# Rob's Lawn Journal



## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

I found this site while learning how to do lawn renovations and planning out a somewhat unexpected yard renovation on a house I purchased earlier this year (March 2019) and wanted to document the progress as my neighbors kept telling me to do a YouTube video series on this. Video is probably not going to happen. I'm no Ryan Knorr with those video skills. haha. This will have to suffice.

The house is in Maryland and is about 6k sq feet of lawn that backs up to a golf course. Soil consists of lots of sand and the front yard was mostly weeds and the back yard had nicely established zoysiagrass from sod I believe from years ago. This will be a lawn journal and a progress report for my first lawn renovation to my front yard. Enjoy the pictures! :thumbup:


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## badtlc (Aug 22, 2019)

now the exciting part begins.


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

I know! I actually am behind on posting this. The lawn is actually green now. I'll try to post more pictures of its status in the next few days.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

What is the seed mix? Prep looks great.


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

g-man said:


> What is the seed mix? Prep looks great.


Took a few pictures for you. It's a 50/50 blend of PRG and KBG


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

Here are a few pictures from a few days ago and this evening. I am starting to see some weeds popping up and not sure what they are. Plus I have been combatting some moles and I'm not winning that battle...


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

Couple update pictures and first manual reel cut done over the weekend. *** and PRG is coming in nicely. HOC at 1.5" and will steadily drop it down through September and October. Over seeding with *** blend (SS1100) this weekend after another mow. and X-START thrown down at bag rate(3lbs/k). I also would like to put my growth regulator(t-nex) down so the *** can catch up to the rye grass. This would be the first time I've used a growth regulator and could use some assistance on application rates. I have just over 2200 sq ft.

I am also due for another application of Tenacity. If I put all this down in one day or over the course of the weekend will it have negative effects to the baby grass? Tenacity I was going to put down another full rate app, about 1 tsp and mix it with about 4 gallons of water.





Got some bare spots still. However I'm not sure if it is fungus or not... I can take some more picture up close and post those to see if anyone knows what it might be.


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

UPDATE: 26 SEPT 2019

Second mow on my front reno. Looking good but color is not the same throughout also some areas as you can see are sparse. Not sure if that is fungus or not because temps here in MD have been hotter the last two weeks at around 85-90 degrees mid afternoon and high 50's to high 60's in the mornings. Prime fungus environment IMO. I put down some grubEx because I have some mole issues and also some diseaseEx as a fungicide preventative. I got some propiconazole 14.3 from to apply this weekend as a better follow up. I Was also thinking of putting down some more KBG seed, X-START, T-NEX and I'm due for another Tenacity application. I hope I'm not over doing it and stressing the baby grass with all these applications.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It is hard to see color differences in your images. Can you take some closer images of the areas of concern? A reno will take a while to get uniform color and develop into a lawn. Tenacity is 30days from germination, so 6ou still have to wait. Why do you want to use tnex on the reno?


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

Took some picture before work this morning. These are just of the problem areas. I think it is fungus or over watering. I have already cut back on water and letting it dry out a few days before I hit it with a good soak again. I usually try to put down an inch of water. Before I was watering once in the morning for 20 Minutes and again around 6PM in both zones.



g-man said:


> It is hard to see color differences in your images. Can you take some closer images of the areas of concern? A reno will take a while to get uniform color and develop into a lawn. Tenacity is 30days from germination, so 6ou still have to wait. Why do you want to use tnex on the reno?


I put down Tenacity the day of seeding which was 1 SEPT 19 so we are getting close for the next app. Those weeds are coming in because the Meso is wearing off and not bleaching them like it was a few weeks ago. I would like to have a HOC at around 1 inch or lower. My manual reel can go below an inch so I was hoping I could test that out. The PRG is growing pretty well and fast so I wanted to slow it down a little and let the *** come in. Thoughts on that?

I really don't know what the brown patches are so I put down a Scotts DiseaseX hoping it would help in addition to altering the irrigation scheduling. Like I said in my earlier update I also have a bottle of propiconazole 14.3 I plan on putting down this weekend as a stronger follow up to the scotts app.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Hmm, it does look like a fungus. Dont do the 6PM watering. Try not to water after 2pm, so it has a chance to dry out.

The PRG will grow faster than KBG. You just need to mow at 1.5in as often as possible. Tnex will slow down both the PRG and the KBG, so I dont think you should use it.


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

@g-man when do you think would the appropriate time to use it on new grass? I was thinking it would with top growth but aid in horizontal growth. I would like to train it to be cut lower just because I like that look a lot better and it feels good on my feet! Ha.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It supresses all grow. Mowing is what encourages lateral grow. Just mow at the hoc you want.


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## NoslracNevok (Jun 12, 2018)

Looking great Rob, not bad for a first shot!


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

@g-man yep makes sense. So can you help me understand the use for T-Nex? It was my understanding that using it would stunt vertical growth but improve lateral growth with a little green pop. I've never used it before so I don't know but thought I was worth a try. Would love anyone's input on this as well.

@NoslracNevok Thanks bro. I'm keeping up with your YouTube's videos and reel mowing sessions. I really want to get a reel mower so I can get that fairway cut. I have a manual push reel and love it! It's addicting dude. Hard to keep straight lines but she looks real nice after I make a few passes. HOC is 1.5"


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Tnex will supresses grow. This allows more time between mows. It will reduce water usage a little. It will make the lawn look greener because the chlorophyll production stays the same but with less leaf area, it is more concentrated. Root mass is increased.


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

@g-man So it would be better suited for more established lawns is what I'm getting from that? Young grass just needs to grow.


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

Just a quick update no pictures on this post.

