homesite!


----------



## crussell (Mar 12, 2018)

This is awesome!


----------



## Grass Clippins (Apr 30, 2018)

Very Nice! Your neighbors/the locals probably think you're putting in a neighborhood.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@crussell 
Thanks for the feedback! I had no idea if anyone would be interested in my story or not. Glad to hear you are enjoying it. As long as one person is following along, I'll contiue to post.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@Grass Clippins

Haha. :nod: You are more right than you even know. I can't tell you how many people drove back in here "just to see where the entrance led." I think they were mildy disappointed to find out, at that point in time, it led to "nothing."


----------



## crussell (Mar 12, 2018)

@OnTheOxbow

You bet! My line of work is heavy/civil construction, so I get just as excited about earth moving as I do turf.


----------



## Grass Clippins (Apr 30, 2018)

@crussell Do you ever watch letsdig18 videos on YouTube? It's one of my guilty pleasures.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

As it turns out, when you don't pay your help anything at all, they aren't nearly as excited as you are to work all day everyday. :lol: So on days when I didn't have any help, I would take the dozer back to the homesite and "clear land." I had all of 5 mins experience operating a bulldozer but I was smooth as silk on that machine. I quickly came back down to earth as i learned stripping land of the overgrown underbrush without pushing up too much dirt was wayyy over my experience level. I pushed up mounds and mound of dirt, with very little underbrush in the mix. The plan was to burn these piles of underbrush. I don't know if you've ever tried to burn mostly dirt, ha spoiler alert it doesn't burn.



All and all we spent another couple weeks clearing land at the homesite. Pushing brush piles up with the bulldozer, shaking the dirt out of those piles with the excavator and re-stacking. In total we cleared a whopping 3 acres. I was tired, Bobby was tired, his equipment was tired and even though I wanted to clear another 15 acres, deep down I was relieved when Bobby said he needed his equipment for another job. Thanks again Bobby!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

The next few months were pretty slow around the land. I spent a ridiculous amount of time cleaning up those 3 acres. Picking up rocks, picking up sticks, digging up roots and saplings. My daily goal was to stop by the land and fill up the bucket on my tractor at least twice. Yep. It was mindless, grueling, dirty, back breaking, and seemed never ending. It was as awful as it sounds! However, at the end of everyday, I felt a surprising sense of accomplishment. Stick by stick, I was turning an overgrown, neglected, and somewhat ugly piece of property into the beautiful home place I knew it could be. That dirt crammed underneath my fingernails wasn't just any dirt, it was my dirt, my future family's dirt and I couldn't have been more proud. I wore it under my nails like a badge of honor and the smile on my face would tell you the exact same (although my back would argue). :lol:



My girlfriend decided we needed a drone to track the progress on the land. I thought the idea was silly, although I never ever considered telling her that. haha. Looking back, i'm glad we bought one because it has captured some really cool pictures. This is one of the first pictures I took with it. It's neat how you can see the river flowing around the property and the 3 acres I was working on cleaning up! :thumbup:



Everything was going my way, until I called the local power company to inquire about getting electricity to my land. Stay tuned for that story.....

Oh and if you're sticking around for the grass I promise there will be grass!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@Grass Clippins I hear ya on letsdig18. I have watched him dig more ponds than I care to admit.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

In the spring of 2017, I met with the local power company to discuss bringing electricity to my homesite. The representative immediately informed me there had been some policy changes inside the company and wanted to make sure I was aware of them. The power cooperative requires a cleared 40 foot wide right of way; basically a path for the poles and wires to travel along. This had always been there policy, nothing new there. In years past, they would establish the right of way for new customers. Their new policy: it is the sole responsibility of the homeowner to provide a cleared right of way. In addition to this, their new power line construction cost has significantly increased, to reflect the rising cost of materials and labor. I'm not going into further details about the cost part of it just know that I think very very poorly of Southside Electric Cooperative and what they charge their customers!

Let me give you a visual of this future right of way.



If you look towards the top center of the picture you can see my neighbors house. Thats the closest point that currently has electricity. It is my responsibility to cut and clear a path through that mostly mature forrest. A path that is 40 feet wide, preferably in a straight line, starting there and ending at my homesite. If you think that looks like a looong way, you would be correct. That is 2200 feet.  What was I feeling, you ask? I felt like I was just punched in the gut by Mike Tyson. My head was spinning, filling up with questions. What am I going to do? Can I afford to pay someone to clear this? Would a timber company be interested in the tress? Should I move the homesite closer to the road? Would I be better off to just sell this property? Let me answer a few of those questions. The first two questions I marked off the list, should I move the homesite and should I sell. I took both those questions off the table immediately. Im not going to allow a power company's policy to dictate where I build and I'm for sure not going to let a power company "force" me into selling my land! Nope, not going to happen. I dug my heels, one way or another I was going to get electricity. I called a local big time timber company, thinking they have the equipment and labor force to make quick work of this. After a quick discussion, the "small nature" of my job didn't interest them. I decided to call a small time timber company. They met me at the land for an evaluation. The quality of the trees interested him however the quantity was more than they could handle. Yep, the job was too small for the big guys and too big for the little guys. No problem. Last call I made was to a land clearing company. After walking the proposed right of way, safely cutting the trees closest to the road really concerned him and the wet/swampy bottom also didn't appeal. He would do the job but his price reflected his concerns. Yeah, thousands more than I was willing to pay. Well boys, at that point I was out of options. There was only one thing I knew that wouldn't let me down - my Husqvarna chain saw and my closest friends. I pulled out the saw, turned it up, sharpened the chain, and gave it a pep talk. I can't really remember if I was trying to convince the chainsaw we could do this or if I was just trying to convince myself. Next time you ride by a forrest, think about cutting a path wide enough for four cars to drive down side by side about a 1/4 mile long. That's the only thing standing between electricity and our homesite.

For the next 3 months I worked every available daylight minute I had cutting that right of way. The hardest part was getting started. The forrest was dense, when I would fell one tree it would get hung up in another. I had to get these cut trees out of the way so I had room to work. I would cut around 20 trees, then get the tractor and one by one and chain them up and pull them out of the woods and drop them off at the burn pile. That was my routine everyday after work. Monday through Friday. On Saturdays, Colin or dad would drop by to help. I always appreciated their help! It took about two months to make it through the forrest. We had a 10 foot wide partial right of way cut. Now we just had to expand it to 40 feet.

The path was just wide enough a smaller bulldozer would fit. I knew if I twisted Bobby's arm hard enough he would let me use that dozer one more time. Luckily, I didn't have to convince him at all. When I told him what I had going on, he said ill have the dozer over there in a couple days. I knew I couldn't cut fast enough to keep up with Bobby pushing. I lined up Colin and dad to help that weekend. This was the big final push! With three men cutting and a good dozer operator we knocked that job out in no time. It was fun to have that dirt moving crew back together again.

Oh yeah! That Husqvarna saw I mentioned, I sharpened the chain on it enough that I think I could do it with my eyes closed now. :lol: I went through 3 chains and 2 bars, but she was up to the task, as were my friends. Just as I had expected! :nod:


----------



## jdselig (Jul 17, 2018)

UNBELIEVABLE! This is flipping insane. I love your commitment and drive.

Can't wait for the next update!


----------



## piotrkol (Oct 27, 2018)

This is absolutely insane! Waiting for more of the story and photos. Awesome stuff so far, that place looks absolutely magical. The amount of work you put in is mind boggling to say the least!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@jdselig Thanks for following along, I'm glad you are enjoying it! Yeah once I commit to something its all or nothing. :thumbup:

@piotrkol Thank you for the compliments! When I was doing all of these projects, it didn't seem that crazy. Now looking back at the pictures and telling the story, it makes me seem a tad bit crazy. Although, I like to call it passion. :lol:


----------



## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

@OnTheOxbow I have no excuses not to keep my home and yard in top shape. You are truly inspirational! This is a great thread to follow. Thank you for documenting what is possible.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@Chris LI. Thanks for the nice comments Chris, a little recognition always feels good. :thumbup: Yeah, its amazing what you can accomplish when you really get after it!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

My first real taste of growing grass. When we finished the driveway in late November of 2016, I knew I needed to get something growing on those slopes to keep the winter rains from eroding the dirt away. Off to southern states I go.

Lady at Southern States: How can I help you today?
me: I need some grass seed.
Lady: What kind of grass seed? And its awfully late in the season to plant grass.
menot knowing much about grass at that time) ahhhh..... anything thats green and will grow now. :mrgreen:
Lady: We sell a contractors mix thats cheap. Its a mix of rye and fescue. I wouldn't buy anything more expensive than that for this time of year.
me: Perfect, ill take some. 
Lady: How many bags do you want?
me: (not wanting to show I didn't know what I was doing) ahh... ill take two 40 lbs bags, its a big area.
Lady: Have you previously fertilized or limed?
me: :no: umm.....no. 
Lady: You'll need to lime and fertilize to give it a better chance of growing.
me: Yep alright, I'll take some lime and fertilizer.
Lady: What kind of lime and fertilizer would you like, and how much?
me: Woof. ahh ( I got it ) Whatever you recommend and whatever rate you recommend. (Oh yeah smooth save) :thumbup: 
Lady: Without doing a soil test, I wouldn't know what to recommend.
me: Geez, I thought I had wiggled out of that one. Whatever is the cheapest I told her.
Lady:10-10-10 is a cheap good all around fertilizer and dolomitic lime is cheap lime.
me: Sounds good. Ill take ohh I don't know, 10 bags of each. 
lady: Would you like some straw to cover the seed?
me: Of course im going to cover my seed, ha Ill take 20 bales.

If its not obvious from that exchange, my grass knowledge at the time was extremely limited. I had just spent something close to $300 and I felt as if I was going to waste every cent of it. I knew at that moment, I needed to up my grass game because well my wallet couldn't afford to do this too many times.

I hopped on the internet and did a quick search for a guide to planting grass. I found out the basic steps; rough up the soil, incorporate any soil amendments, fertilizer or lime, evenly spread seed and cover, and then water. Bam, I got this! 
The next morning I spread out all the lime, all the fertilizer, and all the grass seed. Yep all at once. That was my interpretation of the guide. Then I hooked the tiller up behind the tractor and tilled it all in. Then I covered it with 20 bales of straw.



It was late in the season. I didn't have any means to water the seed. It was all in the hands of Mother Nature. Most of the winter, that is what the entrance looked like. Just straw and very little grass. The grass sprouted here and there but it looked so bad that I didn't take any pictures. I had given up hope on my grass.

That spring I was so focused on cutting the right of way I didn't give the grass any thought. As it continued to warm up, I notice the entrance was getting greener and greener. Holy Batman! It was a grass miracle! By the end of spring, I had a decent stand of grass. :thumbup:



The summer sun sucked every ounce of life out of my grass. Thanks for that, Mother Nature. That young grass never stood a fighting chance. Wilted it away to nothing, I tell ya. Dealing with grass is an emotional roller coaster! I decided before I reseed this entrance, Im going to learn a thing or two about growin' grass.



Late that summer, I worked up the ditches in preparation for another round of seeding.


----------



## Grass Clippins (Apr 30, 2018)

Damn @OnTheOxbow you're such a tease :lol: Come on let's see some more pics :clapping:


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Patience grasshopper, patience. :lol: @Grass Clippins Watcha want more picture of ?


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

I'm not one to believe in weird science or unexplainable events but this one certainly made me scratch my head. I called a local well driller to inquire about his process and rates. I asked him how exactly he knows the spot he picks will produce water. He politely told me that I was responsible for picking the location because "he wasn't going to be responsible for digging an expensive hole that may not produce water." With a rye smile and chuckle, he added it may benefit me to give Billy a call. He promised me that Billy has a talent for finding spots that produce good wells. Ok, I'm intrigued. What special powers does Billy have that allows him to pick good well spots? I called Billy to find out. He didn't want to give away too many of his secrets. The only thing he would tell me, he's been "witching wells" for about 40 years and he finds water roughly 98 out of 100 times. He charges 100 bucks to locate a well site and if that site doesn't produce water he would refund part of my money. Google witching wells or witching sticks. Alright, now that we are on the same page. I'm thinking, i'm paying this guy to walk across my land with two sticks and they are going to "magically" move when he finds water aka hahah yeah, ok i'm about to get ripped off for 100 bucks. Nevertheless, I decided the entertainment from this will be worth the money even if he doesn't find water. I'm there waiting when Billy pulls up. Out steps an older gentleman, probably late 60's, shorter in height, plump in build, full beard, santa clause-ish, with a deep raspy voice. Lets find you some water, he says. He steps to the rear of his van, grabs his withcin' sticks and starts walking east to west across my property. Softly humming and slowly strolling along, looking at the ground. He walks approximately 100 yards and his sticks never flinch. In my mind, I'm thinking Ha! I knew it, he's a fraud just trying to take my money, although I never said a word. As if he heard me doubting him, he says water veins only run one direction, I must be walking between the veins let me turn and walk north to south and ill find water. Yes sir, I replied. He takes about 12 steps and his sticks start to move. This is the edge of the vein, he takes about 3 more steps and his sticks really start to flutter back and forth, this is the center of the vein, this is strong water source! He takes 3 more steps and the sticks calm back down, this is where the vein ends. He turns around and walks the same path back to double check, I assume. He gets the same readings this time. He stops in the middle and sticks a flag in the ground. Dig here and you'll have plenty of gallons per minute as he nods his head up and down.

