# doverosx's 2020 Lawn Journal - Ottawa, Canada - COOL lawn



## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Hello all,

I inherited a lawn that was TERRIBLE after buying my first house. The house has about 2200 sq. ft. on "my side" that was supposed to be maintained by a company. When I got there, I saw compacted earth, weeds everywhere and pretty well nothing that resembled a lawn. One can even see that the tree roots were growing up and out of the lawn in search of nutrients. Long story short, I pushed the soil and ignored what was on top, I was watering DEEP and watering regularly to convince the grass that it had a new caretaker. I threw down hen manure (5-3-2) which smells fantastic and I bought a phytoplankton solution available to Canadians. Within one month, I was hooked and started to see the soil slowly become plyable, breakable dirt; so I cranked it up and had someone aerate the lawn. At this point I cranked things up much more, throwing down earth, seed and starter fertilizer (ProMix Heal and Feed) and Scott's patch master in a few other areas.

After seeing things start to sprout and grow, filling in, I turned it up that extra good notch. Enter the Milo N-Ext phase and boys and girls, get ready because holy cow. I ended up driving to the US to pick up Milo and N-Ext (RGS, Humic12 and Air8) while I only threw a bit of milo down, I sprayed the N-Ext stuff every 2 weeks. I also hit the soil with 0.25lbs/N every 2 weeks until for the last month. Somewhere in there I sprayed weedout (2,4-D, macamba, etc.) and that was amazing. Seeing dandelions turn black and grow out of control was hilarious as I saw the grass grow incredibly well.

Okay so that's the back story.


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## Nismo (Jul 4, 2019)

Subscribed


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Here's an image of the lawn before winter hit. I think the season got extended more than expected but I worked the lawn in some way until Halloween. 


Here is a beauty shot of the mess that some snow clearing equipment left behind. DIESEL FUEL and OIL all over our road and now onto my lawn. Neato. 


There was also a ton of small rocks and baba on this forum had a simple solution that I'll use in the future; shovel it off as the snow melts away. I ended up raking things around and leaving some more rocks around the larger dips in the soil; might as well get some leveling while I'm at it. Here's an interesting thing though, this part of the lawn was waking up earlier than the rest of the lawn! 


So this is the macro view of what I'm dealing with. Some snow mould that I lightly brushed with my feet, some litter, some pollution from city equipment, etc. At least, I'm not starting from scratch and my soil is MOIST!


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Now, we get to April and I see the lawn slowly crawling out of bed. I also see WEEDS! But how could this be? I have an average temperature of ~42F. 


Okay...so I'm getting anxious because I have about 4lbs of prodiamine and I'm VERY ready to throw it down, but the temps are too cold!





Well, mother nature is always right so I figured that the early spring temps in the 10C-15C range was only heating up, germinating/sprouting weeds earlier than expected. Okay, so I do some calcs, read labels and prepare for a spray down of Prodiamine and watering it in with RGS, Humic12 and Air8 all at MAX power and lined up before a day of rain. That


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Things slowly waking up still, but I'm waiting to throw down my pre-emergent and N-Ext products. FYI, I can already see after a day of rain....things are looking great . But you'll have to wait to see how it goes.

Here are pictures from 6PM, April 7.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

But wait there's more! I took samples from earth in 6 locations on the lawn and got that mailed out to Guelph AFL. With the border closed, there's no point trying to support Allyn in the USA since...my lab sample would never make it across anyway. While pulling up the lawn, I noted roots 6-8" deep with the majority of the root structure 4-6" down. Additionally, the roots were very narrow and small, not typically associated with a healthy KBG that has been around for a while. From this, I concluded that the majority of the lawn is YOUNG grass that was either dormant or from what I overseeded last Fall. My conclusion was confirmed by a non-existent thatch layer, there was a bit here and there but I could trace blade -> shoot -> root pretty easily and felt bad for the beating and neglect that the lawn had seen with the previous owners.

No worries, I saw many BIG, FAT, JUICY worms with plenty of young worms mixed in! Go Organics! The biodiversity of this soil is completely transformed, I'm really happy about that. No seriously, this is awesome, especially since I started slowly in August and hit HARD in the fall. The Fall blitz was great and I plan on throwing down 0.25lbs of N/1k sq ft every other week in the spring matched with some DEEP watering. I want to push this dang grass! That said, I'll heed advice and adjust as necessary but know that I'm not afraid to mow and with the quarantine...I'll use any excuse to get out and push roots down.


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Nice write up! I'll be following. :thumbup:


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

April 12, 2020 update:
Green up is good! Some shots of the lawn, yellow patches and some remnants of snow mould. I put down my first application of prodiamine (0.3oz/1k sq ft), the full app of Air 8, Humic 12 and RGS as well on the Saturday.











I also take some time to walk around the neighbourhood golf course to see how I'm doing. It's a great benchmark!


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Soil Test Results
ph - 7.4​P - 18​K - 120​Mg - 370​Organic matter - 7.1%​Total Salts - 0.205mS/cm​CEC - 30.8 cmol+/kg​
As I interpret these results, my planning may change. So far, it seems like my pH is a touch high, Mg is very high and P is a touch high.


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

Subscribed. Like the way you follow up on stuff.
Where is your Ca from the test? Also base saturation is very important. It shows what is available for the plant. your CEC is high so pH reduction with sulfur will be long, but not impossible. Start this season. Spray Iron instead of granular as well as any other micros. P and K are also low (not much to worry about P). Maybe a more balanced fert will do the trick like 21-6-12 or anything with a close to 4-1-2 ratio. With this CEC, all will take time to get to norms, so patience.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately, I didn't get Ca in the test, it appears that Guelph Uni doesn't believe it to be necessary. My pH is 7.4 and Ryan Knorr's was 7.3, so I was able to draw upon what John Parry told Ryan to do. I'll be throwing down 5lbs of sulfur/year and WAITING for it to come down.

I picked up some starter fert with as low of N as I could, I also looked at flower ferts but they are too costly per 1k sq ft. So, I will use my CIL starter fert 24-25-4 to get some wicked P loading and I'll finish off the year with my bag of milo. You said that my high CEC will take time to get things to normalize, doesn't a high CEC indicate that my soil will hold onto nutrients longer? If that's right, does it mean the nutrients will be held into soil and away from the plants?


