# Ral1121 lawn journal 2018



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Hi new here and wanted to introduce myself and have a place to show my lawn and as questions.

First off, I am a newbie and am just learning about lawncare and second this is the start of the 3rd summer for my lawn which is Bermuda. I am guessing it is Tif 419 which I believe is what most contractors use in new build neighborhoods. House is almost 2 years old. I am located in San Antonio, tx as well.

My goals for my yard are to someday have it look as nice as Ware's yard which I am no where close to. That is long term though.

For this year, I want to be able to maintain my yard at .75" hoc since I just purchased my first reel mower, a 1997 McLane 17" powered reel. As for the mclane, I want to get a front roller and basket for it at some point this year. I am hoping this unit can last for the next few years before I go out and get something nicer. Maybe a greens mower or even the new swardman.

Here is the McLane. I know a lot of people don't like them, especially the 17" model but I am excited and feel it is a good solid starter reel for me that I picked up for $100. All I had to do was rebuild the carb. Reel and bedknife we're already sharp and cutting paper.



As for my yard, I only have around 3000 sq ft to take care of. 1000 in the front and 2000 in the back. 
Things I want to accomplish this year
- level front and back ( back more difficult because of dog)
-get the watering down correctly( do not have a sprinkler system and am currently hand watering 2 times a week)
- I want to get rid of all weeds( have put down celcius and certainty as well as Scott's halts)
-. Just want my yard to grow in thick and healthy.( It is currently struggling)

What I have done so far
- sprayed herbacides ( certainty and celcius)
- pre emergent down 1 month ago
- scalped my yard for the first time 6 days ago 3/15/18( front at around .5 and back around .75. back is not as level)
- I put down milorganite at 1 lbs per 1000 as well on 3/15/18
- 3/16/18 I put down molasses and shampoo both at a rate of 3 oz per 1000. Will be repeating the shampoo this weekend.

Now I am just waiting for the lawn to come back strong. A little nervous because I do not see much new growth coming from the front yard.

Here is my front yard scalp 3/15/18


Here is what it looks like 6 days later



I will get pictures of the back tomorrow which is in worse condition.

What do y'all more experienced lawn experts think about what I have done so far and how long does a scalped yard take to come to life. Other yards in my neighborhood have already completely greened up but they all maintain at around 2".

Also here is a pic of what the front looked like before scalp so you can see what kind of condition my yard is in.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Finally had some time to snap a few more photos of what I am starting with.

Here is a couple picks of my back yard. I am actually surprised at how quickly it seem to be coming back to life. I definitely had problems with weeds and my English pointer wore it real thin while it was dormant running around the back. It needs to be leveled better and was scalped at around .75. I am going to maintain a little higher then the front yard.




Here are a couple of problem areas. This first is my side yard on the north side of my house. Grass does not get enough sun so it is pretty non existent. Not sure what I am going to do but open to suggestions.



Next is also my side yard. I want to level the area around the boxes and cover but not sure how to go about it. They stick out of the ground quite a bit and I don't know if I want to bring the parts around it up or remove some dirt around the boxes.


----------



## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Sounds like a good plan you have there. Just be patient and don't try to do too much at once and you will be fine. With only 3K of lawn you shouldn't have any issues getting it where you want it.


----------



## Killbuzz (Apr 30, 2017)

@Ral1121 Looking good. I don't live too far away from you. If you need some assistance I would be happy to stop by and give you some advice/a hand. When you are ready to start leveling you can borrow my drag mat.


----------



## Fishnugget (Sep 29, 2017)

Good job Ral, I think your on the right track by attacking and killing those weeds. You probably do want to get irrigation down, it will make life a lot easier. I can't imagine watering my lawn by hand. I could never do it.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Killbuzz said:


> @Ral1121 Looking good. I don't live too far away from you. If you need some assistance I would be happy to stop by and give you some advice/a hand. When you are ready to start leveling you can borrow my drag mat.


