Lawn reno help

[reggie517]

So I had a full reno down in the fall of 2015 (pulled up old lawn, put down a bunch of top soil, and hydroseeded with 1/3 TTTF, PR, and KBG). The first summer (2016) after we got hit hard with fungus and it killed pretty much all but the KBG. I was unable to overseed last fall because of a water ban so I plan on doing it this fall and I am planning for it now.

I planned on having the whole lawn slice seeded with a disease resistant TTTF to get good soil contact but I have areas that are still pretty thick and I heard slice seeding can tear up the lawn so not sure what I should do. I did aerate and broadcast seed last fall but didn't get much out of it probably because I couldn't water everyday.

Will the KBG thicken naturally?

From a distance it looks good but up close it is thin and some areas are bare.

I appreciate the help!

[reggie517]

A few more pics

[timingchainslipped]

i'm clueless when it comes to this. constantly being "corrected" for dumb decisions.

that said, when i hear "water ban" -- i think "bad idea". history tends to repeat itself, and with another water ban, you're likely to kill off that expensive sod quality tttf. (where kbg would go dormant for a good while).

my understanding of fungal problems is that some cannot be eridicated. (like brown patch i think, or is it summer patch, dunno). so you're constantly trying to spray seranade/companion/actizone(something) to head off the fungus problem, then if that fails then move to heritage/etc.

i think fungal problems can be avoided with some pre-planning. 0) not seeding too densely (i recall HLG having fungal problems because he seeded too densely, 1) good drainage and proper watering times/amounts, 2) soil state/condition... others know more.

BLSC/KH should help with drainage. start building up OM any way you can. it'll take a long time though.

if you have a ton of thatch, that can be a cause of draining problems, i recall HLG's reno, he actually rented a dethatcher, knowing it was going to stir up some weeds, just to head that problem off.

other fungus, i think, is temporary. which means with care, you won't get it again.
for the kinds that are permanent, i think tttf is just as susceptible to it, if not more so, and so i think KBG or something blended with it is better. i know nothing about PR/ZY so i can't comment on them.

HTH
remember the grain of salt.

[reggie517]

Thanks timingchainslipped

Anyone else have any recommendations?

[fusebox7]

After a quick glance, that doesn't look too bad to be honest. If you're certain you have mostly KBG left, just give it the right conditions (water/fertilizer/soil amendments are a bonus) and it'll go a long way. KBG will handle dormancy better than everything else in your climate if you're faced with watering restrictions but do what you can do get ahead now so it will thicken back up and be healthy. My 2¢

[g-man]

I was unable to overseed last fall because of a water ban so I plan on doing it this fall and I am planning for it now.

I did aerate and broadcast seed last fall but didn't get much out of it probably because I couldn't water everyday.

Will the KBG thicken naturally?

Overseeded? yes or no?

KBG will not thicken much naturally. It needs to be feed nitrogen for it to get thick and spread. It is actually hungry when young. Read Philes post about it here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=21849

To me it seems that most of your lawn looks decent. The bare areas could use some plugs to spread and maybe overseed those areas in the fall. I would recommend focusing on feeding it. I would start with Milo and alfalfa pellets. A light dose of urea (0.15 - 0.25 lbN/ksqft depending on how much milo) every other week when not too hot.

[reggie517]

gman I put down some 19-0-6 dimension in early april and then put down some dolomite lime (I was low in Mg) and then just today I put down some 18-0-6 lockdown.

Thanks for the link to the other thread!

I have not heard of alfalfa pellets before? Does this add OM?

[STL]

Alfalfa will add about 20% of its weight to OM over time. It's a light organic feeding, roughly 2-1-2 and contains a natural growth hormone, triacontanol. Most recommendations are a few apps at 20lbs/k or less every 6-8 weeks to not overdo it.

You applied two doses of pre em? How much did you put down?

[reggie517]

I applied Dimension 0.10% 19-0-6 30% PSCU it covers 12k sq ft (50 lb I believe). This was applied the first week of April and then this morning I applied Lesco Lockup Extra 2 18-0-4 it covers 10 sq ft (50 lb bag) and I believe the Lockup is a post emergent.

I am following the fertilizer program at my local Site One store (formally JDL).

I will have to see if I can find alfalfa pellets around my area.

[reggie517]

If I do overseed the bare and thin spots should I go with a KBG seed or use some PR or TTTF to mix it up a little and provide some disease resistance?

Also should I slice seed those areas?

[STL]

Gotcha. Yeah looks like lockout has post emergent herbicides.

Assuming you have 10k-12k of lawn from the post above, the dimension should give around 4-6 months of pre em control so you'll need to take that into consideration if you want to overseed.