When they backed the well drilling rig in, they stopped directly on top that flag. Promptly dug down 225 feet and hit water! 10 gallons per minute! :banana: Just like Billy said. I called Billy that same day. He answered the phone by simply asking how many gallons? 10 I told him. Yep, I knew it was a good source he replied. I confessed to him I wasn't so confident in him until I saw the results. He just chuckled, and said "son you aren't the first one to doubt me and you won't be the last, just remember my name when people ask how you picked your well spot." Yes sir, I replied. Maybe it was special skills, maybe it was pure talent, maybe it was dumb luck, all I can say is it worked and I now believe in Billy.


----------



## jdselig (Jul 17, 2018)

Saw something almost exactly like you described on one of those "Building off the grid" shows on tv. I thought what a crock of s$*t! Now hearing your first hand experience really makes me think. There has to be a more reasonable explanation..right? Haha


----------



## Robberthoffman (Jun 3, 2018)

What a beautiful journal. Love reading this! First all the bad luck and then how everything turns good. Can't wait until the next post and your final post when you show us a beautiful house with a great lawn!

Sorry not a native speaker. Correct me if my sentence isn't right


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@jdselig Yeah I hear ya, I saw it with my own two eyes and still didn't want to believe it. There has to be some logical explanation. Just a complete guess, maybe water in the ground creates a certain magnetic field? Im sure someone smarter than me could put reason to it. Final note: I recommended Billy to three other people in the area, and he found water on their property first try, using the same method. As far as I know he is 4 for 4!

@Robberthoffman Thank you for following along. Yeah, its been an up and down ride but it has all worked out, in the end. Well done on your English, I understand you perfectly! :thumbsup:


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

I took this picture just to capture the beautiful sunrise and the clouds in the sky but if you look closely you can see the ground has a slight green hue to it. That was my second attempt at grass on the entrance. I looked through literally hundreds of pictures looking for another shot of the entrance after I reseeded but there aren't any. They don't exist. But I take pictures of everything, why don't I have any others......and then it dawned on me. September 5, 2017 we broke ground on the house! :yahoo: That grass had quickly relocated to the absolute bottom of my priority list. Mother nature, the grass is your baby now, i'm focused on the house!

After a year of looking for the perfect property to build on. After a year of searching through house plans and blueprints and layouts. After a year of meetings with an architect, a builder, county officials, banks and loan officers, utility providers, and insurance companies. (plus the other 50 meetings I have forgotten about by now) After a year of touring houses and picking out flooring and appliances and colors and finishes. And lastly, after a year of physical labor to prepare this property for a house. It's freakin' go time! Let's do this! :dancenana:

We chose Tony Hayes to build our house and it was hands down the right decision. I would recommend him to anybody! If you're building in Southside Virgnina or Northern North Carolina and want to hear more about Tony and his team, i'd love to share my experience. Please don't hesitate to ask!







And in the blink of an eye, there stood a house! Less than 30 days after breaking ground, Tony and his guys set the roof trusses.(October 2) :beer:


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Tony had the house under control. His guys were knocking along, making good progress; all the while winter was knocking on our front door. I don't do well with winter. I like to be active and cold weather hinders that. My girlfriend, Jessie, ordered me a couple of lawn care books. She had heard me mention I wanted to learn more about grass, and this was her subtle way of agreeing. :lol: I couldn't stay cooped up in the house all winter reading though, I needed a project to occupy my time.

When we built the entrance to the land, we had to remove four mature trees. I had no idea what I would do with them but I didn't want to waste them. I decided to send them to the local saw mill to have them sawed into lumber. I'll build something out of them one day, I said, and that winter was the perfect opportunity. A dining room table is what I decided on. Not just any dining room table. I wanted a true craftsman style trestle table. No nails, no screws, just old school joinery. I'm talking a mortise and tenon, dovetailed, draw bore, breadboard end trestle table with a sturdy base, built out of the lumber off my land! My friend, Colin, offered me the run of his wood working shop. Come and go as you please and if you need a hand, just ask. Side note: I don't have may close friends in this world, but they don't get any better than the ones I do have! :thumbup:


Look to the upper right side, this is a picture of the logs on the trailer headed to the mill.

There was only one minor problem to overcome. I've never built any furniture. Thats alright, you can learn anything on the internet. Youtube is your friend. I spent the next couple of weeks researching my project. Yeah, I watched hours and hours of guys building this style table. I gained experience with each minute. I built this table in my mind from start to finish. Now lets build it out of wood!

It took the entire winter to build this table. Working with 10 foot long, inch and half, Virginia white oak, quarter sawn boards was a tall task for one person. I asked for Colin's help early in the project and he helped me every step of the way.


Cutting all the mortise and tenon joints took forever. Cut one then test fit. Shave a little off, test fit again.


Assembled together for the first time. Essentially holding itself together.


To make the grain pop, I used a dark gel coat stain. The gel coat would fill the "pores" without altering the color too much. I top coated with Arm-r-seal. It's the most natural looking finish I could find. And if you're counting, thats 11 coats.

Oh yeah, I read those lawn care books cover to cover. I now knew the basics of lawn care. Nothing anywhere remotely close to "thelawnforum" level of knowledge but I had the basics down and thats a good start.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

If you remember wayyyy back in my first post, I told you guys that my girlfriend and I had purchased this land. Through the computer I could hear some of the moaning and groaning about how that was a bad idea. Never buy anything, especially land, with a girlfriend. You're crazy for doing this. It's going to be such a mess to sort out if you guys break up.
Hey, I hear ya. I've got pretty good gut instincts though, I rely on my gut feelings quite often and rarely do they let me down. Kind of like Gibbs on NCIS. :lol: I knew deep inside, when I started dating Jessie, she was the one. She makes my life easy, and fun. She is beautiful and silly and compassionate and I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Spring of 2018, it was time she knew that, I asked and she said Yes!


I talked it over with her dad first, and then I ran the idea by her Great Dane, Arnaz, they were both excited to have me in the family. :yahoo: Jessie is a big I love Lucy fan, so her animals are all named in that theme. Arnaz, the dog, and two cats, Ricky and Desi.


Around April 15 2018, Tony and his guys finished up. The house looked incredible, the yard however was a completely bare canvas. It's time to put all my new found lawn knowledge to the test.

In Virginia, it starts to warm up pretty quickly in May. Yet again the wrong time to plant grass but I had no choice. I wasn't hoping for much, but for now I just wanted a somewhat green yard, mainly to keep from tracking mud into the house. I would see how this seeding turned out and that would decide my fall plans. I hopped on the tractor & tilled the yard up in three different directions to loosen the soil. I didn't have time to wait for a soil test. Lets throw some seed down and see what happens. Southern States Contractor Mix was my seed of choice. It was the closest and cheapest seed I could get. I seeded at 7lbs per 1000 sf. After broadcasting the seed, I lightly raked by hand. Covered everything with straw and started to water.




I got better than I expected results. Grass jumped out of the ground almost immediately. I had good coverage, I had good color, I had good density. :mrgreen: Now can I just keep it alive through the brutal transition zone summer?


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Throughout May and June my grass thrived. It grew thicker and healthier each and every day. I dragged hoses around the yard, moving and adjusting impact sprinklers to make sure every square inch of grass was watered. I spent hours watching those sprinklers turn. I measured the grass height almost daily, anxiously waiting the moment when I could cut it again. I was cutting it with a Husqvarna 54in ride on mower and I proudly stripped by grass back and forth. :mrgreen: Everything I had read indicated growing grass going into summer was tough. Not for me, this grass growing thing isn't so tough after all. As the grass grew so did my confidence! All the while, Mother Nature was watching my grass project, making mental notes of my progress and growing confidence. It's July now and thats when she decided to put me to the test. She reached over to the control panel and turned up the knob for the temperature. While at it, she maxed out the humidity adjustment and if that wasn't enough she also cranked up the afternoon thunder storms. Instantly the color of my grass was gone. Patches of it started to wilt and brown. Frantically, I googled and googled for answers. Yep, you experienced guys already know. FUNGUS! I had zero experience with fungus. I didn't know when to look out for it, I didn't know how to ID it, and I for sure didn't know how to treat it. By the time I realized I had a fungus, it was too late. It had wiped out the majority of my grass. If you're counting, that's Mother Nature 2 - me 0. She got me once at the entrance and now at the homesite. 

I didn't want to talk about the yard, I didn't want anybody to see it. I was embarrassed and humiliated. I went from the top of the mountain to the bottom in about 10 days. I just wanted to get on the river and float away from it all. The yard looked so bad I didn't take a single picture of it in July. I did catch a picture of a rainbow one afternoon, ha yeah after one of those thunderstorms that ruined my yard. In that picture though, note the dead grass now weeds that used to be handsome grass. RIP grass.



Alright, my beginner knowledge was a good start. I've got the basics down, now I just need to take my knowledge to the next level. Thats when I stumbled upon Matt Martin on youtube. After listening to one of his live lawn and garden shows, I knew I had found an incredible source to learn from. That dude is amazing. Thank you Matt, for sharing your vast knowledge and experience with everyone! :thumbup: Listening to him sent me down a rabbit hole and I haven't come close to finding the bottom yet. I knew I had about 3 months to learn as much as I could before my fall reseed. The race is on.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

If I were going to tackle the front yard, there were a few things I definitely wanted to address. The first thing being the "grade" of the front yard. Part of the contract on the house included backfilling the foundation and rough grading the close perimeter around the house. And that's exactly what they did; a rough grade. I didn't like how steep the yard "fell off" on the right side of the house. Looking at the pictures, it doesn't show up that well but there was a pretty sharp slope on the right side. To me it made the yard/house look unbalanced. I thought i'll just bring in some nice composted topsoil to soften the slope and that will give me good dirt for my new grass. Two birds, one stone. Whoop whoop. :mrgreen: I did a few quick calculations, called a landscaping store and found out getting that amount of quality topsoil delivered was more than I was willing to pay. Thinking back, it may have been worth the cost after all, but I didn't know that at the time. Option two, I called a guy in town with some heavy equipment to get a price on moving dirt from somewhere on my property to the front yard. The owner told me he would need a trackloader to excavate the dirt - that's $125 an hour. A dump truck to haul the dirt - that's another $125 an hour. A bobcat to grade it all out - that's another $125 an hour. Minimum of half a days work so best case $1500, if it took a whole day $3000. Geez! And I thought this was going to be cheaper than option one. Thanks but no thanks. Shoot, I've got a John Deere tractor equipped with a bucket, a road blade, a tiller, and i've got a dump truck. I'll move this dirt myself, it will turn out how I want & it will give me a good excuse to play on my tractor. It will only cost me the price of fuel and my time and both of those are pretty darn cheap. :lol: Thats exactly what I did, tilled up a section of land, scooped it up with the bucket, dropped it in the back of the dump truck, hauled it to the front yard and "spread" it with the truck. Then I would switch attachments behind the tractor from the tiller to the road blade and smooth it out as best as I could. Switch back to the tiller and do it all over again.



I can't remember how many dump truck loads it took. I lost count. I only filled the dump truck half full because I didn't want to compact the yard any more than I had to. I think it was somewhere around 18 half loads.



If you look at the right corner of the house, specifically the brick foundation, I ended up raising the grade there about 6 bricks. Thats roughly 20 inches total. I carried the grade out as far as I could aka until I got tired of moving dirt.




Honestly I spent more time smoothing out all the dirt than I did loading or hauling. I spent hours riding around the yard with the road blade spreading out the dirt, getting it "slick". Finally the yard didn't look lopsided.  Now, on to the next project!


