# gone's lawn journal



## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

Was in my house for a year and a half before starting anything in this back yard because I knew the job it was going to be. I dont have a picture but there was about 3" of decorative rock covering the back yard. There was a tree and 2 ragaty tin sheds. The yard was sloped from that back wall all the way to the middle of the yard. I removed tons of dirt and rocks with a wheel barrow, shovel and pick for 3 months every day after work. (my gate was too small for any equipment to get in) I did everything myself except for the laying of the blocks on the retaining wall. Laid a row and realized I probably better get some professionals in here for this. I laid the sod and knew nothing about lawn care or that there was different types of Bermuda. I now realize they gave me pallets with 2 different types. I also over seeded with some stuff from Home Depot. When I learned about lawn care I was going to nuke it and start over but I thought lets spend a couple years learning the lawn care game and when I am more experienced and have things dialed in I'll do a renovation.

Here is the sod after 1 year. At this point I am not watering right. I am not fertilizing. I am doing everything wrong just dont know it.








At this point it got hot and I had a trampoline that I moved back and forth basically thinning the entire yard out. Still not watering or fertilizing correctly. Once I had it nice and ruined I began this beautiful addiction of lawn care. When I saw what you guys were accomplishing I knew I had to get there. Here is my first leveling/topdressing. Threw out more seed cause what does it matter now it already has 3 different types of Bermuda. Began fertilizing.







I top dressed/leveled a second time after it had recovered.(Yard was super bumpy)





I recently put down pavers and had it looking the best it ever has. A week after this pic it turned kinda yellow and looked to have fungus.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

@gonefishn2010 Looks good! Maybe some warm season guys will check in with some advice for the yellowing. Water?


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

Yeah I posted and a couple guys said i was watering too much and i needed to use a more balanced fertilizer. Not just chuck down 21-0-0. Its hard to resist the urge to water more when its over 112 for the last 2 weeks and no rain for 2 months.


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## SeanBB (Jul 11, 2020)

yes i think it looks good! i mean with that heat cmon...what kind of bermuda is it?


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

I am not sure. When I bought it, I didn't know anything about lawns except Bermuda sod is what we have around here. I did not even know there was different types of Bermuda. I did notice 2 different types when I laid the Sod. I also over seeded with box store seeds in the thin areas. So I have a mixed matched lawn.


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

Got in one more leveling before the end of the season. This was started Sep. 3rd. I scalped it down and aerated. With some research I learned you shouldn't fill the holes with sand. Feel kinda dumb about that. I used a couple bags of garden mix I had laying around and put it in the areas that we not filling in as good. I did screen the mix but probably wasn't necessary. I don't like the big pieces in the yard. My girls complain when they step on them. I went heavy on the sand and it seemed to recover ok. Some spots I had up to and inch and a half and couldn't see any green. I wouldn't recommend that but I am impatient and was pushing to level this year. I did 3 leveling projects this year. It looks thicker and more filled in than it actually is. A month later if you look really close you can still see sand in spots. Overall I am happy with the progress I made this year.


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

Over seeded with Pennington Fairway Supreme from Home Depot. I wanted to get a better seed but when I went to get some champion it was on back order. I saw a post of someone on the forum who had good results with it so I decided to give it a try. This is my first year so I am not sure if the coverage is good or not. I did the bag rate of 10lbs/1000sqft I do notice in certain areas the rye seems to be having problems competing with the Bermuda which is loving the cooler days here in Az. Next year I will for sure use some PGR to slow the Bermuda. I put a light layer of garden mix on the areas where the Bermuda was bare or thin to cover the seed. I think after the first mow I will add some more seed in the areas that are not that thick. I also put down some 10-10-10. Watering a number of times a day is causing me some mushroom problems. I carefully pull out a bunch everyday. I think I will give it 3-4 weeks before I mow. It is killing me having a shaggy lawn. I have kept my Bermuda and 5/8" all year. Overall this is the best it has looked all year. The Bermuda has pushed into almost all the thin bare spots.


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## Phxphenom (Aug 19, 2020)

Just curious when you threw down your PRG....Looks like it came in nice....


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

Phxphenom said:


> Just curious when you threw down your PRG....Looks like it came in nice....


Planted on Oct. 9th. I had germination after 5 days. Some spots look like it had trouble competing with the Bermuda. Hopefully it feels in.


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## Phxphenom (Aug 19, 2020)

I also live in Phoenix and am planting later this week or weekend.....


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

First mow. It has only been 11 days since the seed was put down but some of it was 4" -6" tall. I pulled out the fiskars push mower and went for it. I back lapped it last week in preparing for the first cut. I took it down to about 2". The half that got more shade looks pretty good the other half had more sun and the Bermuda was causing the rye to grow slowly. I threw down some more seed as birds and ants hauled out quite a bit. I had piles of seed in my garden area they drug up the wall. I will use some ant killer a few days before I seed next year. I am at about 12lbs/1000 now. Still fighting mushrooms but hopefully that will slow down when I can cut back on the water.


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

Took it down to an 1". The dogs and family was glad I let them back on it.


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

Used MSM to kill off the rye grass. Took a month or so but the MSM finally kicked in and got the rye. I wasnt too happy with the overseed results. The rye was coming in nice but seemed to fizzle out by the end of December. Next year I think I will skip the overseed and try painting the dormant Bermuda. Temps here have jumped into the mid 80s and 90s so I am getting some good green up and growth going. I have a problem area so I got one of those cheap auger bits on Amazon and drilled some holes. I filled them with a peat moss/fertilizer/gypsum mix. I hope it will loosen up the soil some and help for better water penetration. Ground is so hard in some areas even a hammer drill could only go down about half a pinky length. After drilling I picked up the soil with a small shovel and shop vac. If you do this remember to take the filter out. I also built some shade for the other plants. Last year 116 degrees for a month killed almost all my plants on the hot block wall. I will be spoon feeding Ammonium Sulfate/Milorganite this year. Good Luck to everyone.


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

pulled plugs from the good growing areas and put them in the shady areas that take all season to fill in. Hopefully this will speed up the process. I filled the holes with a gypsum peat moss fertilized combo. used the pro plugger instead of the drill bit and it worked much better.


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

Filling in pretty good. I need to take some day time pics cause it looks better in the evening after a water then during the day. My little disclaimer


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## Ben S (Oct 6, 2018)

That first picture was kind of a shock to my system but you got it looking really nice. I like my big yard but sometimes I also wish I had a nice small lawn like this that I could mow every day.


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

I enjoy my 1000 sq. ft. Just big enough for the kids and play some cornhole. Cheap to maintain. Only takes me 20 minutes to do a double cut. I can mow 2 or 3 times a week easily.


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## gonefishn2010 (Jun 15, 2020)

Plugs are growing well and the original holes are almost all the way filled in.


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