# Bewitched KBG Day 28 Advice



## wtodd_h (Jun 16, 2018)

I am on my second 3,500 Sf2 Spring renovation in 10 years. I do have experience planting KBG as my previous lawn was a mix of Midnight, Diva, Everest, Bewitched, and Prosperity. This time around I am attempting a Bewitched KBG monostand lawn, a first for me.


 5/18 - First Tenacity Application
 5/19 - Seed (rolled in), Soil Moist Seed Coat, Scotts Starter Food, and EZ-Straw with Tack
 6/01 - Germination and Seedlings
 6/11 - Liquid Lawn Growth Booster Humic/Fulvic Acid
 6/16 - Second Tenacity Application (Scheduled)

Things are going relatively well with minor weed growth, bare spots, and a ton of worm castings. However, I am entering my 4th week and growth appears extremely slow - at or around 1/4-3/4" with no tillering. I thought I was out of the sprout and pout stage during my 3rd week when I noticed the seedlings started to produce additional leafs. So, I went ahead and sprayed Humic/Fulvic Acid and continued to wait.

We are experiencing a cool and wet Spring in New England with temperatures consistently between 55-65 degrees with an occasionally hotter day. I know Bewitched is slow as documented by others like ChadStokes and Pete1313. My gut is telling me to stay the course and continue to be patient, however I am not even close to a first mow this year.

Thoughts?


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## Kmartel (Feb 12, 2019)

It has been extremely cool here this spring, soil temps have not been your friend. But honestly what are your options? Nothing short of sod will get you farther along then you currently are. A cover would help, grab some landscape fabric and cover an area, see the difference. This is why fall (August) seeding is preferred, the soil is warm already. Keep us posted.


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## KoopHawk (May 28, 2019)

Patience is the name of the game with KBG, especially with a spring planting. As far as I can tell you've done a fine job. A little heat to warm up the soil would probably be a big help. What is your soil temp?


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

To be honest if those are your day 28 pictures it looks very sparse. Bewitched does grow very slow in the early stages but usually you'd start to at least think about a cut by day 28. The good thing is even if things don't fill in as much as you'd like this spring you can always drop more seed later in the summer.


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## Jayray (Aug 8, 2018)

Your close up pictures look about where my KBG (Midnight, Blueberry, Bewitched, Blackjack, Bonaire) reno was last fall and it filled in completely this spring/summer. My germination took almost twice as long as expected. I thought it was a complete failure at first but it is starting to look good this year. If all the areas look like the close up picture I would give it more time.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I agree with Kmartel, soil temps are not your friend.

You do have an option, but you won't like it. Seed with ryegrass now for cover and kill it in August for a fall seeding.


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## wtodd_h (Jun 16, 2018)

Kmartel said:


> It has been extremely cool here this spring, soil temps have not been your friend. But honestly what are your options? Nothing short of sod will get you farther along then you currently are. A cover would help, grab some landscape fabric and cover an area, see the difference. This is why fall (August) seeding is preferred, the soil is warm already. Keep us posted.


The Spring air temperature in Maine has been cool this year. I don't really have many options. I was thinking about spreading a thin layer of peat moss for more water retention and to help insulate the soil more.


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## wtodd_h (Jun 16, 2018)

KoopHawk said:


> Patience is the name of the game with KBG, especially with a spring planting. As far as I can tell you've done a fine job. A little heat to warm up the soil would probably be a big help. What is your soil temp?


Thank you, maybe I need a little reassurance with what my gut is already telling me. More patience's. By not watering I am stressing the lawn today to help promote deeper root growth. Today's air temperature is in the mid 70's. We are expecting light showers tomorrow and our five day average for soil temperatures was 63 degrees.


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## Kmartel (Feb 12, 2019)

Can you locate any of this locally??
Top dress with it, it's very black. Should help warm soil and help retain moisture.

I use this product in my annual planters, as "mulch" in my landscape beds and I top dress and seed thin areas of my lawn with it. Great product!