----------



## crussell (Mar 12, 2018)

Wow, was impressed with the initial turf you established. What a heartbreaking plot twist, hope the ending is better!


----------



## piotrkol (Oct 27, 2018)

The prices can get ridiculous very quick. Had the same problem last year with moving soil around the yard. In the end it was me, a wheelbarrow and the good old shovel. We became best friends over summer 

Said it once but I'm gonna say it again - very impressive so far! Love reading this topic


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@crussell Thanks, yeah those are two very accurate adjectives to describe my feelings. Initially impressed... then heart broken. I try to learn something every time I fail and that summer I learned the importance of fungicides. A tough lesson but well learned.

Improving the baseball field is a really cool project! How's the field looking coming out of winter? Are you ready for opening day?

@piotrkol Thanks again! Yeah I read your lawn journal, doing a leveling project with only a shovel and wheelbarrow is a serious commitment. My hats off to you!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

August 14, 2018 roughly one month before fall seeding. I needed to get a sidewalk put in and I needed it put it in like now. I had a feeling that finding someone to lay a sidewalk literally right now would be unrealistic. So I skipped the song and dance of calling landscaping companies and getting bids. I recruited my trusty pal Colin and I went straight into planning mode(thanks, youtube). Seems simple enough, dig down to a firm base(usually 6-8inches), backfill with crush and run, compact every few inches, top dress with 3/4inch of sand and lay the pavers. I've got roughly 20 inches of loose top soil laying on the ground where I want this sidewalk to go. Geez, what do I do here? Dig down 8 inches and take a chance the top soil below it doesn't eventually settle. Naaahh too risky for me. I want this sidewalk to last and look professional. I'm going to dig down until I hit red clay, so at least 20 inches deep. I want it to be the width of the front steps, so 8 feet 2 inches wide. I want it to carry away from the house a decent distance, so 40 feet long. 
Come on Colin. Come on John Deere, we've got work to do!



First I need to collect some supplies. 
I called the local quarry and ordered 26 tons of crush and run gravel. That should be plenty, I thought. Ha, not even close... I had to order another 20 tons. I went to the local big box store and bought every paver they had in the brand I wanted. Certainly that will be enough. Ha, yet again, I was wrong, I ran out and had to go to a different location and buy more rectangle sized and more square sized. Bought some sand; two pallets worth. Rented a plate compactor. I've got all the ingredients. Lets build a sidewalk!



If you ever want to get a funny look, ask the cashier at a big box store how many bags of sand they have in stock, and when she replies a few hundred, tell her i'll take them. How many of them will you take? All of them! :laugh:



I decided early I wanted the sidewalk to meander up to the front door. I thought the soft curves would be a nice touch. If I would have made the sidewalk straight, I could have done it in half the time but in the end I think it was worth the extra effort!



I enjoyed that project, even though it wore me out. Thats me, brooming sand into the joints. That's a perfect picture of August heat + August humidity + manual labor. :wacko:


----------



## crussell (Mar 12, 2018)

OnTheOxbow said:


> @crussell Thanks, yeah those are two very accurate adjectives to describe my feelings. Initially impressed... then heart broken. I try to learn something every time I fail and that summer I learned the importance of fungicides. A tough lesson but well learned.
> 
> Improving the baseball field is a really cool project! How's the field looking coming out of winter? Are you ready for opening day?


Season started with practice this week. Luckily they don't need to use the field for a while, because we've been getting our *** kicked with everything from snow, to cold/dry/high winds. The field looks scorched, need to turn the corner into spring.

Great job on the pavers, that looks awesome!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

The house sits a top a hill so water runs away from it really well, thats the good news. The bad news, rain water generates some serious speed coming off the roof. That, plus the slope, creates some nasty washout. No questions about it, this had to be addressed. Turn your attention to exhibit A. :shock:

Exhibit A.



You know my routine by now. Find a knowledgable person on youtube. Watch a few videos. Modify their plan to fit my situation. Buy supplies at the local big box store. Convince Colin to come help. Then get it done.



The plan for this project to bury the gutters 16 inches underground. Using 6inch pvc pipe, carry them all the way across the driveway and turn the water loose there.



I used a NDS grate on the gutter end. The grate sits about 3 inches below ground level. I liked the clean simple look of this option. The grate is removable allowing for future clean out.



I used a NDS pop up emitter on the exit end. The pop up will slow down the water and allow for a more controlled release. These are also removable for future clean out. There is a hole in the pvc pipe directly below the pop up emitter, to allow water that doesn't make it out, to seep into the ground.

Digging a ditch 6 inches wide and 16inch deep required renting a trencher. I rented it for 8 hours hoping that we could somehow, someway finish in that time frame. That trencher was an absolute beast and also the best money I've ever spent. It dug over 300 feet of trenches in 6 hours without a hiccup. With Colins help, we finished that project in one day. But hold up, I've got a trencher that I don't have to return until Monday, and I can use it for another 2 hours. Cant let that opportunity go to waste. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Lets sneak in an irrigation project. All of the speciality irrigation stores are closed on Sunday, that only gave me one option. Home Depot, here I come. I picked up two Railbird irrigation kits. Thats all they had in stock. Each kit comes with 5 pop up sprinkler heads, irrigation hose, one controller, and a random assortment of connectors. This should at least give me coverage of most of the front yard. I temporarily put the kit together. Staked the heads in the ground, following the recommended spacing in the manual. Then turned the system on to check for head to head coverage. I only had to make a few minor adjustments and then did the permanent install. One kit completely covered the front yard on the right side. The front yard left side is larger, so it doesn't cover 100% but I'll take it for now. No more dragging around hoses and impact sprinklers. Whoop Whoop. 



The kits from Home Depot are very affordable and easy to install(with a trencher). The controller is programmable up to two cycles a day. All the fittings are compression style so no specialty tools are needed. The lines have check valve drains at the lowest point so the system is not pressurized all the time & drains after every use. Last season they worked extremely well, i'm anxious to see how much life I get out of them this go around. :thumbsup:


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

September 1st 2018 was a rather busy weekend, shockingly not in the yard though. The yard projects were on hold, I had a wedding to attend, and if it would have been anybody else's wedding I likely would have skippied it, but this was my wedding and I wouldn't miss it for the world! Although it stormed and rained most of the afternoon and right through the ceremony, it didn't damper the event at all. It turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself! 



Now I bet you're wondering, where is the newly wed couple going on their honeymoon? Honeymoon you say? I'm dead smack dab in the middle of a whole yard renovation and you think i'm going to take honeymoon? No chance of that happening. I've still got wayy to much to get done before seed down. Luckily my wife is very supportive and was more than okay with postponing the honeymoon to a later date. Thanks babe.

I wanted to plant some landscaping and establish a rough flowerbed, mainly to keep the grass seed out of this area when I seeded. I figured while I was at it, I might as well put in some landscape lighting. I had zero experience doing either but nothing like the present time to learn. I skipped youtube on this one and went straight to a local nursery. I had a very good conversation with the knowledgable staff and together we picked out about 4 plants that would thrive in my environment. I wanted to keep it simple and balanced. Not too many plants, not too crowded, just clean and simple while giving everything plenty of room to grow and mature.



The staff at the nursery suggested I put in drip irrigation to all the new plants. According to them, the time and money invested to install drip irrigation now would more than pay for itself down the road. It's a good way to water and you'll save tons of time from watering with a hose. Sounds reasonable, i'm in. My list of things to do is growing instead of shrinking. Luckily it's consistently 95 degrees outside, a little too warm to plant grass so I have time. Or not, because I have to work in that heat nevertheless. :x I planted 32 plants and supplied each one with its own drip irrigation emitter.



For the landscape lighting, I chose LED from Kichler. I chose a 200 watt transformer, plenty of power for this project and room for expansion. I wanted to accent the stone chimney on the front of the house, for that I chose a wall wash fixture. I wanted to balance this lighting on the left side so I chose to wall wash the brick section as well. The paver sidewalk needed to be illuminated for a number of reasons; 1) so people know where to go at night 2)for safety and 3) my main reason, because I was proud of it. The side walk is 8 feet wide therefore I didn't think path lighting would be enough to light it up. I decided to use spot lights and bounce them back and forth across the path. I placed a path light here and there throughout the flower beds just to add some ambient light. Lastly, I added one more spot light pointed at the roof of the house to make the white trim of the roof light pop. :nod:



Anybody thats tried to take a good picture of landscape lighting knows how difficult it is. Accurately capturing the lighting is nearly impossible. (to me anyway) I don't think the lighting looks anything like this is real life, but this is the best picture I got. Getting really close to seed down time! :mrgreen:


----------



## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

Loving this! The suspense is killer!


----------



## EvanK (Aug 8, 2018)

Beautiful home and property! It sure came together quickly too!

If you were still concerned with getting light to that upper story, you could also consider using gutter mounts for the lights.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@Suburban Jungle Life Thanks for following along, i'm glad you are enjoying the story! Being a somewhat rookie to lawn care, I have relied heavily on your fungicide guide. It's very simple to follow and has all the necessary information I was looking for! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and the time it took to put together such a well thought out, and well laid out guide. :thumbup:


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@EvanK Thanks for the compliments! Yeah, it took a while to get things going but a lot of planning ahead sure made things move smoothly and quickly in the end. Those gutter mounts look pretty sweet and are a nice option. To be honest, i'm not 100% satisfied with the brand I chose so I will definitely look up Volt. I've got a whole back yard to tackle, so there will be future lighting projects. Thanks for the heads up!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Alright just a few loose ends to tie up and it's grass time! I decided to go ahead and mulch the flower beds. Lowes had their fall sale on mulch and I couldn't pass that up. 52 bags of mulch later, I marked that project off the list. And now I turn my focus to grass, well dirt then grass. I was worried about the weed seeds that were In the ground, I knew there had to be thousands. I decided to run the irrigation daily to try and sprout any weed seeds prior to seed down. At that time, I didn't know about pre-m at seeding like Tenacity. I'm sure anybody that stopped by wondered what in the world is this boy doing, he is watering bare dirt. Haha yeah I call that lawn care crazy. The soil test results had come back just in time! The ph was 5.3 so I needed to add lime and in my mind I needed to add it now! The "fertilizer expert" at the local feed and seed store suggested dolomitic lime. "Its a slow gradual ph improvement." Nope can't do slow and gradual, I'm seeding in about 2 weeks, I need instant. He said "calcitic lime is significantly faster than dolomitic lime, it should get in the ground in a months time." Nope still to slow, do you have anything faster? He responded, "pulverized limestone is by far the fastest, there's just no good way to spread it, its finer than flour" Shoot, i'll figure out a way to spread it, give me 120lbs of it. I tried a few different options and finally arrived at drilling about 200 holes in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket and sifting it out. I walked around the yard tapping the side of the bucket and letting it fall out. Instantly the ground turned white, showing exactly where I had applied lime so I got really even coverage. I also turned white, as did my pants, shirt, boots, everything else. I could have passed for frosty the snowman. :laugh: I used the new sprinkler system to water the lime in, it worked very well. About three days later, once the yard was no longer white I decided to apply some starter fert. I wanted to feed any weed seeds to help them sprout and I wanted the remainder in the soil waiting for when my new seedlings needed it. Walking around the yard, I noticed a ridiculous amount of rocks. I knew I needed to remove them. I would rake the yard north to south, pick up a five gallon bucket of rocks, and then dump it into the bucket on the tractor. I didn't want to drive the tractor across the yard, I didn't want to compact the soil. Then I would turn east to west, same process, over and over. I don't know how many tractor buckets I filled up but I think about 10 or so. I wanted to pick up every single rock in the yard, I got a lot of them but there are still plenty of rocks out there. Last task: glysophate the entire yard to kill any of the weed seeds that had germinated. There weren't many, I ended up spot spraying instead. The seed bed is laid, its time for seed. :dancenana:

I've been listening to Matt Martin on you tube for months now. So my lawn care knowledge is expanding. I know plant variety is important. I decided i'm going with Turf Type Tall Fescue and I want a lateral spread variety. I also want some Kentucky Bluegrass mixed it. These are pretty specific varieties, i know I can't find them locally so lets search the Internet. Now at this point, I still haven't found the lawn forum, so I don't know about the seed super store or hogans. I know... i'm sorry guys. Stop shouting at me. I promise I find you guys soon. I did find a company called Seedland. They offered a cool weather mix 80% Titain Rx(lateral spread TTTF) and 20% Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass. It's an uncoated seed, so you get 100% seed, well almost 100 because there is .05 weed seed and .2 other crop seed in it. Not perfect but ill take it.