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Threw down 0.25N/1k sq ft of the Scott's 24-25-4 starter lawn food. Next feeding I'll be looking at dipping into the milo bag I bought last year!

There is a ton of false dandelion and some other weeds that I'm seeing sprout up so I'm planning to spot spray those before they mature. I can already see grass starting to crowd it out, however, so we'll SAE how things progress as we get rain and the fertilizer is taken up.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Well, It looks like I should've come to this thread BEFORE I threw down more fertilizer LOL. Anyway, I got my elemental sulfur in the mail so I enthusiastically threw down 2lbs of the stuff and after I finished doing that looked at my left-over bag of Scotts and threw that down.

I ended up putting down a total of 0.25lbs N/1k sq ft, 0.1 lbs N from the scotts and 0.15lbs N from the Milo. On the bright side, it was mostly Milo so that won't really kick in for a week with our upcoming cold temps. May 4, I ended up spraying practically, the entire lawn, with Weed Out (2,4-d, Meso, etc.).

Total N: 0.47
Total P: 0.49
Total K: 0.05 (not including N-Ext products).

This is indeed the strangest Spring and if we don't get much rain tomorrow, I plan on watering the lawn despite things being so cold. Finally, I'll spray the lawn with Air8, RGS and Humic12 before I pack it in tonight to liquify some of the product I put down.

Some photos as of May 2, 2020


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## Matix99def (Jul 15, 2019)

I agree. This spring is messing with us for sure. Definitely hard to hold back hah. How are you liking the n-ext products?


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

It is so hard to hold back Lolol! Apparently Connor ward has thrown down 0.25N/week so I don't feel so bad ;-).

The N-Ext products are the real winners with my success so far and so quickly, I've only been working the lawn since last August and snow time came around November. Weeds are a big issue even with spraying prodiamine for the first time this spring, which tells me the soil is jammed up and low in nutrients. After a season of good mowing/watering and throwing down fert, things should really turn around for a successful overseed.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Sigh


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## Matix99def (Jul 15, 2019)

Oh no. We have cold weather here in Winnipeg but no snow coming. Atleast you get a little moisture hah. How much are you guys supposed to get??


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Oh we didn't get much at all. I'd call it at 2-4cm and it was melted away by 6pm. This spring keeps getting CRAZIER as time goes on so I'm glad that I'm working from home and able to react on an almost hourly basis.

Btw, I put down another 2lbs of sulfur as I saw my first throw down was getting pushed down into the soil from the rain. It takes a while for those prills to break down naturally so I expect this process to take a long while. Expecting a lot of sun and rain this weekend so I'll be very very happy. Also...I already watered the lawn a good 1/2" and it was -2C when I did so; my neighbours are officially concerned for my mental health and well being lol.

I also seeded some Scotts sun and shade in areas where we dug out trees/bushes. I'm annoyed that the mix wasn't what their customer rep told me (75% KBG, 20% TTPRG, 5% fescue), the mix is (42% creeping red fescue, 34% TTPRG, 24% KBG). I wasn't planning on seeding yet, but since I'm home I figured it would be a good experiment. I'll get some update pictures this weekend, and hopefully get a nice mow in the books.

I mowed May 12 at 3" and most of the lawn grew up from it's 2.5" HOC over that 7-9 days. I can't wait for the KBG to spread and repair the weed kills/dominations/salt die back.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

I mowed this past Saturday and Tuesday as well as watering the lawn a 0.5" on Monday. So, it's looking like I'll be watering the lawn today and taking the opportunity to push some more milo and sulfur beforehand. I've got some gypsum on the way as well, hoping that will start the ball rolling on breaking up the clay soil that I have. It'll be interesting to see how everything I'm doing now will pay off over the years but so far the lawn is really starting to push out weeds, as well as spread to the bare spots along the road and sidewalks.

Before I show photos I should point out that I really laid down 6oz of RGS over the bare spots where trees were pulled and the difference is crazy so far. I'm certain my hourly watering schedule also played into the success, but that said, there isn't much in the way of germination from the Scotts Sun & Shade mix.

PS, the Tuesday mow was AWESOME. The Honda was bogging down at the SUPER THICK parts that made up about 65% of the lawn!


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Alrighty, last pound of sulfur and another 9lbs of mill thrown down on Thursday, preceded by a mow. I'm starting to see sprouts in the patch areas and a number of other bare spots are filling in. Awesome results!!!

Total N: 0.69
Total P: 0.65
Total K: 0.05 (not including N-Ext products).

I'll be spraying the lawn with FAS, RGS, Air8 and Humic 12 later.


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## Matix99def (Jul 15, 2019)

Lawn is getting there. What are those weeds mixed in? Hard to see. And how much fas do you plan to apply?


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## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

Nice journal, lawn looks good! What is this Weed out that you mentioned with 24,d and Meso?


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

I think it's actually weed b gone and I picked it up from lawn products.ca. Last night, I sprayed 1.8oz ferrous sulphate/1k and 1oz ams/1k. I noticed a difference in an hour but after after one night, I woke up to do another cut with blades at 3.5-4" and holy cow!!!

I decided to do a double cut to really dominate the neighbors and I think it was a mission success .


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

I put some RGS down this morning (before big heat wave) at 13oz/1k sq ft, extra heavy in some of the remaining bare spots and straggling areas by the sidewalk and curbs. Mother nature gave us a measly 2.8mm/0.1" of rain yesterday on "day 4" since the last watering. So, I'll be watering after I finish my team's daily stand-up. I'm a convert for spraying FAS, especially on a lawn with a high pH; Milo was bleeding through in a few areas but you can't beat the uniformity and instantaneous response of a foliar spray.

I think I'll do one more mow at 3" and afterward I'll let the grass grow up to 3.5". There are some fescues that are cutting cut shorter than they want to be right now so we'll so how that goes...and if I want to push more spread than top growth. So far the "spread" bias is really working to fill in low/bare spots.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Last mow at 3", grass was so thick that the Honda needed a double cut to pick up left over blades. I picked up gypsum and put down 5lbs, went heavy handed in the bare spots and along the sidewalk/road. Probably too late buuut really with the amount of dandelions, it's safe to say that calcium is locked up or missing all together.

