lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

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lVlrBoJang1es
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lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by lVlrBoJang1es » April 15th, 2017, 11:25 am

Hello all!

This is my first post although I've been lurking on these forums for months sponging as much information as possible - thank you everyone that has contributed towards making this site such a great resource!

I'm going to use this thread as a spot to continuously update my progress and questions I come across throughout the season. Before we get into that, I feel it's necessary to give a bit of background on my turf. I'm a thorough person by nature, so hopefully the length of my posts doesn't induce TLDR syndrome. If anything, it may serve as a detailed guide of what not to do if i mess something up along the way :razz:

Skip through to the big bold heading labeled "questions" if you'd like to just give some quick advice. Lord knows i need it, and i definitely appreciate it!

I applaud you if you read all of the following

Turf Background (2016 Season)

Early Spring (2016)

I bought my house last year in January of 2016 (north of Detroit MI). 4500 sq ft lawn with what appears to be a mix of northern grasses and mostly TTTF. It appears that the previous owners followed the bare-minimum-approach to lawn care. The lawn was heavily weed infested immediately on green up in the spring of 2016 during my move in.

To make matters worse, this was my first home so naturally I was lacking proper tools and resources to manage weed and turf rehab project that I had in inherited with my property purchase. My priorities were more focused on the move in and small indoor tasks that come along with a typical move in.

Late Spring/Early Summer (2016)

I neglected to drop a pre-M that spring and when I finally bought a mower, the grass was WAY outside the 1/3 cut range even on the highest deck setting (4"). I worked throughout the late spring and early summer to control the weed army with pump-sprayed WBG. As the post-M applications started to take effect, I was left with a turf plot that was about 50% grass, 10% stubborn weeds, and 40% bare soil from the weed holes. This was leading right into the summer heat. I wish I had pictures of the early progress. It was a pretty rough starting point...

Below you can see that most of the easy weeds were gone, but apparent is the clover and "creeping Charlie" that's occupying most of the lawn even to this day:
Image

Summer (2016)

I did my best to irrigate 1"/week throughout the summer when i could. In reality, my lawn was probably only getting the total 1" per every 2-3 weeks at best due to work travel and other personal obligations that interfered with the time i'd rather be spending on my law.

As the heat died down and I noticed the weeds growing again, I spot sprayed more WBG. Despite my lawn being filled with holes, I wasn't going to let it stop me with having fun with a toro Lawn striping attachment. The picture doesn't do justice to the amount of holes in my lawn, but you can tell pretty clearly that the lawn wasn't very thick:
Image

Back of the house:
(Again, this give a clear impression of the amount of holes in the lawn. The higher summer mow height (3.5"-4") masks alot of the imperfections.
Image
Last edited by lVlrBoJang1es on April 15th, 2017, 7:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.

lVlrBoJang1es
Posts: 122
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Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by lVlrBoJang1es » April 15th, 2017, 5:07 pm

Early Fall (2016)

I decided to "have a go" at an overseeding program in the early fall:
  • I dethatched manually with a rake
  • Mowed at 1.5"
  • Rented a mechanical core aerator and did a double pass across the whole lawn
  • Seeded
  • Applied starter fert
  • Applied milorganite at bag rate
  • Watered lightly (manually) each day as best i could with a busy schedule and 1 sprinkler
The results turned out pretty well in most areas:

Before germination:
Image
About a month later (i think?):
Image

Fence Line Early Germination:
Image
Fence Line after:
Image

lVlrBoJang1es
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Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by lVlrBoJang1es » April 15th, 2017, 5:28 pm

Late Fall (2016)

Once the new grass was established, I continued spot-spraying WBG through the fall as needed to try to eliminate some of the remaining weeds.