Alright boys and girls, it's go time. Lets do this! September 22, 2018. IT'S SEED DOWN DAY!! The front yard I seeded at 10lbs per thousand square feet. I figured I had the irrigation to water it, lets seed heavy. I applied the seed in four different directions to make sure I got good even coverage. Then I lightly raked the seed to make sure it was covered. I top dressed with peat moss, roughly a 1/4 inch spread by hand.



The next few days were the most anxious I have ever felt in my life. :? Second guessing everything I had done. Looking at my notes, checking my math, making sure I hadn't forgotten anything. After hearing the grass factor rave about green county fert products, I purchased a biostem pack. I emailed John Perry himself to ask which products I should apply at seed down. His response "apply RGS at 3oz/m right after seeding and you'll get good results.' John Perry, the founder of the company, who has a million things going on, took the time to answer my email himself. Thats pretty special service right there. Thanks John! I forgot to apply RGS on seed day, looking over my notes I remember, so on Monday September 24 I applied RGS at 3oz/m. Nervously I still didn't see a single seedling. Finally on September 25, three whole days and nights after seeding, I can breath again. Seeds started popping out of the ground. :mrgreen:


September 28th. Hello baby grass!


October 2. When I seeded, I wanted to top dress the whole yard in peat moss, but due to the price and the size of my yard that wasn't realistic. I decided to peat moss the front yard and straw the rest. This is looking down the line where I ran out of peat moss and switched to straw. The peat moss definitely helped germination. You can make your own judgement if peat moss is worth the price.


October 3. 11 days after seeding. Pretty unbelievable results. :thumbup:



Monday October 8th. 16 days after seed down, I gave my grass her first cut. The smile on my face was as big as its ever been. #lawncarecrazy I was feeling pretty good, mother nature had defeated me twice but this time felt different. I knew a little more. I had a few new products in the garage to fall back on. So I decided to talk a little smack to Mother Nature, oh boy she didn't like that! She really did not like that.


----------



## Ortho-Doc (Feb 3, 2019)

@OnTheOxbow your lawn journal is interesting and fun to follow. You seriously should consider starting a blog or something like that. You write well and are entertaining to follow. Keep the updates coming!


----------



## EvanK (Aug 8, 2018)

OnTheOxbow said:


> @EvanK Thanks for the compliments! Yeah, it took a while to get things going but a lot of planning ahead sure made things move smoothly and quickly in the end. Those gutter mounts look pretty sweet and are a nice option. To be honest, i'm not 100% satisfied with the brand I chose so I will definitely look up Volt. I've got a whole back yard to tackle, so there will be future lighting projects. Thanks for the heads up!


My pleasure; the well-drilling story was priceless! Gutter mounts are indeed extremely handy for 2-story homes; you can essentially get all the light you need without having to back fixtures up to where they may become an issue for yard work/gardening. If your current manufacturer can't supply them, shoot me a message or give us a call and we can get you taken care of and can offer some friendly advice for the backyard aswell!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@Ortho-Doc Thank you for the compliments! It's nice to hear feedback and being that it's positive, well that's even better. I take pride in everything I do and writing is no exception. I try to write to both inform and entertain and do so in a manner so that anybody can follow along. The main ingredient though, it's all real life. It's my emotions and my experiences in written word. I hope it comes across that way. I've enjoyed writing this journal more so than I ever thought I would, so maybe there is a blog or something in my future. Thanks again Ortho-Doc, it really does mean a lot to me.

@EvanK I'm glad you got a kick out of the well drilling story. I stood there and witnessed the whole thing and still don't fully believe it. Hey, it worked though. Funny you mention backing up a fixture to get light to the second story. That's exactly what I did. Added a flower bed 40 feet away from the house, just to have a place for a fixture. That's the only option I had at the time. From what I've seen, Volt has an impressive amount of fixture options so i'll def shoot you a message when the time comes. Thanks again.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

I was so excited posting about seed day that I forgot to thank Colin for his help. He helped me seed, rake, and spread peat/straw so thanks bud for your help. :thumbup:

Now public service announcement: if you talk smack to Mother Nature, you best have your arsenal well stocked because she's going to put you in your place. First she reached for old faithful, the hot sauce. Likely she's thinking I can take care of this punk with an unexpected heat burst. He'll never see it coming. It's mid October now, average daily temperature in Virginia is somewhere around upper 60's lower 70's. Nope, its like an oven outside at 95 degrees. Ol' Mother Nature had forgotten I installed an irrigation system. Remember the whole yard isn't irrigated though, so for that week I would wake up at 4:30, turn on the impact sprinklers and move hoses around to get a good water in before work. The front yard was on a timer to water two times day, piece of cake there. Nice try Mother Nature but it's going to take more than a little heat to cook my new stand of grass. :gum: Apparently that struck a nerve with her, I should have kept my mouth shut, should have learned my lesson but no, i'm hard headed.



Insert Hurricane Michael. Michael dumped 11 inches of rain in a matter of 6 hours. Flooded the driveway to a point where I couldn't get in or out. I'm talking 5 feet of water overtop the driveway.(It receded and the driveway still stood) Knocked out electricity to the house.(for 4 days) I laid in bed that night wondering what am I going to see tomorrow when the sun comes up? Do I even have a yard, did it all wash away? And why can't I just keep my mouth shut and leave Mother Nature alone. Expecting the worst, but hoping for the best. The next morning I surveyed the yard for damage. At first glance everything looked surprisingly normal. The grass was super soggy and laid over but still rooted. I'll take that as a win. Somehow someway the mulch I had just laid was still mostly in place. I, for the life of me, can't explain that. It completely blows my mind, but i'll chalk that up as a win as well. I lightly mowed the yard to try and pull some of the moister away and to stand the grass upright. I'm thinking all and all things are pretty good. What I didn't know, was that Mother Nature had graciously dropped some gray leaf spot fungus for me.  This time I knew what to look for and knew how to treat it. Luckily I had some granular Bayer propiconazole in the garage, just in case I had to battle fungus. I applied the label curative rate and hoped for the best. I also emailed thegrassfactor to see what he recommended. He responded the more modes of action you can throw at a fungus the more likely you are to cure it. I went out that Monday and purchased Armada to have in my back pocket in case prop didn't do the trick. Okay Mother Nature, that was a pretty hard uppercut. I handled it well though. Yeah! That's a win for the home team! Mother Nature has a couple more tricks up her sleeve though.



For those of you truly affected by Hurricane Michael my heart goes out to you because what I dealt with was nothing compared to some.

If you're thinking the sidewalk looked silly because it was a sidewalk to nowhere, no worries, I had a plan for that all along. While the yard was recovering from gray leaf spot I focused my attention to creating a loop infront of the house. I roughed out the shape with the road blade on the tractor and moved some dirt around to level it left to right. I then ordered 22 tons of gravel.



The driver pulled up with 22 tons on the truck. I politely asked if he could spread the gravel around my loop. The smoother the better. He promptly told me despite being 82 years old he was new on the job and uncomfortable spreading gravel. Woof. Needless to say he dumped it in a pile and I spent all afternoon spreading it. One scoop at a time. Just me and my John Deere. :wink:


----------



## NoslracNevok (Jun 12, 2018)

This had me wrapped up like woman reading 50 Shades of Gray. Well done, and kuddos for all the work you're doing yourself, especially the walk.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@NoslracNevok Haha! That's funny right there. Thanks for following along and for the compliments. You are very kind. The whole yard has been a fun project! Don't worry, there's plenty more to come.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

I was overly worried about the fungus on my infant grass. It's less than a month old, fighting for its life. I would inspect it daily, looking for signs of improvement from the propiconazole treatment. I would give it pep talks; Come on little grass, we can beat this!(insert rocky theme song, eye of the tiger) I decided we weren't going down without a fight. :fight: I applied 1 lb/m of granular ammonium sulfate and then sprayed 3oz/m RGS overtop of that. My thought being this will boost the grass, giving it an edge over the fungus. It wasn't until much later that night when it hit me, what if I just fed the fungus with that fert/rgs app. Holy geeze!! What the fert did I do? :fool: Did I help my grass or did I hurt it? I scoured the internet for answers and that's the night it happened. One of the search results popped up something something the lawnforum.com. I clicked on it and suddenly I was introduced to a whole new world. I have found a collection of the greatest lawn care minds all across the Untied States(world?), and they are all sharing their knowledge, experience, tips and tricks. The information is organized and presented extremely well. They even quote and link university studies in their response. It doesn't get any better than this. They cover every topic imaginable. This is the Holy Grail of Lawn Care! I don't care how much it costs. This type of quality information is worth whatever price they are charging! It's all free, are you kidding me?? Are you freaking kidding me? From that point forward, if I had a free 5 mins of life, I was on the lawn forum. Reading, studying, learning. Soaking up every ounce of knowledge possible. Thank you, to each and every person that has contributed to the lawn forum, it is a reliable resource that I turn to often to help me in the yard!  My front yard project wouldn't look the way it does if it wasn't for this place! Now back to said yard...

While the yard was recovering, I turned my attention to the empty loop in front of the house. During construction, the guys parked there and often would have materials dropped there. The ground was severely compacted and full of gravel. I didn't think grass was a viable option. I decided to turn the entire loop into a flower bed. And you know me, that means plants, lights, water, and mulch. The full treatment.


Plants. Check! I left ample space in the middle because I wanted a "center piece" I just don't know what that is yet. Maybe a Japanese Maple?


Lights and water. Check!

I went back to the nursery looking for that center piece. I wasn't impressed with the varieties of Jap Maples. And then I saw this fountain sitting off to the side, under a tree. I asked the owner about it and he said it's a fountain he sold 10 years ago and the concrete cracked, so in good faith he bought it back. It won't hold water, it's just a glorified planter. I liked the look of it, I liked the size of it. That right there is my center piece. It's going home with me! :thumbsup: Hesitantly and trying to hide my excitement I asked, would you be willing to sell it? He said, seeing as you have bought so many plants from me, i'll sell it to you for $150.00. I was expecting him to say something much higher. In disbelief, I agreed to buy it. Maybe I should have talked him down to $100 but I thought it was a pretty good buy at $150. 

The fountain came apart in 5 separate sections. It took absolutely every single ounce of lifting power my tractor had to move the bottom sections. Yeah, it's heavy!


Just some mulch to finish things off. And mark another project off the list!


----------



## Guest (Mar 16, 2019)

NoslracNevok said:


> This had me wrapped up like woman reading 50 Shades of Gray. Well done, and kuddos for all the work you're doing yourself, especially the walk.


same


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@macdawg Thanks, you guys are awesome!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Apparently the propiconazole, RGS, and ammonium sulfate concoction was precisely what the doctor ordered. The grass responded exceptionally well. And finally I could exhale. I was holding my breath for nearly a month, so it felt extremely good to breathe again. I'm not sure which of the three products contributed more to curing the fungus. I suspect they all three worked in conjunction with one another, resulting in a strong knock out punch! Or I just got lucky, who knows but a win is a win and I'll take it. 

November 7th 2018. Fungus free and healthy!



Throughout November the temperatures were very seasonal and the rainfall was plentiful. The weather was mild and stable, the complete and total opposite of my renovation thus far. Things were quiet, a little too quiet. What is Mother Nature up to? Had she waived the white flag and given up? Did I just go head to head with Mother Nature and win? Well, not so fast! What she was planning, demanded all of her attention and likely she had to call in a few favors. Turns out boys that the dirt around the house wasn't the only thing that was fertile. My wife and I are excited to say we are pregnant and expecting our first child in July of 2019. :yahoo: I'm not positive exactly how Mother Nature orchestrated this but I know she's behind it. I think her intentions are to distract me with the hustle and bustle of a newborn to give her a fighting chance at spoiling my yard. Yeah, undoubtedly things are going to change, but i'm excited and looking forward to it! I'm going to be a dad, I can't even be upset with Mother Nature. Well played M.N., well played. :nod:



The Midnight KBG and Titan Rx TTTF sprouted quickly, filled out and that was it. I wanted it to grow so it would be strong going into winter. I wanted to push it. I decided to fertilizer it frequently in small amounts. I applied Scotts starter fert 18-24-06 @2lbs/m along with RGS @3oz/m. The grass didn't really respond. Patiently, I waited 10 days and switched over to granular ammonium sulfate. I applied that @ 1lb/m and reapplied every 14 days. Still no response. Nothing. I would crawl around on my hands and knees inspecting the grass blades, and the grass would just shrug it's shoulder and stare back at me. :roll: I "cut" it about every four days even though I was only cutting a select few blades that happen to grow taller than the rest. Turns out, sprout and pout is a real thing. Both the *** and TTTF were having a full blown pout fest and nothing I tried would force them out of it. That's okay. Even though it wouldn't grow, the deep rich color let me know it was healthy. :smile:


----------



## Guest (Mar 21, 2019)

yeah, when you have your first born you will not be following the 1/3 rule. It becomes more like the 2/3 rule.

congrats on the baby. Becoming a dad will be the best time in your life.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

November 18, 2018 the grass seemed pretty content. The yard was on cruse control. I regularly checked the soil temperature during my renovation. My plan was to continue to fertilize, as long as the soil temp was above 50 degrees. Roughly every 10-14 days I applied 1lb/m with a Scotts Wizz. I switched back and forth from starter fert to ammonium sulfate. Still no significant shoot growth. I decided to improve my soil in the mean time. I had a complete bio-stem pack from Green County Fert in the garage that I was itching to apply. So I began spraying the yard weekly with their products. Low rates 3oz/m cycling through their products one by one.