I decide to give some lawn leveling a try; here's one bag of soil worked in.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Sprayed Humic12, RGS and Air-8 on the lawn this passed Saturday, after a quick trim at 3.5". A lot of spots filling in, bare spots getting pushed and seed heads everywhere. Some clover and one spurge plant popped up so I'll hit that at the 3 week mark since I last sprayed 2,4-d.

I put down 10lbs of gypsum as well so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out throughout the season. High dandelion counts indicate calcium and phosphorous deficiencies so I'm hopeful it'll help out the soil. Oh and I put down another bag of soil for leveling that one tire track from the machine that installed the rock in the garden. I'm the second owner of the house but if you look closely, there is another track left behind!

I'll get another picture up after my second mow at 3.5".


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

doverosx said:


> High dandelion counts indicate calcium and phosphorous deficiencies so I'm hopeful it'll help out the soil.


Dandelions grow because a seed got to the soil not because of calcium deficiencies. It is rare to see a soil with calcium deficiencies.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

g-man said:


> doverosx said:
> 
> 
> > High dandelion counts indicate calcium and phosphorous deficiencies so I'm hopeful it'll help out the soil.
> ...


When the great G-man replies, thou shalt heed advice and I shalt. I'm torn because AgPhD talks about using gypsum on high CEC soils (38 for me), and organic growers claiming that the dandees are what I said above, indicators of low Ca, P and compaction. I have wicked salt damage from the winter too btw, and it's only starting to clear out. It's too bad the Guelph University test doesn't indicate the items I'd expect from tests like Waypoint, but a waypoint test is scheduled for next season.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

If you have dandelions, kill them with a herbicide or pull them (with the tap root).

Your pH is at 7.4, it is likely that your calcium is already high. The best way to deal with winter salt is water to flush it deeper into the soil.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

@g-man understood and thanks for the direction. I'll hang onto the bag until there is a need for it.

Update:
Threw down some more milo today, I have a tiny bit over 1lbs in the bag left so I'll be on the prowl for a replacement. I also took the opportunity to use another bag of soil for leveling; I used that opportunity to use some Scott's seed. My patches are filled in and I'll be getting better seed for overseeding in the Fall.

Total N: 0.94
Total P: 0.81
Total K: 0.39 (Most K is coming from Air8 right now)


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## Nismo (Jul 4, 2019)

Looks good! Things are progressing nicely.

Also - g-man is on the money. I also have a sidewalk and my edge looked the same until I put in sprinklers. No more winter burn on the edges after a few weeks of watering.

As for Dandelions - PARIII Herbicide - available on eBay from our friends in Winnipeg.


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## Stuofsci02 (Sep 9, 2018)

Milorganite? Where are you getting that from?

Be careful adding soil like that across the yard. That soil could be filled with weed seeds and now they are nicely spread and top dressed.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

I picked up Milorganite from across the border last year, at the same time I picked up the N-Ext products as well using myusaddress. The border is only 45 minutes from me and fertilizer is good to bring over.

Good point on the soil, there isn't a percentage amount listed on it but the soil claimed to be "weed free", but at this point it is necessary to address the soil condition because my mower is practically jumping up or hopping in some of the areas. Mowing after the initial level work with one bag of soil had me convinced it was the worth the time and effort, mowing was so smoooooth! The grass in the grooves is 6" tall, the grass at the high point is at my height of cut!

@Nismo The May drought we just had hasn't helped the salt situation at all, that's for sure.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

If you have more areas to level like that, use a straight shovel to make a cut in the middle. Then lift the grass and roll it to the side. This way you can fill with dirt and roll the grass back down. The damage would be minimal and less chance for weeds to grow.


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## Nismo (Jul 4, 2019)

doverosx said:


> @Nismo The May drought we just had hasn't helped the salt situation at all, that's for sure.


100% agree about may... the grass was super stressed.

The good news is with the new delivery charges for water in Ottawa, there is no longer any incentive to save water anymore. I've been watering daily mid way through the drought (rather than my typical every second day) and the change in cost is very little.

Consumption Rates (Per m³) - All Properties - resets every 30 days
Tier Volume Water Wastewater Combined
Tier 1 up to 6m3 $0.83 $0.75 $1.58
Tier 2 >6 m3 - 25m3 $1.65 $1.49 $3.14
Tier 3 >25m3 - 180m3 $1.82 $1.65 $3.47
Tier 4 >180m3 $2.03 $1.85 $3.88

Most people fall into Tier 2, but once you get into Tier 3, your cost for water (combined) only goes up 33 cents per cubic meter. Let 'r drink!


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

That is bloody damn genius! &#127866; for you good sir.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

I've been noticing a lot of seed heads which I'm not too worried about but I am worried at the scalped look of the lawn. I've always stuck to the 1/3 rule and I've been mowing every 2-4 days.

I pulled up some roots and it doesn't look like the tall fescue I have in my backyard.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Made it out to Home Depot and disappeared from my fiancée, she found me in the fertilizer aisle naturally. CIL 33-0-3 w/3% iron (30% slow release), and hen manure 5-4-3 that I plan on using just before Canada Day arrives.

I fully expect that my low P will be topped up now and the 3% potassium will be trickled in to maintain K levels. Then again, if I can't find AMS, I'll probably end up using fall fert since it ends up being the cheapest nitrogen in the market. That all depends on how the weather goes for over seeding, of course.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Continuing to cut at 3.5", went longer than I planned to and I've fallen behind on watering because my Dad unexpectedly passed away on Monday this week. I threw down 1lbs of Milo (remaining) and 0.9lbs of the CIL Fertilizer.

Total N: 1.10
Total P: 0.83
Total K: 0.40 (Most K is coming from Air8 right now)


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## DiabeticKripple (Apr 14, 2019)

Sorry to hear about your dad.

My best friend growing up had his father pass away Monday as well.

God damn Monday's!


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

My condolences! What a terrible Monday; I said that at my aunt and uncles after leaving the hospital.


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## Nismo (Jul 4, 2019)

Sorry to read about your father @doverosx.

Thoughts and prayers sent your way.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Nismo said:


> Sorry to read about your father @doverosx.
> 
> Thoughts and prayers sent your way.


Thank you!


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

June 15: Put down 0.4oz/1k sq ft of prodiamine which should last until August for overseeding. Followed up with a lot of water, probably more like 0.75".