I dropped a bag rate application of Milorganite and the turf started to exhibit the deep green color as the leaves started to fall.
Image

in mid May, I was sent out of the country on a work trip and when I got back, I noticed some weeds starting to sprout. I imediately went out and hand pulled what I could then rushed to the store to grab a pre-M. While cringing, I grabbed the dreaded "S" brand of pre-M with lawn food and threw it down reluctantly. I didn't have enough time to read up on other more desireable pre-Ms and promised, at that moment, that better educate myself for the next application whether it be late spring 2017 or next year...

About 3 weeks later after the first week in April I of course had excessive top growth from the synthetic fert in my reluctant pre-M choice. I carefully mowed at the highest setting of 4", bagging to pull up any rubbish that accumulated over the winter, and applied 1/2 bag rate of Milorganite to feed the soil.

A week later I mowed again. I was treating this mow as the first mow of the year since the last mow was more or less to controll the top growth in certain areas. Since some areas were now over 4" again, I mowed twice in 48 hours. Once at 3.5" then I dropped the height down to 2.5" and mowed a day later. I dropped the height down in hopes of cleaning out and bagging more of the fall/winter/early spring gunk in the lawn. In the future, I'd mulch it all if i didn't have newly established grass from the fall overseed. The pre-M fert and milorganite were visibly making a difference in the color of the turf:
(Ignore my messy mow lines - i was trying to avoid double tracking the tire paths and trouble areas that were still quite wet)
Image
I'm thinking of trying to transplant some of the grass growth in the mulch around the tree on the right of that picture. If i don't have any success, at least i removed the grass from the mulch bed :)

I recently started 35 sod pots and tried a few different techniques for each tray. Still waiting on germination, but i've been keeping them outdoors so i'm sure it'll take a bit longer than an indoor grow.

lVlrBoJang1es
Posts: 122
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Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by lVlrBoJang1es » April 15th, 2017, 5:52 pm

Current Status (4/15/2017)

I JUST had an irrigation system installed (the contractor literally just left my house as i'm typing this). I was very excited but nervous at first since it's quite the investment and i'm a particular person by nature! Doing some research on the forums here I was able to raise my level of comfort and prepare some valid questions/concerns with the contractor before the install (thanks ATY community!).
  • I requested to upgrade to 6" heads from the 4" heads in the original quote. I usually mow my lawn at 4" in the summer. Picked this idea up on a thread here (Thanks again ATY community!).
  • I requested a zone layout prior to the install (GLAD I did, see the next point).
  • I requested that several shaded areas be divided onto their own zones - seriously, discuss this with your contractor. They don't know the drainage/shade coverage of your lawn as well as you do and my contractor stated that he actually APPRECIATES customer input when deciding the design plans.
  • Controller was upgraded to 12 zone capability (Hunter PRO-HC). The zone division of the previous note put me at 8 zones instead of the 6 in the initial design.
  • I added a soil moisture and flow rate sensor to the quote.
Overall i'm quite satisfied with the install and demo of the system. I plan on spending some quality time over the next few weeks familiarizing/tuning/tweaking the system.

Immediate Plans
  • Perform a "tuna can test" for each of the zones on my new irrigation system so I can get an idea of the 1" water drop rate.
  • Familiarize myself with the new irrigation system.
  • I'll be submitting a soil test to Logan Labs. Grabbing samples today and hopefully sending them out on Monday.
  • Spot spray weeds. I saw a solid weed population during my mow earlier this week. I figured i should wait for the mow stress to pass, after the irrigation install, before I start the WBG spot spraying war.
  • Continue/start spoon feeding Milorganite.
  • Continue taking care of the sod pots.
  • Research soil conditioning further - i have some areas with minor drainage issues. I just recently stumbled upon the BLCS/KH topics on the forums here.
  • Develop a plan to repair the irrigation system install damage.
  • Do a moss control application.
  • Keep an eye on possible fungal issues i thought i noticed during my last mow.
  • Slowly raise the mow height to 3.5" for the remainder of the spring.
Future Plans
  • I still have quite a few holes from the weed war last year where my overseed last fall didn't fill in. I'll definitely be doing another overseed this fall.
  • Aeration... I assumed that there would be some soil compaction along with the install due to the machinery used. Walking the lawn just now, it's noticeably compacted under food.
  • Continue the war with the weeds (damn you creeping charlie!).
  • Slowly move to a mostly/all organic lawn plan.
  • Smooth the lawn with repeated topdressing in areas that need it.
  • Get my lawn back to one-of-the-top-on-the-street status.
Current Questions

