ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

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ZethLent
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ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by ZethLent » August 29th, 2013, 9:11 pm

Well some of you have noticed that I am one of the few members on the site that is not in the US or Canada.

After a failure to launch last year with my TTTF that was annihilated by sod web worms et al. At the request of my wife I planted some elite PRG (upright type) for the interim.

The lawn was great. I put in a sprinkler system in the spring. Made amendments per my test results. And have now terminated all lawn life via two applications of Round-up Max Load (the Japanese ver. but still 41% G). I have leveled with top soil the divots left from the sprinkler install, and have fallowed for a short 2 weeks.

Tomorrow is the day!!

Seed will go down, followed by a treatment of Act Jet (soil conditioner) and Act Sweet (Bacteria Concoction), and then 4 bales of peat moss over 1200 or so square feet. I will follow again with an application of Act Jet to hydrate the peat moss and will set the sprinklers for the upcoming week.

I know that it will be a grueling full day.

The seed I chose after many hours going over the NTEP results and a few test pots in the summer heat was 1/3 Granite 1/3 Midnight 1/3 NuGlade. All are strong grasses and have a little bit of variation in their strengths in the disease spectrum. I initially began this renovation last year committed to going with a monostand, but ended up settling on a blend. Even though the three are close to identical in the NTEP results, I will blend it anyways.

I will update with pics as things progress.

FWIW, I tested pots indoors and outdoors and the germination times indoors was 5 days, where the germination outdoors was 8 days. The indoor location is a sunny office window where temps are static. The outdoor location was full sun planted in the peak of summer heat. So now that day time highs are around 30°C and nighttime lows are around 20°C, I am hoping for quick germination.

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Othertime
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by Othertime » August 30th, 2013, 8:05 am

Good luck today in seeding....well by know you should be done because of time zone difference....so congrats on getting your seed down!!

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ZethLent
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by ZethLent » August 31st, 2013, 5:28 pm

The deed is done, the Seed is down!

It was a hot day, so even though it didn't take all day it felt like it working in 95 degree temps.
All went according to plan.

The hired help breaking up bales of peatmoss.

Image

Before peat moss.

Image

After peat moss

Image

The day was closed with a trip to the local sushi shop.


An now the waiting... :mail:

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Tony!
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by Tony! » August 31st, 2013, 6:50 pm

Looks good! How thick is the peat layer? Looks like you got great coverage with it.


Sent from my iOS device using the Yard Help App

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ZethLent
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by ZethLent » August 31st, 2013, 10:25 pm

By my calculations the peat is about a quarter inch in most places, maybe a little thicker is others. Having skimped on peat in the past i didn't want to be frustrated by not having enough.

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ZethLent
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by ZethLent » August 31st, 2013, 10:25 pm

By my calculations the peat is about a quarter inch in most places, maybe a little thicker is others. Having skimped on peat in the past i didn't want to be frustrated by not having enough.

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ez2luvlawn
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by ez2luvlawn » September 1st, 2013, 3:12 am

Best wishes for a successful reno. I've been following your test pot thread of the cultivars you choose so I look forward to watching your progress now that your seed is down.

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ZethLent
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by ZethLent » September 1st, 2013, 10:31 pm

Just wanted to add a few details.

The tech sheet for my seeds said 15~30g per square meter of seed. I went low at 17g per meter.

I seeded 700g each of the three varieties, total of 2.1 kg over 110 meters square/1200 sqr. feet. (about 3.8lbs per k)

Put down 2.5kg of 8-8-8 fert and 2.5kg of 0-17.5-0 fert.

Peat moss totalled 1200 liters (four large bales) quite evenly over the whole seed bed.

Everything else was according to the plan.

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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by mattya » September 1st, 2013, 11:10 pm

Wow, 3.8 lbs/k was the LOW side?

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ZethLent
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by ZethLent » September 1st, 2013, 11:24 pm

mattya wrote:Wow, 3.8 lbs/k was the LOW side?
Yeah I know?

Looking at other renos, the 2 lbs per K seems more normal.

Either way, it is done and there is no going back.


Edit...

Maybe I was reading something wrong... I'll assume that I'm on the high end of the seed ratio at 3.8 lbs/K.

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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by mattya » September 2nd, 2013, 7:31 am

Yah, I think the usual rate (at least around here) is 2-3 lbs/k. I like being closer to 2 personally. You should still be fine - Just keep an eye out on any areas that end up really dense this first fall for disease/fungus issues.