Today: Put down another 1lbs of CIL 33-0-3 (0.15lbs N/1k sq ft). The grass around my front tree had gone to seed aggressively and left almost 100% seed stems, just in time for a heat wave to roll in. So, now I have HUGE die back of grass and a bunch of hay...not happy. I'm going to be watering a good 0.5" every other day until this damn heat wave is over.

The side portion of the yard next to the sidewalk is looking fantastic however. I'm really disappointed to see the grass that has had everything it needed to resist a bit of stress die off so quickly at the hint of some heat. The soil is heavily compacted in those areas as there weren't grass blades to shade the sun away; and despite using Air 8. I'm seeing some more weed growth but overall it isn't too bad. Some spurge and some other plant but I'll wait to spot spray until the heat calms down a bit.

Total N: 1.25
Total P: 0.83
Total K: 0.42 (Most K is coming from Air8 right now)


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## DAM Lawn (Jan 6, 2020)

I feel you. The dryness and heat takes a toll quickly. I was just thinking this past Saturday that the lawn was looking the best yet this season as the seed stalks, although present have majorly diminished. 4 days later and the lawn is struggling a little and no longer looking its best. Going to hand water some hotspots tonight and full watering tomorrow morning to hopefully make it to the expected rain on Sunday. Good luck!


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

doverosx said:


> Continuing to cut at 3.5", went longer than I planned to and I've fallen behind on watering because my Dad unexpectedly passed away on Monday this week.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Thanks Baba, it's terrible timing.

Today I threw down 18oz of Humic12, 12oz of Air8 and 6oz of RGS to top-up the Ortho sprayer. I'll be giving the water a really good watering today in the stressed/dead areas and I've got a Melnor oscillating sprinkler on the way and that should help my "Longer than Wider" lawn. I can already tell that the lawn is improving with the increase in watering. Seed stems are still plentiful but I'll keep up with 0.125lbs N/1k sq ft to see how that goes.

I've also bought a reading from John Perry so I'll be reporting back with what he says. Oh and I've raised the height of cut to 4", about 2 weeks earlier than I had planned but that should help with lawn stress in this crazy heat/drought.

Total N: 1.25
Total P: 0.83
Total K: 0.76 (Most K is coming from Air8 right now)


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)




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## DiabeticKripple (Apr 14, 2019)

Which Melnor did you get?

If you check my journal you can see the one I got. It's amazing and I wish I knew about them sooner. I bought out the local hardware store and I'll be buying more when they get some new ones in. I too have long strips instead of squares.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

I have the same one as you do but on the spike! I'll be giving it a good run this morning ;-).

Check out one of the neighbours in my area.


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## DiabeticKripple (Apr 14, 2019)

Head to head coverage haha. Those things spray pretty far. With my pressure I bet I get over 50ft lengthwise of coverage


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Omg, the time savings over my Gardena impact... wow.


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## DiabeticKripple (Apr 14, 2019)

I can water my front lawn in less than half the time that I could with any standard oscillating sprinkler. 2 hours with the Melnor gives me 0.5" on 1000sqft.

You can also adjust the water pressure coming out of them to dial them down for smaller areas. They really are the best sprinkler I have bought, and I have bought like 6 different ones


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Ooookayyy. So I've taken a look at my grass blades and the backs are almost all shiny leading me to believe that my lawn is 95% perennial ryegrass, 2% TTTF, 1% KBG, 2% various weeds (lol... :-(). I pulled about 10 nutsedge, 5lbs of crabgrass, threw down some more sulfur (4lbs) and finished that off with 8-32-16 (0.145lbs N/1k sq ft) from Synagri (purchased from Ritchie Feed & Seed near Innes).

I was going to wait to throw it down but today, the meteorologists are confident there will actually be rain; we only saw 0.2" and zero t-storms in my area last night. My friends 20 minutes north of me, all got a lot of rain...what a rip off! The lawn is well onto recovery from the drought stress it was put under however, I still have a mostly seed stem lawn and that is somewhat (very) annoying.

JP is doing my soil sample reading and so far has said to aim for 4lbs P and 2lbs K for the year. The 8-32-16 should help nailing that target. The new weed pressure is definitely bugging me because I did use prodiamine, however, it is made worse by the high heat. Otherwise I could spray down most of it and move on.

Total N: 1.40
Total P: 1.41
Total K: 1.05


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

The rain is really helping the lawn, even a measly 0.25" but I'll take it!



June 25, 2020: Sprayed Weed out and only used 8L of mixture for spot spraying. Progress is good and weed pressure is slowly backing off despite the new attack from nustedge, crabgrass and spurge. The crabgrass is easy to pull so I've been pulling two hand fulls each day. I also sprayed the backyard to knock down the "experiment" I have going on there. I have tenacity on the way so things should chill out.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Threw down some hen manure today. I'll also be setting up my bhyve and sprinklers that I've ordered for automated watering while I'm gone on vacation. There is supposed to be some really hot days coming up so I splurged more than I wanted.

Total N: 1.56
Total P: 1.54
Total K: 1.15

I'll be spraying some molasses as well, with the die back from the heat wave, I'm concerned about thatch now that I have actual grass on the lawn this year; and not just weeds.

Doh I almost forgot, I sprayed 2oz/1k sq ft of FS and 1.7oz of AS 1k sq ft. Gotta get that double dark going while I can before the heat wave during Canada day week!

Enjoy some photos!


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Quinclorac (quintillion) ordered but I don't think I'll be using it this year being so close to seeding. I spot sprayed at a low rate of tenacity + surfactant and blue dye. The dye really helps with spraying things multiple times.

I also mowed and adjusted the sprinklers. Last but not least, I put down some more chicken poop @ 0.15lbs/1k sq ft. It takes time for microbes to break down the Nitrogen so I don't mind putting it down during more heat/drought.

Total N: 1.72
Total P: 1.67
Total K: 1.25


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## Matix99def (Jul 15, 2019)

How do you like the chicken fert? Does it smell? You haven't used it much though right? I'm debating on putting down some as well. Home hardware sells a 10kg bag of 5-3-2 for 20 bucks. Figured it's worth a shot.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Oh boy it smells. It's powdery too and will smell up anything that you're wearing for a while. Home hardware sells 9-2-2 with 2% iron and that product appears to be much more suited to be used as a lawn fertilizer. Of course, when I stocked up, it was completely back ordered but they were restocked a few weeks ago.