Thanks for the generous offer. I will pm you when the time gets closer. I am currently trying to get the lawn to completely green up first. My plan is to tackle the leveling first. Once my yard is green and growing,. I am going to do a either one round or two of pgr to help encourage horizontal growth and stimulate the roots. After that I will level the front for sure.

On the back I am thinking about doing it in 2 zones. I have a pointer that loves to run and will quickly undo any work I have put in. Just means I will have to have her on the leash to let her go to the bathroom outside for a few weeks. Not looking forward to that.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Fishnugget said:


> Good job Ral, I think your on the right track by attacking and killing those weeds. You probably do want to get irrigation down, it will make life a lot easier. I can't imagine watering my lawn by hand. I could never do it.


I wish I could do an in ground irrigation system but I do not have money for that right now with a baby on the way, due in May. I am thinking about building a new above ground system, one I would not have to move around as much as the one I have now and got tired of. I don't think I have put enough water down by hand watering.

This is what I have used up until this point

This is 6 heads and several hoses to move around(4 times just to do the back). It covers a 30x15 area and puts down an inch in about 45-50 mins.


----------



## Fishnugget (Sep 29, 2017)

Nice!! I would keep that for now until your more settled with the baby. I actually thought you were outside watering by hand. That setup looks to be effective the only thing like you stated is you will have to move it around.

Irrigation does cost money. I spent $650 for the labor and probably another $600-800 on parts and that was for a 1700 sq ft. lawn but I also added drains. If your backyard is 1500-2000 sq ft you will probably somewhere around $500-600 or more in irrigation. Then if you add a fancy Rachio Controller it goes up from there. Just giving you an eyeball figure on cost, based on what I paid.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Fishnugget said:


> Nice!! I would keep that for now until your more settled with the baby. I actually thought you were outside watering by hand. That setup looks to be effective the only thing like you stated is you will have to move it around.
> 
> Irrigation does cost money. I spent $650 for the labor and probably another $600-800 on parts and that was for a 1700 sq ft. lawn but I also added drains. If your backyard is 1500-2000 sq ft you will probably somewhere around $500-600 or more in irrigation. Then if you add a fancy Rachio Controller it goes up from there. Just giving you and eyeball figure on cost, based on what I paid.


Thanks I will have to keep that in mind. I held off on doing an irrigation system when we built the house a couple years ago because we were going to add an outdoor area at some point so I did not know how much grass we were keeping in the back


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Well hit a snag today. My McLane needs sharpening. Hopefully I can just backlap and it will be good to go but i have to wait for lapping paste to come in. When I got the mower it was cutting paper, now it won't cut paper at all after an adjustment. Reel was not even contacting the bedknife. Anyone ever dealt with a blade going dull that quick after a scalping? If it does not cut paper, it just rips the grass correct?

I did get my watering figured out though and went with Hunter phone adjustable rotors.


----------



## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Ral1121 said:


> Well hit a snag today. My McLane needs sharpening. Hopefully I can just backlap and it will be good to go but i have to wait for lapping paste to come in. When I got the mower it was cutting paper, now it won't cut paper at all after an adjustment. Reel was not even contacting the bedknife. Anyone ever dealt with a blade going dull that quick after a scalping? If it does not cut paper, it just rips the grass correct?


Actually, scalping will dull your blades faster than anything as you are cutting dead, dry grass. You are also cutting the stems of the grass also which are a lot thicker than the leaves of the grass which probably contribute to the dulling of the blades. During scalping though, it isn't that important that the mower is real sharp as you are just chopping off the dead stuff.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Well tried my hand at backlapping for the first time today. Was able to get my McLane cutting paper again but seemed like I had to adjust the reel and bedknife real close to where they scrape. Do not k ow if that is normal with McLanes. Starting to get the itch to pick up a greens mower now.

Did get 3.5" of rain today and notice a bunch of old clippings collecting on top of the yard. Guess this means I need to verticutter or dethatch? Is it ok to do it while my grass is still recovering from a scalping a couple weeks ago?