The irrigation install contractor did a pretty good job of keeping turf damage to a minimum during the install. Expectedly, there are some areas that didn't fare to well though. Should i do anything at the moment to repair the damage or not stress about it until the fall overseed? I figure even if i throw down seed, the worst that can happen is no growth (due to earlier application of pre-M and following an existing turf watering schedule).

Should i rely on "liquid aeration" moving forward? Marking and avoiding heads for mechanical core aeration sounds nerve-racking...

I anticipate that the soil test will reveal that my soil needs some major love. Preemptively, i've been searching for somewhere locally to buy bulk compost and instead I stumbled upon a local biosolid processing facility. It looks/sounds pretty similar to milorganite (http://www.nefcobiosolids.com/understand-biosolids/). Would this stuff have a similar effect to applying milorganite? Or will it actually provide enough substantial matter to slowly increase OM% after repeated applications? I figured i'd clear up this question before contacting them to see if they sell in general home owner consumer portions.

I sprayed roundup (365 day protection) on my patio cracks. Unfortunately, due to foot traffic through the area that dragged the chemical onto the lawn as well as a bit of overspray, parts of my abutting lawn have started to yellow quite a bit:
Image
I wish i had a picture before the irrigation install damage - the yellowing was MUCH more noticeable. Some blades still held their green, whereas other adjacent blades were COMPLETELY yellow - not dying-off-stressed-yellow, but poisoned DEEP yellow. Is there any hope for the soil and the remaining turf to repair itself? Or will this be a prime area to consume some of my sod pots? Perhaps only time will tell?


Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment, offer advice, bash something I did, or question my madness.

I'll post more in the replies as I continue.

kbgfarmer
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Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by kbgfarmer » April 16th, 2017, 4:24 pm

You are correct, you are very particular and meticulous which will serve you very well as you manage this lawn. You seem to have a plan to address everything. The amount of effort you put into the irrigation alone is respectable. As far as your questions go I will let the experienced members handle those but biosolids and milorganite are two different things. I would stick with a tried and true "organic fert" thats been around for a long time rather than chance it with something new. Keep up the good work.


lVlrBoJang1es
Posts: 122
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Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by lVlrBoJang1es » April 20th, 2017, 9:48 am

I noticed that some of the formatting/edits haven't been published yet. On the original posts. Oddly, when i go back to edit the original posts, said formatting IS included in the editable. O well, I doubt that anyone will actually read through the entire original post and if they do, the content is still there and sorry for the mess :)

Update (4/20/2017)

Happy holiday all!

We've been getting a bit of rain on and off here so testing the water drop rate for each zone on my new irrigation system has been postponed to prevent overwatering. I HAVE been playing around with the Hydrawise app and getting everything set up that I can - this Hunter Pro-HC controller is like a space station!

Recent Tasks Completed
  • I boxed up some soil samples on Tuesday (4/18) and sent them in to Logan labs yesterday (4/19)
  • Sprayed WBG on present weeds. I'm actually quite shocked at the weed pressure even with my pre-M application. We did get HEAVY rain about 24 hours after my pre-M app on and off for 3 days straight. I'm guessing that washed away a bit of the effectiveness...
  • I noticed that the dreaded "creeping charlie" has spread to a few spots in the front yard. I had NONE in the front yard last year :o
  • Dropped 1/2 bag rate of milorganite on the entire yard yesterday (4/19).
  • Sod pots have started sprouting!!!! (4/16) I was starting to get nervous as it was over 1 week since planting.
  • Noticed some grub population when grabbing my soil samples. I'll have to investigate this further...
New Questions

Should I be bagging every mow until I am able to control the "creeping charlie problem"? I've reluctantly bagged every mow (3) this year. I suspect that the new "creeping charlie" presence I detected in the front yard is due to plant material being dragged in from the backyard. Although bagging would not have helped me in this case, I think mulching at this point would cause the problem to spread in the areas where the weed IS present... ?