I'd give the nature's best 9-2-2 a shot if I were you but if you don't want to wait, might as well throw chicken poop down. They use it in carbon x for a reason ;-)


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@doverosx 9-2-2 works great. The price though...


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## BBLOCK (Jun 8, 2020)

subscribed. live close, dealing with same growing conditions lol


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## Matix99def (Jul 15, 2019)

I was going to do 9-2-2 but the bag is too big. I only want it on my 1000 sq ft. I'll try out the chicken stuff. Sure one has a 3-1-1 I may look at as well. Thanks


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Rain, followed by a cool down. Ohhhhhhh yes, I'll be throwing down Next stuff, sulfur as soon as I can.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Have the lawn a well deserved mow. I hadn't touched it during the second wave because I learned my lesson to stay off and stay away. I took the opportunity with the cooler temps to throw down Humic12 at 9oz/M, Air8 at 6oz/M and 5lbs/M of Sulphur.

Watered it in for 15 minutes and now I'm chill axing. If the wind is calm tomorrow, I'll setup my new sprinkler addition and spray for weeds with a three way before the temps crawl up again

Oh and I forgot; I had a couple say "you have the best lawn in the neighborhood HANDS DOWN!!!"

Edit: I forgot to say that I sprayed 1.5oz of molasses/M. I'm a convert to the ways of molasses!


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## Matix99def (Jul 15, 2019)

Hehe, gotta love the compliments from the neighbours. but it was suggested to me to use 3oz per 1000 of molasses, on a monthly basis once soil temps get up to 80f. Food for thought. Looking good though!


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## Matix99def (Jul 15, 2019)

O and I just bought that 3-1-1 from site one, Not a lot of info on it. Supposed to have humic and kelp in it but no breakdown on the bag. Product was a bit dusty but applied fine. A bit of a smell but only at initial throw down. I paid 40 bucks for 40 lbs in Winnipeg.

For some reason, I read my own previous message thinking it was you looking into the site one 3-1-1. Ugh. &#129318;‍♂&#129318;‍♂&#129318;‍♂&#129318;‍♂&#129318;‍♂


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Hey I'm always interested in finding out about new suppliers!


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

20lbs of TitanRx TTTF grass seed has been ordered in preparation for overseeding and repairs where the grass did not spread sufficiently in the spring/summer. If August plays nicely like last year, I'll be able to blitz in the fall .


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## SodFace (Jul 17, 2020)

Subscribed for updates - I am in town too. Great journal!


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Thanks for the sub!

Did a mow that was overdue but letting the lawn grow out seems to mix well with the heat waves we've been getting. Rain continued to be scarce but we aren't in an endless drought anymore. Temperatures will remain in the mid to high 80s for the next while, that'll give me time to plan herbicide use as I move into an overseed/patch project.

You can see that the grass is recovering from the heat drought we had.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Time to get things ready for overseed and patch repair.



I'll be reading over my herbicides to see what I can use before seed down, there is some nasty stuff hanging around that isn't getting taken out by the 3 way alone. I have sulfentrazone on the way, quinkill max, tenacity and classic 3way ester. My friend can also lend me some tzone se.


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@doverosx I am dissapointed TTTF? :lol: B team? :lol: I am teasing you!
NO sulfentrazone! It needs a month to clear out! (it is also used as PreM, keep in mind) Is 3way+quincolrac going to be enough? I would go high on the rate. Hurting some existing grass won't be a problem if you over seed. For Tenacity, keep for at seed down. For very heavily weeded areas Glypho may be you best bet. Popcorn machine is heating up...


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Lol, when I hit add to cart I knew I'd hear from you baba lol! Hopefully you can forgive me after I tell you that this tttf has rhizomes ;-).

Hint: I'm still focusing on getting the soil right before I burn down, install irrigation and go full pull!


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

The lawn is growing thick and full but it's really stressed out and filled with dead stems. I'll be going low and bagging as I move into overseeding time, that should put in a good dent on the stems! I took the opportunity today to hedge my bets on the heat breaking away, so I put down some fert!

Total N: 1.87
Total P: 2.25
Total K: 1.54


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## SodFace (Jul 17, 2020)

doverosx said:


> The lawn is growing thick and full but it's really stressed out and filled with dead stems. I'll be going low and bagging as I move into overseeding time, that should put in a good dent on the stems! I took the opportunity today to hedge my bets on the heat breaking away, so I put down some fert!
> 
> Total N: 1.87
> Total P: 2.25
> Total K: 1.54


What are you using now/this fall for fertilizer? Good news is that for the next couple weeks there's SOME chance of precipitation every day! Will probably end up being like 5mm a week with the way the summer went lol.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

5mm? I wish lol! @SodFace

I'm using Synagri 8-32-16 to hit my 4lbs P and 2lbs K soil correction targets. Once I get there, I'll finish off with 33-0-3 w/3% iron from CIL.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Rain! Wind! All of it, too much, too fast. I predict that my fertilizer was just run off unless my watering in did the job.

Local roads were flooded for a good amount of time. It was fun watching people unknowingly risking uncle Rodney through their blocks as they skirt with hydrolock.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Sprayed a mixture of MSO, 2,4-D, dicamba, mecoprop and quinclorac today. There is quite a lot of fine fescue in the lawn, which I'm not a fan of, so I'll be okay with whatever die off there is.

I'll spray the sedge with a sulfentrazone mixture in a spray bottle and call it a day. There's just too much pervasive and thriving nutsedge right now, though, I do have the thickest lawn in my area and it is indeed choking out most of the weed pressure.

This round of herbicide should have 1.5 days to absorb before predicted, heavy, rain on Sunday.

Until then, enjoy some phat stripes!


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## SodFace (Jul 17, 2020)

Are you overseeding the whole front?

The rain the other day... couldn't believe it. A whole lot ~25-29mm according to my gauge. Everyone's lawn looking a bit better last couple of days. Time for me to step it up lol.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Yuuup. The entire front will be getting a serious makeover, the die off this summer from the terrible cultivars, the abuse from the lawn care contractors that destroyed the overseed in the bare areas last year and the heat/drought months this year has just done too much damage.