Close up of front after I brushed as much as I could off




What I was able to brush off


Backyard examples




Front after I broomed as much as I could off


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Ral1121 said:


> Did get 3.5" of rain today and notice a bunch of old clippings collecting on top of the yard. Guess this means I need to verticutter or dethatch? Is it ok to do it while my grass is still recovering from a scalping a couple weeks ago?


Not necessarily - those are just clippings that didn't get picked up from your scalp. They collect like that on my lawn after a hard rain when I don't catch my clippings. I always run my rotary mower + bag over the lawn at the lowest setting after I scalp to suck up extra clippings left on the ground. :thumbup:


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

@Ware I guess I will let it dry out and try running my rotary over it several times more to see if I can pick more clippings up tomorrow.

I really wish I had found this site before I bought my McLane. I might have gone straight greens mower or at least passed on the McLane and waited for one to pop up with a grass catcher. Really do not feel like spending $150 on a catcher when I only paid 100 for the mclane in the first place. I do really need one though.


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

It will help to break them up with a rake once they dry.


----------



## Flynt2799 (Oct 17, 2017)

Ral1121 said:


> I really wish I had found this site before I bought my McLane. I might have gone straight greens mower or at least passed on the McLane and waited for one to pop up with a grass catcher. Really do not feel like spending $150 on a catcher when I only paid 100 for the mclane in the first place. I do really need one though.


Shoot let me know if you ever decide to make the change. Be more than happy to give you what you paid


----------



## Killbuzz (Apr 30, 2017)

It happens to all of us.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

@Flynt2799 how about I save you money so you can just go out and get the greens mower. Because we all know as soon as I sell you my McLane, you will soon want to upgrade. It's an addiction. I am already dreaming of all the other equipment I want and what I can upgrade as well!


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Ral1121 said:


> ...I am already dreaming of all the other equipment I want and what I can upgrade as well!


There is no cure for this illness. You can only treat the symptoms by thinking about the dumber stuff you could be spending money on. :lol:


----------



## Flynt2799 (Oct 17, 2017)

Ral1121 said:


> Flynt2799 how about I save you money so you can just go out and get the greens mower. Because we all know as soon as I sell you my McLane, you will soon want to upgrade. It's an addiction. I am already dreaming of all the other equipment I want and what I can upgrade as well!


Haha I love it! The plan is to get everything semi leveled out and continue to use the rotary this year. Hopefully next fall I can find a good deal on a better machine.

Crazy amount of rain. I was able to get 3 1/2 here in Austin.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

@Flynt2799 my plan is to get my yard more level this year and then upgrade to a greens mower for next year. I'm about to get hit hard again in San Antonio. We need it here in San Antonio but why cant it be spread out and maybe an inch every 5-7 days over the spring and summer. Is that too much to ask for?


----------



## Flynt2799 (Oct 17, 2017)

April showers definitely started early in our area. By the looks of it though you have greened up well ahead of me so that's a start. How many times have you leveled in the past?


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

@Flynt2799 I leveled twice last year. Made the mistake of using a topsoil first which was a sand and compost mixture. My yard was really green though. Used masonry sand the second time. Front yard is a lot better then the back. I was able to scalp around .5" while the back only at .75. my dog really did a number this winter and wore the dormant Bermuda very thin while tearing up the yard. So I am thinking about overseeding this fall like ware did with perennial rye. I want to be able to scalp around .25" next year so I can maintain the whole summer at or below half an inch. That is my goal.


----------



## Redland1 (Feb 26, 2018)

Ral1121 said:


> Well tried my hand at backlapping for the first time today. Was able to get my McLane cutting paper again but seemed like I had to adjust the reel and bedknife real close to where they scrape. Do not k ow if that is normal with McLanes. Starting to get the itch to pick up a greens mower now.
> 
> Did get 3.5" of rain today and notice a bunch of old clippings collecting on top of the yard. Guess this means I need to verticutter or dethatch? Is it ok to do it while my grass is still recovering from a scalping a couple weeks ago?
> 
> ...


