# PNW_Turfnoob 2021 lawn play



## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

2020 was the first year I got serious about lawn care. I overseeded the front 4/20 and renovated the back 5/20. Learned a lot along the way. In 2021 I feel more organized, but have less time to devote to lawn care so I hope to keep it simple.

I'll apply 4lbs of N over the year per the WSU extension recommendation: 4/15, 6/15, 9/1 and 11/15. Per my soil test I only need 1.3lbs of P and 2lbs of K for the year, so I'll probably just use the Vigoro 29-0-4 I already have. I've applied 100lbs of CaCO3 over Last Fall and this Winter. I need to apply 50lbs more this Fall. Iron was high last year, so I'll have to resist applying Feature this year.

I dormant seeded about 2lbs/1kft2 right before a large snow on 2/13. As of today I don't see any germination.

Front lawn is already is great shape for the year. At some point I'll need to rake out the moss, but that's about it. Back lawn is still really thin in some areas, so I may do an overseed this Spring if the dormant seeding doesn't work out.

First mow was on 3/10 and I think I needed it more than the lawn did. Plan to mow at 1.5" HOC to start the year.

Look forward to reading everyone else's journals and getting back outside!


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

3rd mow today, first at HOC 2" and didn't really get any clippings. Attempted some stripes by attaching my DIY roller.

Forsythia is blooming and average soil temperature per WSU has been 46-47F in the past week. If I were going to apply prodiamine, this would probably be the right time. I'm holding off on prodiamine given the possibility of impacting root development of my desired turf (PRG, KBG and FF) and may need to overseed this Spring. I don't really have a crabgrass issue and can figure out the broad leaf weeds later in the season.

Will probably put down my first N in mid April. Front lawn is off to a good start. It stayed in pretty good shape over the Winter and held it's color.





Back lawn is still really thin in a few places and I can see quite a bit of Triv and Poa Annua.


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## SOLARSUPLEX (Aug 4, 2020)

Glad to see you are back up and running this year. Our lawns look pretty similar in the amount of triv and poa. I've been spending a few breaks in the day hand licking poa from my front but I can't consider that a go forward solution. Like you- I'm skipping prodiamine with the intent of overseeding once we get a bit warmer soil temps. Interested to see what you do for the poa in the back


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

4th mow today with more clippings than previous mows, but it has been almost 2 weeks. Turf is just starting to green up and grow, but still pretty slow. Probably could have mowed only once at this point.

In the front things looks good. Not much Poa Annua to speak of and the triv patches are small and don't bother me that much. It has been only getting partial sun and the clippings are less than the back.

In the back, things are still really patchy. I defintely did not seed well last Spring. I should have put down a lot more seed and left myself with a lot of bare spots. Lots of Poa Annua and the triv is starting to grow along with the good parts of the lawn. Thinner toward the house and thicker in the middle of the lawn. Kind of a patch work of dark and lime turf, but the good outweighs the bad. I don't have great sun in the back so I need to have realistic expectations.

Front and back got 1lb N/M of 29-0-4 today right before a storm blew in. Will be interesting to see how the lawn responds. I didn't do that much N in the Fall and the green up and growth has been slower than the neighbors', but they have more Spring sun. Feel like I got behind on N last year and should have been spoon feeding a new lawn.

According to my soil test I don't have that much P to put down this year, only 1.3lbs/M for the year (may skip it entirely). I have 2lbs/M of K to put down and have a 15-0-21 from Lesco and 15-0-5 from Ewing's (SitePro) that I can use for K. I've been watching some of Matt Martin's streams with other turf guys and feel like my soil have the Milo profile (excess P and Fe!). I think I should be pretty good on Ca at this point after putting down 50lbs/M of CaCO3 in the Fall and Winter. I'll probably do a soil test in Spring 2022, unless I run into problems again this Fall. Not too worried about micros or biostimulants at this point since I will likely spray worm poo tea a couple of times. I feed them basalt rock dust, fish/kelp and kitchen scraps and am super happy with the response in the garden and want to get more tea onto the lawn this year.

I'm working on a DIY sprayer that has a DC-DC converter and a pump I bought on amazon and plan to use my Ego batteries, but the build keeps taking a back burner. Will post updates if I ever get it up and running.


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

9 days since applying 29-0-4 and the lawn has greened up and started growing. Temps are warmer than normal (80 today). Got my 5th mow in and raised the HOC to 2.5", which is where I'll likely stay this year. Bag was still only a little bit full.

My neighbor loaned me a stump grinder to get the last stump out of the future lawn in front. I paid a guy to grade it, but the stump prevented him from getting that area level. Once I get the veggie garden up and running I'll start tilling and leveling that area in preparation for a August seeding.


