# Kove's lawn (Saint Louis, MO)



## NoslracNevok

*Front lawn*

*Back lawn*

*Current*
_...to be continued, post is getting too large, apparently slowing down PC_

I'm Koven, my wife and I purchased our house spring of 2011 in a suburb of St. Louis (6a, transition zone). I've 10k grass in behind my house, 1k in front, and 4k on the sides. My front gets the most attention. The back 10k I just created last fall from a brush/wooded area, it gets slightly less attention. The sides only mow (for now).

*Front lawn*
Early on I cared only that it wasn't dirt.



Aug 2016: Nutsedge eventually set me off, and I sprayed it all with Sedgehammer


Sep 2, 2016: Problem is, Nutsedge, crabgrass and a little clover was all there was in this corner, I attempted to seed, but I really had no idea what I was doing.  aaaand it didn't germinate.


Oct 27, 2016: Time to accept germination defeat and bring in the cavalry, carrying some HGT Bluegrass I purchased from Emerald View turf farm. In the cover of night (by necessity) I laid down about 200 sqft.


Now I've a new problem. I didn't consider soil heights, so I ended up with a green plateau of nice grass, below it weed infested lowlands. To remed this, I decided to do sod again, but this time TTTF so I could compare what I like best (spoiler: ***).

April, 2017: In ignorance, I used no chemicals (it didn't cross my mind), just scalped the grass/weeds and tilled up soil. The dormant Bermuda you see here starting coming back this year, which I'm hand pulling until I reno this whole area fall 2019. :?


I rented a flatbed truck to transport a yard of top soil into my garage, my son agreed it was a good idea.


May 2, 2017: Everything leveled to my liking, moist and ready to be laid. I did a soil test, and everything was in good shape, just low Phosphorus. I bought a $10 diy kit, and it surprised me to find it showed the same results. 


May 10, 2017: I decided to have this one delivered. :nod:


Looking good, annnnd I didn't order enough. I picked up a little more from Kurtz Turf farm, which different mix of TTTF, why not? Well, they cut their turf much thinner than Emerald View turf. In addition to that, I didn't bring the soil level high enough to the existing Green Plateau. (it still scalps to this day, which I plan on leveling soon)


Oct 2017: Threw summer up to Oct I noticed weeds, mainly crabgrass was coming up everywhere. I still didn't know why (I should have used glyphosate around the time of scalping)


I hand pulled all the crabgrass and my lawn now had pattern baldness. Since I already was in the rhythm of seeding (my backyard, will be a second post) I went ahead and threw down some misc (didn't care at the time) cultivars of Rye (75%) and KBG (22 %).


Continued...Current layout of cool/warm is an interesting contrast during cool months. 
March 2018


However I never really liked my hell strip of weeds and Bermuda. Time to nuke it all. 
Aug 11, 2018


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## pennstater2005

@NoslracNevok I love the load of sod in the SUV! How bad was it sagging? A lawn truly is a non stop work in progress. Keep it updated!


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## NoslracNevok

@pennstater2005 My *Prius was slammed, a proper street sweeper baby. I just drove slow, improvise and overcome.


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## NoslracNevok

*back(south) lawn*

Here's my supervisor Linus, couldn't do it without him. Behind him in this the best pic I have for the before. In the spring (well before this pic) the brush was much worse. I didn't even know I had a retaining wall. bonus!
Sep 2011


About a year later, I decided i wanted to clear it out and make a lawn. This pic shows some of the early progress. Many weekends and days off I spent, cut, dig, rake, burn, repeat. 
June 2012


Dec2015 flood, I'm hoping it will happen again and it will bring in some natural nutrients.


The stars have aligned in 2017 and I've the time and resources to commit to this year.
April 2017


April 2017


July 2017


Aug 2017


Sep 2017

I burned everything I took out/down. Thorny wild berries were the most annoying since the beginning and I learned a lot about poison ivy. The pic below I had burn piles on three large stumps.


Oct 2017
Sprinkler testing



Cheap grass seed? Check! (should have bought better quality)


Game-day and I've only one day to till and seed. The majority of the day I was had the tiller on it's lowest speed and didn't realize it, fantastic. I finished after sunset, I wish I had more time, ideally three days would have been perfect.
Oct 2, 2017 Each white flag is a stump. With only a few hours remaining, I pulled a weighted 2x6 for leveling, however it started raining (of course) so that got to hard. I finished the remained with a landscaping rake best I could. The south lawn project budget didn't allow for renting something like a bobcat, in case you're wondering.





Little green babies, 5 days after seeddown


10 days after


Moles decided they liked the fluffy soil. I decided to buy three mole traps.


20 days later


1 month later


Setup for a party which had a metal fire pit. To protect the grass from it's heat, I used a grill heat/droppings mat below the pit and it didn't work. I'm thinking large concrete pavers sandwich with rockwool in the middle.


This flood is going to help my find where to add soil when I get around to leveling.
Feb2018


Drinking coffee with my wife in the morning is nice. We've skittish furry neighbors that wake up and head east each morning. Mr. Turkey I haven't seen in a while, probably found a new place.



Put down dithiopyr at 1/2 the recommended rate out of curiosity (north lawn full rate). I've been quite surprised it's been holding weeds back so well, although the savings in money isn't worth the extra weeds to do come in. 
April 2018


I decided to compare starter fertilizer and Milorganite. I've been posting 1 month updates on youtube.
May 2018


June 2018


July 2018


Aug 2018




Map of my lawn. I'm surprised how often I need to reference this.


Well that's if for now. In my north (front) lawn I'm nuking the hell strip of Bermuda, seeding three different plots, 1 mono of Bewitched, 1 mono of Mazama, 1 plot 50/50 mix Bewitched/Mazama.

In the south lawn, and remaining north lawn, I'll be using the leftover seed for dead spots and overseeding.


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## pennstater2005

That's a nice variety of wildlife. I had that same mole trap. I never caught anything with it! I'm impressed!


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## STL

@NoslracNevok Very interesting thread and cool pics! Wow, you've definitely been through some experiences, especially that crazy flooding.

I'll be keeping an eye on your thread and rooting for ya! I'm also doing some testing on Mazama and Bewitched, along with Blue Velvet and hopefully a couple others, myself. My year old blend of those cultivar has held up really well to the St. Louis summer so far.

What general part of town are you from?I'm in St. Charles.


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## NoslracNevok

@pennstater2005 One trap worked the first try, then it didn't work even after setting it about 5 more times. It's only then did I buy 2 more. I put one about a foot from each end and one in the middle, it works every time now.

@STL Thanks! I just followed you reno thread. Have you been applying any fungicides? I'm going to start a 4 month regiment next season.

I'm over in Maryland Heights, near the amphitheater.


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## g-man

My only question is why plots in the front lawn? I would just use the mix in the front and plots in the side or backyard.


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## NoslracNevok

@g-man I picture a monostand end result, but I'll go with a mix if it turns out I like it more. I could start with a mono stand with plots elsewhere, and just bet on which will do better and sow a full mono of Mazama, but I value a side a side comparison more.

Also, I've limited time and resources for a full reno anywhere else in the lawn, although tempting.


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## STL

@NoslracNevok just noticed that you mentioned in the hometown forum that you plan on mowing reel low. Curious what HOC you're planning on going with and how much sun your property gets? Have you run across any other folks who reel mow low in the transition zone? The concept is starting to grow on me, but I'd be worried about stressing the turf. My tttf struggles a bit in the south facing all day full sun part of my lawn during the heat of summer.


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## NoslracNevok

@STL I'll be trying various HOC until I find the sweet zone (hoping for sub-1"). My boulevard/hell strip will be divided three plots (2 side walk blocks each) and the length of it I'll have 2-3 different HOC. I'm a little concerned the about making too many test plots as the smaller they are, the harder it will be to attribute the actual cause of it's success-failure.

The area gets full sun, so I'm sure it will have some issues in our summer, but it's a test plot and we're in the show me state.  Balls to the wall baby!

I've been cutting my north lawn (full sun) at 2" for the past few weeks and it's doing better than the ~3 inches it used to be. That said, ~50% blade change more significant than a ~33% change.

What is the lowest HOC you've had success with?


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## STL

@NoslracNevok Lol. I like the enthusiasm! Go big (or in this case short) or go home!

Other than after seeding I've never drifted south of like 2.25. Honestly, I've never even thought of going lower until I joined this forum. Lowest setting on my Timemaster is 1.25, but I'd probably say 1.75 is the lowest it could realistically go without risk of scalping, at least in my unlevel yard. I do have a push reel mower but it's kind of a piece.

You're starting to convince me to drop the height... I think I'll give it a whirl when the temps cool down!


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## NoslracNevok

@STL I've always admired the grass at Wimbledon and that on your average golf courses and so on, but never crossed my mind until, like you, seeing guys do it here. I'm dropping my north lawn HOC from 2" to 1-3/16" this evening, time permitting. I love how tidy it looks, how easy it is to see dog poop, tennis balls etc. :thumbup: Another bonus it'll unlock sand leveling perk.

You should! I'll never go back, maybe a bit higher in the summer.


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## g-man

I'm a few miles north in Indy than st Louis, but Im sure it will work for you guys.


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## NoslracNevok

5 days after glyphosate. After reading it'll take roughly 7 days for Visible results, I still inexplicably expected results in a day or two and I was a little worried it didn't work. 🤣


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## NoslracNevok

5 days after glyphosate. After reading it'll take roughly 7 days for Visible results, I still inexplicably expected results in a day or two and I was a little worried it didn't work. 😂
I put a down a pound of urea after the glyphosate and it has rained a couple times since I then, so I think I'm right where I should be. I'm going to do a second application perhaps on Sunday.


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## NoslracNevok

Round two of glyphosate!


video plan overview


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## NoslracNevok

Plenty of seed stock piled up, even in the event of washout. Mazama in brown, Bewitched in Ziploc.


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## NoslracNevok

satisfying to burn Bermuda


2/3 done digging up the extra soil (and old dead sod) to make room for 1/2" sand/soil mix, leveled 1/2" below top of concrete. I couldn't wait to see an initial leveling, so I grabbed the tiller then leveled with a landscape rake a little just for funsies.

I had some serious heaving muffintop above the sidewalk. At this point it's been about 12 wheeled barrels and using to it as filler in a few other spots.

One of those bigger spots here. Once filled, I'll level and sow some seed there. The downspout I'm not worried about as it's for a laughably tiny piece of roof I'm not sure how it was decided a gutter was needed.
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Even more satisfying is digging up the heaving areas to see the soil getting nice and smooth. My neighbors gladly gave me permission to include their portion, I don't like lawn property lines.


Soil and sand waiting patiently in the garage day of Glory. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it today get seed down.
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## NoslracNevok

Two rounds if glyphosate, burning then scalping, now dig up dead Bermuda and extra soil.


Then used this little guy to till it up, I highly recommend this tiller.


Rank out debris and initial leveling.


Rough level 1" below sidewalk.


Built this to help with leveling. One side has an offset piece of MDF, then I use the other side for the final topsoil.


Happy with this. No more heaving soil, no more Bermuda, already winning in my book.


Seeding had to be a night operation.


A few Spots dry out quicker, I'm thinking due sand/soil not fully mixed, or spots which were deeper which required more new soil mix(clay loam).


Some of the seed was uncovered after a few waterings, I'll probably add some more peat moss today. Is this a good idea or is there anything else I should consider?


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## NoslracNevok

Today threw little seed and peat moss down on the bare spots and gently tamped. I'll probably put more peat moss over the entire area 


Start to finish vid.


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## iowa jim

Nice work, i will be following you on your reno as i have bewitched and mazama in my reno along with midnight. Just so happens i have a chocolate also named Rocky.


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## NoslracNevok

Thank you @iowa jim! I've been following your reno and it's turning out great. Rocky an inside dog? Linus is a micro-manager and won't stop riding my *** while working in the lawn.


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## iowa jim

NoslracNevok said:


> Thank you @iowa jim! I've been following your reno and it's turning out great. Rocky an inside dog? Linus is a micro-manager and won't stop riding my @ss while working in the lawn.


