# bcort's casual lawn journal



## bcort (6 mo ago)

Y'all are impressive with the amount of time spent on lawn care. I don't have plans to go that crazy.

Background:
Located in NE Ohio.

Property is on just under 3 acres, with about 21,000 sqft for the south facing front lawn.

We cut down a few trees over the last year, which gave it a bit more light.



We left two, which will shade different areas of the lawn at different parts of the day.

After grinding the stumps down, we were left with some larger bare spots in the lawn that fit neglected.

We also have a swale that runs along the outside of the property then cuts through the back yard.

From the driveway facing the corner:


The corner:


From the corner looking down the side street 


And that's really the impetus of the lawn renovation. The swale not only looks bad but also takes a lot of time and energy to weed whack. We're getting it piped (the front section from the driveway, corner, and then part of the side and split). Unfortunately with the grade and depth of the swale that cuts through the back yard, it's getting left open for now.

So, the swale project will tear up about a third of the front yard and new ground cover.

The current lawn is a mixture of everything you can find up here- fescue, PRG, and KBG (pretty common up here with the word weather we have). It's also filled with weeds.







With the lawn in rough shape and it about to get torn up even more, it's time to redo the whole front lawn.

Now, some issues- I'm out of the country until November of this year. The swale is getting fixed this summer. Had the option of putting down cheap seed this year, then do the whole area at one time next fall or have the contractor put down the ultimate goal seed and rely on the wife to water (ok, I'm going to try to get it as automated as I can).

Decided on the latter.. not sure if it's the best choice, but in the end, if I have to seed it again, seed isn't that expensive compared to the rest of the lawn products.

Plan is to seed the areas that will be torn up, then when I'm back, kill off the remaining lawn and seed it fall of '23.

With the climate and partially shady areas, I'm going with an even mix of Mazama, Bewitched, and Blue Note. I believe this will give me the best chance for the shady areas, some diversity for disease resistance.

More to come...


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I can't see that much shade in your images. There is one key piece of information missing, do you have irrigation?

When they bring soil to cover the pipes, it is also going to bring weed seeds in it. Ideally you want to fallow the soil. It means watering to make the weeds grow and then killing it with glyphosate before you apply your seeds. Check the Renovation Guide for more details of the whole process.

If this was my property, i would not try KBG this year. I would use a decent cool season mix to control erosion this year. Why? The soil will settle or they might need to fix an issue or you are not happy with the final grade. Waiting a year will give you time to address it and renovate properly next year.


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## bcort (6 mo ago)

g-man said:


> I can't see that much shade in your images. There is one key piece of information missing, do you have irrigation?
> 
> When they bring soil to cover the pipes, it is also going to bring weed seeds in it. Ideally you want to fallow the soil. It means watering to make the weeds grow and then killing it with glyphosate before you apply your seeds. Check the Renovation Guide for more details of the whole process.
> 
> If this was my property, i would not try KBG this year. I would use a decent cool season mix to control erosion this year. Why? The soil will settle or they might need to fix an issue or you are not happy with the final grade. Waiting a year will give you time to address it and renovate properly next year.


No irrigation. Thanks for the information.

Regarding shade, didn't have a good picture on my phone of the trees but here's the satellite image:



One large tree on the south east side of the property and one tree on the north west side of the front yard.


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## bcort (6 mo ago)

Swale work starts Monday. On the far left is the catch basin that will go into the corner. It was going to be a "Y" intersection, but the county wanted the basin and 18" pipe instead of 12" for part of the lawn,. Supposed to be about a 4 day job, so hopefully that means by Friday it's done (allowing for a day of slop).


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## bcort (6 mo ago)

A little bit of rain this week, but I think they're still on track to finish by Friday.


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## bcort (6 mo ago)




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## bcort (6 mo ago)

Although I'm not there, it looks really good. Wife is happy, and a few neighbors have already asked for quotes for their swales. Excavator did finish on Friday and put seed, starter fert, and straw down. So September 2nd is seed down day.

Well pump has trouble handling all the sprinklers (not normal), so have to get that fixed early this week. Still able to water but have to use one sprinkler at a time and move it around, so it's taking an extraordinarily long time to water the area. We got a light rain last night and are supposed to get more rain over the next few days. As long as it's not too much, that should help until we get the well fixed (whatever the problem is there).


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## bcort (6 mo ago)

First sprouts! Had a few hard days of rain and still looking at another week until the well gets cleaned out (and new pump to replace the one that's over 20 years old). Overall, I don't know how great it'll all come in, but encouraging to at least see some baby grass.


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## bcort (6 mo ago)

Two week update. Lots of grass has come in. Well still hasn't been cleaned out so relying on rain and watering when the wife is able. Not sure if the seed wasn't laid close enough to the existing lawn, the sprinkler hasn't been hitting it, or it's been washed down with the grade and rain. Either way, shouldn't be a big deal when I have to do the rest of the lawn next fall. Pleased with the progress so far.


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