Skippy's Fall 2017 Renovation

[skippynj17]

After checking out this site for a few weeks and reading tons of material ive decided to jump in and reno my 3500 sq ft front yard . Seeds just came in today KYB mix of AWARD , BEWITCHED and EVERGLADE .
Gonna nuke everything in the next week or 2 .

A few before renovation pictures








Thanks for the great site and for giving me the courage to take on this challenge

[andy10917]

Did you go to the Renovation Roll Call and tell you tale of woe?

[skippynj17]

Hi Andy , I did go and entered the class of 2017 Reno . Im just gonna do my front yard this year and save the back yard for next year. That will give me more time to do some grading/leveling in the back yard

[skippynj17]

The nuke date ( july 1st) waiting game goes on.
Busy gathering supplies : Tenacity , soil moist seed coat , starter fert , soil conditioner , kelp help etc

As Im busy gathering, and waiting i have 2 things that im trying to figure out:

1- how soon can I send a soil test in to logan labs ?
2- will I be able to Reseed this area approx Late August - 1st week in September due to my applications of pre M . I applied the 1st application @ 3lb per 1000 on april 1st and then on May 17th applied another application @ 2.75 lb per 1000 .

Lawn on June 1st





Lawn June 16 th

[Marinegrunt]

Go ahead and send the soil test out now so you have the results. There's really no reason to wait. You soil structure isn't going to change by the time you start applying fertilizer on your new lawn.

I'm not sure about the pre m. Someone else can help there. I think some are good for like 6 months so you might have to break the barrier by disturbing the soil before seeding. I can't recall the name but there's one kind that is only good for 4-6 weeks. What kind of pre m did you use?

I think if it were me I try and break the barrier right after scalping by maybe areating or running a slit seeder without seed. That should still give you enough time to nuke any weeds brought up by disturbing the soil. It would stink if you tried seeding without breaking the barrier and hardly any grass came up. The deciding factor will be what kind of pre m you used.

Wait and see what the pros recommend.

[skippynj17]

Go ahead and send the soil test out now so you have the results. There's really no reason to wait. You soil structure isn't going to change by the time you start applying fertilizer on your new lawn.

I'm not sure about the pre m. Someone else can help there. I think some are good for like 6 months so you might have to break the barrier by disturbing the soil before seeding. I can't recall the name but there's one kind that is only good for 4-6 weeks. What kind of pre m did you use?

I think if it were me I try and break the barrier right after scalping by maybe areating or running a slit seeder without seed. That should still give you enough time to nuke any weeds brought up by disturbing the soil. It would stink if you tried seeding without breaking the barrier and hardly any grass came up. The deciding factor will be what kind of pre m you used.

Wait and see what the pros recommend.

Thanks marinegrunt, I useed Lesco crabgrass pre emergent 19-0-7

[g-man]

Skippy, read the label of that product. I'm pretty sure it will say to wait 16weeks for new seed from last application rate. That would be ~17sep since you applied 17may. Even if your rate of ai is low, it is risky to do a reno when the PreM will still be active. A percent of your seed will not make it. Seed down mid September is also risky since that's only 6weeks until 01 November (average first frost for Newark is 26oct).

My advice is to skip this year reno.

[skippynj17]

Skippy, read the label of that product. I'm pretty sure it will say to wait 16weeks for new seed from last application rate. That would be ~17sep since you applied 17may. Even if your rate of ai is low, it is risky to do a reno when the PreM will still be active. A percent of your seed will not make it. Seed down mid September is also risky since that's only 6weeks until 01 November (average first frost for Newark is 26oct).

My advice is to skip this year reno.

Hi G-man , I looked up the product online and it said to wait 12 weeks from the last application , I then went in my garage and checked the product label just to make sure and it also said 12. just to make sure Im in the clear I would like to wait 14 weeks which would make my seed down date August 31st . Im hoping that waiting 14 weeks and disturbing the surface a little bit will put me in the clear.

[g-man]

^that's why it is important to read the label of your product.

[skippynj17]

Spot sprayed 3rd round of glypho today. Ive been getting a lot of spurge to grow during my fallow period.
The neighbors walk by daily staring at me watering my dead lawn, Ive even caught a few taking pictures of it.
Landscapers drive by daily shaking their heads or giggling at me and and my brown lawn , one even stopped by and offered me a little advise. He told me that I should till all of that brown stuff up, have it removed and then get some grass seeds from Home depot and put it down. he said that hes been in the business for over 25 years and that dead stuff has to be removed . I told him that im confident that if i keep watering it( dead lawn) that it should turn green in the fall. He then just turned around , shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

[edenl01]

By next August they will be stopping by to get advice not give it. Looks really good, keeping on truckin'.

[probasesteal]

Love the "landscapers" advice.
Like the squirt and fert companies; aerate, seed, pre-em, fertilizer and 2,4-D. Then admit they can't deal with Poa, wild violet, creeping Charlie and anything complicated.

[ken-n-nancy]

... I told him that I'm confident that if i keep watering it (dead lawn) that it should turn green in the fall. He then just turned around , shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

You're going to have a lot of fun if the reno turns out well!

[skippynj17]

Yesterday 8/31
- Applied tenacity @ 4oz per acre rate
- Seeded KBG blend of Award , Bewitched , Everglade @ 2.5lbs/k
- dropped 1 bag of Milo over 3500 sq ft
- dropped 10-10-10 fert @ 10 lbs /K

Then had a peat moss fight with My 5 and 11 yr old boys before watering it in

[Marinegrunt]

Looks great! That lanscaper must work in an area where nobody cares what their lawn looks like. That ends up making the ones he takes care look nice or atleast nicer than the neighbors.

I got my seed down today too. I still have more peat moss to throw though.

Hope you get the perfect weather for grass growing over the next month.

[skippynj17]

Looks great! That lanscaper must work in an area where nobody cares what their lawn looks like. That ends up making the ones he takes care look nice or atleast nicer than the neighbors.

I got my seed down today too. I still have more peat moss to throw though.

Hope you get the perfect weather for grass growing over the next month.

Thanx Marinegrunt, I may add a little more peat tomorrow. I feel like i may be a little too thin in some spots.

hopefully everything turns out great for you !!

[skippynj17]

Ive been busy with my sons Travel soccer and AAU basketball the last few weeks and havent been able to update.
Just been watering for 15 min 4 x's per day. cut dow to 3 times per day yesterday . Besides that i havent done anything else to it except pick off leaves that are close to the border. havent walked on it yet either. Here are a few day 20 pics










im wondering if i should throw some seeds on some of the bare spots or just be patient and wait

[Marinegrunt]

It's looking great! Three weeks isn't that long especially for kbg. I think you could probably hold off on tossing more seed down. I went with a mix of 90% TTTF + 10% KBG and I still have kbg just starting to germinate and I'm right at 3 weeks since seed down. I've heard it can sometimes take up to a month for kbg to germinate. I've noticed areas in our yard that get a little more water or stay moist longer have been slower to germinate. If you think the seeds maybe washed to the side or, something else happened, I'd probably sprinkle some. It's a judgement call. I plan on trying to dormant seed any thin spots.

Your yard looking awesome. You did a great job!

[Cheesto]

That's looking great for Day 20. It wouldn't hurt to throw a little seed down, but it isn't necessary - those spots will fill in over time, especially when you start hitting it with some fertilizer and start mowing.