I live in Schertz and had a bunch of the clippings clump up in certain areas of the front lawn as well after the storm.My backyard has a slope going downward away from the house so all those clippings ended up on the corner of the fence making easier for me to pick up.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

So I got out and raked the clippings to break them up and used the rotary to collect them. Then cut both the front and back. Front at 3/4 and back at 7/8.
Front


Front is coming along. Pretty much where it is brown, the grass is pretty thin but looking good
Ex.


The back


The back has greened up better but I have more brown areas because of my dog wearing it thin during the winter. 
Worn area in back





I am thinking about putting the pgr out now to encourage the grass to spread and fill in. I know that usually you want a fully green yard but I think this is about as green as it is going to get for both front and back. What do you think? Should I wait another few weeks or spray now?

The other thing I thought about is maybe getting the proplugger to speed up the recovery of the bare areas in my back yard. What do y'all think?


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Front yard is really coming along. I cut my yard today and am planning to put my first ever application of pgr down later this afternoon. Hopefully it will help my lawn thicken up and spread to some bare areas that are still struggling.

Before cut



After cut





Close up



My lawn just needs to fill in. I have been cutting it every 2-3 days. So hopefully with the pgr going down, I will have something that I am really proud of soon.

I did build and buy this today!



It can get all the way to 90 psi. I currently have a 15 psi pressure valve but am thinking about upgrading to the 29 or 44. Not sure yet.

Also ignore the weeds in the bed. I will be tackling that next weekend


----------



## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Looks good. How warm are the evening temps in your area? I'm waiting until I get a bit warmer before I put down my PGR. It got into the 40's last night, with some cooler weather for the next few days. We had a cold front come through last night, and today it won't get out of the low 60's. It's just been cold lately, when I'm used to it being pretty dang warm.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

@Colonel K0rn here is what my next week looks like.



With exception of last night early this morning, lows have been in the high 50s low 60, and the highs for the day are anywhere from the high 70s into the 90s a lot of times.


----------



## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

If I had that forecast, I wouldn't hesitate to put down an app of PGR. :thumbup: Curious, is that a white oak tree in the front?


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Colonel K0rn said:


> If I had that forecast, I wouldn't hesitate to put down an app of PGR. :thumbup: Curious, is that a white oak tree in the front?


It's a red oak. We will see how the yard does down the line when the tree matures. I think I have quite awhile before shade becomes a problem. By that time, it's probably about time to move, and down size on my home but hopefully upsize on my lawn. I wish I had a bigger lot. I am envious of some of y'all with the bigger lawns.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

So today was not a very good day for my back yard. I found out I have common Bermuda growing in with my 419 in certain areas. It is all because of my neighbors. I got unlucky when it comes to neighbors because as far as are work, the neighbor on each side neglect their yard more then anyone else in my neighborhood.
Here is a pick of what I am dealing with(this is my neighbors yard by the way. Not mine)



You can see common creaping through the fence here



What would y'all do to deal with the neighbors yard?

As far as dealing with the common I have spreading, I am going to spray with glyphosate. Hopefully that takes care of it. If it does not, I will purchase the fusilade I guess. I'm guessing if I do not deal with this problem, the common will take over the 419? I will probably spray the fence line with glyphosate as well.


----------



## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

You could do the neighborly thing and offer to put down a PreM on their lawn when you're doing yours. It not only cuts down on their weeds, but it helps prevent their weeds from becoming your weeds later on.

As far as the common, I think your glyphosate barrier/fusilade treatment would be the best bet. Then again, you could treat it with PGR, and not have it encroach as much. Hit it 2x  Baby steps my friend.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

@Colonel K0rn I have offered to spray their yard and even mow their yard. They have said no thanks. Both my neighbors just ignore their yards. I have reported both to HOA and they have recieved letters. They then only cut their front yards. They never do anything with their backyard though.


----------



## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

Ral1121 said:


> The other thing I thought about is maybe getting the proplugger to speed up the recovery of the bare areas in my back yard. What do y'all think?


