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Green's Lawn Journal

372K views 2K replies 63 participants last post by  Green 
#1 ·
I guess it's finally time to start one of these, and keep everything in one place...
 
#2 ·
Today, picked up 2 bags of Milorganite, 3 bags of 8-0-4 organic, 2 bags of 0-0-50, and 2 bags of SoluCal Lime...

Put it all away, and watered some plants, including the tree I planted the other day in the low-input area.

Swapped the blades on the 21" mower, cleaned the spark plug, and scraped under the deck...

Mowed the main front and most of the side front at 3.75 in perpendicular to the driveway, and hand trimmed around the hellstrip areas, and then made a mad dash to put everything away fast as it started to downpour.

Still a bit humid today...dewpoint of 69F and 61% relative humidity while I was out. Temp was 84.
 
#3 ·
@Ware, please move this to the new lawn journal section...greatly appreciated; thanks!
 
#7 ·
Thanks! More to come tomorrow...hopefully dry enough to finish mowing all areas.
 
#9 ·
Just finished!

Mowed 6.5K...back, side, and far half of low-input area. Trimmed in back. Put down Milorganite 5-4-0 on the upper back area at 1/2 lb of N rate...

Before this, I was mowing another lawn in the family and it took longer than expected. My cousin's family who lives out of state showed up unexpectedly for a few minutes during that, and their baby daughter with her dad starts waving while I'm on the riding mower.

Current conditions: There has been no or little rain for the past,...oh, say, week and a half. I've allowed the lawn to just reach the verge of drought stress, trying not to actually cause anything to brown out. I have had to water some areas this past week, and syringe others. Supposed to be advantageous to make your lawn work for water in the Spring, to help spur deep rooting. But there's a fine line. I've noticed some of my neighbor's lawns have the beginnings of actual drought stress...wilting, browning, etc. That is not advantageous. Fine line!
 
#10 ·
Sprayed FAS at 0.5 to 1.5oz rate on most parts of the front. (Actually, I used 0.6oz of Ammonium Sulfate and 0.85oz of Fe per thousand square feet for some extra Nitrogen.) Went over some areas more than others if they needed more darkening.

Did a few transplants on the side.
Sprayed double rate Triclopyr on some brush and weeds.

Last night, got some rain. Rain gauge says 0.59 inch, while tuna can with ruler was closer to 3/4-inch. Not sure which is more accurate.
 
#12 ·
g-man said:
I tend to belief the wider opening (tuna can).
Me, too...and it's more in line with the reports of a weather station a couple of miles away (0.79 inch). Unfortunately, the one down the road is offline.
 
#13 ·
Mowed garage side and closest half of low-input area at 3.75 in. Sprayed tree(s) for gypsy moth caterpillars (with Bt), and sprayed main front with Tenacity at 1oz/A rate and NIS.
 
#14 ·
Started up the irrigation system (finally) since it looks like I'll need it soon. Sprayed a half gallon of milk on the upper half of the side (second and final app of the year with that). Swept the driveway, including the edges.
 
#16 ·
g-man said:
No more milk? why?
I actually wasn't planning to use it! There just happened to be a gallon and a half or so of old milk available to me at the end of April, because my grandfather was in the hospital and then rehab for a few weeks. So when I went over to mow his lawn before he came home, I took the milk with me instead of dumping it, realizing it was perfectly good lawn food. I used half of it around that time, finishing the opened gallon and opening the unopened but also expired second one (both dated mid April). I then saved the remaining half gallon for a second app, but didn't get around to using it for some time. I wrote "do not drink" on it, and shoved it way back in the fridge to keep cold all those weeks, and finally got to it this evening. Surprisingly, it didn't smell all that bad, and wasn't really lumpy of anything like the first batch was a few weeks before, so my plan worked to keep it cold. (The first bottle had actually clogged the screen on my hose end sprayer.)

Btw, I was way over the recommended rate!
 
#18 ·
Trimmed by hand. Transplanted a few grass plants into the low-input area bare spots where last Summer's Tenacity mishap occurred. Hand-watered those and a few new grass patches in the front. Sprayed Triclopyr on a few clover areas in accordance with IPM guidelines to keep it from encroaching on main lawn areas or getting too thick.
 
#19 ·
Yesterday: Watered the late-season overseeded part of low-input area. Then, mowed the front and upper side at 3.75 in.

Today, I set the main front and upper side zones to water for 2 hours each this morning, broken into 30 minute increments. I sprayed Tenacity at the 1oz/A rate on a part of low-input area with a Poa issue. Not sure if this is going to be the last app or not. Sprayed Serenade on the main front at the 4oz/K rate (first app of the year; I'm behind). Put down a low rate of fertilizer on the Fall-overseeded part of the side font (using 0.25-0.33 lb/K of N from 29-0-4 Ace brand fertilizer). Did a few TTTF transplants into the main front.



(Pictures are before mowing...I'll have to mow tomorrow.) Lens: 16/2.8 fisheye at f/11 on full frame.

I tried out the backpack sprayer over the past two days. It definitely helps speed things up. I bought a stainless steel wand for it at the hardware store because I don't like the plastic one. I had a few rookie mistakes though...First, I got my toes wet with chemicals that first time...this thing sprays out harder than the pump sprayer, and the mist is just enough, especially with tall grass, that it can soak through your shoes! Need to invest in proper boots or something water proof, but affordable...never again do I want wet feet! Apparently the wand I bought was a bit shorter than the standard one, so that didn't help. I ended up interchanging the two stainless wands to put the longer one on the backpack sprayer, which helped a bit the next time. I also apparently tightened the lid down too far, and then had trouble opening it when I was done. Other than those things, it worked well.

Set the side front zone to water tomorrow morning with long soak intervals (1.5-2 hours each)

 
#21 ·
pennstater2005 said:
Looking good Green! I like the walk.
Thanks. The grass in between the stones is around 6 inches high, maintained with a string trimmer every so often for a natural look. Once in a while I use the trimmer to edge around the stones...I'm due to do it soon for the first time this year. Wanted to get a before shot.
 
#23 ·
pennstater2005 said:
Is that a slope in the second picture or is that the fisheye effect?
There's really not that much distortion from the lens in these shots. The sidewalk is at a mild grade; the lawn at the side of it is at a greater angle. I don't enjoy mowing on it!
 
#24 ·
@g-man, now it's our turn without rain here...haven't had any in a week, and there's not much or any in the forecast for the upcoming week.
 
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