Zareth's 2016 Front Yard Reno! (TTTF/KBG) Day 163? Spring is here?

[Zareth]

So my back yard reno was a semi-success but im going forward with the front yard anyway!

I selected the following seed blend
40% Cochise IV Tall Fescue
40% LS1200 Tall Fescue
20% Midnight Kentucky bluegrass
I have sprayed the front yard with roundup as of 3 days ago and I just put down 9 lbs of Lime and 2 Lbs of Epsom Salts / 1000 sq ft.
My goal is to do a shallow shallow till within the next two weeks or so and plant a large Elm for some extra shade.

Lawn Journal:
9/5/16: Seed and Tenacity go down.
9/11/16: Germination begins.
10/1/16: .5 lb N/k
10/8/16 .5 lb N/k 4th mow.
10/10/16 4 oz Sumagreen / k
10/17/16 .5 lb N/k
10/20/16 .5 tsp tenacity .667 oz triclopyr / k
10/24/16 .5 lb N/k
10/25/16 2 lbs SOP/k
10/31/16 .5 lbs N/k
11/5/16 .5 tsp tenacity .667 oz triclopyr / k

[Zareth]

Which of the following do you think would make a better seed bed prep soil?

"A rich blend of finely screened top soil and Gourmet Planting Mix™. The mixture creates a better top soil with a “boost” that is ideal for transplanting shrubs and trees, filling in hard-to-grow areas, and creating seed beds for lawns." (mostly a mineral soil with high OM)

OR

"A slightly acidic blend of aged and finely ground Piney Mulch™ and year old leaf compost. Gourmet Planting Mix™ is lightweight and ideal for use in roof gardens and containers, or as a balanced soil amendment." (a finely enough sifted mulch/compost)

[LoneRanger]

1. Topdressing.
2. Cultivating.

[Zareth]

1. Topdressing.
2. Cultivating.

By cultivate, that's essentially tilling but not as deep, correct?

I am going to get that either that topsoil or organic soil and lightly till it together.
I was going to do a bit of tillage before hand as well so I could rake away as much of the dead bermuda incase some of it isnt 100% dead.

[Zareth]

Got my seed in!



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[Zareth]

I spread a blend of topsoil and leaf compost and pine fines on the front yard today in preparation for seeding


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[Zareth]

So the soil I spread ontop of my lawn is quite lumpy...
I'm thinking about tilling the lawn now for 2 reasons..
I'm worried that soil ontop of thatch on top of soil is not good.
And also the new stuff is v v lumpy.

[timingchainslipped]

i'm a rookie myself so take my advice with a grain of salt:

have you been fallowing? have you confirmed you have thatch? i ask because tilling the lawn is likely to elicit new weeds. but i imagine planting atop thatch is worse than planting in normal soil with added weeds. so if i had to choose between added weeds or thatch i'm thinking i'd choose added weeds because grass won't grow in thatch.

i think you're supposed to put the seed below the topdressing, no atop it, but i imagine both will work fine. i think the benefit of having seed below is that they'll less likely to wash out and less likely to be eaten.

i wouldn't worry about the clumps, save for maybe the really large ones. i used a peat moss spreader/roller to spread the compost and the peat moss and that eliminated anything larger than .125". but i ended up just spreading the bigger clumps (below .5") on top areas that the roller only thinly covered. it wouldn't hurt to remove them but i don't it'll matter much one way or the other.

[Zareth]

i'm a rookie myself so take my advice with a grain of salt:

have you been fallowing? have you confirmed you have thatch? i ask because tilling the lawn is likely to elicit new weeds. but i imagine planting atop thatch is worse than planting in normal soil with added weeds. so if i had to choose between added weeds or thatch i'm thinking i'd choose added weeds because grass won't grow in thatch.

i think you're supposed to put the seed below the topdressing, no atop it, but i imagine both will work fine. i think the benefit of having seed below is that they'll less likely to wash out and less likely to be eaten.

i wouldn't worry about the clumps, save for maybe the really large ones. i used a peat moss spreader/roller to spread the compost and the peat moss and that eliminated anything larger than .125". but i ended up just spreading the bigger clumps (below .5") on top areas that the roller only thinly covered. it wouldn't hurt to remove them but i don't it'll matter much one way or the other.

yes I have fallowed all month and I will fallow until september 5th.

I will roll the seed into the surface while it is still crumbly and soft, I think that usually works well.

These are clumps about an inch across or larger.
I think I will use a power dethatcher and hopefully that works.

[timingchainslipped]

HLG just used a power rake on his property to deal with thatch.

[tlinden]

LOL HLG is a pro and did power rake. What you have to understand about the advice is the pros vs cons and make a decision for yourself in your own lawn. There have been many renos where the member was warned, didn't head the advice, and then next year shows a picture of the weeds. But ultimately it's your call.

[Zareth]

LOL HLG is a pro and did power rake. What you have to understand about the advice is the pros vs cons and make a decision for yourself in your own lawn. There have been many renos where the member was warned, didn't head the advice, and then next year shows a picture of the weeds. But ultimately it's your call.

The only reason I'm not worried about weeds from tilling is that I did till my backyard last fall and had almost no weeds come springtime there were some weeds in the fall mainly crabgrass butt that was it. Overall I have very very low weed pressure in both of my lawns practically nothing shows up except I do get Goose grass but I pull it by hand and then it's not really much of a problem but the seeds come in from all over the place.
The power rake / powered dethatcher is probably what I'll use since I'm a bit lumpy

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[Zareth]

Finished smoothing today.. it's not flat in that it has some rolling hills, but it is smooth. Hopefully that will be good.

I worry I may have too much bark though from the compost.. we shall see..


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[Zareth]

Dug a hole today for my new princeton elm.



Also here's a soIL profile


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[Zareth]

Seed went down last night, along with starter food with tenacity 7 lbs and a bag of milo.

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[tlinden]

any updates? =P

[Zareth]

any updates? =P

Started seeing seed pop up last night, which Is exactly 5 days from seed down since I seeded at night.
This morning I've got a little green mist over the lawn!
Today is my birthday so I'm a proud father of millions on my birthday! What a prize!

Definitely got more germination in shady areas and areas with more of the wood chips / bark.
In the cleaner soil I'm seeing a lot less, hopefully they'll show up soon!











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[Zareth]

And here's a Midnight kbg seed with a teeny sprout next to a TTTF seed!


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[tlinden]

Nice! Congrats

[Zareth]

Behold the green mist!
The plants have put on some height and more kbg is sprouted.


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