I'm also looking forward to mowing low and watching the dead seed stems disappear! On the bright side, my plugs are doing extremely well!


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Threw down some more fert and sprayed molasses (3oz/1k) and RGS (9oz/1k) Also verified that I have rust fungus, but that's okay since I'm planning to go lower and bad clippings anyway for overseeding.

Total N: 2.02
Total P: 2.83
Total K: 1.85

Enjoying a nice and gentle rain right now ;-).


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Mowed double wide diagonals and sprayed the 1 gallon mix of 2,4-d and quinclorac. I still have about 15% of that mixture remaining so that is really great to see.

Overall, the lawn has quite a bit of work to do to recover from this summer and the daily highs around 30C aren't going to help. Hopefully my planned humic12 + fert this weekend will push things further. Lowering my HOC as I go doesn't help the stressed look but such is like when you go to overseed.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Reduced height of cut to 3", still bagging as i still still see rust however it is very much reduced now. I'm seeing the dead stalks being pulled up and that is one of the best parts as The green up is great. I'm also very annoyed that my order of grub x isn't shipping and strangely, I'm not getting any response from lawnproducts; their service is normal excellent.

My Dad bought a bag of merit so I might use that. Anyway, today I threw down some [email protected] 0.15lbs/1k sq ft and sprayed Humic12 @9oz/1k sq ft. I've been contacting local providers for aeration before I seed and it looks like they won't even touch it until after August 15th. What they don't know is that I'm very aware of what I'm doing and seeding in August will give the plant more time to root in, as well as a bit of blitz to finish off the growing season. It worked very well last year.

Total N: 2.17
Total P: 3.41
Total K: 2.14

Oh, and my Humic 12 is no more and the border is closed... it finished off with some yummy congealed humic. So I put some in my planters and spread it in some yellow/bare spots that I suspect formed from grubs.


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## BBLOCK (Jun 8, 2020)

lawn products is way behind. at one point they told me they had 28k orders to process around their July 15 cutoff for Ontario

so back logged.. you'll get it eventually just might take a while


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## SodFace (Jul 17, 2020)

I cancelled my lawnproducts order like 3+ weeks after order + no updates.

I have also contacted like 3 places to do aeration(my guy seems to have dropped off the map) - no response from any!

Not sure what the price differential is but my stuff from https://www.gardenerspantry.ca/ seems to be decent. Got kelp and humic to spray with my ortho.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Threw down some fert, sprayed molasses and air8 nice and heavy as i head into "imminent overseeding". The weekend is looking HOT and it looks like The forecasters have added a heavy raining, so I'll push The seeding work until after raining if things go that way.

Total N: 2.32
Total P: 3.99
Total K: 2.43


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Lawn was aerated, soil thrown down, seed spread out and peat moss is covering the entire lawn. This morning, I threw down more fertilizer and blanket sprayed Tenacity at 0.9oz/1k sq ft.

Total N: 2.47
Total P: 4.57
Total K: 2.72


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

I really need to get caught up on my picture updates game, I'll do that after my upcoming appointment. Today I had my first mow (2.5") and I'm liking what I see!

I threw down some more fert (8-32-16) and followed that with RGS at 6oz/1k sq ft. I also changed the watering schedule from 3x15 minutes to 2x22.5 minutes.

Total N: 2.62
Total P: 5.15
Total K: 3.01

Looks like that marks the amendment targets set by John Perry for this year. I'll finish the year with the rest of my CIL bag (33-0-3).

EDIT: Apparently, I haven't been updating my tallies correctly so I've now fixed them all up. I've more than hit my targets from JP, however, I'm around the amendment + seed target as per purdue.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

August 16, 2020 Scalp Town:


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

August 20, 2020: Earth, Seed and Peat Moss down as of August 17, 2020. Tenacity was down August 18, 2020 starting to see very small amount of germination already. Quality seed for the win here.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

First mow August 31, 2020: Germination is over 50% and it looks like seed has germinated in non-bare areas, really filling in the lawn and giving it a lush full look. Adjustment of the sprinklers and pulling some spurge ever so gently....ignoring grassy weeds for now. I've toasted most of the KY 31 (?) by hammering it with herbicides, cutting it to the crown, etc, etc, and tenacity has slowly wiped out a bunch as well. Check out the bleaching areas too . I have grown to love tenacity despite it's bleaching, I know that after some growth time I'll have a good pre-emergent effect and I'll be looking at a mostly weed free lawn.

I'm probably going to resort to painting it with glyphosate at this point but I'll wait and see.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

September 3, 2020:
My friends are coming over this weekend to celebrate my birthday (belated) so I had to lay down some fat diagonals of course. I'd like to spray it with FAS or get some fert down with Fe in it but I'll hold off for the long game. I'm starting to see TTTF dominate the FF and Chewings/Red/Creeping grossness. The lawn is looking soooo much better, bare areas are filling in for the most part and the remaining bare areas had too much peat moss thrown on top. I'll be going around and disturbing the chunks with a screw driver and my hand later today. The seeds in the chunks are germinating through despite being "chunked" in...

I'm very happy and looking forward to further growth, N blitzing and seeing the Tenacity bleaching wear off!


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

Nice!


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Babameca said:


> Nice!


Thanks! The lawn is really starting to kick butt and I'm hoping the few spots where germination is a bit slow will fill in as time goes on.

Today brought another mow and some CIL 33-0-3 w/3% iron. I'll keep N at the current rate for a little bit longer until I'm confident that germination has maxed out. Then I'll look at moving to 0.25lbs N per well and really blitz things out.

My watering schedule has also been adjusted to 1x 45 minutes from 2x 22.5 minutes.

Total N: 2.77
Total P: 5.15
Total K: 3.02


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

That's A LOT of P! Once it goes down it stays...for ever.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Babameca said:


> That's A LOT of P! Once it goes down it stays...for ever.


Yeah....I don't know what happened. I think there was an issue with using the mobile version of the site on my phone. When I read through my log on my computer I noticed all of my totals were the same for the last two months. Yikes! I was low in P so I'm guessing that I'll be more than cared for in that regard for a while.

@Babameca @g-man I'm trying to decide if I'll go up to 3"+ now. Given how close I am to the end of the season and with the very cool weather pushing for an earlier fall, I'm probably going to keep HOC at 2.5"... though new seed is tttf...