The yard started to look shaggy around the edges. The grass was growing over into the mulched flower beds. I like crisp and clean lines, with definite distinctions between two different materials. It's time to give these beds a proper edging. I considered purchasing an edge redefiner tool but decided against it. Let's go old school. A shovel, a rake, and my not so old school JD with a loader bucket.  I thought I could knock this job out in one afternoon. Boy did I under estimate that. :| It took quite a few afternoons but I got it done!









This is a prime opportunity to get a look at the roots on these plants. Let's take a look see. I took my time and unearthed this one random plant. There seems to be a good amount of roots. There isn't a crazy amount of mass there but it's got plenty of length. The root seems to go on forever. :shock: It measures roughly 7in long. No wonder I can't get what's above ground to grow. The roots are outgrowing the shoots! Remember, I planted on Sept. 22 and this is November 18. Through the heat spell of October and Hurricane Michael and I've got almost 1in of root growth per week. Maybe thats normal? I think not though. I don't know what to contribute this too. Is it the variety of grass? Is it the frequent fert and irrigation? Or is it the GCF Root Growth Stimulant? Maybe someone with more knowledge and experience than I, could answer that. I'll gladly take it though. Grow roots grow!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@macdawg Thanks, I'm looking forward to fatherhood! haha the "newborn 2/3 rule" i'll have to remember that.


----------



## crussell (Mar 12, 2018)

@OnTheOxbow That's how I did my edging too, a lot of work but worth it for that crisp look!

Great work and congrats!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@crussell Thanks and thanks again! Yeah, it seems like we're both a glutton for punishment, but those results though.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

I'm the type of guy that likes to test things out for myself. Certainly reading other people's experiences is helpful, as is reviewing university studies. And i'll always listen to anyone with more experience and knowledge than myself, hoping to learn. But when it comes down to it, I like to try different methods, just to see results with my own eyes. I call it the good, better, best method. I consider myself part mad scientist, although most people would just consider me crazy. :lol: That's okay, they could call me much worse. Prime example: seeding the yard around the house. Let's test a few things. You up for it?

Test 1) A somewhat expensive seed(Seedland) vs a dirt cheap seed (Lowe's Brand Sta-Green). I wanted a head to head test of the basic overall performance of both seeds. Is there a difference in germination rate? No, both germinated extremely well. Is there a difference in color? Not that i can tell. I blended the seed together in the side yard and I can't tell one variety from the other. How well do they handle the cold winters and summer heat? Both handled the winter very well, the heat is TBD. The only definitive difference i've noticed thus far is the cheaper seed has produced significantly more weeds. That in it's self is enough for me to not use cheap seed ever again!

Test 2) Coated seed vs non coated seed. I wanted to know if coated seed germinates faster or has a better germination rate? I used Seedland seed (tttf & kbg)that was uncoated vs Sta-Green (tttf)seed that was coated. In my experience, the uncoated seed germinated faster and in the end there was no noticeable different in germination success rate between the two. You're getting half a much seed in a coated bag, so for me it's not worth the money.

Test 3) Seed rate or lbs/m. I split the yard into zones and seeded at different rates. I wanted to see what the different amounts of seed looked like once established. What does a mature 10lbs/m look like vs 5lbs/m? Also does the amount of seed have an effect on the overall health of each individual plant. More seed/m produces a "fuller" yard initially but are the plants weaker longterm? Or does seeding at a lower rate result in a thiner yard initially but healthier plants longterm? This is a really tough one to answer. The front yard at 10lbs/m has considerably more coverage than the back yard, which is seeded at 5lbs/m. Note: the back yard was coated seed. I didn't take the weight of the coating into consideration so the actual seed is less than 5lbs/m. I don't think the front yard is twice as lush as the back yard though. That one is tough to call. The front yard is the only section of the yard that had a fungus in it. It would appear, seeding at that high of rate might have produced an environment favorable for fungus. The grass survived though, so that one as well is too close to call. The back yard without question has more weeds in it. I'm not sure if the lower seed rate allowed weed seeds in the ground to germinate, or if the weed seeds came from the cheaper seed. I'm thinking the cheaper seed like i said earlier, but I could be wrong. I'll perform a wellness check on each zone throughout the year and report back.

There is nothing at all scientific about my tests, no data to analyze. No controls. Just me, trying different rates, seeds, and methods. Seeing what looks and works the best for future projects.

Final thought: Buy good quality seed with zero weed seeds. Do yourself a favor and don't plant weeds with your grass, you will have plenty to fight without planting more. Buying one selective herbicide to battle a specific weed will cost you more than you saved on your seed. Put your money towards good quality seed. BUY WEED FREE! Seed rate: 10 pounds of seed per thousand square feet will give you lush results. Have some fungicide in your back pocket, you may need it. 5lbs/m will still give you good coverage though. Maybe 8lbs/m is the sweet spot for tttf?

Here is a handy cheat sheet, incase you couldn't visualize my craziness. 


There are plenty of pictures of the front yard, just scroll up. This is your first look at the back yard. Seeded at less than half the rate of the front yard with cheap seed. Oh yeah and not irrigated. 


A closer up picture of the back yard.





The front yard is starting to look nice. It looks less and less like new construction and more like a home! :thumbup:


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

OnTheOxbow said:


> I was worried about the weed seeds that were In the ground, I knew there had to be thousands. I decided to run the irrigation daily to try and sprout any weed seeds prior to seed down. At that time, I didn't know about pre-m at seeding like Tenacity. I'm sure anybody that stopped by wondered what in the world is this boy doing, he is watering bare dirt. Haha yeah I call that lawn care crazy.
> 
> Last task: glysophate the entire yard to kill any of the weed seeds that had germinated. There weren't many, I ended up spot spraying instead. The seed bed is laid, its time for seed. :dancenana:


I just wanted to highlight this part. I'm not sure if you read about this or just happen to stumble into this idea. This is called fallowing. It is term from the [rul=https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/what-is-fallow-ground.htm]agriculture[/url] crops. Before tenacity, it was the standard way to get less weeds in a renovation. You prep the area and water it for 2 weeks to get all the weed seeds to grow. Then you kill it and do it again. Tenacity now helps drastically, but I still do fallowing.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

That's pretty interesting @g-man. This is all news to me. I did not research it. I basically studied the land, saw a potential issue and used what I had on hand to hopefully prevent it. Let me show you, because I think these images are pretty wild. After we moved in, I decided to clear some land so my Father in Law could farm it. We cleared roughly 13 acres in late April, with plans for him to seed in May. The weather did not cooperate and it was too wet for his equipment. He never spread a single seed on the ground. The dirt didn't stay exposed for long, almost instantly covered by weeds.


Notice off in the distance the bare, raw earth.


Notice that same ground now mostly covered.


Different angle, same field. Would you look at the density of those weeds. I didn't want any of THAT in my lawn. Insert fallowing, as I know now it. :thumbup: You learn something everyday. Thanks G-man.


----------



## Grass Clippins (Apr 30, 2018)

If you plan to farm that area one day you may want to research cover crops to get the soil ready. Daikon radish and winter pea / crimson clover / sunflower are all great for building soil health and attracting the worms.

If you're interested in that sort of thingSAREhas a lot of books that you can download for free on their website. I'm currently reading Building Soils for Better Crops.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@Grass Clippins That was exactly what we had planned. Clear the land and plant a cover crop to build up the soil. Apply fertilizer and lime. Once the soil nutrients levels were where we desired, then plant a crop. The weather was so wet that spring and fall we missed both opportunities to plant a cover crop. Not ideal, but the weeds sufficed as a cover. They kept the soil from eroding. Between root cycling and disking the vegetation back into the land, we likely improved organic matter. We are right on schedule for a cover crop this spring though. Thanks for the advice and the reading material. Seems like an interesting series. I'll give it a read!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

You know after Hurricane Michael and the pregnancy I thought Mother Nature and I had worked out our differences. I had a new found respect for her and the immense amount of power and destruction she posses. On the other hand, I like to think she had a new found resect for me and my lawn knowledge (Courtesy of TLF). I had proudly aced each and every test she had laid in front of me and I know she's not used to dealing with that. Turns out, our mutual respect for one another was merely one sided. For her final gut punch of the year. She dropped 10 inches of snow on my fresh stand of grass. Come on Mother N, really? I thought we were past these shanegangins. :bandit:



I had a feeling with the ground temperatures still relatively warm combined with the depth of the snow, there was a decent possibility a fungus of some sort was thriving under there. Once all the snow melted, I scoured over the yard looking for signs of fungus or disease. I didn't have to look very hard at all because there were quiet a few "blotches" in the yard that were noticeably a different color. The picture doesn't show the color very well, but these spots were a blend of orange, salmon, and brown. They were scattered all throughout the front yard. None in the side yard or back yard which is interesting but I don't know what to credit that to. :evil:

I wanted to get a positive ID to know what I was dealing with. I immediately thought Gray Snow Mold. GSM needs extended periods of snow cover, I don't think 7 days qualifies. Not Gray Snow Mold. Maybe Pink Snow Mold. That produces circular spots. What I have is blotchy and certainly not round. Mark Pink off the list. Maybe Rust? It definitely has that color to it but it doesn't have the pockets associated with Rust. Maybe it's just in an early stage. Maybe it's nothing. Just to be safe, I decided to treat it with Propiconazole, RGS and ammonium sulfate. Worked once before, let's do it again!



Looking over the lawn as it recovered I couldn't help but chuckle at the similarities of the cartoon Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, compared to my battle with Mother Nature. I'm Sam Sheepdog protecting my flock of grass and fending off Mother Nature, who is Ralph Wolf inevitably trying to steal a sheep or in this scenario spoil my renovation. We both clock in first thing in the morning and exchange pleasantries. Polite and cordial while off the clock. And then we go to work, Mother Nature simply doing her job and I doing mine. We just happen to be on opposite sides. It's a constant battle of attacks and counters that i've grown to oddly enjoy. And I hope that's the way it always will be! :lol:


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I cant zoom enough without losing detail. I think I see black dots like Leaf Spot. Keep an eye on it since propiconazole is not the best for LS. Check the fungicide guide for more info.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@g-man Yeah I read the fungicide guide, forward and backwards and couldn't confidently ID the fungus. I see the black specs you're talking about. I treated with prop thinking it was a safe "generic cure all." Honestly hoping to get lucky. This was right around Christmas last year and the treatment worked.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Both my wife's family and mine were anxious to see the house, and Christmas was the perfect opportunity. I was excited to show off our new house and more importantly my front yard project. We enthusiastically agreed to host. Jessie would handle the cooking while I did the "necessities". You know fluff up the mulch in the flower beds, dispose of any leaves in the yard, and naturally run the mower over the grass, just to "comb" it in to place. That's what you do on Christmas eve right? I had asked for a Checkmate Lawn Striper for my birthday back in November, but never got one. Ever since I found the lawn forum, my goal in life became to stripe like those guys. It became an obsession of mine. Needless to say I was mildly disappointed when I didn't get a striper for my birthday. Fast froward to Christmas morning, when my mother in law won the MVP award by gifting me a Checkmate Lawn Striper. Whoop Whoop! :dancenana: Jessie's family left around 10:30 that morning and my family was coming over for lunch. From the second I unwrapped that present, all I could think about was striping the front yard before my family arrived. Just to make it pop!