He used to be like that, but he is 9 years old now and has turned into a couch potato.


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## STL

@NoslracNevok you sure did a lot of work! Hope it goes well. How are you planning on irrigation the hell strip?


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## NoslracNevok

@STL Yeah, with a hose end oscillating sprinkler (Orbit timer), I'm surprised how accurate it's able to get water on the strip. I need to review the literature on ET rates and the like asap. Less immediate is a 2019 value driven plan for a fungicide regiment.

Either next fall or the one after I'll reno my whole front lawn (w/ underground irrigation) based around this years testing.


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## STL

@NoslracNevok gotcha. It may be challenging to keep the turf happy in the hell strip that first summer. My first year KBG near the street would show drought signs much quicker than the rest. I'll be doing the same as you with ET watering and fungicides if you ever want to compare notes.


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## NoslracNevok

Good to know what to expect, thanks for the scoop. ET and fungicides are completely new to me, would definitely help bouncing notes. :thumbup:

How do you keep track of your work and plans? I"ll probably start a workbook with detailed sheet on each category, like Pete's ET sheet. With the key info from each being shown on an overview sheet, similar to what I have now.


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## NoslracNevok

Looks like I have an Evel Knievel boy and a dog that loves to great people no matter where they're at. 


But it's okay because I've free child labor to make things right.


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## NoslracNevok

This little guy sprouted in 1 day. I don't know what kind of weed it is but I'm guessing it's white from the Mesotrione (tenacity) I put down with the starter fertilizer, but unsure if that means it will die.

My guess is Nutsedge?


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## bgillroy

Looks like the nutsedge that I had too. The tenacity blocks the chlorophyll and the plant basically starves to death.


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## NoslracNevok

5.5 days post seed down, the Bewitched plot has these all over the place!


Next to it is the Mazama test plot coming in slower, about 5% that of Bewitched.


What a way to start Friday! I'm less concerned about the coming 3" of rain.


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## bgillroy

Well my gif didn't work! It's vintage Hasselhoff clapping... Just pretend that it worked.Thanks @g-man, brilliant!


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## g-man

bgillroy said:


> Well my gif didn't work! It's vintage Hasselhoff clapping... Just pretend that it worked.


You have to use [ img] [/img] or the picture button in the full editor for it to work.


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## STL

Awesome! That bewitched looks pretty good for sure.


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## NoslracNevok

Well hell, my reinforcements aren't working too well. It's obvious now why, water goes in the cracks. :roll: path of least resistance


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## NoslracNevok

https://youtu.be/zkcyqi128-c


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## NoslracNevok

Day 11:
Mazama test plot. I seeded the thin areas again and covered with peat moss.



Bewitched



Mazama Bewitched 1:1



This morning I used some of the extra seed for bare spots and threw some over the rest.



I'm hand watering in the morning before leaving for work and a timer set at noon for 20 minutes then hand water again in the evening.


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## g-man

This is looking really good.


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## NoslracNevok

@g-man thanks! I didn't expect so many neighbors to stop as they are walking/driving by to strike up a conversation or compliment. Bonus reward!

My south lawn has been partially flooded since the rain, it's subsided quite a bit since I took this photo. Hopefully this won't happen after they're done working back there


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## NoslracNevok

Well shoot, looks like I got a ton of fungus. Time to research which Fungicide is safe for the babies.


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## STL

Any lesions or spots? Azoxystrobin and propiconazole should be safe at this point for you. Pythium and leaf spot/melting out are among the biggest risks to seedlings. Liquid azoxystrobin is probably your best bet for a curative.


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## NoslracNevok

No visible spots/lesions. Great info, thanks man. I've some granular Azoxystrobin (DiseaseEX), I may try and dissolve that into some water. I know there's a few local store's we've mentioned in the STL thread, but haven't mentioned Fungicide.

Any idea of a local place that carries liquid Azoxystrobin?


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## STL

Never bought fungicide from these, but Site One, El Mel, or Hummerts may have some. Conversely, if you're OK with generics, I have way more azoxystrobin and propiconazole than I'm going to use if you'd want some. You can get empty chemical containers from Site One and I'd fill you a jug of each for cheap.


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## NoslracNevok

Sounds great! I'll pm you in a sec..


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## NoslracNevok

Day 18, better than lowest expectation, lower than highest expectation, with a fungus wild card.

After a little rain wash out, on day 11, I threw down more seed and covered with peat moss. Today I'm starting to see the Sprouts just as expected.

Mazama


Bewitched


1:1 blend


Close up of fungus, I first noticed it on day 12, and put a Curative rate of Scott's disease x on it day 15. It doesn't seem to have done any anything so I should be trying a flowable combo fungicide tomorrow.


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## g-man

Koven, the Scott product is a dry one. It need to be dissolved and then absorbed thru the roots. It will take time.

Try to cut back on watering. Maybe reduce the frequency and increase the durations.


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## NoslracNevok

Day 22, ~30% loss from fungus, ~20% from washout. The good news is, it's not 100, and after applying Azoxystrobin, the fungus has diminished to ~5% of it's peak. (lower temps and dew point as well)

Full view


Mazama is getting a second wind, catching up to Bewitched filling in.


Bewitched


1:1 mix


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## iowa jim

What do you think caused the fungus and what kind of fungus?


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## NoslracNevok

@iowa jim I'm pretty sure it was pythium. The high temps, dew point combined with a little me over watering. Other guys here in STL had pythium as well. I'm going to be more proactive about fungus in the future. I'll start a 4 month cycle next May maybe April. Shouldnt need to worry much about it this year.


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## deez

Did the scotts disease ex end up working or did you put down a different form of azoxystrobin?


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## Budstl

Front lawn looks great koven. Glad you were able to save the reno. The last week of temps were vicious. So nice to have cooler temps now


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## drenglish

Koven - good work so far. I hope the fungal issues come to a halt for you. I'm interested in adding azoxystrobin to the arsenal for spring '19 and wondered if you sprayed or used granular. You've got a subscriber to your reno - I'm south of you in Arkansas...and am giving KBG all I've got this year.

Nice mailbox by the way. Did you make it?


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## NoslracNevok

@deez I only put down the Scott's EX, however it's hard to say 100% is it was just that or combo that plus better weather. This is my lawn journal, you'll see the dew point and high temp columns; the red is bad for grass, green is good. I'd guess a little both treatment and weather.



@Budstl thanks man! Yep, I'm throwing down the rest of my seed probably in the front yard as the back is still flooded. What I'm guessing is a RR access road is being built (2 derailments since we've lived here), trapping water on my side. I'm already planning Operation Plateau:2020.

@drenglish Thank you mucho mass! I did granular for this. @STL hooked me up with some flowable I'll be using next year, possibly a little now. Definitely use more than one type of fungicide. People will call you crazy, but done let the (TZ) *** haters change your mind! I did design and build the mailbox, and thanks again. I LOVE it, there's so much room for activities in there, but it's due for a refurbishing.


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## NoslracNevok

Day 31 update

https://youtu.be/7PVjwlUUMXQ


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## NoslracNevok

Used this to aerate a little, better than nothing I figure. Originally made it to kill a mole. (video here: 



 )


Current money shot of lawn. You can see the left side where I've recently taken over my neighbors' lawn duties (with approval). Excited to have it matching, maybe by fall '18.


I'm even more giddy to see my hell strip fill in and mature. I could not stand my previous Bermuda,weeds, uneven, and heaving above sidewalk. Thank to you all for info and the YouTube guys like Al, Connor, Ryan, Grass Daddy, Lawntips, TGF, Pete, domyown, Jake, etc for info, but more so motivation.

Next year i can either focus in my front to the next level, or my back, which is much larger and much more work (and $). Ah choices.


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## ksturfguy

Dang does everyone on here have a detailed lawn journal where they keep track of everything each day like you? I'm sure it really doesn't take that much time to do just doubt I'd be able to keep it updated.


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## drenglish

I'm interested in what program/spread you're using for your lawn journal. Are you manually inputting weather? Looks really neat. I am just using notes on my iPhone and record any application or cut/HOC but find its getting a little difficult with 5 lawn areas on one page and having to scrolllllllll all the way to the top or bottom.

Good luck on the side with the neighbor. I got permission from my neighbor to my left (looking at the house) to share a reno area. Really glad I could. The field to my right is vacant and I got permission to mow the salad bar and kill back some crabgrass and Bermuda and plant whatever I wanted. That's a little peace of mind too.


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## NoslracNevok

@ksturfguy Lol, I'd presume so. @Pete1313 has a fantastic evapotranspiration sheet I may incorporate next season.

It helps visualize correlations like mowing frequency and temps+rain, dew point and fungus, temp and stress, and so on. Here it is zoomed out, looking forward to making a better version over the winter.



@drenglish Thank you! I'm using google sheets. I also transcribed the Fungicide Guide https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4042 to a sheet here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1I7-mmHd-HmHhZHLg3JS2TDKI1tJzLtovHkVVeYMwe_I/edit?usp=sharing
My end goal is a comprehensive lawn workbook made of sheets tied together. It is all manual right now, I'm a novice putting sheets together and higher functions like data extraction are foreign to me at this point.

I'm elated she gave permission as I can't stand domination lines and any weeds blowing over. I saw you have similar mindset. Why did you go K31 as a buffer zone instead of just extending the good grass?


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## iowa jim

I am at day 54 on my reno with 50% midnight 25% bewitched and 25% mazama and can not see any difference in color on all 3 as they blend very well. Like you i could see a difference until about day 30 or so and hit it with some milo, wich darkened all 3 of them so color should not be problem for you. The only thing i see between the mazama and the bewitched is that one grows a little bit faster than the other, not sure wich one it is. In your 1 on 1 have you noticed this? looking good


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## g-man

ksturfguy said:


> Dang does everyone on here have a detailed lawn journal where they keep track of everything each day like you? I'm sure it really doesn't take that much time to do just doubt I'd be able to keep it updated.


Most do. It helps in two ways: 1) you have a nice words/picture history of your lawn. I've gone back to my pictures to look at areas before/after to confirm issues. 2) it helps other to learn from your success/mistakes/issues. It is easy to says, KBG spreads a lot in the fall, vs when someone post images of their summer lawn full of bare spots and then be tied for the lawn on the month in September (Fusebox7); it makes the statement a lot more convincing.


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## ksturfguy

g-man said:


> ksturfguy said:
> 
> 
> 
> Dang does everyone on here have a detailed lawn journal where they keep track of everything each day like you? I'm sure it really doesn't take that much time to do just doubt I'd be able to keep it updated.
> 
> 
> 
> Most do. It helps in two ways: 1) you have a nice words/picture history of your lawn. I've gone back to my pictures to look at areas before/after to confirm issues. 2) it helps other to learn from your success/mistakes/issues. It is easy to says, KBG spreads a lot in the fall, vs when someone post images of their summer lawn full of bare spots and then be tied for the lawn on the month in September (Fusebox7); it makes the statement a lot more convincing.
Click to expand...

No I understand that, I was mostly meaning his spreadsheet lawn journal where he tracks the weather every single day along with when he applies products or mows or anything. I've never really tracked it that specifically. I know within a week or 2 of each other every year I do my same routine but have never tracked the exact dates, along with the weather on that date, etc.

I've just always thought I was serious about my lawn but I've quickly learned in my short time on here that you guys take it to another level. I'm impressed lol


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## NoslracNevok

@iowa jim 3 main differences I've noticed up to this point, day 35.


The Bewitched sprouted a couple days quicker

The Mazama is a deeper green.

The Mazama also has a different growth habit, two of the blades go out almost parallel to the ground, whereas the Bewitched two blades are ~30 degree angle with the ground.


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## drenglish

@NoslracNevok I'm going to check these sheets out soon after work this weekend. Thank you for sharing!

