Greenrebellion's 2018 Backyard Reno

[greenrebellion]

Yesterday I:
Seeded Bewitched at 2.5lb/K
Fertilized w/ 10-10-10 at 10lbs per K per soil test results
Applied Tenacity at 4oz/K
Lawn Rolled everything into the soil
Spread Peat moss over everything

Rain forecast looks more promising too as the heaviest rain chances seem to have shifted southeast of the area.

Now I'm watering 4x per day given current temps and just waiting for germination.

[greenrebellion]

Sorry, tenacity in above post should be 4oz/acre... can't edit at this point.

[Paul]

Good luck, hope things turn out better this time.

[greenrebellion]

Thanks Paul.

The heaviest rain has missed me so far this week and looks like the heaviest thunderstorms will miss again today.

One of the things I love about peat moss top dressing is it is easy to see when that top peat moss layer starts to dry out and thus it is simple to tweak the sprinklers to ensure adequate moisture. Rooting for some germination by the end of this weekend.

[greenrebellion]

Started seeing small amounts of germination on day 5 yesterday, but today there are tons of just germinated seedlings about that are just a couple millimeters tall. So we are progressing nicely out there.

Heavy rain forecasted for tomorrow evening so we'll have to see if we can survive that.

[greenrebellion]

Well, they were calling for 1-3" of rain, I got 1/4". Widespread "green fuzz" here at Day 8.

[andy10917]

1/4" is perfect for a lawn at your stage.

[greenrebellion]

Third year in a row of renovations, and this might be the quickest and most complete germination I've ever experienced. If I didn't get another seed to germinate out there this year, I'd still be in great shape.

Now the grass mocks me though by hanging out at 1/2" and refusing to grow. I guess one never becomes immune to sprout and pout.

[andy10917]

How are the weeds in it?

[greenrebellion]

Broadleafs are non-existant with the few that popped up turned white from Tenacity. 12 week fallow period helps.

There are a few grassy weeds that I first thought were quack but upon further review, they are something else I can't identify. Doesn't seem widespread though so I can paint them with glyphosate next spring if need be.

Still too early to say for sure on poa annua. Last year's front yard renovation germinated thousands and thousands of poa annua, I started Tenacity at 21 days post SEEDING and wiped out 98% of it. Poa annua pressure was substantially less during the fallow this year relative to the front yard last year so I am assuming that the pressure will be more modest. I'll probably do the same Tenacity regimen I did on the front reno last year but given that I expect much lower poa annua pressure, I plan to start Tenacity around 30 days post seeding rather than 21.

[northeastlawn]

Im doing a reno for my uncle, what was your program last year?

The one thing I regret is waiting to hit the POA in the spring. I did one 4oz app at seed down, then a 4oz app 30 days after, then a pre-m. I really think so much POA was already goinggrowing by the 60 day mark, it all made it to the spring. The pre-m I put down around October was late.

It seems like it would have been easier to kill it early when it was young, before I started fertilizing at the 60 day mark. I might be wrong, but something that bothered me about last year.

[greenrebellion]

Northeastlawn...these were my apps last year. Note that I went WAY OFF LABEL so follow this at your own risk. Hitting the lawn with tenacity 21 days post seeding is not following the label but I had insane poa annua coverage and it was crowding out my KBG. I will probably follow this exact post emergence Tenacity regimen this year, but may delay it a week or two.

2017 Front Reno Tenacity Applications:
4oz/acre at seed down on 8/12
2oz/acre on 9/1
2oz/acre on 9/4
2oz/acre on 9/8
1.7oz/acre on 9/12

I was going to make two more apps but the bleaching on the Bewitched was extremely intense so I halted applications. Poa annua ended up dying off almost completely even without further applications.

[greenrebellion]

Day 14 - Wow, looks like about 1/3rd or maybe more of my renovation is leaving sprout and pout already. I'm seeing tillering and vertical growth from 1/2" to 1" plus. Might start Urea at day 21 if a majority of the lawn is actively growing.

Does soil improvement actually work? This being my third consecutive reno year, seems like every year the pout phase gets significantly shorter. BLSC/KH, organic matter, and K/P per soil results, the stuff works folks.

[greenrebellion]

Hmm...6 inches of rain and the reno isn't looking so good any more. Does matted down young grass pop back up once things dry out?

[andy10917]

6" of rain is pretty extreme, but in general Yes it stands right back up.

[greenrebellion]

6" of rain is pretty extreme, but in general Yes it stands right back up.

That is encouraging, thanks. Guess we'll find out soon.

[greenrebellion]

Well all that rain definitely did some damage, but I can work with it. Threw some extra seed down a couple of weeks ago in the worst hit areas. I'm on my third Tenacity app tonight and have mowed once (and its due for a second). Third Urea app went down this past weekend. All in all, I should be able to work with what I have and have a decent lawn by Memorial day.

[andy10917]

Do you plan to use the Philes Program next Spring?

[greenrebellion]

Do you plan to use the Philes Program next Spring?

Yes I will for sure. Compared to my 2017 front yard reno, this reno is going to end up being quite a bit thinner as oversaturated soil thinned the young seedlings out.

Thinking I'll focus on Urea and Alfalfa pellets...but undoubtedly I will be going heavy on the nitrogen in Spring.

[andy10917]

I am completing testing of something that will strongly encourage tillering, and if all goes well I will publish it in time for use in the Spring.