Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Discuss how to and whether you should renovate your lawn
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bombri
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Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by bombri » May 4th, 2015, 11:45 am

Hi, I was fairly active on this forum a few years back and did a complete reno on an already existing lawn (can be seen http://aroundtheyard.com/renovations/bo ... t2247.html)

I am working now with about a half acre of yard on a newly constructed home site I am essentially looking for any advice suggesting that I do things differently than I did previously (as far as seed purchased), site prep etc... Also, the soil isn't great, it has been moved around a lot for construction and will need some work. I plan to add 2-4 inches of high nutrient low pH (6.5 - 7) black dirt so that the seed has a decent place to grow.

Also, I plan to water for a week or two and fertilize while killing all weeds that grow before finally throwing seed down, rolling in, covering with peat and watering appropriately.

What am I missing? Would the experts recommend I use the same seed as I did before?

Thanks in advance,
Brian

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andy10917
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by andy10917 » May 4th, 2015, 11:50 am

BOMBRI !!! Welcome back !! I did an OMG when I saw your name on the new posts list...

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BoatDrinksQ5
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by BoatDrinksQ5 » May 4th, 2015, 11:58 am

I guess one thing that maybe would be in the cards would be the option of Starter with Pre-M/Mesotrione - people have been having great luck with recently. In-liu of spraying tenacity for weed prevention.

Glad to see another MN resident on board here!

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bombri
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by bombri » May 4th, 2015, 12:00 pm

Thanks Andy. Don't take my lack of presence to indicate a neglect of my lawn over the past few years. I have since then had two kids, changed jobs and been the general contractor on my own home build etc... However, my annual soil sample and fertilization spreadsheets have never ceased to exist. That said, I now have a lot larger plot of land with a blank slate and the opportunity to do things right from the start. I have the advantage this time of a sprinkler system, and the ability to modify the starting soil before laying seed. I'm open to suggestions.

Also, I see that the old link of seed suppliers no longer exists. Is there a new one somewhere? I'd like to order my seed soon.

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bombri
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by bombri » May 4th, 2015, 12:04 pm

Excellent suggestion on the Pre-M oriented starter fertilizer. Can you point me to a few suggestions or a post discussing this? I'd be specifically interested in what's available in MN since you're a local.


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andy10917
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by andy10917 » May 4th, 2015, 12:36 pm

However, my annual soil sample and fertilization spreadsheets have never ceased to exist.
Is there a new soil test coming?

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BoatDrinksQ5
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by BoatDrinksQ5 » May 4th, 2015, 12:48 pm

If you take a look at a lot of the Renovations from last year, seems like quite a few of the folks were using it.

Easy to find it looks like at big box stores.
http://www.scotts.com/smg/goprod/scotts ... prod100048

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bombri
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by bombri » May 4th, 2015, 12:52 pm

Thanks BDQ, I'll check it out.

Andy, I'll do a sample after I have the 4" of soil added to my existing plot. I'm shooting to put something down that has a guaranteed nutrient analysis (of some sort).

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bombri
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by bombri » May 5th, 2015, 9:17 am

Would you guys recommend the same seed that I used with my prior renovation (Bewitched, Award, Kingfisher) in MN that I got from this cheat sheet? http://aroundtheyard.com/the-news/66-kentuc ... tions.html

Also, what are some recommended seed suppliers? The link from my prior renovation thread is no longer active.

Thanks again,
Brian

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bombri
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by bombri » May 8th, 2015, 10:25 pm

Hey guys, is there still a seed supplier list floating around somewhere? The links from the seed selection page for MN lead me to two suppliers that don't carry the 3 cultivars that I'm looking for.

And if I were to want a slightly darker and more aggressive blend than I previously used, do any of the experts have any recommendations as to which cultivars I'd sub in/out?

Thanks for your help

ligrass
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by ligrass » May 8th, 2015, 11:16 pm

bombri wrote:Hey guys, is there still a seed supplier list floating around somewhere? The links from the seed selection page for MN lead me to two suppliers that don't carry the 3 cultivars that I'm looking for.

And if I were to want a slightly darker and more aggressive blend than I previously used, do any of the experts have any recommendations as to which cultivars I'd sub in/out?

Thanks for your help
Here are a few suppliers:
Seedsuperstore
Summit seed
Preferred Seed
Williams Seed
Pawnee Buttes

You could sub Midnight Star for Midnight 2. I have no experience with either, but from what I've read it's very aggressive.
What about Prosperity for King Fisher? Prosperity is the darkest Compact America. I don't think you can go wrong with Bewitched as your compact choice. There's also Blueberry. It is a little erratic IMO, a very fast grower (vertical) but can look fantastic from what I've seen. Very dark. Moonlight SLT and moonbeam are 2 other compact choices.