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## ThickAndGreen (Sep 8, 2017)

I'm also in the process of doing a spring renovation (Bewitched/Prosperity/Everest) and had a very similar experience to you. Prior to germination I had two 1.5 inch rain events and was panicking until day 11 when I finally got germination. Over the next week or so it grew to about 1 inch and just stopped growing for about 3-4 weeks. I was aware of sprout and pout but it was lasting longer than expecting. Finally around day 30 I finally started seeing some life again and then day 37 I made the first cut even though only about 10% of it was actually tall enough to get cut. Day 45 it started to look like a passable lawn and today (day 60) it has pretty much full coverage from a distant view. Up close there are still a lot of bare and slow growing spots but it gets better day by day.

Hopefully that helps to ease some of your concerns. My reno looked very similar to that at when it was at that point.


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## wtodd_h (Jun 16, 2018)

@ThickAndGreen Thank you for taking the time to respond and sharing your experience. Your story is very reassuring as I enter my 33rd day without much change since my original post.

I'm curious, did you have a very similar process and product usage? This was my first time using Tenacity, Soil Moist Seed Coat, EZ-Straw with Tack, and rolling the seed. I'm wondering if something may have stunted the grass growth. Historically, I've used the back of a tine rake for seed-to-soil contact and spread Mainely Mulch which is a kiln dried ground cover blend of chopped straw, timothy, and alfalfa hay.

Then again, as Kmartel pointed out, in Maine we've had a very wet cool Spring. Both the air and soil temperatures are cooler than I've experienced with past Spring renovations.


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

I have the same issue on my Blueberry renovation right now.

The long, wet, cooler spring has stunted it's growth. Germination took longer compared to fall renovations.



> My gut is telling me to stay the course and continue to be patient


I agree with your gut.

It will warm up, and as long as enough survivors make it through the summer, it will look great in September.

If you overseed with anything else, you'll have a solid weed problem in the future. (Anything you don't want growing there eventually is a weed)

Just ride it out, overseed this fall if necessary.


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## tgoulart (Jun 21, 2018)

I am following your progress with great interest as I am close to deciding on a KBG overseed this fall. I have a pretty good stand of turf bit it is a park mix and I want more and more KBG. My guess is the problem we are having this spring has more to do with what's up in the sky than anything else. Lack of sun and cool temps have lead to a slower than normal warming of the soil. My guess is you'll be fine.

I plan on a second week of August overseed (1 week earlier than last year) want want to overseed with 100% KBG. Would you mind sharing the source for your seed? I had quite a nice conversation last year with Bob Hogan last year, but ended up sourcing locally a mix.

Good luck


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## ThickAndGreen (Sep 8, 2017)

wtodd_h said:


> @ThickAndGreen Thank you for taking the time to respond and sharing your experience. Your story is very reassuring as I enter my 33rd day without much change since my original post.
> 
> I'm curious, did you have a very similar process and product usage? This was my first time using Tenacity, Soil Moist Seed Coat, EZ-Straw with Tack, and rolling the seed. I'm wondering if something may have stunted the grass growth. Historically, I've used the back of a tine rake for seed-to-soil contact and spread Mainely Mulch which is a kiln dried ground cover blend of chopped straw, timothy, and alfalfa hay.
> 
> Then again, as Kmartel pointed out, in Maine we've had a very wet cool Spring. Both the air and soil temperatures are cooler than I've experienced with past Spring renovations.


Yes very similar. Tenacity, seed, rolled 3x and then covered with Penn Mulch. For a while I was worried that I rolled too many times and compacted the soil but that appears to not be the case. It continues to get better by the day and practically looks like an established lawn at this point. I think the second fertilizer app at about day 50 has really helped.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I normally count from germination. You are at day 21 then, so it should start going into growing this week. Help it with a fast source of 0.25lb of N/ksqft

Also, the second tenacity application should be 4 weeks (28days) after emergence(aka germination) per the label (page 12).


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## wtodd_h (Jun 16, 2018)

tgoulart said:


> Would you mind sharing the source for your seed? I had quite a nice conversation last year with Bob Hogan last year, but ended up sourcing locally a mix.


@tgoulart Yes, as suggested, the cooler air/soil temperatures have contributed to slower than normal growth times. I know Fall is the best time to plant, but given my previous Spring success I took a chance. I also had anxiety, because I used new products and planting process.

I source all my seed from Drew Kinder at the Seed Super Store in Buffalo, New York. However, I've read great things about Bob Hogan and The Hogan Company as well.