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

Have some pics after today's mow. Not much weed pressure in the front. Back has a mix of broad leaf weeds, Poa a and poa triv. I picked up a ryobi sprayer and hope to get a an app down with 3 way and tenacity soon.

Did a small overseed in the back in a bare area. Hasn't sprouted yet.


Front lawn looks good top down and from the street.




Back lawn looks good from a distance but is still pretty bare top down.


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

Too late in the day for pics, but I'm happy with the progress up to this point.

Since last update I used the new Ryobi sprayer twice and love it! It's the perfect size for my 4000 ft2. I sprayed FEature with little AMS on 5/2 and saw some pretty good results. I also sprayed GS plant foods humic acid (2oz/M) and Kelp (1oz/M). I may have a lead on Urea (Coastal Farm and Ranch in Monroe) and if I can get a back I'll probably try to spoonfeed via spraying June's N application. If not, I'll apply the 15-0-21 from Lesco that I picked up at SiteOne last year.

Color is pretty consistent, other than the plethora of Poa Annua spots in the back. Grass is currently growing really fast the past two weeks as the temps are in the 60s/70s most days. I'm mowing at HOC 2.5" and getting almost a full bag full of clippings in the back. Could probably be mowing 4 times a week right now. I'm bagging clippings due to the relatively high P on my soil test and the Poa seeds.

I have some broad leaf weeds mixed in, but I'm just tolerating them and hand pulling when I have the time. They don't bother me that much at this HOC. I keep thinking about spraying Tenacity + 3 way, but haven't found the time.


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

Updated on the back. Applied some baby shampoo and Humic acid on Sunday 5/16 the area behind the garage which gets baked by late day sun in the Summer. Sprayed FEature again today, 3oz/M along with about 1/8th lb N/M. IT probably needs more spoonfeeding than I've been giving it given that it's less than a year old. Color is really uneven and will probably be so until my next granular fert app (about 3 weeks away).

Overseeded area is coming in well. 


We've focused a little more attention on the landscaping behind the garage. Grass is still spotty with some exposed soil in places. Lots of Poa annua as you can see. 


Back is growing well. Mowing twice weekly and getting 1/2 bag of clippings. It's actually more dark green than this photo. Something about shooting toward the house makes it look more yellow. No stripes in the photo, but they are there mid day. 


Got a little extension to the lawn near the veggie garden.


Front lawn is going strong. Fescue is already a little heat stressed.


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

Applied a humic/kelp/potassium sulfate concoction via hose end sprayer today. Trying to use the same ingredients found in RGS. Not sure if the baby soap application did that much, but possibly the back is a little less hydrophobic?

Very hot the past few days and the fescue in the front it starting to check out already. I think the roots from the cedars in front might be invading the lawn since the area nearest the trees is always more stressed.

New small section in the back is coming in strong.

I've been wrestling with whether or not to apply herbicide this year. I have quite a bit of clover/oxalis, creeping butter cup and some other weeds mixed in, but the turf is thickening up, so I haven't felt that compelled to spray. Will see what I decide to do.

Granular fert app will be coming up soon. Hoping to time it with some rain we are supposed to get on Saturday 6/5. Think I go with the Lesco 15-0-21 for some extra K and Ca (it has 11% Ca).

Finally located some Urea locally. Found a 50lb bag for $23 at Coastal in Monroe. Ordered some Sulfate of Potash from Home Depot as well ($40 for 40lbs but free shipping).


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

Misadventures in fertilizer and herbicides are really the only update.

6/4: I overapplied K on my most recent fertilizer app. Calculated the 15-0-21 for 1 1lb N/M, which ended up giving me about 1.4 lb N/M of K20. Grass didn't have much of a visual response. Seemed a little yellow. Fortunately we've had a ton of rain, which probably helped me out.

6/9: I applied tenacity + roundup for lawns (which contains 0.257% MCPA, dimethylamine salt, 0.118% Quinclorac, 0.029% Dicamba, dimethylamine salt, 0.015% Sulfentrazone) + NIS + blue marker. The tenacity was at 3ml/M and seems to have damaged the turf. I learned a few things with this application:

1. Should have put on the cone tip instead of the fan tip. I ended up applying herbicide on areas that were totally weed free and healthy by using the fan tip. 
2. Should have done a separate application of tenacity and broad leaf herbicides. I ended up spraying my Poa A with broad leaf, which was wasteful and I ran out half way through the app. Also, didn't really need to hit the broad leaf weeds with tenacity (the RUFL has worked well in the past on it's own).
3. The battery powered sprayer puts out a lot of product, faster than I expected. I treated an area that was probably about 1.5 kft2 with an amount that was intended for about 4 kft2. I need to turn the pressure down, use the cone tip and not over apply any one spot. 
4. Need to keep using turf marker, since it is really easy to lose track of the applied areas. That was probably the only win in this application!

