Going for the athletic field look

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
ClintB
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Going for the athletic field look

Post by ClintB » April 27th, 2016, 2:07 pm

So my front yard was a unsightly mess when I bought the home 4 or so years ago. I did a reno on the front in fall 2014 going to equal parts Bewitched, Blueberry, and Prosperity kbg. It turned out very well. Had a couple trees removed last fall and the seeded spots came in well other than a 2 foot section that I plugged this spring.

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Lawn last year.

I used generic Primo Maxx last year and loved the results. Darker color and a little less mowing to keep thay just cut look. This year I am adding proxy to the mix. Unfortunatly due to a late order and lomger than expected shipping time I will be starting my program a week later than the GDD tracker recommends.

I also purchased a John Deere 260b greensmower, slightly modified to give me a max 1.25 height of cut.

I am going to document my progress through the year. I don't have a sprinkler system (yet) so we will see how the yard handles the summer cut short. My goal is a athletic field look and feel, not to see absolutely how low I can go. I do anticipate experimenting with the hoc until I find what I like and what the lawn tolerates.

My first hoc was 1 1/16 followed by a 7/8 cut that scalped a bit. I raised the mower to 1.25 to await my pgr's and here is where I start documenting this years progress.

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ericgautier
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by ericgautier » April 27th, 2016, 2:18 pm

:good:

I will be following your thread closely. Keep updating as you can.

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McLovin
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by McLovin » April 27th, 2016, 2:25 pm

That looks great Clint.

Also check Pete1313's thread... his KGB short cut looks fantastic IMHO.

http://aroundtheyard.com/post246595.html

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probasesteal
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by probasesteal » April 27th, 2016, 2:41 pm

Look forward to following your progress, just hope a Packers' logo doesn't pop up mid yard.

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Pete1313
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by Pete1313 » April 27th, 2016, 2:57 pm

Looking great! Subscribed.. although, if a Packer's logo shows up i might have to unsubscribe.

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Pete1313
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by Pete1313 » April 27th, 2016, 3:02 pm

Couple questions. What is the thinking on adding proxy? Is it used just in the early season to stop seed heads? Also, what is the square footage that you are going to be cutting short?

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ClintB
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by ClintB » April 27th, 2016, 3:23 pm

McLovin wrote:That looks great Clint.

Also check Pete1313's thread... his KGB short cut looks fantastic IMHO.

http://aroundtheyard.com/post246595.html
He was one of the ones that inspired me. Trying to think of a list of the cool season guys who are/where cutting short. Pete, Kmartel, me and you?

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ClintB
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by ClintB » April 27th, 2016, 3:25 pm

Pete1313 wrote:Looking great! Subscribed.. although, if a Packer's logo shows up i might have to unsubscribe.

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Lol, you just gave me the idea! Have to wait till just before the season.

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ClintB
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by ClintB » April 27th, 2016, 3:32 pm

Pete1313 wrote:Couple questions. What is the thinking on adding proxy? Is it used just in the early season to stop seed heads? Also, what is the square footage that you are going to be cutting short?

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I am just cutting the front 2500 sq ft short. The back is half reno'd to a Bewitched monostand which will be finished this fall. The Proxy is for seed head reduction which is why I am a bit miffed on starting it a week late. Not sure if I will get max effectivness.

I figure if I can get this figured out on the front I can start having fun making little baseball/soccer and football fields in the back for the kids to play on. I already got hockey taken care of no mower required. :


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ClintB
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by ClintB » April 27th, 2016, 8:48 pm

First application of primo/proxy (generic) went down today. Primo at .60 per k, Proxy at 5 ounces per k. Threw in phosphites at 2 oz per k as a grass immune system booster.

I mowed a couple hours before and also took out a couple spots of suspicious grasses with my plugger.


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2nd rime on same pattern so it popped a little bit extra.

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Pete1313
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by Pete1313 » April 27th, 2016, 11:14 pm

Look at those double wides!! :shock:

Now that you have about 5 or 6 mows under your belt, is the machine getting alot easier to control?

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McLovin
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by McLovin » April 28th, 2016, 6:02 pm

ClintB wrote:
McLovin wrote:That looks great Clint.

Also check Pete1313's thread... his KGB short cut looks fantastic IMHO.

http://aroundtheyard.com/post246595.html
He was one of the ones that inspired me. Trying to think of a list of the cool season guys who are/where cutting short. Pete, Kmartel, me and you?

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No sir, not me, I have TTTF at 2.5" HOC (since I renovated from bermudagrass last fall). These low reel cut KGB lawns are beautiful.