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## wtodd_h (Jun 16, 2018)

Weather was sporadic last week with air temperature on 6/20 at 59 degrees and 1.75" of rain. However, the weekend brought hotter weather in the 80's and may stabilize later this week in the low to mid 70s. The lawn is starting to fill out more and the weeds are nicely bleached by the tenacity. Things are looking much better this week on day 35.


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## masci (Apr 26, 2019)

One thing I was surprised to see when I was reading some extension service recommendations on how to establish KBG was they recommended an absolute crap-ton of nitrogen the first year. I'm talking 0.5-1 lb/k every two weeks until it fills in completely. My bewitched renovation last fall looked very sparse going into winter (after a mid august seeding), but I followed the recommendations by giving it a real blitz of nitrogen in the spring (scott's fertilizer at full bag rate every 2 weeks). They drill in not to over-do it with spring nitrogen, but you could practically see the KBG spreading in real time it was so aggressive. I might run into fungus issues later, but I can tell you that KBG really responds to the nitrogen after renovation, and it can probably use more of it than you're comfortable using. It's already getting too late in the spring to use that much nitrogen, but I would definitely recommend something slower release like milorganite to try to get it to grow and spread faster.


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## nocsious (May 14, 2018)

I did a renovation last Fall with KBG and there was still stunting well into May the following Spring. It's finally started to take off and some it's spreading into the ares where the seed washed out. I even did another soil test this Spring as I thought maybe I accidentally messed up soil last year, but all was fine. It's just been a slow process, but based on current trajectory it will be filled in completely this Fall. From a distance, it's already the best lawn on the block. KBG has taught me patience, which is something I have in short supply.


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## wtodd_h (Jun 16, 2018)

masci said:


> One thing I was surprised to see when I was reading some extension service recommendations on how to establish KBG was they recommended an absolute crap-ton of nitrogen the first year.


@masci It's funny you posted this today. I was JUST reading the IntegraTurf technical data sheet on Bewitched KBG. It states under fertility "for optimum turf performance, approximately one net pound of N/1000 square feet for each month of the growing season". Which I too thought was a crap-ton of nitrogen. Roughly 2 weeks ago I did spray Liquid Lawn Growth Booster 6-19-0. As @g-man recommended I should give the lawn a kick, because I know based on last year soil results I have a nitrogen and potassium deficiency.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

A lawn establish from seed is hungry for nitrogen. I feed it as much as possible based on the weather.


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## masci (Apr 26, 2019)

Just to circle back, I would also recommend if you're giving a first year lawn lots of nitrogen to hit it with fungicides before you see disease. I can see some brown patch beginning in my bewitched lawn after the spring nitrogen offensive. Bewitched and KBG in general is pretty resistant to brown patch, it just causes slight discoloration, but better safe than sorry.


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## Patiently waiting (Jun 24, 2019)

wtodd_h. I'm waiting for my tenacity to be delivered. Probably tomorrow or the next day. As soon as I receive it I will take your advice and put it down. Do you think i should use the lawn booster you used or use the bag of Milorgonite I just bought? Thank You Sir. Also, I planted the seed on Memorial Weekend. It germinated within 2 weeks. Is it to soon for the Tenacity. Just trying to make sure.


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## Patiently waiting (Jun 24, 2019)

g-man said:


> A lawn establish from seed is hungry for nitrogen. I feed it as much as possible based on the weather.


Your work educating us is above and beyond and I would like to personally thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are the KING OF GRASS. :thumbup:


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## wtodd_h (Jun 16, 2018)

Patiently waiting said:


> Do you think i should use the lawn booster you used or use the bag of Milorgonite I just bought? Thank You Sir. Also, I planted the seed on Memorial Weekend. It germinated within 2 weeks. Is it to soon for the Tenacity. Just trying to make sure.


The first application of Tenacity is applied at sowing and again 28 days/4 weeks after germination. If you haven't applied anything I would say it's safe to use immediately. If you're concerned you could always just spot spray the weeds versus the entire lawn. I would also recommend using a colorant like Mark-It Blue or Rit dye so you can visibly see where you sprayed. The Tenacity will create a bleaching effect and the colorant will make things blue - if your homeowner association has any concern.

