The 2011-???? Renovator's Toolkit

Discuss how to and whether you should renovate your lawn
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arjo_reich
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by arjo_reich » June 5th, 2011, 1:34 pm

If this is your first time renovating your lawn the two things I would recommend you having are...

1. a friend/relative/neighbor with a lawn so perfect in your eyes it makes you want to spray profanities in it using Roundup.

2. the patience and determination to not only have a lawn as good as theirs but that much better than said person has to one day tell *you* how much they hate *your* lawn.

You will screw things up, you will fail at first - either entirely or in some not insignificant way - and you will spend at least x3 more money than you think it costs now but the first time the FedEx guy jumps out of his truck and proclaims "Dayum, is it real?!?" it will all be worth it.

And when your friend/relative/neighbor does finally tell you how much he hates your lawn you'll feel sorry, knowing that moment has come and gone... until you see his new water-feature. :D

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SW315
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by SW315 » June 5th, 2011, 2:04 pm

arjo_reich wrote:And when your friend/relative/neighbor does finally tell you how much he hates your lawn you'll feel sorry, knowing that moment has come and gone... until you see his new water-feature. :D
It's funny you mention that. One of my neighbors tells me all the time.."Scott, I hate your yard, I love it, but I hate it" This is due to the fact that my yard used to be one of the worst in the neighborhood.

I always tell her, I'm not done yet!!

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CTShoreGuy
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by CTShoreGuy » June 5th, 2011, 4:34 pm

Arjo, you nailed it! 3x the $$ is spot on. Power rake/ clean up bag and drag was what killed me, and the $ I spent to torture myself.

In the longrun, it was all worth it, and it's really and on going process/ hobby

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kingofgreen
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by kingofgreen » June 8th, 2011, 6:24 pm

CTShoreGuy wrote:PATIENCE!!! especially for KBG

+1 on that ..patience is a must have.especially for the new guys/gals planting KBG. I think a good up to date journal (with pictures) of what you have done,is a must have too.

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CTShoreGuy
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by CTShoreGuy » June 8th, 2011, 6:53 pm

+1 to KOG..His update pix during the proceess surprised me, the KBG took FOREVER to fill in and spread, but once it does...WOW.


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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by jglongisland » June 9th, 2011, 7:40 am

Trays and pots are a great thing to have, I may have said it earlier in the thread, but for each 100 sq. ft. I would have 2-3 pots ready to go for the inevitable gaps that didn't take. Plant them in November and by the following May they'll have doubled in size. The 6" pots are better.

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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by MrBill » June 9th, 2011, 9:47 pm

andy10917 wrote:
How about Hydrogel? It's relatively inexpensive. Andy can speak much more to it as per his testing but I think it's a very cool product!

I think it would be very useful for those that do not have automated irrigation systems.
I agree - as a "nice-to-have". It may be a "requirement" someday for those without irrigation. The SoilMoist For Seeding product is a $7.50 investment that I'm beginning to swear by. I had 20% germination/emergence at 8 days, and 50% (today) at 9 days (for Moonlight SLT/America). Mix with seed and then top with peat moss at 1/8" - 1/4". The peat moss has an entirely different personality with this - all for the positive.

I will never seed or overseed without this again, but that's one man's opinion. I see it like an insurance policy.
Andy,

Does that SoilMoist ever break down or once it's put down it stays forever?
Sounds like an interesting product.

Bill

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andy10917
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by andy10917 » June 9th, 2011, 9:57 pm

I've seen articles that claim it lasts 4 years and others that say it lasts 8 years. That's if it is soil the surface of the soil. Above the soil and exposed to sunlight, it is shot in 3 months or so.

That should give me enough time to figure out a way to inject it into the soil to replenish it.

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MorpheusPA
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by MorpheusPA » June 9th, 2011, 10:36 pm

I'm still working on that injection thing myself. Let me know if you come up with anything, because I haven't yet.

