# Ben's Transition Zone Grab Bag (Tiftuf, Z52, TifSport, and others)



## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Hi everyone. New to the game and wanting to learn. Like many in this area I started with fescue and was left disappointed by the effort required to maintain it. In my time I've made some pretty bad grass decisions and some all right ones. This is my journal.

Front lawn:
Well drained sunny Z-52 zoysia plugged by me in 2017. Summer of 2016 I made a pro plugger type thing at work and quite literally stole 5 plugs from a nearby subdivision sign under the cover of darkness. Once I saw them take I decided to make the switch. I installed about 6000 plugs the first week of June 2017. Believe it or not it is still not entirely grown in as there are some spots the fescue just loves. Lately I've noticed some kind of hybrid bermuda in it. Probably something the sod farm tried years back. It's not really noticeable except at dawn.

I keep it around 2".

Very first plugs from the subdivision sign. 









June 2017 looked something like this









February 2017









August 2021


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Back yard:

The true grab bag. I have access to many different kinds of bermuda and I like to experiment with them. Unfortunately my back yard is also deeply shaded- most places only 4 hours of sunlight if that. What's worse: almost all the shade is from hickory trees, the allelopathic SOBs they are. The shady areas get tall and red fescue. One by one the trees are coming down (within the boundaries of taste) and I hope in 5 years to have fully transitioned to warm season grass in the back yard as well.

Right now I have Latitude 36, Northbridge, TifTuf, and TifGrand in separate little cultivation areas. Once I get some more trees down I am going to make a proper box grid just to see how they look. If I can get ALL the trees down I may try a proper green with an ultradwarf hybrid like Champion, TifEagle, L1F zoysia, something super cool like that

Fall 2019: the last season for all fescue back yard

















Summer 2020 the usual problems crept in. Still dealing with that dang creeping charlie too


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Sodmas eve, August 2020. Started with one pallet.

Sprayed to death and thatched









Extremely advanced ground prep. I think I just did the sand so I wouldn't slip in the muck. Honestly not sure where I was going with an 1/8th inch of sand everywhere.









Sodmas day!

Already declining a bit you can tell









The Genuine Article









It was a white knuckle drive home (at least as careful as driving a new family home from the hospital!) after I felt the truck sag from the pallet being dropped in the back. Then I got home, took a look, and saw it was fine really... nothing to worry about. Got to love a 3/4 ton









All done. Notice the shade? I thought "well this is just great, laying sod in the shade! What could be better!" Little did I know...


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

September 2020, getting used to its new home









Overseeding the rest. Deeeeeeeep shade... Recurring theme with my back yard...









Watching a pot boil. Two weeks post install









Three weeks later. This was also my first granular mesotrione/fertilizer experience. Pretty neat stuff


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

"Springing" right ahead to Spring 2021. You're catching up quickly now

April Fool's Day 2021. "This fescue stuff... huh... child's play"









Mid April 2021. Forgot all about this. One of my first TifTuf mistakes- trying to "paint" glyphosate on the poa. Killed about 20% of my new stuff. Later in the year I would one up that mistake with another good one.









First walk behind, but not my first powered reel









Jumping right into leveling as all good bermuda boys do









Mid May 2021









Trying to do the golf course thing









Say, what was in that Southern Ag Crossbow? Just 2, 4-D right? Wrong


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Catching up ever faster....

Sodmas Day 2021, almost a year to the day from my first Sodmas Day

Latitude 36 field









Big rolls. There was an accident this day- a box truck somehow side swiped an all terrain forklift loading this truck literally in the middle of nowhere. Nobody was hurt but there was some shouting for sure









Old pro

















Done


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

GET THE SAND DOWN NOW!!!! NO TIME TO WASTE! September 2021

















Two weeks later









A month later, getting into October









That's a wrap on 2021!


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Early spring 2022









My first time doing things by the book- scalp, aeration, sand









Green coming through









April Fool's 2022









16 April


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

So what I really want everyone to see here is now nice everything looks with virtually no leaves on the trees. This year I finally understand that as things are now, April and May are the best months for my bermuda lawn- soil temps are up and plenty of sun coming through the canopy. As soon as the leaves come out it starts getting thin and wispy.

25 April









2 May









This is the high point as it stands


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Started a sprig project last week.

This small area was previously a mix of annual rye and fescue. A week prior to sprigging I sprayed with glyphosate- it must have been stressed out because it went down in maybe 48 hours. Then I drug a garden rake through a taller section of my TifTuf area and collected what came up.


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)




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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Both the front and back yard are starting to come back nicely from my initial PGR application which took place on the 6th of June. Boy did it respond poorly. No color. Believe it or not this is looking miles better than most of June.


