Brian's Mega Build & Journal

[Grass Clippins]

It finally stopped raining and it looks like the next few days we'll have high's in the mid 60's. The grass has thickened up considerably. Maybe the application before Christmas helped. I still haven't had the need to cut it but hopefully that will change by the end of the week. Current height is a consistent 2 inches. Photos were taken at 10am, the winter trajectory of the sun is killing me. I'm tempted to clear cut the other front half of the property and clean up the mess later this winter.

[Grass Clippins]

Prior to about a week ago I had zero weeds due to the Tenacity application. Last week I noticed some clover, then I started to see one type of grassy weed. With today's sun that grassy is growing by the hour. Most are around 3 inches tall but I found this monster towards the center of the lawn. Last year I threw out some Fescue, without Tenacity, and this weed established itself pretty quicker. Then it died once the temperature went up. Not sure what it is.

[NoslracNevok]

This was a HUGE undertaking to do for yourself. Well done Brian! Following your progress. #lawngainz

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Thank you @NoslracNevok. I started doing everything by hand. Then I got an old Ford 8N Tractor. Now I rent whatever equipment I need to finish it as quickly as possible.

[jayhawk]

Sure you can't carve out an acre to sell?

[Grass Clippins]

@jayhawk You're definitely not the first person to ask that question. We've had a couple people on the street try to sell the back half of their property but it's never been approved. If, one day, you're ever looking relocate in the metro area you should give the Harrison High School District a look. It's on the Marietta/Kennesaw line and it's "East Cobb Nice" without the snobbiness. Fun article about Kennesaw Gun Ownership Requirement.

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I wanted to post a pic of the seed label I used before it gets lost. I was looking for a value heat tolerant turf type tall fescue and landed on Titan RX. Hancock seed had the best price, and I found a coupon, so I placed the order. After shipping and tax is was $110.98/50 pound bag. When it arrived I was shocked/pissed that they sent me Titan Ultra. I pulled my order up on the Hancock website, looking for a phone number and saw this message in bold red print.

"According to the harvester and producer of Titan Rx, the Titan Ultra variety will eventually replace the Titan Rx variety. We could possibly have both varieties available during Fall 2018. Currently, we have Titan Ultra in stock and will fill all orders with Titan Ultra until it is sold out. In the Spring of 2019, the Titan Rx will no longer be available. The varieties are very similar. Please call our office if you have any questions."

I'm not sure how I would have missed that message so I must have read it and placed the order anyways, I have a lot going on so it's very possible. Titan RX is advertised for "The Heat" while Titan Ultra is advertised for "The Heat and Cold". I'm using Titan Ultra as a single cultivar.

Key Features:
Cold Hardy
Strong Heat Tolerance
Rhizomes and Recovery
Disease and Weed Resistant
Pest Resistant
Great Curb Appeal
**I also read somewhere that the recommended height of cut is 2 to 3 inches.

Sounds good. I'll take 200 pounds... Titan Ultra Fact Sheet

I looked up the 5 year study (Griffin GA 2010) to judge heat tolerance and it looks like they exaggerate their performance a bit. I believe Titan Rx is PSG-TTST and Titan Ultra is PSG-TTRH.

[Grass Clippins]

I got my soil test back. The results are pretty self explanatory but I'm trying to figure out why that iron is not moving. I'm not a soil expert but I'm guessing there is a problem with iron uptake, my grass is more yellow than before. I've read a low ph can cause this but 5.8 doesn't seem that bad. @g-man Any advice?

[g-man]

A quick glance, if you are sure it is not a fungus, then the ratio of iron to Mn could explain it. I would try applying just iron (FAS and not FEature) to see if you notice a response.

Their recommendations seem pretty good. The CEC is on the low side, so half rate applications twice a month are better than one monthly.

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@g-man Thank you!

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I got lucky! The N-ext DIY Lawn YouTube Channel put out a soil analysis video (filmed in GA) and the results are pretty close to mine. I was able to easily apply that advice to mine.

NOTE TO SELF:

Soil pH is the first limiting factor, needs 26 pounds per thousand to buffer up. Dolomitic lime needed due to lower saturation of magnesium

Organic Matter is low for clay soil but I’m not sure; it would be a lot lower had I not brought in the topsoil. According to SARE the goal should be around 6%.

CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) At 5.5 this falls in the 1-10 sandy range. I’m sure this has to do with topsoil that was brought in. Most topsoil in the area has high sand content from riverbeds. “Low CEC soils hold fewer nutrients, and will likely be subject to leaching of mobile "anion" nutrients. These soils may benefit from split applications of several nutrients”. Thank you @g-man for pointing this out.

Saturations theses levels will more than likely change after the lime application.

Phosphorus (P) is low but can be corrected quickly. Currently 15 parts per million but needs to be in 40 to 80 parts per million range.

Potassium (K) is ok, can be built on throughout the season.

