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Bmossin Journal

13K views 63 replies 12 participants last post by  Necrosis 
#1 ·
I have been lurking around long enough, so I figure I would finally start one of these...mainly to keep everything documented that I have done and remember what does and does not work...

We moved to the Dallas area in 2016...before that had been in Cincinnati and had a mix of TTTF and Kentucky Bluegrass. I started out with a rough lawn up there but after watching some of the Youtube guys as well as reading a book called "Lawn Geek" by Trey Rogers. He was nice enough that I was able to email him a couple times with questions early on.

May 2013 Ohio


April 2016 Ohio


While there I got my lawnmower, a trusty TroyBilt 21inch, as well as the ever popular Scott's spreader and then things got serious and I picked up a Ryan Aerator off of craigslist. The neighbors thought I was nuts until everyone wanted to borrow it in the fall for their overseed.

2016 brought us to the Dallas area for work...and I knew jack about warm season grass. The lawn had been less than taken care of, and I figured I would pull off a reno in that spring. I wish I knew then what I know now.

April 2016 Dallas


I hit everything with roundup a couple times...then hit it with a Mantis cultivator north, south, east and west...then again in reverse. In the Late April 2016 in Dallas I planted Texas Bluegrass blend and TTTF.



It didn't make it. It came up great, by the middle of June though I was facing issues with Fungus and you name it.

I emailed with a Texas Extension office, and learned/realized my mistakes.

Here come renovation number two...wife was PISSED.

Killed off everything again and planted Blackjack Bermuda from seed. It came in really well. I was amazed grass could grow so well in the heat. It was awesome.

June and July of 2016

June 30, 2016






July 12 2016



After doing some more reading, I ended up getting a 7blade push reel mower and maintained as low as I could with that. I could not believe how well this grass would do with fertilizer and keeping it mowed low. I was hooked.

I missed my striping action though...I had a Checkmate roller that was not getting any love any more...and neither was the rotary mower.

Fall of 2016 through Spring of 2017 I put down PRG...it looked sweet...and striped well...

March 1, 2017




In true fashion, I could not leave good enough alone. The transition from PRG back to Bermuda was not going fast enough, and I was not happy with how long it was taking. And I had not done nearly as much educating myself on warm season grass, even though I had a season under my belt.

Renovation number 3 2017...amazingly still married...she really loves me.

I did not take a lot of pictures from that time period...in fact I can not find any. At one point we had a pretty solid hail storm and needed the roof replaced. Then was when I worked on the turf. That June I put down a pallet of Celebration because we were having a birthday party and I needed something for the water games to be played on for our 1 year old...along with the celebration I seeded some Princess 77, Yukon, Rivera and whatever Blackjack I had left. I cringe as I typed that whole last sentence. Looking back I wish I would have invested the money in sod for the whole area...someday.

2017-2018 Pictures

2017 was much more of a learning year. I did not overseed PRG that fall, so the bermuda that came back in 2018 would not have to fight it.





























2018 I got a lot more serious about my chemicals and practices. Read the Bermuda Bible and learned about the triangle...read a lot of journals from people on this site...as I read their stories it was fun to look back and think, "I've done that, or wish I had done that."

2018 I learned how awesome Celsius is. It is worth every penny. How awesome urea is, and how it can PUSH PUSH PUSH to the promised land.

I also stepped up my equipment game. Got a cheap McLane off of craigslist...put a roller on it, a predator motor and went to town. It also got a new bed knife as well as a back-lapping. I still don't know if my reel to bed knife is set correctly, because i feel it is a pain...but it cut. I also ended up buying a catcher for it. I am now into it for a lot more than I would ever get out of it.
Because I am crazy, I picked up an aerator again. I had sold the one from Ohio when we moved to Texas. I couldn't pass up on the deal. Just put a new carb on it the other day, and it runs like a champ again.





Enter 2019

March was an exciting month, I found a greensmower or two online. The day I finalized it with shipping and sent the cash to a golf course back in Ohio, we had our third baby girl. That morning I was buying a greensmower, that afternoon I had a new daughter. It was fun explaining to my wife why I had to leave the hospital at midnight two days later to go meet the Uship delivery at our house to unload two pieces of machinery. I picked up a John Deere 180B and 180C.

I ended up keeping the 180C and sold the 180B to another member here on the forum. I ended up changing the bed knife on it as well, then a member got me in contact with the guy at our course and he picked it up to service it this.









April 5 2019


Some pictures of the turf over the past couple months...it is slowly getting better....I am hitting it with 1-1.5N per month as well as on my second app of PGR...my first time doing that...which I now see why everyone loves it.









I also picked up a sunjoe dethatcher/scarifier...it is awesome...I could probably use this for sprigs...







My upcoming plans...4 yards of sand ideally June 14...level some of my areas that are not nearly as flat as they need to be for my greens mower to do and cut like I want it to...and to help with the drainage when the water toys have to come out...