Want to borrow mine for a weekend?


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

gijoe4500 said:


> Ral1121 said:
> 
> 
> > The other thing I thought about is maybe getting the proplugger to speed up the recovery of the bare areas in my back yard. What do y'all think?
> ...


Thanks for the offer. I might have to take you up on that this next weekend and try it out in a section of my back yard.


----------



## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

Ral1121 said:


> gijoe4500 said:
> 
> 
> > Ral1121 said:
> ...


Just let me know. I'm near Bandera/1604.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

So after meeting up with @gijoe4500 earlier to borrow his proplugger, I decided to make a stop at the local siteone.



I picked up a couple of bags of ammonium sulfate as well as a high manganese combo chelated micronutrients liquid fert. I did some reading and found this product is good for high pH soils like we have in San Antonio to help bring it back to a somewhat neutral pH. It also where I will get my iron from.

My plan is to spray the ammonium sulfate weekly at a rate of .25#/M. As far as the combo chelated liquid fert, I am thinking about apply it by-weekly. Not sure what rate I am going to use though. Label calls for 3-6oz/M. I am thinking I am going to start at the bottom and do 1.5oz/M by-weekly. What do you think?

Also I am getting areas of lighter green in my front lawn. What do you think could be the cause? Not enough water or uneven fertilizer spread?


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Well hit a snag today. Lost a wheel on my McLane.



Already found and ordered replacements for both my wheels so my mower is out of commission until they come in and I have time to replace them.

With all the rain in the forecast this week, I hope I can get an app of pgr down. My yard is due in the next couple days. I might have to try and mow carefully with the McLane if not.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

So got quite a bit done today. I built my makeshift sprinkler system. I used mp3000 nozzles and Hunter prs30 shrub heads. 9 of them to be exact to get almost 💯 percent coverage. I set it up in 2 zones and only have to drag out a hose and one sprinkler head in the middle. Pretty happy with it. Ended up using qui k connects on the hoses as well to speed things up as well.


----------



## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Nice job, I bet you were admiring the throws of the MP's from your patio, weren't ya?


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Colonel K0rn said:


> Nice job, I bet you were admiring the throws of the MP's from your patio, weren't ya?


Haha how did you know. I definitely spent about an HR on the porch last night drinking a few beers and admiring the sprinklers work.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

So I bit the bug and finally decided to go out and put a roller on my McLane.



Just got done putting it on. I did not get a chance to try it out yet. That will happen tomorrow.

Other things going on is I need to figure out a spray schedule. When to spray and what can I mix. I have decided to spray fert as well as a few other things.

Currently this is what I am spraying

Ammonium sulfate weekly
Manganese micro mix with iron weekly
Panterra biweekly
Pgr every 2-3 weeks based on gdd
Kelp4less extreme blend( thinking bi weekly)

Not sure what I can mix to get this done as some products need to be watered in and some need to wait.

Other things I have planned coming up depends on when my daughter is born. If she comes before my next app of pgr is due, I will pass on the next pgr app and level my front and possibly my back yard. Thinking about renting a slice seeder and verticutter before I sand and level. If my daughter does not come soon, I will go ahead and put another app of pgr down. Not much else has been going on.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Gave both the front and back another cut today. I definitely ided to drop my height one notch down to see how my yard would handle it with the new roller. I definitely notice a difference with it on. I am cutting at 11/16. I think my yard has made a lot of progress in the last month and a half thanks to you guys. Here are pics from April 8 compared to may 16.

April 8








May 16








I feel I see the biggest difference in the back yard. In April I was cutting at just under an inch because that is all it could take being unlevel. With the roller it had no problems at 11/16. I also notice a big difference at how think the front is growing in. Still a long ways to go, but I am happy with the progress made so far. Real test will be in a couple months to see if I can keep my yard green. I have yet to make it through a summer without it browning up.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

I decide to do my first round of leveling this year. I have been cutting at just under .75. hopefully after this I can get down to .625 or even .5. other then that, not too much else has been happening.