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

TifSport test patch. Had a big storm take the top off a white oak in my yard and I am still trying to clean up. Add that to some absolute unit wisteria I killed last week originating from the rental behind me and there are dead leaves galore. Very messy. We'll get it though


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Just information:
.82" of rain fell in a squall line storm today. First measurable rain in three weeks

HOC overall has been raised to .750- color is MUCH better than .500. TifTuf has been out of regulation about two weeks. Stripes from some kind of imbalance persist and old fringe area is brownish and clearly visible. Probably need to reduce height to .500 for a mild mid summer height reset

Last fert application was 6 July at .75 lb/1000 sf

Oil damaged areas adjacent to driveway continue to recover and fill in. Slow but expect it to fill in by fall


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Sprigging project begun 3 July moving along very nicely

3 July establishing shot


25 July progress


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

.500 HOC


.750 HOC


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Trying to use gravity to drain this slight bathtub area left over from when the driveway was paved. The turf here is always kind of thin and ugly, I think from having wet feet.

I aerated with my two hole core aerator and added sand, then used a 60" piece of angle as a screed off the point I want to be the new low point. Worked well as the 48" level showed positive drainage, at least from point to point. We had a huge storm this afternoon and I could see the water shedding down to the sidewalk, which is the natural low point in this area so that is great news. I do think it will take a few tries to identify all the low areas I created but all in all a step in the right direction.


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

While my little bermuda area does not look as great as many on here I think it does well for a shady lawn. About 90% of my TifTuf area gets less than 3 hours of direct sunlight per day which is why it's critical for me to maintain a generous HOC. I have an arborist coming to look at the white oak in the middle of the frame next week. It got some pretty bad storm damage and I don't know if it will be more cost effective to save it as it is my favorite tree, or bring it down because it is diseased and will only get worse, and is a danger to our home. One windfall of it coming down is more sun, allowing me to cultivate probably whatever I want in the back yard.

By the way, skip the Intex pools. This one lasted about 45 days before ripping itself to shreds

Here is a study done on the 18th of June, purt near to the summer solstice


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## ianreelmows (8 mo ago)

Don't they say the best bermuda for heavy shade is Chainsaw Bermuda?


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

ianreelmows said:


> Don't they say the best bermuda for heavy shade is Chainsaw Bermuda?


Oh I might be ready to learn. Most trees in my yard are hickories, which I can't stand. Awful trees to leave on a home site


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Got another .91 inches today, the right way, slowly, over several hours like a nice whole hog.

The storm yesterday also knocked all the widowmakers that were hung in the top of the white oak from the storm that hurt it to begin with so that is one less thing to worry about.


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

.42 in the gauge from the last storm. Puts me over 2" for the week. Outrageous. Very pleased

I have been dissatisfied with my color lately, I think mostly owing to the vestiges of the attempted practice area HOC. In the spring I was maintaining .250 for the green and .500 for the fringe but soon I learned that was too aggressive for my light availability; .750 is the only way to get any color. Since I clear cut everything at .750 then the fringe has been starkly brown compared to the "green" and I wanted to work on that today with a HOC reset.

.750, before mowing


First try was .500. Thought that would suffice but it made the fringe brown even more noticeable


Went down to .375 for everything. Looks more like it


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Had quite a lot of rain last 7 days. Got another .31 in a downpour Monday afternoon.

I decided to do some sprinkler tuning just for the hell of it. I have never really trusted my Rachio controller in full "auto" mode to handle my lawn's needs so I am checking behind it using the old tuna can method.

Early returns are not so good. Looks like as long as I let the Rachio decide I am way behind on watering, at least for my fescue section. The fescue section also has other exacerbating factors:
1. Hardwood trees- six of them, two of them red oaks over 36" caliper at breast height, the rest hickory of varying caliper
2. Kind of claptrap rotor placement from rearrangements of the yard
3. Steady grade 3% grade that keeps the soil well drained

Once I complete the tuna can test I will rewrite the programs myself and take it off full auto.

Color very slowly returning. It also got .75 lb/1000 of 24-0-18 Monday


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## mytmouse (Jan 28, 2019)

Love the transition and update pics Ben! I'm struggling to decide if I want to convert from TTTF to Zoysia or Bermuda, I'm West of you in Louisa. My neighbor's lawns keep letting wild Bermuda and all other crap infiltrate my grounds! When you converted the front yard to Zoysia did you just glypho the TTF and clean it up? Or did you use like a sod cutter or something?

I can't swing sodding, but plugging the back (for starts) I think I can handle. It's just about 3M sqft. I was thinking I could sod the property line as sort of a barrier and then plug. But I'm afraid of that Bermuda rearing it's ugly head! LOL Keep up the great work and updates! I'm living through you! LOL


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Hey man. Thanks for looking.

When I plugged the front I plugged it I think June and then just undertook preferential cultural practices for the zoysia and let it spread at its own pace. If I had done bermuda I probably would have burned the existing lawn up and then put down the bermuda because I could more or less count on it taking over in a growing season. I'm sure there are people who CAN make zoysia do that but I am not one of them. The colloquialism I heard with zoysia is year one it sleeps, year two it creeps, and year three it leaps. I found that to be more less true.