As for the K31...it actually might be a non specific mix of TTTF, I'm reaching out to Barenbrug seed for some info as the bag doesn't have a label other than "Tall Fescue Mix". I decided to use this in effort to compare to a higher maintenance turf right next door to it and see how, what I think is K31, will compare in the long run. Some property that I'm looking at for a future home has a lot of field areas that I would definitely consider renovating but only if the turf could be extremely low input. Up next to the house will be as high maintenance as I have time for


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## NoslracNevok

Day 40
The Mazama, on average, remains a deeper green than Bewitched. Yesterday I went from rotary HOC ~1.3" to a reel HOC ~5/8. I'd rather go around 3/4, but this push reel doesn't have a setting for that. I may stick to 1".


This guy came in yesterday, purchased online from Walmart. Can cut a hair under half an inch. Remington 1300, $80.


Mazama


Bewitched


1:1 mix


Last minute Reno for my neighbors portion of the lawn. I'll be using a bag of Ace sunny mix PRG/KBG.


Back yard status: flooded and neglected


Vid update





Testing different grass types, mixes, cultivars, plus leaning curve, I call my work the patch quilted blanket. Next year I'll Reno the entire area, beds and all, then go with a monostand.


I noticed chatter marks after cutting with the reel mower. I'm guessing this is related to the amount (5) of blades on the reel and or combo with bouncing. Need to do more research.


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## Budstl

That mazama is looking nice. I know you'll wait and see how they perform next year, but what are you leaning towards for a monostand?


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## drenglish

Alright! Cutting it "reel low"  I'm really interested in Mazama. So far it's looking good. And things are filling in nicely. My driveway lawn (Bewitched, Midnight, Everglade) is on day 40, and I'm mowing it just under 1" with my California Trimmer and the grass is handling it quite well. I think you'll like the reel mower.


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## NoslracNevok

@Budstl Mazama hands down if I had to decide today. In person it's more noticable than a pic. Here's another angle showing the difference.


@drenglish I love your little circle patch and it's looking good! I had to Google Cali trimmer and I laughed at the little trash panda you caught. 👌


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## drenglish

LOL! trashpanda. Never heard that one. Hey man we are basically performing the same tests. Patchwork lawn is the way to go here in the zone 

Koven, are you planning on planting any winter annuals? I just planted some pansies yesterday and might do a few more in some pots around the place. Next spring I'm going all out on annuals and will fertilize them like Connor Ward does. He has some amazing results.


----------



## NoslracNevok

I didn't have it in mind, but I think I will, now you mention it. I have zero experience with flowers, I was still googling "annual vs perennial" until recently.&#128513;Thanks for the inspiration!

I think I'll but some Pansy & Viola in the sidewalk bed, snapdragons in the large bed. Unsure what I can put under the tree, given the shade; any suggestion?


----------



## NoslracNevok

Hell strip reno, Day 48: It's slowing down a bit. Here is St Louis the temps went from mids 80s to low 60s on Oct 11. Disappointed because last year the new grass was at it's best growth in the 70s range.

As for the remainder of the front lawn, today will be my 60th cut of the season! I was cutting everyday since I bought my reel mower, but since the temps have dipped, I'm going every 3rd day. Since Sep 6, I've been putting down Urea at rate of 0.5lbN/1,000sqft. this is on the high side, but what the hay.

Oct 11 I had an itch to put down more. Couple lbs of Milo, 4 lbs Chicken Poop organic mix, humic acid and Urea. Probably overkill, but I'm just messing around, having fun.


Neighbors reno, Day 7: It just sprouted. Although I've done this several times now, I was still a little worried with the low temps at night. In this pic, you can see the sprout's purple-red bottom, I guess this is the Rye, or maybe from cooler temps? My blue grass didn't have this.


Last night I put down some more humic acid, then Screamin' Green, and watered in by hand along with chelated Iron. Here's a update of that.


----------



## bgillroy

Looks good. I see that frost on your roof! We really are going to skip the 70 degree days, aren't we?


----------



## Budstl

I see your neighbors are selling. Now i know why.
Honey that mad man across the street is vacuuming his lawn now. That's it we're moving. 
Good video. Mazama is looking great.


----------



## NoslracNevok

@bgillroy Thank you, Ol Jack frost needs to stay away for just a bit longer if skipping the 70s.

@Budstl lmao, thanks man!


----------



## NoslracNevok

15 days ago I started mowing with a Remington 1300 reel mower, I've mowed my 1k front yard 8 times since then.

I'm in a peculiar situation, (most) people in the transition zone don't grow Kentucky Bluegrass, and no one here (STL) mows KBG anywhere near 1" or below. Every person I've talked to thinks it's a crazy idea (probably is), but I'm staying the course. I only got (semi) serious about my lawn last year, and it may seem common knowledge to some, but I found some reel things that surprised me.

1- Edging: With my push reel, it's hard to get the edges so naturally I whipped out my string trimmer and cut it down (nerve racking the first few times on this short of grass, and new). The next day I noticed all the edges have a light browny haze about them. Upon closer inspection, the tips are ripped to shreds and the lawn"field" blades where the reel cut are crisp and strait, no discoloration. I can't have this, so I'll be getting some type of scissors to match things up.

2- Topography: You get to know your lawn curves better than you ever have

3- Small margin of error: with everything shorter imperfections and flaws in the mower cut are more obvious. My reel makes chatter marks / washboarding which I believe i form not enough blades on the reel to cut every bit. This could solved by more blades, or more reel RPM at the same walking speed. Pretty sure a used ICE reel is in my future. 

4- The Cut: It really look better than the best rotary blade. I sharpen my EGO blade quite a bit, and it cuts pretty darn clean, but it still can' compete with the the scissor action of a reel. Along with this, you need to pay extra attention to wood chips and sticks in the lawn, they jam the reel and can cause damage.

5- Field of view: You can see EVERYTHING on the lawn, golf balls, tennis, marbles, dog poop etc. I find myself picking up anything that isn't grass (leafs, sticks, etc) anytime we're in the front yard. It's really not time consuming since I stay on top of it.

All in all, I LOVE the reel quality cut, and I'm LOVING the reel low height of cut. Time will tell if it's sustainable, but I'm willing to push the status quo.

Here's a video summation with a few extras and updates.
https://youtu.be/1Qx-GxXhzXU


----------



## STL

I obviously don't have any direct experience with reel mowing short, but I think if you can keep up with the mowing and prevent stress as much as possible in the summer, you can pull if off!

Check out the Maruyama landscaping blade.


----------



## NoslracNevok

Thanks for the encouragement! My Barvette HGT (from Emerald View)did well last summer cut at ~1.5", I'm optimistic about it.

Perhaps one day I'll pick get that blade, it's ideal but holy-s*#t is it expensive. I'll likely pick these up:http://www2.fiskars.com/Products/Ga...ass-Shears/Long-handle-Swivel-Grass-Shears-36


----------



## g-man

I think Busch Stadium used KBG. Just be careful of fungus with summer watering and it should be ok.


----------



## NoslracNevok

Indeed, I believe it's Barenbrug Barvette HGT, which I have in a corner of my front lawn and it did well this summer without using fungicide(correction: I put down a curative rate of granular azoxystrobin July 13). I plan on 3 MOA starting next spring regardless.


----------



## g-man

I might break some rules next year and use Emerald fungicide for dollar spot.


----------



## NoslracNevok

Pft, In your lawn, put a hole in it and it's a golf course in my book! Haven't heard of boscalid, interesting. I've got some serious research to do over the winter. I've plenty of Azoxystrobin and Propiconazole, need to see what else is the best bang for my buck.

What's your '19 fungiment looking to be?


----------



## g-man

For full disclosure, the label lists that it is only approved for golf courses.

I'm in the process of evaluating options. I have until March.


----------



## STL

Yep, I believe Busch is HGT. My wife ended up wanting nice grass in a small off to the side area by my shed so I used that to give it a try. You want me to plant more grass, hun? OK! Don't have to tell me twice! Lol. We'll see how it turns out though since I seeded pretty late in the game.

For disease control recommendations, particularly summer patch, check out the research from Rutgers. Good stuff. I'm considering penthiopyrad. There's a cheaper generic/garden version too if you're interested in splitting some again.


----------



## drenglish

Exciting times. I'm mowing my little 120 sq foot lawn at less than 1" and am going to stay the course as long as I can with it. I'd like to hear more about your fungicide, fertilizing, and watering plans for 2019. I'm pretty excited about you St. Louis guys leading the way down south in this adventure. I feel a little less on my own here in Arkansas.

I'll watch your video posted a little later tonight after dinner.


----------



## NoslracNevok

@drenglish STAY THE COURSE
even if..
http://i.imgur.com/PgmTAfn.gifv

Glad to be a guinea pig, I like to see stuff for myself. (often to my detriment) You're even bolder going with KBG even further south. Even though small, it's high risk being a center piece. It's not too late to resseed that k31 though 

I've yet to decide on my fungicide plans, probably 3 MOA, undecided on specifics, (azoxystrobin and Propiconazole for sure). @STL has helped a lot. Fertilizer, probably going withe normal N supplement (and others after soil test), adding Humic and iron here and there. Watering, I plan to somewhat emulate what @Pete1313 has going on.


----------



## drenglish

I'd like to get set up to water like Pete1313 and am not sure even where to begin with data gathering. Are you going to collect the data yourself (E/T and rain) or use a local weather station?

Yeah STL has given some good advice on fungicides. I definitely need to add to my propiconazole granular that I got on sale this Fall.

By the way, turns out it's not K31 I seeded on the empty field. It's TTTF. Took a few calls to Barenbrug but I'm actually glad knowing it'll look a bit nicer for the neighbor's field.


----------



## NoslracNevok

I'll be using a simple two dollar rain gauge I picked up from Lowe's two weeks ago, which I've yet to put up. I'm using Lambert Int Airport weather station right now. I've noticed a large disparity of station data in my area, more than I'd expect from natural variance. I still need to find a better situation for even manual watering and recording.

That's good news! I guess I missed that in your journal, usually read each post of the ones I follow.


----------



## Pete1313

NoslracNevok said:


> I've yet to decide on my fungicide plans, probably 3 MOA, undecided on specifics, (azoxystrobin and Propiconazole for sure). @STL has helped a lot. Fertilizer, probably going withe normal N supplement (and others after soil test), adding Humic and iron here and there. Watering, I plan to somewhat emulate what @Pete1313 has going on.


Sounds like a good plan. I look forward to following and how the low cut turns out further south. I'm sure it will great! I'm also interested in how you put the water log to use.


----------



## NoslracNevok

Day 60 update of hell strip Reno, hell strip still being cut at 5/8, main portion of grass at 1"

Rained a tad under 2" past two days


Mazama plot:



Bewitched plot:



1:1 mix



Full shots



2-minute video summation:





The Bewitched is catching up to the Mazama's deep green. All three plots are extremely dense in most areas I can't put my finger through to find soil. It just hit me it'll be a good idea to verticut next season. Not sure how I'll go about that.

I've rolled the hell strip with a water roller twice, planning on a third time this evening since the soil is already nice and pliable.

I purchased Fiskars, what I'm calling 'scissors on a stick' ($30) for edging and they work great, just extremely inefficient. I'm hoping I'll get more efficient with time. Took me 30 minutes to edge using them for the first time.

Since using pre-emergent at seed down, I haven't used herbicides, just hand pulling as needed, which wasn't much. I haven't pulled a weed in maybe 2 weeks, due to the temperatures I'm sure. What most came up appeared to be crabgrass.

Soil temperature four inches down has been in the upper 50s, yesterday was 55, this morning was 50. I've been mowing at least every other day and applying about 1/3 of nitrogen every week.

@Pete1313 thanks, I'm optimistic about it! I haven't yet incorporated the water log. ET and 'everything water' are still on my list to study.

A new neighbor moved in across the street on Halloween. Unfortunately they rolled over a portion of my hell strip with their moving truck, leaving about an inch depression 3 ft long. Put me in a peculiar situation of introducing myself and family only to add "stay off my lawn with your vehicles please". But, after all this rain, the depression seems to sort of self repaired, I can hardly notice it already. A strange phenomenon and big relief.

So much planning to do over winter, verticuting, fungicide, more efficient (yet same quality) edging, best source for micro nutrients, watering game, possibly motored reel mower. Funny how what I thought was complicated (macro fertilizer game) a year ago is the easiest part today.


----------



## Pete1313

That grass is looking really good!


