# R Trussell Emerald Zoysia journal



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

Hi, first year being forum member and first journal. I remodeled a 106 year old house and went with Emerald as the sod. I have had tif 419 before but wanted something different at this house. I am in the second full year of sod. Last year was not a good year with mole cricket and bouts of fungus, but here we are at another spring. I have just scalped to approx. 3/4 with a 25" McLane. 
This weekend I put down *Bioadvanced* front and* Scott Disease ex* on the back. I also applied *3-18-18 fertilizer*.
As soon as growing begins I will be leveling with sand. I hope to get level enough to maintain 1/2 inch after leveling. Yard is greening up good now so shooting for second or third week in April.

Thanks in advanced for any help as the year moves forward!


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

I put down *Freedom 17-7-6* and watered in two weeks ago. Temps have been up and I had pretty good growth going. I had planned to aerate and sand my zoysia. Cut the yard down to as low as I could with the McLane. I had 9 yrds of masonry sand in two trailer loads to put down. Couple of days later, lots of sweat and sore muscles the yard is completed. It's not perfect but will be a lot better.
My sand was not as good as I expected, so I will deal with picking up small rocks. Second load was wet and I had to spread some and it dry out to level.



Zoysia enemy #1.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

Lots of leveling Friday to get the sand worked in because it was wet. Sunday I ran the sprinklers. Now I wait. Not looking forward to getting the reel in the sand. Probably going to raise the level and mow next week. Then cut it back down. My favorite IPA's kept me hydrated and no backs were blown out during this process.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

5-7 update.
Nothing much going on at this point other than raking and watching. I did get a cut in and did not do any damage on the reel. 
I had a couple low spots in the back and it will take some time for it to fill as I was a little heavy on sand.



Front is growing in and looking better.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

1 oz. per k *Bifen* on the yard, and I used the new spray attachment for mosquitoes on my blower. It worked great!
12 lbs. *Strobe g* put down. I've got a couple places on the front and in the back that are slow about growth. it's still early in the season, but do have concerns. I will mow next day or two and post pics.


----------



## jstephens (May 22, 2019)

r-trussell said:


> 1 oz. per k *Bifen* on the yard, and I used the new spray attachment for mosquitoes on my blower. It worked great!
> 12 lbs. *Strobe g* put down. I've got a couple places on the front and in the back that are slow about growth. it's still early in the season, but do have concerns. I will mow next day or two and post pics.


Hey, I'm across the river in Aiken and my zoysia isn't growing much so far either so don't panic too soon! Mine still looks pretty bad from my scalp at the end of March, hopefully the temps this week will get it going


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

Got a cut in Monday. Growing in slowly but grass is greening up with this heat. I need to check my sprinkler system and get it dialed in.





Back still has a way to go.



But has come a long way since May 1st.


----------



## Zone9aBoi (10 mo ago)

How much sand did you put per sqft in the back?


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

I put about 4 yrds of sand in the back. The back is approx 4k sq ft.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

Put down Yard Mastery 16-0-0 double dark with 6% iron last week before we had about 1.5 inches of rain and the grass has starting growing in and looking better. Mowed 6-1. Still is a little thing on right hand side of front and the back has a ways to go. The sand was put down heavy in the back.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

Tuesday cut. Grass is filling in good and pretty good color also. Still a few sandy spots in front. Back yard has one good size area that has not filled in but it's getting smaller each week. I have been trying to dial in my sprinkler heads to get enough water where its needed. It has been a little dry lately with mid 90's temps. I'll put fungus control down at the end of the week along with bifen 1 oz per k.





Up close you can see the damage to the reel from cutting after sanding. I'll need to back lap soon.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

6-18 cut. We have missed most of the rain, so the sprinkler system has been doing its job. Grass is filling in great and starting to look better. Back yard still has the one large area to fill in but it's looking better every week. So far the fungus issues of last year are gone.


----------



## Topcat (Mar 21, 2017)

Looking great! What is your HOC?

Following


----------



## rvczoysia (Jul 18, 2021)

Looks good!


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

Topcat said:


> Looking great! What is your HOC?
> 
> Following


I was cutting at just over 5/8 " until this weekend. I was on vacation for two weeks and raised it to 1" Saturday and will be working my way back down over the next week.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

rvczoysia said:


> Looks good!


Thank you! Controlling fungus seems to be what has helped me most.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

After being gone 11 days, I raised the cut on the Mclane two notches and cut on Saturday, dropped it back down one notch and cut again on Monday. Grass is filling in good. I put down Strobe G as preventative and will get bifen down in the next couple days also.


----------



## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Looks awesome. Well done.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

The rain we have received the last week sure helped the yard perk up. I have started looking at my sprinkler system to change jet sizing on heads to help with issues I am seeing in the front yard. I have increased the time from 30 minutes to 40 minutes on the front. Still have a few spots to fill in on the front and a couple in the back but the yard is looking better every week.
I am at my low setting on the bedknife and will be looking at lowering the wheels in the next couple weeks. I would like to get cut below 3/4 inch. Where it is now I have no room to scalp next year with the lever. Not where I want to be.....I'm taking the McLane in for sharpening mid week and will have the make the change.


Couple spots that still need to fill in but are improving weekly.


Front yard is looking probably the best it has. Still has lots of room for improvement.


----------



## JavMan (8 mo ago)

r-trussell said:


> rvczoysia said:
> 
> 
> > Looks good!
> ...


Please explain. Preferred rotation? Preventative regimen? You can't just drop a nugget about controlling fungus and not give us at least a hint.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

Grass has really come along with all the rain the last two weeks. Lets me know my sprinkler system needs more work.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

JavMan said:


> r-trussell said:
> 
> 
> > rvczoysia said:
> ...


Last year my lawn struggled after about July and did not start this year very well. I had some grub issues I had to deal with and dead grass. I also put the nitrogen to it to get more growth to fill in spots.

I used Scott's in the fall but started putting down monthly preventive of Pillar G and Strobe G starting in April. I rotate every month. So far this has worked great. I'm not sure I didn't help the problem last year by watering too often instead of more at a time and less number of days. This is my first yard with Zoysia and it's a different animal than tif 419 that I had before.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

I've been out of town for bit. Lawn got a little long and I have been making my way back to 3/4". Started replacing the fence also. Need to spray some iron. It's taken all summer for the back yard to fill all the areas that were heavy sanded.


----------



## r-trussell (Aug 24, 2021)

Been a while posting. Yard is doing okay. Not much rain for the last month has taken a little toll and I didn't up my watering to keep it up. I've been working on the fence in the afternoons and got it about finished. Need to finish one gate. Here are a couple shots of the back.


----------

