Lawn Care Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Forums

ctrav journal

Jump to Latest
82K views 577 replies 56 participants last post by  Redtwin  
#1 ·
Oct 2016 - Purchased home with Bermuda front lawn. Lawn cut with older push mower non-self propelled.

Jul 2017 - pool install completed, irrigation and sod installed
Purchased Toro SS4225 ZTR

Sep 2017 - 2 live oaks and 1 red oak installed rear yard

Apr 2018 - purchased Toro 22' self propelled

Lawn was maintained with Lesco 28-3-10 with two applications of sulfur in fall of 2017 and spring of 2018. HOC for front was 3" and 3 1/2' for the rear.

2018 Soil Analysis

Aug - 2018 joined TLF
My equipment...








 
#2 ·
Lawn Care and Water Schedule:

Tuesdays - Front full maintenance with deep water just after midnight (wed morning). Rear quick cut
Fridays - Rear full maintenance with deep water just after midnight (sat morning). Front quick cut

8-14-18 started deep water program with intent of applying 1" of water on front lawn. This caused too much water runoff. Sprinklers adjust to current run time settings.



8-16-18 deep water program started on rear yard.

 
#5 ·
8-31-18 Mower deck set at 2"

What a nightmare and blessing all in one. Long story short I was up in the garage changing or trying to change my ZTR blades. Had the hardest time getting them off. As I was putting on the new blades I notice something wasn't right with the deck. Sure enough the left side of the deck had popped off the lift bar and the left side lift bar was dislodged.

Got up this morning racking my brain, watching YouTube videos, posting on TLF and calling repair shops. Long story short (see post in equipment thread) I prevailed and all was right with the world. Mower is much smoother and better overall cut with new blades.

Did a quick cut on the front lawn and complete cut on the rear yard.
Put down 3 bags of 21-0-0
Sprayed on 12-0-0 chelated iron plus

I was so thrilled with mechanical work I washed ZTR and push mower :)

* Need to check deck balance and validate deck cutting height. Even at 2" HOC it seems lower. No visible scalping but some uneven areas??









 
#9 ·
@Cory
Cory said:
Have you aerated at all? My bet is that you have some serious compaction, especially in the ditch. Also could benefit from a scalp but it's getting pretty late in the season, probably be better just to raise your HOC a little.
Click to expand...
When I first cut down from 3" I went to 1 1/2" and it scalped too low in some areas thus I came up with a 2" HOC as my maintain height. I could easily go to 2 1/2" but I want the grass to spread and thicken more than grow vertical. Next spring I want to go back down to at least 1 1/2" and may try 1" with my maintain HOC of 2" (for some reason I like the grass at that level).

I agree there is lots of compaction in the soil. I aerated once last year and considering next spring. Someone also mentioned air8 as a good product to apply vs aerating??
 
#10 ·
I have been using air-8 along with core aerating all season in my backyard. I wouldn't use the air-8 as a replacement because it's not an instant result, it's just humic acid and potash. It needs to be used for an extended period of time for it to work the best, if it even really works at all.
 
#11 ·
Cory said:
I have been using air-8 along with core aerating all season in my backyard. I wouldn't use the air-8 as a replacement because it's not an instant result, it's just humic acid and potash. It needs to be used for an extended period of time for it to work the best, if it even really works at all.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info...
 
#12 ·
Cory said:
I have been using air-8 along with core aerating all season in my backyard. I wouldn't use the air-8 as a replacement because it's not an instant result, it's just humic acid and potash. It needs to be used for an extended period of time for it to work the best, if it even really works at all.
Click to expand...
When you aerate do you remove the cores or leave them? Do you top dress with sand?Last time I did it I just left the cores and did not top dress at all. Bringing in the amount of sand I would need was expensive so I avoided.

One of the issues Im having in the back is the sod not connecting in some areas (ruts if you will). Its getting better but not there yet...



Here is a close up and yo can see where the ground actually splits in a few places. It is getting better but not there just yet...



 
#13 ·
I dont topdress after, I drag around my drag mat to bust up the cores. I have aerated the backyard 4 times this year. I haven't leveled my backyard yet but plan to next spring. I plan on buying 30 yards of sand in the spring, hopefully that's enough to get it somewhat smooth.