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## NoslracNevok

Day 70 of hell strip reno, I expect the worst and hope for the best. Turns out to be about 99% of the best, love it when it works out that way!

Yesterday, Nov 9
Still cutting the hell strip at 5/8 and everything else one inch out of necessity to avoid scalping. 


First snow in St Louie. 4" soil temperature 40F. Air 20F this morning.


I think I'll put down my final higher rate nitrogen application when the temperatures are in the high 50s next week, maybe a little Fe to squeeze out as much green time as possible.

Lawn coffee


I ended up breaking my manual reel mower when I went off the sidewalk to the grass there was too much of a drop off. I gave it a temporary fix to finish the job but I definitely have to work more to put it in tune. Here's a video of that, and using my scissor edgers, aka scissors on a stick. I'm much more effective with them the second time around, took me about half the time and I could see it getting quicker. I may just keep using this I like them quite a bit and oddly satisfying.


----------



## Budstl

You just got first snow? We got 2" thursday night. I was glad i got the lawn cut on weds. That low cut looks good and you got nice color on that lawn.


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## NoslracNevok

Yep. I saw you had significant accumulation, and only across the river! The spring will be a last chance workout for the grass before the stresses of STL summer, looking forward to that challenge. Put to silence our regional naysayers.


----------



## drenglish

@NoslracNevok Do you have a spring plan in place yet for fertilization on the new grass? Any plan on using a growth regulator?


----------



## NoslracNevok

@drenglish probably sticking to .3lbN Urea a week. PGR, I plan to use Trinexapac-ethyl. May do a group buy with the fellows in our local STL page.

I'll also supplement with micros from Hummerts Int, only a few minutes away from me.


----------



## NoslracNevok

Day 90 since seed down on hell strip, aka boulevard aka parking strip.


Soil temps in low 40s.


Mazama


Bewitched


1:1 ratio Mazama Bewitched


If you haven't considered it, go with a monostand. It looks like a perfect green carpet and super easy to spot invaders, which I guess could be a curse and blessing.

I mowed the hell strip yesterday at 1/2 inch, my second time cutting this short, normally I'm around 5/8". The shorter and tighter, the better it looks.


My current lawn is a testing/learning zone. Next fall probability is high I'll renovate it all over again, but a monstand of Mazama.


To fight the St. Louis summer (the hardest test for my reel low KBG), I'll be treating with fungicide, using plant growth regulator, and micromanaging my water (in addition to the normal N-P-K). I'll likely be throwing down Humic Acid and some other micro nutrients I'm buying from local stores.

Here's a video of the latest part of my journey.


----------



## Pete1313

That stuff is looking pretty amazing! :thumbsup: I see a greens type reel mower in your future. The full width front roller will help with some of the small scalping you are seeing. You really motivate me to get off my lazy butt and stop cutting mine at 1" and get it tighter next year. The tight cut of KBG really looks amazing! I look forward to how you manage it next year in tougher conditions then I typically see in northern IL. Beautiful!


----------



## g-man

I'm really interested with how the mazama looks and grows compared with bewitched.


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## NoslracNevok

@@Pete1313 most certainly a greens mower in the future, possibly this spring. It really looks good in person, thanks! I believe the lowest you've mentioned in your journal was 3/4"?

@g-man likewise, if the Barenbrug HGT I cut at 1.3" all last year means anything, I'm optimistic.


----------



## Pete1313

NoslracNevok said:


> Pete1313 most certainly a greens mower in the future, possibly this spring. It really looks good in person, thanks! I believe the lowest you've mentioned in your journal was 3/4"?


It was at 3/4" a good portion of last year, down to 9/16" when I added some sand, and up to 1.0" for most of fall.


----------



## NoslracNevok

Photo taken yesterday, the color variation makes a clear demarcation of the three plots.


----------



## Budstl

@NoslracNevok that mazama looks fantastic. Can't wait to see how it handles the stl summer. Also what have you done to keep the grass so green? Mine looks like the typical winter lawn.


----------



## NoslracNevok

Hard to say due to the variables. Perhaps the crisp reel cut helps it stay happy longer, maybe the low HOC helps in some way. Maybe the build up of various micro/macros I've been putting down, or the combination of it all. Could be the liquid Iron I added, but that was back in late Oct.

Oct 27: Liquid Iron, 4 lb Chicken poop product .5N, .5P
Nov 4: 1 N (urea), 2lbs chicken poop
Nov 22: 1.5 N (urea)

I never would have thought the color variation in KBG cultivars could be so different, the Bewitched and Mazama make my Barenbrug HGT look lime green. Funny looking back just two years ago I didn't know the difference in grass types, yet alone cool/warm season, cultivars, etc.


----------



## Budstl

@NoslracNevok your lawn still green?


----------



## NoslracNevok

I'd say so. My hell strip today:


I'll snap a pic when I'm off work later today.👌


----------



## NoslracNevok

@Budstl photos taken today. Wish it we're more sunny. HOC on hell strip ~0.5"




Mazama KBG:


Bewitched KBG:


Mazama Bewitched 1:1 mix:


----------



## Budstl

@NoslracNevok this looks amazing. Still so green. It looks like you put down artificial turf for the winter. I gotta get on your plan. Happy new year!


----------



## NoslracNevok

@Budstl Thanks! My 71st and last cut was Dec 22, which was a very small clipping yield. I'm going to experiment with PGR this year, probably propose a group buy in our local STL thread.


----------



## NoslracNevok

@Budstl Thanks! My 71st and last cut was Dec 22, which was a very small clipping yield. I'm going to experiment with PGR this year, probably propose a group buy in our local STL thread.

Happy New year to you!


----------



## NoslracNevok

Jan 4, 72nd mow, small clippings yield. The main portion of the lawn hasn't been cut for a while, nice to trim it up as well.

My back yard I haven't posted about since progress came to screeching halt when it started flooding. Here's its current status.


Here's a vid of how I keep track of my lawn care and make decisions. Happy New Year!


----------



## Scagfreedom48z+

Budstl said:


> @NoslracNevok this looks amazing. Still so green. It looks like you put down artificial turf for the winter. I gotta get on your plan. Happy new year!


Wow! I have to agree, that looks fake. I popped open your video below and it's unbelievable how green your lawn is compared the rest of the lawns that are brown and dormant. I'm definitely a firm believer in the Mazama and Bewitched combo mix!


----------



## Pete1313

Love the video on your spreadsheets! Can I hire you to do mine? :nod:


----------



## iowa jim

NoslracNevok said:


> @Budstl photos taken today. Wish it we're more sunny. HOC on hell strip ~0.5"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Mazama KBG:
> 
> 
> Bewitched KBG:
> 
> 
> Mazama Bewitched 1:1 mix:


I wish mine would have stayed as dark green as yours, but i think i live to far north for that. I can still see where your bewitched is still a shade lighter than your mazama, in mine it started out lighter but by October i could not tell the difference in the 3 cultivars that i planted and i got down on my hands and knees to look. I got my midnight and bewitched from seed super store and my mazama from long island cauliflower association. I don't know if that made a difference or not, on where you got your seed. Seed super store now carries the mazama, but if i remember correctly there was a place called ford seed or something like that, that had it much cheaper for those that are interested in mazama.


----------



## NoslracNevok

@Scagfreedom48z+ Thank you and you won't regret going with that combo!

Whenever a neighbor asks how I make it so nice, my first thought is:





@Pete1313 I love simple, beautiful, useful spreadsheets. Ha, for you, this sheet's on me 

@iowa jim Indeed, I'd say I'm a month or so behind you guys around the Chicago latitude. It's insane how much fluctuation there is in grass seed price. SSS tends to be wildly overpriced, but you get the convenience and availability of the best seed out there.


----------



## Scagfreedom48z+

I'm curious, did you overseed any of your existing turf with Mazama and bewitched? I have existing lawn that I want overseed with those 2 cultivators, along with TTTF.


----------



## NoslracNevok

@Scagfreedom48z+ I did a lazy man's overseeding, just threw down what I had remaining. I couldn't tell you how (in)effective it was.


----------



## NoslracNevok

Well, someone drove through my hell strip again, making a giant arch indentation.


I tamped down the outside of the arch where most of the soil was squeezed. Doing so moved it back a little. 3 min vid showing this abomination:





Even before I was into lawncare, I'd never drive on someone else driveway (much less their lawn) out of respect.


----------



## ronjon84790

+1 I feel your pain. I've had multiple people do this to my hell strip! Some people are too lazy to make a three point turn


----------



## jabopy

It happens a lot round ours! You did a great job getting it sorted. I do like your head torch.


----------



## Chris LI

I feel your pain. Not cool! It makes you want to retaliate! Nice job at tamping. When the growing season starts, you might want to try a manure fork with a 2x4 block or brick as a fulcrum, if you still have a depression. Then a watering can with your soil conditioner/aerator might help loosen up the remaining turf.


----------



## NoslracNevok

It's safe to say, 2019 is kicked off for my lawn! Aww yea!

Soil temp today is 40, it was about 45 yesterday.


Yesterday it rained pretty good, used the opportunity to roll my lawn, taking out some of the dips and bumps that developed over winter. I also core aerated my front lawn by hand.



My shoulders and hands are pretty sore this morning. Doing this by hand sucks, but I'd say worth it for an area 1k sqft or less. I took me about an hour and another 20 mins to rake the cores up.

Here's a video of yesterday's opening games. 





I partook in several group buys to get Dithiopyr, Mesotrione, and Trinexapac-Ethyl. Wouldn't have been able to do any of this w/o TLF. Thanks @Ware for making this place. 👌🇺🇸

Hopefully my other neighbor will let me Reno our shared hell strip, which I plan a seed down date of April 1 or sooner. It's a high risk, but worth it. Currently it's in terrible shape. It will be a monostand of Mazama KBG I've left over from the fall reno.


----------



## Ware

:thumbup:


----------



## Budstl

@NoslracNevok glad to see ya back in the yard. Looking like we're about to go through the fun of spring swing temps and rain. 10-15 day looks like 40s to mid 60s for the highs. I still need to get the store and get my pre m.


----------



## NoslracNevok

@Budstl If feels good! When are you starting things off, what pre m will you use this year?


----------



## Budstl

@NoslracNevok i bought the pro plugger this year to be able to plug a couple bare spots, so i might play around with it this week.

I'm going to be doing a split of this https://oldtowncountrystore.com/catalog/product/50970/turf-and-ornamental-weed-and-grass-stopper-35-lbs
The plan is to go pick it up this week and probably put it down in the next couple of weeks.
I use http://www.greencastonline.com/tools/soil-temperature for soil temps


----------



## NoslracNevok

I decided to level my hell strip with sand. It's KBG cut at ½". They make better tools for this job, but this what I had.


I picked up 1,200 lbs of river sand from a small materials yard for $41. The supervisor asked to tag along, look at the smug look on his face.


Herers pics before I brushed it in with a push broom.




Here's a final pic after it was all said and done.


Here's a video I made of the process.


----------



## Pete1313

You nailed it! Enjoyed the video! :thumbsup:


----------



## NoslracNevok

Thank you @Pete1313!

@g-man here are the close ups of the plots I forgot to to post.

Mazama:




Bewitched:




Relief joint in sidewalk is the border of the Mazama (left) and Bewitched (right). As of today, I can't tell s difference between them.


1:1 Mix Mazama Bewitched


----------



## iowa jim

You know there are child labor laws. ha ha. Its great that you get your kids involved in the lawn, to bad more parents don't do this. You will have to do another ball rolling test, like you did in one of your other videos. Mazama and bewitched match up really well in color, it just takes bewitched a little time to catch up. nice video


----------



## NoslracNevok

@iowa jim He keeps telling me he's excited to help out this year. We will go do some mowing for those in need representing the Raising Men Lawn Care Service, really excited to do that with him to get to experience giving back.

I can't wait for the ball test post level, I should have did one right before leveling, shucks! I'm bumping up the consistency, building a large multi use Stimpmeter for the various turf/ball sports.


