# Mike's RI Lawn Journal (2020 KBG Reno)



## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

I finally feel like I'm prepared to take on my lawn renovation. My Rhode Island yard had never been cared for up until I took it over two years ago. I feel like I've made a lot of progress since then and am now prepared to take the next step. I'm going to be using a custom blend from SSS which contains Bluebank, Bewitched, and Mazama to renovate half of my yard. I'm saving the other half for next year because of the upcoming in-ground pool installation. I wanted to document this process to learn from the experience and also have photos to look back on.

I based my plan off @g-man's renovation guide and @gregonfire's lawn journal (https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1246) even though he is primarily using TTTF - I admire the way his lawn came out. My plan looks something like this...

*7/25/20: Glyphosate - Round 1*
*8/1/20: Glyphosate - Round 2*
*8/6/20: Scalp and spot-spray glyphosate
8/6/20 - 8/11/20: Fallow, spot-spray glyphosate
8/9/20: Core aeration *
*8/11/20: Spread soil/compost, level, roll*
*8/11/20 - 8/29/20: Fallow, spot-spray glyphosate*
*8/30/20: Seed down!
	Rake seedbed
	Mix seed with soil moist
	Spread Bluebank/Mazama/Bewitched KBG blend @ 3lbs/ksqft
	Spread SS9000 PRG @ 2.5lbs/ksqft
	Lightly rake and roll
	Spread peat moss and roll
	Tenacity @ 4oz/acre rate
	Begin "germination watering" with irrigation (8 am, 12 pm, 4 pm)
	Grab beer of choice*
*9/12/20 (13 days after seed down): .3lb N/ksqft (Starter Fert - 12-18-8), added KBG seed as needed
9/16/20 (17 days after seed down): 1st mow @ 1.5"*
*9/20/20 (21 days after seed down): .3lb N/ksqft (Starter Fert - 24-25-4) & Second mow @ 1.5"*
21 DAG (9/27/20): Add seed as needed. Adjust irrigation schedule (longer lengths, less frequent)
21 DAG (9/27/20): Urea @ .25lb N/ksqft & RGS & Humic12
21-28 DAG (9/26 - 10/3/20): Tenacity @ 4oz/acre rate
21-28 DAG (9/26 - 10/3/20): Propiconazole 14.3 @ 1oz/ksqft
28 DAG (10/4/20): .25 lb N/ksqft (urea)
45 DAG (10/20/20): More N as needed
60 DAG (11/4/20): Apply Prodiamine & SOP

Before 2019 Overseed:









We pulled several concrete slabs out of the ground here. Major leveling work is needed.









Both of the above areas on 7/25/20 after the first round of glyphosate went down:


















Other areas to be included in the reno:


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## gregonfire (Sep 18, 2017)

Looks like you have a good solid plan in place! Best of luck and will be following along as you progress.


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## Di3soft (Jun 13, 2020)

I have the same watering scheduled set up for my reno, do you know how long you are going to run each zone at each run time? I was thinking 5 minutes to keep it moist.


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

Di3soft said:


> I have the same watering scheduled set up for my reno, do you know how long you are going to run each zone at each run time? I was thinking 5 minutes to keep it moist.


I'm planning on taking time off work the week I put the seed down so I can closely monitor the water situation for the first few days. I have certain zones where shade is going to be a factor, and less time will be needed. When I go back to work, my plan will be to set the schedule the irrigation manually each morning based on the results I see from the first week and the forecasted weather.



gregonfire said:


> Looks like you have a good solid plan in place! Best of luck and will be following along as you progress.


Thanks, Greg!


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

One week after the first round of gly and things are looking toasty. I missed a few spots, but overall it's progressing as expected. Round two went down this morning.


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

Another app of glypho seemed to do the trick. I rented a power rake to remove as much of the dead grass as I could. I'm going to owe the yard waste pickup guys a beer this week. The soil was extremely compacted (as expected) so I went over everything with an aerator. 10 cubic yards (I have a lot of leveling work to do) of soil/compost is scheduled for delivery from a local farm this morning. Based on what I've read from everyone else this seems to be the worst part. I'm looking forward to getting this spread... I can see the finish line... or maybe it's just the line where the hard work ends and the stress begins.


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

Those of you that have said that moving and spreading soil is hard work was not kidding. :shock: After a grueling weekend of getting fully acquainted with my shovel, rake, leveling rake, and roller, my 10 cubic yards of topsoil/compost were spread over my horribly uneven 2,500 square feet of renovation area.

