# DFW245's Lawn Journal



## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Hopefully I don't post any of this out of order lol I decided to attempt my first ever Overseeding w/PRG. Bermuda isn't even remotely dormant yet as temps down here are still in the mid-high 80s.

First I decided to put down about .75/lbs AS per 1000sqft. Front lawn is tiny at only about 750sqft, but I rounded up. It'll need all it can take as I was about to sand Level. Gave it about a week and started the sand Level. Scalped the Bermuda @".50in" with a manual reel before starting.


Sept 24 Sand Level @ 1cu yd/750sqft









Sept 25 after leveling was done










It all went smoothly. No pun intended. Mason Sand delivered locally for $120 total, receipt in hand.


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Bermuda was kept @ HOC of ~1.25" with a manual reel prior.

Aug 5


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

After sand leveling, I threw down another .50lbs/1k AS. Then watered about 3x/day @3x a week. Goal here was to push growth exponentially. And my Bermuda was just hitting it's 350gdd from Tnex so with the added boost of a rebound period, I was hopeful


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Got my Cali Trimmer in and immediately took it to the strip as a test run. HOC @ 1.25" . Huge difference I must say! Very pleased with the outcome.

Sept 28


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Just a few days later. Sand leveling update 

Sept 29


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

After seeing what I considered to be adequate growth, I went ahead and threw down some Lesco 20-5-10 to prepare for the future renovation. (Oct 7)

October 9 - I decided to hit it with my Tnex bermuda suppression rate lol with a rate of 1.5oz/1k. I went ahead just put the whole 1.5oz down. Using this high rate should suppress the Bermuda for the rest of the season, hopefully.

After considerable growth, I once again scalped. But this time, down to just under .50" with the Cali Trimmer. Didn't grab any pics after scalp(sorry)

Rough camera shot Oct 11(pre scalp)


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

October 12 I was seeing decent temps and perfect conditions for seeding. I threw 10lbs of Champion GQ PRG down with a drop spreader. And covered it lightly with peat moss. 

October 12









After that, I went behind and threw down another layer of Lesco 20-5-10 for the next Overseeding I do, for bare spots. Just trying to think ahead here. Light rate. .25lbsN/1k. And also with that fert, I put down another 6lbs of the PRG on top of the peat moss and this time lightly raked it all in and watered.


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Started to see signs of germination pretty fast actually. So far so good

October 17


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Man this stuff grows insanely quick!! Surprised at how fast just it shoots up. Got quite a scare Oct 18-19 as the temps plummeted here. Highs in low 60s and lows in the 30s. I was for certain damage would be apparent. Guess I got lucky. 

October 21


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Fast forward to today and the experiment seems to be a success. At least so far. We shall see in spring when it's Bermuda time again. But such a difference just after a day or two. This stuff is no joke when germinating.

Today will be my first mow on it. Had an issue pop up with the city. Walk outside and they're doing construction and paint markers are all in my lawn. My heart sank. 'Not my hard work...' put a few calls in to see what the issue was. Turns out they were up to some shady stuff. HOA was never notified and the city was 'unaware' of any potential construction. The workers themselves were pretty mum on it also. HOA said they'd handle it, and within a few hours, they packed up and left before ever touching my lawn. Tore up the neighbors lawn tho. They did cause a couple bare areas but other than that I just didn't seed enough. I'll be putting the last few 4lbs or so in bare areas in the next couple days, since rain is expected and winds today are extreme.

October 23

















































I've been back and forth about which mower to use. My manual reel or the Cali Trimmer. Decided screw it, just go all out and live n learn. Using the Cali Trimmer. Will post after photos shortly...

I'm mostly satisfied with the result. I could've seeded better in some areas and I'll go back over it. City mishap aside, things are going great. The tree bed will be cleaned up and straightened up also.


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

The PRG grass seed analysis


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Well, I took the plunge. Decided to use the Cali Trimmer. What did I learn? Don't mow the same day your sprinklers run lol granted they only ran for 3min, but the ground is soft so the wheels tend to sink a tad lower than the HOC. Overall I think it looks really good. It would look great if my tree wasn't also on a slope and also if it wasn't my first time lol

I'll get the hang of it as time goes on. But I've already got my first compliment from a neighbor. Needless to say, the PRG overseed was at the very least a teaching experience and at the most, successful.