----------



## OnTheOxbow

Just read through your lawn journal and a couple of things come to mind. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sod in back of your car. You sir, take going green in a Prius to a whole new level. Secondly, I bet your son thinks you're the coolest dad in the world. Seeing as you have a seemingly constant pile of dirt or sand in the garage for him to play on. Lastly, that's solid and steady improvement on your lawn. Well done on all accounts. Looking forward to your future progress. Keep up the good work!


----------



## NoslracNevok

@OnTheOxbow That little guy can haul! Same with my wife and the sand constantly being tracked inside.😉 Thank you!

The front had a shotgun start this year.


Two days behind yesterday, mowed at ~1/2" and I'm getting clippings this length in some areas. I'm going to start routine apps of Trinexapac-ethyl PGR to help with things.


@iowa jim rolling test just for you 😉





I'm ready to get a greensmower, the chatter marks from my push reel are annoying. Also would be a giant savings in time.


Hell Strip Reno Part Deux! has started. Glad I delayed putting seed down as we've had about 2" of rain recently, plus someone who parks in our driveway seems to be consistently driving over the corners. 🤔


video summation


----------



## NoslracNevok

Also, Happy 8th bday Linus!


----------



## iowa jim

This is Rocky, he is ten years old and getting that grey beard, just like me and he is a bears fan just like me. Thanks for the video, it looks like the sand is paying off as the balls are rolling smoother than the last video. nice work


----------



## NoslracNevok

I have a ton of updates but this one is too exciting for all that. Ladies and gentlemen the newest addition:


----------



## Pete1313

Oh boy! Congrats! You should see a big improvement in the cut quality!


----------



## drenglish

@NoslracNevok just watched your video after getting off work. Super exciting getting that gas reel out on the lawn for the first time. What are your plans for HOC this year and going into summer?


----------



## nathan99218

Thats awesome! I'm still trying to get my John Deere ready for the season. You should definitely get the front roller for it.


----------



## Chris LI

:thumbup:


----------



## NoslracNevok

I finished the smaller hell strip reno. It's a monostand if Mazama. There's some wash out areas I'll need to reseed.









Here are comparison pics of my other hell strip divided in three plots. Mazama, Bewitched, 50/50 blend.

Mazama:



Border if Mazama and Bewitched. The notable color difference is back, Mazama on the left is a bit darker.


Bewitched:



Mazama Bewitched 1:1 blend.



Main area of lawn, you can see my spot spray of some weeds. First time using mesotrione/Tenacity, did I over apply? Used label rate, but I may have had a slower swath.


I'll finally have time to sharpen the Mclane bed knife and backlap today. 🤗

@iowa jim I forgot to mention Rocky is a handsome guy!


----------



## drenglish

@NoslracNevok I did this with my first Tenacity spot spray this spring. I used a lower rate but had some ugly bleaching of surrounding turf - I either went too heavy or the grass was just really sensitive at the start of spring, because my second app did not light things up.

I watched your video with coffee this morning. Looks like you're putting the hard work in for sure and it will pay off in no time. I can't wait to see the McLane up and running - I'm still curious about your HOC plans for this summer. My little KBG Lawn is going to be a test at 1" with proper irrigation.

Mazama is definitely on my list for this Fall


----------



## iowa jim

That washout brought back memories of last fall on my lawn, reseeded twice in some areas. We can control a lot when seeding except mother nature. I really like my mazama and its doing great in the shaded areas, even better than i expected. good luck


----------



## NoslracNevok

Picked up more Mazama today to overseed thin and washed out areas of smaller hell strip. Also got a 5 blend of fescue for my back 10k.


I honed the McLane bedknife by hand and then back lapped. This was my first time and it was testing!

I slammed it to the low setting and took it on a ungraceful, awkward maiden cut.











Also did the rolling test. 😉


----------



## Flying Aces

Wow, Mazama looking really dark and great. Love the roll tests too


----------



## iowa jim

Putting that sand in there really payed off. nice


----------



## Pete1313

That stuff looks tight! :thumbsup:


----------



## mak474

Man that looks great! Sorry I couldn't make the run for ya. My yard is finally coming back to life and its much better than it was last year, but still no where near your level!


----------



## NoslracNevok

Bocce court has been a big hit with the boys. We also play tennis in the road, now the ball can bounce off the grass, expanding the court! The hell strip in this pic is mowed at ~1/4" effective HOC.
The McLane doesn't strip well this short, especially w/o a roller.







With heavy rain expected, I pulled a tarp used to cover roof damage of a 2011 tornado.
As you can see, I really didn't want to risk it blowing over while I as at work.


April 30: It rained 2.35 inches in one day. (short, heavy downpours) 
Despite the significant slope, just one washout! 


May 2: Compared the results to uncovered with 1.32 inches in a day. (evenly spread light rain)


My first two mows with the McLane wasn't coordinated and eligant. However the learning curve has been fairly steep,


----------



## Budstl

Good vid @NoslracNevok. What a difference in color that mazama has. Freaking dark. Your neighbors gotta be scratching their heads. Honey he's out there again barefoot using some sort of hoover vacuum to mow. 
What are you doing with the clippings?
Have you had any seedheads yet?


----------



## NoslracNevok

Thanks @Budstl! It really is dark, although late last fall, they had essentially identical color. This may have been from my application of liquid Iron around the same time.

Pretty much all my lawn activities are strange to most :gum:. Often on all fours inspecting things looking like Wayne Szalinski.

I put them in the woods surrounding my backyard. Bonus: suppresses the weeds and ivy.

No seedheads yet, but this 2nd mow with the Mclane (18th for the season), I noticed a few stalks here and there much thicker. Maybe those are what would have been? Have you seen any?


----------



## Budstl

Ya those thick stalks would produce the seed head. I got a ton of them.


----------



## iowa jim

You would make a good barber with the sun joe clippers.


----------



## ChicagoLawn

The grass looks amazing cut so short. Nice work!


----------



## NoslracNevok

@iowa jim Just don't ask for a fade!

@ChicagoLawn Thank you kindly!

This morning I noticed a couple quarter sized patches of Mycelium. I put a preventive rate down a month ago but forgot to apply recently 😬. Time for a dual mode of action curative spray.



Vid of my washout prevention and seeding.


----------



## g-man

You can try to do FAS weekly for dollar spot as a preventive. I'm going to try that approach this year.


----------



## drenglish

@g-man What weekly rate would you use?


----------



## g-man

I plan to start at 0.4oz of Fe/M weekly and go up from there. I think the standard recommend is 6oz/M of FeSO4. I just don't like the super dark green.


----------



## NoslracNevok

May 10: Tested out FAS at a rate of 1oz FS and 0.8oz AS / M. I blocked out 3 22"x22" squares where I'll not apply FAS as a sort of control



May 12: No change in color. Applied a doubled rate to 2oz FS and 1.6oz AS per / M. As of this morning, can see a minor change in color, maybe 10% deeper green. I'll observe tomorrow after work and make another application at this same rate. Cumulatively, this would be 5ozFS/M in a week.

Since the initial washout on the smaller parking strip reno, I've had to repeat the process 2 times and it's due a 3rd from rain these past few days. I didn't put the tarp over it, bad planning on my part.  


I was planning on making my own roller for the McLane, however I'll likely buy one from ReelRollers for simplicity and quality. Can I get the backlaping sprocket tool by itself from you all @Reelrollers ? I already have backlaping compound.


----------



## testwerke

Would a tackifier help or is the amount of water runoff too high?


----------



## NoslracNevok

@testwerke I haven't considered that. This evening I'm double checking if any seed has emerged in the washed out ravines. If not, I'll seed again with soil tackifier. Thanks for mentioning it!


----------



## Reelrollers

NoslracNevok said:


> May 10: Tested out FAS at a rate of 1oz FS and 0.8oz AS / M. I blocked out 3 22"x22" squares where I'll not apply FAS as a sort of control
> 
> 
> 
> May 12: No change in color. Applied a doubled rate to 2oz FS and 1.6oz AS per / M. As of this morning, can see a minor change in color, maybe 10% deeper green. I'll observe tomorrow after work and make another application at this same rate. Cumulatively, this would be 5ozFS/M in a week.
> 
> Since the initial washout on the smaller parking strip reno, I've had to repeat the process 2 times and it's due a 3rd from rain these past few days. I didn't put the tarp over it, bad planning on my part.
> 
> 
> I was planning on making my own roller for the McLane, however I'll likely buy one from ReelRollers for simplicity and quality. Can I get the backlaping sprocket tool by itself from you all @Reelrollers ? I already have backlaping compound.


Yes, just give us a call or shoot me an email. Backlap adapters are $34.99. Kits are $49.99


----------



## NoslracNevok

Hell Strip Part Deux is chugging along. I've added seed only to be washed out about 5 times. Twice I prevented the wash out with a blue tarp. I'll likely use it again tomorrow.


I've applied Mesotrione twice (4/6 and 5/5). I can do two more blanket applications. Stuff works wonders.

My boy enjoys rolling. 💚


I've been experimenting with Ferrous Ammonium Sulfate (FAS). I read about it over here.
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=211

I applied a total of 5oz Ferrous Sulfate/M over three applications starting May 10. (1oz, 2oz, 2oz). For every 1ozFe, I mixed .8oz Ammonium Sulfate. I waited two days between each application. Two areas this rate was too high, one area looked better.

In the future I'll apply 1oz/M and wait 4+ days to assess and take action. I knew this was the better way, but I was antsy. ardon:

Three (22x22") control areas I left untreated.

Hell strip (Monostand KBG) didn't like this much Iron. The blades that didn't die/turn brown are indeed a deeper green, but overall there's a sickly look to it.


I've been mowing at 1". This morning I cut it down lower, at 3/4" to remove the top of the brown/dead blades, making future cuts at 1" mask the die off. I may try and make some if it out.


Main portion of lawn. (Misc mix of KBG/TTTF/Rye) Total rate ended being pretty good for this blend of grass. 


Untreated (w/FAS) KBG: (not so good QOC, need to check that)

FAS treated KBG:


A video I made of the process.


----------



## Pete1313

I always enjoy your videos! :thumbsup: do you think you will make another test video again using FAS? I would enjoy seeing a control as you did but instead if you mix the AS first and up the rate to 2.7 oz/gal (77g/gal) to try and minimize any hard water issue. Also do you plan on adding any PGR to the mix down the road?


----------



## NoslracNevok

Thank you @Pete1313! Indeed I will be testing FAS again, and add the AS first. Maybe I'll have three plots (plus a control), apply 1oz/2oz/3oz, then round two +1oz/+1oz/+0oz and finally +1oz/0oz/0oz. I'll take a photo each day with similar lighting as well. I wanted to test PGR by itself with control cutouts so I can see the effects first hand. After that, I'll mix the PGR w/ FAS to save time.

The chart of pH/water hardness in your journal is a keeper, I may laminate it! :thumbup: Also, those Turfnet Radio podcasts are great, I just need to find a way to download as to not use cell data. Perfect for my daily commute.


----------



## Pete1313

Here are the charts in a pdf with some more info.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAAegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw3mFwqQZAZEh4HSoy0BAeZw

Agreed, the turfnet webinars are a great resource! Make sure you check out the adjuvant one, alot of good info on spray PH and hard water.
https://www.turfnet.com/webinar_archives.html/adjuvants-a-helpful-addition-to-the-spray-tank-r163/


----------



## Budstl

@NoslracNevok how's the lawn looking?


----------



## NoslracNevok

Here's a morning pic two days ago, 6/2. I'd say the lawn has recovered ~85% from the FAS damage.

You can see below the mailbox it's not doing well, I believe that's from combo leaving the clippings on the ground and using string trimmer. There's actually a slight hump there where I can't get the mower.

Linus has gone mad and peed and pooped a few time in God's country. You can see the pee kill in the middle right.


A comprehensive update when I've better pics and notes I haven't transcribed to my sheet. :thumbup:


----------



## Budstl

Man that mazama looks dark.


----------



## llO0DQLE

Budstl said:


> Man that mazama looks dark.


