# Steve's Lawn Renovation



## ruahusker (Jul 28, 2017)

Hello everyone. I am new to the forum. I have already been lurking a few days after deciding to embark on a lawn renovation. I have quickly realized that I am getting in over my head :| .

I am in Lincoln, NE and my house which I have owned since 2005 has been a rental property for the last 5 years or so (I'm moving back in). You can probably imagine what the lawn looks like. The decision to renovate the front yard was pretty much a no brainer as it has many bare spots, tree roots showing, crabgrass, clover, many other misc weeds, etc. The backyard however, was in better shape but still in rough shape.

I made the decision to glyphosate the entire lawn about a week ago and things seem to be going pretty well. I will attach some photos of the condition of the lawn before I went thermonuclear. I will add some pics of the lawn as it appears now a little later when I get back home.

I am awaiting a load of pulverized top soil to arrive today so I can begin filling holes, covering tree roots, etc. The main question I still have is what variety of grass to plant. Around here we have Todd Valley Farms which sells a 100% RTF product as well as a 90% RTF 10% KBG blend. I am open to any other suggestions. I am really looking to spend some time with this lawn and while I value a hearty turf I would really like something as soft and plush as possible (knowing that I may need to give it a little more TLC).

It seems like most of my neighbors have 100% fescue lawns. I am almost tempted to go with a KBG blend as I love the look of the grass.

I imagine my progression will go like this (please let me know if you have any suggestions).
#1 Scalp dead lawn. 
#2 Fill in holes, depressions, etc.
#3 Aerate the lawn (drainage is horrible as I have lots of compacted clay soil).
#4 Slit Seed (once I find out what I am planting) 
#5 Apply light top dressing to lawn over the top of the seed.
#6 ??

I am basically placing this post as a placeholder to document my journey. Any suggestions or comments are welcome. More photos to come.


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## monty (Jul 25, 2017)

Good luck!

#7 Profit!


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

I suggest 
6 should be starter fertilizer
7 should be tenacity (mesotrione). Mesotrione is one of the few pre-emergents that can be safely used at the time of seeding. 
Scott's makes a granular fertilizer with mesotrione in it. You could kill two birds with one stone, though many people prefer liquid pre-emergents.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Actually, you may want to use the starter fertilizer before you put the seed down.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Be careful about putting topsoil over tree roots. You can kill the tree. If there are tree roots lying on the ground, it would be better to just use mulch around the tree (and don't pile the mulch up either). Use topsoil only to fill low spots. You don't want to create drainage problems. If the lawn is already correctly graded, don't mess it up.


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## Miller_Low_Life (Apr 12, 2017)

1st- Go Big Red! I live in Omaha.
2nd- I think you'll notice a big difference just by giving the lawn a little TLC. When we moved into our home 4 years ago we were lucky to not have many weeds but the lawn was super thin. It took 2 seasons but to get it to look nice by just fert and lots of grass seed. I use the brown patch resistant blend from seed super store. Trying compost the first time this year. Curious on the difference that will make with my seeding in the fall. 
3. Looking forward to seeing your progression since we are 40 miles apart.


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## ruahusker (Jul 28, 2017)

Thanks everyone for the responses. One question I am still pondering is whether to get a dethatcher to thin the remaining dead grass out some or just go with core aeration or both? My soil in the back yard is really crappy and is basically compacted clay that doesn't drain well so I figured that aeration would help but the dead grass is rather thick.

In the front yard there is already quite a bit of bare soil so I am not worried about that.

Any ideas?

I am adding some more photos of my grass (post glyphosate).


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

Kill
Scalp and bag
Scalp and bag 
Detach with slice seeder in multiple directions all day
Water 
Kill 
Rake 
Drag, drag, drag
Rake 
Drag more and more all day 
Starter fert mid to late August 
Seed down same day as starter fert 
Granulated humic acid (soil conditioner/humate) same day
Peat or sawdust fine eighth inch if you have a source
Water daily.. If it drives out it dies out. 
Fert around 4 to six weeks later. 
Mow 3 times as needed
24d


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

ruahusker said:


> One question I am still pondering is whether to get a dethatcher to thin the remaining dead grass out some or just go with core aeration or both?


You want to get as much seed to soil contact as possible. If you have a lot of dead grass, dethatching can certainly help achieve that. Without knowing anything else, I'd say, yes, dethatching would be helpful to you.

Core aeration is more challenging to field. There is a lot of debate about the necessity of it. Some swear by it. Others skip it entirely or use liquid or chemical aeration. Personally, I've made impressive gains with my compacted soil by using baby shampoo and water, with baby shampoo applied at 3 oz per 1000 square feet. However, I'm not suggesting that it replaces core aeration.

I suggest doing some googling on this topic or just wait for someone with a stronger opinion to chime in.


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## ruahusker (Jul 28, 2017)

ruahusker said:


> Hello everyone. I am new to the forum. I have already been lurking a few days after deciding to embark on a lawn renovation. I have quickly realized that I am getting in over my head :| .


I just wanted to give a quick update on this. I have done the following things since I last posted.

1. Filled in holes and slumps in yard. 4 cubic yards of soil.
2. Aerated yard
3. Seeded (yes it is early but things have been very cool temps wise.) I used the Turfsaver RTF from Barenbrug.

Seed went down on Sunday so hopefully by the end of this weekend I will start seeing some sprouts.

I think I was a little overzealous on the watering as puddles were starting to form. I decided to give the yard a rest today on the watering front.

I will update pictures as to the progress.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

ruahusker said:


> I think I was a little overzealous on the watering as puddles were starting to form. I decided to give the yard a rest today on the watering front.
> 
> ]


I recommend that you double-check your soil before it gets too late in the day just to ensure that it has remained moist.


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## ericgautier (Apr 22, 2017)

How many times a day are you watering and for how long each time? If you are seeing puddles, then you are watering to long. Definitely a good idea to cut back but as social port mentioned, check to make sure it is not drying out inbetween waterings.


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## ruahusker (Jul 28, 2017)

I had it set for 3 times a day for 10 minutes a zone. I have a Rachio smart sprinkler so I just decided to hit my main front yard area once as that usually dries out before anything else. I will swing by the house tonight and see if everything is still moist.


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## ruahusker (Jul 28, 2017)

Germination at 5 days with 100% TTTF. A bit earlier than I was expecting.


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## Pete1313 (May 3, 2017)

Congrats!


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## Vols_fan08 (Jul 10, 2017)

Where in God's green earth did you get that topsoil. That's stuff is as fine and dark as I've seen. No way you could find that stuff around here!


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## ruahusker (Jul 28, 2017)

I haven't updated this thread for almost a year. I am very happy with how things have turned out over the last year. Thanks a bunch for all your help. here are some photos of how things are looking so far.

First the old ones:





Here is what it looks like today.





Overall very pleased but I still have a bit of a clover problem. I have been putting down milorganite and I did one treatment of bioadvanced All-in-one. I didn't read the directions and put it down right before it rained so I may have wasted $20. lol. Oh well. Live and learn. I did try to overseed a few weeks ago and it didn't work as well as I hoped it would. I did aerate but I don't think the seed took anywhere but the holes in the ground. I will try again this fall. Until then I will just re-apply the milorganite and keep trying to treat weed issues as they come up. Once again, thanks for all the help everyone!

Steve


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Wow, what a turnaround :thumbup: 


ruahusker said:


> Overall very pleased but I still have a bit of a clover problem.


Me too. I'm still waiting for some WeedBGone CCO and a stretch of cooler weather!


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