Magnesium (Mg) is ok, can also be built on throughout the season.

Boran is low, can be fixed with 0-0-2, not much needed to correct. Iron may be blocking.

Copper (Cu) Iron (Fe) Manganese (Mn) & Zinc (Zn) are all at good levels.

**Ferric iron is what contributes to the red color in soil. Breaking down clay can free up iron (Air8).

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Last fall I did the $ math $ and determined that I'm going to be a low nitrogen guy, healthy soil is the priority for 2019. Lately I've been reading up on Korean Natural Farming and today marked my first enterprise with propagating indigenous micro organisms.... They call it JADAM Indigenous Microbial Solution (JMS). I used this in my hose end sprayer to do a GCF Bio-Stemulate application as opposed to the usual water from the hose. It's a mix of non chlorinated water, sea salt, leaf mold (the topsoil under decomposing leaves) and baked potatoes.

Leaf Mold:


After 36 Hours:


Agitated before I mixed in the GCF Products:

[GA_Fescue_Man]

Hey Brian. I was checking out some of the videos from Chris about the JMS solution. Really interesting stuff and for the most part, simple to make. I am thinking along the same lines as you, trying to to build the soil as much as possible, getting the nutrients balanced for the most part, and apply smaller amounts of nitrogen overall.

My question is about fungicides. What is your fungicide plan this summer for brown patch? Are you spot spraying curative apps or blanket spraying preventative apps? If you are putting fungicides down, how much of the good biology is getting wiped out by those fungicide applications?

It will be interesting to see how the JMS apps impact brown patch in your fescue. I'm over in Suwanee and I feel like I'm in a constant battle; building up good soil during the fall and spring, and then wiping out the soil biology during the summer months with fungicides to prevent brown patch. Just wanted to get your thoughts on how the JMS applications could coincide with a traditional cool season fungicide program in GA. Thanks man. I appreciate your thoughts.

[Grass Clippins]

@GA_Fescue_Man Up to this point I've done more book learning than doing but it seems like fungicide is a "three steps forward one step back" situation when focusing on soil health. In the JADAM book they talk a lot about good vs bad bacteria. They say not to look at it as good vs bad, but see them all as one and to take the good with the bad. What you don't what are pathogens...most bacteria are not pathogens. Pathogens get a foot hold when your crop is sick. It seems like low organic matter, soil compaction & over fertilization are the common cause of turf getting sick under stress.

I don't know what to think about it all but I have noticed that the people who push these expensive fungicides are the same people who over fertilize lawns for a living. Sounds like government work - creating a problem to sell a solution. I already bought some Azoxy 2SC and Propiconozole (Cyber Monday Deal) so I may use the GCI schedule this year but I don't think I'll buy it again. I'm not into hand holding, if this fescue can't get it together I'll send her on down the road and throw down some common bermuda seed

On a side note the JADAM'ers don't do prevenative fungicide applications. If powdery mildew, downy mildew or fungal disease occur they spray it with JADAM Sulfur (JS) until it goes away. The video is in Korean so you have to click the "CC" button for english subtitles.

(edited spelling)

[GA_Fescue_Man]

Thanks man. Really interesting stuff.

[Grass Clippins]

Feb 15th: Went to Lowe's to pick up the lime I need to raise the PH. I was expecting there to be a product that said "Dolomite" on the label but there wasn't. I bought the closest thing they had by looking at the magnesium to calcium carbonate ratio. It ended up being so fine that my spreader would not broadcast it so I had to hand broadcast it out of a 5 gallon bucket, lesson learned. The lime I used.

Feb 27th: Prodiamine application at .38 oz per/1 gallon of water/1,000 square feet. Low dilution ratio but I followed the directions and applied before rain to get full effect. Weighted it out on a scale and mixed with hot water. I can see how people under apply by making the mistake of using fluid ounces vs weight, it would have been around half. I've been tempted to put it out sooner but the soil temps have not consistently been over 50 degrees. Today's average is 55 degrees but the 5 year average is 49.2 degrees and 10 year average is 48.4 degrees. It looks like last year the 10 year average broke 55 degrees on March 11th, while the 5 year average broke 55 degrees on March 9th.

Finally note: I noticed big, lush green patches down by the street where the neighborhood dog has been peeing. I think this may be a sign the my grass is waking up and needs to eat. I may throw down a granular nitrogen fertilizer over the weekend to get her fed. I need to get some growth so that I can start mowing and let the clippings by the primary nitrogen source. I still have some GCF 18-0-1 but it would take way to much to get the pop I'm looking for.

[Grass Clippins]

Laid down a hot app last Sunday, grass is looking good. Decided to use the 18-0-1 because I found out that it's not warm enough to use and organic nitrogen source.

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The wild turkey showed up ready to work this morning.

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View from the street:



View of other side of driveway:

[g-man]

^ they can destroy a lawn in no time.