Current state of affairs...











Thanks for reading and watching...love the input and constructive criticism is always welcome.
 
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#29 ·
PGR and some 15-0-0 and 6% iron went down Friday night 7/26. First cut since then tonight on 7/29.

Need to step up the watering game for sure. I'm happy with how it is coming along.

I am getting some nutsedge and a few other broadleaf popping up so an application of Celsius and Certainty is probably going down Thursday evening.



 
#33 ·
@tcorbitt20 thanks for making me get off my butt tonight.

The back is filling in and I am very happy with it. I will need to do a couple more applications of sand to get it as level as I would like. The middle section of the yard that really dips just ate up a lot more than I thought it would.

The only real weed pressure I am feeling is nutsedge, which doesn't surprise me with as much water as I have been putting down. I did try Pennant Magnum this year and have been happy as I have not seen any kylinga which has been an issue the past three years.

Next to my fence is an opportunity that I keep trying to decide if I will just hardscape something there since it does not get enough sunlight for the Bermuda to do well.

I'm on the same schedule front and back when it comes to PGR which I'm going to need to do here in a few days basedmon the greenkeeper app.

I've started to cut my back with my rotary because the obstacles and the greensmower don't play nice. Another member onnhere has my old McLane. I'm debating on looking for tru-cut or Cal Trimmer for the back...just don't want to spend the money.









 
#35 ·
tcorbitt20 said:
Looking good! It's filled in well.
Thanks man. I really appreciate it. I love your front yard and the shots you always put up. I read through your whole Journal earlier this year and I love it. Your front yard is the reason a Tru-cut is even on my list as a possibility. Also, you've got some Land you're Going to be building on right? Exciting stuff!
 
#36 ·
Bmossin said:
tcorbitt20 said:
Looking good! It's filled in well.
Thanks man. I really appreciate it. I love your front yard and the shots you always put up. I read through your whole Journal earlier this year and I love it. Your front yard is the reason a Tru-cut is even on my list as a possibility. Also, you've got some Land you're Going to be building on right? Exciting stuff!
Thanks! Yeah we bought a little over 20 acres. The builder so far has dragged his feet every step of the way as far as getting plans done and getting us an estimate to get to the bank. Maybe by this time next year, we'll be out there.
 
#37 ·
Last time I cut was the 29th and just cut the front again tonight. I need to make sure next time I go in an opposite direction. Certainty and Celsius are doing their job. Height is right at 3/4. PGR is a life saver. I'll cut again Tuesday or Wednesday before I head out on a work trip.

I really need to increase my water but with doing the sand on my backyard and water I used back there I'm really trying to reel the budget back in. Right now I'm just letting the Rachio do its thing.
 
#39 ·
Got a cut in Sunday afternoon after being out of town. Cut on Thursday 8/15 then not again until Sunday 8/25. I bumped the front up a bit. The back I did but but should have because I ended up with some scalping. Will see how it recovers in the back.

Taking with some other folks it sounds like I need to be mowing the front more to get the Bermuda trained. I think I have a couple different varieties in the mix as well that is not helping matters.
















 
#43 ·
Mowed the back this morning. Will hopefully hit the front either Sunday or Monday.

Need to get some fungicide down in the back. A few mushrooms are showing up.

The differences between the Celebration I have in the back and whatever other salad mix I have back there is really starting to show, especially with PGR and a higher cut going on.

Added some ethanol stabilizer to the aerator engine and ran it for a while today. I put a carb on it earlier this year.

I'm really trying to decide if I want to do a PRG overseed on the front. With the greens mower I'm confident it will look pretty good.









 
#44 ·
Bmossin said:
The_iHenry said:
Lawns looking sharp! How hard is it to mow around that play set and along your fence?
I actually stopped using the greens mower in the back because it is such a pain. Time to save the money for a Swardman lol.

I like running the greensmower on the front more.
Yeah those axles really get in the way. Luckily I only have 1 troubled area to get around. I'm not too familiar with the Swardmans?
 
#45 ·
The_iHenry said:
Bmossin said:
The_iHenry said:
Lawns looking sharp! How hard is it to mow around that play set and along your fence?
I actually stopped using the greens mower in the back because it is such a pain. Time to save the money for a Swardman lol.

I like running the greensmower on the front more.
Yeah those axles really get in the way. Luckily I only have 1 troubled area to get around. I'm not too familiar with the Swardmans?
I've been seeing folks feedback on here and watched some videos on YouTube.

Just an investment lol.
 
#47 ·
Got a quick cut on the front. Cut the back. The back is crazy thick with the PGR and Iron. I am only using my rotary on the back since my swingset and fence are in the way. I need to knock it down one more notch.

Here's a shot of the front through that is reel low. I can't drive straight to save my life.




 
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