Should I be alarmed at the grub presence? I pulled soil from 3 sample areas and saw living grub in 2/3 plugs I dug up. I have a bag of grub control in my garage that i inherited during the move into my house... I've heard investigating a 1' sq plot of turf for more than 3-4 grub would indicate an incoming grub problem. I'm a bit hesitant to dig up a 1' sq plot with all the stress my lawn has been through recently.


Thanks for reading. More to come!

lVlrBoJang1es
Posts: 122
Joined: March 29th, 2017, 11:59 am
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Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by lVlrBoJang1es » May 4th, 2017, 7:32 am

Update (5/4/2017)

Nothing too exciting lately.

Last Few Weeks

We've been receiving a lot of rain lately (1.5-2"/week). I've been doing my best to sneak in 2 mows/week when everything dries out. It's tough to decide whether to mow on semi-wet soil with grass that's still within the 1/3 rule (at max deck height), or wait for the lawn to dry out and mow when the grass is way above the 1/3 rule...

The rain in combination with the spoon feeding of milo has the grass growing at an insane rate. The "freshly mowed" look isn't even lasting 24 hours. I take this as a good sign!

I noticed a LARGE amount of poa along my driveway side metal fence line. It's at a dangerous spot because It's close enough to the fence where i couldn't hit it with the mower during my bagging mows. Trimming that area with the string trimmer sends the seed heads flying everywhere! I'm not sure how i'm going to control this problem...

Most Recently

I have the majority of the weeds controlled with my spot sprays earlier, so my mow yesterday was the mulch mow of the year. I'm going to clean out my mower bag and put it away until it's overseed time in the fall.

I dropped 1/2 bag rate of milo and some grub-ex last night and we're expecting 1.5" of rain today. I'm looking forward toward the lawn exploding in a few days!

I trimmed the sod pots yesterday and sprinkled a bit of milo in them. I think they're in the sprout and pout phase at the moment. Hopefully the haircut and bit of milo will stimulate some action. I've lost 3-4 pots from the damn squirrels burying nuts in them. I'm sure i'll loose a few more before they're ready to be transplanted... I think for my next round of pots, i'll rig up a chicken wire barrier to keep the squirrels and birds out.

Upcoming Excitement

I received my soil sample test results from Logan labs and posted them (viewtopic.php?f=11&t=22321). I can't wait to see an analysis!

I purchased the ingredients for the BLSC and BLKH mixtures. Hopefully this will help with some of the drainage issues i'm having along my wooden fence line. Another motivation here was the tire track compaction from the machinery used during the irrigation system install.

I need to start taking more pictures to document the progress! Unfortunately, my iphone is plagued with a camera defect that affects iPhone 6+ units (http://osxdaily.com/2015/08/22/replace- ... ree-apple/).

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Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by ken-n-nancy » May 6th, 2017, 12:38 am

lVlrBoJang1es wrote:
April 15th, 2017, 11:25 am
This is my first post although I've been lurking on these forums for months sponging as much information as possible - thank you everyone that has contributed towards making this site such a great resource!
First off, welcome to the site! Your lengthy postings are likely to induce a bit of TL;DR but we know how that is, as we suffer from the same lengthy, detailed posts malady...