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ZethLent
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by ZethLent » September 3rd, 2013, 2:32 am

I've been checking the lawn every morning when I get up.
I have found a number of interesting discoveries.

First I found ant hills. A big one and many small ones. The small ones (with small ants) were collecting grass seeds...
I bought some ant hill poison and have treated to an acceptable level.

The second discovery is long meandering lines of where the peat moss has been pushed up from underneath. I rooted around a bit and found a mole cricket, which faced the firing squad when I caught it. Again this morning in another part of the lawn and undisturbed, up until today, I found more mole cricket activity. I saw it when I looked out the window. Just after I saw it, a Black-backed Wagtail swoops down and pecks at the disturbed peat moss and I see a mole cricket jump and the bird pounced and ate it down... SCORE!!

I still inspected the site and stepped down the disturbance again. Here is where I found the third discovery.
There were also other mini mounds that I poked at, one produced a big white larva/grub of something. I am pretty sure it is the vexing Japanese beetle (scarabaeid beetle). It also faced the firing squad. I only found the one.

I know there will be more, but, as I am off for a few days on a business trip, I can do no more until Friday. I expect that by Friday, I will have germination and my hands will be tied. I pray for the good health of the Wagtail and that all of its predatory instincts are heightened in my absence.

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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by Ocelaris » September 5th, 2013, 10:04 am

Great, glad to hear it's progressing well! I have too found some insects start to take up residency and/or make some mounds with the constant watering and additions of organic matter for them to consume.

Keep up the good work!

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ZethLent
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by ZethLent » September 6th, 2013, 10:42 am

Coming back from a business trip I find two things.

1. Germination in four days!!
2. Major washout from a flash storm.

Inspecting the damage, has shown some sprouts have held their ground in the exposed areas, but not many. I'm more worried about the double/triple thickness peat moss that the remaining seeds now have to push up through.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by Ocelaris » September 6th, 2013, 2:22 pm

I'm not sure how your weather will stay in prime season, but I had some washout over the weekend, but I was at 2 weeks, so I didn't really have any more sprouts coming up at that point. Mostly the compost that ran off smothered some seedlings. I tried to loosen/thin the small piles of mulch based compost and I put a bit more seed down in those areas where it was fairly obvious nothing was going to push up through it. Eventually the compost will decompose, and I'm sure the Kentucky Blue Grass will fill in anyways, but it's a matter of how long it will take.

If the area you had wash out has full sun, you probably can put a small amount of seed down, you just don't want to go too heavy because it'll cause too much competition and weak seedlings. But if it's partially shaded, I would wait a few days to see if anything germinates. I think if you wait a week and find no seedlings coming up then your best bet is to toss a small amount of seed down in that area. Just my $.02

You can see the mulch compost on top of the seed blankets which probably smothered the baby seedlings. But my area was fairly small, so I'll have to see in a few days how the new seed is doing. Since I didn't press it into the compost very much and I've cut back watering some I may not get full germination, which is ok because I'm sure it'll fill in regardless eventually. I also have a lot of extra seed though also.


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ZethLent
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by ZethLent » September 6th, 2013, 6:14 pm

Here are a couple of pics of the washout.

I did an inspection and have only decided to lightly reseed one small area.

In the thicker peat moss I can see the seedling pushing through in most areas. I'll pray that they have the vigor to make it all the way.

The first pic is an overall pic and the second one is a close up of a washed out section were seedlings remain intact at a lesser density. I do worry now about overcrowding in areas that had more seed washed into them. Its never perfect. You can also see the trail of that damn mole cricket.


Image

Image

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Othertime
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by Othertime » September 6th, 2013, 8:00 pm

ouch...that first picture looks pretty brutal. I would probably try and spread that peat moss out a bit as there are probably some germinated seeds washed in there. After you spread it out water it in so the seed can reset into the ground.

How much rain did you get?

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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by PanhandleID » September 7th, 2013, 2:35 pm

Ouch Zethlent, unfortunately it looks like I joined you in the washout club. I wish we both were not members of it. Hopefully someone comes along and gives both of us a heads up on what to do about it.

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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by andy10917 » September 7th, 2013, 9:31 pm

What areas do you guys need assistance with?

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ZethLent
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Re: ZethLent's 2013 KBG Reno in Japan

Post by ZethLent » September 8th, 2013, 12:20 am

andy10917 wrote:What areas do you guys need assistance with?
For myself, should I do anything about the now extra thick peat moss, at the expense of the seedlings that will be disturbed?

I will put down a little more seed in the overly washed out areas.

But these thick spots I am concerned about.

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