Note to self for next time - Go with 1/4" screened material. The 1/2" had too many sticks in it for my liking and I found myself constantly pulling them out.

I'll now be fallowing for the next several days. The seed down date is still planned for 8/22.


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

I was originally going to put the seed down this weekend, but after seeing some rain in the forecast on Monday, and also finally getting the opportunity to get to take a quick trip up to Maine, I've decided to hold off until Thursday. So far the weather looks to be on my side.










I also decided that I'm going to mix in roughly 2 lbs/ksqft of PRG (SSS9000) that I had on hand with the KBG.

For fun, I sent the soil that I used for leveling off to Waypoint to check on the quality. I was extremely pleased with the results...


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

The hard part is over and the real stress begins.  After returning from my mini-vacation on Thursday, I spent that night through Saturday night battling the weather. My first opening was Sunday morning, even though it was a week later than I had initially planned. I guess it worked out for the best seeing as we've had torrential downpours three times this past week.

I raked the soil to create a nice seedbed and then went to work. As planned, I went with a rate of 3 lbs/ksqft of the KBG and 2.5 lbs/ksqft of the PRG.





































After rolling, everything in a went to work with the peat moss. It was at that moment that the wind picked up and made this job extremely challenging. Not to mention, there were a few windows open, and the swirls of peat moss flying into the house didn't exactly thrill my wife. After several hours of work, the job was done, and the Tenacity went down. From there, I grabbed a beer and turned on the irrigation system. The countdown begins...


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## Zcape35 (Sep 17, 2019)

Looking good, I can't wait to see some green poking through!


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## badtlc (Aug 22, 2019)

how did you spread the peat moss?


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

badtlc said:


> how did you spread the peat moss?


I spread it by hand over the roughly 3,000 sq. ft. I wasn't able to find a local place that rented compost spreaders, and I didn't feel like dropping $300 on a tool that would probably see minimal use after this reno. It turned out to be more of a workout than I expected.


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

I also wanted to ask what you guys thought about starter fert. My phosphorus levels were very high in both my native soil and the soil I brought in to level. I've read mixed opinions on the topic, and I ended up opting to not put down starter fert yesterday. Based on the soil tests below, do you feel this is a solid plan, or should I reconsider?

Native Soil (tested late March 2020)









Reno Soil (tested August 2020)


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

I see everyone posting these night flashlight shots... figured I'd join the club. Six days after seed down...










The PRG is doing its thing, and the KBG should just be joining the party any minute now.


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## Zcape35 (Sep 17, 2019)

You are styling now!


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

Photo updates are coming tomorrow for the main reno project.

For the sake of keeping this an actual journal, I wanted to add a couple of photos of an overseeding project that I completed today on the two areas that I didn't include in the reno because of a new pool install that will hopefully be happening next year. After that's done, I plan on doing a full reno of these two areas with the same varieties of KBG/PRG that I'm using in the current reno. The grass in these areas is primarily TTTF, so I decided to keep it that way for now and went with a 90/10 TTTF/KBG mix from Tuckahoe Turf Farms in NJ. Leading up to today, I dethatched, leveled, and put down Tenacity. This morning I spread the seed, rolled it in, and covered the bare dirt areas with peat moss. And away we go...


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

9 days after seed down, 5 DAG photo update. Five days in and the PRG is doing its thing holding the soil in place for the KBG. Close-up I can see what I believe to be the KBG coming to life. I'm going to have to work on my patience.




























I think I got a bit heavy-handed in this one spot with the Tenacity. All of the babies are coming up white. Hopefully they will recover.


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

I spent some time reading @Babameca's journal after realizing his reno was also a KBG/PRG mix. Seeing his incredible results led me to tweak my plans just a bit. Because the PRG growth was getting out of hand, I decided today (17 days after seed down) I'd go for the first mow @ 1.5" with a manual reel mower. I was pleased with the results, and my wife finally had a sigh of relief, knowing that she'd have a yard again soon. Next up... working on mowing straight lines with the reel mower!


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

Good job man! Looks very similar, progress wise, to what I had. Watch for fungus and keep it fed. Few more weeks and it will blow your mind . You have a longer fall than us up North.


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## mmaer (Mar 19, 2020)

Got in the second mow yesterday (again at 1.5") and dropped another .3 lbs of N with starter fert. I'm definitely starting to see things thicken up a bit.


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