DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Discuss how to and whether you should renovate your lawn
DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 26th, 2019, 11:57 am

Hey gang, it's been a long time since I've made any significant post. My wife and I built a new house on 6 acres. Mid-June we sold our last house and moved in to the new one. I've lurked the threads this summer and have some time to write about my current project outside. Here's the overview: our plot is rectangular in shape. The 'front' 2.5-3 acres is where our house sits, and the 'back' acreage is being farmed. I didn't want to maintain all 6 acres. We have a farmer as a neighbor and have already made some great bartering on he continuing to farm the back.

Ok, so most of the ground surrounding the house when the site was complete was hard soil, and full of crab grass. Directly behind the house though was a complete mess. The excavation crew had piled up dirt as we had a pond after every rain in the spring. Their final grading was a joke, and a whole other story. So my dad and I graded it ourselves, and I got some topsoil brought in to smooth it out. My focus again is directly behind the house, there's a space about 5,500 sq ft between the home and our leech field.

We had a huge rain around the middle of August. That wiped out that weekend, and due to other obligations pushed my prep to Labor Day weekend. Not ideal by any means, but I have to play the hand dealt. 5,500 sq ft of fresh ground...I ordered the Sunny Mix from SSS. I wet the soil, planted the seed, then rolled it in. I also laid down Scott's starter fertilizer and sprayed Tenacity at seed down. I cringe saying this, but due to the size and lack of spreader I used straw to cover the seed.

I'm on a well system, and for irrigation I bought a Melnor digital 4-zone timer. I also constructed some PVC stands that holds Orbit Voyager II sprinkler heads. Please keep in mind I'm writing this 20+ days ahead, so the pics I'm posting will likely be in the past but I'll be able to describe my journey.

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 26th, 2019, 12:12 pm

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Seed down!! September 2nd


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My irrigation rig

schreibdave
Posts: 1123
Joined: April 14th, 2010, 7:01 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY
Grass Type: Bewitched, Award and Rhapsody
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Experienced

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by schreibdave » September 26th, 2019, 1:50 pm

Nice! Let's see some more.

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 26th, 2019, 2:22 pm

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Sorry I am at work hahaha. Here is September 9th, some growth popping through

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 26th, 2019, 8:44 pm

September 12th and 15th, respectively. I had to cut my water back as the middle area was puddling. I also had some areas where I reseeded. The other change I did; we were irrigating using water that was conditioned. Meaning, it was going thru our softener and other Kinetico device. Talk about a doh! Moment. I redid the plumbing downstairs and now it’s just coming from the well. The downside is the back of our house now has rust stains.


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DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 26th, 2019, 8:48 pm

Here’s the west side of the house. I’ve had my hands full but rolled the dice and seeded this on September 16 with PRG and some KBG, I’m really wanting anything to stick just to hold the soil


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DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 26th, 2019, 9:08 pm

Tuesday September 24th

This pic is from the back looking to the back of the house. I gotta take care of the rust stains on the siding. I’m happy with how things are filling in. The very back, I Tacked on to see what would happen. It’s actually filling in good. This is a Hail Mary.


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schreibdave
Posts: 1123
Joined: April 14th, 2010, 7:01 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY
Grass Type: Bewitched, Award and Rhapsody
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Experienced

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by schreibdave » September 27th, 2019, 6:00 am

That's a great view out the back of the house.

I'm at about day 40 post germination with my 9K sqft kbg renovation. I think I may be at the point where mother nature will provide most of the irrigation. And my worst area may be the front and that might be due to too much water rather than too little. Good luck

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 27th, 2019, 6:34 am

Thanks. It's just been so dry here in Central Ohio, we have drought conditions. The past two days have been upper 70's and fall like, but that changes this weekend and Monday it's supposed to be 90 again.

I'll get some better pics this weekend with my Nikon. My other hopes this fall is to buy a zero turn. Right now I'm mowing with a 42" riding mower, and albeit it's getting the job done-I'd like to get a zero turn for next year.

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 28th, 2019, 4:00 pm

So here is today, about 5 minutes ago off my back steps. I still have some spots that are thin. We did receive some rain early this morning so I shut the sprinklers off as the soil is pretty damp still. It is very humid today, and is supposed to be through Tuesday with temps in the upper 80s and right at 90 on October 1st.

I'm pretty happy for where it's at right now. I'll likely being spoon feeding Nitrogen (.25 lb/K) mid-week. I do need to get out and mow some of it down. You can see my footprints on the right side of the pic where I was out this morning checking on certain spots.

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DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » September 28th, 2019, 5:40 pm

Here's a shot of the west side of the house I planted last week. This would be day 7 of seed down. I do have some little green babes poking thru...


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DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » October 2nd, 2019, 7:16 pm

Here’s a shot of the back. Today I dropped .25 lbs/K urea and watered in


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And here’s the west side of the house on day 11


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DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » October 7th, 2019, 7:15 am

Dropped urea last night (.33 lbs/K) on the west side new area, and on the back half directly behind the house around 7:30pm. We received ~.5 inch of rain overnight.

schreibdave
Posts: 1123
Joined: April 14th, 2010, 7:01 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY
Grass Type: Bewitched, Award and Rhapsody
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Experienced

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by schreibdave » October 7th, 2019, 9:24 am

What is your fertilization plan? I think I dropped 1 lb nitrogen per 1000 sqft 23 days after germination. And I am about to hit it a second time with the same amount. I did not use a starter fertilizer at seed down time.

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » October 7th, 2019, 6:24 pm

Here's the main area, ~5500 sq feet:

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Here's the west side of the house:

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What it's all about! (I need to sharpen my blades)

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DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » October 7th, 2019, 6:27 pm

schreibdave wrote:
October 7th, 2019, 9:24 am
What is your fertilization plan? I think I dropped 1 lb nitrogen per 1000 sqft 23 days after germination. And I am about to hit it a second time with the same amount. I did not use a starter fertilizer at seed down time.
I'm hitting it with light doses, every week which I started on day 14. I did use starter fertilizer at seed down, I used the same rate/application as I did on a test renovation a few years ago and had success. I may up the dosage to .5/K

Paul did a reno in 2016, one of the best I've ever seen, and he did weekly Urea apps starting at Day 14 from seed down. Check it out:

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=20849&p=323801&hil ... no#p323801

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andy10917
Posts: 29739
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
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Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by andy10917 » October 7th, 2019, 9:53 pm

5 out of every 6 games of Russian Roulette work out fine, too. Fertilizing before Sprout-and-Pout ends is forcing top growth without a root system to support the growth.

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » October 8th, 2019, 1:05 pm

Excellent point, and it's defeating what I'm trying to accomplish. Thanks Andy!

DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » October 10th, 2019, 9:15 pm

Mowed the new lawn tonight.


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DevilDawg81
Posts: 579
Joined: April 11th, 2017, 7:09 pm
Location: Columbus, OH
Grass Type: KBG, PRG, Fescue mix
Lawn Size: 2 acre-5 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: DevilDawg81's New Lawn

Post by DevilDawg81 » October 17th, 2019, 6:58 am

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This was taken on Sunday October 13th

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