Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Discuss how to and whether you should renovate your lawn
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schreibdave
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Location: Syracuse, NY
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Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by schreibdave » August 1st, 2020, 1:23 pm

Well the deed is done. I sprayed 16oz of generic 50% glyphosate on my 4K sqft PR back yard.

Last year I did the front and sides (about 9K sqft) and it came out better than I could have hoped. Lets hope this year's project turns out just as well.

I'll give it 5-6 days and then I will start scalping it in 1/2" increments. I am going to try to mulch the dead grass rather than bag it - any thoughts on that idea? Seed down will be around Aug 15th. I have a kbg blend (same as in my profile) from Preferred Seed. I have Tenacity. I will fertilize with Milorganite because that's what my soil remediation plan calls for. I will top dress either with topsoil which is readily available to me in my new construction development or with municipal compost facility compost - which is what I used last year. I'll rent the roller from HD. I have irrigation back there.

The back yard is semi private so it wont be immediately obvious to the HOA busy bodies that I'm up to something without seeking approval - better to beg forgiveness than ask for permission.

I was originally a fan of the PR despite the fact that it suffered a lot of winter kill requiring me to reseed big dead spots every spring. But this year the reseeded spots did not come in very well and even the mature PR just looks blah compared to the kbg. I wont miss the PR

Picture #1 shows last year's kbg reno on the left and the doomed PR on the right.
Picture #2 shows most of the back yard
Picture #3 again shows last years kbg reno next to the existing PR

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jskierko
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Re: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by jskierko » August 1st, 2020, 4:14 pm

Best of luck! Love the side-by-side of KBG vs PR.
schreibdave wrote:
August 1st, 2020, 1:23 pm
I'll give it 5-6 days and then I will start scalping it in 1/2" increments. I am going to try to mulch the dead grass rather than bag it - any thoughts on that idea?
I started my scalping today and, although it's going to be a pain to haul all the clippings away, I felt like areas where the bag wasn't catching it were an absolute disaster. I'd imagine if you raked up heavily covered areas you'd be fine, but I'll leave the nod on doing that to the experts.

schreibdave
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Re: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by schreibdave » August 1st, 2020, 5:13 pm

Raking is a "no go." If that's necessary I'll bag. If i get lucky my HOA lawn mowing contractor will be in the neighborhood and ill have them scalp and bag it.

The reason I cant rake is I need rotator cuff surgery. And the reason I need rotator cuff surgery is from vigorously raking my dead PR up in the spring. All day for several days in a row. I literally have a lawn care injury requiring surgery.

schreibdave
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Re: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by schreibdave » August 10th, 2020, 9:30 pm

One app of glyphosate. There were no survivors.

I would like to go seed down on Friday the 14th. The only thing I am short is a pick up load or two of muni compost that I will use as a top dressing.
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ken-n-nancy
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Re: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by ken-n-nancy » August 10th, 2020, 10:16 pm

schreibdave wrote:
August 10th, 2020, 9:30 pm
One app of glyphosate. There were no survivors. ...

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Looks nice. Properly applied glyphosate should kill an existing lawn in one application. The fact that it did so is a testament to good spraying technique. Nicely done!


jskierko
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Re: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by jskierko » August 11th, 2020, 5:20 am

schreibdave wrote:
August 10th, 2020, 9:30 pm
I would like to go seed down on Friday the 14th.
Good luck, keep us posted! I have been weather watching like crazy waiting for a good window. Some areas around here got 2+ inches of rain in a matter of a few hours yesterday so I'm glad I've held off. Still shooting for 8/16 for seed down for myself. Looking forward to seeing the progress.

schreibdave
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Re: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by schreibdave » August 12th, 2020, 4:54 pm

Question about fertilizing at seed down ...

My soil fertilization plan calls for alternating apps of starter and milo. Starter went down on July 25th. My plan is for seed down on August 15th, plus or minus. If I drop milo at seed down, that will be 3 weeks after the last app of starter.

Should I drop the milo with the seed even though there is probably some N still in the soil from the starter? Or should I wait until after germination and I can safely walk on the lawn to fertilize? My thought is milo at seed down. What do you all think?

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andy10917
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Re: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by andy10917 » August 12th, 2020, 5:20 pm

I'm not a fan of fertilizing at seed-down. The seed does not use fertilizer until it has a root system.

Also, using Milorganite on bare soil at seed-down has an interesting (and scary but mostly harmless) side-effect - see a posting on this subject from 2015:
Just be forewarned - Milorganite on bare soil with plenty of light watering will form "little white stars" of Mycellium. It will happen at exactly the time that you are inspecting the soil every 20 minutes to see if anything emerged since the last time you looked. You will sh!t your pants and make a posting asking if it's the end of the world. It's harmless.
You're better off waiting for the grass to be about 5-7 days after germination (even though you have to walk on it) to apply fertilizer if you wish

schreibdave
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Re: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by schreibdave » August 14th, 2020, 7:45 pm

Got seed down yesterday and finished covering it and rolling it today. Sprinklers are going as we speak.

Sprinklers need a little adjustment and I need to put up some fencing to keep the dog out but otherwise, I am done! If last year is any guide I will be looking for germination in 7 days.
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jskierko
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Re: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by jskierko » August 14th, 2020, 10:56 pm

Looks great. Same seed down day for me, so I will be monitoring your results closely!

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by MorpheusPA » August 16th, 2020, 11:36 am

Fortunately, those Milo decay fungi actually are harmless and won't case damping off of the grass seed. They're not the right species to do so and are almost completely uninterested in killing living grass plants.

At least in large enough number for you to even notice, much less complain about, and they're using up space on the soil and keeping actual disease fungus species from growing there for a few days.

I don't countenance adding nitrogen at seed-down in fast release form, but I'm OK with Milo since it's much slower. It won't be available until about the time the seed begins to develop adult roots. Soybean meal would be better (it's even slower), but Milo's OK.

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stack316
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Re: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by stack316 » August 16th, 2020, 6:12 pm

Good luck, now the wait begins, PR should be a lot quicker than the KBG!!

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: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by schreibdave » August 16th, 2020, 8:13 pm

stack316 wrote:
August 16th, 2020, 6:12 pm
Good luck, now the wait begins, PR should be a lot quicker than the KBG!!
I need to change my profile. The backyard PR is what I just killed and I put down a kbg blend.

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stack316
Posts: 326
Joined: July 15th, 2010, 7:11 am
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Grass Type: Side: 2014 Bewitched Reno Front: 2013 Faith, Cochise IV, Falcon IV, LS 1200 reno Back 1st half Mutt, Back 2nd Half 3rd Millenium & Rhambler reno
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Re: Schreibdave's 2020 Backyard Renovation

Post by stack316 » August 16th, 2020, 8:39 pm

Too many PRs....missed the KBG...well I’m sure you know what the timeline is...

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