I shouldn't tell this story but if there is one group of guys that will appreciate it, or at least laugh at it, it's for sure this bunch so here goes. :lol: I didn't have time to install the Checkmate on the lawn mower but I realllly wanted to stripe the grass. This is my one moment for the lawn to shine. What to do, what to do? I looked around for a few mins to make sure nobody was watching and I took that lawn striper out to the front yard and by hand, I bent over and pushed it back and forth across the lawn. Yeah I was wearing nice dress clothes for Christmas. Yeah my back and legs were burning. Yeah I was sweating a ton. If anybody in my family would have arrived early, they would have known without a doubt that I was #lawncarecrazy. That's okay though, all that is collateral damage because my newly renovated yard now had Christmas day stripes. :thumbup:



Not too bad for my first stripe job, right? Hand Rolled with Pride. :mrgreen:


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

2018 end of the year recap. To sum it up, It felt like a championship heavy weight bout. Mother Nature in her corner and I in mine. On the card, MN had the clear advantage with her size and strength but this was my home turf..... or should I say soon to be turf. :lol: That alone gave me extra incentive to fight hard. Playing the role of the underdog isn't easy but I'm scrappy and have a good work ethic. I like my chances. Early on there were some light jabs back and forth. Just feeling each other out. Later in the rounds there were definitely some heavy upper cuts landed. Good combinations and counters from both sides. She had me backed up against the ropes with Hurricane Michael. It wasn't looking good for the home team but I found the Lawn Forum just in time and together we fought back strong. I didn't knock her out and proudly she didn't knock me out. This decision is going to the judges. I have a feeling deep down that no matter the outcome, there will be a rematch in 2019. Of course i'm biased and think I won. Regardless, I'm pleased with my progress. I've got some good bones in place and hopefully now I can continue to improve upon them. This is where I started on August 1st. A bare dirt canvas. The second picture is how I ended the year. See, told ya there would be turf! I documented each battle with Mother Nature and every project in my journal, just scroll backwards if you're interested in a deeper details. :thumbup:


----------



## NoslracNevok (Jun 12, 2018)

Baseball stadiums often roll/stripe by hand w/o mowing, so can we! :thumbup:


----------



## Grass Clippins (Apr 30, 2018)

@OnTheOxbow How is your Titan Rx doing? I put mine down last fall and am very unimpressed. I can't seem to get this stuff to look like other TTTF lawns. I keep telling my wife that it's a heat tolerant fescue that'll wake up when it warms up but on the inside I'm freaking out a little bit.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@Grass Clippins That's a tough question. All and all, i'd say i'm fairly pleased with Titan Rx. Great germination rate and extremely fast to germinate. That's a plus. It grew to three and half inches in a matter of 12 days and it just stayed that height throughout fall and winter. That worried me. In the fall it got a fungus on two separate occasions, so i wouldn't say it's disease resistant. I treated both times and it survived so at least it's resilient. I lightly fertilized it pretty much all throughout winter, the TTTF didn't respond but the KBG Midnight kept creeping along. This spring I fertilized with Screamin' Green and the grass responded extremely well. It has good density, good vigor, and good color. I wouldn't classify it as elite though. Just this week I edged the lawn and dug up one plant with a 16 inch root. Yeah 16, so very well rooted.(insert your own joke here) It should do well in the heat. I'm anxious to see how well it handles the heat, that's one reason I chose it. The different varieties of TTTF in the mix vary in blade coarseness and subsequently grow at different rates, so shortly after a mow it looks uneven again. The average person would never notice this but it really bothers me. I would recommend it to the average homeowner but that's about it. In my eyes, Titan Rx is a solid mid grade choice. A good all around TTTF/KBG mix. Better than the big box stores but leaves a little to be desired if you're lawn care obsessed. I'll post a current picture of the grass soon, i can't get the internet to cooperate right now. Sorry to hear you're dissatisfied. I'm curious, what makes you so unimpressed?


----------



## Grass Clippins (Apr 30, 2018)

@OnTheOxbow I guess when the weather starts to warm up you loose all concept of time and forget it's only mid April. When it first started to come up in November it looked great, then at first frost it almost looked like it had gone doormat. All the frost burn has been mowed off by now but I have a lot of spots where the blades haven't flattened out yet. Today's soil temp is 69 degrees. Hopefully this stuff will take off when the soil temps break 70 degrees. I would be thrilled if it surprises me and is a warm season TTTF, but it's probably more of a fair weather TTTF. If/when I do a renovation I will probably bite the bullet and use Seed Superstore's SS1002.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@Grass Clippins Don't give up hope just yet. Keep in mind your grass is only 8 months old? Give it some time to mature, fill out and grow. I think you will at least be satisfied with Titan. After all the effort you put in, you want a green lush lawn NOW, hey i understand completely. Just try and be patient. I tracked the color and growth of mine throughout winter. I tried to take a picture every 30 day from the same angle. You can use these to compare to yours. The last picture I posted with the stripes, was on Christmas Day, so that covers December.

January was warmer than average. The grass at a minimum held onto it's color from December.

Picture from Jan. 11th.



Polar vortex attacked Virginia in February. Bleached every ounce of color out of the Titan TTTF. The Midnight KBG wasn't phased at all. The ground isn't frozen, let's start to apply some bio-stems, just to kick things off. February 9th sprayed front yard with 6oz/m of Air-8. February 16th sprayed front yard with 3oz/m of RGS. Feb. 21 sprayed front yard Humic 12 @ 8oz/m.

Picture from Feb. 4th.



March 10th. Sprayed the front yard with liquid ammonium sulfate. 1lb/m. The color def. improved over February. Not much growth though. Sprayed the yard again on March 16th. Half rate this time. .5lbs/m. March 24th applied Screamin' Green @ 4.3lbs/m to the entire yard. Yearly total of actual nutrients applies. 1.138 lbs of N. .326lbs of P. .189lbs of K per 1000/sqft

Picture from March 11.


April, the lawn heard the alarm clock of spring, realized it slightly overslept, jumped out of bed, and hit the ground running. April 7th I sprayed the front yard with Mico Green @ 6oz/m.

Picture from April 4th.



Current look at the front yard after the double dose of green. Screamin' Green & Mico Green. I don't know which one contributed more to the color. Together though, they're definitely a deadly combo!

April 16th



and the left side of the front yard.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

During one of my fall projects, I was digging in the ground and this rock caught my eye. The point of it was sticking straight up out of the earth. It was white is color, distinctive in shape, thin and had a very sharp edge. I decided to stick it in my pocket. I planned to wash it off later because I wanted to get a better look at it. After cleaning it up, I noticed the edges had been chipped or scalloped away. This pattern appeared on both sides and there was a very noticeable ridge running down the center of the rock. It was obvious to me this was man made. Holy geez! This is a real life arrowhead or spear. Not a modern day recreation you can buy at the store. An arrowhead made by an Indian, living off this land thousands of years ago. Think about the stories this rock could tell. Yeah, let that sink in for a second. Right then and there, I had this moment of reflection, of appreciation, maybe even admiration. I could envision a tribe of Indians living in the very spot I was standing. Using that spear, that he had meticulously made by hand, to kill a fish in the river or a deer or a rabbit. Not for sport as hunters do today, but for survival. Utilizing every part of that animal, out of necessity. They didn't have a store to buy supplies from, they didn't have amazon to rely upon. The land was their everything. It gave me a greater respect for nature. They relied on the land to provide for them everything they ever needed. And in doing so, they took care of the land for their future generations. That moment made me want to be more careful when pouring gas into equipment. More closely follow the label of the chemicals i'm applying. Chase down that plastic bag that blew out of my hand, on that windy day. If only our generation could be half as mindful as the Indians once were, so that in the future others can still enjoy this beautiful place! :thumbup:


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

After one of my last cuts, I was finally to a point where I could stand back and admire my grass. It's not where I want but it's to a point where I can appreciate it. The turf type tall fescue is happy with spring, full and lush. Every blade appeared uniform in height. The sun was setting in the sky accentuating those crips and clean lines. I was proud of my effort. I decided to run inside and grab my wife, to show her all the time, money, and effort in the yard is starting to pay off. Of course she sees the yard everyday, I just wanted to draw her attention to the grass. I opened the side door and yelled inside "hey babe, come outside I got something I want you to see." I didn't tell her specifically what I wanted her to see though. We rounded the corner of the house, making sure to get the best angle of the grass. And there was my wife's pride and joy, Arnaz her Great Dane striking a pose proud as he could be(like he planted that grass). Now she thought I had staged him there for her to see. I didn't know he was outside I just wanted her to see the grass. At that moment it wouldn't have mattered if he was sitting on one hundred dollar bills or gold bars, she wouldn't have noticed. The one and only thing she saw was her baby. "Oh he looks so handsome and regal" she said. I couldn't steal the spotlight away from him. With a smile all I could say was, "yeah babe, he sure does." 



The grass is definitely in Spring flush growth. I'm having to cut every 3 days to keep up with it. I don't mind one bit though. It's pretty cool cutting a new pattern into it before the old pattern has grown out. I like the "stacked patterns." I did notice some spots that were discolored, certainly looks like leaf spot. I sprayed a curative rate of Armada on it to hopefully knock it out.



Yeah, I hear you and loud and clear. Those mulch beds look rough.  Next project: fresh mulch. :thumbup:


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Fresh mulch. Much better. I bought an entire pallet, 65 bags. I thought that would be more than enough. Ha. Whenever I think that, I never ever have enough. Note to self: stop thinking that! Another half a pallet should finish things up. :thumbup:


----------



## rob13psu (May 20, 2018)

OnTheOxbow said:


> After one of my last cuts, I was finally to a point where I could stand back and admire my grass. It's not where I want but it's to a point where I can appreciate it. The turf type tall fescue is happy with spring, full and lush. Every blade appeared uniform in height. The sun was setting in the sky accentuating those crips and clean lines. I was proud of my effort. I decided to run inside and grab my wife, to show her all the time, money, and effort in the yard is starting to pay off. Of course she sees the yard everyday, I just wanted to draw her attention to the grass. I opened the side door and yelled inside "hey babe, come outside I got something I want you to see." I didn't tell her specifically what I wanted her to see though. We rounded the corner of the house, making sure to get the best angle of the grass. And there was my wife's pride and joy, Arnaz her Great Dane striking a pose proud as he could be(like he planted that grass). Now she thought I had staged him there for her to see. I didn't know he was outside I just wanted her to see the grass. At that moment it wouldn't have mattered if he was sitting on one hundred dollar bills or gold bars, she wouldn't have noticed. The one and only thing she saw was her baby. "Oh he looks so handsome and regal" she said. I couldn't steal the spotlight away from him. With a smile all I could say was, "yeah babe, he sure does."
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's looking great. Really nice work.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@rob13psu Thanks Rob, I tend to only focus on the flaws in the yard so your compliment is well received. I really do appreciate it!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Disease update: Following the curative app of Armada, I retreated with a curative app of TM 4.5. The heavy dose of both fungicides appears to have put gray leaf spot in a head lock. It's on the mat about to tap out. Just to be safe. I'm going to treat one more time at a curative rate, then switch to a preventative rate for the remainder of the growing season. It's funny how having a little experience calms you down. The first time I noticed fungus in my yard last fall I was freaking out. I was worried to death, I just knew it was going to wipe out my entire renovation. To me the sky was falling and the world was coming to an end. Fast forward to this spring. Completely different story. I knew what to look for, caught it fairly early and treated. You know no big deal. :lol:

The liriope planted along the sidewalk have really flourished over the past week. Notice in my April 28th post, they are almost flush with the ground. Now they are at least a foot tall. I know it's just money grass, but watching them grow that rapidly is eye opening.

I planted some Dragon's Breath to give little pops of color here and there. The picture doesn't even do the color justice. Boy are they vibrant!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Finished my mulch project. I thought 65 would do it, nope try 103 bags. I think my grass is pleased with Screamin' Green fert.