Here is the before



During



After



Overall I used just under a cubic yard of sand for my 1000 sq ft front yard.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Progress pick. 5 days after sanding


----------



## Flynt2799 (Oct 17, 2017)

Ral1121 said:


> Progress pick. 5 days after sanding


Filling in very nice, this heat we've had has helped to really push the Bermuda. Hopefully we get some free rain soon too!


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

@Flynt2799

I know we need it. Supposedly we are suppose to get at least 2 inches. We will see if that happens though.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

So finally got my new mower cleaned up enough to how it off. My plan is to use the gm1000 for the next few years. Once I am use to cutting at my goal height of .25-.30,. I am going to get a flex and turn this gm1000 into a dynablade verticutter. Also is it sad that I used car detailing stuff to clean the mower?


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Picked up a new compressor to help clean my mowers and blow the reel dry when I rinse it after a cut.

Kobalt 8 gal



Nice air gun I also picked up


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

12 days since sanding double cut my front at .575 and cut my back at .700


----------



## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

Lots of nice new toys! Looking good :thumbup:


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

@SGrabs33

Thanks the gm1000 makes a huge difference compared to my McLane


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Well more new equipment! I'm lucky my wife is behind my hobby as this is really the only thing I spend money on.

I decide to go ahead and sell my rotary because I have a good friend of mine that lives a few houses down from me that if need I could just borrow his.

So I sold the rotary as well as my trimmer and picked up a Stihl km56rc, curved edger, and trimmer which is awaiting the landscape blade



Tried out the edger for the first time today and struggled with it. My yard has never seen an edger only a string trimmer.


Should be a lot easier the next time I use it.


----------



## Flynt2799 (Oct 17, 2017)

I like that Stihl package! Stick edger is the only way to go, I think the straight edges really make the lawn pop. I haven't been able to bite the bullet on the landscaping blade yet, but see it happening in the near future. Your wife should really help mine adjust to the lawn obsession life lol


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

@Flynt2799

Haha maybe we need to get them together. I think mine is just happy that I do not have any other expensive habits or hobbies. I always tell her I could be spending all our money on hookers and blow and she just laughs. She can also see the progress I have made in the front. To help sell it I also told her it was for our daughter. I am going to create a mini soccer field with goals and painted lines and everything for our daughter when she is old enough to play. I guess I am lucky because she is very understanding.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

So I accidentally burned my grass getting rid of the crabgrass so I decided to just scalp the yard as low as I could get it to reset the height. I scalped all the way down to .250. thinking I will maintain at .400.

Pick of my burned yard



Scalp at .450



Scalp at .350


And finally down to .250


----------



## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Going low baby, I like it!


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Colonel K0rn said:


> Going low baby, I like it!


Thanks. I wonder what the lowest I can maintain it at is now that I scalped at .250. maybe .350 or .400?


----------



## Redland1 (Feb 26, 2018)

That sucks.But it happened to me as well going too hot with Speedzone southern.I was wondering if before you burned it was your grass drying out any with the temps we have been getting?


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Redland1 said:


> That sucks.But it happened to me as well going too hot with Speedzone southern.I was wondering if before you burned it was your grass drying out any with the temps we have been getting?


No it was actually doing real good. I was watering about 1.5 inches once a week. Since we are on water restrictions I can only water one day a week. I would set up my above ground system to put down 1 inch in the morning and then .5 inches late afternoon. I did have to handwater once a week a couple spots where my system does not cover very well.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Not much going on with my yard lately. I did spray demand as well as tengard today to start my own bug spray program. Thinking about picking up some eagle 20 because I noticed one area in my yard that might be struggling because of fungus. Other then that still waiting on my yard to recover from the scalping I did a couple weeks ago.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

12 days since my scalp. Areas are growing in really well while a few areas are still struggling. Gave the yard a double cut at .400.



