# Pacific Northwest Renovation 2017



## homegrown101 (Jun 18, 2017)

Hey everyone, I live in the greater Seattle area and wanted to share my lawn renovation and get advice going forward with the new lawn.

Lawn size: 2,000sqf

Seed used: 12lbs~ of a 70% Perennial Ryegrass 30% Fine Fescue mix, http://www.jbinstantlawn.net/products/zoom/6

Steps I did during the renovation:
1) Did a soil test
2) Applied glyphosate
3) after 2 weeks removed existing lawn
4) Tilled soil and added 10yards of 60-40 compost-sand mix, 30lb~ lime, 22 lb. Organic Micronutrients and 7lb. of Scotts starter fertilizer and tilled again.
5) Leveled and rolled with water roller.
6) Seeded, raked and covered with peat moss.
7) water, water and more water.

Gallery


http://imgur.com/uKjyB


Questions going forward,
1) Should I do my first mow at 3inches or wait till 4inches?
2) I've seen different recommendations for mowing perennial rye, some saying 1-1.5 inches and others 2.5-3 inches. Should I aim for the middle at 2 inches?
3) For the first application of fertilizer, should I use the rest of the Scotts starter fertilizer or should I use Milorganite?

Thanks!


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## Pete1313 (May 3, 2017)

Welcome to TLF! Nice work so far! Love the picture gallery! :thumbsup: I would mow as soon as it reaches 3" and then cut at a height of 2". Mowing lower to start will encourage tillering and help it thicken up. I would use the Scott's starter fertilizer. Now that it is up and growing you can do light, weekly quick release nitrogen feedings at a rate of .25-.5 lbs of N/k to encourage it to establish faster.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

Ditto! Also, remember to keep mowing it when it hits 3in. It might happen often but it will make the lawn thicken much faster.


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

Very nice! Pete's fertilization advice is exactly what I'd do too. Synthetics first, milo after it's established. Also, PRG looks much better cut short and it handles it great. 2" is fine. You will love the look. I am cutting as low as 1" with a reel mower on a repair section of pure PRG and it's thickening up like crazy. By the way, what did you do with all that old sod?


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## homegrown101 (Jun 18, 2017)

A family member used most of it as fill dirt and the rest we took to the county waste transfer station, for some reason the county doesn't accept sod for recycle.


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

This is an awesome testimony to perennial ryegrass and how fast it grows in. I love that stuff. Good work.


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## homegrown101 (Jun 18, 2017)

Some pics of the first mow. I was holding off on the mow to let seedlings get established from the seeds I threw down last week in the thin areas. Some spots were over 5 inches so I only cut to 3.5 inches. I'll probably mow again in the next few days and work my way down to 2 inches.


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## homegrown101 (Jun 18, 2017)

I also noticed a mole has dug through the yard  and into my flower bed. Would it be safe to apply a grub control product like Scoots GrubEx1 on a new lawn?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It is normally too late for grubex1.

This Michigan State University article recommends the application of GrubEx (chlorantraniliprole) between April 1 and May 30. The article actually say: "so it can be applied any time after the grass turns green in the spring".

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/how_to_choose_and_when_to_apply_grub_control_products_for_your_lawn


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## homegrown101 (Jun 18, 2017)

Wanted to give an update on the lawn. Overall the lawn is looking beautiful compared to what it used to look like. There are some small issues I'm tackling such as trying to figure out the amount of water the lawn needs per week. I was trying to move to deep watering (over 1/2 an inch) every 2-3 days but we're getting temps in the ranges of 75F-82F degrees with no rain in sight so I going to try medium (less then 1/2 inch) watering very other day. Also would anyone be able to tell me whats causing the patches of light green grass? I'm guessing its not enough nitrogen as the patches seemed bigger before applying more starter fert but I'm not sure.

July 4th,


Today,


Another angle


Close up


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