The first season it basically survived. Second season its presence was noticeable. In the third season there were conspicuous sections that were only zoysia. By season five it was the dominant grass in the lawn, although even today, in winter you can still see a few blades of TTF.

By preferential cultural practices I mean that after all the plugs were in the ground, from that point on I cut the entire lawn as low as possible, fed at advantageous times for warm season grasses, and basically gave the TTF the cold shoulder.

While I got lots of advice to kill everything there were a few reasons that was not right for me:
1. New to the game and didn't feel comfortable with my own abilities
2. My kids were littler then and they played in the front yard all the time. I didn't want to turn it into a dust and mud pit
3. Weed pressure from months and months of bare soil while the zoysia established

And yeah at zoysia sod prices I sincerely doubt I would sod myself. Kind of depends on your timeframe for establishment


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

A glimpse in the past of my front yard- July 2012. This was the summer we moved in. Boy does it look different now.


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## mytmouse (Jan 28, 2019)

Thanks for the insight @typed by ben ! It's good to see that you don't always have to go the traditional route of a full burn down when converting over. I've got a nasty corner of common Bermuda, that I've gotta figure out what I'm going to do with. I know it'll out compete the Zoysia, but like you, I'm afraid that if I burn it down, that when I go to plant Zoysia plugs or even overseed TTTF the Bermuda will just creep right on back in. SIGH. I think I'm just tired of fighting my neighbors. They don't do anything at all and weeds just ALWAYS find their way in. It's annoying.

This is what I have along the back of my lawn... The Bermuda is off frame to the right. Just depressing. LOL! 


But you've given me something to think about. I could start slowly across the back property line and slowly work my way back as it establishes. I just want a fighting chance! LOL


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

Bro I can see it already. It looks incredible. And yes there are many ways to do this.

Bermuda will always get in before zoysia. I think if it was me I would consider a good landscape edge (aluminum or concrete) between my property and the neighbors' to cut against and also block some of the bermuda. Something like that could be a good foundation for your future lawn domination


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## mytmouse (Jan 28, 2019)

LOL! I swear you took the thought right out of my mind! I was thinking about doing a landscape edge or something like that to try to keep the Bermuda at bay! But I didn't want my neighbor to think I was being rude, although she has to know that garden of weeds she has is unsightly. 

I'm gonna work on a plan, I think the barrier along with telling her just to let me mow on my side of her plants will help out. She didn't go all the way to my property line with the shrubs she planted. But at least I can spray and try to manage the crabgrass and Bermuda that rears its ugly head into my lawn. I look forward to watching the progression of your lawn, hopefully you'll see me venture into a conversion myself!


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## wilsonline (Dec 18, 2021)

Interesting experiments with all those grass types. What Bermuda do you like better? Do you prefer the Bermudas or the zoysia z52? 
And why not zoysia in the back where it's shaded and Bermuda in the front?


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

wilsonline said:


> Interesting experiments with all those grass types. What Bermuda do you like better? Do you prefer the Bermudas or the zoysia z52?
> And why not zoysia in the back where it's shaded and Bermuda in the front?


I prefer everything about zoysia other than the price. I have lots of planting beds with borders and the bermuda is relentless. It requires constant management.

I do have some Z52 plugs in the back as a test. Over the weekend I decided to remove the damaged oak and dogwood in the middle of the backyard to open it up to more turf choices. After that I will get in some zoysia in where I had fescue- only question is whether I plug it with source material from the front yard or seed. I don't think I want to spend the money on zoysia sod


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## wilsonline (Dec 18, 2021)

My lawn is seeded compadre zoysia. It's ok, but not great. I wanted fine-bladed zoysia, but the price and availability didn't allow it. So I seeded. Took a month to look like a lawn and 2 months to fill 100%. So, yes, it takes a long time to get this going. That said, it's not like it takes a full season or years like I saw some people mention. It's not very drought tolerant, but that may be my soil that is almost bare sand. I have samples of other 2 cultivars and the turf quality of those are way superior.


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

wilsonline said:


> My lawn is seeded compadre zoysia. It's ok, but not great. I wanted fine-bladed zoysia, but the price and availability didn't allow it. So I seeded. Took a month to look like a lawn and 2 months to fill 100%. So, yes, it takes a long time to get this going. That said, it's not like it takes a full season or years like I saw some people mention. It's not very drought tolerant, but that may be my soil that is almost bare sand. I have samples of other 2 cultivars and the turf quality of those are way superior.


Interesting to read your comparison... thank you for the inside track. Yeah it will be years before my backyard fills with zoysia, maybe I will try a rapid establishment thing with it next year since I have not yet tried it.


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

HOC reset worked. Back to uniform green minus the oops areas.


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## typed by ben (Jul 12, 2021)

morning cup of coffee vibes. growing season winding down here in central VA

in general the tiftuf is a lot happier at .750, i guess primarily because of the limited amount of sun I get. Hope to open that up this winter with some tree removal


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