----------



## DiggingHoles (Nov 5, 2018)

A beautiful home and amazing lawn! Great job!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@DiggingHoles Hey thanks for the compliment. You're very kind. The yard still has some filling in and maturing to do, but i'm satisfied with the progress, for now. Thanks again!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Mother Nature has fallen down and bumped her head! It's the end of May, and cool weather grass should be thriving. I'm talking it should be on full display, thick lush blades, rich color, picture perfect even, in it's prime, you know strutting around like a spring gobbler. :lol: Instead it's 95 degrees outside, we haven't had a soaking rain in 26 days. Yeah 26, that's correct. My grass isn't thriving but it's surviving. It's hot, it's dry. If you didn't look at the calendar, you would think it's late July. This weeks forecast, hotter and drier. Mother Nature go home you're drunk. So boys, I've got good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first? I agree, let's start on a positive note. That being most of the front yard is irrigated. Combine that with, my well driller told me my well was strong and abundant, so it shouldn't run dry anytime soon. I have available water. Check! Looks like I'm going to put that to the test this spring. Now for the bad news, I decided to do an irrigation audit.... I set up 7 containers in a straight line across the yard. I ran the system for 2 hours and I collected anywhere from 1/16 inch to 1/2 inch water in each container. Depressing. Very inconsistent and painfully obvious when looking at the varying quality of the grass. Yeah the guy that designed the system rushed his work and didn't know what he was doing. That son of a b****. Oh yeah that was me. Can't pass it off on anybody else. :roll: Yes, the irrigation will keep the yard alive but i've got "hot spots" mainly around the edge of the yard. They are "hot spots" because only one sprinkler head reaches them. After I run the irrigation, I hand water these areas to supply more water. Sadly I will have to address the irrigation in the future. What a dummy. Please learn from my mistake. Make sure you have head to head coverage on EVERY sprinkler. In the mean time, I've applied hydertain, looking for some improvement. Stay hydrated, it's hot out there!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

If you like pretty lush green manicured grass, cross that image out of your mind and think tan, brown, dry, and crispy. Now, you're in the right mindset. The majority of my front yard is irrigated, poorly irrigated but irrigated none the less and the far left hand side is not irrigated at all. The front yard is 100% exposed to the sun not a single shade tree insight. What you are about to see is the result of 36 consecutive days without significant rain and an average temperature well above normal. :shock: I decided to put this section of grass to the test, no supplemental water. Grass vs sun. Let's see just what it can take. As you can imagine, the grass gradually declined everyday. It hung on for about 14 days but needless to say, the sun won. It absolutely fried the life out of my non irrigated grass. I think it's interesting to note, you can see a perfectly straight line of green grass in the middle of all that tan, that survived the brutal drought and heat. That straight line is where I buried the gutters, back in the fall. The grass planted on top these gutter lines have always outperformed the rest of the yard. It's amazing how the grass thrives in the "soft soil" to the point where it still has color when everything around it is dormant.

May 29 about 30 days into the mini drought. It hurts me to post such an ugly picture on here, but it's real and it shows how important water is. It's a significant challenge to maintain a nice cool season lawn in the transition zone and here is proof.



Now we are into June and I have tried every trick I know to make it rain. You know, I left the windows down on my truck. It always rains when I do that..... not this time. I tired leaving my work boots outside the front door where I took them off. Knowing I would wake up with them full of water....nothing, not a drop. I don't know of anything else to do. Just sit back and patiently wait. Finally on June 7th, the heavens opened up and rain fell. It was a welcomed sight. I sat on the porch for an hour, just listening and smiling. Over the next week, we got 3 rain storms totaling over 4 inches of rain. :thumbup:

June 13, after all that rain I could hear my grass finally let out a big sigh of relief. It also had a few choice words for me not quenching it's thirst sooner but I'll spare you all those curse words. :lol: Amazingly in a weeks time that dormant non irrigated section has perked back up and regained it's color. So maybe the sun didn't win after all ?


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

June 29th, time for a nine month check up on my front yard renovation. More specifically on the Titan Rx and Midnight KBG blend I chose. To be completely honest, when I selected this grass seed mix I knew very little about lawn care. I chose it because the seed description stated "attractive, deep green color & very drought and heat tolerant." Over the past nine months, Mother Nature has absolutely throw the gauntlet at this renovation. Scorching heat during establishment, two hurricanes, a deep snow in early December, arctic blast in February, none stop rain this spring, followed by practically no rain throughout May, combined with 90+ degree weather. I feel like my grass has been jerked back and forth more than 8 year old's yo-yo. My grass has taken it squarely on the chin, each and every time but it refuses to give up. It's like the little engine that could. It just keeps chugging along. I give this mix an A+ for it's vigor and determination.

I feel like "very drought & heat tolerant" is a gimmick slogan. Yeah maybe Titan Rx will hold onto it's color, one extra day during a dry spell but that's essentially irrelevant. No matter what variety you plant, if it's hot your grass needs water. If it's hot AND dry your grass needs more water. I don't know how to grade this one....I'll just leave it at that.

Titan Rx advertises itself as "improved disease resistance." This one is mildly complicated for me to evaluate. I have battled fungus in this grass almost since seed down. It gets a fungus, I treat and it improves. Wait a month, another fungus pops up. I treat and it improves. Is it resistant to fungus? i'd say no. Is it resistant to fungus completely overtaking the plant, i'd say yes. I'll give it a C here.

Now we get to the main reason I chose this grass - the "attractive deep green color." These pictures are from June 29th, it's been over 90 degrees 12 out of the last 14 days. The TTTF and KBG are definitely not happy but they are both maintaining good color. You can look back throughout my journal and see the color month by month. I think the color is exactly as advertised. Is it the deepest darkest green available? No, probably not. Is it an attractive deep green color? Yes. Yes it is. They deserve an B+ to A here.

I've come to learn that Titan RX is an older variety that has been improved upon many times. Even though it has some really strong qualities, I wouldn't consider it an elite variety. The Average Joe may be satisfied but most lawn care nuts will not be.





You can see in the bottom right of this picture is what I believe to be brown patch. Yep, another fungus. I think it's brown patch based on it roughly circular shapes, dark "smoke halos", and its tan, yellow, brown color. I've been rotating and applying fungicides at a preventive rate but still contracted brown patch. Time to step up to a curative rate. I'm not at all concerned though.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Expanding the lawn to other areas? Overseeding? How is it looking?


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@g-man Thanks for checking up on me! To answer your questions: yes. The condition and quality of the yard varies drastically based on the amount of inputs each "zone" gets. The immediate front yard receives the most attention and entering the final stretch of summer looks decent. I'm looking forward to ridding the yard of that mangy dead grass and pumping some color back into it. Just waiting on cooler weather. The front yard will get a light over seed, just to improve a few areas but a heavy fall blitz of nitrogen.

The back yard gets very minimal attention and the grass reflects that. It's thin and patchy. It's getting the opposite treatment as the front yard; a heavy over seeding and a light fall blitz.

The only somewhat exciting thing happening is fungus destroyed the side yard, creating the perfect opportunity for some test plots. I've killed off the remaining grass and started to prep for seed. So I've got almost a 2000 sqft dead patch in the side yard, that would make anyone scratch their head and wonder what in the world is going on here. ha I just look at it and smile. My plans are to divide the area up into four sections: two sections for TTTF and two for KBG. I want to pit TTTF against KBG in the transition zone and see exactly how they perform side by side. On the TTTF side: i've got Raptor III in section 1 and Regenerate in section 2. On the KBG side: Bluenote in section 3 and Mazama in section 4. All four individual sections are mono stands. Credit goes to @NoslracNevok for the test plot idea.


Front yard slightly discolored but still relatively thick coming out of summer.


See, its still got some color down in there.


Enough said.


----------



## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

OnTheOxbow said:


> I want to pit TTTF against KBG in the transition zone and see exactly how they perform side by side. On the TTTF side: i've got Raptor III in section 1 and Regenerate in section 2. On the KBG side: Bluenote in section 3 and Mazama in section 4. All four individual sections are mono stands.


I like your style. And those cultivar selections. :thumbup: 
I have to ask: Have you considered bluebank?

The closeup of the grass in the middle photo: That looks great. That is what I expect to see in the spring; not at the end of summer!


----------



## NoslracNevok (Jun 12, 2018)

The test plot will be awesome, looking forward to it and everything else! Side note, I need to convince my wife to build rural instead of the burbs.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@social port Thanks SP. I'm not even going to try and act like my yard has held that color all summer long. Battling the transition zone, you know better than that. We had a recent stretch of "cooler" weather as well as some afternoon downpours and the yard has responded incredibly well.

Yeah, I did some pretty extensive studying and research before making my selections, I figured they would be popular transition zone picks. Funny you should mention bluebank. According to the NTEP trials and all my reading its a super elite top tier rockstar. Bluebank was my number one KBG pick. It took about two weeks to convince myself to spend $100 on 5lbs of seed(for a test plot i might add) but ultimately I pulled the trigger and placed the order. I had the seed for about two days. I was giving it pep talks, heart to hearts, to just get its head in the right place. And then @gregfromohio posted he had some renovation wash out and couldn't find any replacement bluebank seed. SSS was sold out. Here I am, sitting on 5lbs about to use it for a glorified lawn experiment and there's a guy that actually needs it to get him out of a tough spot. I sold him my bluebank. I cried a little bit, and i'm still suffering from separation anxiety haha kidding, i was glad to help him out. Therefore bluenote replaced bluebank by default.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@NoslracNevok As the saying goes, "come on in, the water's fine!" I promise you won't regret it.


----------



## gregfromohio (Aug 14, 2019)

OnTheOxbow said:


> @social port Thanks SP. I'm not even going to try and act like my yard has held that color all summer long. Battling the transition zone, you know better than that. We had a recent stretch of "cooler" weather as well as some afternoon downpours and the yard has responded incredibly well.
> 
> Yeah, I did some pretty extensive studying and research before making my selections, I figured they would be popular transition zone picks. Funny you should mention bluebank. According to the NTEP trials and all my reading its a super elite top tier rockstar. Bluebank was my number one KBG pick. It took about two weeks to convince myself to spend $100 on 5lbs of seed(for a test plot i might add) but ultimately I pulled the trigger and placed the order. I had the seed for about two days. I was giving it pep talks, heart to hearts, to just get its head in the right place. And then @gregfromohio posted he had some renovation wash out and couldn't find any replacement bluebank seed. SSS was sold out. Here I am, sitting on 5lbs about to use it for a glorified lawn experiment and there's a guy that actually needs it to get him out of a tough spot. I sold him my bluebank. I cried a little bit, and i'm still suffering from separation anxiety haha kidding, i was glad to help him out. Therefore bluenote replaced bluebank by default.


It's already in the ground. Can't get it back now


----------



## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

OnTheOxbow said:


> Here I am, sitting on 5lbs about to use it for a glorified lawn experiment and there's a guy that actually needs it to get him out of a tough spot. I sold him my bluebank. I cried a little bit, and i'm still suffering from separation anxiety haha kidding, i was glad to help him out. Therefore bluenote replaced bluebank by default.


That earns a nomination for man of the year, in my book :lol: 
You've got a great thread here, and I am eager to see how things go.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Test Plot Update: Last weekend I was trying to decide when is the best time to seed my test plots. I couldn't find my magic eight ball to shake and ask because it's the transition zone and nobody has the answer. A magic eight ball will give me as good of an answer as anything. Realistically you just pick a date and go. I decided to check the long distance forecast looking for one thing in particular: low chance of thunderstorms. I want to avoid washout. The chance of heavy rain or afternoon thunderstorms was pretty low and the temperature was going to be higher than normal. Not ideal but I can manage both conditions. I decided to pull the trigger.

I wanted to break up the dirt and prepare the best seed bed possible. I hooked the tiller up behind the tractor and went over my test plot in every different direction. I set the tiller as deep as it would go and tilled for hours. My goals were to soften up the dirt, till the dead grass on top down in the soil to increase organic matter, uncover any buried rocks or construction debris, and lastly inspect the soil mainly for grubs but also just overall condition. All and all this process did exactly what I wanted. I did have to rake some of the larger clumps of grass out afterwards because they didn't incorporate as I had hoped but aside from that mission accomplished. I know tilling is controversial at best. I know it brings up weed seeds, I know it destroys soil microbes, I know it might settle lumpy and bumpy. For me there were more positives than negatives. Time will tell if it was a good or poor decision. Next, I swapped the tiller out for my box blade and began smoothing up the test plot. I knew the soft tilled soil would settle so I worked it pretty hard. Lastly I switched out the box blade for a drag mat that I made. I borrowed the design idea from @Pete1313 it's almost an exact replica of his. Pete, I hope there wasn't any patent infringement on my end :lol: , if so i'll send over the appropriate royalties. But the drag worked beautifully. Excellent design sir! I wasn't looking for a laser grade finish, just a nice smooth surface. Last step, I lightly raked out the area picking up any sticks or rocks and we are ready to go.