If you have a pickup truck I would go buy a load of sand and fill all those cracks for sure.
 
#14 ·
Cory said:
I dont topdress after, I drag around my drag mat to bust up the cores. I have aerated the backyard 4 times this year. I haven't leveled my backyard yet but plan to next spring. I plan on buying 30 yards of sand in the spring, hopefully that's enough to get it somewhat smooth.

If you have a pickup truck I would go buy a load of sand and fill all those cracks for sure.
Click to expand...
I was hoping it would all fill in by now so next spring I may have to do that...
 
#15 ·
ctrav said:
Cory said:
I dont topdress after, I drag around my drag mat to bust up the cores. I have aerated the backyard 4 times this year. I haven't leveled my backyard yet but plan to next spring. I plan on buying 30 yards of sand in the spring, hopefully that's enough to get it somewhat smooth.

If you have a pickup truck I would go buy a load of sand and fill all those cracks for sure.
Click to expand...
I was hoping it would all fill in by now so next spring I may have to do that...
Click to expand...
Just called a place for sand and for the front yard alone it was $1750 (30 yards) delivered. The back yard would be 3 times that price...OUCH!!!
 
#16 ·
That's a lot! You should be able to find it for around $30 a yard. You should only need about 1 yard per 1k sqft. I need a lot because where the drain feild for the septic it's really bad. I could probably get away with 20 but I'm hoping to have a pile left over for touchups throughout the year.
 
#18 ·
at least they're full sized stakes.

When they built our house, they used 2-3 foot sections of those stakes and buried them under the turf with the wire still attached and wrapped around the trees. I pulled and pulled on the wire for about 10 minutes before i gave up and then pulled them out with my truck. I don't even know why they buried them so deep, it was ridiculous.

also super jealous of that house size/lot size, if only that could be had 30 minutes east of you.
 
#19 ·
Kicker said:
at least they're full sized stakes.

When they built our house, they used 2-3 foot sections of those stakes and buried them under the turf with the wire still attached and wrapped around the trees. I pulled and pulled on the wire for about 10 minutes before i gave up and then pulled them out with my truck. I don't even know why they buried them so deep, it was ridiculous.

also super jealous of that house size/lot size, if only that could be had 30 minutes east of you.
Click to expand...
More lots available so come on out...

I would really hate if my stakes were in the ground like yours :oops:
 
#20 ·
9-7-2018
HOC 2"

To-Do Items
- have mower deck cutting height verified
- check tire pressure/consider replacing front wheels

Did not feel good about the Lesco 0-0-7 pre-M (staining issues) so I took it back and exchanged for Dimension 14-0-6. Cut front and back (no trimming on back) just before the rain started. Grass has best green color of the year thus far!

Front






Back





 
#24 ·
Rain finally stopped! Have not cut grass in over a week so I took the opportunity to cut front, back and edge. I was able to cut at normal HOC of 2" with no issue.

Aerated the front street side lawn are which is my trouble spot which I'm hoping is just compaction. Made two passes on the long side and two passes on the short side.

Applied 3/4 bag of Dylox on fron yard for grub control on front yard.
Applied 1 bag of Lesco 0-0-7 pre-M on front yard.
Applied 1 1/4 bags of Dylox on backyard for grub control.
Applied 2 bags of Lesco 0-0-7 pre-M on backyard

The new Lesco spreader was very nice to use. Excellent upgrade from my tiny Scott's but the trade off is it's heavy! I made 4 passes on 8k sq ft so I got a workout :)
 
#26 ·
HOC 1.5" front and 2" back

First and foremost I dressed up my Toro :)



Full cut trim and blow for the front and a good cut on the back. I lowered the HOC on the front due to rash of army worms in the neighborhood. This scalped the lawn as a 2" cut works muc better on the front lawn. Will apply Lesco CrossCheck tomorrow (Wednesday) followed by one last application of fertilizer on Friday (13-13-13).
 
Lawn Care Forum
posts
663K
members
43K
Since
2017
A forum community dedicated to lawn care, landscaping do it yourselfers, and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion to learn about industry equipment, tools, lawn care, lawn maintenance, classifieds, troubleshooting, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Cool Season Lawns Warm Season Lawns Equipment & Tools Cool Season Lawn Journals Warm Season Lawn Journals