ClintB
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by ClintB » April 28th, 2016, 9:30 pm

Pete1313 wrote:Look at those double wides!! :shock:

Now that you have about 5 or 6 mows under your belt, is the machine getting alot easier to control?

Yes, really felt like I was along for the ride at first but it is starting to feel natural mowing the grass again. Still have to think about what I am doing and frequently catch the transport wheel shaft on something which is super annoying, but all in all mowing has become a stress reliever more than a stress inducer.

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HoosierLawnGnome
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » April 28th, 2016, 9:31 pm

Pete1313 wrote:Couple questions. What is the thinking on adding proxy? Is it used just in the early season to stop seed heads? Also, what is the square footage that you are going to be cutting short?

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It's the synergistic relationship that the effects the two AIs have on the turf.

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ClintB
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by ClintB » May 21st, 2016, 9:15 am

Quick update on the lawn. I have been mowing at 1.25 inches since I last posted. I have tried to make a habit of mowing after it rains and then ground is soft. It has helped even out some of the little bumps just by the weight of the mower.
2nd app of generic primo/proxy + phosphites went down and turf is looking good.

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Above is the prosperity/blueberry/bewitched pgr treated front. Below is the back bewitched no pgr back. Huge difference is seedheads.

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Been dry here and I watered the front two days ago after adding some milorganite. Tur is getting very blue. I love the double strip but have been varying my pattern. Here is a pic taken at dusk. Stripes so nice. Color looks gray because of lighting.

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I like the look at 1.25 but after next cut am going to start working down little and see how it looks.

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Pete1313
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by Pete1313 » May 24th, 2016, 1:42 pm

Looking good ClintB! :good: what height are you mowing the back? Can't wait to see some lower HOC pics!

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blizzisu
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by blizzisu » May 24th, 2016, 5:30 pm

Looks great! How often do you have to mow it? Every two or three days?

ClintB
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by ClintB » May 25th, 2016, 12:56 am

blizzisu wrote:Looks great! How often do you have to mow it? Every two or three days?
With the Primo and Proxy it has been every 4 days. I have been pushing milo for color but plan to switch from bi-weekly milo to monthy milo and add iron to my monthly pgr sprays. If that works I am thinking every 5 days. I enjoy the mowing but think the mowing/striping can be stressful to the grass so I am re sisting cutting every other day.

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ClintB
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by ClintB » May 25th, 2016, 1:04 am

Pete1313 wrote:Looking good ClintB! :good: what height are you mowing the back? Can't wait to see some lower HOC pics!

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Still at 1.25. I am trying to figure out some issues causing browning issues. I think I may have a couple factors at play. It has been dry and while my lawn looks much greener than the neighbors it is getting drought stressed. After the predicted rain missed us I fired up the sprinklers and am giving it a good hosing. Alarm is set for 5am to move the spinkler...

I also think I browned some blade tips by spraying (generic) primo/proxy +phosphites 3 hours after cutting. Its only the last 1/8 to 1/4 inch of the blades, but there is significant browning.

I want to slowly move it down, but want to get everything looking good before I do.

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Pete1313
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Re: Going for the athletic field look

Post by Pete1313 » May 25th, 2016, 12:00 pm

Good call on firing up the sprinklers. It has been sunny, warm, and dry in nw illinois as well. I feel that you need to pay closer attention to watering when it is cut shorter and the typical once a week may not be enough in the warmer periods. I used potential evapotranspiration as a guide when watering last year. It's not exact by any means, but is interesting to see what type of weather affects the ET number. ET rates have been high in my area the last 4 days @ .25", .28", .30", and .30". So with those numbers and this unusually warm, dry weather I would expect to water @ ~4days especially with the short turf.

I'm not sure with proxy and phosphites in the mix, but when I sprayed primo and FAS I would often spray 1-2 hours after a mow with no issues. Make sure if you add FS or FAS to your mix that you pay attention to high temps. Don't spray or leave on the turf when above 80° IIRC. I think by adding FAS to your mix it would help with any browning or color loss. Are you planning on removing the proxy from the mix now that you have done a couple apps?

I did have some minor browning early last year after spraying primo and FAS but that was before it was really short. My HOC was @ 2". I believe I solved my issue and it was due to the amount of surfactant (cide kick II) I was adding to the mix. When I had some minor browning the mix was .6oz/k primo, 4oz/k FS, 3.4oz/k AS, and .372 oz/k(11ml/k) of cide kick in 2 gal/k of water. I had minor browning on 2 different times when using that mix. I then kept everything the same except I dropped the cide kick rate down to .279 oz/k(8.25ml/k) and didn't have the browning issue since then. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, maybe it was because they were my first 2 full primo doses after 2 half rate apps to start the season, but the issue never came back after adjusting the surfactant amount.

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