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I would keep it.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Good call.

Today brought the lawn 0.3oz/1k of molasses, 6oz/1k of Air8 and 0.25lbs N/1k. Some weed pressure is starting to kick in so I'm guessing the Tenacity preM effect is worn off, especially with the intense rain and the watering schedule I have.

Total N: 3.35
Total P: 5.15
Total K: 3.07


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Today brings us some fert and a short watering in that allows for sprinkler setup to prep for a deep water tomorrow. Some areas of the lawn are checking out but I'm not too worried because there will be a deep watering coming up tomorrow.

The overnight temps are also weird, touching below freezing briefly. This is a strange weather pattern!

Total N: 3.61
Total P: 5.15
Total K: 3.12


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Yesterday brought Speedzone spot spray at 1.1oz/1k sq ft. The grass by the tree looks very rough and it seems the sprinklers didn't reach this area. I'll have to go and spray by hand to see what I can recover.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Dry spots are slightly better, sprayed RGS at 6oz/1k sq ft and threw down the majority of my remaining fertilizer at ~0.5lbs/1k sq ft.

Total N: 4.10
Total P: 5.15
Total K: 3.16


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Some quick photos attempting to show Speedzone discolouration; as Matt Martin indicated on his live show, it's completely normal so I feel better about that already. Some of the poa annua turned a nice yellow pretty quickly too.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

The weather is now cold, wet and gray; yuck. There are going to be some gaps in the rain from earlier today to tomorrow evening. I took the first opportunity to mow the grass that looked to have grown to about 3.25-3.5"! After a final spritz of rain before the "long" one day break, I sprayed propiconazole (14.3%) at the 2oz/1k sq fr rate. I must admit, my cheap gardenia sprayer from Amazon is pretty decent and I'm getting more mileage since the flow rate is much more predictable. I had the entire 2200sq ft sprayed in 10 minutes including one refill.

Tomorrow I'll throw down the last bit of granular fertilizer that I have and I'll wait until the next stretch of rain passes before spraying soil amendments and giving the golf green 30-0-0 liquid fertilizer a try. I *think* that'll be all she wrote after I finish that bottle. If not, I'll buy another or maybe I'll try DEF out. You need to spray a lot of DEF comparatively however.


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## SodFace (Jul 17, 2020)

I went like a week between mows recently due to this rain! So many little spurts of rain. It's looking really good, though, so I haven't irrigated much. It's started slowing down in growth even though I have been fertilizing 0.5lb/K every 2-3 weeks.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

SodFace said:


> I went like a week between mows recently due to this rain! So many little spurts of rain. It's looking really good, though, so I haven't irrigated much. It's started slowing down in growth even though I have been fertilizing 0.5lb/K every 2-3 weeks.


Yep! Starting to slow down but definitely still growing. I'm seeing a lot more yellowing all over my lawn from the fungus attack or the application of propiconazole (?).


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Rewrite since the page decided to refresh after I wrote and well, I lost everything.

I'll start off by pinging @g-man and @Babameca to see if what I'm seeing is normal or if I missed something on the labels of the products I've used. Speedzone didn't just discolour my grass, it wiped it out dead. It's a goner and I've never ever had an issue spraying other herbicides before so I'm disappointed and concerned that Ryan Knorr recently recommended it to others that subscribe to his channel. I used 1oz and 1 tbsp. of NIS to fill a 1 gallon sprayer; the same practice I used with Tzone SE and typical 3 ways. If you're wondering, I'm in Ottawa....it was 0 degrees C at the low and 10 degrees C at the high.

On top of that I'm seeing a pervasive yellowing throughout the lawn even with the 2oz rate of propiconazole so it's looking like a follow up hit at the full rate will still happen. Today I threw down another 0.25lbs/1k sq ft of fertilizer and will follow that up with a liquid fertilizer application as soon as the weather lets me do my thing. Finding time to mow has been difficult (weather wise) and I've had to go ahead and mow overgrown wet grass....not ideal that's for sure.

I can grab some pictures later if weather permits, just let me know what you want to see.

Thanks in advance!

Total N: 4.35
Total P: 5.15
Total K: 3.18


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

What specific speed zone, red? They have different colors if I remember right. Can you post images of the damage? The propi was curative?


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

g-man said:


> What specific speed zone, red? They have different colors if I remember right. Can you post images of the damage? The propi was curative?


Thank you very much for replying. The products used are Speedzone red, propi 14.3 (yes at curative)





My other thought was that the fungus stressed the turf but the Speedzone may have taken it over the edge. Speedzone damage below.







Fungus pics below. Pretty typical pics imo, I think the black is a good sign.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I was expecting a brown dead lawn. This looks pretty good. If you look at the second image, the old grass blades look different than the new ones. Maybe the fine fescue got stressed, but I dont see wide spread damage from speedzone.

Is the grass growing? 1.5in of grow per week?


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

I'm estimating growth at 1"/week based on the last mow which had 5 days to grow. You're should've seen the mower dust after the mow that I clued into the fungus...I've never seen that before in person.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

I'm guessing that you'd say I can keep up with the N and mowing, follow up with the preventative rate of ppz and that I shouldn't worry right? @g-man


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I think the carfentrazone might be giving you some yellow effect. I don't see a fungus in this images. I don't think you should do more prop unless you see the fungus and propi treats it. Give it more nitrogen and let see how it responds.


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@doverosx Sorry for chiming in late!
Fall is here. Unless you water on top of the rains we've had, fungus pressure is really low, maybe except of Pythium. Model shows Fusarium once in a while, but it is hard to believe with no snow cover that it may do a serious damage. Calfentrazone is hot! I hope you did not add NIS to the mix. You may have to step back on rates next time you apply.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

@g-man I only spot sprayed the Speedzone so the yellow cast I see in certain areas is baffling to me if it isn't fungus. 


@Babameca yep. I added NIS.....I still can't believe the point about selectivity is in fine print but I did it and I'll have to do what I can to ensure Halloween domination. Thankfully, the gross fine fescue is the only thing that got burnt. I might scalp those spots and let the surviving grass grow through.

Today brought a good and hearty mow followed up with 0.4lbsN/1k sq ft from liquid fertilizer. I'll do as gman advised and hope for the best. I'll also look to spray FAS.

