Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Discuss how to and whether you should renovate your lawn
STL
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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by STL » June 26th, 2017, 8:25 am

That looks good! I'm guessing the germination blankets were by the sidewalk in the second pick?

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by SNOWBOB11 » June 26th, 2017, 8:33 am

Looks like things are coming along nicely. I've been following your thread and was really curios as to how things would turn out being you started the reno so early in the year and its progressing well it seems. On a separate note I really like the exterior siding of your house. The blue with the white trim looks awesome.

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by fusebox7 » June 26th, 2017, 9:31 am

Thanks SNOWBOB11. Appreciate the kind words and encouragement.

Updated front pic after "seed-down #1 areas" first haircut (1.5" down from ~2"). Top-right area eroded a bit due to oak tree branches cascading water in the same spot. Will probably do some fixing/fill/plug in the fall. All in all, things are going as planned and the elite KBG is actually doing better than I expected in terms of speed of establishment.

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by fusebox7 » June 26th, 2017, 2:35 pm

STL - yes I put the blanket next to the sidewalk to help with runoff. It served its purpose excellently. I didn't do the whole front slope because once I had bambinos I wanted to remove the blanket and not have to deal with it anymore. If I didn't have the sidewalk there to walk on I would've done a lot of damage. Overall, it really is making a lot of progress the past couple of weeks so I'm likely not going to need to do an overseed but will instead do some plugs if need be --- otherwise I'll just let nature do its thing! :)

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by fusebox7 » June 27th, 2017, 4:52 pm

I have some washboarding erosion from some of the heavy rain on the front slope. Is there a preferred way to smooth out the ripples/unevenness? 1/2 full roller or otherwise? Thanks in advance!


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ken-n-nancy
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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by ken-n-nancy » June 27th, 2017, 6:12 pm

fusebox7 wrote:
June 27th, 2017, 4:52 pm
I have some washboarding erosion from some of the heavy rain on the front slope. Is there a preferred way to smooth out the ripples/unevenness? 1/2 full roller or otherwise? Thanks in advance!
I haven't come up with a good way to fix ripples from erosion -- fundamentally, the eroded soil needs to be replaced...

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by Green » June 27th, 2017, 8:58 pm

It will probably even out within the first year, as growth occurs. My experience is that when grass grows, the soil profile raises a bit, and small imperfections become averaged out.

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by fusebox7 » June 29th, 2017, 10:57 am

Hand-pulled 5 suspicious looking clumps of grass ( Poa Annua ) with deep roots (soil is very wet). "Not in my house, hahahahaha." (in voice of Dikembe Mutombo).

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by fusebox7 » July 9th, 2017, 3:19 pm

Updates after a week out of town...

Making big progress. Pulled some plugs to find out that the thinner areas have bad/hard/hydrophobic soil. Big surprise! Applied a yucca wetting agent at 2oz/gal water. Pulled Poa annua by hand. Plugs look nice. Pic shows 4-5 inch roots developing (in the good soil areas at least).

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ken-n-nancy
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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by ken-n-nancy » July 9th, 2017, 8:03 pm

That's great that you found out what may be causing the thinner areas! Finding out the root cause is usually about half of the work to get a solution!

Keep plugging away!

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fusebox7
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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by fusebox7 » July 10th, 2017, 10:49 am

ken-n-nancy -- your pun game is strong! :)

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by STL » July 10th, 2017, 11:38 am

Looks great fuse! Just curios, what seeding rate did you go with?

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by fusebox7 » July 10th, 2017, 11:54 am

Thanks STL. I went pretty light overall. 2.5 lbs per 1000. Due to the slopes, some areas received more seed but I've started pulling plugs out of those areas.

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by Fronta1 » July 10th, 2017, 5:04 pm

Just my two cents, where are you from? I ask because your seed date is too early for most. If you can,I would take my time with the kill. The idea is to let enough time pass after the first app to allow the remaining weeds to sprout to achieve total elimination.

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by edenl01 » July 10th, 2017, 5:34 pm

Fronta1 wrote:
July 10th, 2017, 5:04 pm
Just my two cents, where are you from? I ask because your seed date is too early for most. If you can,I would take my time with the kill. The idea is to let enough time pass after the first app to allow the remaining weeds to sprout to achieve total elimination.
Read the full thread before handing out unsolicited advice.

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by Fronta1 » July 10th, 2017, 7:08 pm

edenl01 wrote:
July 10th, 2017, 5:34 pm
Fronta1 wrote:
July 10th, 2017, 5:04 pm
Just my two cents, where are you from? I ask because your seed date is too early for most. If you can,I would take my time with the kill. The idea is to let enough time pass after the first app to allow the remaining weeds to sprout to achieve total elimination.
Read the full thread before handing out unsolicited advice.
Oh, haha. I thought it was only one page. My bad. You'll have to find it in your heart to forgive me, lol.

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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by edenl01 » July 10th, 2017, 8:38 pm

I agree that if you were on the last page of the thread you would think is this guy nuts? But the rest of the thread tells the story.

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fusebox7
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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by fusebox7 » July 11th, 2017, 8:25 am

I can't believe how much this is thickening up. We received a 1/2" of rain yesterday (nice all-day soaker) and I swear everything really perked up. Updated pics of the back which is doing really well (morning sun/afternoon shade):


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fusebox7
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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by fusebox7 » July 18th, 2017, 11:39 am

Added a bit of soil to a couple areas that eroded due to the white oak tree drip line. Starting to mature now that I'm letting it dry out from the heavy rains. Reduced irrigation to once every week.
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fusebox7
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Re: Fusebox 2017 Front/Side Reno

Post by fusebox7 » July 20th, 2017, 4:13 pm

A little top dressing compost/soil to smooth out and add OM to front areas. Will need to get more for smaller areas but one test area I did last week has started looking better so I decided to do more today. Very happy with the way the top dressing is fixing my "problem" areas. Would rather get this straightened out now than once I can't access the bed when the turf thickens/spreads.
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