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

My thinking, is once it gets thicker and I get all the fall debris cleaned out 🙄 it'll look great


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## rockwalltxguy (Oct 1, 2021)

Looking good. Glad you decided to take the plunge on the PRG.


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

rockwalltxguy said:


> Looking good. Glad you decided to take the plunge on the PRG.


Thanks, it needs a decent amount of fine tuning as I'm learning this as I go lol but it turned out better so far than I thought.


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## Gjohnson (Sep 20, 2021)

Winter rye grass over seeding is illegal in many cities in dfw . Figured the city was about to shut your water off when they showed up . They don’t mess around .


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Gjohnson said:


> Winter rye grass over seeding is illegal in many cities in dfw . Figured the city was about to shut your water off when they showed up . They don’t mess around .


Ha! Nah that definitely wasn't what was up. They were digging in the intersection and replacing something that 'no one' else had a clue about. Plus they would have no way of knowing it was rye unless they tested it. 

But that's interesting you say that. Never knew


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

How it looked before the monsoon hit

October 24


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Reseeded and Dropped HOC down to 3/4"


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## Victor Von Lawn (5 mo ago)

impressive transformation.

I'll bet some of your neighbors think: "where did his Bermuda lawn go?"


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Victor Von Lawn said:


> impressive transformation.
> 
> I'll bet some of your neighbors think: "where did his Bermuda lawn go?"


Thanks!! It's been work but I love doing it.


Or they think it is Bermuda lol actually had my neighbor come out and say" Hey man, my wife thinks your grass is real green like that because of the sand you put on it." I was like well naw actually is a different type of grass. He goes" Oh ok was your other grass St. Augustine?" Nope, Bermuda. And I seeded ryegrass. " Oh ok, for the winter right?" Yessir. So yeah, they notice a change just probably aren't sure what's up lol My other neighbor actually came out while I was mowing and said "You're a pro now!!" He's complemented on numerous occasions tho. Residents in the neighborhood drive by and they slooooowwww down as of they're about to say something, stare, and drive off.


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Monsoons in DFW today are probably washing away some seed. Considering I seeded 3 days ago. I'm sure some germinated but most probably didn't. I'll be ordering more seed soon as a backup.


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Sprayed first round of Monterey Iron down today. After hand seeding some areas yesterday again, I plan on my next 'first cut' being Nov 13


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Seeded Nov 6. Decided to go ahead and do my vanity strip. Couldn't remember if I put prodiamine down or not but figured it isn't that big of an investment to just try it. $50 for a 10lb bag of champion GQ and $12 for peat moss.


The following day, once again, a monsoon came through. Starting to think mother nature is having a field day or rather, a muddy field day. Luckily its my vanity strip so there won't be much in the way of washout as much as it'll be seed pooling and dispersement. So I'll check out the damages and see if I just need to put some peat back on top of it. I only used maybe 2lbs or so. Will update soon...


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Went ahead and mended the issue today. It flooded quite a bit. Put down maybe a handful of seed and put the rest of the bag of peat moss on it and raked it in.


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Went ahead and cut the Monaco Bermuda today also. It was overdue. Notch #2


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Update photos of the PRG post second seeding. Spots are filling in nicely *































*


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Did a cut down to a hair over an inch. And applied PGR at .25oz/1k with another dose of iron

Rotary definitely cuts a little nicer since the ground is still damp. Also vacuums the grass upwards but doesn't have as clean a cut and stripes are non existent.


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

Dec 2 Update: Cut @ 7/8" and probably maintaining there unless the color doesn't darken up more. Sprayed another round of Iron down also.

Vanity strip coming in more. Overseeded one more time for bare areas and just to thicken up overall. Still under regulation so seed should be good for a while. Lots of rain in forecast this week as well as temps in the 70s. My soil can't catch a break so looks like I won't be able to get rid of the ruts this year. Haven't had completely dry soil since September.


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

New seedlings have filled in since Dec 2 reseeding. Was getting about 3in. Older rye was coming out of regulation so all worked out. Went ahead and cut @ 1" and decided I liked the way that looked more. Length and color balance. Just under an inch, I prefer the look more but the color is too light for my liking. This strikes the best balance. About to apply another round of Tnex with a small dose of iron. 

Finally stopped raining so soil is soft but not muddy.


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