The overall test plot is 32 feet wide and 80 feet long. Each sub section is 32 feet wide by 20 feet long or 640 square feet. I seeded the TTTF areas at a rate of 8lbs/1000sqft. Which turns out to be 5.12lbs per section. I rounded this down to 5lbs for simplicity sake. The KBG areas I seeded at a rate of 3lbs/1000sqft. Which turns out to be 1.92lbs per section. I rounded this up to 2lbs to make it easy. After I seeded everything, I lightly raked in the opposite direction to cover the seed. I'm keeping it super simple at this point. No peatmoss or topdressing, no starter fert, no tenicity, not even rgs. Just seed to soil contact and water.

Apparently Mother Nature didn't like how evenly I seeded the test plot. Monday morning she decided to drop 1.1 inch of rain in a 30 minute time frame. I think she wanted more seed at the bottom of the test plot and less at the top. Once it dried, I raked it out as best I could. I just hope it didn't wash too much seed from one plot into the other. It just starting to sprout now so in another week or so i'll evaluate and adjust.



I'll go over what is planted where in the next update.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

I have decent germination in both TTTF sections and i have fair germination on the KBG side. It has been 16 days since I seeded the test plot area. The weather has been warm and dry just as the long range forecast predicted, so i'm not surprised at the mediocre progress. The grass is thin and sparse, the exposed bare dirt just bakes in the afternoon sun. There is adequate moisture in the ground from the sprinklers running six cycles but the ground temperature spikes in the afternoon and I know the tender roots don't appreciate that. In hindsight, maybe I should have left the dead grass in place and seeded directly into it. The dead grass could have helped "shade" the bare dirt and new seedling. Oh well, too late now.



I have three Melnor Minimax sprinklers on spikes irrigating the test plot. This is my first time using their products and so far they have performed well. The sprinklers have tons of adjustment, which is always nice. They are hooked up to a 4 way Melnor hose bib timer, which makes watering almost fully automated.



On a more interesting note: I think the front yard got jealous and nervous of my test plots. Certainly seems like ol' Titan Rx started to feel the pressure of possibly being replaced and decided to make a case for himself. Pure speculation, but I think he feels like he was here first and he's not going to let some new young punk grass take his place. I will have to say he's making some good points.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Back in the spring of this year, I tried to organize a group buy of Carbon-X fertilizer. Surprisingly, I couldn't drum up enough interest so I reluctantly passed. Not wanting to give up, I kept hounding both members and non members until I had 14 bags accounted for. Good enough by me, I decided to pull the trigger. I was anxious to get it and try it. By now it's mid summer and I have a pallet of fertilizer. Unfortunately it's too hot and dry to apply. Woof! I marked my calendar, September 1st I'm throwing down Carbon-X. Only problem being September was exceptionally hot and dry. Geez will I ever get to try this fertilizer? Finally, on Saturday October 12th I applied Carbon-X to the front yard at a rate of 2 lbs of product per 1000sqft. Nothing crazy just a half pound of actual nitrogen. I watered it in and impatiently waited for results.


Tuesday October 15th @5:55 after a cut.


Friday October 18th @5:49 also after a cut. I don't know why I decided to cut a different pattern. If I was smart, I would have cut the same pattern as Tuesday, I really wasn't expecting results that quickly so it never occurred to me. It wasn't until after I was comparing the two pictures that I realized wow that's a noticeable color difference. And after only 6 days! I'd say it was well worth the wait! I'm planning to apply Carbon-X throughout the remainder of fall. I'm also excited to see the long term benefits.


----------



## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Yeah, that looks really good. I've been extremely happy with my Carbon X apps this fall. I hear you; it was a long wait for me, too.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@social port Thanks man! Didn't you get your hands on some CX even before it was available? How long have you been applying it?


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

My soil has a rather low CEC (4.9) as per my fall soil test. Because my soil can't "hold onto" nutrients very well, I've been applying small amounts of fertilizer regularly. Carbon-X has been my main nitrogen source. I'm feeding the lawn weekly with 1 or 2 pounds per 1000sqft of CX, providing 1/4 lb of nitrogen on the low end and 1/2 lb on the high end. There is no rhyme or reason why I bounce back and forth between the amounts, it's just whatever I'm feeling the day I fertilize. My soil test also indicated my Phosphorus(9ppm) level is critically low and my Potassium(61ppm) is lowish. The lab suggested bringing Phosphorus up to 31-51 ppm and Potassium up to 70-90 ppm. Based on the fact that the turf looks pretty good and has survived all season at those low levels, I'm not too concerned. I am currently working to bring those levels up though. I stopped by the local farm cooperative and picked up a bucket of Monoammonium Phosphate (11-52-0) and Muriate of Potash (0-0-60). So far I've made two applications of MAP and two apps of MOP. Just what the doctor ordered! The first application was at 2 lbs per 1000 sqft, to get an initial dose in the ground. The second app, I backed down to 1 lb of product per 1000 sqft.

On a side note: those low levels could be a contributing factor into why my turf always has a fungus. I'll be interested to see what happens once I bring those numbers to the proper levels.

Second side note: You can catch a glimpse of the test plot in both pictures. They are finally growing. I'll update those soon.


The turf seems to like this fertilizer regime. I'm going to continue to fertilize as long as it's growing.


Stripe-view from the Goodyear blimp. About 250 feet up. :thumbup:


----------



## DiggingHoles (Nov 5, 2018)

Looking fantastic! I've really enjoyed following your progress. Love the "blimp" view too.


----------



## Butter (Nov 14, 2017)

Awesome! I need to get a blimp!


----------



## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

OnTheOxbow said:


> @social port Thanks man! Didn't you get your hands on some CX even before it was available? How long have you been applying it?


No, I waited a while before buying a bag. By the time it was released, I had passed the window for spring fertilization.

I did two apps this fall at the medium rate. Early fall and mid fall. My fescue responded well to both apps. Since then, I've transitioned to AMS. Next year, I think I will pair the carbon x with something like milorganite.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@DiggingHoles & @Butter Thanks guys for the compliments and for following along! The drone can capture some pretty cool images. It's tricky though; the overhead view tends to magnify all flaws in the turf. Any thin spot or discoloration or even a crooked stripe looks much worse from the air. That being said, I very much enjoy flying and taking pictures with it and i'd recommend investing in one!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@social port Yeah I only applied two fall apps as well. Like you, i'll likely switch to AMS at this point. What's the reasoning being pairing carbon-x with milorganite? Are you trying to extend the duration or are you just using the milorganite mainly for the phosphorus?


----------



## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

OnTheOxbow said:


> What's the reasoning being pairing carbon-x with milorganite? Are you trying to extend the duration or are you just using the milorganite mainly for the phosphorus?


Extend the duration. For PK, I am hoping to find something like 0-50-50. 
I was originally thinking of pairing CX and Milo this fall, but temps fell too quickly. That is just as well, because as I think about it now, I think I would rather target mid-spring for the CX and Milo.

Every summer I always end up wanting my fescue to have a little more N than I gave it in early/mid spring. I am thinking that the organic/slow-release route may be the best way forward -- in the interest of making sure that the TTTF has exactly what it needs without asking it to do too much (i.e., without stressing it out).

So my spring fertilization plans look like:
early spring: high app of CX, medium app of PK 
Mid spring: low app of CX+ medium app of MIlo, high app of PK
Target 1.5 lbs of N for the spring.

I may substitute AMS for the first CX app--not yet certain on that.

I was persuaded by the CX-organic mix in @Green's journal right around here :thumbup:


----------



## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

social port said:


> OnTheOxbow said:
> 
> 
> > What's the reasoning being pairing carbon-x with milorganite? Are you trying to extend the duration or are you just using the milorganite mainly for the phosphorus?
> ...


As expected, the Carbon-X runs a bit "hot"...a 0.72 lb N app with it acts sort of like a 0.4 lb N app from urea/AMS. Makes sense, since half the weight in the bag is an AMS/Urea particle. I hadn't thought of using the 50/50 (or whatever ratio you're targeting) Milo/Carbon-X combo in Spring, but you guys seem to have good ideas planned for it.

By the way, this "extended duration" effect is the whole premise of products like Screamin' Green. Indeed, the results of Carbon-X plus Milo are very similar to those of Screamin' Green 16-2-3. In fact, the combo yields a 15-1-2 with very similar ingredients and release properties. (15-3-2 for the newer 6-4-0 Milo)


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Spring 2020 has been favorable for growing grass thus far!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

Stripes are a few days old so they aren't as crisp as I'd like but I think the color makes up for it. Especially since it's a 12:00 noon picture.





This is a picture of the back yard. Nothing special to look at it but if you're a grass nerd like me, it's cool to see side by side comparisons of different grasses. Pictured closest is Blue Note Kentucky Bluegrass. Darkest in the color and the finest blade. Located in the middle is Rebel V Turf Type Tall Fescue. It is medium green in color and medium in blade width. And located in the back, on top the hill, is Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue. Lightest in color and the most course blade.


----------



## ceriano (Oct 6, 2021)

OnTheOxbow said:


> Stripes are a few days old so they aren't as crisp as I'd like but I think the color makes up for it. Especially since it's a 12:00 noon picture.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Any updates on the titan? What's the best tttf for our area in your experience? I'm trying to decide between falcon and titan.


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@ceriano Yeah here's a quick update on my Titan tttf. It's still the grass I have growing in the front yard, it looks good enough that I haven't renovated but I'm not satisfied enough with it to say I won't renovate in the future. It constantly gets compliments from friends and family so there's that. It's a good solid older variety of tttf. It presents itself extremely well in the spring and the fall. With supplemental irrigation, it has no problem making it through the summer. Enough so, that I don't need to overseed. It seems to me, the more the grass matures the less fungus prone it is, which is a huge plus. The color and texture are both pretty good, no complaints there. Here is a picture of it a loosely a week ago.



I have a test plot of Regenerate tttf growing in the side yard, that receives very minimal care and it always impresses me. I never irrigate it, I constantly break the 1/3 rule when mowing it, I don't regularly fertilize it, it has never see a bio-stimulant of any kind and somehow some way it always looks good. I think if I were to pamper it for a season or two it would outshine my Titan hands down. I'd give Regenerate a thought it I were you.

I would say that if you are looking to maintain your yard at a top tier level then you'll want an elite newer variety of tttf. There are better options out there than Titan. You can look around the NTEP trial data and find exactly what you're looking for. With the right care, you can still have an above average lawn with Titan. Ultimately though, you are just limited by the genetic limits of Titain. If you have any other questions, I'm happy to answer them. Oh yeah, you dug pretty deep to uncover my journal, this thing has been buried for years, well done! :thumbup:


----------



## ceriano (Oct 6, 2021)

Super helpful thanks a bunch!!!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

End of summer 2022 update: Life right now is full go, chasing and playing with my two kids doesn't leave much time for lawn care or posting on here, therefore I decided to try a new strategy on lawn care this year. That strategy being a much more hands off approach. I've only fertilized twice so far this calendar year. March 1st was my first fertilizer application of ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) @ 4lbs of product per 1000sqft. My hope here was to wake the yard up and give it a kick start on the year! My second fertilizer app came on May 12th, Carbon-X at a rate of 3lbs per 1000sqft. My intention here was to strengthen the grass and prepare it for the hot summer ahead. I also applied prodiamine in early spring to keep the weeds at bay. Other than those three apps, I haven't applied a single product to the yard all year. I haven't sprayed bio stimulants, no plant growth regulators, zippo on micro nutrients or iron, zilch on sea kelp, nada on humic acid, granular or liquid, not even a fungicide, not a herbicide, not a wetting agent, nothing at all. So how does the fescue look and what have I been doing in the yard? My focus has been mainly on achieving consistent and steady growth from the grass. I think my grass looks its best and is at its healthiest when it's growing at a rate where it has to be cut every 3 - 4 days. That's what I consider my "healthy growth rate", if it is growing faster than that, I attempt to slow it down, if it is growing slower than that I attempt to help it along. I'm dialing in my water usage to help achieve a desired growth rate, when its possible. It's really fairly straight forward and simple. Certainly this summer there have been hot spells, and dry spells, and cool spells and wet spells and during those times I have very little control over the growth rate I am targeting. Ultimately mother nature has wayyyy more control than I do, and she always will. Growing a cool season grass in the transition is a challenge but for the moment I feel like i've got a decent handle on it!


----------



## Global Threat (May 16, 2019)

Just read your whole journal, and I've to say, it's the best one I've read. Congrats on the new family, beautiful home and yard!!!


----------



## OnTheOxbow (Jan 27, 2019)

@Global Threat Thanks for taking the time to read the entire thing! I know it's more of a life journal and less of a grass journal but it's hard for me to separate the two. Thanks again for the kind words, I certainly do have a lot to be thankful for!


----------

