First lawn reno!

[probasesteal]

What grass did you end up using? KBG?

[nhyrum]

so ill do a 9am, 1pm and 6pm. i may bump it up to three minutes a cycle too, i saw dry spots this morning after it ran

[bpgreen]

FWIW, I planted blue grama this past weekend. I started watering for 5 minutes 3x a day, then upped that to 10 minutes 4x a day. But I discovered that I had a bad sprinkler head, which may have been responsible for a lot of the dry areas. I'm now checking just before it goes off and have been adjusting the amount of time downward. I'm now at 7 minutes 4x a day.

You should check for dry spots before it runs, because you want to keep it moist. If you're seeing dry spots after it runs, that means that you've got spots that are never getting any water. Seeing dry spots before it runs means that those spots didn't stay moist for the full cycle and you either need to water more often or longer.

[nhyrum]

What grass did you end up using? KBG?

Yes, it's Pennington coated kbg blend.

I thought I got home for lunch just after a run session, but it turns out it was just before a run. All is good after a run.

Although I do have a head that something is off on... It's either lower/not popping up as high as the rest and blowing the seed and Pete away about 4 inches. I got to take a look at that head

[nhyrum]

Well, had a head die on me yesterday. The clapper I'll call it was all gunked up so it wasn't moving. I eventually got it cleaned so it would move but not enough for the head to move. Figured I'd just replace it. Turned into a larger ordeal than just that...

It was my first replacement in the front. Turns out, the rain bird maxi paw's have an inlet on the bottom, where I've done a ton that way. And one on the side. Found out the hard way that the front is all plumbed to the side. So I had to find a way to fix the broken pipe. Cut the broken section clean, got a few 90's and plumbed to the bottom.

The new head also came with a nozzle that didn't work well where it went, so I swapped in the old nozzle, and moved that nozzle to the one that was blowing the seed away, which had a nozzle that had a second screw in it(i forget what they were called, but it shortens up the throw even more), but the water from that second screw was going pretty much straight down. That head needed to throw farther anyway. So two fixes!

[nhyrum]

Got some fuzzies sprouting up!

My starter fertilizer says I can apply every 4 to 6 weeks. My first application was a little light, so I applied a few days ago, so when the grass gets a bit more mature, in about 4 weeks, I'll hit it again!

The wife and I were burn starting to get a little worried that we'd have a dead lawn to deal with the rest of next season, till about August again. Glad to see shoots!

[nhyrum]

When can i ease off the water? After the first few mowings? For those mowings, do I bag, It mulch as normal? I'm still at least a few days, maybe a week or more from mowing.

Time to sharpen the blade!

[andy10917]

Be really careful about applying fertilizer following germination until the grass is around 30 days old - Nitrogen can cause the grass to force top growth when the needed activity is root growth. Top growth without matching root growth can cause significant stress and even loss of some grass when temperatures are high.

[nhyrum]

starter fertilizer is low N though, correct?

[ken-n-nancy]

starter fertilizer is low N though, correct?

Well, it all depends. The issue is that "starter fertilizer" isn't really a well-defined term. So, depending upon who you ask and what their perspective is on what is appropriate to be applied for fertilization at seed-down, it can mean different things.

Basically, "starter fertilizer" is just a bag of fertilizer that the manufacturer of the fertilizer has chosen, for marketing or other purposes, to advertise as a "starter fertilizer." The specific ratio of N-P-K for a "starter fertilizer" isn't defined by law or other regulations as far as I know.

Typically, a "starter fertilizer" includes at least as much phosphorus as it does nitrogen. Colloquially, "starter fertilizer" generally means a high-phosphorus fertilizer. Such a fertilizer may or may not contain as much nitrogen as phosphorus, but that can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Scott's traditional "starter fertilizer" is a 24-25-4 product. Their "starter fertilizer with weed preventer" (contains mesotrione) is a 21-22-4 product. So yes, both of these "starter fertilizers" are high N and high P products, as they are generally labeled to be applied at a rate of as close to 1#N/ksqft and 1#P/ksqft as allowable by law. (The label application rates on fertilizers is limited by law in most states. Most states also have laws which prohibit the application of non-organic phosphorus fertilizers to lawns unless seeding new grass or a need for phosphorus is indicated by a soil test.)

Other brands have different formulations for their own "starter fertilizer." So, your mileage may vary.

[nhyrum]

OK, thanks. I got the Scott's with weed preventer, so I'll go easy on it.

About mowing and water. I've read through a few threads now and nobody mentions backing off the water and they always just say they mowed. I know mulching is preferred, but in the case of new grass, should I bag?

I can water as much as needed(Monday may be weird, I'm in basically the center of the eclipse path, we're expecting anywhere from double to 10 times our town population, rumors of no water pressure are everywhere) right now I'm at 6 minutes a zone, 4 times a day, with one getting another two times of 2 minutes(bought all the Pete moss in town, so had to go to what the local garden store recommended and it dries out faster)

[greenrebellion]

Once everything has germinated, you can start backing off the water. Full germination can take up to 21 days, but I find that if the seeds stay well moist, you'll get most germination within 10-14 days. So at that point, you can start dropping watering down (longer times at longer intervals). So for me as an example, I am currently watering my yard 3-4x per day for 8 minutes per zone. By the time everything has germinated, I'll probably drop it down to 1x-2x day at slightly longer zone times...and then as the roots keep developing, just keep dropping the frequency and upping the zone times. End goal is 1" of water every 7-10 days or so.

Mulching is fine, by the time you need to mow, everything will be well germinated/established.

[nhyrum]

Perfect, thanks greenrebellion. I am starting to get shoots already, but a few days ago a seeded again. I'll wait till those are about a half inch tall, then back off the water

[andy10917]

I'm not so sure that I agree, but it may just be the words used. It's not as much about "backing off on water" as it is about the frequency and amount of water per app. As the frequency goes down, the amount per app goes up, until you meet your version/schedule of 1" per week all at once, in steps. It can take a month or so to make the transition.

[nhyrum]

My seedlings ate about an inch tall now, and most everything has come up from my first seeding, 3 lbs of coated seed for 1000 square feet, so REALLY it was only a pound and a half of actual seed.

I'm starting to get a bit of weeds popping up, I've read that new seedlings can't handle the selective herbicides (such as my spectricide with crabgrass control) as well. My starter fertilizer with weed control I can tell is doing something, the weeds are turning white, but they have been like that for a few weeks now.

Since my seeding was a little sparse, how can I help the kbg spread? I know it spreads through above ground runners, which is part of the root system? I know a reason for the infrequent, deep waterings is to help the roots grow deeper to get to the water. I've read that a few things might be linked to root growth, such as bedding vitamins I think it was, but it was one of those things that people were skeptical of, at least in the articles I read. Would something like that help the kbg spread? Or do I just have to wait for it to fill out?

Other than the weeds and disease sparse seeding, she's coming in good!

[nhyrum]

[quote=nhyrum post_id=314794 time=1503880197 disease sparse seeding
[/quote]

Sparse seeding, not disease sparse seeding