From the descriptions you've provided and the photos you've posted, it seems like you're doing an excellent job with your lawn! Keep up the good work! Indeed, it seems like your level of care probably already has you graduated beyond the "Lawn Care Basics 101" forum!
lVlrBoJang1es wrote:Skip through to the big bold heading labeled "questions" if you'd like to just give some quick advice.
We'll try to help out with the questions where we have some experience (and ignore the other ones to let others chip in...) Oh, and yes, we did read all of each of your posts in this thread! Before we get to your questions, though, a few other comments:

Your overseeding turned out a lot better than the times we've tried overseeding. Well done! It's particularly encouraging to see the results you obtained along the fence line!
lVlrBoJang1es wrote:in mid May, I was sent out of the country on a work trip and when I got back, I noticed some weeds starting to sprout. I imediately went out and hand pulled what I could then rushed to the store to grab a pre-M.
Do you mean mid-March in the above? Nothing else seems to make sense, given that mid-May hasn't arrived yet, and your posting was from April 15th...
lVlrBoJang1es wrote:I JUST had an irrigation system installed
Sounds like you had an excellent contractor to work with, in that he embraced your requests / upgrades. Again, well done!

Your immediate plans sound like good plans. Doing a 1" watering test is very important. By placing many cans out in each zone, you can also determine areas where you are getting too much or too little coverage. It sounds like you are sufficiently detail-oriented that you can then swap nozzles in various heads to decrease or increase the water delivered from each head in order to better balance the coverage in each zone.

Moss control products tend to give a temporary fix at best. Ultimately, moss tends to be a sign of poor conditions for growing grass in that area. Long-term, the poor conditions need to be addressed or the moss will just keep coming back.

Aeration is typically only needed where there is mechanical compaction. You actually have some of that from the irrigation install, though. For a small lawn or where you're just having to fix the mechanical compaction where there are wheel tracks from the irrigation-installation equipment, I'd be inclined to purchase a manual core aerator (something like the "Yard Butler" - I bought one at Lowes a few years ago).

If NEFCO is the biosolid processing company near you, that's the same company that produces "Bay State Fertilizer" in metro Boston that you can read about in various threads on this forum. It's very similar to Milorganite, producing similar results. Your local biosolid processing facility may or may not sell to home owners, but it is definitely worth investigating. Let us know what you find out!

365-day protection Round-Up is not a good thing to get on your lawn. If you want areas that have been killed off by that product to be replanted this year, I'd suggest digging out the top 2 inches of soil in that area and replacing with different soil. Otherwise, you may as well wait until next year for those areas. I would suggest not using that product near your lawn in the future!

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ken-n-nancy
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Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by ken-n-nancy » May 6th, 2017, 12:58 am

lVlrBoJang1es wrote:
April 20th, 2017, 9:48 am
Should I be bagging every mow until I am able to control the "creeping charlie problem"?
Creeping charlie can spread from sections of stems and vines which have been pulled out and/or cut off re-rooting where they come in contact with the soil, particularly in moist conditions. If your mowing is resulting in lots of creeping charlie pieces being generated, then bagging could help slow down the spread. Personally, I've found that the creeping charlie is well below my mower height.

My suggestion for controlling creeping charlie would be to use three applications of Ortho Weed-B-Gon Chickweed, Clover & Oxalis Killer For Lawns, applied according to label directions, each 10 days apart. I'd do the first application as soon as possible, another one in 10 days, and the last one 10 days after that. You will see little to no effect upon the creeping charlie after the first application. About a week after the 2nd application, the creeping charlie should be markedly declining. However, don't stop after 2 applications -- make a 3rd application too, or it's likely to come back. Ten days after the 3rd application, you'll either have victory or you can hit it again...