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bombri
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by bombri » April 18th, 2016, 10:10 pm

Hey all, I have a quick question for everyone. I ended up (due to wash out issues) throwing in a little bit of annual ryegrass in to my seed mix so that I could get something to establish quickly to prevent erosion. Unfortunately it looks like some of the annual rye survived. The Rye that I used was a real thick and light colored blade. I am wondering if anyone can confirm for me that it is indeed an annual rye grass. If so, how should I kill it? Would tenacity kill an annual Rye? Any other weed products that are less of an eyesore while they work? Or will a thick bluegrass lawn eventually crowd it out?

Image

Image

Image

Thanks for your help,
Brian

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bombri
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by bombri » April 19th, 2016, 10:38 am

As I continue to read up on annual ryegrass it appears that I may have underestimated the resilience of this stuff. I would certainly appreciate some advice from those who know more than I do about my ability (or lack thereof) to kill or control the annual rye. I fear that I may need to start over...

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BoatDrinksQ5
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by BoatDrinksQ5 » April 19th, 2016, 2:40 pm

I would say all is not lost - any chance you have a bottle of Tenacity?

I would say along these similar lines... between time and spraying (at KBG rate)... your KBG should takeover in time.
http://aroundtheyard.com/northern/mesot ... 15295.html

Follow up if at all possible with a couple years of Year-round preemergent protection (will also help curb annual bluegrass issues ) to put the kiabosh on any seeding rye from this year or left over seed in the soil. Granted I think Annual Rye is reported to grow through a lot of PRe-M barriers(?).. eek

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bombri
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by bombri » April 19th, 2016, 2:58 pm

Yikes... A couple years sounds like a pretty long time. I do have a bottle of tenacity and could give that a try.

How long can annual rye live? My understanding was 1 winter or 1 year. However, it seems like it actually can be a fair amount more resilient than that.

LoneRanger
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by LoneRanger » April 19th, 2016, 10:15 pm

bombri wrote:However, it seems like it actually can be a fair amount more resilient than that.
Yes it can. It also depends on the type of AR.

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BoatDrinksQ5
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by BoatDrinksQ5 » April 20th, 2016, 10:24 am

Well a couple years of Pre-M isn't to out of the ordinary - a lot of folks put down a Spring treatment and follow up once cooler weather starts showing up in August for Poa Annua germination(annual bluegrass).

I don't have much Crab or Annua pressure in my yard - but I still maintain a barrier to help with them and other weeds.

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bombri
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by bombri » April 20th, 2016, 11:35 am

Is there any way to accelerate the process of getting rid of the annual ryegrass? I've considered trying tenacity on my back yard (as referenced above). Are there any other chemicals that help selectively kill or suppress the annual rye?

I've also considered paying some kid to hand pick the "weeds" or annual ryegrass clumps for 10-15 hours. I'm sure he could get much of it up in that time. I have a bunch of sod/pots that I've grown that could be put in places where the kid needed to dig out big clumps. Do you guys think that would be worth the effort?

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bombri
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by bombri » July 7th, 2016, 9:22 am

Hey All. I am going to overseed this fall with a similar blend of bluegrass to what I had last year. My preference is to get it all from one place so that they'll mix it for me. Seed Superstore has both Award and Bewitched but does not have the 3rd blend I'm looking for (Kingfisher/Prosperity). What would you recommend? Would you think that for an overseed, 2 kinds of KBG are sufficient, or would you recommend getting a third variety from Seed Superstore or elsewhere?

Thanks much,
Brian

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BoatDrinksQ5
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Re: Bombri's 2015 New Home Renovation

Post by BoatDrinksQ5 » July 7th, 2016, 3:41 pm

My first thought is if you feel you have pretty uniform appearance in your grass already... overseeding with just two of them, likley won't be a game changer. UNLESS you are mainly focusing on 'spot repair'...in which it could create some 'spotting' or 'camo' look.

MY second thought (and main one) is.... you have 100% KBG... and live in MN :) Milo is 6$! Get after it!

Just spend some extra time in the late summer / early fall and feed aggressively (see fall aggressive fertilizing thread from Andy), mow regularly, ensure good watering... should thicken, spread, and be great! Don't forget winterizing...

If conditions are poor and the above techniques don't work, (ie super shade, tree root competition, dogs, or soil issues)... overseeding won't be very effective, IMO, Or if so... it will be short lived....eventually declining/thinning by next early summer.

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