Yeah, exactly my thoughts right away when I saw it. I wonder how Bewitched and Mazama will compare in color next year or the year after. I've read that BW gets much darker over time and is much lighter than other cultivars esp in the first year. I might wanna try and grab some Mazama in case I wanna do a future reno lol


----------



## NoslracNevok

Congrats to Ms Deer on her new baby! They and others bed near a spring in the brush 20 ft off the back lawn. Nice seeing the move east each sunrise, and come back each evening.


A bit of nutsedge near my front door. 


Much more sedge near my neighbors lawn. I'll use what's left in last year's hose end sulfentrazone to knock it out, no prob.


Sun to back, HOC ~.75" 


Facing the sun


Crazy how different it can look depending on sun and camera angle.




Excited to do a full monostand of Mazama this fall. (Front/bottom part of this pic of hell strip) Well, assuming it does as well as Bewitched through the summer.


Hell strip 2 living up to it's name. Far better than what was there. This all is Mazama as well, except the top left area, that's Bewitched. I've applied Mesotrione twice and it's doing it's job. 


This is my south/back yard.


Over the last 3 days I've been mowing it as time permits. I haven't cut in a month, so stage 1 is cutting to my Egos max HOC, then I'll cut it down to 3" soon. 


This all only it's second spring. I cleared thick brush and trees fall '17, and planted grass.


All went well until they made a temporary access road to put in a new power line. Supposedly the road is going away. I wanted to do it all over again anyway, so this is a good excuse! This is ~10,000sqft.


Grass NOT happy about me getting lazy and using string trimmer instead of scissors or hedge trimmer.


Sprayed some FAS on the concrete here. Look at that, it does stain!


Mazama: still hasn't forgiven me for my FAS experiment. I like my lessons hard.



Bewitched left, Mazama right.

Same but Closer


Bewitched



1:1 Bewitched Mazama



Under mailbox status 😒. I'm thinking from string trimmer×FAS damage. One of these days I'll refinish the mailbox.


I've been cycling PPZ and Azoxy as fungus prevention. Seems to have worked so far. About the same time last year under the same conditions I had quite a bit of fungus.

I'm also spoon feeding AS and SOP weekly to help grow out of FAS damage. Each 2#/M. I haven't had to water because the rain has provided more than enough.

I haven't yet applied Trinexapac-ethyl (PGR), for the same reason above, growing out of damage. My first application will be toward the end of the month before going on vacation.


----------



## g-man

Kove, I'm about to order seeds for my fall reno and you are making the decision hard with these mazama pictures.


----------



## KoopHawk

I've been going back and forth between Mazama and Bewitched. If the Mazama stays that much darker than the Bewitched thru the summer it's going to be a no brainer. That's some incredible color.


----------



## NoslracNevok

Well, even with preventative app of ppz and Azoxy, still got a little fungus. (Enter music by Simple Plan, How Could This Happen To Me)

I'm been spooning .25N/M for 4 weeks to help grow out of the FAS damage. For the same reason, I have yet applied my PGR. Coincidentally, tomorrow we leave for vacation, so today was doing to be PGR day. Unsure about it now with the fungus.

What is strange, is I haven't noticed any Mycelium in this plot.

What do you think, summer patch? Good to apply PGR?


----------



## g-man

How are you applying the nitrogen? It looks like fertilizer burn.


----------



## NoslracNevok

Granular. I'm happy it may not be fungus, makes sense I didn't see mycelium in that area.

This lawn is getting a bashing even before the trails of summer! :twisted:

I'm going forward with the PGR after mowing. Hopefully any rain won't wash too much off.


----------



## g-man

With a thick stand, the prills might sit on top and cause burn if not watered in. A better approach is just to spray the nitrogen or use greens grade prill size.


----------



## KoopHawk

Kove, I watched a couple of your YouTube videos to creep on how the Mazama and Bewitched was handling the heat of summer. From the videos they appear to be doing well. The Bewitched is still noticeably lighter than the Mazama.

I also made of note of the nutsedge killer you used. Pretty impressive results!


----------



## NoslracNevok

Thanks @KoopHawk! I've been putting off a full update on my journal (w pics and vid), play to get it started today.

Quick update- I started the summer off bad by applying too much Iron, and it killed some of the stand. Before leaving for vacation, I hit it with normal rate of PGR. I have a few uneven streaks running the length of the hell strip. I believe this was caused by uneven coverage of the PGR. I also have some dead grass I need to rake up, I'm picking up a Groundskeeper II rake to test out today.

Streaks


Dead tuff I need to rake out. Plan is to wait until this heat breaks to do this, but I'll likely get impatient.


----------



## iowa jim

I don't know why but your mazama and bewitched i can clearly see a difference in that the mazama is darker, in my mix i can not tell the difference and believe me i have tried. ( on hands and knees ). I am using feature as my iron source at 2 oz. per k and does a pretty good job. What iron source did you use and how much of it did you use to cause that much damage if you don't mind me asking? And you can shave my chocolate lab anytime you want. If you ever breed him with another lab i would be interested in a pup, i love his disposition and don't care what color it is as I've had all the colors with labs my whole life. My Rocky is 11 and is slowing down and will have a hard time replacing him. I think more of him than i do most people. Sorry for getting a little winded.


----------



## NoslracNevok

Still haven't got around to the over all update. But a quicky about my back 10k, it flooded worse than it ever has.
This happened after about 4" of rain fell in under an hour 








Can up to a few feet from the deck. So maybe 15' higher than the closest normal water.


It did make for some good frog hunting today after it receded. We ended up finding fish and put them in out fish tank.


12 hours prior, they would have been about 3 ft under water in this pic.


Video of it as it happened


----------



## Green

Nice to follow along with this all!

And the name, "Noslrac Nevok" sounds like some Dr. Seuss character, I have to say. (I did hear your story behind it, but still!)


----------



## NoslracNevok

@Green haha it does!

Shot of the hell strip. Ill take out some of the brown stuff this week. Optimistic it will bounce back with this break from high 90 temps. Area under mailbox (blocks rain possible cause) and by it along the concrete is not doing well. 


Mazama plot


Bewitched plot


1:1 mix of both




I spilled some Bioflora DryCrumbles, that killed some grass. Linus unfortunately cleaned most of it up, and deposited it on the stairs.
The left 4' was a last minute (fall '18) Reno with a cheap mix. It's doing better than the bordering grass. 


Are these light green streeks poa, or perhaps caused by something else?


More of them, there's also streeks of it in the hell strip. After seeing @piotrkol new poa problem, makes me wonder.


This is my spring Reno *using Mazama,(washed out area aside) it's doing actually better than the fall Reno of the larger hell strip. I've cut it less, and normally a bit higher. Perhaps that's the trick for the best success through St. Louis summer. It's been watered less, and I added much more sand in the soil at the time of renovation.



Washout areas.


Saw this guy this morning.


Fold down the middle, bunch growth, I'm thinking poa annua?


----------



## KoopHawk

Wow that's a ton of water in your backyard! Looks like you've got some intruders in your fall reno? Specifically in the bottom of the Mazama pic looks like sedge poking up?


----------



## GoPre

Just read through this in its entirety and watched some of your videos. A few conclusions.

I thought I was dead set on Bewitched. Wrong.
I freaking love your dog. Black lab dad, here.
You're a great dad, life is good.


----------



## FuzzeWuzze

Myself as well, super excited to do part of my yard renovation this Fall as a Mazama Mono. This thread has documented the process greatly and i'm anxious to see how it goes in the coming months.

Luckily I live an hour or so north of Vista Seed, and was able to go get some 0 weed/0 other Mazama direct from them today.

I'm still not 100% confident that pure KBG can work in our climate, but im willing to try for $50 in seed and maybe another $50 in Peat. I want to move away from having to over seed my yard every year.


----------



## NoslracNevok

@iowa jim 
Sorry, I forgot to answer in my last post, doh! My bet is it's one of those visual illusion things were being mixed makes the eye tells us they are the same color even though they aren't.

Last fall my only iron source was Fertilome Chelated Liquid Iron. I love the stuff, easy to apply, effective however pricey. 
Early spring I applied Ironite, only because I got it dirt cheap at my local Lowe's out of business sale. It does nothing noticeable (ie wasn't available for plant uptake for X reasons), I applied a over a few apps.

My second source was Ferrous Ammonium Sulfate. I applied a total of 5oz Ferrous Sulfate/M over three applications starting May 10. (1oz, 2oz, 2oz). For every 1ozFe, I mixed .8oz Ammonium Sulfate. I waited two days between each application. I mixed Iron in the water first, making the rate I used not as effective as it should have been.

I'd love to hook you up with some Linus pups, but we neutered him. Our next dog will not be neutered or spayed. Lesson learned. Must be rough seeing that inevitable slow down with Rocky, I'm not looking forward to it. I too thing more of Linus than most people.

@GoPre
I'm sticking with it as well. Buying about 8lbs here pretty soon. Yeah, Linus is a good boi  and thank you! I love hanging with my fellas and seeing them grow.

@FuzzeWuzze 
Thanks! I was talking to a guy at Bellevile Seed House (where I buy mine) and he said Mazama is the same as another cultivar. He said something to the effect some employees who work for "Seed X" left and called it Mazama. I've no idea how accurate this story is.

I was thinking of putting compost over the seed instead of peat. It would be a better price, plus add more nutrients. I need to read more on it to make a better decision.

@Budstl
I'll keep it short thought this growing season, and assess how it springs back from a low cut STL summer. I'm surprised (minus the washout areas) the spring reno Mazama is fairing better. I suppost I shouldn't be as it has always been cut a little higher, and didn't get the over application of FAS.

Below are pics of the Mazama spring reno. Since it was so much washout, I haven't been babying it. It needs an herbicide treatment and a mow. Some of the blades are 3"+ long, most are around 2". As you can see, the growth habit is to stay low. 


The Bewtiched corner of this strip (where I ran out of Mazama) is not looking so hot. But again, I've essentially neglected this since all the washout.








I'd add more pics, but my PC doesn't is bogging down as it is. I bought a Groundskeeper 2 rake, it's great. However the screw holding the head on ripped itself a notch threw the handle. Review(ish) coming soon.


----------



## FuzzeWuzze

Sorry if it was mentioned, didnt see it in the thread. For the mono mazama, what seed rate did you use? Vista Seed says 2-4# per thousand, which is quite a bit more than the standard 2# per 1k. With that, would you stick with that rate, or go higher or lower?


----------



## KoopHawk

NoslracNevok said:


> Below are pics of the Mazama spring reno. Since it was so much washout, I haven't been babying it. It needs an herbicide treatment and a mow. Some of the blades are 3"+ long, most are around 2". As you can see, the growth habit is to stay low.


With its low growth habit, do you think Mazama would look good at a mowing height of 3" or more?


----------



## NoslracNevok

@FuzzeWuzze I noticed and created a post last year the same question. Somehow I forgot to include my rate in both my TLF and personal journals. Found it in old photos (below). 4lbs/M. However a bunch was killed off by fungus ~20 days in and I eyeballed the over seed. I finally got my hands on come liquid azoxy&ppz, which I brought home in totally inappropriate containers. improvise and overcome.

In the end, I don't know what my effective seed rate was. Most TLF members (smartly) play it safer with the lower rate. I'm going with the 4lb rate again late Aug.

Just noticed my key, 16oz=1lb :lol: 


@KoopHawk IIRC, it's a dwarf type cultivar, so I don't think it's going to stand very upright, that's not to say it will look bad. I like the idea to let it grow out like @Budstl asked to see. I'll let the spring reno strip grow long.


----------



## fusebox7

KoopHawk said:


> With its low growth habit, do you think Mazama would look good at a mowing height of 3" or more?