For more info, read this past thread on the topic of Creeping Charlie.
lVlrBoJang1es wrote:
April 20th, 2017, 9:48 am
Should I be alarmed at the grub presence? I pulled soil from 3 sample areas and saw living grub in 2/3 plugs I dug up.
When it comes to grubs and my lawn, I have little patience for them. I'm a big fan of preventative grub applications in any lawn which has a history of grub problems or if you have neighbors with grub issues. The end of April or first week of May is the right time to apply a preventative product with chlorantraniliprole. For your 4500 square foot lawn, I'd just buy a 5000 square foot bag and get it down ASAP. (It sounds from a subsequent post of yours that you may have done this a couple days ago -- well done!) The chlorantraniliprole won't kill your current grubs, but will prevent them for next year. For more info, see the excellent article from Michigan State University: How to choose and when to apply grub control products for your lawn.

Read the MSU article and further assess your grub population to determine if you also want to apply a curative product to take care of your existing grub population.

lVlrBoJang1es
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Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by lVlrBoJang1es » May 12th, 2017, 10:35 am

Updates (5/12/2017)

Busy weekend coming up!

Last week

I ordered and received some “Mark-it Blue” for easier weed spot sprays. My first run with it was on an app of WBG around 5/3. I noticed that most of the broadleaf presence is nearly gone, but I still have a few areas that need attention – mainly those with Creeping Charlie presence.

I’m down to using about ¾ gallon over my entire property (4500ksqft) whereas last year at this time I was needing 2-3 gallons of mix over the entire property.

I’ll follow ken-n-nancy’s recommendation for the creeping charlie and do another spot spray this weekend (~10 days after the last app). The recommendation is similar to what I had in mind.

I mowed on 5/4 at a deck height of 3.5" - well above the Charlie height. I don't think i'll have to worry about disturbing the WBG app from the day before. We were expecting 2.5" over the next 48 hours, so i felt that i needed to get a mow in...

Upcoming

I might try to mow today. I have company coming over and I hate having an uncut lawn as a first impression of the house.

All the ingredients came in for the BLK and BLSC. I'll probably pick up some air tight mixing/storage buckets this weekend.

I ordered a Chapin 63985 backpack sprayer (https://www.amazon.com/Chapin-63985-4-G ... B00Q03MMDO). I think it’ll make the BLKH/SC apps easier than using the 1-gal hand can I currently use for spot sprays. I’m also interested in trying some iron spray apps - I can clearly pick out the lawns in the area that are applying iron in some form and it’s making my lawn jealous.

Andy and g-man graciously analyzed my soil test and answered my questions regarding ammendment applications (viewtopic.php?f=11&t=22321&sid=5fa41dfa ... f3ebae76b6). I’ll try to get the first app down this weekend as well.

The non-stop rain has seemed to hold off for a bit. Maybe I’ll get my tuna can test done on my new irrigation system this weekend as well. Sunday will mark 1 week with < 1" of water, so the system will be running for sure!

I'm toying with the idea of a cracked corn app. The Tractor Supply Co. near my work has 50 lb bags for about $8. Seems like a cheap way to prepare for less disease pressure in the summer. I had a few spots last summer in the front yard that had some disease damage - i didn't know enough about lawn care at the time to identify what it was exactly.

Current Questions

If i use air tight painter's buckets for BLKH/BLSC storage, should i poke a small hole in the BLKH bucket (or both)? I've heard the kelp can build up some pressure.

Anything look concerning with this choice of cracked corn? (https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005)


Stay tuned!

g-man
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Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by g-man » May 12th, 2017, 12:09 pm

First, to clarify, I did not really help analyze your soil. I just answered the fertilizer application rate questions since thats just math. I'm not part of ST6, so i dont do analysis.

I've used the tractor supply cracked corn and it could be a hit or miss. It depends on where they source the corn to place inside the same looking bag. Sometimes is full of corn cobs and stuff, other times is nice and clean. The last one I bought was good. It is a source of organic material, but it is more expensive as a pound of nitrogen source (1.65-0.65-0.4). viewtopic.php?t=4800 It is also not a magic bullet fix it all fungicide. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11127&sid=c5d49b8c3 ... 5c120b60b5

lVlrBoJang1es
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Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by lVlrBoJang1es » May 16th, 2017, 7:11 am

Updates 5/16/2017

Last weekend wasn't as productive as expected. I did manage to snap some pictures as promised with my work phone.