Total N: 4.75
Total P: 5.15
Total K: 3.18


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@doverosx sulfentrazone/calfentrazone are not NIS friendly. From the last pic I can guess LS or rust. Take a nap a brush it. Is there a residue on the tissue?


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Babameca said:


> @doverosx sulfentrazone/calfentrazone are not NIS friendly. From the last pic I can guess LS or rust. Take a nap a brush it. Is there a residue on the tissue?


Live and learn about the POI. I'm so disappointed in myself not catching that part of the instructions. I'll be kicking myself for a while and I'd really appreciate it if Ryan Knorr would *highlight* how important it is not to use *any* surfactants. I also wonder if MSO would have a similar result?

Anyway, there is a residue but I'm mostly seeing yellow blades right now. I'll keep on reading to see what I can come up with on my own and if I can take a picture of the residue that shows up on camera I'll post it up here.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

The liquid fertilizer application helped the colour of the lawn out a lot but there is still leaf spot. I've bought some Urea since I couldn't find Ammonium Sulfate and it's back to the large prill size of the SynAgri products from Ritchie Feed & Seed. The product is clearly not meant for the home user imo.

Today I threw down 0.47lbs/N/1k sq ft, sprayed Air 8 (whatever was left in my jug), sprayed RGS and some Molasses. I'm not sure what to expect to see if PPZ succeeds but I figured the N blitz would've provided sufficient growth rate to "push out" the fungus; hence why I used PPZ in the first place. Looking closely at the blades, it does look like things have halted a bit and a section of the lawn that usually grows easily (but this year it hasn't done much), is showing signs of life for the first time this year.

Total N: 5.22
Total P: 5.15
Total K: 3.18


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Looks good from far.... but as you approach... you see the effects of leaf spot.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Mowed again, spotted clippings in the 0.5" range. I put down more urea @ 0.5lbs/1k sq ft. I'll spray some FAS after I get back from my walk.

Total N: 5.69
Total P: 5.15
Total K: 3.18


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

Looks good! Ready for the winter. With so much N, you will be green and running under the last melting snow next spring.
Make sure to pull a sample for P. Going too far with it, and there is no going back.


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## SodFace (Jul 17, 2020)

I'm wondering when I'll need to stop mowing. Neigbours all around have stopped and stowed the mowers. Need a mow myself at the moment...guess it's the fert every 2-3 weeks pushing it! One more app for me I think - are you done after this app?


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

I'm throwing fert until there's no growth after 7 days, at the very least the grass will not absorb the nutrients but I haven't seen the "death" of a plant being pushed to grow.

Plants regulate their nutrients soooo in not sure where that myth came from.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Babameca said:


> Looks good! Ready for the winter. With so much N, you will be green and running under the last melting snow next spring.
> Make sure to pull a sample for P. Going too far with it, and there is no going back.


Thanks a lot! I was low in P and I'm still kicking myself for not realizing my nutrient totals aren't being updated. I suspect it may have been an issue with the mobile version of the website. Ah well, I'll have a lot of P for the next 20 years so long as it is available to the plant and doesn't bind up in the soil.

Sunday brought another mow and growth is definitely slowing down despite the urea being applied. With growth slowing down so much I only see the opportunity for one more throw down of fert. 




The FAS really kicked in the desired colour that I like to look at while sipping on my coffee in the morning so the lawn is looking good for a "canceled" Halloween this year. Additionally, I got my pre-winter detail completed on my car.








Although, I'm mostly preoccupied by the fact that I found somethings wrong with my car on the dyno recently. My intercooler hose has holes.... and my engine is producing a sizeable amount of blow by. 






I decided to do a leak down, to find an exhaust valve may be out of round and no longer sealing. The other cylinders have 1.5-2psi of leakage (5-10%) which is perfectly normal.

We'll see what the borescope reveals when it arrives today.


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## Nismo (Jul 4, 2019)

Could be the oil seal on the compressor side of the turbo causing the issue as well.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

#1 and #2 for comparison: 




Definitely some blow by in #2.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

I sent my soil sample to Waypoint Virginia, still waiting for QC however, the unofficial test result is: 20ppm (M3) which means I'm still low. WOW!

Going through the soil test thread and my ranges for next year will be: 4.5/3.75/2.25 season total. I'm hoping to reduce inputs, but I may be jumping the gun on that a little too soon.


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

20ppm? That's not right. Whatever it is I would do N:K 1:1, well distributed.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

@Babameca Take a look at these results....I'm genuinely shocked that P is up only a touch....I took many plunges into my soil (over 50 sample areas actually). Low P made sense in last year's results, however, this is shocking given 5lbs of P being thrown down. That said, my soil samples came from 2-6" below the soil surface.

pH 7.2
P 20ppm (Just below sufficiency but WayPoint says it is LOW)
K 77ppm (Just above sufficiency but WayPoint says it is VERY LOW-LOW)
Ca 3191ppm
Mg 273ppm
S 17ppm
B 0.7ppm
Cu 2.0ppm
Iron 160ppm (OFF THE CHARTS....Interesting)
Mn 15ppm
Zn 3.1ppm (above sufficiency)
Na 93ppm
OM 3.7%

CEC 18.8
K% 1.1
Ca% 84.9 (Hrrmmm...this is too high from what I recall seeing on Ag PhD)
Mg% 12.1
Na% 2.2

K:Mg Ratio 0.09
Ca:Mg Ratio 7.02


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

That's weird! I'll post mine in my journal in a minute and have some puzzle too, but 90% makes sense!
I wouldn't worry too much about the P, but the K. pH can be worked too. Elemental S and acidic N (AS), maybe your route for a few seasons to come....or forever?
Start researching on pure SOP. I got a 55lbs bag for next year already. My K went up, but it will take few seasons.


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

I watched Ag PhD and they mentioned how long it takes for P to move in the soil, yes they even compared till/no till farms and even the till crowd has to work for years at moving P below the surface.

Time to find a potassium and AS source .


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@doverosx Time to drive to QC. I can get you anything you need. You'd better get a few years supply...


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## doverosx (Aug 7, 2019)

Ohhhh I didn't see this message. Let me see what Peter at Allturf can do, otherwise I can definitely plan something out (I have friends in MTL), I also wouldn't mind going for the drive either. Fiancee "Why are we driving to quebec?", Me "We're going to see a lawn."


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