Slice seeding isn't recommended since it disturbs the soil and can bring up weed seeds unnecessarily. If you have primarily kbg, I'd probably work to get that to spread.

The 2lbs N/k you put down should help there. That's a decent amount of N so far this spring so weigh your options before putting down more synthetic N with summer coming up. Milo or grains is what I'd do if you want to feed more until late summer/ fall. Then you can step up the feedings again.

I'd either stick with your existing kbg or do a renovation to keep uniformity in the lawn. I know zilch about prg though.

[Marinegrunt]

I agree with STL on either letting the kbg spread or just doing a reno. It really depends on what you're wanting. If you just want a okay looking lawn then you could probably over seed with a mix. Our neighbor had to seed some bare spots about 5 years. He didn't know what type of grass he has so just used some mix from a big box store. All of those spots are brighter green and stick out like a sore thumb. I guess it could also be possible something else is causing it.

[ken-n-nancy]

Our fall 2015 renovation to Bewitched KBG had similar fungal problems last summer, and was pretty devastated by October. I probably overfertilized last spring and summer, setting up a lush environment for fungal attack.

I haven't been sure what to do this spring, but took the "lazy man's approach" of applying a pre-emergent and fertilizing. So far, it seems to be showing some promise at coming back, but there are some sections where the grass plants are pretty sparse -- it kind of looks like plugs were put down every 6-8 inches or so. I've been hoping that the plants which survived the fungal problems last summer will be more fungus-resistant than the ones that died off! I think the best I can hope for, though, is that the less bare spots fill in this spring, and the more bare spots start to fill in now but completely fill in during the fall.

The real challenge, though, will be preventing the fungal problems again this summer! I haven't completely decided upon a strategy for managing that. At the end of last summer, I applied mancozeb to stop the leaf spot / melting out, which seemed to arrest the ongoing damage, even though the grass never recovered last year.

I'm planning to initiate the preventative Serenade applications this weekend, although I've been toying with the idea of making one mancozeb application a week before the first Serenade application, in order to wipe out any remaining "bad fungus" before commencing the preventative applications.

Do you have a fungal plan for this summer?

[reggie517]

the dimension should give around 4-6 months of pre em control so you'll need to take that into consideration if you want to overseed.

Milo or grains is what I'd do if you want to feed more until late summer/ fall.

Dimension lasts that long? I thought it was 2-3 months max?? Also anything other then Milo heard that stuff stinks and I have three kids running on the lawn all the time!

Do you have a fungal plan for this summer?

That stink about your issues. I think part of my issue was too much watering. My plan is to keep a close eye on the lawn and when it warms up an fungus season is prime the first sign of fungus I am going to toss Headway down to cure and prevent. I was going to put it down now for prevention but the guy at the store said it isn't warm enough for fungus yet and to wait til it get warmer because putting it down now would be waste of money.

After a quick glance, that doesn't look too bad to be honest. If you're certain you have mostly KBG left, just give it the right conditions (water/fertilizer/soil amendments are a bonus) and it'll go a long way. KBG will handle dormancy better than everything else in your climate if you're faced with watering restrictions but do what you can do get ahead now so it will thicken back up and be healthy. My 2¢

Thanks fusebox

[STL]

How long it lasts generally depends on how much you put down. Check the label, but 5lbs/k should be several months, 3+.

Milo doesn't smell that bad in my opinion. Organics will have some smell as it breaks down Stuff like alfalfa and soybean meal can be worse than milo. Cracked corn is probably the least smelling. I don't smell the 30-35lbs/k at all on my lawn. You can start small and see if its tolerable for you.

[reggie517]

How long it lasts generally depends on how much you put down. Check the label, but 5lbs/k should be several months, 3+.

Milo doesn't smell that bad in my opinion. Organics will have some smell as it breaks down Stuff like alfalfa and soybean meal can be worse than milo. Cracked corn is probably the least smelling. I don't smell the 30-35lbs/k at all on my lawn. You can start small and see if its tolerable for you.

Thanks. I put down a 50 pound bag on around 9,500 SQ FT so that is like 1.9 lbs/k so maybe I am on the lower end of it.

Also I might try to grab some Bay State fert since I am in southern NH. It is the Mass Water Resource Authority version of Milo and it is much cheaper. It is 4-3-0.

[STL]

I wish I had access to Bay State! Thats a great resource availble to those in the northeast. Good idea.

50lbs over 9.5k is more like 5.26lbs/k.

[reggie517]

I wish I had access to Bay State! Thats a great resource availble to those in the northeast. Good idea.

50lbs over 9.5k is more like 5.26lbs/k.

Yeah I fat fingered my numbers. Sorry! So I might have issues overseeding in late August then......