This was the first year using a lawn booster and I wouldn't expect to 'visibly' see any difference. It's used to increase the nutrient content of the soil and stimulate root growth, shoot and blade production, and maybe increase seed germination rates. In short, I don't think it will hurt, but keep in mind any other amendments you are adding and always consider a soil test.


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## Patiently waiting (Jun 24, 2019)

wtodd_h said:


> Patiently waiting said:
> 
> 
> > Do you think i should use the lawn booster you used or use the bag of Milorgonite I just bought? Thank You Sir. Also, I planted the seed on Memorial Weekend. It germinated within 2 weeks. Is it to soon for the Tenacity. Just trying to make sure.
> ...


Thank You for your aid. I will keep all this in mind. I'm writing everything down now and the dates so i can keep track of my efforts. Thanks Again.


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## Patiently waiting (Jun 24, 2019)

w-Todd… Just an update. I ordered a soil kit from a lab which just happens to be about 30 miles from here. They will be sending me 2 kits. They will be conducting the "Works" for 29.00. It's been too rainy to apply the tenacity just yet. Grass is still in pout stage and based on your recommendation, I picked up the Safer Brand fertilizer which I will be applying tomorrow. I'll let you know how that works. Thank You. How's your lawn growing?


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## Mattsbay_18 (Aug 3, 2018)

Thank You for your aid. I will keep all this in mind. I'm writing everything down now and the dates so i can keep track of my efforts. Thanks Again.
[/quote]

This is key. You are on the right track. Hard to know where you're going if you don't know where you've been


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## wtodd_h (Jun 16, 2018)

Patiently waiting said:


> How's your lawn growing?


Considering what my expectations are like..."pitiful" comes to mind. As each day passes I question my insanity as to why I killed off probably the best looking lawn in the neighborhood for an experimental monostand.

Today, I took some time to review my notes and I think an early mistake was made. I spread 5lbs of seed for 2,000 sf2 and it should have been 10lbs. I may go ahead and overseed in the fall with 10lbs depending on what survives the summer and how well the grass fills out.

We are finally seeing consistent weather with air and soil temps around 75-80 degrees. The variants of crab grass are in full bloom showing anywhere from 4 to 7 tillers. At *day 42* I finally have enough growth at 2" to mow for the first time this season.


6/29 - Liquid Lawn Growth 15-0-15
7/6 - Third Tenacity Application (Scheduled)


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I think you should throw more seed now to the bare areas. I'm in Quebec (a few miles north of you) and the temps are really nice for growing kbg.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

g-man said:


> I think you should throw more seed now to the bare areas. I'm in Quebec (a few miles north of you) and the temps are really nice for growing kbg.


Wow. G-man just happens to be nearby this week. Can't argue with his recommendation. I was throwing down more seed until a few weeks ago (when it was high 70s and low 80s mostly). We are now mid 80s to low 90s here, so pretty much stopped putting down more for a while (at least a month, except in shaded areas which I might do end of July).

I also forgot to seed some areas properly and only used KBG instead of my mix. It's not doing much, so I feel your pain.

@wtodd_h, Go for it as long as temps are conducive.


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## wtodd_h (Jun 16, 2018)

@g-man and @Patiently waiting to think I panicked earlier in the year (May/June) during my Spring renovation - look at my lawn now!


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Looks great. Did you have to re seed?


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## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

very nice, have you added any iron? I like mine a little deeper green than what's showing your pictures


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## Patiently waiting (Jun 24, 2019)

You should be proud my friend!!!!!!! Nice job. I followed your advice as well and mine is starting to flourish. Thank you for help sir!!


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## wtodd_h (Jun 16, 2018)

@SNOWBOB11 Yes, I had several areas that did not take and I was forced to reseed late July early August. I mowed low, reseeded, and then at first germination started spoon feeding nitrogen weekly.

@john5246 No, I haven't used any Iron. My soil test came back and I have an above optimum amount of Iron micronutrient in my lawn. We have very acidic soil in Maine and the test did reveal that I need to put down at least 20lb per 1000 sft of lime - I need both calcitic and dolomite. That may sweeten the lawn and punch some more green into it.

@Patiently waiting Look at that lawn, nice! Who's laughing now in your association, ha ha ha.


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