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Right Side (about 2K sqft)





Back (about 4K sqft) NO Reno this year

I added 2 new hose bibs on this side of the house fed by 3/4 pex in the basement. One bib will serve the front yard and one will serve this side yard. I have another 3 bibs (also served by 3/4 pex) to do my other side. If you have an unfinished basement, existing pex plumbing and even the slightest amount of DIY ability ... adding new hose bibs could not be easier.



My seed:

One thing you may want to add is the SoilMoist Seed Coat product -- many of us here have had good results and it isn't expensive. It helps to retain moisture on the seed itself.

Status report:

Things I have in place:
- I have my seed, soil moist, tenacity, serenade, round up.
- Have a source for a roller
- Added 3 new hose bibs fed by 3/4" Pex
- My "irrigation system" needs another tweak but I have 17 impact sprinklers fed by 5 timers and a million feet of hose. I think I have acceptable coverage.

Things to do before the big kill:
- Put up temporary fencing to keep the dog in the back yard and away from the front/sides reno area
- Hire attorney to fend off the HOA which will not like the the temporary fencing or the dead lawn
- Stockpile whatever I will cover the seed with. My plan was the town compost but their website says they are running low so that may not work. Plan B would be to use bulk compost from the garden center. We frequently have high winds that make throwing down peat moss a challenge. And a pick up truck full of compost is cheaper than a similar quantity of peat moss.
- Once lawn is dead, fill some dead spots

The big kill is scheduled for August 1st with brand name RU. I will hit it again a week or 10 days later. Seed down is scheduled for August 15.

Comments or questions are welcome.

You're sounding pretty much ready! You may want to get a few masks for yourself - otherwise you may be spitting up mud balls a day after the scalping process (post-RU) is done.

ok on the masks.

How long after the RU should I expect to scalp? I know I want to get it before it flops over.

Since my "irrigation system" is set up should I water shallow and frequent between now and seed down to keep my PR out of dormancy and to encourage weed seeds to germinate?

The deed is done. 30 oz of 50% glyphosphate in 12 gallons of water over 6500-8000 sqft. I used blue tracking dye so the lawn has a great dark blue hue to it. Now I need to alert the neighbors that I did this intentionally and that there isn't a lawn killing fungus or insect on the loose.

Still working on improving my home brew in ground irrigation system. I also plan to hit it with KH/Soil conditioner before seed down (aug 15).

Congrats on pulling the trigger!

JHazzardB wrote: ↑

August 3rd, 2019, 5:44 pm

Congrats on pulling the trigger!

No turning back now!

Update:

Lawn is dead and scalped.
I have all my supplies - except the roller rental.
I have to tweak the irrigation set up on one side of the house.

Questions:

Tenacity at the rate of 1 tsp in 2 gallons of water over 1000 sqft? Does that sound right?

I'm nervous about getting proper seed coverage with my Lesco broadcast spreader. I'm concerned that the small kbg seed will be so fine that it comes out too fast even on the lowest setting. Not only is this expensive seed but it was a PITA to get and I dont have a lot of extra. An added challenge is we can have a lot of wind here so getting seed down where I want it is not always easy. Any advice?

Tenacity at the rate of 1 tsp in 2 gallons of water over 1000 sqft? Does that sound right?

No. It's the 4 oz/acre rate (which is a good rate), but the resulting mix is applied at 1 gallon per 1000 sq ft (not 2 gallons per K).

Thank you. I typed that wrong but fortunately I did mix and apply it correctly.

Today I got tenacity, seed and topdressing down on about 1/3 of my reno. The other 2/3 will get done over the next 1-3 days.

Is it ok if I hold off on rolling until I have the whole thing done? That will mean that I am rolling an area that has been seeded for up to 3 days. Thanks

The only issue i can see rolling it after you have it all done is that if it is moist, it'll most likely stick to your roller. What type of topdressing did you put down? You might be okay with not rolling it. Don't know if I'd come back over it 3-4 days later.

I used compost from the county compost facility. Given its consistency i dont think it will stick.

We have germination!! 1 week from seed down. We've had some torrential rains this week and I think I had two washout areas. I'll give those areas a few more days before I decide whether to put more seed down.

Awesome! How many days from seed-down to initial germination? And is the germination widespread or spotty?

andy10917 wrote: ↑

August 19th, 2019, 9:01 am

Awesome! How many days from seed-down to initial germination? And is the germination widespread or spotty?

Seven days from seed down to germination. And it's definitely spotty. I have to look pretty hard to find sprouts. But they are there.

Today is day 18 from seed down and day 12 since germination. I'm pretty happy so far. Still watering 3-5 minutes per zone 3x a day. I may cut back to 2x a day. We have very heavy dew in the morning. And high temps are only in the 70s and dropping fast.

I did have to reseed a few areas that washed out so those area are behind. I may even need to seed them again.

No weeds so far.

My best germination came in areas with grass stuble. That surprised me.

DIY irrigation system is working like a charm so far.

Some more ...

That is coming along very nicely!