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simpson
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by simpson » June 10th, 2011, 12:38 am

Looks like it is time to bring out your rusted core aerator Andy. You can get a few more cores before it rust away in the barn. You add Gary's turkey baster and you got something.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ] Image

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andy10917
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by andy10917 » July 1st, 2017, 5:09 pm

Stepping W-A-Y back in the time machine to resurrect this one. How about if all the folks that have done a couple of renovations make updates, as needed.

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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by skippynj17 » July 1st, 2017, 7:22 pm

andy10917 wrote:
May 30th, 2011, 12:34 pm
How about Hydrogel? It's relatively inexpensive. Andy can speak much more to it as per his testing but I think it's a very cool product!

I think it would be very useful for those that do not have automated irrigation systems.
I agree - as a "nice-to-have". It may be a "requirement" someday for those without irrigation. The SoilMoist For Seeding product is a $7.50 investment that I'm beginning to swear by. I had 20% germination/emergence at 8 days, and 50% (today) at 9 days (for Moonlight SLT/America). Mix with seed and then top with peat moss at 1/8" - 1/4". The peat moss has an entirely different personality with this - all for the positive.

I will never seed or overseed without this again, but that's one man's opinion. I see it like an insurance policy.
Hi Andy, 6 years later , are you still a big believer in soilmoist ? I dont have an automated irrigation system and plan on watering my 3.5k KBG reno 3xs daily by hose

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andy10917
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by andy10917 » July 1st, 2017, 9:43 pm

Absolutely! I'm a bigger believer (two more reno's since then!)

edenl01
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by edenl01 » July 6th, 2017, 1:13 pm

andy10917 wrote:
June 9th, 2011, 9:57 pm
I've seen articles that claim it lasts 4 years and others that say it lasts 8 years. That's if it is soil the surface of the soil. Above the soil and exposed to sunlight, it is shot in 3 months or so.

That should give me enough time to figure out a way to inject it into the soil to replenish it.
Would it be ridiculous to try and mist/mix it in to milorganite like you would with micronutrients?

edenl01
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by edenl01 » July 6th, 2017, 1:19 pm

To clarify the above comment, I'm talking on non renovation established grass.

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andy10917
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Re: The 2011 Renovator's Toolkit

Post by andy10917 » July 6th, 2017, 5:08 pm

I have three basic problems with the misting idea.

In order to understand problem #1, you'd have to put a few grains of SoilMoist into a clear glass of water - when you come back 15 mins later, the grains are like small blobs of jello. The Milorganite will be sticking to Jello instead of the SoilMoist sticking to the Milorganite. Now imagine it coming out of the spreader.

Problem #2 is that it breaks down rather quickly in sunlight.

Problem #3 is that it is slippery as you would imagine blobs of Jello to be.

I have learned to use it as a seed coat and then cover it (and the seed!) with peat moss. The combo and approach make it last long enough to get the seed past the critical germination/emergence step.

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andy10917
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Re: The 2011-???? Renovator's Toolkit

Post by andy10917 » June 18th, 2020, 7:48 am

Waking up this thread for 2020 Renovators. This is a discussion over the years (all the way back to 2911) documenting opinions about items that should be considered for inclusion and be on-hand for your renovation. The final list is up to you.

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MorpheusPA
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Re: The 2011-???? Renovator's Toolkit

Post by MorpheusPA » June 18th, 2020, 1:33 pm

Image

NGB20
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Re: The 2011-???? Renovator's Toolkit

Post by NGB20 » June 18th, 2020, 10:38 pm

This was a good read. Interesting to see the different strategies employed by everyone and it gives me a good idea of what I need on hand before I get going. I am going to add soilmoist Seed coat to my list. Seems like a relatively cheap insurance plan from what I have read.

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MorpheusPA
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Re: The 2011-???? Renovator's Toolkit

Post by MorpheusPA » June 18th, 2020, 10:59 pm

It is, and I recommend it too. Like Andy, I also use the larger version to plant baby plants in the garden since I have trouble balancing the water requirements over 2,000 square feet of gardens early in the season.

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