The Good

I mowed Saturday morning at 4" (highest setting) – I’m sure I cut more than 1/3 off unfortunately. It seems the last milo app kicked in and caused some explosive growth:
Image
My neighbors had both of their cars in the drive, so the mow lines got a bit messed up where I was standing when I snapped the picture. The lawn seemed to darken up Sunday by mid-day (after these pictures were taken).

My hell strip is actually looking much better. Some of the holes are starting to fill in:
Image

I’m thinking my sod pots are almost ready for transplanting. You can see the ones the squirrels chose to destroy. Some of them thickened up quite nicely:
Image
I’d say over 50% couldn’t be any thicker, the rest still have some useable sod that I’ll fill in smaller holes with. I’m quite pleased with the turnout for a first attempt. I’ll probably use them to fill in some minor bare spots in the front yard (all about that curb appeal!).

I purchased and applied the 13-13-13 fertilizer per the recommendations I received in my soil test analysis. The fert was watered in with about 1/2" of water by my irrigation system.

I also dropped another 1/2 bag rate of milo. I didn't have time to mix in the Borax to supplement my micros as recommended in my soil analysis. I'll be sure to get this down next week at some point.

Two Stories of Validation

First:

I actually caught a family that was walking down the street that stopped to to look at the lawn. I was working in the back, and when i walked around to the front they were standing in the middle of the sidewalk in the front of my house and the wife was pointing to the hell strip and the sections in front of the house. When they realized I saw them, they waved back and were hurriedly on their way.

My landscaping is crap at the moment (i have a landscaping architect friend that's working on some designs) so i can only assume the observers were interested in the lawn!

Next:

I rent out a room in my house to an old buddy. My roommate's father left his car in our garage while he was traveling. When he came back after his travels, he was being extra careful not to run over the lawn and my sprinkler heads while he was backing out his car (raised jeep, narrow driveway).

My roommate's father was so focused on not wrecking the yard that he backed right into our neighbors minivan across the street. I wasn't home at the time, so my roommate and his father went to my neighbor to apologize and explain. Mind you, my neighbor is retired and spends a lot of time working around the outside of his house - he's the only competition i have on my street in my opinion.

When they explained what happened, my neighbor apparently half-jokingly replied "I wished you would have ran all over his lawn; I don't know what he's doing over there but I can't keep up! He's giving me some real stiff competition!"

User avatar
ken-n-nancy
Posts: 2571
Joined: July 17th, 2014, 3:58 pm
Location: Bedford, NH
Grass Type: Front: KBG (Bewitched+Prosperity); Side: Bewitched KBG; Back: Fine Fescue Blend + Prosperity
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Experienced

Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by ken-n-nancy » May 16th, 2017, 9:19 am

lVlrBoJang1es wrote:
May 16th, 2017, 7:11 am
Last weekend wasn't as productive as expected. I did manage to snap some pictures as promised with my work phone.
It's looking awesome! Keep up the good work.

Particularly enjoyed reading your "stories of validation." We sometimes walk through our neighborhood in the evenings, and will occasionally encounter other couples walking who we haven't met before. We'll describe where we live, and after we say something like, "we're in the house that's third from the corner - the blue house with the porch in front," they'll respond with, "Oh, you're the ones with THE LAWN."

You can be sure that your neighbors see the difference...

TimmyG
Posts: 2244
Joined: May 15th, 2012, 6:04 pm
Location: Dracut, MA
Grass Type: Northern Mix
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Experienced

Re: lVlrBoJangles' 2017 Lawn and Questions!

Post by TimmyG » May 16th, 2017, 9:21 am

:rotfl: :yahoo: Keep up the good work!

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