Here are some pics of the turf before and 4 days after the application:











Could be worse. I'll update the journal in 1-2 weeks. Hoping that it's just the fine fescue in the mix that got a little shocked and comes back.


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## SOLARSUPLEX (Aug 4, 2020)

Getting the sprayer dialed in has been a struggle of mine as well. I'm just using a super cheap pump sprayer but the flow rate is dictated by the pressure and how tight the end nozzle is. Two variables that I've not gotten remotely good at standardizing.

Your turf looks to have been hit really hard by the tenacity unless this is the moment we find out the majority of your area was actually poa. I was surprised with how well it mixed into my existing turf until it started generating seed heads.

Do you feel the kelp application has been beneficial since doing it a few times now?


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

@SOLARSUPLEX Thanks for stopping by man. I think the two main reasons the back got hit so hard is that it is mostly fine fescue, which doesn't tolerate Tenacity as well as some othe grasses. That and I over applied significantly. It's looking pretty crispy right now.


If it doesn't come back I'll do an overseed this Fall. You live and you learn!

I've enjoyed using kelp and humic. The odor isn't very strong and it's easy to apply. There isn't an instant response like when you apply N though. The parts I didn't damage with the Tenacity look great!







Think I might put down some Hydretain before the Summer dry really sets in.


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## SOLARSUPLEX (Aug 4, 2020)

No kidding. The dark green in the front is something to be proud of!

Do you intend to do a bit of watering throughout summer or just let it go dormant and then do the fall nitrogen blitz?

I've been enjoying my morning espresso with the sprinklers on but it does seem rather wasteful to use this much water on just the lawn…


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

SOLARSUPLEX said:


> Do you intend to do a bit of watering throughout summer or just let it go dormant and then do the fall nitrogen blitz?


I'm going give the front 2" per week and let the back go dormant. I don't have a sprinkler system so I have to drag around sprinklers and hoses which is a huge pain.

Definitely planning on a better fall N blitz than last year. I picked some urea from Coastal in Monroe.


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

We had record breaking heat the past weekend and the lawn is super stressed in certain areas. Essentially the fine fescue checked out, but the KBG and PRG seem to be doing okay. This is super noticeable in the front:







The back is sort of recovering from the Tenacity fiasco (3 weeks ago at this point). The areas that I did not apply Tenacity are still pretty dark green and only a small portion of the lawn was stressed by the heat (it's a lot shadier back there).







I spot sprayed some humic/kelp/dish soap on the most hydrophobic areas and watered today. I don't have irrigation and want to see how things go without irrigating this year (with the exception of this heat wave). I have some Lawnstar liquid aerator (which I'll use mostly for the surfactant qualities) and Hydretain on the way. I feel like I'm behind on applying them and next year I'll shoot for an early June application depending on the rainfall and weather.


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

Did a dethatch and overseed in the front. The most sun/heat exposed area got hammered during our heat wave in June and never recovered even with regular watering.

I read that overseeding with KBG usually doesn't work, but I decided to give it a try due to the amount sun that part of the lawn gets.. Used Scott's starter feet with Tenacity. Covered it all with peat moss and rolled it out. Now the wait for grass babies begins!


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

Quick update after a mow this afternoon. Soccer and school are upon us, so not able to spend as much time in the yard. Only mowing once a week at this point and had to empty the bag in the back during the mow (first time that's ever happened). Back is out of dormancy with some supplemental water. It's very dry here for the Fall, so I think the lawn won't really take off until the rain comes back later this month. Fed the back 1lb N/M Vigoro fert on 9/2 and still see some undissolved prills despite a few sprinkler waters. Light green is the Poa Triv starting to regrow. 



The KBG germinated 7d after seeding (8/31) so it's 11 days after germination. I guess I'm experiencing "sprout and pout" since they are pretty small compared to what I'm used to with NoMix. I used a starter fert with Tenacity in the front and I think I overapplied in some areas since the grass is bleaching. Hopefully that's not impacting the seedlings too bad.


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

First day of Fall today and was a big lawn care day. Dethatched the back, which took a ton of time. Overseeded the bare spots in the back and plan to spray the rest with Prodiamine within the next week. Plan to apply another lb of N in early October as well.


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## PNW_TurfNoob (May 29, 2020)

9/25 I applied a half rate (2.5g/M) of prodiamine WDG to the front and back. I tank mixed with some FEature.

Today I applied 1lb n/m of fert (variety of left over bags I had, mostly 29-0-4 and 15-0-21) to front and back. Since dethatching I lowered the HOC to 2 inches. Think I'll probably apply another lb of N in about a month and call it good for the year.

Starting to get a lot of cedar debris on the front lawn, which is a huge pain. Also not sure if I'm going to aerate this year. I did the front last year, but not the back. Think I'll probably skip it, but still not sure.


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