I had Mazama, Bewitched and Award in a fairly equal parts blend and this past year (was going very low maintenance since we were selling our house). I cut at 4" deck HOC. It was 4.5-5" easily and was very upright and super soft like a pillow. Like anything...do something consistently for awhile and it will adapt. I was previously reel mowing it anywhere from 0.75 to 1.25"


----------



## iowa jim

NoslracNevok said:


> @FuzzeWuzze I noticed and created a post last year the same question. Somehow I forgot to include my rate in both my TLF and personal journals. Found it in old photos (below). 4lbs/M. However a bunch was killed off by fungus ~20 days in and I eyeballed the over seed. I finally got my hands on come liquid azoxy&ppz, which I brought home in totally inappropriate containers. improvise and overcome.
> 
> In the end, I don't know what my effective seed rate was. Most TLF members (smartly) play it safer with the lower rate. I'm going with the 4lb rate again late Aug.
> 
> Just noticed my key, 16oz=1lb :lol:
> 
> 
> @KoopHawk IIRC, it's a dwarf type cultivar, so I don't think it's going to stand very upright, that's not to say it will look bad. I like the idea to let it grow out like @Budstl asked to see. I'll let the spring reno strip grow long.


I did 2.5lbs per k and it was a little thin but the next spring it filled in. You have seen my pics on how thick my lawn is now.


----------



## NoslracNevok

2019 Lawn Reno plan is just about solidified. I've primed the wife :thumbup: , allocated funding, and have the plan is set. I'll use a sod cutter to remove the main portion of my front lawn and put it in various areas. The monostand of Mazama seed down date is Sep 1. I'm leaving the hell strip as is for now, so the reno area is ~1k.

_(*EDIT, more accurate to say ~2k+ as I'll be "shifting" two areas and planting one.)_

Yesterday I took a comparison pic from exactly a year ago, pretty happy with the progress over the years. Funny, when I first caught the lawn bug I wanted easy solutions and everything to happen NOW and now I'm okay with say, a 5 year strategic plan and making copious notes in a journal.

This year I've been a little trigger happy with treatments and rates. Next year I plan to be more conservative.

July 28, 2016


July 19, 2017


July 30, 2018


July 30, 2019


----------



## Mrotatori

@NoslracNevok the difference between 2018 and 2019 are amazing
What changes did you make? It looks like you had some disease or drought in 2018. I am interested because my lawn looks similar in some areas. It's approaching one year. Thanks for your reply too


----------



## NoslracNevok

@Mrotatori In no weighted order:


rotary mow vs reel

no fall nitrogen vs fall N blitz

neglected fall '17 sod install plus failed spring '18 overseed vs decent fall '18 overseed

weak reactive fungus action vs strong proactive fungus applications

Also, the bottom you'll notice is better. that's because the Bermuda I killed-dead was replaced with objectively better KBG.


----------



## rob13psu

@NoslracNevok always enjoy reading your journal entries. Can't wait to see the new lawn!


----------



## KoopHawk

The 2016 picture looks like you overseeded with nutsedge! :lol:

Can't wait to follow along with this portion of your reno. Here's to cooperative weather - no washouts! :beer:


----------



## NoslracNevok

@rob13psu @KoopHawk Thank you!

It was more of a NutHedge.


----------



## ChicagoLawn

How is the hell strip looking now?


----------



## NoslracNevok

Let me show you 

https://youtu.be/Hzddp9dk0aQ


----------



## Budstl

@NoslracNevok seed going down today?


----------



## NoslracNevok

@Budstl I've got my work cut out for me, but that's the plan! It rained an inch last night, so everythings going to be messy and heavy.@The Lawn Guardian helped out yesterday cutting up the front and side lawn. Thanks!


----------



## FuzzeWuzze

Im ready


----------



## NoslracNevok

Things are quite busy in the Carlson household, causing a delay 5 growing days w/o rain. :| Ah well, my goal is tonight have it ready for seed in the morning. I'm going to buy some tarp cover seedlings with the coming rain. This worked well on my spring '19 renovation.

Finished pulling up the sod at dusk last night and trimmed up the tree.

My plans were to use 100% of the front lawn transplanted in other areas. Well, my inexperience shined through and only 40% was usable. Self note: make sure it's cutting level, plan cuts better, and not walk on the sod/push wheelbarrow over afterwards.

Here's the front lawn all pulled up, it's a miracle my back is fine a dandy! Next step is grade, smooth and roll. 


Sod placed beside the drive isn't amazing, but an improvement over bare dirt and weeds. The corner by the drive I brought soil level to concrete, it had an annoying long drop before.


Other side of house previously had an awkward change in (hamburger wise) slope, which always bugged me, so I took a few extra hours make a consistent grade. Time was an issue, so I wasn't able to make it as smooth as I'd like. Can't tell from the pic, but it's pretty bumpy. I'm going to use my water roller to help with that.


Quick vid update:


----------



## FuzzeWuzze

Are you sod cutting your lawn? I've thought about doing that next year for the remainder of my yard to get things leveled properly and to re-level my sprinklers and reposition my hell strip end sprays in the corners to use all MP Rotators as well as bring my overall soil level down. In many area's its a good .5 to 1" above the sidewalk.


----------



## iowa jim

Instead of cutting the sod out you should have hooked up linus to a plow. Bringing in top soil really produced a lot of weeds for me so be prepared for that and keep the videos coming.


----------



## NoslracNevok

I hit our coaxial internet cable while tilling the side.


Oops, what is that! I'll just tuck this up here and worry about it later. My son runs out complaining about his ipad not working and my wife says the internet is out. My stomach sank, s---. I checked the internet outage map and it shouldn't be down, I definitely cut the internet cord. :shock: My wife needed the internet, so was a bit upset to say the least.


Dollar signs started showing up in my head and taking time off work to meet a cable guy. Then it hit me, I finished our basement and ran the coaxial cable myself. Found my tool and 10 minutes later the wifi up again! Wife gave a nice smooch, all is well.  The black new wire I ran just below the siding and I've 3' of orange that needs to be buried. I'm thinking the black isn't the best for outside, but it'll do for now.


Being able to easily reel mow is top priority. The white string below is my ideal soil level. I don't have enough for that, plus the tree may not like that. Almost considered pulling it out. Instead, I'm going to slope it down toward the tree.
I'm moving the excess soil on the right to the dip on the left. I'll then start using my 2:1 topsoil/sand mix filling the rest.


@FuzzeWuzze Yep, rented a sod cutter Aug 30. I didn't cut the hell strip as I'm going to level it and overseed. I'd have loved to add in ground irrigation with this, but don't have the time or extra $. I've had identical issues as well.

@iowa jim :lol: Linus wouldn't have it, he's strickly the Superintendent and PR firm for passers by. I had good luck with it last year, only a handful of weeds came up which the mesotrione helped kill.


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## iowa jim

I must have had some bad soil and i did use scotts starter with mesotrione.


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## KoopHawk

It wouldn't be any fun if you didn't run into a few problems along the way!


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## NoslracNevok

Found a couple hours for a little screeding yesterday.


Squeezed in 30 min this morning before a ninth inning rain delay. Need to pick up a couple more tarps before seed down.


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## Budstl

@NoslracNevok what's going on with your reno?


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## NoslracNevok

Detailed post w supplementary vid soon, in short:


Also this situation. My grass a pollinator, who knew! 😉


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## NoslracNevok

It is done! Seed down was Sunday evening. I did the flashlight test this evening, nothing. Was secretly hoping for a super easy emergence.

1 bag of peat moss perfectly covers 500 sqft. Lucky me bought exactly enough!


Touching the hell strip wasn't bin the plans, decided to level up to the sidewalk, banging the sidewalk with the McLane is annoying.



Theres some "I should'a done this and I should'a done that" but overall extremely happy with it.
You can see a mole already invited himself in by my neighbors drive. I've three metal buddies waiting for him.



My biggest take away is 500 sqft Reno will take 1 full day without interruption. I've no idea why I thought and area several times larger would take the same time. Also, cut the sodcarefully, don't work and walk on it, and remove it immediately. All things I didn't do! 🙈


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## Rswarren14

Looks good man. Thanks for sharing the link on the YouTube's. I just did a Reno as well and the work put forth that day was definitely worth it. Results are pretty good, I'm surprised at myself. You can check out my Reno thread if you want. Lots of progress and some issue I'm trying to figure out.


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## Budstl

@NoslracNevok do you have grass babies?


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## NoslracNevok

Day 15: 1 week old Mazama babies!


Not perfect coverage but good. 


These phantom moles are playing with me. They know my traps can't be optimally set for runs next to concrete. They make a run then vanish until I remove the traps.
Here you can see how little grass where they dig around the edges. :evil: 


Along the edges of the hell strip I added soil and leveled it to the concrete and seeded. 



Germination was poor under the tree, it's from the sprinkler hitting the tree branches, causing run off and over watering.


Hell strip: Part Deux I seeded some more areas of washout today. This plot has surprised me.
[urlShttps://postimg.cc/9RsMprvr]







[/url]

Areas of bleaching from tenacity I'm hoping will come back. I didn't experience this last fall, but I used granular tenacity. If no improvement before Friday, I'm going to reseed those areas and a few other spots I didn't have give good seed soil coverage.



This was my biggest blunder. I forgot to deploy the downspout deflectors when it rained, causing bad wash out.



On day 9 I saw about 5 silver dollar sized patches of mycelium. The day after I applied liquid azoxy and ppz fungicides. As of day 15, it seems to have cured what was there and prevented any further spread. Here's a day 10 video I made.


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## weed_warrior

NIce. Looks amazing. All those in STL and around who say we can't have successful KBG. Suc"k it! You can if you know and really want to. I've had thriving Zoysia and TTTF right next to each other. Determination prevails. Great job bro!


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## weed_warrior

I have the inherited Zoysia (probably Meyer) and old K31 as everyone and their grandpa knows here. Partial reno with 2 types of KBG till I decide which I prefer. I respect fescue, it does the job. Doesn't stand out. ALthough I would try Petes!


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## NoslracNevok

Day 16 Update vid

https://youtu.be/uTAAxHO569g


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## Budstl

You got some nice germination. It was a hot one today.


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## NoslracNevok

Day 24:
The KBG (Mazama) monostand is a chuggin along, except for some washout below the tree and a mole that is currently my bane.

This morning:






This years experimental Spring Reno is doing great. Very low inputs and infrequent mowing. I've no hangups about spring seeding anymore.


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## Rswarren14

Hey I have the same problem but I put down a grub killer and it seems to help. GrubEx or RoundUp bug Destroyer. I havent seen a mole in the AO for about a month.


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## NoslracNevok

Water keeps washing seed out here in the bottom area of this pic.


Money shot. You can see the new Mazama along the outside were I leveled with sidewalk and reseeded. I really need to edge, i'm a little ashamed I was gifted a Maruyama Landscape Blade from ShortCut Lawn


Spring (smaller) hell strip reno status, chugging along.


Problem area, because of the lack of slope, I expected this area to be the best. Nope :laugh: 


Little fun vid I made the other night. Used the Ortho hose end to apply 0.2N/M, with a touch of Iron.


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## NoslracNevok

Third rolling test. End goal is to have no hops once it's rolling. Slowly getting there.

https://youtu.be/20ja3f-lDPM


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## NoslracNevok

I picked up a new to me Mclane (the one by Linus). It's a 17" with 10 blades, full rear "drum" and a grooved front roller. The fellow who owned it (RIP) used to have a putting green in his backyard apparently. It doesn't run now, but I'm really excited to get it going!


video


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## Budstl

@NoslracNevok how's the lawn looking?


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## NoslracNevok

Hey @Budstl, how about this sunshine? I'm trying to soak up as much uv radiation as possible!

Things are looking good, although I've been ready for my new Mazama grass to wake, but it said more coffee so I gave it some liquid fert and iron yesterday (vid at very bottom). My old lawn I transplanted (below) woke up two weeks ago and I've cut it twice with my Ego around 1.75" I need to transplant grass below the gutter



Next to the driveway here is another transplant from the fall, cut with the reel mower around .75". The Mazama in the smaller hell strip I planted last spring and it's looking great.





I've some spots below the tree I plan to transplant from an inconspicuous spot. During the fall renovation, the sprinkler would hit the tree and cause washout.



Overall no too bad for this time of year and still waking up 😉



My backyard is mainly mud, you can't walk with clean shoes. I've been clearing out more brush between my lawn and a small creek. The plan is a picnic area by it, with a optional zip line mode of transportation. (cable, not rope as seen in the pic).



Did this yesterday:


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## Budstl

It's all looking good. The kbg definitely takes a bit to get going. Mine is just about fully woke now. How low you plan on going this year? I'll have to check out the video later. Glad to hear from ya on here.