*STATE OF THE LAWN:* 
The grass is coming in very nicely and I have learned from @g-man that this is a marathon and not a sprint! and that I need to let the lawn establish itself and just let it grow into being a lawn with that sissy grass mixed in :lol: There are areas of the lawn that are still greener than others which is weird to me and I don't know why this happens but simply could be that it is still young and growing.

*29 SEPT 19: * Overseeded straight *** blend SS1100 at 2 pounds/K. Put a light blanket of peat moss on top just to cover the KBG seed. I did this because there were some spot that were thin and some fungus issues that killed some of the young grass. I did not get around to putting down a blacket coat of propiconazole 14.3. I will try and do that this weekend coming up.

*02 OCT 19:* I went ahead and put down my second application of X-START (08-24-04) at 3lbs/k and watered it in for about 20 minutes in each zone.

I have not decided whether or not to continue with the X-START or go back to my original fert plan of Milorganite(06-04-00) or XGRN (08-01-08) and spike in some micros with RGS and Humic12. I am leaning toward just finishing out the bag of X-START. I honestly don't know which route to take here but I think at this point I just need to make a decision, stick with it and see what the results are. I just want the best the grass want it to grow as much as possible before winter hits.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I would use the XGRN at 3lb/M (0.24lb of N/M) weekly.


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

g-man said:


> I would use the XGRN at 3lb/M (0.24lb of N/M) weekly.


is that "spoon feeding"?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Sort of. Spoon feeding is done with a fast release source. The XGRN and Xstart are more controlled release. I've used the XGRN at 3lb/M rate on my reno.


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

Got it. If I remember correctly, the XGRN does have some fast release Urea correct? If so, that would work out nicely I think.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It doesnt. It is all a controlled release.


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

08 OCT 2019

Starting to see some spots like this in my side yard. Not really sure what to make of it. My first guess would be fungus as it did reach over 90 degree in MD last week... I really don't know how to tell if this is brown batch, dollar spot, or something else entirely. I'm thinking I'll put down some Propiconazole 14.3 and see if that helps.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

That looks like PB.


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

Propiconazole 14.3 should take care of that?


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

*UPDATE: 12 OCT 2019*

Applied a curative rate of Propiconazole 14.3 and a renovation rate of Tenacity(second application).

I saw some spots that looked like fungus so I went ahead and nipped that in the butt. I also went ahead and got my second application of tenacity down. I'm a bit late with the tenacity but this gave the weeds some time to come up. I'm hoping that by doing that and spraying now the weeds will die off in time for Halloween and keep the remaining weed seeds from germinating.

I have another mow I'll be doing this week and will surely take pictures this time!


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

*UPDATE: 17 OCT 2019*
I went ahead and put down .24lb of N this afternoon. I used the Xgrn(8-1-8) from Carbon Earth Co. I'll be repeating the application next week and the week after next until the lawn stop growing and I don't see any clippings. I wanted to do this so I can get the blue grass to spread as much as possible before it is too cold. Plus it should store some of that nitrogen in the roots for the winter(i'm hoping). I'm not ready for the season to end! :|

*STATE OF THE LAWN ADDRESS: *
After the tenacity application from last week I am starting to see a good amount of bleaching of the weeds as well as the tips of the KBG. I know that this is normal on the KBG but when will it green back up, maybe after I mow?

I will be mowing here in the next day or two so stay tuned for some nice pictures and hopefully I can put down some nice strips!


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

*UPDATE: 18 OCT 2019*

HOC 2"

Did things a bit differently yesterday and mowed with my push rotary mower. I did this because I wanted to utilize the suction of the rotary to pull up the grass blades so everything gets cut evenly. I used my Ego mower in bag mode with a high lift blade. This blade pulls the grass up more and helps with bagging. If you look closely you can really see the bleaching from the Tenacity application I did almost a week ago. Interesting to see that it really does bleach the KBG and it's kind of making me worry a bit but I hope it will bounce back and be greener!!


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

:thumbup:


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

Fantastic color


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

@Chris LI 


M32075 said:


> Fantastic color


Thank you. It's been a ride and a great learning experience


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

*THE BUSINESS*
*24 OCT 2019*

Hey! In preparation for Halloween, I did a few things the past couple of days. One of which was a scheduled mow (5th mow), *HOC 1"* a dose of weekly nitrogen(XGrn) at a little over .25lbs of N/1000 sqft, I got a little heavy handed while measuring, and I did its first app of liquid iron using the 7-0-0 greenEffect and 0-0-2 microgreen. My hope with this is that it will push the lawn to grow out of the bleaching effect the tenacity is having on it and really green up before halloween, for that neighborhood domination of course.

*STATE OF THE LAWN ADDRESS*
Obviously there is bleaching going on from the Tenacity, however, the turf is getting really dark green, thick and lush! Weeds are dying off from the Tenacity doing its work which makes me feel like I measured it out correctly. We are rounding the corner here and on out way to the end of the growing season in Maryland. I still have a few more weeks and a few more spoon feedings and mowings to do before that though. This has been very enjoyable and I hope this beautiful grass will carry over into the spring and the hot! hot! summer Maryland usually has. I am worried about sustaining the grass during the summer, I could use some tips on how. Enjoy these pictures.


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

*29 OCT 2019*
Halloween ready folks! HOC 1"


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## Mondeh6 (Jul 4, 2018)

looks great! will be watching the reaction to the summer heat.


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## Wolverine (Jan 17, 2018)

Looking good!


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## Rswarren14 (Aug 17, 2019)

Continuing the lawn journal for 2020 here.

Rob's 2020 Lawn Journal


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