Couple close ups


----------



## Flynt2799 (Oct 17, 2017)

What height were you maintaining pre scalp? I'm at .7 right now and half tempted to just drop it down and go for it.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

@Flynt2799

I was maintaining at .575. Lowest I had ever gotten it. This was after a leveling job so I just decided to see how low I could go.


----------



## Flynt2799 (Oct 17, 2017)

Ya I'm gonna have to go for it. I really like the look at .400


----------



## Redland1 (Feb 26, 2018)

It's looking good.Any pics of the backyard?


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

@Redland1

I will get some when I can. The backyard is quite rough right now. I did not level it this year and probably won't until next year. My schedule is about to get hectic for the next several months with my football season coaching duties starting up.

The problem with my back is it is not as smooth as my front so I am experimenting on how low a hoc I could maintain. I was hoping I could match my front so I do not have to continuously change my hoc on my toro but it is looking like that will not be the case. I am going to raise my back up to .500 hoc and see if my scalping goes away.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

I know a few people asked about my backyard so here it is. I scalped this at the same time as the front so it is recovering as well. I just raised my hoc to .500 on Friday because the back is not as level as the front and was still scalping at .400. At .500 it did the trick and I am no longer scalping. So give it another week and it should begin to look pretty good except for the bare spots where I killed of common bermuda as well as the dog pee spots.


----------



## Flynt2799 (Oct 17, 2017)

Those damn dog spots. I'm chasing them as well.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

@Flynt2799

It's almost to the point that I have changed my mind on having pets. Or at least instead of having medium to bigger dogs, sticking with smaller dogs.


----------



## Flynt2799 (Oct 17, 2017)

Don't think it matters, I have a beagle and she still burns the yard &#129318;&#127995;‍♂


----------



## Redland1 (Feb 26, 2018)

Your backyard is looking much better.

Here you go since you were wondering if a smaller dog would help.Boston terrier.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Redland1 said:


> Your backyard is looking much better.
> 
> Here you go since you were wondering if a smaller dog would help.Boston terrier.


Thank you it has come a long way. Hopefully with overseeding this fall I can keep the dog from completely tearing up the Bermuda when it goes dormant and next year it will look great after a leveling.

On the dogs, maybe I can talk the wife into getting rid of them? She probably will not go for that though.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Well decided to raise my hoc on my front to .500 to match my backyard. I got tired of adjusting the hoc Everytime I mowed. Both front and back are finally recovering except for a couple spots from my scalp a little while ago. I am getting crabgrass again so I think my pre em is gone so I need to put some prodiamine down.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Gave my front and back a double cut and sprayed pgr for the first time since leveling a few months ago. My schedule is getting busy tomorrow with the start of football. Here comes 7 day work weeks.


----------



## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

FWIW, I've had some breakthrough of crabgrass here and there in my yard, but I'm not worried about putting down another PreM application until September. Prodiamine is pretty persistent in the soil, and I did a split application in Feb and April.


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Colonel K0rn said:


> FWIW, I've had some breakthrough of crabgrass here and there in my yard, but I'm not worried about putting down another PreM application until September. Prodiamine is pretty persistent in the soil, and I did a split application in Feb and April.


I just got some prodiamine and will be putting it down soon


----------



## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

Well been awhile since I have given an update.

Lawn is doing ok. It is not getting the attention it needs though. With the start of my football season and the 90-100 hr work weeks, I am only able to cut once a week. I am still maintaining at .600 though still but will need to raise it here pretty soon. Thinking .750 or even 1.0. I have a huge crabgrass problem and a couple hot spots. I have not had time to spray pgr or anything for the crabgrass which will probably burn the lawn.

Here is my list of things on the to-do list
1. Pgr
2. Quinclorac (75% dose)
3. Prodiamine
4. Wetting agent
5. Dominion 2l

Hopefully I can get the majority of it done next weekend. It just been tough getting out and doing work.


----------



## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

@Ral1121

Man... what's up fellow Texan? Just went through your entire journal. Amazing progress man! Really impressed. Look forward to what 2019 has in store for you.


----------