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## NoslracNevok

Haven't updated specifically on my Mazama and Bewitched test plots I planted Fall 2018. Both are slow to wake up in the spring and Mazama is darker.





Pics were taken at different time of day. Along the hell strip outside borders, I leveled and overseeded with Mazama last fall of '19. You can see on the Bewitched plot, the outside is slightly darker from the Mazama seed.


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## rob13psu

That's still looking awesome. How's the main yard fairing?


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## g-man

@mihboge this journal

@NoslracNevok did you notice any difference in green up between the two?


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## Alex1389

Wow... looks awesome! Guess it's time to renovate again &#128514;


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## Biggylawns

How's the greenup going? Interested in the difference this year.


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## Jay20nj

so whats the verdict? The mazama looks darker in the photo which i like bit hard to see the blend area. Is there any benefit to blending that you have noticed or is Mazama the hands down winner? Also do you have a sandy soil? It appears sandy in some videos. Asking as i have very sandy soil and would like to reno this year


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## NoslracNevok

@g-man 
@Biggylawns @Jay20nj 
Zero noticable difference in Green up this spring between Mazama and Bewitched. Both are not morning people, after all they stayed up late last fall.

I see no benefit to blending, especially visually. As a matter of fact, I'd say never blend.😉

My soil is naturally more clay than anything. Each monostand renovation (3 so far) I've been experimenting mixing in more and more sand. For my cultural habits, the more sand I mix, the better it is. Next Reno will be 50% sand.

Enjoyed the front lawn yesterday, next house will have a level grade.


I've been clearing more Dead trees and brush in my back yard, all the way to a stream. Yesterday let's see down using five-way fescue in that area. The boy seeded most of it. I don't have much time to dedicate back there so we just threw down seed and call it good. The soil is very wet so hopefully it takes at least a little.


I transplanted some Mazama sidewalk crack grass to a corner that always washes seed away.



Photo below April 27, 2020. Helicopters aka whirlybirds are my nemesis.


Video update, fun making this!


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## Biggylawns

Thanks for the update. Your wife is a good sport for doing a blind test for you haha. Do you notice any difference in the striping between the two? On your prior vids it seemed bewitched striped better but this past one they seem about equal.


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## NoslracNevok

@Biggylawns I keep putting off updates until I'm "ready" for one (meaning grass is looking perfect), however it of course never comes as pristine lawn is fleeting. :fight:

Zero difference in striping between Mazama and Bewitched at this point.


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## psider25

grass looks great... have you had any issues with disease and noticed any differences between Mazama and Bewitched?

...getting ready to place seed order in central Illinois and trying to decide Bewitched mono OR Mazama mono OR Bewitched / Mazama duo ...just a little bit worried about disease ~8K sqft


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## NoslracNevok

@psider25 I treat it with a rotation of PPZ and Azoxy, so I haven't noticed much difference with disease. Aesthetically, now that I've used to a monostand, I wouldn't ever recommend mixing the two, or any grass for that matter.

Mazama plot, planted fall 2018. Pic taken today, Overcast morning, ~6 ft, ~45 angle.


Bewitched plot


1:1 mix Mazama Bewitched


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## rob13psu

Wow, that looks awesome. Color and density look great.


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## Budstl

@NoslracNevok any difference in blade width between the 2? Both plots look great.


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## NoslracNevok

@Budstl the older model with rollers is 17", newer model w/o rollers is 20".

The 17" cutting ground speed is slower than the 20", so it's a predicament for me between time and quality. Answer is obvious. 😀


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## Budstl

NoslracNevok said:


> @Budstl the older model with rollers is 17", newer model w/o rollers is 20".
> 
> The 17" cutting ground speed is slower than the 20", so it's a predicament for me between time and quality. Answer is obvious. 😀


Lol. I was asking about the grass blade width between the bewitched and mazama. I should have clarified.


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## psider25

@NoslracNevok Thanks for the photos.

I am trying to decide between the two in central IL. Really was leaning towards Bewitched as have heard a lot about its hardiness in general but I found a seed seller in Geneseo that sells Blue Tag Mazama for about half the cost of Bewitched. Some summary of NTEP data I saw implied Mazama did better in Transition Zone than in North Central ...not sure if near Peoria if far enough north from STL to make a difference.

Would you be worried about Blue Tag Mazama seed vs Gold Tag? I may be incorrectly stating terminology ...new to this all.

thanks again


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## ksturfguy

I planted blue tag Mazama last fall. I've had very little Poa so far. I wouldn't be concerned about the difference.


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## NoslracNevok

@psider25 Blue tag is a guaranteed purity of 95%, gold is 97%, however doesn't mean other labels don't have that purity. Also, the blue and gold test a greater sample size. Like @ksturfguy said, I'm not too concerned with it having a blue or gold tag.


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## psider25

@NoslracNevok Are the Mazama blades wider than Bewitched? Can you tell in the location where you mixed them?


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## NoslracNevok

@psider25 @Budstl 
There's variance in both, but on average their blade widths are the same.

On my knees this morning checking, I noticed there's much more seed even lower in the canopy. Each time it freeks me out until verifying bits KBG seed. I feel like the wife in the state farm commercial. Oh who's that on the phone? Grass seed from another POA??


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## NoslracNevok

Boy does time fly. The lawn got a little away from me this summer. I did build a cool pond though. Try to match the style of my mailbox.


I brought my summer lawn from 3 in to 3/4 in a day or so. Bad idea. That combined with lack of water and I'm not sure how much of my lawn is still dormant or dead, or combination of both.


So, I decided on a last-minute renovation. Annnd it just started raining. Hopefully it doesn't get heavy.


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## steffen707

NoslracNevok said:


> Bocce court has been a big hit with the boys. We also play tennis in the road, now the ball can bounce off the grass, expanding the court! The hell strip in this pic is mowed at ~1/4" effective HOC.
> The McLane doesn't strip well this short, especially w/o a roller.


Hey, at the end of this video, the grass farther away looks lighter, the grass closer looks darker. Was the darker grass the one you treated with FAS?


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## steffen707

and in this clip, i think you said the closer grass is bewitched, and the other is Mazama. is that right? How old was the bewitched grass? I've heard Bewitched likes to get darker in years 2, 3....Thoughts?



Did I place the red line pretty close to where the Mazama and Bewitched changes?

I'm looking to renovate/test plot Bluebank, Bewitched, Mazama. I'm in Central Wisconsin. Love the consistency/uniformity of your low cut Hell Strip. WOW!


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## NoslracNevok

@steffen707 three plots in that hell strip. Closest to mailbox was Mazama, middle was Bewitched, furthest was 1:1 combo of the two. I treated them all identically. The FAS app I did over the whole lawn, minus a ~3x3 knock out plot.

In that clip, the phone is facing toward the mailbox, so the Mazama is further away, Betwitched closer to the phone.

I planted them all at the same time, I had the plots for 1 full year before I overseeded the whole thing with Mazama. I've heard the same, but can only speak for a year worth of observation.

Those all will work great. The one thing I'd recommend is a monostand.

Side note, I haven't updated since last late summer, below is a pic taken yesterday.


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## steffen707

NoslracNevok said:


> @steffen707 three plots in that hell strip. Closest to mailbox was Mazama, middle was Bewitched, furthest was 1:1 combo of the two. I treated them all identically. The FAS app I did over the whole lawn, minus a ~3x3 knock out plot.
> 
> In that clip, the phone is facing toward the mailbox, so the Mazama is further away, Betwitched closer to the phone.
> 
> I planted them all at the same time, I had the plots for 1 full year before I overseeded the whole thing with Mazama. I've heard the same, but can only speak for a year worth of observation.
> 
> Those all will work great. The one thing I'd recommend is a monostand.
> 
> Side note, I haven't updated since last late summer, below is a pic taken yesterday.


Thanks for the detailed response! looking great!


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## NoslracNevok

@Budstl Just now realized I didn't respond to the blade width between mazama and bewitched 🤤. In the time I had the bewitched, it seemed to have slightly thinner blades than mazama.

Update on my front yard, what I think is large patch. Whatever it is I've never seen before. I'm accustomed to seeing mycelium in the morning, give me the chance to retroactively apply fungicide just in time to catch it. However whatever this is did not give me that Canary, thus I present...

Big brown circles, I do not like. Fungicide finally going down, combo is azoxy and astro. Lesson learned, next year starting biweekly preventative applications.

All pics taken this morning.






On the plus side the pond is outstanding! Our bluegill living in there named Gill is healthy and getting used to us feeding him. He's a lot less timid, especially with the plants I've been adding. The latest was a cattail I transplanted from my backyard.
The clogged gutter adds new water to the pond each time it rains. Who'd have thought a procrastinated task could end up to my advantage!


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## Budstl

@NoslracNevok no worries man. I got plots of mazama, bewitched, and bluebank that i seeded last fall.


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## g-man

@NoslracNevok large patch is a zoysia fungus. Can you get a close up? Looks like BP.


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## NoslracNevok

@g-man sure thing 👍


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## g-man

Wow, that's almost a perfect circle.


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## NoslracNevok

@g-man Proliferates family in grass, makes it a satisfying perfect circle. Good guy BP.

There's another smaller one just like it, but many other areas that are smaller and irregular. I may be lucky enough to have DS as well. Just put down azoxy and propi 41.8 (40 and 21 mL/K), possibly chlorothalonil next week.

Feel silly I didn't executive my preventative plan and/or identify this earlier. But oh well, lessons learned.


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## NoslracNevok

Well, shoot. My curiosity may be a little costly. I was taking a closer look at my water meter, but it was BOOBY TRAPPED!



As I was praying off this black cap, I noticed it had slight resistance but not much, almost like something was hanging off of it.



As I pulled it off, it snapped and fell down. A real oh s*$t moment. 😳



After some research I believe it is a Aclara brand advanced metering infrastructure device. The black lid, the thing dangling from it, and the cord to the control box appears to be all one replaceable unit to the system.











Since it appears to be a wireless network system, Iexpect a visit from Missouri American water. 👀


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## g-man

You should be able to access that area. You are responsible for any leaks or issues from the meter to your house. A neighbor had a leak by the ball valve and it was after the meter. He had to pay for the fix + the high water bill.

If they give you trouble, just say that you wanted to check for a leaking noise on the meter, but it was all ok.


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## NoslracNevok

Trying out 4 types of Bentgrass, here in St. Louis. If a golf course can do it 18 times, I can do it 0.5 time. Prayers appreciated.


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## NoslracNevok

Latest on the backyard green, comparing 4 plots of monostand bent grass.Armor, V8, T1, L93.
https://youtu.be/C1lqnFyiv6E

TLDR; I can't tell a difference in them so far. Dogs chasing balls and greens don't mix.


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## NoslracNevok

NoslracNevok said:


> Round two of glyphosate!
> 
> 
> Well I've come full circle since Aug 2018. I put bermuda (Iron Cutter, hybrid type) back in after nuking it 4 years ago. I'm not sure what percent of the Mazama KBG is dormant or dead. The areas with the slightest bit of shade did quite well through humid heat here in STL. That said, I decided to convert (plug/sprig) as much lawn as possible to this Iron Cutter hybrid bermuda using the two hell strips as a mother plant. I'm going to leave any surviving KBG and let the bermuda slowly creep as far into it, making a nice fade.
> 
> About Iron Cutter, and bermuda in general: I love the repairing and spreading attributes, and how it will not die in the normal summer hear here. I wanted Tahoma 31 or Tiftuf, but this was the only hybrid available in my area. The Rams used it for their practice facility and a college baseball field uses it as well. Just two points of confidence that it should fare well.
> 
> Front mother plots
> 
> 
> Back mother plot
> 
> 
> I plan to maintain a 1/3" HOC. You can't beat the look and feel of a monostand of KBG, but doesn't suite my needs now with boys running, kicking soccer balls on it, and dogs doing dog things on it. So I bid farewell to the cool season lawn journals and started a new warm season journal here. https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=40391&sid=d491a6a36a47d0ed0aeda9a1899f0372


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