# Virginia Beach lawn renovation



## Fenste089 (Dec 31, 2020)

Hello all, I've enjoyed reading a ton of threads on this website as I look into level and renovate an older yard in a house I just purchased. It's an acre lot, with 50 tall pine trees dewooded above my roofline. Plenty of sunlight, but not direct sun all the time. Right now, it's tall fescue. It's fairly bumpy, and some humps and dips where some old trees were removed. I want to level it out, and regrade a little bit to make sure everything drains as I desire. I have sprinkler system on a well pump so it gets plenty of water.

I'm very jealous of all the low mowed golf course lawns but not sure if thats right for me. Trying to figure if I should scalp and re grade and reseed my lawn with the same fescue, or kill the fescue and plant a bermuda or Kentucky bluegrass or something that I can mow lower. I've got kids and the fescue isn't holding up in the first few months of our living here. Open to tips and stories from the southern virginia / north carolina area.

Cheers


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

How do you feel about it going dormant in the cooler months? 
Are you open to annual overseeding to keep a green lawn in the winter?
Bermuda is work. At least 1x annual scalping, likely 2x. And mow baby, mow. Even when it's flirting with triple digit temps outside.

KBG is going to want water, and lots of it for those hot summers. Especially if it's being mowed reel low.

I would suggest maybe starting in on reel-low turf with a limited area. You can achieve some awesome looks with a tightly mowed section (.500") that steps up into your "rough".


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## Fenste089 (Dec 31, 2020)

I'm ok with annual over seeding as I do it already with the fescue, I'm ok with KBG water requirements as I have a well and sprinkler system. Also ok with mowing often. I was thinking that I might try a part of the yard and see how it goes, just brainstorming at this point. I have a lot of bumps holes and ruts that I need to level first, so I thought if I was already going to scalp and put down topsoil in some areas that I could just to it on a larger scale.


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## jpsrules (Feb 26, 2021)

I rented a bobcat, cut the high points and spread two loads of soil and one load of compost over a long weekend. Bobcat was 600, soil 550, compost 400. I like tall fescue for the compromise of mow frequency and kid durability. I have used Spyder LS, Millenium III, Avenger II, Raptor III, and Jonathan Greene Shade, BB and BBU. Spyder is easily the best looking here in VB from my experience and NTEP results. You will need to deal with the pine cones and sticks from your pines. The #1 reason weeds take hold is in those bare spots where fallen cones and sticks kill the grass. It seems like a small thing to leave the cones but they are THE BATTLE. If I were you I would ensure the grade around the house is good first then get familiar with the low/high spots in the lawn, then budget out a full regrade vs just cutting the highs with mattock and shovel(if you mow fast bumps really suck). I would also advise considering time constraints when choosing grass type. I have very limited time and I spend about an hour/week on the lawn maybe a little more in summer but not much. No landscaper just me on 1 acre. In order to do this I need to work fast and load up on equipment. I send zero lawn debris to the landfill. I use a 6" power chipper and everything goes into a compost pile neatly tucked in by the shed. Now is a great time to do your planning. There are a bunch of other little details but I think I covered the main approach at a high level.


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## Fenste089 (Dec 31, 2020)

Thanks for the response JPS.

Grade around house is good. Everything falls away from the foundation, if only barely. i'm getting more familiar with the high/low spots. Having a drainage project completed this weekend which will get rid of my downspout water to the street. I think i will try and patch the low spots and cut the high spots by hand this spring. Will advise.


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## ColeLawn (Nov 11, 2020)

Fenste089 said:


> I was thinking that I might try a part of the yard and see how it goes, just brainstorming at this point.


I think this is a great plan. I'm sure you can find 1-2k to have some fun with on that acre lot you have. And if all goes well, I look forward to reading our new journal!


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## Fenste089 (Dec 31, 2020)

First update.

Drainage project major success. All my downspout water now drains to the street through a system of smooth pvc pipe and catch basins. I think this will solve a large part of my wetness problems. Catch basins are a little french drain like, but mostly keeping surface water off my yard. Thank goodness its stopped raining here in Virginia for the last 2 weeks.

I also got a towable yard sweeper so I can pick up the huge volume of pine needles and cones and small sticks, ITS EPIC. I dreaded going out and picking up cones and sticks to keep the grass healthy but this thing is amazing. I got this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QHG1II/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As we warm up and start growing, I'm going to hand cut some sod on the high spots and try and knock down the high spots by hand with a shovel and landscape rake. Once I get the high spots, I'm going to go after the low spots. After that I'm going to roll with a towable roller and then try my hand at sand/topsoil mix topdressing.

I also hired an extremely high reputation local lawncare company to do my lime/soil test/counter weeds/moss/nitrogen for the first year in this house to make sure I get a solid initial soil amended to grow some nice Fescue. I'm going to let them slit seed this year as they guarantee a level of germination, but the other yards managed by them in my neighborhood look great.

Thanks for help so far.


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## Lawn Noob (Jul 26, 2020)

Bermuda weed stays brown a very long portion of the year in VA Beach. I'd stick with fescue if you're a fan of the color green.


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## jpsrules (Feb 26, 2021)

Fenste089 - I'm loving the enthusiasm but we need the honest review on the lawn sweeper. What exactly does it pick up and what's left in the grass? When the pine cones get wet they close up often below the top of the grass. I cant image it could get those wet closed up cones. Although you could just wait until they dry out and expand they sweep em up. I will buy one based on your EPIC comment but give me the negatives too. If the sweeper got half the cones in my yard it'd be worth the money I just dont wont to get my hopes too high.


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## Fenste089 (Dec 31, 2020)

jpsrules said:


> Fenste089 - I'm loving the enthusiasm but we need the honest review on the lawn sweeper. What exactly does it pick up and what's left in the grass? When the pine cones get wet they close up often below the top of the grass. I cant image it could get those wet closed up cones. Although you could just wait until they dry out and expand they sweep em up. I will buy one based on your EPIC comment but give me the negatives too. If the sweeper got half the cones in my yard it'd be worth the money I just dont wont to get my hopes too high.


Honest review:
I live on an acre and have about 35 pine trees. I have tons of pinecones and needles that show up after storms. I spent a ton of time walking around and manually picking up pinecones and loading into 5 gallon bucket. It takes forever.

The sweeper I got has a spiral sweeper functionality, basically the sweeper is spiral rather than several flat sweepers. I had to make several height adjustments as I went along, initially I had it set way too high
The users guide said to set it 1/4 to 1/2 inch above ground level and my estimation was way too high. The pinecones I swept up on first 2 times I have used the sweeper have been on the top of my grass, not wet and nestled down in the grass. I had to go around in the beginning of spring and pick out the burried ones with a grabber/by hand. On my 1/2 acre backyard, I swept 3 full hoppers of pinecones small sticks and pine needles. It easily dumps while still attached to the mower. You can either dump in the street to bag or I have a refuse pile in an overgrown wooded bed area. It left only a few needles in the grass, which I'm fine mulching when I mow. I wish I took a before and after pic.

Let me know if you have more questions. I would highly recommend the one I got. It's all metal construction and feels very sturdy. It's wide too, 52 inches. I also found that it helped the grass fluff up and get some better air in early springtime yard cleanup. I'll take some GoPro video next time and upload to YouTube


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## jpsrules (Feb 26, 2021)

Awesome man. This is the value of being on a forum like this. Much appreciated.


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